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“Wow, TouTou, this is good!" Aiura said, licking the frosting off her fork. "I could eat this all day, if it wouldn’t go straight to my-”
‘Don’t even start.’
Akechi chuckled.
“Thank you! I’m so glad that you enjoy my baking. I don’t get much feedback on it, aside from my mother and Kusuo-kun, and it is mostly tailored to my tastes. But regardless, it’s managed to be Kusuo-kun’s favorite.”
“Wait, for real?” she said, turning to face him and letting her fork drop from her hand. “Ol’ Kusuo’s favorite baking is that of his lov-e-ly boyfriend?”
‘I don’t see what the big deal is,’ he projected, continuing to eat.
"I think it's super sweet how you're all like, 'I hate everything except for my Momma, TouTou and his cake!' Especially 'cause you're all tsun-tsun all the time!"
He still didn't see what the big deal was. He figured cake was cake, and if his favorite happened to be Akechi's, what did it matter? It was good and that's all there was to it.
"Well, Kusuo-kun doesn't hate everything and everyone, seeing how he still tolerates certain people and is a fan of other desserts beside my cake, but I'm still quite flattered that he enjoys it to this extent. Especially because I'm not the best baker-"
I beg to differ.
"-and strawberry cake isn't even his favorite type of cake. Perhaps it might be the sentimental aspect of it? I can't see any other reason for him to appear so enamored every time I make it. Even as I'm baking, he always insists on trying the frosting and eating a few strawberries before I've even put the cake in the oven! It's truly entertaining, and I can easily say that's my favorite part of baking," he said, picking up his own plate and placing it in the sink.
"Aww, you guys-"
'Wait, what do you mean the 'sentimental aspect' of it?'
Akechi walked out of the kitchen, seemingly laughing quietly to himself, knowing darn well that Aiura would more than happily explain it to him.
"So, what TouTou means is that, since you guys are in lovey-dovey-love-love, you might think his cake is better than it actually is. And like, that's fine! It's super cutesy-patootsie, so you don't have to worry about it," she said, giggling and continuing to eat her cake.
Well, now he had to ponder that for a second.
It definitely was as good as he made it out to be, right?
Of course it is.
Because he wouldn't be ridiculous like that.
His cake was good. It was more than good. It tasted like strawberries, as any good strawberry cake should, but it wasn't sour, and he never tasted the tartness he did when his mother attempted it on occasion. The frosting was smooth and fresh, and he could’ve sworn he did something special to it. There was an edge to the flavor that he could always taste, but ironically, the name of it was stuck on the tip of his tongue. Trying to figure out what it was, he supposed, was reason enough to keep eating.
And then there were these sharp, sweet ruffles he pressed into the edges of the cake with a spoon, that he drew on every cake, careful and precise, when combined with the best of frosting-
Okay, maybe he was getting a little too into it. But could you blame him, really…?
‘Please don’t use the phrase ‘lovey-dovey-love-love,’ I’d like to enjoy my slice of cake in peace,’ he projected, taking another bite.
“You’re not dennnyyyying iiiiiiiiiit…”
Good cake is good cake.
Knowing she’d persist as long as he would, (if he truly cared, of course) so he decided to drop the subject for now.
Besides, he wanted to enjoy his cake.
********************
Saiki sat down at Aiura’s dinner table, fancy little doilies spread around.
“Okay…”
Aiura walked in formation, two lopsided crocheted chef’s hats resting on both her head and Akechi’s, as Akechi stood across the table from Akechi.
She stopped in front of him and slammed her hands on the table.
“Me and Tou-Tou have gathered you here-”
‘To torture me…?’
“So quick with your quips of sarcasm, Kusuo-kun! While I don’t necessarily Miko-chan’s attempt at being intimidating-”
“Hey!”
“-I do find it to be rather comedic. Not nearly as comedic as this whole situation we’ve found ourselves in, now, mind you. While torture could be one of the very many reasons we could’ve brought you here in such a frenzy, I highly doubt we could successfully imobilize you long enough to subject you to anything to even be considered a kind of torture, powers or no powers. No, and even if we could, I doubt you’d be caught by surprise; my thoughts are often carried in great volume, and I personally believe for the average person, thoughts might either be more streamlined and loud, or even frantic. But in either case, you’d easily be able to find out if one of us were planning on harming you in any way. Also, why would we? I doubt we’d have any sort of reason to harm you in the first place, whether we could or not. Suppose it were sadistic curiosity, I doubt we could find the confidence and inhumanness to tie you down to hurt you. I think, in the worst case scenario, we-”
“Okay, Tou-Tou… I love ya, but you’re going waaaaay off track there.”
Good thing she said something before she did.
“We’re gonna have you try some cake.”
Saiki sighed.
“Ayy, what’s that face for?!”
‘I already know what you’re doing.’
Akechi and Aiura had been persistent about the whole “affectionate favoring” ordeal. At school and at their respective houses, they kept bringing it up, saying how they should have him try a bunch of different cakes.
And now, they’d finally given him free cake as promised.
“Come on! At least act a little excited that I’m gracing you with my incredibly skilled baking,” she said, making flourishing hand gestures.
She pushed a slice of strawberry cake, the top graced with sliced strawberries, in front of him.
“Go on, it won’t bite,” she muttered in between sarcastic giggles.
He rolled his eyes at her little joke and took a neat, careful bite of the cake.
…
“Well…?”
‘It’s good.’
…
“Buuuut…?!”
“It’s not as good as his,’ he projected, pointing to Akechi as he fell to the sudden compliment.
Aiura began to cackle as Akechi’s face heated up.
“Th-This-! She made- I tried it, and it certainly tasted better than mine-! You still think mine is…?”
“Hahahahaha! You killed him!” she said, leaning on the table and chuckling still.
“No! He- I truly didn’t think he’d still f-favor my own cake to yours,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck.
‘You’re been baking longer, so it’s going to be better. It’s probably the experience.’
…
“Kusuo, I’ve been baking for three years.”
…
‘And he…?’
“Six months, Kusuo-kun.”
…
Saiki sighed.
He took another bite as Aiura started laughing again.
“Wow, it’s truly such an honor that I can stand to her culinary skills, especially due to my lack of experience! I never thought my desserts would be so heavily favored over someone else's, no offense to Miko-chan, by anyone, really; even though I know it’s more the aspect of familiarity and bias than true skill on my part. And while I…”
And off he goes again. They’re lucky cake is part of the deal.
They weren’t the ones being spared in this case.
********************
‘Isn’t the notebook a bit much…?’
“Nope,” said Aiura, tapping a purple pen on the top of the page. “It’s for research purposes.”
They were seated in a cafe, sitting across from each other. She’d gotten him to go, again, at the promise of free cake.
Free cake got him to do a lot of things.
“Now Kusuo…”
Well, that was fast.
“Like, I totes understand that you’re a taken man and all, and I think you are absolutely adorbs with Tou-Tou…”
…
“Stop it with the death glare! Anyway, this isn’t a date or anything, I-”
‘I know. I know exactly what you’re doing.’
Aiura laughed.
“Alrighty, even better. This is a cafe that has been in several magazine articles. They are famous for their cake. Chocolate, lemon, vanilla, and-”
‘Strawberry…?’
“Yuppers! So you-”
‘And you’re paying for this little ‘experiment’ of yours, I presume.’
“Yes, Kusuo! So stingy, God… Anyway, drink your coffee, and then you try the cake, and I will study you like a funky little rat and write down what you think about the cake. And I got some too, so I’ll know if you’re lying or not.”
He rolled his eyes.
They waited for the cake to arrive, Aiura quickly filling the time by talking about Akechi and stuff they did in and out of school, which she knew was one of the only things that would keep his attention without making him want to murder her.
And then it arrived, and Aiura clapped and set the cake down in front of him.
‘You are way too excited about this.’
“Ay, it’s a cake date with the bestie! The only better thing I could think of is if I didn’t have to pay for the damn thing,” she said, chuckling and ignoring as he rolled his eyes for the umpteenth time.
She eagerly scooped up a bite, washing it down with a swig of milk.
“Ooh, it’s good! I get what all those articles were saying… Did you try it yet?”
Saiki nodded, taking a third bite.
“So…?”
She looked up from her fork.
“It’s good.”
She blinked rapidly.
“Buuuuuuuuuut?”
She leaned in.
‘I don’t know what you want me to say…’
She continued glaring at him, waving her hands expectantly.
“So is it…?”
He took a sip of coffee.
‘I have my favorite-’
“Aha-!”
‘-And I doubt I’ll change it.’
“I knew it! Why though?”
‘Do you think the mass-produced cafe, day-old cake slice is better than Akechi’s…?’
…
“It’s not stale-”
‘Hmm.’
“Don’t tell him! Please! It’s just- It’s a little smidge! A teeny weeny smidgen, I promise!”
Saiki rolled his eyes and took another sip of coffee.
“Kusuo- Kusuo, pretty please…?”
He sighed and nodded.
“Oh, thank God. I didn’t want to break his little heart,” she said, pressing her hand to her chest. “Actually, he’d probably be okay, but it’d break my little heart.”
She sighed and swirled her milk around, peering into the cup.
Welly welly well, seems ol’ Kusuo stayed strong in this one. This wasn’t worth it. I mean, I waited in line that long for this? I mean, it’s good, but for our little experiment, I don’t feel like I got my money’s worth. But if- Shit! Kusuo, stop listening!
‘Hmm?’
“I can’t plot if you’re listening in on me! Stop it!” she whispered.
‘Don’t plot, then.’
She laughed, taking another sip of milk.
“Silly Kusuo, that’s impossible.”
He rolled his eyes and they continued eating the cake.
They’re going to make me hate cake if this keeps up.
********************
“The final test.”
This test seemed a bit redundant, though not too obnoxious, all things considered. A benefit of sorts, at the very least, for the trouble. Akechi had provided a wordy explanation, but Aiura had managed to shorten it to an over-dramatic phrase that got the point across, he figured.
Saiki was seated at the table at Akechi’s– he’d come full circle– with a slice of strawberry cake placed in front of him.
He’d had to decline –and accept– several invitations to cafes; both with Akechi and with Aiura, to sample the infamous strawberry cake that frankly, he was getting tired of. (The only reason he’d ever even considered declining, was to keep the cake from getting stale.)
“I apologize for having to drag you around all week, but it truly was for ‘research,’ as we claimed. And since you didn’t have to pay for most of it, though we did insist on it a few times, and you bent over backwards to return it…”
Saiki only glared at him.
“...I still feel a bit guilty for monopolizing so much of your free time. Though I promise, we only require one last piece of data,” Akechi said, smiling and gesturing to the slice of cake in front of him.
A supposedly final slice of strawberry cake; fully garnished and decorated, complete with Akechi’s signature ruffled frosting and a cup of coffee.
Akechi and Aiura stared intently.
Try the cake try the cake try the cake try the cake try the cake try the cake try the cake try the cake try the cake try the cake-
Akechi’s thoughts were no more coherent.
Saiki scooped up a piece and…
The same familiar flavor of something that he loved so much flooded his senses; a completely different sensation than coffee jelly, and though he still argued in its favor, the cake was a close match to the amount of joy it brought. Though, he had had Akechi’s coffee jelly before, and nobody could argue with his opinion of that one.
Finally…
“...usuo!”
‘Eh?’
“You’re almost halfway done with the slice! Like, I knew you liked it, but goddamn!” Aiura yelled, laughing and setting her own plate down.
“So, Kusuo-kun, now that you’ve, um, very thoroughly experienced the slice of cake, clearly savoring it much more and much longer than we originally expected, what would you say about it? Any comments or feedback about the flavor, the presentation, anything else…? Would you still consider it your favorite…?”
Saiki sighed.
‘My opinion holds firm-’
“Awwwww…”
‘-and stop with the ‘aw,’ it’s not that big of a deal.’
“Oh, Kusuo-kun…”
Akechi chuckled and walked over to Saiki.
‘What are you-’
“You are the absolute sweetest, Kusuo-kun,” he said, wrapping his arms around his shoulders and cuddling up to him. “I can nearly see the affection radiating from you…”
‘What are you talking about…?’ he projected, leaning back.
“You were truly blinded by love, in this particular instance, and for you to be so easily swayed by-”
‘What- Okay, what are you laughing at…?’
Aiura had been quietly giggling for the past few minutes, but she’d gotten louder as Akechi went on.
“You are an adorable idiot, Kusuo,” she said, snickering.
‘I have no clue what you’re talking about. Both of you, now tell me.’
“Akechi only frosted the cake.”
And now he noticed a flavor that he didn’t like, that seemed to mysteriously appear as this new piece of information was given.
‘So you made the…?’
Aiura nodded, cracking up at this point.
‘Gotcha.’
“I can’t- Hey, where’d he go?”
Saiki was gone, along with the slice of cake.
“Hahaha, we win, Tou-Tou!” Aiura yelled in triumph as Akechi straightened out.
“I suppose we overwhelmed him with embarrassment. I didn’t think he’d react so childishly, but I suppose some things can’t be helped. It’s not very often that he’s proven wrong on matters so irrelevant such as this, though, so we can’t really expect…”
Saiki sat on his bed, with the cruel, haunting knowledge that his refined tongue did in fact fail from time to time.