Blood & Buttercream
Blood & Buttercream
Chapter One - Exposition.
Baker!Reader x Butcher!Simon Riley
CW: None, SFW.
Word Count: 1.2K
You’re sitting in your local Costa, sadly picking at an overpriced, sad sandwich and lukewarm coffee. Chains are never your first option if you can help it, but this small town doesn’t have a local cafe open past 10am.
Another sigh, you could do it so much better, you think, grimacing at a bite of soggy bread. As a baker, you know good bread and this, this is not good bread.
How difficult can it be, really, you sip from your cup; musing.
You could do it, you think, you already have a steady business as an online bakery and a presence at the closest local markets, known for your delicate bakes with pretty decorations.
The savoury side of things though…you know what’d you’d do, sandwiches with homemade focaccia, doorstep thick toast, savoury pastries.
It’d have to be right though. The voice pops up unbidden and you bite your lip, your need for perfection is both a blessing and a curse.
You abandon the remnants of your sandwich and head home thoughts churning.
In your kitchen, you create a focaccia, flaky salt, good olive oil, rosemary and cherry tomatoes.
Once it’s cooked you realise you don’t have the right meats and you drag yourself to the store, you stand in front of the deli meats aisle for longer than you want to admit, until your fingers start to get a little numb and you take home a selection and painstakingly try a little of everything with the bread and nothing's right, nothing works.
You hiss in frustration before cutting a large chunk and wrapping it in wax paper and grabbing your keys.
You know you must look like a crazy person, stomping into the butchers and dropping the bread on the counter in front of the mountain of a man who works there, the bottom half of his face covered by a black mask.
“I need help” you say shortly “I’ve tried the supermarket meats and it’s not right.”
He stares at you, shocked, confused, you can’t tell.
“Look, you're an expert right?” A slow nod. “Good. I’m fed up with having no good cafes so I’m gonna do it myself but I’m a novice at savoury, so taste that.”
You wave a hand irritably at the wax-paper wrapped focaccia “and please tell me what meat is supposed to go in it.”
There’s a beat, two, before callused hands are unwrapping the bread and tearing a chunk off, corner of the mask lifting to accommodate before being lowered.
A moan. “I know” you say, slightly smug “so I’m not putting it with mediocre fillings”
The man hums, swallowing, before turning to a leg of something along the back counter and cutting a thin slice, dropping it onto a paper plate before handing it to you.
“Try that” he rasps, you take the plate and try the meat, it’s salty, slightly smoky and so much better than whatever you brought from the supermarket and combinations throw themselves into your head.
You’re unaware of the butcher staring at you.
“How much will I need to make at least ... .four sandwiches?” You half ask, half demand.
“Bout 15 slices” he replies after a moment's thought.
“Great, that then please,” you say sweetly, “and you can keep the rest of the bread.” You add on when you’ve paid and have the wrapped meat in your hand before almost running out of the shop to get home.
Simon stares for a long time, before devouring the rest of the bread.
The next few hours are spent in your kitchen, every surface covered in pans and bowls. The meat he’s given you, you learn, is called Serrano and it’s so good.
You’re lucky enough to have a garden and a greenhouse and you pull some rocket from the soil dropping it into a colander for later. Back in your kitchen you create a chilli jam, not too spicy with a slight acidity to balance the salt.
A quick google suggests that manchego is a common pairing but you worry that it will make the finished sandwich too salty and you bite your lip, scouring your fridge. Burrata. You’d brought it to make your own pizzas but…you wouldn’t need all of it.
You catalogue what you have in your head, salt from the meat and the bread, acid from the jam, fat from the cheese and heat from both the jam and the peppery kick of the rocket.
You layer the sandwich and wrap it in greaseproof paper, pulling it tight before cutting it in half with a large bread knife.
You smile at the cross section and take a bite. The flavours explode on your tongue and you grin, victorious. It’s so much better than the sad toastie you started your day with.
You tidy your kitchen, decanting the rest of the chilli jam into sterilised jars and carefully storing the meat and cheese before washing your paraphernalia.
You’re about to become that poor butcher’s worst nightmare, you think ruefully as you start to compile a list of other things you’d want to stock.
You feel so guilty in advance that you assemble a peace offering, the other half of the sandwich, a jar of your new chilli jam and a caramel brownie. Is it weird if I bother him again? You shake the thought away, you have questions and your brain needs them answered. Now.
You pack your offering into a box and head back out, chucking a notebook and pen into your bag as you pass the countertop.
The man behind the counter looks surprised to see you, if the slight raise of his eyebrow is any indication.
“Alright?” He asks slowly.
“Yeah,” you chuckle slightly nervously as you introduce yourself, “I think I’m probably about to become your worst nightmare.”
“Doubt that” he mutters, “‘m Simon.”
You nod “Simon, it’s nice to meet you.” A smile, you brandish the box containing your peace offering.
“I need to ask you some questions about, well, everything meat so here’s a…” you stumble over your words. “Gift? In return for the annoyance I’m probably gonna cause you.”
The man, Simon, takes the box from you and flips open the lid, “this the sandwich you made?” He asks, fishing it out with one large hand, you nod as he unwraps the paper and takes a large bite.
His eyes close momentarily as he chews and swallows “gonna bring me one of these every time you’ve got a question love?”
Your brain stutters momentarily over the pet name and you feel your face get warm.
“Um, yes?” You offer as you will your face to cool down, watching as he takes another bite and groans in appreciation.
“Best sandwich I’ve ever had.” He tells you and you can’t help but preen at the compliment.
“Thanks,” you whip out your notebook “so, if I wanted to make a quiche with ham in it but also sandwiches, would I need different styles?” The pen is pushed against your lip as you think “Oh and I know there’s a ratio of fat to meat for everything but if I wanted to do sausage rolls and scotch eggs would they need to be different too?”
You realise Simon is staring at you and you shuffle your feet, ears going hot, waiting for the inevitable comments about you being ‘weird’ or ‘too much.’
They don’t come.
You force yourself to meet his gaze, steeling yourself for whatever expression you find there. You don’t expect fascination, appraisal.
“You this meticulous about ever’thin love?” It’s almost a growl and your mind wanders for a split second before you manage to eek out a “yes.”
Simon grins, taking a large bite of the brownie “fucking hell, where’ve you been hidin?”
More Posts from Dipstickflopdoodle and Others
Cute headcanon: Imagine Billy being told the truth that day at the Byers in s2 and becoming the Party Co-Parent with steve and Dustin telling Billy that he and Steve are the party's paladin and fighter and Billy's gleaned enough to be like "haha I'm the fighter I get it" only for Dustin to be like "nope you're a paladin under the oath of devotion, you fit all the tenets" and just rocking Billy's world bc he's never been told his tendency to throw himself in the middle of shit and this protectiveness that's gotten twisted is a *good* thing
Steve finds him later just staring blankly at the Players Manual that Dustin showed Billy and he just sighs and goes to yell at Dustin like "what did I SAY about not breaking Billy with the revelation that he's not a complete asshole"
Listen, listen, listen. This is pure gold.
Because picture it: Billy was in the right to be creeped the fuck out when he rolled up to the Byers house that night, right? He's running around looking for his little sister, knowing he's going to get his ass handed to him if something's happened to her, and he finds her with Steve fucking Harrington and a whole bunch of boys at a strange house in a part of town he's likely never been to, that Max snuck out to get to. If he'd gotten an actual explanation, if Steve had said, "Hey, man, I know this is weird as shit, but there's a whole lot that you don't know. There's some life or death shit happening here."
...I mean, Billy still would've tried to fight him. It's Billy. I'd love it if a demodog attacked at that same moment. Ramp up the tension and shove Billy right into this world of monsters and mayhem. Maybe it grabs him while he's pummeling Steve, so he has no choice but to react, to whirl around on it, and Steve stumbles up and helps him kill it and Billy just stares at him like what. the. fuck.
And he looks at Max because, seriously, we have been here for like a week, how have you already gotten involved with some Stephen King-level bullshit, Maxine? And she has absolutely no time to explain. She's still wrapping her head around all of this, after all. She tells Billy he's either in or out and holds her hands out, demanding his keys, and he just rolls his eyes and piles everyone into his car and they do the whole going down into the tunnels thing. He has NO CLUE what's going on, but he's not letting Max out of his sight now that he knows her life is in literal danger.
It's not until the Snow Ball that Steve gives Billy the full run-down. Max has given him bits and pieces, but it's still so new to both of them, so he has to get the whole story from Steve. They drive Dustin and Max to the dance, then spend the night sitting on the hood of the Camaro while Steve tells Billy everything. "There's a girl with superpowers? What is this, the fucking X-Men?" He's dumbfounded, but he's got no choice to believe it. And he won't quite admit it to anyone else, but it did feel good, down in those tunnels, to fight with someone instead of against them — to feel like Steve and the kids all had his back.
And maybe when the Mind Flayer comes back around, it doesn't go after Billy, because Billy's not alone, he's not isolated. He's got Steve now, because you don't fight inter-dimensional monsters with someone and not get close to them. They hang out. They become friends. Maybe more than friends. And it's a package deal, yeah? You get Steve, you get the kids. Plus, he and Max have a better relationship after, y'know, nearly getting eaten by demogorgons together. He might be a little grumpy, a little rough around the edges, but he still has friends. He's not an island anymore. The Mind Flayer has to pick someone else while Billy is with the kids, all of them worried about where Steve and Dustin might be this whole time, and when they finally link up together at the mall, Dustin tells him his role. He looks at Steve and Billy and says, "Fighter. Paladin." and Billy rolls his eyes because yeah, okay, of course he's the fighter, all fists and rage, and Dustin looks at him all confused and is like nope, no sir, you're the paladin — the leader — the protector.
And Billy is blown away.
No one challenges Dustin, either. They all agree, and this confuses Billy even more. Max is the one that explains that he protects them. That they all see it, that they all know that he looks out for them, this little group of misfits, these targets for the bully that Billy thought he was. They see him. They know that he's more than some angry kid, more than the asshole his father has molded him to be, and MY GOD would he take that so, so seriously.
And yes, when all is said and done and they can have their little MCU-esque post credits scene eating pizza and playing D&D in Mike's basement, Billy sits in the corner and thumbs through the player's guide to learn more about this title that Dustin has bestowed upon him, and Steve shakes his head and looks at Dustin all, "Nice going. You broke him." but he can't say it without smiling because look at Billy. Being part of the group. Embracing the weirdos. Counting himself among them.
GOD I LOVE IT.
ALL ACTIVE DBD CODES
PRIDE - Pride charm
INSERTCOIN - Arcade machine charm
DECIPHERSTRIKE - 150k bloodpoints
Self love spell jar
Always cleanse first!
Cinnamon
Himalayan salt
Sugar
Dried rose petals
Sealed with pink wax
‘Belehrung’ by Sergius Hruby, 1935
POV: Scrolling through Steve Harrington’s camera roll
as much as the concept of Jesus being a fairly normal lad has its charms, im personally very intrigued by the idea of him being just… extremely weird. not even in a mystical sense, just…….staggeringly BIZZARRE.
you go to the well to get some water, and here’s Miriam’s boy, staring at the sky, completely still. his expression is unreadable. you hazard a hello and ask how he’s doing, and he slowly, unblinkingly, lowers his gaze on you (he’s 8 and is missing his frontal teeth, not that this is making you any less uncomfortable) and says “I cannot speak of the state of my being, Nathan son of Saul, my brother, but rejoice for the water you shall take today will be as pure as the soul of the children of Heaven”
…you start sweating
Random things about your future lover
Pick a picture from below
DM to purchase a reading! All the prices are listed on my paid reading post.
Picture 1
May be an earth sign. Virgo, Taurus or Capricorn.
They have lots of hobbies and things they like to do in their free time.
They hate it when people waste their time.
Very straightforward and cutthroat.
May be cheated on or may have severe trust issues.
They always working on something.
They are gonna come into your life really soon and unexpectedly.
They will really like the way you dress yourself.
They may even be your potential life partner or definately a long term relationship.
They have really beautiful hands and may be an artist.
Initials A,D,G,Z,U,C,B,W
They are really protective of the people they love.
Picture 2
Definitely a gentleman. Very traditional.
They love taking care of themselves.
May be a leo or have sun in their 1st or 5th house.
You may meet them around the holiday season.
They are really patient and think before they speak.
Very poetic with their words. Love language may be giving handwritten letters.
Very mysterious aura, don't talk much to people or never share anything about themselves.
You may meet them after a breakup or heartbreak.
You both work in the same career field.
May be your boss or your senior.
Very passionate and dedicated about what they do.
They love talking but not on texts.
Picture 3
They may be really popular among the opposite gender. They seem to have a lot of admires.
A perfectionist and a workaholic. Loves their job with their whole heart.
You may meet them through a trip or while travelling.
Their love language is gift giving and acts of service.
They are really practical but may get delulu sometimes.
They are emotionally mature and do not hide their feelings.
It's giving fire sign energy. May require more sleep than an average person.
Says what's on their mind. May be a bit rude sometimes.
May meet them in 2 months.
May be Aquarius, Scorpio or cancer rising .
You literally manifested them. They are a dream come true for you.
May have light colored hair.
Guys I know I have been inactive for a long time but I am just going through a lot this month. Wish me luck and expect more posts in the future.
Glowy dark mode site skin
🎼 You would not believe your eyes, if 10 million fireflies ended up in the header of your AO3. 🎶
It's been a while since I tried glow effects, but I saw the fireflies and I couldn't resist.
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