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Astro walked into the Christmas toon floor looking for a certain dessert decorator. He had been wanting to learn to bake but he could never get the frosting right. He looked around and saw ginger with a piping bag decorating a gingerbread house. He faintly smiled and walked towards her.
“Ginger?” He asked, trying not to be too loud. Though, ginger didn’t notice. He sighed and spoke again, louder this time. “Ginger.” Her grip on the icing bag tightened as she jumped in shock, almost ruining her gingerbread house in the process. She turned around and sighed in relief.
“Astro, it’s just you.” She said as she put the icing bag down and smiled up at him. “Did you need anything or..?” Ginger asked nervously, her eye darting around as she spoke. Astro nodded and shifted his grip on his blanket as he figured out his next words.
“I was wanting to learn some basic baking. I just can’t decorate... I was hoping you could help..?” Astro asked, looking away shyly. This wasn’t a random decision of his. He wanted to have an excuse to spend time with Ginger one on one. This seemed like a perfect excuse to him.
Ginger looked up at him, half shocked and half excited. He had really come to her over Sprout or Cosmo? They were probably better teachers then she was. She nodded, maybe they had said no? She stood up and looked at her gingerbread house. She turned to Astro and smiled faintly. “I really can’t do much out of decorating unless you want it to taste bad so… Do you have something already made?”
Astro shifted uncomfortably at her self-deprecating words. Even if she wasn’t as good as Cosmo or Sprout that didn’t mean she was terrible. She still had a lot to learn. “I was hoping you could join me as I baked, then you could teach me how to decorate it?” Astro said, hoping she’d agree. If she did it could lead to more time to talk.
Ginger couldn’t hide the confusion on her face. She shook her head and masked her confusion with a smile. “Well… I may not be as good as my cousin but I’ll try.” Ginger said, somewhat trying to convince herself she could help Astro make something better then she could on her own.
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Astro and Ginger had a lot more fun baking together. Sprout and Cosmo had gone to check on the two but didn’t want to disturb them too much after seeing how happy they were together.
Sprout stood out the door to the kitchen leaning against the wall. Half concerned, half amused. “How much you bet they’ll be together before the end of the week?” Cosmo looked at Sprout accusingly though Sprout could see the amusement in his best friend’s eyes.
“Come on, could we not bet on my cousin's love life? Though… if I must I guess I could bet a week of dishes on them getting together before the end of the week.” Cosmo replied, smiling at Sprout who grinned.
“Alright, I bet a week of dishes if they get together after a week then.” Sprout spoke as he wiped his hands off and smiled at Cosmo who rolled his eyes.
“Though, I do think I smell smoke from the kitchen, we should probably get Sam.” Cosmo laughed nervously.
Sprout’s eyes widened “You should’ve said that a minute ago! Go check on them in the kitchen!” Sprout yelled as he rushed off to go find Sam.
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Sam crossed their arms looking at the four toons. They should’ve asked before using the kitchen. They were lucky that Sam had arrived in time before something much worse happened. They sighed, rubbing their forehead. “Next time you want to have a cute kitchen date, at least warn me.” They said, their concern and annoyance extremely apparent. Both Astro and Ginger blushed looking away. Neither of them denying their words.
Sprout nodded, “You two are lucky Cosmo smelled the fire and I was able to go get Sam.” Cosmo nodded in agreement. Sam looked at them with a glare, this was not their lecture to give. Both of them understood and looked away, slightly embarrassed, even if Sprout’s points still were valid.
Astro shifted nervously and looked towards the second batch of cupcakes that had been destroyed in the fire. Though, the first batch seemed to be fine. Sam noticed where Astro was looking and sighed. “You can finish those cupcakes. I’ll dispose of the burnt ones.” Sam spoke as they made their way over to the burnt tray of cupcakes. Cosmo and Sprout took this time to leave as Ginger made her way to the completely fine first batch.
“These should be enough. I’ll just half the frosting recipe.” Ginger said, trying to salvage the situation. Astro nodded and walked over to join her.
___
Soon the cupcakes were frosted and decorated. Astro sat on the kitchen counter. He looked happy and somewhat tired. It was a lot of work baking, even if it was a great excuse to hang out with Ginger. He yawned, closing his eyes for a moment. Catching Ginger’s attention. “Tired?” She said, looking towards him. He nodded sleepily. Ginger smiled to herself and walked towards him with a cupcake in her hands. “You should at least taste it before you sleep.” She sat it down on the counter and climbed up next to Astro. Avoiding the cupcake she had just placed down. Astro opened his eyes and used his magic to pick it up. Smiling slightly.
“Thanks…” He mumbled as he unwrapped the cupcake and ate it. It was sweet, not as good as Cosmo’s for sure. Though it was still good, it was probably the best thing Ginger had made without Cosmo’s or Sprout’s help. “It’s good…” He added, hoping it’d increase her confidence as a baker. He finished the cupcake. Some frosting stuck on his cheek. Ginger noticed and shifted, moving her hand to his face and turning it so she was face to face with him. His eyes were filled with confusion. Though Ginger continued, wiping off the frosting with her finger. Astro’s face turned red. Ginger moved back, worried she overstepped.
“Sorry, you had frosting on your face.” She said, looking away. She was lightly blushing. “So um.. Are you going to go to sleep soon?” She asked, redirecting the conversation from what had happened between them. Astro nodded and got up, yawning again.
“Thank you… could we do this again sometime?” He asked as he walked towards the door. Ginger felt her heart racing as she thought of an answer.
“Oh um.. Sure. Just next time, no fire.” She said, trying to lighten the mood. Astro smiled faintly, even if Ginger was unable to see it. Ginger had no clue if her joke landed or not, she hoped it did. She got up and started wiping off her skirt. She looked towards the door as she heard it open and close. She smiled hoping their next hangout would be soon and less chaotic. She walked out of the kitchen herself. Heading back to the Christmas toon floor to finish the Gingerbread house she had left behind.
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