Chapter Text
A petite man made of what looked to be some kind of white cake stepped out of the ferry that had stopped at a faraway isle, farther than he had ever been before. He was finally here; he had saved and scraped as much as he could for the fare and his stay at the island for months (working as a clown where he had come from was not the most gracious job), and when he strolled into the little town there, taking a breath of the fresh, salty air of the coast and the faint scent of baked goods wafting from a distance, he knew he was exactly where he needed to be. He carried a bag with him, in it was some general clown things: treats, tricks, a bike horn and some props, but he also had some opened and well-preserved letters, and a special surprise.
It took a couple minutes of walking, but he finally made it to his final destination, a bakery, and he could hear gleeful humming from inside. He opened the door and it rang a little bell attached, and he went up to the counter, with nobody else in the lobby, although he could hear the humming coming from the kitchen, growing a little louder as the distance was closing between the two men. The clown moved in front of the display to check out the goods in the polished glass case; everything in there was well-organized and perfectly delectable looking. It never really occurred to him the irony of someone made of cake eating cake. Is that considered cannibalism? His pondering and idle viewing was interrupted as the humming he heard was cut off by a gasp.
“Blondie?”
That was the voice of a certain Chef Saltbaker, someone of whom Blondie, the clown, had been pen pals with for around three or four years by now, after they both responded to an advert on a newspaper with their correspondences. They became fast friends in a matter of just a few letters, and soon that relationship blossomed into something more akin to love interests. General admiration and practical conversation turned to mild flirting, which turned to small gifts, some of which Blondie is carrying in his bag as a constant memento to the very man he was quite honestly crushing on. Hard.
Blondie snapped back to reality, looking up at the man greeting him, a tall salt shaker who would look intimidating if it weren’t for his rounded features and pleasant demeanor. He seemed a little tired, and he was covered in flour from his work. Before Blondie had time to fully process anything, however, he was in the chef’s arms with a big poof of flour, suspended in the air; if he had bones, a few of them would have popped in the embrace.
"What are you doing here? I thought I'd never see you!" Chef Saltbaker exclaimed, hugging the clown tighter.
"I know, I should have let you know beforehand, but I wanted to surprise you, I couldn't help it!" Blondie replied, hugging him back with the same amount of gusto. He noticed that, despite him being made of glass, Chef Saltbaker radiated warmth, and he could hear the clink of a glass heartbeat as his head was pressed to the baker's chest. It was incredibly pleasant.
"It's okay," The baker reassured, putting Blondie back down on the floor gently. "I'm just going to have to finish my work and close up shop. Do you mind waiting for me?"
"Not at all, in fact, would you mind if I helped you?"
"I wouldn't mind in the slightest! I could always do well with some extra hands. Have you worked in the kitchen before? I don't remember you mentioning it."
"I used to for a while, before I got into clowning. Oh! I have something for you…" Blondie trailed off as he opened his bag to pull out a surprisingly, immaculately un-crushed bouquet of roses. "I know it's cheesy, but I found a nice flower shop on the way to the ferry and I couldn't resist."
Chef Saltbaker was taken aback for a moment, as though this were a first for him. The smile Blondie got in response was practically ear-to-ear, if he had them. "These are perfect! I actually needed some roses for a recipe, and I know exactly where to put the rest of them."
Lo and behold, an empty vase sat on top of the display case, seemingly undisturbed for quite some time. The baker put the entire bouquet in the vase, and then took a couple roses out of it to store for later. "I'll add some water to them later. For now, follow me?"
And Blondie complied with a nod, following Chef Saltbaker into the kitchen. From the looks of it, he was kneading dough on the counter when Blondie arrived. "Thankfully, you had some perfect timing. This just needs to be wrapped up to set in the refrigerator, and then we can start closing. I do-- oh!"
Before Chef Saltbaker had even requested it, Blondie was already digging in a box of latex gloves, retrieving himself a pair. "Hm?"
…
The baker and the clown both made quick work of closing the bakery, only taking about an hour or so on the task before they were done. There wasn't much conversation during, perhaps some questions and direction in reply and some small talk, but that was about it. With a relieved sigh from both of the men, for a job well done, Saltbaker turns to Blondie.
“Now, would you like to go out somewhere? There’s a park nearby, a couple of bookstores and shops like that, let’s see…” The baker trailed off, tapping a finger to his chin as his mind absolutely blanked on anything else to treat his sudden date to.
“Wherever you see fit! If they’re close enough, we could take a walk through the park and then maybe visit a couple shops. As long as I get to catch up with you. It’s been a while since you've written.”
“Ah, yes, I’m sorry about that. It’s been… busy,” Saltbaker replied, dodging entirely how he had been busy. Blondie doesn’t need to know that yet. “But that sounds like a plan! … I should get changed first, though. And I think you might need to, as well.”
Blondie looked down at his uniform to realize that he had somehow managed to get flour all over him during the closing process. Thank goodness Saltbaker was kind enough to point it out, and they both shared an exchange of laughter over it. Blondie also thanked goodness that he had enough changes of clothes packed as he was led upstairs to the Chef’s home adjacent to the bakery, to a small bathroom where he could quickly change.
He was so lost in thought as he fixated on picking an outfit to change to, his head was spinning. Blondie never thought he’d ever get to be within Saltbaker’s presence, let alone his home , and it felt almost unreal. It was like a fairytale ending; it seemed too good to be true, and yet it was happening right before his eyes. And yet, he could feel this small pit in his stomach. He couldn’t help but to have that slight nagging feeling that this happiness of his could blow up in his face like a faulty jack-in-the-box. He pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind, however, when he was finished getting dressed and looked at himself in the mirror. He wore a breathable white blouse with short, puffy sleeves and a rounded collar, with a lovely pink bowtie, and a pair of herringbone trousers, cuffed at the bottoms to reveal his polka-dotted socks and his brown Mary Janes. It was perfect for a park date, in his opinion.
Exiting the bathroom, Blondie found that Saltbaker was nowhere in sight, and with befuddlement, he went downstairs to the bakery’s kitchen to find him standing, idly in wait. He was dressed in a button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a simple pair of black slacks, red neckerchief still tied. When he turned to greet Blondie again, he was frozen in awe.
He was so damned cute, the baker thought, white-knuckling in his attempts not to look too flustered over his love interest's appearance.
"What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost," Blondie asked, face furled in a concerned frown.
"Nothing!" Chef Saltbaker replied, nervous laughter ensuing. "It's just… you look lovely, Blondie. I'm very happy to finally see you."
Blondie was clearly flushed by that comment, fidgeting with his hands together in front of him. "T-thank you! You look lovely as well, Chef."
"Shall we?" He extended a hand to the clown, silently asking him to take it.
"Mhm!" Blondie replied, taking his hand with glee, and then they were off on their way to the park.
The park was more like a botanical garden with more open space, vibrant with diverse vegetation, with a well-beaten trail that traversed the park in a way that if you were to walk the whole path, you'd be able to see the park in its entirety. There were plenty of benches, a fountain at its center, and a rather nice playground. The weather was a little bright and hot, but that was okay!
After touring the park, Blondie started to get winded, so they took a short break on a nearby bench.
"This was a splendid idea," Blondie said, "I haven't been to a park like this in years. I bet it feels good for you to get some fresh air, as well."
"It certainly does! As much as I love the bakery, I often forget that I need a break from it sometimes."
"Are you still reading in your spare time? I've found it's a perfect way to destress when you don't have the energy to take a walk."
"Yes, but not as much as I used to. I should get back to reading, though; I'm still working on the series you recommended to me -- the name escapes me."
"The romance one?"
"Mhm, the one with the murder mystery."
"That was … fiddlesticks, it's been years since I read it, and I forgot the name, too. But I'm glad you got into it!"
"I'm glad you told me about it," Chef Saltbaker said. "How's the clowning business going, by the way?"
"Ugh! Don't get me started," Blondie replied, eliciting a laugh from the baker in response. "A couple weeks ago, a kid somehow got to my bag and slashed all of my balloons, and there was no way for me to prove it was them. I've been kicked around and thrown out of three different parties, not to mention the insults… Clowning is hard. I love the job, don't get me wrong, but… I think it's just where I live. Nobody has any empathy or a sense of humor there."
"I see. I'm sorry you keep getting treated that way, you don't deserve it at all."
"Thank you, but it's okay. I may look delicate, but this lil guy's tougher than you might think!" Blondie flexes his arm to punctuate himself.
"My, so strong!" Chef Saltbaker chuckled, reaching out to touch Blondie's bicep, but he recoiled at the last second. "Sorry, I should ask before…"
"Says the man who picked me up and hugged me at first sight," Blondie joked. "It's okay, Chef. You're allowed to touch me."
He hesitated, but the baker placed his hand upon the clown's arm, gently gripping it to test the muscle only to realize how absolutely soft he was, and then he slid his hand down to interlock fingers with Blondie. They made eye contact for a moment, and the romantic tension could be cut with a butter knife. Then, with half-lidded eyes, Blondie made the first move towards a kiss, and Chef Saltbaker accepted it earnestly.
Blondie got that same dizzying feeling he felt every time he so much as thought about the chef, except much more intense, lingering in his heart, his head, his hands, his lips… everything lit up like white heat, like ignited tannerite. Euphoria. Euphoria is what he felt, Blondie thought as Chef Saltbaker's hands moved to his waist, making him practically melt at his touch with a faint hum, and Blondie responded by placing a hand upon Chef Saltbaker's cheek. He wanted this kiss to last forever, but like all good things, it finally broke.
"Th- thank you for that," Saltbaker said with a bashful quiver in his voice that made Blondie smile and blush. "I know we've flirted on and off in our letters, but I didn't want to assume you felt that way about me. I mean, I'm not the most attractive person--"
Oh, if only he knew, Blondie thought."Are you kidding? You're… amazing, Chef. Handsome. I don't want you to sell yourself short like that again. And I… really do like you. I care about you. Ever since your first letter, I was drawn to you. Why do you think I tried to keep in contact with you for so long, and kept trying and trying to save to come here and visit you?"
Saltbaker was surprised by that, raising his eyebrows and blushing wildly. "That makes sense, yes! I.. I've… gosh, Blondie, I've taken a liking to you for such a long time… I'm so glad you're here."
"I'm glad I'm here, too."
A moment of silence, not awkward silence, but peaceful, pleasant silence was shared between the two.
"So, uhm, wanna visit one of those bookstores you told me about?"
"Definitely."
After a lovely afternoon of walking back through the park, checking out the local bookstore and even visiting a nice boutique that had caught Blondie's eye, the sun was beginning to set. They were making their way back to the bakery, holding hands as they walked.
"It's starting to get late, do you have a place to sleep during your stay?"
"Oh! Well, to be honest, I hadn't thought of that, ahah. Is there a hotel or something like that around here?"
"There is an inn here, but… I was wondering if you'd like to stay over at mine?"
"I wouldn't want to impose," Blondie said, nervously.
"No, it's no trouble! I'd be happy to have you."
"Well, in that case," Blondie replied, giving the chef's hand a gentle squeeze, "I'd love for you to have me."