Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Come on!!! Come on, come on, come on!!!!”

You wonder what you just agreed to do as the pre-teen all but pulled you into the kitchen.

You could hear the rain hitting the window panes of Pétronille and Bonnie’s home. Everyone decided to make themselves busy with various matters due to the heavy storming. You weren’t exactly sure what everyone was doing per say, but you only saw bits and pieces of them in passing. You saw Odile and Isabeau left together earlier before the rain hit. The party has been whispering amongst each other more as of late. Everyone was planning to start moving and exploring Vauguarde for a while. You felt pretty certain that there was enough supplies for the trip. It made you wonder what the two of them left for, they don’t usually leave before a storm if you recall correctly. You were mauling on this thought for but a moment before you shrugged to yourself. It shouldn’t matter, they are their own people after all.

You were reading one of the books Mirabelle gave you that she bought during your “secret mission.” Mirabelle bought you the first book of the Château series and asked you to read it. She said it was so you could understand the plot of what you were reading aloud to her while she helped take care of your hair. Also because you found out that the book Mirabelle had you read the 43th issue, so right smack dab in the middle of the series. For Mirabelle and using the new book, you were slowly trying to back track and pick apart what was going on. Just so you could understand the story better.

You were not alone this morning though, as you and Bonnie were sitting in the living room of their home. Quietly, you thumbed through the book. After you were a few pages in, Bonnie groaned and flopped onto their back. This caused you to jump, which made your backside hurt when you landed.

“I’M BOOOOOOORED.” Bonnie groaned, staring at the ceiling.

“You’ve just been sitting in one place, Bonnie.” you blink at them, holding your page you stopped at. Bonnie groaned to themselves and sat up as rain hit the window.

“I want to cook, but Nille banned me from the kitchen without an adult.” Bonnie pouted, crossing their arms.

It takes you a moment before you recall that she did do that. You believe it had something to do with Craft Cooking though, not regular cooking. You don’t think you should clarify that right now though, as you don’t want to cause a mess.

“Well, maybe when she comes back, you two could do some cooking together?” You suggested to the pre-teen as you placed a bookmark in the book.

With a huff, Bonnie crossed their arms, “But she won’t want to!! She likes to cook sometimes, but not right after she goes and does something like one of her jobs!”

Bonnie had a small pout to their face before a thought arose in their head. You could see the excitement pop up and they turned to face you, face full of expectations. Uh oh.

“You could cook with me!!!”

UH OH. You shake your head as you sit up, gripping the book firmly. “Uh, no way. My dear, sweet Bonnie. I don't think that would be such a good idea…”

“Why not?????” Bonnie groaned again, attention all on you. You fidget as Bonnie stared at you for an answer.

“W-well, I don't cook much, for one!” You replied as you searched for some kind of answer that would meet the expectations. “And for another, I don't know how well it would go if we cooked together and if your sister found out.”

“Nille? Nah, she's nice!!” Bonnie smiled brightly, “If we cook something together and give it to her, she will be so happy!! It's hard to make her mad!”

You don't know about that.

Bonnie sat up and moved closer to you, eyes full of pleading, “Come on!!! Then I can cook and we can all have some yummy treats!!!!”

You stare at Bonnie and blink, they are pleading extremely hard as you look at them. The air is stuck in your lungs as you realize you were not getting away. It takes you a moment before you sigh, letting the air release as you let Bonnie win.

That leads you to now, being dragged by Bonnie into the kitchen. This is going to go so good, you can feel it in your gut so much so it's doing back flips. You take a breath in, and out as you bring yourself back to the present.

Bonnie claps their hands and gets on a step-ladder to get dishes out of the cupboards above the counter. You continue to breathe to center yourself.

“Okay my assistant!” Bonnie says happily, moving so quickly you almost missed the little title, “We are going to need many things so I want you to grab the ingred-e-nts.”

Assistant…? You shake your head before you gasp and catch a pot that begins to fall from the cupboard. You sit it down next to Bonnie and sigh, “It's ingredients, Bonnie. And I thought I was supposed to be watching you cook or something akin to this.”

Bonnie nods, humming as they twist the bowl in front of them, “I knowww, but I know what I am doing! I can only cook with an adult, and you are an adult! So that would mean you can just watch as I cook!”

“And what if Nille comes in while we are doing this?” You question them, you have to be sneaky about this, “I need to look like I am teaching you so it’s not like you are doing this by yourself, right?”

The gears began to move behind Bonnie’s eyes before they smiled and gave a big thumbs up, “Hehe! Right you are, assistant teacher!”

Stars.

You roll your eyes and ruffle their hair as they gasp, waving a hand at yours, “Treason!! I am the captain of this kitchen!!”

“Then captain, did you notice the pan almost landed on your head?”

They huffed and crossed their arms, “No…”

“Then how about this,” You began gently, “Why don't we work together instead, after you tell me what we are making. Sounds pretty good? We both could learn from each other and the best thing we can do is help one another.”

Bonnie seems slightly forlorn before they nod, “Okay, that makes sense. Sorry, Komìtis.”

“That's alright Bon bon, we can work together and have fun, just make sure to respect someone's voice, alright?”

You smile and pat their head softly, they make their signature hehe and hold your hand against the top of their head, “Okay, Fritters.”

You smile softly at them, leaning against the counter as you feel their hair, it was soft and yet coarse, “So, what did you want to make?”

“Let’s make something simple like sugar cookies!”

Alright, you can do that. At least they aren’t chocolate. But, you want to ask, “Why sugar cookies?”

“Because they are easy, simple, and we can put them up for later!”

You snort, as you stand up more straight “Alright Bonnie. Let's make some cookies if that's what you want to do.”

“Yes!! But go wash your hands!!” Bonnie looks pointedly at you as they continue to get more tools from the kitchen, “I don’t want my hair in the cookies!!”

You chuckle to yourself before you nod and go to wash your hands. Your hair is incredibly short right now, so there is not really a need to put your hair up. After you wash and dry your hands, you smile and decide to go along with the young chef. You lean forward and smile at them.

“So what is first, Chef Bonnie? I have washed my hands.” You show your hands to them, hands looking like plain skin. Your starry skin was hidden under your sleeves and your hands were completely solid. It makes you smile that Isabeau helped you with this.

Bonnie looks suspiciously at your hands before they nod, your hands being up to code, “Good! So what I want you to do is mix the sugar and butter together!”

They hand you a bowl with sugar and butter in it. You heard the word sugar but for some reason, didn’t think about it meaning that you had to use sugar. You blink and fail to not make a face. Bonnie takes this as refusal and huffs. “It’s not gonna hurt you! It’s just mixing the two together and making it easier to use!”

“No, no. I can do it Bonnie, it’s just…” You gently took the bowl and stared at the small crystals.

Bonnie blinks before they make a small “o” with their face. “Ohhhhh, it’s like Frin does! You don’t like the smell of sugar or something, right?”

You smile and shake your head at them, no you don’t. Bonnie hums at this.

“Hmmmmmmm… Then that is no good, if you don’t like sugar and we are making sugar cookies…” Bonnie jumps and points at you, “Change of plans!!! We are gonna make soup!!”

You cannot help but jump, the bowl quickly taken from your hands. It catches you off guard as your eyes follow them, “U-Uh, Bonnie it’s okay! It’s just sugar for cookies-”

“No! We should both get to have fun! Cookies later, soup now!”

You silently blink as you watch Bonnie move bowls and ingredients around. Shortly, a new pot is in front of you two. Bonnie moves it on top of the oven and slowly fills it with water. They become almost super focused on the soup, like the cookies never were mentioned.

“Can you get me the salt, Fritters?”

You stare quietly at Bonnie before you find yourself smiling. You reach for the salt and bring it over. “You didn’t have to change what we were doing Bonnie.”

“Yes I did! As a Chef, it’s important for everyone to be happy!” They hum, confidence coming out in strides.

You resist every urge to ruffle their hair. Instead, you hand the salt to them. They take a small amount and pour it into the water. After stirring the water, they close the pot with a lid.

“Now!” Bonnie smiles, looking right at you with a look that tells you they have an idea. Uh oh.

“I have a good idea.”

“Bonnie?” You begin.

“What?”

“What are you planning?” You narrow your eye at them.

“We can make Egg Drop soup!”

You blink at them, staring them down. “Yeah….?”

“So Egg Drop soup takes a whole day to make.”

“So…Why are we cooking a 24 hour dish…?” You bring up, slightly confused.

“But, there is a way to speed it up.”

You stare at them, blinking before you connect the dots and sigh. “Bonnie, I am not using ‘Speed it Up’ on soup.”

“WHY NOT????” They blank at you, making you purse your lips.

Stars, how did you not see this coming. Of course they wanted to use Craft. They told you they wanted to cook and you let up and said yes thinking it was just regular cooking. You don’t want to get in trouble with their sister and yet here you are, now being positioned to Craft Cook even though you planned to just Cook Cook. You rub your face and sigh as Bonnie pouts at you.

“Bonnie, this is REALLY not a good idea.”

“So????”

“ Bonnie. Your sister will be so upset with us.”

“No she won't!”

“Okay, do you have an argument other than that?” You ask, blinking at them, “Because sweet Bonnie, I am not doing that if you cannot convince me with more than that she won’t be upset.”

Hope shines on their face as they smile brightly at you. It takes you a second to realize, you just gave them an out somehow, didn’t you? Oh Stars-

“Well, you know how cold it is because of the rain?”

You nod as you resist putting a hand against your face.

“Well, if we make it, then everyone will feel so warm and cozy! Then we can all hang out and enjoy being together!”

You cannot help but smile, “Bonbon, we already do that.”

“But it will make it even more special!!!”

You shake your head at them, turning away to head for the door. “Sorry Bonnie, but that is not convincing me. We can do that when they get home.”

“Then you are a party pooper!!!” Bonnie huffs as they stick their tongue out and continues, “It might make my sister more friendly too, ya know!”

You paused for that. Pétronille was unknown to you. You never knew more about her, outside of what Bonnie told you. A tough lady who can also be incredibly jumpy. Someone who kept a firm eye on all of you, despite bringing Bonnie home safe. It felt like she didn’t trust any of you one bit.

“And she doesn't dislike you guys, she just isn't sure about you yet!” Bonnie said, as if they were reading your thoughts, “And if we make this, then it could be an opening for her to relax around everyone!”

You look back at Bonnie, and then to the doorway. You are nervous someone would walk in at any moment. Bonnie seems to quiet down as they continue their negotiation.

“And, it would be nice for her to calm down. She's been a lot since we got home…”

You suppose that makes sense, Bonnie's sister was frozen. To find out how far they ran and then to learn that they fought the King… It would be stressful for anyone to learn this about your family, let alone while you were helplessly frozen. You groan, rubbing your face before going back to wash your hands again.

“Alright, Bonbon. You win. Let’s make some Crafted Egg Drop Soup.”

Bonnie jumps up and down with renewed vigor. “YAAAAAYYY!! THANK YOU!!! YES YES YES!!!”

You quickly shush Bonnie, keeping your hands in the water. “Don’t alert everyone!! If I am helping you do this, then we need to be covert.”

“What’s covert?”

“Quiet and sneaky about it.”

“Oh, like you are not being.”

You flick some water at Bonnie and they laugh.

“Okay, okay! I’ll make it super easy! I am gonna add the ingredients together, all you have to do is turn it up on it after I stir!”

You bite your lip and watch as Bonnie makes the concoction. You feel like you are missing an important detail when it comes to making this soup. You’ve never made egg drop before. But also, you think if you could, in some way, smooth things out with Pètronille, it will make everything for you and your family so much better.

“Okay, ready!” Bonnie quietly calls to you, a grin plastered wide on their face.

You feel so concerned about this, but you agreed to it. You took a deep breath in, and out.

“Alright… Just step back Bonnie and let me close the pot.”

“What, why???” Bonnie looks at you confused as you gently take the lid.

“I want to close this right after I Craft on it, I’ve never Craft Cooked before.” You answer truthfully, this is going to be a first for you.

“Oh, okay!” Bonnie steps down, scoots the step stool they were using, and gets back on it. You look at them before sighing. You’re going to have to be ready to grab them if this goes wrong.

In a quick flick of your wrist, you use “Turn it up” on the soup and quickly put the lid on top. You hold your breath as you stare at the pot with Bonnie in tense anticipation. Neither of you make a sound, watching and waiting as the soup rapidly boils. You wonder to yourself if Turn if up will evaporate the water. It is then, the pot goes silent.

You blink quietly with baited breath and glance at Bonnie who looked right back at you.

“...You think it’s done?”

You cannot help making a thin, small smile with your mouth sealed shut at Bonnie. You don’t know!!! This is all new to you!!! You look back at the pot before remembering- Breath in, and out. Slowly, you reach for the lid and grab the handle. Right as soon as you pulled it up, you felt a suction of air making the lid harder to pull. It continues to pull back as you try to open it. You narrow your eye before pulling up again and-

BOOM!

You jump harshly, guard down. You feel like your hair has gone in every direction. You don’t hurt, you don’t feel hot from the soup. In fact, the soup feels REALLY really cold now. You look over and see Bonnie the exact same way, face covered in soup.

You snort, staring at Bonnie covered in the concoction. You couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled more and more, as you covered your face. Bonnie was in stunned silence before seeing you laugh and begin to laugh themselves. The soup exploded?? It exploded and now its on your face and Bonnie’s??? Oh Stars, it made you choke on your hair at the ridiculousness of the situation!

“Oh Change, what happened?!?!”

You freeze like a deer as you look back and see in the doorway Nille, staring blankly at the ceiling. You follow her gaze to see, oh Stars it hit the ceiling too.

“Uhhhhh…” Bonnie thought to themselves before smiling big, arms open excitedly, “Surprise~!!!”

Chapter Text

You rub the towel against your head, blushing hard as you walk back to the main part of the house. Embarrassment is all you could think about as you sat down. After what just happened, Nille told you to go get cleaned up and you couldn’t believe yourself. You let Bonnie convince you to Craft Cook and explode soup all over their kitchen. All because you wanted Nille to like you and everyone else. You internally continue to scold yourself.

The only other person in the room was Nille, who looked at you quietly. Bonnie was still getting cleaned, so it left the two of you together. You felt your starry skin zapping and moving everywhere around your torso. The silence was stuffy and uncomfortable to you, you silently pleaded for a break in it or for something to happen. You knew nothing about her and now you never will! Because why would she want to get to know you?? You exploded soup in her kitchen!!!

Quietly she looked at you as your voice was stuck in your throat, you were waiting for her to rip into you. However, what she said next took you off guard.

“What are the sparks from?”

Huh?

You look to where she was pointing and sure enough, many of your sparks were shooting all over and around your head. Your face was already warm from the blush, but got slightly warmer as you looked away. Stars above.

“S-sorry…”

“No, what do you mean?” Nille questioned, leaning on one side in her chair, “I only asked about them. They don’t hurt anyone, do they?”

You shake your head slowly, they don’t hurt anyone.

“Then what are they from?”

You flounder a little, not wanting to delve too deeply into THAT just yet. You point at yourself before finding your voice to speak up.

“W-When I get emotional or think deeply on something, I tend to shoot off little sparks of light.” You look away, trying to blink some of the heat away from your eyes, “I-It something that came from Dormont that I cannot get rid of.”

Nille looks at you and the sparks, you quietly hoped she’d stop looking at you.

“Then all right, they aren’t bad you know.” she hums, looking at the light, “Pretty cool if you ask me.”

“W-What?” You couldn’t shake your surprise at her. They’re cool?? You continue as you shake your head, “N-No, they’re annoying. They’re bright. I can’t control them. They alert everything around you. They tell exactly what you are thinking-”

“Exactly.” Nille butted in with a nod, “They’re bright and they tell you and your friends you have a lot on your mind, that you need to sit down and talk to someone. Am I right?”

You hum as you rub your arm, smoothing some of the static on your upper arm. Your voice continues to catch in your throat, so you nod that Nille is right.

“I-I’m sorry.”

“About…?” Nille had an eyebrow raised at you in questioning. Come on, make this easier!!!

“I-I’m sorry that I exploded soup in your kitchen.” You begin, feeling your face get hotter so you continue, “That I Craft Cooked with Bonnie. That I helped Bonnie with fighting the King and that I went to help Bonnie Craft Cook even though you didn’t want them too and-”

“Woah, woah!” Nille put a hand up, sitting up slightly, “It’s okay, I’m not mad!”

She’s not?

Nille leans forward and hands you a cloth. You blink at it before realizing how your face was wet. Oh Stars, you got upset- You gently took the cloth and wiped your eyes. You still felt really embarrassed. Nille slowly talks as you wipe your eyes and listen to her.

“Was I a little upset you went and helped Bonnie Craft Cook? Yeah I was. Was I upset about them going to the King of all people, yes I was. But the thing is this,” Nille leans forward and points at you, her eyes looking directly at you, “I haven’t got to see Bonnie laughing and smiling so wide like that in a hot minute!”

Nille smiled, sitting back in her chair, “It’s lonely here with it being just me and Bonnie. It’s hard to imagine that while I was stuck, they got to meet all of you!”

You sniff, rubbing your eyes still. It took some time for it to settle in that Nille wasn’t mad at you. Nille notices this and nods.

“It’s alright. I’ve been there, where you think someone is upset with you when they aren’t.”

You watch her lean forward, grabbing a small cup with some liquid you think is water in it.

“You don’t have to try to predict what I think. I try my best to be clear about my boundaries. I still’ve got my moments, because I ain’t perfect.” Nille shrugs, looking into her cup, “If I’m not explaining my thoughts, I need someone to tell me, but I do my best with what I got.”

Nille smiles at you before taking a sip, “Because it’s a load of absolute crab when you don’t know what someone else thinks.”

You snort loudly despite yourself, not expecting Nille to swear. It’s odd, Bonnie swears all the time, but for Nille it doesn’t sound right for her in a way. You feel like you should be a little truthful for her, so you give her a small bit of info.

“What another person thinks is the scariest thing of them all though, isn’t it?”

“It can be,” Nille nods again, “But it's up to us to not let it control us.”

You hum and nod, rubbing your knuckles. You suppose Nille is right.

“It took me a lot of work to get where I am now.” Nille smiles, “If it makes us happy, then what is wrong if it makes a few others upset? It’s not hurting anyone, right?”

You nod and smile a bit, you definitely think Nille is right. It takes you a moment before you realize, this is the quickest that you’ve calmed down.

“...Thank you, Nille.”

“Of course!” with a hum, Nille sits more forward, leaning towards you, “Now, I got more questions about Bonnie, but I don’t know you and you don’t know me, right?”

You nod at her.

“Then let’s get on the right foot first, I want to know more about you.” She doesn’t extend her hand, but raises her cup in the air. This gesture alone feels correct. It feels like the real Pétronille. “Name’s Pétronille, Nille for short. I go by she/her. I work small jobs doing repairs in houses and boats. This includes side jobs around Bambouche. I also like things that are soft to the touch.”

You smile a bit more and sit up. Your voice is more quiet when it comes out, but you clutch the cloth as a lifeline as you respond, “N-Name is, Komìtis. I use they/them. I…” You pause as you attempt to remember something you like, “I haven’t done it for a long time, but I used to fold cranes.”

“Oh really?” Nille blinks, tilting her head, “You mean to tell me you fold the whole crabbing bird in half, like the one with feathers?”

You begin to laugh and shake your head, “N-No, not that. Hold on, may I have some paper?”

Nile hands you a small paper that you grab gently. You fold as you talk to her, “I-I used to do this all the time. Where I would take a paper and bend and twist it until I would make something like…this.”

You hold up the paper crane, allowing Nille to look closer.

“Wow… I couldn’t ever do that! That’s some skill there Komìtis!”

You wave your hand a little, “No no, it’s nothing.” You smile as you continue, looking at the crane, “There’s a legend where, if you fold a thousand with the same idea in your head every time, your deepest desire will come true.”

“Really???” Nille blinks before she smiles, “I know what I want. My deepest desire is to have one million coins.”

You nod, smiling at Nille. “That is a real desire, and makes sense to me because coins are not enough. That’s how the legend goes for this crane though.”

“Then can you tell me…”

After this, you and Nille just continue to talk and talk. You almost forget about the Craft Cooking you did earlier with Bonnie. You were given slack other than a polite, “Please don’t do that again.” For Bonnie, they did lose their kitchen permissions for a whole week. Bonnie was upset, but seemed to smile wide despite this as you and Nille continued to trade topics.

Soon the rest of the family came into the room or returned from their outings. You notice everyone sitting in comfort and enjoying themselves. It was pleasant to sit and enjoy everyone’s presence. You listened in as you knew, you were not alone anymore.