AN: Hello everyone! There's more Bad Ass Chemistry Class on the way as soon as I can get the chapters to a computer with internet capabilities. This is something I wrote for school in the spirit of eating a lot. Anyway so thanks to everyone who read my other stuff and is reading this ^_^
One-shot requests: I'm taking them. So if you want something written message me and I'll try to get it done as quickly as possible. Thanks again R&R!
The Cake
One hour. He had only one hour before going back to work, and of course, his supervisor couldn't know a thing about this. His job wasn't to befriend the girl, just to watch over her. She was the last of her kind after all. How could he have let this escalate! He was just to keep her out of trouble but now…
It was her birthday, he had to do something! Walking over to the pantry he slid the door open. He had never really been one for cooking but this seemed to be an occasion that required it. But what would he cook? He could hardly make the instant Ramon in a cup!
Cake. He had always had cake on his birthday. But she was an orphan. So had she ever had birthday cake? He began hopelessly rummaging through the pantry looking for something that couldn't possibly be there. Much to his surprise there was cake mix sitting in the far corner on the top shelf along with some pudding mix. Turning over the box he scanned the list of ingredients before searching the kitchen for them.
After setting the oven to 350 degrees he set to work. The instructions suggested he start by greasing the pans and putting flour in them, so he took the bag of untouched flour he had found and tugged viciously at the sides. The resulting atomic mushroom cloud of flour settled itself on his black suit jacket. He cursed himself for overlooking it. The jacket along with his now speckled black tie were tossed on a chair. He seriously considered removing his pristine white dress shirt also but decided that that would be, well, too strange. So he settled with just rolling up the sleeves.
Once again he was back to work, with the pans ready he could start with the batter. The cake mix, pudding mix, milk, eggs, and vegetable oil were dumped into a large bowl before being stirred rapidly with the largest spoon he could find. He only had so much time for this. Once mixed the batter was placed in the pans and then in the oven for thirty five agonizing minutes. Most of which he spent leaning against the counter holding onto it with a death grip trying to come up with something to say to her.
Then suddenly a thought hit him. Cakes usually had frosting on them. He found himself back in the pantry searching for nonexistent frosting which he amazingly found. The timer buzzed and another ten minutes were spent letting the cakes cool and over stirring the tub of frosting.
All of this left him with five minutes to hastily re-assemble his outfit and throw the cake in a box before running out the door.
.:~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~:.
Walking through the slums he was uncharacteristically self conscious. A man dressed in a business suit with a cake wasn't something one usually saw. But as he approached the abandoned church where she was usually found he forgot all about his unusual appearance.
What was he doing? How could he have let his personal feelings get in the way of his job? He was at the door now. There was no turning back. But he did anyway, just as all his hopes and dreams left him and he was fine with slinking off back to his apartment to die, he found himself face to face with the thing that most terrified him.
"Oh, hello Tseng. How are you?" she said, not as surprised to see him as he was to see her.
"Um…I…hello Aerith. I just came to cheek on you and bring you this." Tseng told his shoes as he held the box out to her. She lifted the lid to look inside before taking it from him and saying:
"Oh, thank you so much! Come back to my house and we can have some, it wouldn't be as good if you weren't there to share it with me!" Surprised by her enthusiasm he didn't notice that he was being led away from the church and toward a run-down house not too far away.
"I really shouldn't." he said as they went inside.
"Oh don't be silly, besides I won't tell anyone." She replied.
And with that he found himself sitting at a small table in the kitchen being served cake. He watched her take a bite then another.
"Wow, this is really good. I didn't know you could cook." Aerith said. Picking up his fork he took a bite.
"Neither did I." He said.
As they ate Aerith talked away though Tseng had no idea what she was saying. He was preoccupied by his own thoughts, such as: Wow, she looks pretty, or I hope no one finds out about this, or why was there cake mix and frosting in my pantry? Is there some sort of inter-dimensional portal to some cake filled universe in it?
Then came the realization that Aerith was looking at him curiously because he had managed to shove that whole piece of cake in his mouth.
"Do you want some more?" She said gesturing to the cake.
"No in fact I should probably be going." He said getting up. She walked outside with him before giving him a hug and returning to the house. And even he, stone faced, emotionless Tseng had to smile until…
"Did I leave the oven on?"