Note : Written for Shoot week. Prompt : Root bakes a cake, Shaw comes to help (flour battle ensues, frosting is spread on each other).

"What are you planning on doing for tonight ?"

Root startled a bit. As usual, she hadn't heard the kid slide behind her.

"What do you mean, Gen ?"

"Come on", the latter answered, hands on her hips, "Shaw's coming here for the first time tonight and you're not doing anything special ? I don't believe you."

"Okay, I might", Root smirked, deliberately not answering clearly.

She had fun teasing the kid. Gen was not even supposed to be there, Harold would certainly not appreciate it – they both had agreed that this was a good reason for the kid to actually come though – but Root could totally understand how boring a Saturday afternoon with stupid teenage girls could be and had offered Gen to come home.

Despite her first reticence because of the dangers the kid could be in by regularly hanging on with the team, Root had had to admit that it would happen with or without her blessing and since she really liked Gen, she was now the one with whom the kid was spending most of her time.

"Come on", Gen whined, "I want to know."

Root kept on smiling mischievously and didn't answer.

"Can I just remind you that you wouldn't be with Shaw in the first place if it wasn't for me ?" the kid pointed out wisely.

"Point taken", Root admitted. "So, want to help me bake the cake ?"

"Definitely !"

"Have you put the butter in already ?" Gen asked.

"I think so…" Root answered absently, trying to figure out how to beat the eggs white until stiff and not really succeeding. Why had she had the wonderful idea of cooking something in the first place ? She should have known by now that she totally sucked at it.

"You don't seem to be doing very well with the eggs. Want me to try ?" Gen smirked, obviously enjoying watching Root make a mess of, well, about every ingredient of the recipe.

"It's okay, I'll manage", the hacker frowned as she almost spilled half of the eggs white by stirring it too forcefully for the small container it was in.

"Yeah, I can see that", Gen giggled. "Why don't you just let me try before it ends up on the kitchen floor and put the flour in instead ? It shouldn't be too hard to do : nothing to melt, nothing to turn stiff…" she smirked again ironically, but her face immediately turned into the one of an innocent angel when Root glared at her.

"Fine", the latter rolled her eyes, slamming the small container on the table.

Gen took it and started stirring the eggs, faster and faster, until it began to stiffen.

"How do you do that ?!" Root gaped, and the kid couldn't hold her laugh any longer.

"It's really not that hard, but clearly a bit of experience helps", she answered mockingly. "Have you never baked things in your life ?"

"Not really, and not for a long time anyway", Root muttered as she started pouring the flour into the main container.

The two of them were so busy bickering that they didn't hear the front door softly open then close.

"What is this mess ?" a voice then exclaimed incredulously behind their backs and they both startled, Root spilling flour on the table at the same time.

They turned around to see Shaw looking at them, one eyebrow raised, and it's only at that point that they noticed the kitchen utensils spread everywhere, the empty bottle of milk on the floor – when did it fall there, that was a very good question –, some chocolate powder scattered on the table where it had flown when Gen had opened it while laughing at Root a while earlier, and now the flour that the hacker had just spilt and that was mixing with it.

"You're very early", Gen pointed out since Root didn't seem to find something to answer. "And we're baking."

"Yes, I can see that", Shaw answered ironically.

"You made me spill some flour", Root finally said, a very convincing offended look on her face.

"Given the poor condition your kitchen is already in, I don't see how that's so dramatic", Shaw deadpanned. "You two obviously need some lessons. Nobody messes with food under my watch", she then grumbled.

"Wanna bet ?" Gen smirked, and Shaw didn't like the expression on the kid's face one bit.

Root watched in amusement as Gen quickly picked up some of the spilt flour and threw it on Shaw, who clearly wasn't expecting it and just looked at the kid with murderous eyes when her face turned whiter than usual.

Root knew it was not a good idea, yet she couldn't help herself and a mischievous smile appeared on her lips as she poured some flour into her hand to throw it at Shaw too. But the latter was now on her guard and avoided it, grunting as she rushed forward to try and grab the pack of flour. Root managed to hold it out of her reach for a few seconds, much to Gen's amusement, but eventually Shaw got tired of trying and grabbed the hacker's other arm, twisting it behind her back and pushing so that Root's upper body was now laid down on the table. Half of the flour was spilt in the process but Shaw recovered the pack and turned it upside down over Gen's head, pouring what was left on the kid and cutting her laugh short.

"You know, if you wanted to top me, there were other ways you could have used", Root said with her annoying usual flirtatious tone and even if Shaw wasn't looking at her, she could still hear the smirk in her voice.

She rolled her eyes, released her grip on Root and stepped back without any comment while Gen was scrunching her nose in disgust. As soon as he hacker was free to move, she pushed Shaw back against the kitchen unit, pressing their hips together and leaning in to basically speak into the other woman's mouth.

"You won't be getting out so easily", Root whispered, partly to distract Shaw as she grabbed the frosting behind her, before leaning back and spritzing some at Shaw's face. The smaller woman reacted immediately, turning the paper cone back and throwing some frosting on the hacker too.

"Mmmm, delicious", Root commented after licking her lips to taste it.

She then leant in, decided to discover how much, much better it tasted on Shaw's lips.

Gen was watching them from the other side of the kitchen where she had found shelter after the flour battle. She had done everything to put the two women together, but now she realized that she didn't want to witness any more of this. As Root was leaning in to kiss Shaw, she finally managed to let out a remark.

"Oh, you two, get a room !" she exclaimed loudly with a disgusted face.

The two women blinked and turned their head at the same time, making clear the fact that they had forgotten the kid's presence.

"I'm going back to school", Gen mumbled as she got out of the room.

When the kid was out of sight, the hacker looked back at Shaw.

"I say we do just what she suggested…" Root whispered meaningfully and Shaw obviously agreed as she kissed her and pushed her back, blindly leading them to Root's bedroom.

Note : I added Gen to the story because I couldn't see either Root or Shaw starting the flour battle. Hence why this story is kind of part 4 of a series I'd call "Gen ships Root and Shaw" even if it can be read independently from the first three parts.