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Two was spending their day off relaxing in their room, reading a book. Gaty was off hanging out with Pin, so they figured they'd catch up on one of their favorite series.
Reading had never really been a primary interest for Two, so they were surprised by how much they were enjoying it. It was calming, especially for someone who was normally so preoccupied with hosting a show like The Power of Two. Of course, Two loved hosting, but it was exhausting. Especially with so many contestants around. Alone time was rare, and now that Two had some, they intended to cherish it.
Unfortunately, Two's aforementioned alone time was soon interrupted by their friend Four, (even though Four would likely disagree with that label), busting open the door to Two's room.
Two looked up, not as annoyed as you'd expect for someone who's day off was just abruptly interrupted.
"Oh! Hey, Four! I was just reading this book and-"
"Mmmshut up. I need your help!"
They blinked. It was not at all out of character for Four to speak to them in this way, but for some reason Two never anticipated it. "Oh. Uh. Sure! What do you need help with?"
Four crossed their arms, avoiding eye contact. "I need to bake a cake."
Two marked their page and put the book down. "Uh…aren't you the chef though-?"
"SHUSH! I don't like cooking alone! I need someone to keep me company."
"What about X? Don't you usually cook with them? I'd be happy to be of assistance but this is kind of my day off so…" Two shrugged.
Four blushed. "The cake is for X. It's a surprise."
Two smiled. How cute. Maybe they should do that for Gaty sometime! That would be sweet. Heh. Like the cake. Wow, they have such a good sense of humor! Two bet that Gaty would laugh at that if they told her that joke. Maybe they will when they see her later. Wait, what were they talking about again?
Oh, right. Four was still waiting for a response. "Is there any particular reason why you're making a cake for good ol' X?"
The pink hue coloring Four's cheeks grew more vibrant. "Well, Coiny told me about something called Valentine's Day. He told me that you give the people you love presents to show your affection! So I thought I would bake X a cake!"
All of a sudden, Two felt flattered. They knew how much Four loved X, so it was an honor that he was asking them for help-
"I didn't want to ask you, but everyone else said no. You were my last choice. Don't get a big head."
Two pursed their lips. Well. That was not very nice.
Brushing it off, they changed the subject. "Uh…so what kind of cake were you thinking? Strawberry shortcake? Vanilla? Chocolate? Funfetti? Ooh! Maybe even red velvet or carrot cake?"
Four stared at them for a moment. "No. Those cakes are too boring for X. He deserves only the best!"
Two considered for another moment. "How about…ice cake?"
"No."
"Dirt cake?"
"What? No."
"Ooh! How about yoyle cake?"
Four groaned. "Ugh. Forget it. Funfetti will do." He stormed out of Two's room, and they took that as their cue to follow the blue algebralien down to the kitchen.
Although they had only left Two's room thirty seconds prior, Four was already down in the kitchen, washing his hands and humming the BFB theme while they did so, a box of funfetti cake mix sitting on the countertop.
Two blinked. "How did you get that? I didn't think there were really any stores around here that sell that?"
Four turned off the faucet and grabbed a towel to dry his hands. "I was here before you, Two. I know things you don't."
Two pressed their lips together at the ominous statement, and decided not to ask any more questions, instead following Four's example and washing their hands.
"Alright! We need three eggs, one cup of water, and ½ cup of oil." Two rested their elbows on the counter as they leaned forward, reading off of the back of the box.
They expected Four to go to the fridge, decorated with his and X's drawings, to retrieve the required eggs, but instead he held a hand out and all of the items needed for the cake, measuring cups and ingredients alike, tumbled out of their hand. Two didn't even know why they were surprised anymore. Four never did anything normally.
Two looked back at Four, who was currently cracking an egg into the bowl with a grin on their face. Two just pursed their lips and went to go preheat the oven.
45 minutes later, the two layers of cake were out of the oven, spreading the aroma of fresh baked cake around the hotel. Four looked very pleased with themself, while Two was wafting the sweet smell towards their face.
"So, how did you manage to get X out of the hotel for so long?"
"I sent him to a nearby Basket Convention."
Two chuckled. "Really? I knew X liked baskets, but he likes them enough to go to a Basket Convention?"
Suddenly, Four's expression shifted from pleasant to stern. "X is very serious about his baskets, Two. Do not question him."
Two paled, laughing nervously. "Haohhhuhhhhh…how about we decorate! I think these have cooled long enough."
Four's expression changed abruptly again, a wide smile appearing on their face. "Yay!"
"We could do frosting or fondant or glaze or ganache!" Two smiled, Four just stared at them.
"Only the best for X, Two! That means classic pink and white frosting! He always liked the design when we were watching BFDI all those years ago!"
Two frowned, a tad disappointed. "Oh. That's a little…boring. But okay I guess…"
Four was suddenly an inch away from them and the world around them seemed to dim. "Shut. Up."
Before Two could even process what happened, Four was back where they had been a moment ago, a bag of pink icing clutched in their hands as they assembled the cake. Had Four always been like this?
Two thought back to their time in the Equation Playground. Yeah. Four had always been like this. Even before they had gotten powers from the Yoylelite, Four had always been built different like that.
Soon enough, the cake was iced and decorated just like Speaker Box had served it to safe contestants so many years ago. Four dismissed them, and Two went back to reading their book, but they couldn't focus.
Valentine's Day, eh? Might be fun.
Four put the cake in the fridge, who doesn't love refrigerated cake? No one. That's who.
He checked his watch. It wouldn't be long now before X would be home. Only a couple days at most. They decided to just wait there in the kitchen for him to arrive.
Around eight hours later, someone interrupted Four's waiting.
Four did not appreciate his quiet time being interrupted.
Bottle skipped into the kitchen, cheerful as ever. "Hello, Four! Me and the other contestants were wondering about dinner-"
"QUIET! I'm waiting for X" Four grinned at the thought of his companion.
She didn't even flinch. "Okay! I'll tell the others!" Bottle skipped out of the kitchen just as she had done only a moment before.
Around thirty seconds later, Pin busted the door open. "FOUR. WE HAVEN'T EATEN IN HOURS!!!!! EVERYONE IS HUNGRY!!!!! DO YOUR JOB!!!!!"
Four's smile twitched.
"Watch your tone, Pin." His voice was dangerous. Pin paled.
"Aaaaaah sorry." She chuckled nervously. "We'll just find something else to eat like ummmmmm…grass! Yes we will eat grass instead. Sorry Four…sorry."
Pin hastily exited the room, leaving Four alone for the next couple days to wait for X.
2 days later.
"Four! I'm home from the Basket Convention!"
Four immediately ran over to the fridge to retrieve the cake, still as beautiful as it was when he put it in. Setting it on the counter proudly, they called back to X.
"In the kitchen, X!"
A few moments later, X walked into the kitchen, a wide smile on their face as always. "Hi Four! How was your weekend?"
"It's been great! Look what I made for you, X!"
X spotted the cake on the counter. "WOW! You did that for me?" He ran up to the counter. "Four, this looks DELICOUS!"
Four beamed. "Coiny told me about something called Valentine's Day! Where you show how much you love someone with gifts!"
X braced his hands on the counter and leaned forward. "Hehe, so you love me?"
Heat rose to Four's cheeks. "Well when you say it like that…"
X jumped over the counter and into Four's arms, holding on to him. "I love you too, Four!"
Four froze for a moment before wrapping his arms around X, smiling.
Finally, X jumped out of Four's arms and smiled down greedily at the cake. "Now let's eat!"