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Fun Fact! Sonic Boom's favorite desserts are allegedly Tres Leches and Flan! (Submitted by Anonymous Source)

Keeper stared at that line of text for a while.

This was just returning the favor, all it was. Whatever that…favor stemmed from. It circled around Keepers head for a while, the question of why SB would just gift them a bunch of blueberry pies out of nowhere. Was it to ensure their cooperation in figuring out more about M? Was it some sort of round about way to pay her back for giving them advice on confronting Nemesis? Was he trying to put Keeper in some sort of debt to spring on later?

Was it just a gift because…they're friends?

Nah, that can't be right.

"Don't question it."

Sb had said.

"They're for you dumbass."

Well, Keeper is stubborn and will question it immensely. Maybe even interrogate it a bit. But no matter what any line of questioning would bring, the fact of the matter is Keeper had to give something in return. That's all. 

As he searched and typed out the best recipe he could find on Tres Leches, he understood this was just to stay out of debt.

As he sped-walked over to his shop, digging through his supplies for ingredients and silverware meant to sell to people at unreasonable prices; this wasn't a big deal at all.

As he carried the few things he could find over to Amethyst's room at the facility, trusting she would have the skills and resources to make this perfect.

Why did it need to be perfect?

That wasn't an important question, Keeper was always known for the quality of their work. They simply had a standard to uphold, even in the gifts-or…returned favors, they gave to others. Whoever they were.

This was just returning the favor to someone they worked with.

And with that false reality in mind, Keeper knocked rapidly on the door to Amethyst's room with his tail. He could always just click the button and enter but that would be less annoying.

"Damn- hold on a secon-dAMN-" Keeper heard from the inside after a few knocks. Seconds later the sound of someone climbing down a ladder and walking up to the door was heard, before it swung open. Standing there, a polite smile on her face that quickly thinned in a playful annoyance upon seeing who stood opposite her, was Amethyst. 

Her hands were placed onto her hips as she looked at the axolotl with a judgemental look, "It is so not that serious for you to be banging on my door like that." She said, eyeing the sack Keeper was holding in front of them.

There was a beat of silence before, "You're helping me bake." Keeper stated blanky before casually walking into the room past Amethyst, "Move-"

Amethyst blinked, staring as Keeper began to messily place bottles of milk, eggs and sugar onto her countertop. Her eye twitched ever so slightly, "Oh…my God-" She whispered before sighing and beginning to walk over.

"What exactly are we baking?" Amethyst questioned, walking over and fighting to ignore that Keeper was rummaging through her cabinets.

A few seconds of closing and opening drawers passed before the axolotl spoke again, that same blank tone in their voice as if this was a normal thing for them to be doing, "Tres Leches. Is that too fancy for you or?"

" Woah . Okay, hold on, back up-" She walked up, placing a hand on Keeper who hadn't stopped moving things around since he walked in, "First of all, you're not gonna just walk in and make a mess of my kitchen . Second of all, yes I have made Tres Leches thank you very much. Third of al-"

"Great so you can help me bake some."

A deep breath left Amethyst.

"I'm…okay. Okay. Just, stop messing up my counter, and let me get the ingredients. Have some decorum for once in your life." She sighed, realizing the exasperated tone in her voice would have to remain for another couple hours now. For the moment, despite the amused expression on her intruder's face, he seemed to pause his act. With another sigh, Amethyst walked over to the wall beside her ladder, opening a hidden door to reveal a space of extra storage. After a few moments of rummaging through a couple chests, and some inner recollection of the recipe for this dessert, she returned with butter, heavy cream, vanilla and strawberries. 

Keeper, who had re-positioned himself leaning against the counter, had a hint of appreciation enter their expression as they noticed the handful of ingredients. She wasn’t necessarily surprised at the fact she had them readily available, but that she already seemed committed to actually baking this. No questions asked yet. 

“Okay.” Amethyst started, shooing Keeper away and beginning to set the station. Bowls, measuring cups, utensils, all beginning to neatly line the counter. “In the pink bowl there, put flour, baking soda and salt. The measuring cups are right there, while you do that i’m gonna separate the eggs and deal with-KEEPER-”

Mid-instructions, Amethyst turned to see Keeper already, without any measurements, dumping the three ingredients in the bowl. She immediately flicked him in the shoulder to get his attention, which didn’t seem to be received until he finished his act, at this point he glanced over with an uncaring expression.

“Wassup?”

“Wh-are you serious?” Amethyst exclaimed before speaking tauntingly slowly, “Let’s use common sense- when we’re baking..you’re supposed to measure out the ingredients before putting them in the booowl.”

Keeper blinked once. A second time. “Why?”

It was unfathomable the levels of audacity Amethyst was bearing witness to. It was almost a world wonder, that someone like this vessel of lies and terror could exist and live on the same plane of existence as a normal, functionally sane being. How could someone come into her room, ask for her help, use her things, and in under five minutes have already-

Wait.

That’s true wasn’t it.

Keeper…of seemingly her own volition, actually asked Amethyst for help.

She paused, having come to that realization. And another realization followed as her eyes fell to the bowl the three ingredients had been put in, just from eye-balling it…it at least looked like the right amounts. Did…Keeper know how to bake? And bake well ? It wasn’t as if she thought Keeper was a horrible bak- well. No. That’s a lie. In her mind, Keeper would blow up an easy-bake-oven before making a brownie properly. But here she was…doing potentially accurate measurements without a spill on the counter yet, and…they set the oven to preheat to the right temperature, a baking pan had been pulled out and seemingly coated with a cooking spray beside it, and a small towel haphazardly tossed to the side even showed they washed their HANDS! Maybe some of those things were bare-minimum…but the bar was low in Amethyst’s mind.

Taking advantage of that pause, the unbothered axolotl quickly returned to their work, taking the five eggs he brought and separating the whites and yolks in two smaller purple bowls. As his tail pushed the bowl with the whites in (a still processing) Amethyst's direction, he took the box of sugar he brought, and poured about ¾ quarters of a cup of it into the bowl he still had, and began mixing very rapidly.

Without looking over, his tail poked Amethyst arm, “Hello, Can the nurse clock back in please? I know it’s so hard to take your eyes off of me but like, you have a favor to fulfill.”

Any amazement or pleasantry that had entered Amethyst’s mind quickly left the building and filled with irritation once more. Not actual irritation…but just a little bit. The amount of self-control it took for her not to immediately say “Ew-” was outstanding.

Instead, she took a deep breath, and turned to the bowl that had been pushed in front of her. “Calm down. I was just surprised you of all people actually know how to bake.” She quipped, though a part of her softened at the thought of why Keeper would even know how to bake. The idea that this axolotl baked little sweets and treats for people was slightly heart-warming.

“I ain’t know how to bake. I’m just doin’ shit-” He replied off-handedly as he beat eggs by hand, the color of which had already begun to reach the pale-yellow that was needed. 

Amethyst was getting used to the simple plain lies Keeper spoke as easy as she breathed. Still, she couldn’t help but smile seeing how much work he was putting into this already. Smile, and also tilt her head seeing how inefficient he was being. “Sure, but, don’t you want like…an electric mixer or…” her voice trailed off, realizing her words were going in through one…ear? Do axolotls even have ears? In through one metaphorical ear out the other. So she elected to simply grab the mixer for herself, putting it on high and beating the egg whites into a stiffer state.

The increasingly loud whirring of the mixer seemed to fade in the background, as Keeper slowly fell into a slight daze in the midst of stirring. As they stared at the increasingly yellowing mixture, the small specs of sugar dissolving in its color more and more…they got lost in that for a moment. As if a part of them was slowly dissolving as well, something in them being forcibly churned and mixed, roughly. Two ingredients that could never mix nor blend, yet collided anyway internally. Keeper felt that, lost themself in the mixture as it became all they were, all they might be. They were called to it, to the liquid, to the waters. Waters that yearned to consume them for their own safety once more. Their muscles tensed, throat growing sore from the coughs they held back, eyes straining as they fought to keep them open in this moment of dissociation. The sound of harsh yet familiar waves seemed to crash with each bit of egg mixture that swirled around the bowl. The crashing of waves, the calling of something beyond, the calling of something foreign, it filled all of her senses as she just continued stirring. Just keep stirring, just keep fighting whatever this is. Just keep fighting. Keep asking. Saying Hey. Asking if they’re okay? Hey? Are you okay? Keeper?

Keeper?

“Keeper?”

A worry filled voice broke through whatever trance Keeper had found themselves in. With a simple blink, they glanced over to meet the concerned gaze of Amethyst, who met Keeper’s practiced unphased look. As if nothing had happened. 

"Wassup? Am I over stirring?" They halted the motion as their head tilted at Amethyst

"No-well…yeah a little bit, that's been done but-" Amethyst took a step forward, examining Keeper for any hint to what came over them. Seeing how their eyes had dilated, if their breathing had slowed or quickened. "But it looked like you went…somewhere else for a second. Do you have your potions on you?"

Keeper blinked a couple times, before their eyebrows raised ever so slightly, "Oh yeah you need the sugar. I ain't no why you didn't get it yourself, your hands work-"

"Oh my LORD-okay." Amethyst sighed, eyes twitching as they followed Keepers tail pushing the bag of sugar over to her side. She stared at the bag for a moment before putting the mixer down and moving closer to Keeper who had already begun to add one of the cups of milk and vanilla to their mixture. The smaller milk cup seemed to only hold ⅓ cups of milk in it, so Keeper had simply emptied it before estimating and pouring the same amount of vanilla. However, before they could start stirring to combine them, a hand was placed on their shoulder.

The axolotl looked over to see an annoyed yet mainly concerned nurse staring them down. As Amethyst began to speak, they pushed down on Keepers shoulder to force him to her eye level. "I know you have a problem with actually taking care of yourself or listening to what literally anyone tells you, but if you pass out again because you're too stubborn to tell who seems to be the only medical professional around here when somethings going on, you're not gonna like it. What. Just. Happened?" 

A pause hung in the air. Keepers continued to just…stare at Amethyst, but their eyes had widened ever so slightly, showing their surprise. Amethyst was just…a surprise of a person to Keeper. For someone in this space to be fighting so hard for seemingly nothing in return, or atleast nothing quick enough to make it worth it. If this was some sort of long game, they were putting a lot of resources towards it.

But something in their tone, their concern…it felt like something Keeper had missed in their life. It filled a void that he didn't even recognize to be there.

So with that thought, Keeper sighed. Turned their head slightly.

And started coughing.

They pulled away as they covered their mouth with their arm and had a violent coughing fit that they had been holding in for a while. Amethyst immediately sprung into action, grabbing a spare water breathing potion they kept in one of their cabinets and standing behind Keeper to pat his back.

After a minute or so, he reached out in her direction, making a grabbing motion for the potion bottle that was then quickly placed in his hand and downed in an instant.

A few clearings of the throat and deep breaths later.

"...Appreciated." Keeper muttered, voice still gravely but otherwise clearer than before. 

Amethyst continued rubbing the taller figures back gently, taking the time to do a smaller check up as he recovered. Checking his pulse, it was slowly going back to normal from a heightened state. His breathing was returning to a stable pace as well, and the slight rise in temperature at his neck and temples was decreasing. There was still a lot of tension in his neck, potentially from the strain of holding the coughs for so long, but otherwise things were functioning okay. That was a relief 

"Something is severely wrong with you." Amethyst commented, the relief heavy in her voice.

"Yeah, I'm sick, we know this." 

"So you admit you're sick."

"When did I say that?"

"You. You just-"

A smile returned to Keepers face, "Nah, I don't recall."

Amethyst's eye twitched once more before she let out a sigh, "Okay. Okay. Do you want me to finish this for you while you just…lay down finally?"

"Nah." Keeper stated, moving to thoroughly wash his hands before beginning to stir the vanilla and milk that had been sitting in his bowl for a moment, "We got a Leches to Tres or whatever."

You've never seen a bigger eye roll from a human, but Amethyst conceded for now, seeing the potion seemed to be acting very well. "Alright. Let's do this right then." She took her phone out of her pocket, scrolling through Spotify for a moment before smiling as she found the right song. She turned her volume up to max and started playing it on speaker, resting the phone somewhere out of the way on the kitchen counter.

As Keeper was picking up his bowl, about to pour it into the pink bowl holding the flour, he paused.

"...Kendrick Lamar's alright???"

Amethyst glanced over, having put the mixer on a lower speed as she gradually shook the remaining sugar in her bowl. "You don't like Kendrick Lamar?"

"No I-no I ain't got a problem with it, this is my song, I just wasn't expecting you to listen to something like that." He responded, potentially the most genuine he had been since they first talked, "You seem like a…lofi beats to cry in a bathroom too type of girl…like a…Lana Del Ray summer type beat…like…like a Kirk Franklin-"

"KIRK FRANKLIN AIN'T CRAZY?" 

Keepers tail pointed at Amethyst like a judgemental finger, "You've done a good stomp to Revolution before."

"And you haven't?" Amethyst retorted.

A pause.

"Exactly."

"Restart the song already you threw the vibe off-" Keeper commented, carefully stirring the flour mix and egg yolk mix together now. Their voice grew gravely for a moment, a cough once again being pushed down their throat.

Amethyst sighed, pouring the last bit of the sugar she gradually added in her bowl, turning off the mixer before restarting the song, checking if it's properly set to be on loop before setting the phone back down.

"Alright I can do this bit, go take a sit and-"

Amethyst stopped as they heard a quiet mumble from Keeper, who had already pushed his bowl closer to hers as he turned around and leaned against the counter.

He was mumbling along to the lyrics.

"Alls my life I…Hard times like ya"

Amethyst's smile grew slightly, hoping this meant Keeper was actually enjoying himself enough to be comfortable. Despite the never-ending attitude, she couldn't help but be happy, feeling like they were actually growing closer in a roundabout way.

As she began folding the egg whites into the mixture Keeper had prepared, scraping the sides of the bowl and folding it to the top until the two had properly combined to become the proper batter, she suddenly sang the next line of the song out loud. 

"Bad Trips like ya?"  

Keeper's eyebrows raised slightly, "Nazareth-"

"I fucked up"

Homie, you fucked up-"

The two looked at each other, silly grins on their faces as their sang in unison, "But if God got us, then we gon' bE ALRIGHT-"

The two started laughing, bouncing on their feet to the beat. For the next thirty minutes, this same energy only elevated more and more in the room. After the batter was properly mixed, Amethyst put it in the prepared pan and placed it in the baker. For the entire time the two laughed and sang together, bobbing their heads and doing little dances. It was more Amethyst who would dance or bop around more while Keeper simply sat on the cushion seat and swayed along, occasionally throwing the playful insult here and there at Amethyst's "dorky dancing". Though they had to pause for the occasional coughing break from Keeper, it didn't seem to dampen either of their moods.

Once the baker dinged, interrupting the two mid conversation that the cake was done, Keeper cleared his throat a couple times before going over to take it out of the baker. Despite being offered baking mittens from Amethyst who was originally going to grab the cake, Keeper simply held the pan and took it out of the baker. She placed it atop the kitchen counter before shaking her hands lightly and glancing over to a jaw-dropped Amethyst.

"Did…did you take off your gloves to take the pan out?" Amethyst asked, the question mark at the end of her words being the loudest part of them.

Keeper, who had indeed taken off his gloves and was holding them in his mouth as he grabbed the pan, simply looked back and nodded as if that was a completely normal thing to do. He took the gloves out of his mouth and threw them onto the couch, "It's not as hot that way."

Amethyst blinked, "I'm SO sorry????" The confusion was prominent in her voice, but it would never be resolved as Keeper simply moved back to his seat with a shrug.

"Shit's gotta get cool before the weird milk part, what other songs you got?"

How many times would Amethyst realize she shouldn't ever expect true normalcy in the presence of Keeper? The answer was potentially too distressing, so she simply sighed and started scrolling through her playlists until she found one that she believed the two would enjoy and jam out too just as much.

The next hour passed of them listening to more music as they waited for the cake to cool before doing the next step. Vegas from Doja Cat to Just a Friend from Mario to Heaven Can Wait from MJ to Spookie Coochie from Doechii. She had more than enough songs that Keeper found aesthetically contrasting to the vibe Amethyst gave off for them to dance around to pass the time. 

At one point, Keeper even showed Amethyst his own personal playlist of music…after she had asked many many times out of curiosity. The two seemed to share very similar music tastes, and something in the axolotl softened in realizing that.

He didn't and would never show it, but this was…actually pretty fun. Mayhaps he was enjoying himself.

After some time passed, Amethyst suddenly spoke up, "OH-let me check the cake." She walked over, washing her hands before poking the surface of the dessert. With a satisfied nod, she looked back to speak to Keeper before jumping slightly as they were suddenly standing right behind her.

"It cool yet?" He tilted his head.

"You GOTTA stop doing that." She exclaimed, pushing the axolotl back before sighing, "But…it is cool now yes. Do you wanna combine the milk while I poke the holes?"

Keeper blinked, "No not really."

"Wh…what-"

"Let's switch."

Amethyst pinched her nose, "W h y?"

Keeper shrugged, silent in response and completely stone faced as if he wasn't just being difficult.

"...I don't trust you to not cough on it." Amethyst spoke pointedly.

Keeper rolled their eyes, "Woooooow that's, so incredibly rude. I can't believe you would say such a thing, like I would throw away something I worked so hard on by myself-"

"By yourself? " Amethyst repeated exasperatedly.

"Yeah I'm about to mix the milk myself, why are you so dramatic?" Keeper faked a confused look before moving to the side and grabbing the three different bottles of milk, leaving Amethyst to take the deepest of breaths and reminisce longingly on a couple minutes ago when Keeper was too occupied with singing to talk.

Nevertheless, the two continued getting to work. Music continued playing as Amethyst took a fork and poked rows of holes in the cake. Meanwhile, Keeper washed one of the previously used bowls and poured in equal amounts of evaporated, sweetened condensed and whole milk into it. They gave it the lightest stir before bringing it to Amethyst's side, just as she had finished poking all the holes. Keeper cleared his throat once more, shifting uncomfortably before motioning for Amethyst to hold the pan still.

She nodded and did as told, though she was doubtful of having a sick, shaky axolotl do the pouring. Despite valid concerns, Keeper did surprisingly well, hands steady as ever as he slowly poured the milk mixture over the cake, ensuring to cover every inch until the bowl was emptied. 

As she was finishing up, a thought occurred to Amethyst. Still keeping the pan in place, she glanced up to Keeper, "What are you baking this for anyway? Is it a special occasion?" 

"Yeah it's my birthday." She replied off-handedly, not breaking focus.

"WHAT-" Amethyst's eyes widened, "Oh my gosh wait it's your birthday?"

Silence.

"Keeper…I didn't realize-happy birthday! You should've said earlier, I would've-"

Keeper finished the pouring as Amethyst began to almost get emotional. She then properly faced her, "I was lying homie."

"WHY ARE YOU SO-" 

Amethyst poked and playfully punched Keepers arm as they started cackling , fully dropping the empty bowl on the floor as they stumbled away from Amethyst's comedic attacks.

She eventually started fully shaking them, "Why are you the way that you are- why can't you just be normal how did you even formulate that thought to put into the air- you lie as easily as you breathe maybe even easier this cannot be healthy- if you weren't sick I would strangle you-" Amethyst rambled, shaking Keeper back and forth the entire time as she lectured her until she couldn't anymore. The entire time Keepers laughs acted as her back-track, overtaking even the actual music.

Eventually, Amethyst stopped, taking deep breaths as Keepers cackles devolved into coughs. 

"Yeah, exactly. See what happens, look at you now." Amethyst said pointedly, all the while patting Keepers back to help him. 

Once they could breathe again, Keeper just let out a deep sigh, "Yeah, yeah." He stretched, smirking at her before glancing at the cake, "Keep that in your fridge tonight and I'll pick it up tomorrow at like…two or something." He said before suddenly turning and walking to the room door, grabbing his gloves on the way out.

Amethyst sighed before a confused look came over her, "Oh-okay! Wait, you never said what you were baking this for!"

Keeper didn't turn around, but paused at the door. They thought about the past couple hours and the time they'd spent with Amethyst, how they were having…actual fun. How this felt like an experience they had missed out on for a while, and how they cherished that secretly.

Then they thought about Sonic Boom, and how uncharacteristically excited Keeper felt when he gave them the blueberry pies. Just because. How their facade broke too clearly for a second.

Their foot pressed on the pressure plate to have the door swing open, and before stepping out, they responded, 

"Don't question it."

And they were gone.

Amethyst stood there, staring at the door before slowly looking around her now much more messier room. 

"...Okay-"

The next morning, Keeper came back to Amethyst's room, though not directly. She waited until she watched her leave and head for her shop. It was only 9am, and Amethyst wanted to have some water breathing potions ready for when her friend would return. Unbeknownst to her, said friend had snuck into her room during her absence. For one reason or another, Keeper wanted to just finish the cake alone. Whether it was to avoid confronting that vulnerability she felt, or to ensure Amethyst wouldn't complain when she found the three diamonds hidden in her cabinet as payment for helping with this task.

Keeper hummed to herself the first song Amethyst had played for them yesterday as she took the Tres Leches out of the fridge. Before she could close it, she paused as she noticed a note placed carefully behind it.

'Keeper. If you are reading this. Wait until I get back. Stop being stubborn'

• Amethyst

Jokes on her, Keeper was nothing if not stubborn. Though the gesture brought a smile to an otherwise tired looking face. Whatever result baking this would bring, at least it was a good distraction from whatever was going on with her. She could ignore the fatigue, the body aches, and even the strain from coughing so much, if she just had a task.

So with that in mind, she put the cake onto the counter, and walked over to the space she saw Amethyst had a storage area hidden, and grabbed some vanilla, heavy cream, and sugar. They put equal amounts of each into a small bowl, whipping them together until they formed into stiff peaks, and then spread that frosting across the top of the cake. It was coming together very nicely, even Keeper was surprised of look the of it alone

For the last touches, he grabbed some cinnamon he brought this time and sprinkled it over the frosted surface, using their gloved hand to control the amount that was shaken onto it. He then cut two big squares of cake and placed the slices onto two separate pieces of tissue, being careful to not make any mess this time. The idea of Amethyst coming back with no evidence of the cake being finished besides the cake itself just being…there, was entertaining.

With that, Keeper grabbed two strawberries and placed one on each cube slice. They stared at it for a moment, displeased at its plainness. It didn't have the Keeper charm. So he took one, cut it in half, and placed the halves upright sticking out of the top of the slice, as if it was two horns.

"Yep, that looks stupid-" Keeper mused, a small, content smile remaining. He cleaned off the sides a bit, ensuring it looked presentable, before he placed both slices in two different cyan and white striped boxes. After putting all the leftover ingredients back where they were, he turned to leave, but he paused as a thought came to mind. They should probably…taste test it. It wouldn't be a good look if they were seen giving bad quality…anything. That's all.

They took a fork, breaking off a little piece from the main cake and holding it up to their mouth. With complete confidence, they ate the piece.

Chewed for a moment.

And their grin grew.

Yeah, this would do.

This would do great.

The perfect return…not a gift.

Not something fueled or made with feelings or anything.

Just…finishing a trade.

Doing Business.

Staying out of debt.

That's all.