Work Text:
One more song.
Clack, clack, clack.
Just.. one more hour. Give me one more hour.
Clack, clack, clack—
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
"Holy SHIT-" A loud bang reverberated throughout the dark room as Kanade's chair hit the ground, followed by Kanade herself. An irritated groan made its way out of her mouth as if her glare that bored holes into the alarm clock wasn't enough to display her annoyance. She knew she shouldn't have installed that stupid thing. But it was her father's recommendation since she always managed to forget that she had a meeting to attend with her friends online music circle.
Wait.
Another glance at the alarm clock—nine thirty A.M.
She scrambled back up to her desk, hand flying to the mouse as she navigated to her Daycord application which had been left open since their last meeting, greeted by the group chat name that reeked of Yuki(compliment or insult? Kanade wasn't sure).
She's not worried about being late, no. When it came to those three, she could care less about punctuality. What she was afraid of, however, was the ridicule she'd receive from Yuki and Enanan.
Especially Yuki. A face that pretty shouldn't belong to such a foul person.
"Hah, I'm pretty funny.." Kanade laughed to herself, promptly ignoring the fact that she technically used the word 'pretty' to describe her arch nemesis.
[kanade-chan's bestest best friends!! :333]
[K(ys)]
if you guys started the call without me im officially disbanding this stupid goup
[Enanan]
group**
[K(ys]
i hope the next cheesecake you buy gets crushed in the box.
[Yuki(K's ONE AND ONLY love <333)]
silly k! have you forgotten?
[K(ys)]
????
[Amia]
we agreed to put daycord on hiatus last week. in the spirit of christmas or whatever
[Enanan]
Yeah, lmao. What Amia said. Maybe K's getting old, so she forgot? Explains the white hair.
[Yuki(K's ONE AND ONLY love <333)]
i quite like K's white hair!
[Enanan]
We know. No one asked.
...Christmas break?
And—pfftt, when did they decide on a hiatus?
Either Kanade had properly lost her mind after composing for so long, or her groupmates were gaslighting her. Something told her it definitely wasn't the latter.
Kanade let out an odd mix of a scoff and laugh. "It isn't even December yet. What are they on about?"
One glance at the hotbar on the side of her screen was enough to answer her question. Sure enough, a single word and number loomed over her(not really, they're on a screen, but you can get her point, right?).
December 23rd.
That much time had already passed?
A voice echoed in the back of her head. Kanade recognized it as her father's quickly.
"You know, they say that time passes by faster when you're with people you care about—"
Nope, no. Absolutely not. As embarrassing as it was to admit, Kanade only ever hung out with three people. And certainly not as embarrassing to admit, she did not care about them as much as her father assumed she did.
She sighed at her own reaction to the news. As much as she tried, she couldn't figure out why she was so shocked. Surely it was the composing part of her routine that made everything go by faster. After all, composing was the only thing she found enjoyable in the dull, repeating days that flooded her calendar. At the thought of it, her feet maneuvered the chair towards the calendar at the corner of the room.
It was odd seeing barely any plans listed on the paper. No important reminders in red marker, no social events marked with green ink. She was so used to her schedule being packed full, but what was in the past remained in the past.
Before rolling her chair back, Kanade took once last glance at the calendar—then at the Daycord group chat still displayed on her computer screen.
It felt like her body moved before her mind could even think about what to do next as she picked up a marker attached to the calendar. In the box labeled December 25, red ink served as a vessel for rushed and slightly slanted handwriting.
'GIVE OUT GIFTS TO THE REST OF THE DAYCORD MEMBERS. DO NOT FORGET.'
This was stupid. She was stupid. Why did she have to make those plans? Could she take them back now?
Well, the fact she was standing in the middle of her kitchen cluelessly, cookbook in hand, told her that maybe it was a little too late.
The mess in front of her was a testament to the grueling hours(3 minutes) she spent making an attempt to bake cookies. Indgredients were strewn about everywhere—there was a pile of flour on the ground, milk had spilled onto the counter, and some egg whites had managed to stain her favorite track suit. Now she knew why her father insisted on her wearing an apron when she told him about her plans.
According to the Internet, which she spent even more countless hours(14 seconds) browsing—a staple thing in Christmas celebrations were the presents. It simply wouldn't be Christmas without a hearty present wrapped and made with love and tenderness, meant for loved ones to spot under the tree.
Yeah, I knew that, Kanade told herself. So she stood up from her computer, groaned at the pain in her back and sudden fatigue from standing up too quickly, and asked her father if she could use the kitchen while he was away. He was initially very reluctant, but caved in when Kanade said it was for her.. gag— friends... She couldn't believe she had to describe the rest of Daycord as her friends to make an excuse, but her father was apparently so overjoyed, he let her borrow her mother's cookbook.
So there's that. According to yet another Internet search, pastries were commonly liked as Christmas gifts, often seen as a gesture of appreciation as the giver had assumingly spent their time on making them. Kanade considered buying cookies straight from the store, but decided against it upon predicting what Ena would probably say if she found out they were store bought. Why were her group mates so hard to please?
The recipe shown in the cookbook seemed easy enough. Kanade followed every step seamlessly! Though, she had to admit that she may have gotten the measurements wrong.. and rushed the mixing process which ended up with all the ingredients everywhere.. and possibly used an entire stick of butter, which was way more than what she needed....
"Maybe admitting failure would be good for my health for once.." Kanade let out a deep sigh, swapping her stained tracksuit jacket out with a new one. She stared at the stain in defeat, unsure of what to do next. Should she really just drop her plans?
Maybe I could ask for help from dad when he comes back from work—no, he'd be too exhausted by then.
Is Mochizuki-san available today..? Probably not.. she mentioned having some arrangements with her band when she was here yesterday.
Ena..? She probably knows how to bake, but it would be insufferable with her here, let alone asking for her help.
Does Mizuki even know how to bake?
And just like that, Kanade ran out of people to ask. She wasn't kidding when she mentioned a couple of days ago to an online friend that she could count the people she interacts with regularly on her hand.
But.. well, there was one person she had not yet considered.
Kanade knew it'd be one hell of a ride, but she had an advantage here. Mafuyu, fortunately in this case, was extremely reactive to any sort of affection or cute thing Kanade did. So, hypothetically... if Kanade kept Mafuyu wrapped around her finger with a few sweet words, she could keep that girl in check and actually be able to bake the damn cookies.
Kanade let out a huff of determination. She could pull this off. Probably.
She fished out her phone from the pocket of the tracksuit jacket she wore earlier and tapped on Mafuyu's contact.
[Yoisaki Kanade > Asahina Mafuyu]
Saturday, December 20XX, 4:29 P.M.
[Yoisaki Kanade]
mafuyu
[Asahina Mafuyu]
haiiii kanade-chan :3c you finally unblocked lil ol me!!!!
[Yoisaki Kanade]
immediate response, huh
do you really have nothing else to do
[Asahina Mafuyu]
noooppeeee! i was actually watching a show mizuki recommended, but kanade-chan is way more important than some stupid anime <3
[Yoisaki Kanade]
gross. and amia wouldnt like to hear that
[Asahina Mafuyu]
dont caaarreeee~
besides, im not talking to mizuki rn. im talking to you!
you never usually text me first.. and you unblocked me for this! must be important..
[Yoisaki Kanade]
yeah i have uh
a favor to ask
[Asahina Mafuyu]
i'd do anything for you if you asked <3
[Yoisaki Kanade]
uh huh okay
yeah so ik that youre good at cooking and stuff.
i was wondering if you could help me bake a few batches of cookies for the upcoming holidays.
[Asahina Mafuyu]
oho? i didnt peg you as the type to give out gifts.. let alone make them yourself
but then again, ive never pegged you. its on my bucket list, tho ^-^
[Yoisaki Kanade]
blocked. restricted. on all social media platforms.
[Asahina Mafuyu]
noooo!!
only after marriage i prommyyyy
[Yoisaki Kanade]
oh my god just come over already
[Asahina Mafuyu]
yes maam~~~
"...oh wow, you actually suck at this."
"Shut up!"
An hour had passed since Mafuyu arrived at Kanade's. It didn't take her very long to come over, considering that girl's superhuman speed topped with her eagerness to meet Kanade. She, at first, marveled at the interior, never having been willingly invited to a person's house before. Also because it was Kanade's house and it smelled like Kanade, but whatever.
They spent about fifteen whole minutes stalling with Mafuyu darting around the house like an excited puppy. Or would a bunny be more accurate? She teased the composer for all the baby photos she had lying around before finally pulling it together and accompanying Kanade to the kitchen, which was cleaned beforehand to avoid any potential embarrassment on Kanade's part.
Mafuyu snickered, bringing a hand covered in flour to her mouth. It didn't really help in holding her laugh back. "No— I'm being serious here, hahah... you clearly saw two and a half cups of flour in the cookbook, but you dumped the whole thing in??"
"I—.. I didn't account for that." Kanade looked away, a fierce flush spreading to her ears. So much for keeping Mafuyu under control. Scratch that plan, at this point. "A- and you're one to talk! You don't even measure them, you just eyeball it!"
"Yeah, duh. That's because I actually know how to bake." Mafuyu grinned before wrapping her arms around Kanade in a hug, which was honestly more comparable to a tackle.
"Oouuhh, my composer is so adorably bad at this! I can't wait to be your housewife and pamper you and bake you all the cookies in the world!" She nuzzled her nose into the crook of Kanade's neck, inhaling the scent.
Kanade yelped at the sudden proximity. She scrambled to grab anything on the counter, settling on a whisk and whacking it against Mafuyu's head. "Watch it!" she hissed, the flush now spreading down her neck.
"Oowiiee.." Mafuyu grunted. She stumbled away from Kanade, leaning against the fridge. "Worth it, though ♡. Hehe, I got hit by Kanade.." A goofy, lovesick grin tugged on her lips, sending both a shiver of fear and something else down Kanade's spine.
..she spent far too much time staring at that grin than she'd like to admit.
Shaking it off with a literal shake of her head, Kanade cleared her throat loudly to interrupt Mafuyu's daydreaming. "E-ehem! Have you forgotten that you're supposed to teach me how to bake? That's the whole reason I invited you over today! Not to-.. to fawn over me!"
To Mafuyu, the frustrated expression on her beloved's face was what finally convinced her to stop and actually look. It felt like a sharp arrow of adoration had shot through her chest and pierced her heart upon seeing the determination she only ever noticed in Kanade eyes when she was composing a piece.
"I see. So that's what's going on, huh? Haaah.. if this is what my Kanade wants, then I suppose I'll actually have to do it~ Laaammeee." She got back onto her feet, throwing an arm around Kanade's shoulder, and earning a surprised flinch from the shorter girl. "You're making me fall in love with you all over again, y'know? It's gonna be hard to keep my promise of not adding more things to my Kanade shrine after this."
"How about we don't talk about the shrine you have for me?!" Kanade grunted, shoving Mafuyu away like it's pure instinct at this point. "Let's just.. get this over with..."
A messy kitchen, dirtied aprons, and multiple baking ingredients thrown away and tools discarded.. all led to a single glorious tray of freshly baked cookies straight out of the oven.
Two girls stared at it. One hesitant, and the other intrigued.
"Oh, wow.. these actually look good." Mafuyu commented, bringing up one of the pastries to her face to examine. "I guess all that practice paid off? These actually look edible unlike the other batches." She eyed the trash bin which was, at this point, stuffed full with failed cookies that looked more like a new homonculus when squeezed together than actual baked goodies.
And after a little bit of icing, the final cookies were, at last, presentable. As subtly as she could(which wasn't very subtle, mind you), Kanade added motifs to each of the cookies that she knew her group mates would like. A sugar cookie decorated with sprinkes and bows, a gingerbread man with an apron and an artist's palette, and.. a purple yam crinkle cookie with music notes adorning its surface. She repeated these patterns onto the other cookies until she was met with equal batches, and just enough leftovers for her father.
"Someone looks satisfied."
Kanade didn't flinch this time, giving Mafuyu this one chance to get close and peer over her shoulder like this. Her lyricist seemed to notice the lack of shoving and yelling. She didn't complain or point it out, though. She just leaned in closer.
"You know, you're cuter when you're honest with your feelings." Mafuyu's breath brushed against the back of Kanade's ear. "These are for Daycord, aren't they?"
"..and you," Kanade admitted, sighing in defeat. She was far too exhausted to deny things. Plucking a purple yam crinkle cookie from the batch, she brought it up to her shoulder—to Mafuyu's lips.
"..oi, I can already see hearts in your stupid eyes. Don't get used to me being nice."
Mafuyu, once again grinning like an idiot, took the cookie into her mouth and chewed. A hum of delight graced Kanade's ears. But despite the warmth of the moment, Kanade felt the abrupt shift in the air. The tension around them was charged, and she could feel Mafuyu inch closer than she already was.
"Hehe~ If you insist on being stubborn, K.." Her voice was low, sweet, and oddly threatening..
"I'll just have to break you, hm?"
....
...
..
.
"WHAT?!"