Work Text:
Ena wasn't exactly a fan of baking. Sure, she'd tried it a few times before, with the intention of taking some cute aesthetic pictures of the pastries and posting them on her social media. However, no matter what recipe she followed, the things she baked never ended up looking as good as in the pictures she'd seen online. Not even if she edited them!
At first Ena thought it was because of the lack of practice so she started baking more and more often, thinking she would eventually get better. Unfortunately she did not. Every single time, she would end up with a dish that didn't even look edible and every single time, she would start pacing around the kitchen while screaming in frustration.
Akito would often say something along the lines of "Looks like shit but it doesn't taste that bad", making Ena unsure of whether she should be grateful for her brother's attempt at reassurance or smack him over the head with a spatula for insulting her less-than-average pastries. Usually she did both.
It had been a few months since the last time Ena had baked something and she wasn't planning to try again for another few months. However today was a special occasion. Last week, Nightcord at 25 had finally gotten 500k subscribers on their youtube channel. It was a goal they'd been trying to achieve for a long time, so naturally, they were overjoyed. Mizuki suggested they do something special to celebrate, so they decided to bake a cake.
That's why Ena was currently in Kanade's living room, watching tv and waiting. Waiting for Mizuki to arrive so they could finally get started. They agreed to meet up at 16:30 and now it was 17:00 but Mizuki was still missing. Ugh! Why couldn't they be punctual like Ena and Mafuyu?
Well... Mafuyu had moved in with Kanade a while ago, so she'd most likely been there all day.
It was honestly pretty nice. Kanade had a tendency to forget to take care of herself, and while Honami often visited and helped as much as possible, she couldn't be there at all times, so having Mafuyu around to remind Kanade to take breaks and even help out around the house was a positive change.
Apparently, Honami and Mafuyu had even tried to teach the composer to cook. Whether Kanade was naturally bad at cooking or just didn't have time to practice was a mystery. However Mafuyu claimed to have seen some small improvements so perhaps she really did learn a thing or two.
It made sense. Mafuyu was a great teacher and she had also mentioned being in a cooking club back in middle school. She said she really enjoyed it, but this is Mafuyu we're talking about, so whether she really did enjoy the club or it was just part of the fake personality she put up around others was up for debate.
Nontheless, Ena was actually feeling hopeful with Mafuyu around. With her instructions, maybe they could actually make something good. That was, unless Mizuki didn't set the kitchen on fire. Still, Ena had never really heard Mizuki talk about baking before. Who knows, maybe they were actually a really talented baker.
Speak of the devil, the door suddenly opens, revealing a visibly tired Mizuki, trying to catch their breath after they probably having run all the way there.
"Hi~!Sorry for being a bit late..." they huff a few times "I tried to make some tea before I came here but I left the water on the stove for too long and then it..." they pause, huffing once more "...it spilled all over the floor and I burnt myself while cleaning up... heh...
B-but I'm here now!"
On second thought, nevermind. They were definitely going to burn Kanade's kitchen with this one around.
-----
After a few minutes, all the ingredients were neatly settled on the kitchen counter. Half of said ingredients were different types of sprinkles and decorations that Mizuki had brought. Ena's plan was to make the cake look simple and cute, but with Mizuki around it would probably end up a rainbow glittery mess that looked like it was made by a seven year old because of course they just had to ruin everything.
Ena absolutely hated everything about them.
Though, seeing Mizuki all excited, wearing a cute Hello Kitty themed apron, Ena could do nothing to stop the warm feeling growing in her chest whenever she looked at them. They had no right to look this adorable while being such a menace!
Ena tried her best to ignore them and instead focus on the task at hand. Her and Kanade were supposed to prepare the cake batter while Mafuyu and Mizuki worked on the icing.
They had already poured the cake mix into a bowl so now they only had to add the eggs, the milk and a little bit of oil.
Ena was almost done cracking the eggs. She looked at Kanade, to see how the latter was doing and saw her struggling to pour the milk into the measuring cup.
"I can help you with that!" she says, rushing to Kanade's side.
"Thank you, Ena" the other responds with an appreciative nod and a gentle smile on her face. "I'll finish cracking up the eggs." she continues as Ena took the bottle from her small hands.
Sure, Kanade could probably manage to pour the milk herself, albeit with a little bit of trouble. But she just looked so... fragile. Her lack of sleep and her tendency to skip meals gave the girl an almost sickly appearance. She was definitely not as weak as she looked and could do most things herself, with just a bit more struggle than the average person. However, Ena and the other band members were still quite protective of her -especially Mafuyu- and they would often try to help her with any task she found midly difficult, which Kanade seemed to appreciate.
Ena's train quickly of thoughts breaks, when she hears Mizuki whining on the other side of the kitchen.
"But Mafuyu! We have to use all the icing flavors!"
"The colors you bought don't match. It won't look pleasant at all if we use them all."
"But the colors have meaning! Blackberry icing for you, chocolate for Ena, blueberry for Kanade and strawberry for me. They're supposed to represent us!" Mizuki complains with a rather adorable pout.
"Mafuyu's right though," Ena chimes in, "It just won't look good."
B-but... but..." Mizuki stutters, a pitiful expression on their face giving their best attempt at puppy-dog eyes.
It seems to work, since Kanade gives in and puts a comforting hand on their shoulder. "The cake mix is already chocolate flavored and that could represent Ena. We could do blackberry frosting for Mafuyu and add blueberries and raspberries for the two of us."
The answer seems to please Mizuki since their usual bright smile finally returns to their face as they pull Kanade into a hug.
"Thanks Kanade~! I knew you would understand, unlike these two heartless monsters!" they say, emphasizing the last few words dramatically.
Mafuyu, completely unfazed, brings her attention back to the icing recipe. How could she be so unbothered? Ena was not going to ignore Mizuki's comment so without giving them time to react, she lightly pulls at their ponytail, earning a surprised shriek in response.
"If you say things like that, we might just have to kick you out of the kitchen, right Kanade?"
Not wanting to take part in Mizuki and Ena's usual banter, Kanade just sighs. "Can we please just get back to work?" she says, pulling Ena's arm and trying to drag her away from their other bandmate, but the other girl wouldn't budge.
"Kanade! Mafuyu! Ena is being mean to me again~"
"You were the one who called me and Mafuyu heartless just a second ago! Mafuyu, you're letting them insult us like that!?"
"I don't really care what they do..."
Unbelievable. Mafuyus ignorance was simply unbelievable.
"What do you mean you don't care what I do!? Mafuyu~ do you not care about me?" Mizuki whines at the not-exactly-insult.
Mafuyu doesn't respond.
"How could you say such horrible things to me!? they whine dramatically, as if Mafuyu had committed some atrocious crime.
Ena absolutely hates it when they act like this, when they purposely cause trouble only to then act all innocent. And she hates how she can't help but feel sorry for them every time she looks at their adorable kicked-puppy expression.
"Yeah! How can you say that to them!? Ena adds, pulling Mizuki into a tight hug and patting their head comfortingly. She feels them flinch in surprise, but they quickly relax and hug back somewhat awkwardly.
"Come on, Mizuki, you can help me prepare the the cake batter. I'm sure Kanade and Mafuyu can handle the icing just fine."
-----
Kanade stands in the middle of her kitchen, completely dumbfounded. Ena and Mizuki had just spent the last few minutes arguing, and now they were baking together in total harmony.
...What...? ...How...?
She looks at Mafuyu in confusion but the other girl just shrugs "I made them get along. Is that not what you wanted?"
A gentle smile appears on Kanade's face as she looks at Mafuyu softly.
"Thank you."
-----
The rest of the baking process goes on smoothly. In less than half an hour the cake batter and icing are both done and Ena, Mizuki and Kanade settle around the living room, waiting for Mafuyu, who is still in the kitchen, setting an alarm on the oven and putting the icing away in the fridge.
Ena lays on her back, resting her head on the soft cushions of Kanade's couch with Mizuki curled up to her side.
It wasn't like she enjoys cuddling Mizuki. No of course she doesn't. She just wants to keep a close eye on them to make sure they don't start any trouble, and what better way to do so that to hold them tight and make sure they couldn't get up to bother anyone. Really, she was doing Kanade and Mafuyu a favor.
Speaking of which, the former is currently sitting in one of the armchairs with a notebook splayed over her lap and a pencil in hand.
"Kanade, you said you'd take a break from song writing today." Ena scolds.
"I know, but yesterday I couldn't finish the third verse of our new song so now I have to..."
She is cut off when Mizuki quickly gets up and snatches the notebook and pencil from her hand, dropping them on the coffe table with a loud 'thud'.
"No, no, none of that. You promised to take a break so stop thinking about work and just relax with us for a bit."
"..."
"Please, Kanade~" And the composer, being the most vulnerable to Mizuki's charm, agrees with a sigh.
"Fine... but we're getting back to work when we're done."
"That's better!" Mizuki replies, clapping their hands and settling down once again, lying their head on Ena's chest. "And I know just the way to get your mind off work." they continued, reaching for the Tv remote.
They look through the channels for a good few minutes until finally stopping with a proud look on their face and setting the remote back on the table.
"Uh... Mizuki? This is a kid's channel..."
"I know."
"So you're having us watch a kid's show?" Ena says with both annoyance and confusion, raising her head to better look at Mizuki. They just had to be joking.
"For your information, cartoons are for everyone, and this specific cartoon has realistic, likeable characters and the perfect balance of serious and funny episodes"
"Uh huh... and that show is...?" Ena asks, completely unconvinced.
"Bluey of course!" they say with a wide grin on their face.
Ena just sighs and once again rests her head on the soft cushion, pulling Mizuki closer and enjoying their warmth.
"This is quite childish but not surprising, coming from you." says Mafuyu, who entered the room completely unnoticed and appeared behind the couch, startling the two girls lying there. Mizuki shrieks in surprise as Ena tightens her hold on them.
Kanade, however, doesn't even flinch. Mafuyu had been living with her for a pretty long time, so she'd probably gotten used to this kind of thing. But seriously, couldn't Mafuyu just announce her presence like a normal person instead of appearing behind them like some horror movie antagonist? It was creepy.
"You're calling me childish!? Mafuyu~ that's so mean~" they say while trying to hide the smile on their face.
"I never called you childish."
"You implied it."
"I suppose I did." she says with a shrug, kneeling down next to Kanade's chair.
Mizuki pretends to be upset for a few more minutes, trying (and failing) to get a reaction from Mafuyu, but they eventually stop when Kanade complains about not being able to hear the characters because of their rambling.
-----
Despite Mizuki's earlier excitement, they were the first to fall asleep. They rest peacefuly in Ena's embrace with a content smile on their face while the latter plays with their soft hair, enjoying the sweet scent of their strawberry shampoo; the name of which Mizuki refused to reveal when Ena had asked about it, because on top of being a menace, they were also a gatekeeper. Being reminded of that, Ena considers pushing them off, but the thought quickly fades away as she watches them snuggle closer, burrying their face in the soft fabric of Ena's shirt, because that's just what Mizuki did. Everyday they woke up with the single purpose of being a little shit to everyone around, only to then earn everyone's forgiveness by batting their eyelashes and being all cute and cuddly.
Ena was convinced that Mizuki could trick anyone with their charm. Afterall, even the artist had fallen victim on multiple occasions. Albeit she wasn't as easy a victim as Kanade.
Speaking of which, next to fall asleep was the composer. Ena glanced at her sometime during the third episode, noticing that her head was tilted and her mouth was slightly agape. She was most definitely asleep.
Kanade's sleep schedule was... flawed, to say the least, so seeing her finally able to rest made Ena feel content.
Her attention shifts to Mafuyu. The girl didn't seem to move so Ena just assumes she is asleep too. Finally, Ena could watch whatever she wanted. There was this drama she'd started watching a week ago and today's episode was about to start. The plot was mediocre, something about a guy cheating on his wife and her getting revenge, but Ena couldn't care less about that. She just wanted to see the characters argue and occasionally scream at them for making the most decisions imaginable.
She reaches for the remote and tried to switch the channel but a voice stops her.
"Don't."
"Mafuyu!?" Ena shrieks in surprise but trying to keep her voice down, not wanting the others to awake. "Sorry, I thought you were sleeping too."
Mafuyu doesn't respond, but that's not really a surprise.
"I take it you're enjoying Bluey quite a bit." Ena says with a chuckle, raising her head to look at her bandmate but quickly noticing that something is very wrong.
"Mafuyu? W-wait are you crying?"
"No..."
The girl's tone lacked emotion, as usual, but Ena could see the tears in her eyes. She gently pushes Mizuki off and lays them back on the couch as she gets up, kneeling down next to Mafuyu.
"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it, but if you do, I don't mind listening" she said, squeezing the other girl's shoulder in reassurance.
"..."
"Just remember that I'm always here for you, and so are Kanade and Mizuki, okay?"
Mafuyu nods. She opens her mouth and hesitating for a second before speaking. "Bluey's mom cares about her and only wants the best for her, but she wouldn't ignore her daughter's feelings. Bluey's mom wouldn't force to go to med school and become a doctor, Bluey's mom wouldn't forbid her from making music, she wouldn't kick her daughter out... she wouldn't... so why... why can't... "
Mafuyu can't bring herself to finish the sentance. Her voice is unsteady as her eyes swell up with tears. Ena isn't sure what to do. Ever since Mafuyu got kicked out everyone tried their best to avoid the topic of her mother. Also, Mafuyu wasn't really the best at expressing her emotions so seeing her open up like this had taken Ena by surprise.
She decides to say nothing and pulls the other girl into a hug, rubbing her back, patting her hair and letting her sob on her shoulder until she calms down.
After a few minutes her breathing becomes steady again and she speaks. "Ena, do you think I'm a bad daughter?"
"Of course not, you did everything perfectly and tried your best to make your mother proud, but letting her have complete control over your life is not okay, and she's wrong for not understanding that."
"Do you think she'll understand someday?"
Like Kanade and Mizuki, Ena also hated Mafuyu's mom for the way she had treated her daughter. Their bandmate was caring, intelligent and talented and she deserved the world. She deserved to be around people who respected and appreciated her. Her mother clearly couldn't do that, so honestly, Ena hoped that woman never got to see Mafuyu ever again. But obviously she couldn't say that.
"I hope so."
"Ena...?" She asks with a hint of hesitation, "Is it stupid that I'm crying over a children's cartoon?"
Ena smiled "I don't think so... I've cried over kids' shows too, you know?"
"So you also watch children's cartoons" Mafuyu says and Ena isn't sure whether that' a question or a statement.
"Sometimes... just don't let Mizuki know about this. They'd probably act all smug and say something like 'Enanan watching kids' shows? Unbelievable! Just wait 'till I tell everyone about this! I wonder what all your social media followers will say when they find out. Ehehe~' " Ena says, trying to imitate Mizuki's laughter. "Oh my god, they'd probably tease me for weeks!"
Ena's Mizuki impression seemes to cheer Mafuyu up a bit. She pulles away from the hug and gave Ena a small smile.
Mafuyu barely smiles so Ena feels quite proud of herself for this accomplishment.
"They would probably say that..." she said wiping the remaining tears away.
The two of them stay like that for a few more minutes, when suddenly, the silence is broken by a loud noise coming from the kitchen.
Kanade, who is known to be a very light sleeper, immediately wakes up, startled by the noise. Muzuki, on the other hand, takes a few seconds to open their eyes and yawn, still half asleep.
"Ugh... What's going on~? they whine, rubbing their eyes.
Their question is however ignored as Mafuyu quickly gets up and rushes to the kitchen, while Ena and Kanade stare at each other in confusion.
Their worry grows as they hear Mafuyu screaming in panic. The girl isn't the type to get easily scared. Well, she isn't exactly the type to show much emotion, so whatever is happening must be really bad. Really bad.
Kanade and Ena hurry to the kitchen, followed by Mizuki, clumsily stumbling behind them. When they get there, they are greeted with smoke and the bitter smell of something burning.
Mafuyu stands there frozen, in front of the open oven. The cake, or what was supposed to be the cake, was engulfed in flames that were growing larger by the second.
Holy shit what were supposed to do?! Maybe call emergency services? But what if they took too long to arrive and Kanade's house ended up burning down? Should they try to put out the fire on their own? What if it didn't work? What if they got hurt in the process? What if they ended up making it worse? What if...
Ena's train of thoughts is suddenly broken when she sees Kanade approach the oven calmly, her expression lacking any kind of fear. She only looked mildly annoyed with the situation, like one would react when dropping something on the ground and having to go through the trouble of picking it up. Except this wasn't a minor inconvenience. It wase a fire. It was a fucking fire. Yet here was Kanade, acting as if it was the most normal thing ever, as if it was something she dealt with on a daily basis.
Sure, they all wanted to disappear, but was Kanade actually planning to die now? Like this?
"Kanade, no! Be careful!" Mizuki says, terrified, while hiding behind an even more terrified Ena.
Kanade disregards her comment and gently moves Mafuyu out of the way, then she closes the oven door, with the fire still inside, and turns it off.
"What the fuck, Kanade!? The fire's still there! We're going to die! We're gonna fucking die!" Ena shouts. "Oh my god we're actually gonna die..." she continues, her voice becoming a pitiful sob.
"Calm down, Ena. We'll be fine. With the door closed, oxygen won't be able to enter and the fire will burn out. The flame isn't that big, so it shouldn't take too long." Kanade said thoughtfully.
"H-how do you know all this...?" Ena manages to ask, a little bit calmer than before, though still shaking and stumbling over her words.
"After dad was admitted in the hospital, I tried to cook for myself a few times. After about the fifth fire I gave up and only made cup noodles instead" Kanade responded with a shrug.
"Fifth!?" Ena and Mizuki both shrieked in unison.
How the fuck was this girl still alive!?
"The fire is out. I think." Mafuyu says. Her tone, normal again but Ena could still see her tremble a little.
"You're right." Kanade replies turning her attention back to the oven. "You guys can go back to the living room. I'll clean up."
"Let me help. I can-"
"It's fine, Mafuyu. The three of you looked very scared earlier so you should probably rest. I can handle it."
Usually it was Mizuki, Mafuyu and Ena who took care of Kanade, making sure she ate and got enough sleep. They would try to help her with most tasks, even if it was things she could easily do on her own. It was strange to see her take initiative like this, but Kanade was clearly more than capable of doing things by herself. Ena would make sure to never underestimate her from now on.
-----
"I'm sure i set the alarm..." Mafuyu claims, sitting the same armchair that Kanade had been in just a few minutes ago, before all the chaos. Her voice is barely above a whisper, like she was talking to herself rather than to her bandmates.
"Maybe we just didn't hear it?" Ena guesses, trying to reassure the other girl.
"Yeah I don't remember hearing any noise from the kitchen!" Mizuki agrees with a nod, while sitting comfortably in Mafuyu's lap.
"But you were asleep... I doubt you were able to hear much..."
"Hey! I would have totally woken up if the alarm was louder!" Mizuki protests.
"The alarm was supposed to be loud. It's always been like that. I don't understand..." Mafuyu said thoughtfully, shaking her head.
Kanade soon joins them in the living room, settling down on the couch, next to Ena and speaking up.
"The alarm was out of batteries. I was supposed to buy new ones a month ago but I didn't feel like going out." she says, the others looking at her incredulously.
Once again, how the actual fuck was this girl still alive?
Mizuki is the first to recover from their state of shock, trying to light up the mood with jokes because that's just what Mizuki does.
"So~ do you guys want to try baking again?" they ask, back to their cheery demeanor, earning a glare from Ena, and an are-you-fucking-stupid look from Mafuyu.
Kanade thinks for a second before replying. "I don't think we have enough ingredients for the recipe...", and Ena mentally facepalms at the composer's inability to understand jokes.
"Even if we had ingredients, I am definitely not baking for a while after what happened today." Ena says, shaking her head while trying not to remember the fire.
"Not fair! We agreed to do something special today" Mizuki protests with a huff.
"We could go out to a cafe to celebrate. There's one further down the street that opened recently. I bet I could take some great pictures of the drinks!"
"But we've been to cafes before... That's not special at all!"
"Actually, I find any instance of Kanade leaving her house house quite notable." Mafuyu says, quickly putting an end to Ena and Mizuki's banter before it can escalate.
"You have a point." Ena nods in agreement before turning to Kanade and asking. "When was the last time you left your house?"
"I think it has been... between a week and... two months."
"It has been exactly 34 days" Mafuyu corrects.
"Wha- That's like 4 weeks! We're going to the cafe right now!' Ena says, standing up and pulling Kanade along as she walks to the exit.
"Yeah! Enanan's right!" Mizuki exclaims, basically jumping out of Mafuyu's lap and getting a hold of Kanade's other arm.
Mafuyu gets up to follow them, and Ena swears she can see a gentle smile appear on the girl's face as she looks at them fondly.
This is the second genuine smile Ena sees on Mafuyu today. Perhaps today really was special.
-----
Going to the cafe turned out to be a great idea. Kanade finally saw the sunlight again after weeks of not leaving her house (Seriously how the fuck was she still alive?), Ena managed to take some great pictures, despite Mizuki doing everything in their power to ruin them, and even Mafuyu seemed pretty content, completely ignoring Mizuki and Ena's banter and instead taking the time to appreciate the beautiful latte art in her cup. It was a drawing of a cartoon rabbit, and Ena had to admit that whoever made that coffe was pretty talented, though they could work a bit more on the proportions.
This was... certainly not how Ena imagined they would be celebrating. Yeah, she'd made up a few scenarios about the kitchen being set on fire, however, she'd always imagined Mizuki being the one responsible for it. Hmm... maybe she should cut them some slack...
Despite the utter chaos that was their attempt at baking, Ena found herself content with how everything turned out. She loved spending time with her bandmates and she wouldn't trade the memories they made together for anything in the world, even if one of those memories was about almost burning down Kanade's house.