So I was lazing around, and I suddenly remembered that I haven't updated this fic in...more than a week, thats for sure. I have literally no excuses except that I've been binge-catching up on Girl Meets World. I might publish something for that. I've also been reading Star wars fanfiction. It's very good. Anyway, on to the chapter!
For Cassodembreankia
Team Baking: "Mmm." I frown. "So you won't even try?"
"Baking is your job." She smirks.
Viktore
I am just sitting in the kitchen minding my own business when Clint comes wandering in, Pietro, Rosalinda and Tony hot on his heels.
"We need cake." Pietro declares abruptly.
"Excuse me?" I look up from my magazine.
"We need cake." Tony says it slowly, like I'm stupid.
"Why?" I frown.
"We wanna prank Jaq and Bucky." Clint says.
"They're gonna kill you." I laugh, shaking my head.
"We're okay with that." Rosalinda shrugs.
"Okay," I shrug, unable to refute their logic, or their death wish. "Why cake?"
"They keep acting cute in the common rooms." Tony grimaces.
"Yeah," Clint adds, "I mean, their romance is great and all, but honestly? Keep it to yourself."
"Again, why cake?" I cross my arms, the magazine forgotten.
"We're gonna prank them with it, Phantom-man." Pietro laughs. "I thought you would have guessed that by now."
"So…what do you expect me to do?" I raise an eyebrow.
"They obviously want you to make the cake." Wanda drawls boredly. She passes through the living room, easily weaving through the furniture even though her eyes are glued to the book she's reading. 'Gone', the spine reads. I read that book. It was cool; kinda scary, but cool.
"Me?" I laugh. "No way. I'm not getting in this. Jaq'll kill me. And you know she can. Several different ways, actually."
"You and I both know that we won't leave you alone until you make us cake." Tony says conspiratorially.
"I gathered that." I sigh, blowing a thick lock of hair out of my eyes. I've been growing it out; another way to escape the invisible influence of my father. I look over at Wanda, who has taken a seat on the stool next to mine. "And there's no way I can still escape clean?"
"You and your Shadows share a mental link, yes?" She asks, finally looking up from the book. She must have finished the chapter.
"Yes…" I say warily, trying to ignore the eager gazes of the four nutjobs in front of me.
"Then I would think not, unless you try to play that you didn't know what the cake was for until the prank was done." She shrugs. I drag a hand down my face.
"I'm gonna be in so much trouble." I moan, tossing my head back. "Maybe Jaq will remember how long we've been friends and kill me quickly instead of torturing me."
"Unlikely." Rosalinda mutters. I shoot her a glare.
"I hope she tortures you." I huff.
"So…will you do it?" Tony asks hopefully.
"Oh, so I have a choice now?" I feign surprise.
"I mean, yeah." Tony looks confused.
"If you wanna live here." Pietro cuts in.
"Shut up." I roll my eyes. "I'll do it, but I am just a mercenary. You're gonna have to pay me well, I'll only perform this service, and if the job goes bad I'm ratting you out."
"Deal." Clint says. He puts out a hand to shake but I stop him.
"Payment." I say.
"Ah…" Tony thinks for a moment. "All new tech. And the run of the kitchen."
"All new tech for me, and some to bribe Jaq and Bucky to forgive me with. Plus the run of the kitchen and all new baking supplies." I counter.
"Deal." Tony says immediately, and we shake on it.
"You really are desperate, aren't you?" I laugh.
"Yes." Pietro whines.
"Then why don't you just buy store cake?" I ask. "It's faster, and it has no demands."
"Jaq won't eat any cake but yours, you know that." Rosalinda smirks. "And we figure that they'll forgive us quicker if the prank tastes good."
I doubt that'll make a difference, but I don't tell her that.
"Plus wedding cakes are expensive and time consuming." Clint adds.
"Wedding cake?" I frown. "Is that what you want?"
"Yeah." Tony says. I open my mouth but he holds up a hand. "Don't ask."
"Okay…" I shake my head. "So wedding cake style, except less elaborate. What exactly are you planning on doing with it?"
"We told you already. We are going to hide in vent and drop cake on them." Pietro looks over his shoulder so quickly his face blurs. I'm surprised his neck isn't broken. "So can you hurry up?"
"Are you guys gonna help?" I ask.
"Not all of us." Tony shrugs. "Pietro will go to the store for whatever you need, but then we need his help. Me, Clint and Rosa have to get everything set up."
"Okay." I nod. I pull a list from my pocket. "I was planning on making a cake later anyway. So everything on this list, Pietro. Except the food dye. The frosting will have to be white."
"Alright." Pietro says, and then there is nothing in his place but wind.
"Okay then." I chuckle, turning on the oven. "He'll be back in a few minutes so you guys can go."
"Thanks, buddy." Tony grins as he, Clint, and Rosalinda leave. "You're a lifesaver."
"As I aid your violent death at Bucky's metal hand." I mutter, moving to pull out some bowls. "You wanna help, Wanda?"
"I would rather watch." She says, folding her hands and doing exactly that.
"Why?" I grin. "You scared?"
"No." She says simply as I pull out the stand mixer I bought with a rattle.
"Mmm." I frown. "So you won't even try?"
"Baking is your job." She smirks. "It is your favorite thing to do."
"Maybe," I pull out two cake pans, one large and one small. "But how do you know it isn't yours?"
"I don't." She says; she hesitates briefly, then sighs. "I have never baked anything. I never learned how. My mother knew how, but she never got to teach me."
"I see." I pause. She is tracing an invisible pattern in the counter. "I didn't always know how to bake."
Just then Pietro blurs in. I don't even want to think about how he got everything so fast, but it's all there; even the receipt. And not one egg is broken.
"Amazing." I smile. "Thanks, man."
"Is no problem." He wheezes a little, but he still manages a smirk. "About how long?"
"Less than an hour." I say. "Once they're in the oven, don't run in though."
"Okay." He passes me a coms piece. "Tell us when it's ready for us to take."
"Okay." I say. I'm impressed with their dedication to a simple prank. "Clint's waiting for you on the next floor down."
"Thanks." Pietro turns, takes two slow steps, then a faster one, and he is gone.
"What do you mean you didn't always know how to bake?" Wanda asks. She picks up the conversation like Pietro never came in. I suppose she's gotten used to doing that. It baffles me, but I go with it.
"Uh, when I was young, I used to like watching my mother, sisters, and girl cousins cook and bake for our gatherings. Eventually, I started helping. I never understood how they could cook such good things from nothing, but I always had a knack for understanding baking." I smile. I put the coms piece in, then unpack the bags.
"So you did always know how to bake." Wanda sighs.
"No, I always understood it." I correct, washing my hands. "In theory. When I was young, I wasn't allowed to bake."
"Why not?" She frowns.
"My father didn't think it was right for a boy to be so interested in 'woman's work'." I wave my hand vaguely as I measure out the ingredients.
"Oh." Wanda says. "So how did you learn?"
"I ran away, obviously." I smirk. "I was given the serum inverse when I was 18, but it was a two year program before that."
"So you left home when you were 16?" She sounds intrigued.
"Yes." I nod slowly. "And after I left the experiment to go into hiding, I taught myself to bake."
"You taught yourself?" She frowns.
"Yeah." I laugh, mixing the dry ingredients together. "It was a lot of trial and error, that's for sure."
"May I ask you something?" Wanda says hesitantly.
"Of course." I nod, adding in some of the eggs and milk.
"How old are you?" She frowns.
"I saw that coming." I laugh. I set down the empty bowl and wipe my hands, letting the stand mixer do the work. "I'm 25 now."
"I thought so." Wanda whispers, more to herself than anything. I lean my hip against the counter and grin.
"Is my age a problem?" I raise an eyebrow.
"No." She looks away, then huffs and looks me straight in the eye. "Can you teach me?"
"Teach you what?" I wipe at a bit of spilled flour.
"To bake." She says, her gaze unwavering. "I may be too old, but I want to know if baking is my favorite thing too."
"I can do that." I stare at her, and my voice is quieter than I expected.
"Thank you." She ducks her head, but I see the tips of her ears turn red. She is so mature; sometimes I forget she's only twenty years old.
"No problem." I turn off the mixer and pull over the pans. "You wanna pour?"
"Nice try." She smirks. "I'm already in enough trouble for not warning Jaq without helping you out."
"I tried." I shrug, pouring the batter in the pans myself. I slide them into the oven and start the dishes. For the rest of the time it takes to bake and ice the cake, we are silent. But it is companionable, comfortable silence.
"As promised," I tell Tony, "less than an hour."
"Thank you." He grins. "Send me your wish list and you'll be first priority."
"With pleasure." I smirk. "Good luck."
Tony leaves and Wanda laughs; softly at first, then louder and louder.
"What?" I ask, a ghost of a smile lurking still as Wanda bends over, clutching her side.
"It was so beautiful." She gasps between gales of laughter. "And they are going to go drop it on someone's head."
"I know." I laugh too. "They have absolutely no sense."
We laugh together for a good ten minutes, first at the ridiculousness of a cake prank, then at each other before we finally stop.
"Thank you." Wanda sighs finally.
"Ah, for what?" I grin.
"For letting me watch." She smiles, and it's the prettiest thing I've seen all day.
"No problem." I say sincerely. I start to say something else, but I hear footsteps. "Hey…"
"What?" Wanda says, picking up her book.
"Do you really want baking lessons?" The footsteps are heavier, and there's two sets, not one.
"Yes…" Wanda says warily.
"Then we're gonna have to be alive!" I say, flipping on the coms piece. "Pietro!"
He must have been on his way anyway, because he is there before I even get his name out. He scoops up Wanda, who is laughing again, and I run after him. Not as fast as him, but fast enough that we stay a floor ahead of Jaq and Bucky.
"Lina." I pant when we make it to our destination. Pietro sets Wanda down and takes off into the room. "We need sanctuary."
She rolls her eyes and opens the door wider, revealing a sweat-soaked Clint and Tony, an already-smirking Pietro and a twitchy Rosalinda.
"Join the club." She grumbles. Dante waves cheekily as I collapse into a chair.
Whether we're being hunted down by assassins for stupid pranks or saving the world, I love being an Avenger.
Poor Wanda. Collateral damage. Review and REQUEST! requests are very open right now. So tell me what you wanna see!
