sweetdevil | 79th ♫ | the two of us aren't really considered a pair, but i think we could get there!

They were made for me by you, so of course they'll be perfect. [ It's not as if she could give him anything worse than what Power and Denji have made for him in the past, all things considered.

Shaking his head, not necessarily wanting to indulge her this much but being unable to resist, and he leans down to take a bite of the cake pop.

Just for her. He's... So totally whipped. ]

It's good. I knew it would be.

[ At that, her face lights up with a grin - half bashful, half the cheeky satisfaction of having gotten her way. Not that she has to push particularly hard when it comes to Aki. ]

See? Aren't you glad you tried one, then?

[ He really is so cute it's unfair. Before he can pull back, she rises up on her toes and presses another quick kiss to his cheek. Sneak attack! ]

Alright! What else can I finish off while you're doing the chocolate?

[ The sneak attack has him smiling, a fondness to him - he leans forward before she can pull away too far, to slide their mouths together in a soft, slow kiss, hands held away from her so he doesn't stain her with the icing that he's working on.

He just can't resist her, it seems.

When he's done, he turns back to the cake and licks his lips. ]

Did you want to decorate it in any other way?

Mm... I was kind of thinking of trying that sort of... what do you call it... that chocolate icing that isn't icing exactly? But it's all shiny and smooth when you see it on top of cakes.

[ A chocolate ganache. Once again, you have to admire her commitment to being overambitious... ]

But the idea I had was... [ Her sheepish smile is back. ] I wanted to go half with the pink chocolate and half with the shiny icing over the top of the cake. I thought it'd look pretty. But now...

[ She eyeballs the remains left behind by her scavenging what she could for the cake pops. There's enough cake left to maybe squish together into a couple of cupcakes, if they're careful. ]

It probably wouldn't work on what's left, right?

Like a ganache? That's an advanced technique, Ai, so maybe we should stick with basic frosting for now. We can research a proper recipe later.

[ Aki looks around at the remains of the ingredients, her attempts to do something nice for him, and feels himself soften around the edges. She's so cute, so sweet to him, and it makes his expression settle into something painfully fond.

He really does adore her. ]

How about on White Day we work together to make that cake of your dreams?

[ So he can return the gesture. ]

It is? [ She sounds so incredibly, audibly relieved. ] Phew...! I'd been looking at all kinds of recipes and I could barely make any sense of them so I was like "hold on, am I regressing here? I'm losing my baking skills!".

[ She giggles to herself as she makes her way over with her revived cake pops, ready for decorating. ]

It's a deal, then. We'll make the real thing on White Day. Heehee, or I guess it's a date, huh?

[ She grins at him. ]

Maybe by then I'll have enough practice to get it right first try!

No, it's something that professional bakers use. Store bought will be okay, at least until we've learned what sort of thing we want to make together.

[ Gathering the ingredients, he starts to prepare things properly, to make a good frosting, and then he turns.

Shifting his body, he leans down to kiss her, long and slow, tasting of sugar. ]

It's a date. I'll make you the best cake that I've ever made in my entire life, and we can decorate it together.

Ahah... I guess that saying about shooting for the moon and ending up in the stars isn't always true... I got a little over my head.

[ But... somehow, now, she's glad for it. It would've been fun to surprise Aki with a perfectly made cake but that would've been more about herself than it would've been him. It would've been about showing off a little and making herself feel good about it. Like this, with them actually working together... it's more fun. And she thinks Aki's enjoying himself too.

When he kisses her, it's not because of the sugar that it ends up tasting so sweet. ]

Heehee. Now you're the one shooting for the moon. But I bet you'll pull it off.

[ She presses one last quick kiss to his lips before turning back to their work and making a big show of rolling her sleeves back up. ]

Okay then...! Show me how to make this frosting and I'll have it nailed by White Day. I guarantee it!

It means you cared enough to try to do that kind of thing. That's enough for me.

[ For Aki, it's the thought that counts. It's rare, in the past, for anyone to care enough about him to go through this kind of effort, so he appreciates being thought about at all. A childhood of being second best to Taiyo has left him a little embittered, but... This is healing his heart, just enough.

Their noses press, and Aki laughs softly. ]

I'll try and impress you.

[ Tugging her close, he slots her between his body and the counter, leaning over her shoulder to guide her. ]

Follow my lead.

[ Wow, uh - she's pretty used to being with Aki and being touched by Aki, but having him pressed up against her back like that makes her all of a sudden very overly aware how how much taller and stronger Aki is than her. A laugh tumbles out of her - she can't help it. ]

Jeez...! I'll do my best but how am I supposed to concentrate like this?

[ She shoots him a little grin over her shoulder. ]

If I get distracted, it'll be all your fault, sensei.

The same way you concentrate all the other times. This isn't different from that

[ It's definitely different.

Leaning in, he kisses the top of her head - she's so small - before he turns her back towards the focus in the evening, the decoration she wants to use on their remaining cake. ]

You need to start by adding the ingredients together.

Pfft. Right, sure. Not different at all.

[ But she'll be good for now. Besides, if she can focus properly while they're like this then she'll have cooking in the bag for sure...! ]

Alright... do they need to go in any order? Or is it just, everything at one, then mix to combine?

[ The fact that she's even thinking to ask that is progress itself... ]

It's just icing, so it's fine to mix them all together. For other things, the order does matter.

[ He motions for her to make a start, letting her take charge. ]

We can even colour it, if you wanted to.

Alright then...!

[ In they go...! For all that she'd joked about him being a distraction, it almost seems like having Aki more or less supervising her is helping her confidence a bit. She's a lot more relaxed as she tosses everything in - careful to not make a mess, of course - and gets mixing. ]

I was thinking pink might look cute... but is that a little too on the nose for Valentines?

Pink is fine.

[ Aki watches her, careful, and resists the urge to start cleaning up the rest of the kitchen as she mixes the icing. It's not a hard job, so she doesn't really need his supervision, but... ]

It'll be cute.

[ She flashes him a smile over her shoulder. ]

Heehee. Alright. Pink it is! It looks pretty good paired with brown, huh? Don't they say a lot of what you taste comes down to how the food looks, too?

[ Despite her chattering away, she's not losing focus on the task at hand. Definitely an improvement from prior attempts! ]

Appearance can make the food feel more appealing, but so does the smell.

[ Smiling, his eyes remain fond as he looks at her. ]

I'm sure decoration will become your forte.

Heehee, you think? You see all kinds of fancy icing on SNS these days... cakes and cookies and chocolates made up all pretty and fancy to look like something else... then again, I always think - sure, they're pretty, but do they actually taste good? That's the most important part, right? Mm, but if me and you are working together on something, I think we could manage it.

[ Icing... mostly prepped! It's come together just fine and its worst crime is having a bit of an uneven coloring. Leaps and bounds of improvement for Ai. ]

Oooh, it's looking pretty cute already...!

79th ♫ | the two of us aren't really considered a pair, but i think we could get there!

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