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The weather in Magix was finally winding down from its unusually warm autumn season. There were only a few weeks until winter would finally come, meaning that there was even less time until Bloom’s birthday. In true over-the- top Stella fashion, Stella decided to celebrate her girlfriend’s birthday for the entire week leading up to December 10th.
For the first day of the celebration, Stella surprised Bloom with tickets to the cinema. They skipped their classes at Alfea and went to see a romantic comedy that Bloom had been talking about for ages.
On the second day, Stella gave Bloom a charm bracelet with three charms: a dragon, a flame, and a sun. Bloom put it on as soon as she got it, kissing Stella on the cheek as her thank you.
Now the third day was here and Stella wanted to do something extra special for her girlfriend. Although the last two surprises were things Bloom enjoyed, they were material items, and Stella wanted to give Bloom something from the heart. Since leaving Solaria, Stella had to learn to do chores on her own instead of relying on the castle staff to do things for her. So far, she knew how to do the laundry and clean up after herself, but cooking was an art she had yet to master.
Stella didn’t want to push herself too hard, so she settled on making one of Bloom’s favorites: pizza. It couldn’t be that difficult, all she had to do was put the sauce and cheese on the crust and then she was done.
Okay, so maybe she wasn’t making it from scratch, but this was a start. Much more meaningful than having something delivered, right?
Stella wasn’t sure how it happened. Everything was going perfectly: the crust was thick just the way Bloom liked it, the sauce spread evenly, and Stella had just enough cheese to cover the whole pizza. She popped it in the oven, mentally logging what time the pizza had to be out by, and then went to pick out an outfit for when Bloom returned to the dorm.
She might’ve lost track of time choosing between a navy dress and an army green one when the distinct smell of burning wafted into the room. Stella dropped the dresses and bolted for the kitchen, her plight of what to wear no longer important.
“Oh no!” Stella exclaimed.
Smoke was tumbling out of the oven, a small orange flame visible from the tiny window. Stella looked around the kitchen, her heart beating as she tried to find a way to stop the fire. A towel? A glass of water? Turning the oven off? Magic ?
In a panic, Stella shot a beam of sun toward the oven, which fueled the flame and broke the oven’s glass.
Stella gasped, “Griselda’s going to kill me!”
Just as Stella was going to fill a glass of water, Bloom entered the kitchen. Through all of the commotion, Stella must not have heard her come in.
“Stop, I’ve got this!” Bloom said, waving her hand in a circle, sending flurries of magic toward the fire.
Stella watched as the fire shrunk, then disappeared in a burst of yellow sparkles.
“Are you okay? What happened?”
Stella sighed, then sank to the floor,” I was cooking you pizza, you know. For your birthday celebration.”
“Stella,” Bloom sat down next to her. “You cooked for me?”
“Well, I tried to,” Stella whined. “But then I got distracted and set the whole thing on fire! If you hadn’t come I don’t know what would’ve happened.”
Bloom put a hand on top of Stella’s, “You were getting a glass of water, that was a start. You have better intuition than you think.”
“Pfft, I know that,” Stella said, faking a laugh. “I just don’t think sometimes. I’ve been so focused on impressing you and making this the best birthday ever. Oh, Bloom,” Stella leaned in and rested her head on her girlfriend’s chest. “I just wanted to do something nice for you.
“Stella,” Bloom ran her fingers through Stella’s hair. “I love you for who you are, not because of what you do for me.”
Stella hummed, turning up and batting her eyelashes at Bloon, “Tell me, what do you like about me?”
Bloom laughed, then kissed Stella on the forehead, “Never change, Stella.”