A/N: My first fic of the New Year! Both 2010, and the Year of the Tiger, too!
Ok, so... this is the utmost weirdest thing I've ever written. It's my entry for LunaStik's and Marvel Maiden Squalls' crack-pairing contest. Meaning that simply trying to get the pairing into play was pretty hard. Still...I hope it didn't turn out too bad.
Some notes here: Ichigo and Mint are both 18 now - considering no-one else is really involved in the story, their ages don't matter, but if you want to figure them out then feel free to do so. I also almost ran out of time (there's literally about seven hours until the deadline), so that explains why the ending is slightly rushed. This fic came out nothing like I'd originally wanted it to. But hey, I can't complain - it's up at least, isn't it?
Special thanks to Forever Mesmerised who gave this a check over and the go-ahead to post!
Disclaimer: I don't own TMM, but I do own the cookies. XD *noms*
Uh-oh. That was the sole thought that fondly repeated itself inside Mint's head. It came with the feeling, really. And it was one of those feelings, too. One in which you've realised all your socks have holes in them, or that you somehow managed to break every single piece of crockery in the entire kitchen with just one movement. Yup, definitely one of those feelings; she felt her heart drop into her stomach whilst her stomach leapt into her throat, at the same time as discovering the almost irrepressible urge to smack one of the lovely, silver frying pans off of her head. Several times.
So, how exactly had she come to this reckless impulse? Simple. She was currently stood in the kitchen, baking love-heart shaped cookies. For that girl; her best friend. Yes, Mint Aizawa, the one who never works nor ever does any task such as baking, for no reason at all had decided to make Ichigo Momomiya heart-shaped cookies. So really, considering she was in the kitchen, it would be far too easy to grab one of the pans that sat tauntingly close to her, and just give herself a few good whacks over the head. It was certainly very tempting. Tempting, but not very ladylike.
So she refrained herself, continuing her current task of creating her baked goods. Scooping the ball of dough up into her hands, she tore a bit from the side, letting the rest drop back down into the bowl. Molding the small, ripped fragment into a perfect sphere, Mint turned and placed it on the baking tray, squashing it down into a circle. When satisfied with the perfect shape, she nodded to herself, before repeating the action.
Several scoops and squishes later, and Mint had almost filled up the entire tray. Her dough was practically gone now, as was her patience; such a tedious task was becoming too boring for her, and she sought something else to occupy herself with. Normally, the ballerina had the world of patience - a lady was never without such an important personality trait - but today… something was off and she found her mind wandering, and for some reason she was becoming increasingly frustrated. Perhaps it was the constant insatiable curiosity as to why exactly she was doing what she was. After all, she couldn't figure a reason behind it - she was just making her friend cookies. But shouldn't she be making them for Zakuro? The model was her idol, her secret crush… and of course, Valentine's Day was approaching. She shouldn't be pouring her heart and soul into making treats for Ichigo! She should be mixing chocolate for Zakuro!
….So why was it that she was unable to break away from this?
"Ooh! This is just-- just--! Gyah!" Mint cried, throwing her hands up into the air in exasperation. Quick as a flash, she brought them down to slam over her ears, whipping her head from side to side frantically and stamping her feet like a child. Her tantrum lasted a minute, before abruptly stopping. Sighing, Mint angrily pulled the oven door open and threw the tray of cookies inside carelessly, banging it closed quickly after.
Turning and leaning back against the bench, she raised her fingers and massaged her temples in an attempt to calm down. Not that it worked; the lack of being able to cool her boiling temper was only frustrating her further. She felt her cheeks beginning to burn up, and without thinking, subconsciously decided to rid herself of the heat. Striding over to the sink, she grabbed a glass and flicked on the cold tap. Water instantly came gushing out, gargling noisily into the basin. Mint shoved the glass under the thick stream and tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for it to fill with liquid. Soon - but not soon enough for her liking - it was full, and without hesitating she brought her hand sharply backwards, successfully drenching her face and torso in the freezing, wet water.
The instant it hit her, she jerked backwards, forcefully enough that she managed to stumble several steps and trip, landing on her backside as she came into contact with the floor. The air left her in a rush; far more rapidly than the time it took her to realise exactly what she had just done. But, when it finally clicked, there was nothing greater than the roar that erupted from Mint's throat.
"ARRRRRRGHH!"
"Mint-sama? Mint-sama! Are you ok?" came the concerned and frantic voice of one of the maids, charging into the room at the sound of the girl's cry. Her head snapped from side to side in a frenzy; a desperate attempt to locate the young mistress.
"…I'm fine," Mint grumbled, folding her arms across her chest and casting her gaze grumpily down at the floor.
Peeking around the corner of the kitchen bench, the maid caught sight of the sulking ballerina, and her elderly, wrinkled eyes widened in surprise. "Are you ok, Mint-sama?" she enquired, walking around slowly and bending down so her head was at the same level as Mint's.
"I said," she began through gritted teeth, "that I'm fine."
"Pardon my saying, Mint-sama, but you don't really look ok," the maid probed. "Something is troubling you, isn't it?"
Tightening her lips into a straight line, Mint shot a rather weak glare at the elder woman, remaining silent. However, after several moments of slowly succumbing to the maid's concerned gaze, she finally opened her mouth and spilled all.
"Well… you see…"
Icing sugar… Icing sugar… Where was that stuff? Mint refrained from stamping her foot agitatedly, instead opting to just seethe and utter curses beneath her breath, rather than humiliate herself by acting up again. It hadn't taken long for the maid she'd confided in to come up with an answer to Mint's unexplainable actions regarding the cooking. And it was to the girl's absolute horror that, not only did she think it was a terrible thing to be accused of, but she also realised that the sinking feeling in her stomach was telling her that it was the truth.
She was crushing on Ichigo Momomiya.
In all honesty, Mint had never had a problem with other girls - she quite openly admitted her liking for her supermodel-idol - but when it occurred to her that she could be harboring feelings for the red-headed Mew, she felt sick. Why? Because she quite clearly knew that not only was Ichigo completely straight (just a wild guess Mint had taken from the many males that she seemed to crush on… although she was extremely loyal to Masaya), but that she would also be exceedingly awkward for a very long time (weeks, months, years even) if the bluenette ever revealed her feelings to her.
Which, ultimately, left Mint in a frustratingly problematic position.
Shaking out of her thoughts, she continued to search for the icing sugar, to no avail. After raiding every cupboard, every drawer, pantry, shelf and even the cool room, Mint still hadn't managed to find the small, pink box of icing sugar. On the verge of giving up, she swiveled round on her heel ready to exit the kitchen once and for all… but a flash of red caught her eye, and she spun quickly back around.
And there she was.
Mint's breath caught as a gasp in her throat. Her eyes widened and a hand flew to her mouth. Because there in front of her stood Ichigo Momomiya, shaking the petite pink packet about tauntingly, smirk painted across her lips.
"You really need to learn to open your eyes and ears, Mint-chan. It was far too easy for me to sneak in and grab this when you weren't looking," the catgirl teased, waving her tail around in the air as a sign to show how she'd managed the particular trick, before quickly making it disappear.
"Are you trying to irritate me, Ichigo? Because you're doing a damn good job of it!" Mint hissed, clenching her fists and narrowing her eyes into a glare.
Ichigo made a face of mock-surprise, saying patronizingly, "Oh my, my, Mint! Cussing, is it? I thought ladies never cussed!"
"…Are you drunk, baka?"
"Might be… You know, you sound a lot like Shirogane when you call me that," she declared, jumping out of the way as the ballerina lunged for her.
"You really are drunk, aren't you?"
"Don't be silly!" Ichigo laughed. "I'm just… trying to keep my spirits up. You've known me a long time now, Mint, and you know how long I've been going out with Masaya…" Her voice trailed away softly, chocolate eyes glazing over as they stared elsewhere. She stopped dodging her friend's swipes and stood perfectly still, allowing Mint to near her.
"He broke up with you?" the bluenette asked, slowly and guardedly in hopes of not setting the girl off into hysterics. But the response Mint received was completely the opposite of what she expected. Ichigo turned to face her, a smile lighting up her face.
"No, silly, I broke up with him."
This threw the other girl, and she stepped back in shock. "Wh-what?" she asked, bewilderedly. "Why? I thought you two were 'in love'?"
"Hmm? Nya! I realised something a little while ago, and it was niggling at me for a while, so I finally 'fessed to Aoyama-kun earlier. And we talked about it - he was really understanding and all - and it eventually led to the two of us deciding that with me being the way I am, it's not gonna work anymore," Ichigo explained.
"Do continue, Momomiya," Mint demanded in her 'polite-but-authoritive' way, letting the red-head know that she wasn't up for any nonsense.
"Because I like girls now!" she announced cheerfully, placing her hands on Mint's shoulders and pecking the astounded girl on the lips.
And promptly, Mint fainted.
It was an hour or so later when she finally came-to, stirring before allowing her eyes to flutter open. And of course, the first thing she caught sight of was Ichigo's face, hovering far too close to her own. Mint shrieked, bolting upright and shoving Ichigo off the bed in a panic, releasing a startled shriek as she did so.
She landed with an "Oomph!" on the carpeted floor, immediately rolling up onto her knees so that she could rub her butt to ease the pain. The biscuit she had been in the middle of devouring had fallen to the carpet - thankfully, to Mint's utter relief, it wasn't the part that hadn't been chewed - and was now in several pieces due to separation upon impact. Once Ichigo had finished soothing her behind, she turned to look up at Mint.
"What was that for?" she demanded, pouting.
"You shouldn't have been so near my face, Momomiya! That actually--" She cut herself off, turning away sharply. Ichigo's expression softened.
"You can admit you're scared, you know," she cooed, tilting her head and smiling sweetly.
"Huh! Like I'm scared of anything!" Mint argued, crossing her arms and swiveling her body to face away from the red-head completely.
"Proud," she laughed. "You're such a proud snob, Mint-koi."
"K-koi?!"
This time, rather than faint, Mint found herself flailing and falling backwards, right off the bed. Letting out a screech as she fell, she hit the floor with her back, her head coming to rest coincidently in Ichigo's lap. A blush tinged Mint's cheeks red, and she glanced up at her friend ashamedly.
But all Ichigo did in response was throw her head back and laugh. "See this is why I like girls now - it's more relaxing and easier being with girls rather than boys, because you do silly things like fall off your bed, Mint!"
Beginning to anger, Mint opened her mouth to scold her… when all of a sudden, she found that physically impossible. Because, for some reason that didn't entirely make sense to her, she found Ichigo's tongue planted firmly inside. Startled, she froze, the feel of Ichigo's lips moving against her own tense ones baffling her beyond sanity. However… she was unable to battle against it, and ended up caving into the kiss, eyes fluttering closed and her lips finally responding.
Unfortunately, the need for air became too great, and both found themselves pulling away before long. Mint, bewildered, shocked, and beginning to think that perhaps she actually had whacked herself with one of those frying pans, could only splutter out a nonsensical, "W-Wha?!"
Giggling, Ichigo leaned a little closer again, dipping her head low so that her nose touched Mint's, and whispering something that caused the girl's eyes to widen and her mouth to fall agape.
"I told you I liked girls now Mint; I totally blame you for that. …Oh, and thanks for the cookies."
A/N: Hopefully you understood that. Either way, review, please?