Birthday Cake

A Hetalia: Axis Powers Fanfiction

France/Germany

Human! AU

Ding!

The oven timer chimed, the aroma of a freshly baked cake filling the kitchen of a small, yet popular pastry shop in the heart of town. It was closed now, but Francis had some extra time to work on a few orders he'd gotten earlier that day. Being the co-owner of a pastry shop was rather hard work when it was your job to ensure everything ran smoothly, especially when you were right in the middle of holiday season. But Francis wouldn't have had it any other way; baking was his passion.

All of his employees and his business partner had left early because a huge snowstorm was expected to hit, and they would much rather be home with their families when it happened. He didn't blame them for it. Sure enough, when Francis looked outside, he saw huge white flakes falling against the dark streets. He imagined how cold and windy it must've been for someone outside, and he was more than happy to be safe inside his warm little store.

Francis went back into the kitchen to get the last cake out of the oven, where it had been cooling. The person who ordered it hadn't shown up yet, but Francis decided against leaving it for tomorrow. He reached for the frosting- it was time for his favorite part. But as he began decorate, he heard a faint series of knocks. He ignored them at first and continued frosting, but they grew louder.

Francis let out an exasperated sigh. Leaving his cake half-frosted, he made his way to the front of the store.

"I'm sorry," he said, "but we're closed-"

He stopped short.

The man standing at the door was a mess- eyes watering, reddened nose and cheeks, and a fine layer of powdery snow covering his head and shoulders. Francis eyed him for a moment. His shop was closed for the night, and he knew his partner would disapprove of letting a customer in after closing. But could he really turn him away? He already seemed so cold and miserable, and the storm would only get worse…

Francis pulled the keys out of his pocket and unlocked the glass door.

The tall man stepped inside, dusting the snow off of his shoulders. He let out a breathy sigh as he slowly stopped shivering.

"Can I help you, monsieur?" Francis asked him gently.

The other man nodded.

"I ordered a cake this morning. For my brother's birthday; it was a white cake with buttercream frosting-"

"Oh!" Francis' eyes lit up. "You're Mr. Ludwig Beilschmidt, oui? I'm working on your order right now."

Ludwig frowned. "It's not done…? How long will it take?"

Francis smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry about that, I was working on other orders. Worry not, I'm only frosting now. I just need 15 to 20 minutes."

Before going back in, Francis turned around and saw him still standing in the doorway, looking around. Francis walked back to him.

"Why don't you take your coat off, monsieur, and give it a chance to dry?" He smiled. "I wouldn't want one of my customers to catch a cold."

"Huh?" Ludwig blinked. "Oh, uh… You don't have to do that," he mumbled.

"Please, I insist." Francis touched his sleeve. "Look at you, you're soaked."

Ludwig sighed. There didn't seem to be any point in arguing, so he unbuttoned his coat and shrugged it off his large shoulders. Francis took it from him and hung it on the back of a chair nearby.

"Now, please have a seat," said Francis, gesturing towards the booths.

Ludwig sat down and looked up.

"Thank you again. I'm so sorry for the inconvenience. The roads are terrible out there and I was late anyways-"

"It's okay." Francis gave a quick smile and disappeared into the kitchen.

Ludwig took this opportunity to pull out his phone and text his brother of the delay. It was his birthday, and while Gilbert might have had a problem with timeliness, he was still his brother. Ludwig had never been late to anything before, much less his own brother's birthday.

After sending the text, he sat quietly, not realizing he was tapping his foot out of nervousness. Gilbert hadn't read his message yet. What if he was mad at him after all? Gil wasn't the type to get mad about these kinds of things, but one could never know. Maybe Gil was ignoring him-

He almost didn't notice the big orange mug placed before him, filled to the brim with what looked like hot cocoa. It was still steaming hot. Someone had put it there recently.

"Excuse me?" He called out. He was not about to overstay his welcome.

"Yes, monsieur? Something wrong?" Francis asked he walked out, bits of white frosting on his apron.

"What is this?" Ludwig demanded, gesturing to the mug.

"Oh, that's for you!" Francis said, leaning against the table. "It's hot cocoa. It'll really help warm you up."

"I didn't order hot cocoa." Ludwig crossed his arms.

"I know you didn't." Francis smiled. "But, seeing as you're going to be here for a while, I figured you could use it."

"But I'm already paying for the cake!" Ludwig exclaimed. "I shouldn't have to pay for something I didn't order!"

Francis chuckled softly.

"But you're not paying for it, monsieur. It's on the house."

Ludwig looked at him, bewildered.

Francis simply shrugged.

"I have that authority, you know. I own this place. Of course, Emma would be pretty mad if she found out I was giving free drinks to customers after closing."

He looked down. "I didn't mean to come in after closing…"

"I know." Francis sat down across from him.

"You'd like Emma. She's very sweet and friendly, but bossy when she needs to be. Emma is my business partner, by the way."

Ludwig nodded, taking the first sip of his cocoa. Francis was right- the warmth seemed to instantly spread through his body. He could feel his frozen hands melting against the hot mug.

"It's… it's delicious," he said finally.

"Is it?" Francis asked, leaning forward and resting his head on a hand. "Thank you. I figured you'd like it. It's quite popular around this time of year."

Ludwig sipped his cocoa, when something occurred to him. He set down his cup and looked at Francis.

"Why are you here alone?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," Ludwig said, "Why are you here and not at home with your family?"

Francis raised an eyebrow, but he let out a small chuckle.

"What family? Most of my family doesn't live here, you know. I live on my own."

"Right above this shop, I might add," he added, pointing up.

Ludwig looked down with a frown, his face reddened. He opened his mouth to speak, but Francis stopped him.

"It's okay, you didn't know. Don't worry about it." He stood up.

"Now, to finish your order. I promise I'm almost done." He winked, causing Ludwig to avert his eyes.

Ludwig was left with his cocoa and his thoughts once Francis went back into the kitchen. He was never the best when it came to dealing with his feelings, and he decided it was best to not to think about where he stood with the charming man who was currently making his brother's birthday cake. He decided he'd check on his brother instead. Ludwig noted with annoyance that Gil had indeed read his message but hadn't responded. Typical Gilbert.

Maybe I can check on my other messages…

Ludwig tried to keep himself busy, but Francis kept creeping back into his head and he didn't know why. Surely Francis only saw him as another customer, maybe he was just this way with everyone who walked through his door. But he couldn't help but wonder if it was something more.

No, of course not. Don't be ridiculous, Ludwig.

He didn't have much more time to dwell on it, because Francis walked out with a finished cake and put it on the counter.

"I'm done!"

Ludwig walked up to the counter to pay, and his jaw almost dropped when he saw his cake.

It was a round cake, covered in white buttercream frosting and dotted with white rosettes along the outer edge. In the middle, Francis had written "Happy Birthday Gilbert" in his best writing in strawberry syrup.

Ludwig covered his mouth.

"It's so beautiful…" he said softly.

"Hey, I just made it like you ordered," Francis said with a grin. "But, thank you."

Ludwig smiled for the first time that evening as he paid for the cake. "I'm so sorry about keeping you here. I didn't mean to come in so late. Thank you again for your hospitality."

"I would've done the same for anyone else who walked in," Francis said, giving him the receipt. "Can you sign here, please?"

"Of course," Ludwig said as he signed the receipt and gave it back to him.

Francis gave him a second receipt. "This one's for your keeping."

Ludwig noticed there was something written on it- a series of numbers, to be exact. Francis smiled, a bit sheepishly.

"That's… that's my personal number, in case you ever wanted to meet up in a more traditional setting."

Ludwig looked at him for a moment, a light blush spreading across his cheeks. He cleared his throat, looking away.

"I, uh… okay. That sounds good, uh..."

"Francis. You can call me Francis."

"Francis. Thank you."

Ludwig took his cake and put on his coat. He looked back at the counter one last time before heading out. Francis was still standing there, and he flashed another charming smile.
"Thank you for stopping by, monsieur! Have a nice evening!"

When Ludwig was alone at his brother's birthday party, he pulled out the receipt of his brother's cake from his pocket and dialed the number scrawled on it.