"Ma cheri you must be joking. I agreed to teach you to cook, but even I am no miracle worker."
The Frenchwoman stood across a counter in a home ec classroom from a slightly shorter girl with blonde hair done up in pigtails. This other girl was glaring at the taller blonde with her hands on her hips.
"Are you saying you can't teach me to make something as simple as apple pie? Perhaps I should have gone to Madeline, I'm sure she wouldn't have minded helping me."
The taller blonde narrows her eyes slightly at the shorter one's insult.
"Non, I can teach you to cook. But that is not the point, you are wanting to dive into the deep end without learning how to swim first. Alice, ma cheri, you can barely boil water without it burning and that only because it is the most important step in preparing your tea. I am simply saying that if you wish to learn to cook, you must first start with something simple."
After the speech the Frenchwoman looks over to her friend and sees her pouting like a petulant child, but she can tell she has managed to convince her to follow her own logic and take things more slowly.
"Now, since we have that out of the way I was thinking we would start with some cookies. I understand that Allie's favorite is chocolate chip. And fortunately for you it is a rather simple recipe."
"Fine. She still probably likes apple pie better." Alice slumps forward as the taller blonde begins to pull out a few ingredients and set out a mixer and tools.
"Come now, ma cheri, it is not so bad. We can try to make a pie once you get some of the basics under your control. It is not like I am saying you can never have the skills to make one. Just that this will take patience."
"I know you're right Francoise, its just, its almost Christmas and I really want to give her something special."
Francoise sets a hand on Alice's shoulder in a comforting gesture.
"I understand. Well enough moping about. Time to get to work, non?"
The two spend the next several hours going over the recipe for the chocolate chip cookies and making dozens of batches as Francoise directs Alice in the proper method. The two are distracted from time to time by Francoise's roving hands followed by Alice's shrieks and a swift smack. Eventually though Alice is able to produce a batch of cookies that is neither burnt nor inedible. Smiling at her success Alice thanks Francoise and packages the cookies up to deliver to Allie the next day at school.
When the next day rolls around Alice looks for Allie before the bell for classes to begin rings. Eventually she finds her in the courtyard with her sister, Madeline, and the bad touch trio, Gillian, Francoise and Maria. Smiling nervously she approaches the group.
"So then I said 'No way you evil commie, America is way better than Ruskiland.' And she was all 'Kolkolkol' about it and..." Allie interrupts her story when she spots Alice standing just outside the group and shifts her full attention to the petite blonde. "Hey Alice. What's up?"
Alice seems to look rather sheepish before pulling her hands out from behind her back and presenting her package of cookies to the other blonde. "I I made these for you. They're chocolate chip."
Allie and her friends look down at the package of cookies. Upon hearing that Alice had made them both Gillian and Maria shrink away from the package like it is toxic waste, while Madeline is more discrete. Allie on the other hand looks at them with horror as Alice forces them into her hands.
"No no no no no. I don't want these, they're probably horrible like everything else you try to cook. I don't want to have to go to the nurse with a stomach ache."
Hearing the refusal of her offering Alice bows her head, a single tear dripping from her chin before she turns and runs off, leaving Allie holding the cookies.
"Oh come on, she didn't have to be such a drama queen, everyone knows she can't cook to save her life. Why'd she hafta act like that?"
Allie notices Francoise glaring at her before flipping a few locks of golden blonde hair over her shoulder.
"Allie dear, be a good girl and try the cookies. I swear sometimes you can be such a barbarian."
"What? You want me to try these, but Alice made them!"
"Oui, but I supervised her making them last night. She spent hours practising the recipe to get it right before finally making those. The least you can do is try them. And then you had best go and apologize to Alice."
Allie looked down at the package in resignation. Francoise was usually the first to condemn Alice's cooking, but if she was endorsing it this time then could they really actually be edible? Cautiously Allie opened the package and looked inside. Seeing nothing blackened or burned she sniffed them. Again nothing seemed wrong with them. So she carefully pulled one out and took a tentative bite, chewing carefully.
"Um, ok so they aren't that bad." She takes another larger bite followed by another and another until the cookie is gone. She starts to reach for a second when Francoise clears her throat drawing her attention.
"Allie, ma cheri. Be a dear and hold off on having anymore until you have spoken and apologized to Alice."
"Oh, uh right. I'll just go, do that." Bundling the cookies back into their packaging Allie hurries off in the direction that Alice had gone in. To Allie's dismay she wasn't able to find her quarry as easily as she had hoped. In her search she asked several of her fellow students if they had seen Alice. It wasn't until she asked the Hungarian student is he had seen the wayward blonde that he got a solid answer on her whereabouts. The library. The far back corner of the library to be exact.
Allie made her way there and headed to the far back like she'd been told. Getting there she saw a cozy little reading nook with a couple of chairs and a table between them. Sitting in one of the chairs was Alice. She was curled up with her leg tucked up under the skirt of her uniform, black patent leather Mary Jane's peaking out from under the hem. Her arms were crossed over her knees and she had her face buried in them. Allie felt guilty when a sob broke the silence of the cozy space and slowly, quietly, approached the other girl. Hesitantly she set the cookies down and cautiously wrapped her arms around the other blonde causing her to startle.
"I'm sorry." I was out before Alice could do or say anything in regards to suddenly being wrapped in the arms of her crush. "They actually taste pretty good, and I'm sorry I just assumed they'd be bad. I should have at least tried one before saying anything. And I'm sorry that the way I reacted hurt you."
"Allie?"
"Hmm?"
"You tried the cookies?"
"Yeah, Francoise said she helped you out with practising them for hours last night. They were tasty."
Alice snuggled into Allie's arms more than she already was as the compliment was passed.
"I wanted to try baking a pie for you. An Apple pie, but Francoise said it was beyond me. For now at least. She said with a bit more practise I should be able to make you one."
Allie blinks and looks down at the top of Alice's head and catches her playing with the front of her own shirt.
"Why are you going to so much trouble to make me things?"
Allie is just barely able to see the blush on Alice's cheeks as she answers. "I well, I like you and I wanted to show you that I wasn't so hopeless in the kitchen. I know what everyone says about my cooking. That's why I asked Francoise to teach me to cook. I I just wanted to impress you."
Allie tightens her grip on the smaller girl, earning a slight squeak. "Alice." She lets up a bit and reaches a hand between them to lift Alice's face to meet her own. "You don't need to learn to cook to impress me, though I do appreciate the idea. You just being you blows me away. I was always afraid with how much you yell at me that you didn't think of me as anything but an annoyance, barely worth your time." Allie chuckles as Alice blushes even more. "In all honesty I've been trying to impress you for years, to earn your approval and maybe, if I was lucky, to earn your heart." As Allie had spoken she had drawn Alice closer to her and with those final words said softly against her lips the confession was sealed with a kiss. It was soft, gentle and innocent. It was comforting and Alice found herself wanting it to go on forever. When they pulled back from one another Allie was smiling brilliantly and Alice was blushing brightly, though smiling as well.
"So, since you gave me some pretty awesome cookies why don't I take you out for dinner after classes. There's this cute little cafe I've been meaning to go to, but I never had anyone I wanted to take with me."
Alice manages to smile and nod and the two easily make plans to meet up after classes before heading off separately to their classes.
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Ok so this is a request by Neelh, a challenge set and accepted. Though I apologize to Neelh that I took so long to get this written. The challenge, since only the challenger and I know really what it was, was to write a Gakuen FrUKUS that was also Nyotalia and would eventually be UKUS. So, did I meet the challenge? Please review and feel free to place your own challenges, rules are listed one my profile if you are interested.