Chapter Text
Credence couldn’t help but look up when he heard the high pitched squeal off to his left. Normally he tried to keep his head and eyes down, but his attention was drawn to the girl as she jumped up and down, flapping her hands about excitedly as the man next to her smiled indulgently. Credence looked at the store behind them and was temporarily drawn in by dripping pearls, jewels flashing in the morning sun, diamonds that reflected off of the surrounding puddles… He was drawn back into the moment as the young lady grabbed the man’s arm and hugged it tightly to her.
“Oh! Oh! Daddy, really? You’re gonna get me that necklace, after all?” The young woman bounced up and down on the balls of her sleek high-heels as the man nodded with a smile and opened the door for her. “Ohh, thank you, Daddy!” The girl then proceeded to lean forward and planted a large kiss right on the man’s mouth.
Credence dropped all of his leaflets. Fear surged through him as he scrambled to try to grab as many as he could. It had rained earlier and the streets were still soaked. Oh no nononono. He was only able to save about half of them, the rest were already soaked through. Ruined. Credence bit his lip until it bled to stop the sting of tears that came to his eyes as he watched the leaflets disintegrate. He stood there watching in a mesmerized sadness as the grey, black, and brown flow of people continued to grind them into the pavement.
Perhaps… perhaps she wouldn’t know? Perhaps he would be able to convince her this time that he had actually managed to hand them out instead of accidentally dropping them. He felt a twinge of guilt as he considered lying… but… but Ma always said he was going to Hell anyways, so it probably didn’t matter if he lied. A shiver wracked through his body and Credence realized that he had accidentally soaked the lower portion of his threadbare trousers in his attempts to rescue the leaflets. Another shiver ran through him as he admitted to himself that there was no escaping the beating coming his way. Ma would know he was lying even if he tried. She always knew.
Since he was going to be beaten either way… he might as well take a break. Credence was tired, cold, hungry, and sore. It was a particular kind of torture to walk past the bakeries when he was so hungry, but seeing all of the pretty colors and delicate pastries always made him feel a little better. Wishing he had the confidence to just throw the rest of the pamphlets away, he put them into his pocket and started making his way down the street.
Bowing his head again, avoiding any and all eye contact, Credence let his mind wander back to the scene that had caused his disastrous lapse in control. Why… why had that girl called the man ‘daddy,’ but then had kissed him on the mouth? Perhaps that was just… just the kind of close relationship they had as father and daughter? Even though the gentleman had looked older, he hadn’t looked that old. The girl had looked to be a little older than Credence. Theynhadn’t shared any similar features, but Credence had just assumed that since she had called the man ‘daddy’ that they were father and daughter. Perhaps… perhaps they weren’t? It hadn’t looked like an innocent kiss between family members… It wouldn’t make sense to flaunt such perversion against nature in front of the whole world. A blush rose to Credence’s cheeks.
The lovely smell of freshly baked bread caught his attention and pulled Credence out of his reverie. Walking up to the windows, Credence looked inside at all of the beautifully delicate creations. This was his favorite bakery, even though he had never entered it before. There were such wonderful and fanciful designs for the different confectionaries. It had become quite a famous little bakery due to the utter uniqueness and creativity of the baker. Credence let his eyes wander over the soft dustings of powdered sugar, the delicate drizzles of caramel and chocolate, the shiny glazed fruits that sat at jaunty angles. His mouth started watering and his stomach chose that moment to let out a loud grumble.
A soft laugh drew his attention and he looked around to see the prettiest lady he’d ever seen smiling at him in curiosity. Her bright blonde curls bobbed around her head and he thought vaguely that this is what angels must look like. “You know, your stomach might not yell at you so much if you came in to choose something, honey, so why are you just standing there lookin’?” she asked teasingly.
Credence stepped back, horrified and started to stutter, “N-no! I’m s-sorry ma’am! Please for-forgive me!”
“Whoa! Whoa there, honey!” The lady held up her hands as her smile morphed to a look of concern. “You’re okay! It’s just that I work here with my husband, and I’ve seen you come by a couple times, but you never come in.”
It was then that Credence realized she was indeed wearing an apron and looked to be covered in flour. “I just wanted to come out and say hi, and invite you to come in, in case you were shy or somethin’. I really didn’t mean to stress you out. Also, the name’s Queenie, not ‘ma’am.’ I don’t think I’ve ever been a ‘ma’am’ before!” She let out a tinkling laugh.
Credence tugged on his sleeves and nodded at the ground, taking small steps away from the shop. “I-I really am sorry. I d-don’t have any money, so I can’t buy anything. I didn’t m-mean to cause trouble. I j-just like looking,” he mumbled apologetically.
“Would you like to try some, honey?” Queenie asked suddenly.
Credence flashed his eyes up in confusion before looking away again quickly. “I-I’m sorry, ma’am, but like I said, I don’t have any m-money.”
“That’s okay! Me and Jacob, that’s my husband, are trying to come up with some new ideas and we need someone to test them out on! You could come in and try them out for us and tell us what you think.”
Credence couldn't believe what he was hearing, but didn’t want to insult Queenie by questioning whether or not she was being honest.
As if she could read his mind, she smiled again, “Honest, if you came in to do a taste test, it would really help us out, sweetie!”
Her shoes had slowly appeared in his field of vision and he saw a hand reach out to gently and slowly touch his upper arm. Credence finally allowed his eyes to meet hers and was overwhelmed by the encouraging gentleness he saw there.
Queenie smiled at the eye contact and said, “It would be so great of you to help us. I’d personally really appreciate it.”
He was unsure what actual help he could be considering he had never tasted anything like what they had in their store, but he didn’t want to let her down and she really seemed like she wanted his help. His eyes darted around as he searched for an answer, but his curiosity won out in the end and he gave a soft nod.
“Excellent! Thank you so much! You won’t regret it. Actually you might regret it, because my honey sometimes comes up with some weird ideas,” Queenie continued to babble as she gently led Credence into the bakery and past the counter and into the back room. Upon reaching it she guided him to a stool calling out, “Jacob! Get over here! I’ve found us a taste tester!”
“Comin’!” Another voice called out. Credence gave a little smile. It sounded like a friendly voice.
A second later, another flour coated person came from around a corner. The man bustled up to Credence and immediately took his hand in the warmest handshake Credence had ever experienced. The man’s smile lit up his whole being and Credence couldn’t help but return it as he felt his own body suffuse with a type of warmth he hadn’t felt… ever.
“Well, well, well! I know you! The name’s Jacob. I’m so glad you decided to finally drop in! I was worried you’d stare a hole right through the glass, the way you was always lookin’ at all of those pastries!” Finally letting go of Credence’s hand, Jacob stepped back a pace and put an arm around Queenie.
Credence’s eyes widened and he shook his head emphatically, “Oh no, Sir. I w-wouldn’t have done that. I promise.”
Jacob chuckled and patted him on the shoulder. “Nah, I know you wouldn’t have. I’d be real impressed if you could actually stare holes through glass, though! Also, I don’t think anyone’s called me ‘sir’ in the history of my life, so you probably shouldn’t start now. Like I said, the name’s Jacob. What’s yours?”
“Credence, Si-Jacob.”
“Well, Credence, it’s wonderful to make your acquaintance! You’re gonna be our new taste tester, huh?”
Credence looked at Queenie who smiled and nodded encouragingly. “I-I suppose, sir. Jacob. Although, I-I don’t think I’ll be any good. I have no experience.”
Jacob scoffed and waved his hands. “Nonsense! You’ll be fantastic! Queenie always has a real good eye for people, so I know she’s picked the right person for the job. Now, before you can become our official taster, you’ll need to try a bit of what we already make so you can compare the flavors!”
Credence was then placed at a table and several plates were put in front of him, all of which had small samples of the magical looking delicacies that he had spent so many occasions staring at longingly. His fingers shook as he took hold of the fork handed to him and he had to grip more tightly to keep from shaking too badly. The first bite he took was indescribable. He had never tasted anything like it before. The outside of the pastry was slightly crusty, but the inside was what Jacob called ‘caramel creme’. So that’s what caramel tasted like.
Credence ducked his head in surprised horror as he felt tears start to fall. “S-sorry, I don’t mean to cause a fuss. It’s just I’ve n-never tasted… anything like this before. It’s… it’s wonderful.” While he was quickly trying to wipe his eyes, he didn’t notice Queenie and Jacob shooting concerned glances at each other.
Jacob patted him on the shoulder again and laughed, “Well, I’m glad I’m already meeting your approval! I never knew my stuff was good enough to bring tears to someone’s eyes. I’ll have’ta start chargin’ extra! Now, we don’t want to overwhelm the taste buds, so here’s a little milk to cleanse your pallet. Why don’t we try some quiche next? Get some savory in with that sweet!”
Credence eventually left the store, full of the most wonderful food he had ever eaten. He actually felt a little sick from all the sugar. He wasn’t used to his stomach being so full. There were so many more pastries to try that Jacob and Queenie had made him promise to come by again the next day in order to ‘keep the ball rolling,’ as Jacob had put it.