This is for /shoutowo_ on twt bc she drew lovely art of these babies and I needed to contribute to their friendship.
"Yomu!"
He must be hearing things, it's rare that anyone would call out to him in such a familiar way. The white haired youth doesn't react to what sounded like a feminine voice calling his name. Long bangs block his left eye, frame hunched over an assignment for class, pen continues to scratch against paper and thoughts begin to wander.
"Hey, Yomu!"
This time she sounds closer, and it's clear she's calling out to him. He looks up, heart jumping into his throat as he notices Autumn rushing towards him. One of her arms is looped through Rei's and she's mostly dragging the purple haired girl along with her. She stops in a flurry of movement, a blur red hair and flowered dress as she releases Rei and instead takes Yomu's cheeks between her palms.
"I heard what happened, are you okay? I was so worried I came right over. I can't believe that one of the villains almost got you. " Soft voice is thick with worry, blue eyes flicking over his face for any signs of injury. Naturally, Recovery Girl would have healed him right up but the mom friend instinct within her was too strong to be ignored.
Gentle fingers push his hair back from his face, heart skipping a beat (he's so handsome!) for just a moment before she lets him go and slides into the seat across from him. With a smile she glances up, petting the seat next to her and waiting for Rei to take it before her attention turns back towards Yomu.
" What are you working on?" Before he can answer she waves a hand, continuing. "Anyway, put it away for now. I need some help. I've already recruited Rei – and she's less than thrilled but I may have accidentally… offered to make a very large amount of cupcakes and I can't do it all alone."
Slender fingers slide across the table and she fits a piece of paper between the pages of his book to mark his place before gently closing it. Her lower lip protrudes in a pout and she gives him her best puppy dog eyes. "Please."
It doesn't take much for him to give in and within ten minutes the three of them are on their way to the grocery store, a list of ingredients held between Autumn's fingers. The redhead is delighted, chattering away as they enter the store. The other two were quiet, but seemed to be comfortable with the current company.
"Rei, you get eggs and Yomu you get the frosting and I'll grab the rest. Meet back here in five minutes. And go!"
She scurries off, leaving Rei and Yomu by the door. A quick glance at one another before they find their way towards their respective tasks, stunned by their whirlwind of a friend . Rei finding herself cradling a couple dozen eggs and Yomu torn between chocolate and vanilla frosting before grabbing a couple of both. On his way out of the aisle he picks up a container of colored sprinkles for good measure, they seem like something that Autumn would like.
"Oh, look at those!"
He had been right, she lights up with delight at the colorful candies, dumping the ingredients onto the counter and pulling out her father's credit card.
"They're just sprinkles." Rei speaks up, and Autumn shakes her head in soft disagreement.
"But they'll make them look so much better."
A thank you to the clerk before the three of them are on their way again, Autumn leading them back to campus and towards their common room. She had a habit of forcing her way into people's lives, especially those who seemed to need it. And these two, they had tugged at her heartstrings in a way in which she was familiar. Perhaps they'd all be good for each other, god knows she needed some friends to keep her in line.
"Yomu, how did we get dragged into this?" Rei turns to Yomu, gesturing at the girl bouncing along before them.
"I think it's nice to be included." His voice was soft, smile even softer as he followed into the kitchen and gentle placed the bags down on the table.
A noise of acknowledgement from the girl as she followed suit and placed her bags on the counter. Autumn had disappeared, returning moments later with an arm full of bowls and a small wireless speaker. Her thumb taps against her phone and she selects some music before lining the bowls up along the counter.
"Okay, someone turn on the oven and let's get baking." Her phone buzzes, a message from her father and the everpresent smile falters for only a moment before she turns to the other two. "I have to make a phone call, just follow the directions on the box and I'll be right back." The music ceases and the redhead disappears, leaving Rei and Yomu to their own devices.
"Should we make the chocolate first?" Yomu lifts the box of chocolate mix and Rei falters, she'd gone to turn the oven on and had become distracted holding her hands close to the warmth. She blinks a couple of times, nodding.
"Sure." It doesn't matter to her, Autumn is the one running this show and now that she was out of sight it didn't occur to her to continue their task. But, she supposes that it would make sense. The two of them work quietly together for a short while, Rei adding the ingredients while Yomu continued to mix.
"If she doesn't hurry, we'll be done by the time she gets back."
"Maybe that was her plan." Rei's voice was dry, cupcake tray clattering into the oven.
"I don't think she's the type of person to have a plan like that."
"I guess you're right."
Rei stations herself next to the oven, leaning against it while the cupcakes cook. Perhaps she should take up baking as a hobby, an excuse to warm herself next to the oven when her body temperature started to drop. The backs of her thighs are hot by the time the timer goes off and she reluctantly moves away to take them out.
Yomu is ready with the icing and the sprinkles that he picked out, but Rei stops him with a hand. " You have to wait for them to cool or the frosting will melt."
"Sorry that took so long." Autumn returns, hair tied with a ribbon and phone tucked away. "My dad misses me, wanted to know all about school. Oh, look! You've already got the first batch done how amazing!"
She smiles brightly, fitting herself into their routine. It doesn't take long until most of the surfaces in the kitchen are covered in cupcakes and all three of them have frosting and mix on their faces and hands. Autumn swipes her thumb across Yomu's cheek, removing a smear of vanilla frosting before she licks it off and laughs about how he was the messiest froster she'd ever met.
"I appreciate the help."
"We don't mind." Yomu speaks for them both as he continues to frost, one visible eye crinkling in a smile. Rei doesn't disagree, sprinkling a few candies onto the top of a cupcake and pulling another towards herself.
"I'm glad. It would have taken me all day to do this alone."
They find themselves at ease, the only noises was the music Autumn had turned back on and the quiet conversation between them. Talking about class and the future, laughter rising until the three of them were nothing but smiles and Autumn was able to pack up all their creations into several boxes to bring to the teachers for distribution.
Three cupcakes were left, a shrug of slender shoulders as Autumn smiles sheepishly. "There wasn't enough room for these three. We have to eat them."
"Of course." Rei agreed, picking one up and nodding to Yomu.
The three of them tapped their cupcakes together like a cheer, Yomu's quiet voice the one to make the toast. "To friendship."