I originally wrote this short for a drabble challenge I invented for myself. Of the five stories I did, only two involved non-RP versions of these characters; this is one of them.

Rated Teen for awkward situations, two very dirty minds, and lots of blushing.

Luka blinked at Rin, an expression of mild horror on her face. "You… want to what?"

Rin smiled and repeated herself a little more clearly. "I want to bake Lily-san a cake for her birthday."

Luka slowly closed the book in her hands to give the blonde girl her full attention. "Rin, if memory serves me correctly, your skill in cooking leaves something to be desired." The younger girl's face fell at the blunt assertion, but she went on. "Though I still don't understand why you've come and told me this. It's not as though you need my permission to use the kitchen."

"I need your help, Luka-neesan!" Rin knelt down in front of the pink-haired woman and clasped her hands pleadingly. "You're the only other person I can turn to. Len will do it all himself and that's no fun, Miku-neechan hasn't forgiven me for the time I let her pigtails get caught in the blender, and Gumi-chan… probably has every right to be terrified about me being in the same room as a gas range. But I really, really need help! Pleeeease? I'll do anything for you in return!"

The older woman wound a lock of pink hair around one finger, raising a disbelieving eyebrow. "Anything at all?"

"ANYTHING! I'll, I'll… do your laundry for a month! Organize your bookshelves! Be your personal secretary!

Luka looked thoughtful for a moment, then gave a wide, wicked smile that made Rin more than a little worried. "Alright. I'll help. But you need to do exactly as I say, before, during, and after, hm?"

Rin swallowed nervously, but nodded in quick agreement. "Y-yes! Teach me please, Luka-sensei!"

The pinkette chuckled softly before putting the book aside and standing. "Then follow me, dear student, as we prepare for the first step."

"Luka-sensei?"

"Hm?" Luka carefully set the various ingredients on the counter - a carton of eggs, containers of sugar and flour, and a large bottle of honey.

Rin, meanwhile, was pulling awkwardly at her underwear under her skirt; the pair she'd been forced to wear was narrower than she was used to and it was giving her a wedgie. "I still don't get how dressing like a french maid is supposed to help with cooking."

Luka smiled knowingly and gestured with one of the beaters from the electric mixer, dressed in a similar outfit to the one Rin was wearing now. "It's simple, Rin-chan. By wearing the costume, you /feel/ like a french maid. Let that feeling seep into your bones, and you'll be cooking like an experienced maid in no time, yes?"

"Er… if you say so." Rin thought the outfit suited the taller, bustier woman much better than it did herself, but she wasn't really allowed to argue. It didn't help that her own costume felt a bit loose, like it was made for someone taller and slightly bustier than herself. "Hey… is this Miku-neechan's outfit?"

Luka immediately covered her face with a cookbook, hiding an incandescent blush behind its pages. "W-well! Time for the recipe, yes! Gather ingredients first, that's always the most important step. First, six eggs at room temperature, so let's take those out first so they have time to warm up. Then a cup of sugar, a cup of flour plus another few tablespoons, and last but not least, the honey… uh, Rin-chan?"

Rin had taken out the eggs first, as instructed, but she ended up turning to the honey next, prying at the pointed cap. "This is the stupidest lid I've ever seen… I can't get a grip on it! Errrgh!"

Luka anxiously set the book down, trying to stop Rin from removing the cap. "That's because it's a squeeze bottle, Rin-chan, it's not meant to be-"

At that moment, Rin's hand slipped down and crushed the bottle tightly in her grip; the force of her squeeze caused the bottle cap to pop open, and a long stream of golden honey flew through the air with the sound of a deflating balloon, splattering on Luka's cheek, neck, and chest.

"… removed."

"OH MY GOSH!" Rin set the bottle on the counter quickly and flailed about, looking for something to clean Luka up with. "I'm soooo sorry, Luka-sensei! I'm such a klutz! I, I, I-"

"Rin-chan! Rin, please, it's alright. It was just a silly accident." Luka wiped at her cheek with her hand, almost immediately regretting it in her haste to get the honey off of her. "Ah, this is sticky!" She looked at her hand for a moment, and licked her ring finger carefully, getting as much of the honey off as possible. "Sweet, though." She then stuck her middle finger into her mouth to clean it off, but paused when she heard an embarrassed squeaking noise. Her eyes turned to see Rin staring at her with a crimson face, a dish towel in her clenched hands, just… staring at Luka's face and hand.

"L-l-l-luka-s-s-sensei… that's… that's…" Rin shivered as she blushed, her body language taut with some unnameable emotion. From her perspective, the scene was more than a little bit suggestive; Luka withdrew the finger from her mouth and looked at her hand blankly for a moment, sticky strands of honey dangling from her fingers and palm.

Finally, Luka managed to connect the dots, and a matching scarlet flush filled her own face as she clutched her sticky hand to her chest, holding out her unstained hand to Rin for the towel. "I'll, uh… I'll just get cleaned up, and we can go on, yes?"

"R-right! Aha, ha, hahahahue…" Rin handed the towel over to Luka and retreated to the sink for a moment, drawing a glass of water to distract herself from a variety of images that were swimming through her brain.

By some miracle, there were no further disasters during the preparation of the cake; castella wasn't the simplest recipe in the world, but with Luka giving Rin close and careful guidance, her mistakes were few and minor. Once the cakes were baking in the oven, the two of them worked together washing the dishes, then took a brief but well-deserved rest until the cake was done.

Luka turned the first of the two loaf-like cakes out onto a sheet of plastic wrap, carefully removing the parchment paper that the cake has been cooked in. The skin of the castella held, and Rin applauded cheerfully. "Look, Luka! They came out perfectly! Just like in the pictures!"

With a nod and a smile, Luka carefully wrapped the cake in the plastic wrap, sealing it off so it would keep its shape as it cooled in the fridge for the next half-day. Before she could turn around to gather up the other cake pan, however, she heard a yelp and a clatter; turning, she saw Rin next to the other cake, shaking out the index and middle fingers of her right hand.

"Did you burn yourself, Rin?" she asked worriedly, and at the girl's sheepish nod, she hurried over to the sink, running the cold water. "Come, then," she ordered, and when the girl obediently came close, she grabbed Rin's hand and pulled it under the stream, letting the cool liquid wash over it.

"I'm sorry, Luka-sensei," Rin apologized with tears in her eyes. "I-I wanted to help, but I thought it was cool already, and-"

"It's okay, Rin-chan, really," Luka said gently, holding the girl's hand delicately. "It was an accident, that's all."

Rin looked to one side, an unhappy pout on her face. "I keep causing 'accidents'… maybe I really am no good in the kitchen at all."

"Rin…" Luka turned off the water and carefully dried off the blonde's hand with a dish towel, warming it between her palms after feeling how chilled it had become from the water. "You have trouble because you're nervous. But look what we did! We made a cake together, and we only had two minor accidents. I'd call that a resounding success, wouldn't you?"

"I… I guess so," Rin replied reluctantly, looking down with a faint blush. Luka smiled brightly in return, and clasped the girl's hand closer to her chest.

"So please, don't fret. I think you did very well today… and I'd be happy to help you cook again in the future, alright?"

"R-really, Luka-neesan?! I mean, Luka-sensei?" Rin's face lit up with happiness at both the praise and the promise, and squeezed Luka's hand in response. "Thank you…"

"It's truly no trouble, Rin," Luka responded, and brought the blonde's singed fingers up to her lips, kissing them gently. She smiled at the undignified squeak that the girl let out at the action, and let her hand go with a smile. "There, all better! Ne?"

"Uhm… y-yeah. Much better!" Rin's face was incandescently red as she retrieved her hand - rather slowly, Luka noted. "So… oven mitts, right? Right!"

"… mmmmm-MMM! This is AWESOME, Rin!" Lily's face split with a huge grin as she praised the girl, pulling the fork out of her mouth to snag another bite of the castella. "My favourite kind, too! I'm impressed!"

"I-I had lots of help from Luka-neesan, but… thank you, Lily-san." Rin blushed at the older blonde's effusive thanks, and looked sidelong at Luka, who stood on the other side of the room next to Miku; the younger girl was with Len as usual, and everyone else was gathered around the table to celebrate Lily's birthday.

"Come on, everyone, take a piece! It's incredible!" Lily eagerly carved up the cake into pieces for the other Vocaloids as Rin beamed with pride. She took two pieces when handed to her, and passed one to Len, letting him take a taste first. The young boy seemed a bit nervous at first, but his eyes widened as he bit down on his fork.

"Wow, Rin, this really is great! You did a good job on it," Len said with a smile, and the girl grinned cheekily in response. "Maybe next time we can cook something together?"

"Ah… not yet, Len."

"Wait, what?" Len looked at Rin in shock as she looked shyly away. "Why not?"

"Well, you're already really good at cooking. I don't want to be in your way… so I'm going to keep training with Luka-sensei until I'm almost as good as you!" Rin smiled brightly at her twin before looking in Luka's direction. The older woman was still near enough to hear the conversation, and she nodded cheerfully at Rin, as the girl waved her right hand at the pink-haired woman.

"Aww… well, I can't blame you, I guess. Alright then, I know what I want for our birthday." Len grinned and folded his arms behind his head as Rin looked at him blankly.

"Eh? What do you mean?" Rin felt a nervous flutter in her stomach.

"We'll make cakes for each other for our birthday, okay? I want banana-chocolate!"

Rin's eyebrow twitched as she considered just what sort of 'price' Luka would exact for her help this time. "Uh… sure, Len… eh-heh-heh… no problem!" She glanced in Luka's direction briefly, hoping the older woman hadn't actually heard the boy's request.

Unfortunately, she had. There was a wicked gleam in the pink-haired Vocaloid's blue eyes as she leaned away from Miku, hiding her lips from view. She mouthed something that only Rin could see, and the words made Rin flush hotly, her body wobbling like rubber in response.

"Maybe next time, we should try it with aprons and nothing else, hmm?"