Sweets

Author: Seth
 
"I always find it funny that people spend so much time and effort creating something that's bad for your health. Then I take a bite of the cake and I stop caring."

“Why are we doing this, again?”

“Because it’s Shin’s birthday,” Naebi replied swiftly.

“I know that,” Ryuu grumbled, peering blearily around the Militia’s large cooking facility, “I mean why are we doing this?” The teen poked a whisk mistrustfully. “I’m not a baker.”

“We’re doing this,” The short mage punctuated her words by rapping her knuckles on her lazy friend’s wrist, “because we’re his friends. It’s his birthday, he deserves a birthday cake.”

With those words, the Bean started puttering around the kitchen with industrial zeal, reclaiming various ingredients from their ground level cubbies.

“Kitsuno,” The tiny girl called as she struggled to pull a sack of flour from its resting place next to an equally large sack of potatoes, “could you grab me a couple of mixing bowls and a cake tin? They should be in the cupboard above the icebox. And get that lazy butt who calls himself our Captain to give me a hand here while you’re at it.” She grunted as the sack adamantly refused to budge an inch.

“I’m still here you know.” Ryuu grumbled, slightly irked at his friend’s (intentional) lack of tact.

“So?” Naebi quirked an eyebrow, trying not to laugh at Ryuu’s ensuing pout.

“Better do what she wants,” Kitsuno chuckled, shoving his Captain towards the Bean, “or she’ll take you to a salad bar the next time she wants to go shopping.” The Hiwa prince walked off to get the required utensils.

“Well maybe I could get Fuu…” Naebi turned around and just gave the brunette a look, before turning back to the bag of finely ground grain.

Ryuu shuddered. He knew that look. Sighing in resignation, the teenager shuffled over and helped Naebi tug the bag of flour free from its claustrophobic prison. After hauling the bag of flour onto the table, Naebi strode over to one of the many drawers that lined the kitchen and rolled it out. Reaching in, she pulled out a fresh whisk and a spatula.

“Ok,” The young water mage said as she walked over and popped open the icebox. “Since you’re so keen on sitting on your rear,” she pulled out a glass bottle of milk and two eggs. “You can be in charge of keeping an eye on the cake while it bakes.”

Ryuu shrugged. It was probably the best he could hope for, all things said.

The kitchen was soon filled with the sound of cracking eggs, stirring whisks, and the soft pop of a fire as Kitsuno melted chocolate in a skillet. Within minutes the cake mix was settling in its tin, which in turn was lying in the cheerily glowing oven, lit earlier by the orange haired hiwajin.

“Make sure you check it in about thirty-five minutes, got it?” Naebi warned as she and Kitsuno set up another bowl and started to mix up a batch of icing.

Ryuu nodded vaguely, waving the two of them off as he pulled up a seat next to the oven, mitts at the ready on counter beside him.

The icing was slow going at first as Naebi kept on shooting hesitant glances at Ryuu, but the job soon consumed her full attention when the batch of all-purpose frosting was done and they set their sights on crafting sugar snowflakes with which to litter the cake.

Perhaps it would have been best if she had kept an eye n the brunette.

“Hey Kitsuno, do you smell that?” The Hiwa prince narrowed his eyes and nodded. “It smells like…” The short girl’s eyes widened and she whirled around. “Ryuu, have you checked-“

Unfortunately her words never reached the young Captain. Lulled by a comfortable chair and the warm oven, Ryuu had drifted off to sleep quite some time before.

Growling at the smoke that was now leaking from the oven, Naebi stomped over to Ryuu, summoning a whirl of water to her finger tips. Standing over her slumbering friend, the redhead let a single drop of water from the giant sphere she’d created drip onto Ryuu’s face.

Slowly, Ryuu cracked open his eyes before freezing, stiff as a board.

“Ummm, I think the cake’s burning…” The brunette mumbled weakly.

“I’m aware of that.” Naebi replied frostily.

“Shouldn’t you, y’know, go save it?” Ryuu offered desperately.

“In a moment~” Naebi lilted oddly. “You take priority~” The giant sphere of water seemed to just… drop.