Kawaii~chan stood in front of her wardrobe, staring, unfocused. Her face was still flushed from what Katelyn had said.

'Am I really that obvious?' she wondered, looking at her wardrobe full of shades and patterns of pink, each brighter and more ridiculously adorable than the previous until she came to her hot pink maid outfit from her first made café job. It was so cutesy that Kawaii~Chan had found herself unable to get rid of the old uniform. She wondered if Zane might think it was cute on her…
Eyes widening, KC shook her head vigorously.

"No wonder Katelyn~Sama can tell. Kawaii~Chan even considers his opinion when picking an outfit.
"Oh Irene…" she flopped down onto her bed, sighing.
Eyes shifting back towards the wardrobe, she spotted a dark shape at the back of her wardrobe, practically impossible to see through all the fuchsia, rose and hot pink. Leaping up, she ran and grabbed for the dress, inspecting it. A smile creeped onto her face.
"Puurrrfect"

.

.

.

Zane sat on the (unfortunately brown) couch, having a minor freak out. The moment Garroth and Laurance had left to Travis and Dante's place for a 'Taco Party' (they had gotten an invite via can and string); Zane's anger towards Garroth and Dante had faded as the panic set in.
Hand tearing through his hair, he couldn't help but go through all the possible outcomes of seeing Kawaii~Chan again after last night.
'What if she held his hand? What if she wanted to kiss him? What if-?
' The doorbell rang and Zane jumped. He stood there, frozen with panic until the doorbell rang again, snapping him back to reality. He power-walked to the door, adjusting his mask, fixing his hair and pulling at his hoodie. Taking a deep breath, he swung open the door and nearly fell over when he saw her.

Her hair was in flowing waves down her back, a pretty pink bow at her ear and a matching one on her tail, ballet flats of the same colour on her feet. Her dress was sleeveless and snugly fitted up top, short and pleated at the skirt, a thin, pastel pink belt around her middle. She had a matching pastel pink leather choker around her neck, a heart-shaped buckle at her throat. And that wasn't even the bit that shocked Zane.
The dress. Was. Black.
Dark and striking black.

It looked good on her, no, great on her. Zane felt himself blush and had to force himself to tear his eyes away and look at her face. He was thankful for his mask and fringe, mostly covering his pink cheeks.

"Hey Zane~Kun" she smiled, her tail gave a gentle swish. Zane noticed how soft it looked.

"Kawaii~Chan, come in" he stood back, opening the door wide. She pattered in, hair bobbing. Zane felt his blush intensify as he closed the door behind her. Gesturing to the kitchen he said;

"Groceries are on the bench, why don't you get the things we need out? I just need to use the bathroom…" he tried keep his voice level and paced, his mind kept spinning and twisting his thoughts. He needed a moment.

"Sure Zane~Kun, I can do that" she gave him a smile and busied herself with the groceries.
The moment he got up the stairs, Zane practically ran to the bathroom. Closing the door and leaning against it, he pulled his mask away and took some huge breaths to steady himself.
'Was she wearing that dress for him? To impress him or something? No, it couldn't be. He was letting himself get carried away again. Or was he? What if…' Zane gave himself a mental slap. 'Irene… Zane calm down. You're getting carried away again. You're just cooking together, whether or not the dress was for you, cooking for Aphmau too. What would she tell you in this situation? He imagined her, chuckling about this, saying something like; 'really Zane? It's ok. Its ok to like her, she's adorable and sweet. But don't overthink this. You're probably just hanging out, but if it's a bit more than that, that's great too. No big deal right? It's a good thing if she likes you like that…'
Reassured, Zane nodded to himself in the mirror, and with reborn confidence he strode out to the kitchen where the Mei'fwa was waiting.

"Sorry for making you wait Kawaii~Chan" Zane said, pushing casualty into his voice and grabbing cooking utensils from the cupboards.

"No problem, Kawaii~Chan has already turned on the oven and gotten all the ingredients out" she said with a flourish, giving a little gesture towards them "should we start?" And with a nod from Zane in response; they began to bake.

Kawaii~Chan felt like she was twinkling, inside and out, the way Zane was looking at her, paying attention to her, seemingly hanging on to every word; it made her feel so special. He was cooperating well today, thus learning quickly. His eye twinkled when she told him he had improved a ton, and he blushed when she took his hands to help show him the best and cleanest way to crack eggs. Soon enough they were placing their batches of cupcakes in the oven in the oven (Kawaii~Chan's looking slightly more appetising). After setting a timer and giving their hands a wash, the two sat down in the lounge room to wait for their treats to bake. There was a long, awkward pause before KC noticed something.

"Is that Just Dance over there?" she pondered, pointing. Zane looked to where her finger was directed;

"Oh… uh yeah, Garroth likes to 'show off his moves' sometimes…" he said with a chuckle. Kawaii~Chan giggled at the thought of Garroth dancing around, over-dramatic.

"You wanna play?" she asked. Zane looked at her, surprised. "Unless you think you have no chance against my moves" she challenged, striking a pose with jazz hands. Zane snickered.

"You're on"

After playing a fair few different dances, it was plain that Zane was unbeatable. How he had got so good, KC had no idea, but they had fun, flopping back down on the couch after, sweaty and laughing.
The oven timer went off and Kawaii~Chan pulled the trays out, laying the cakes out onto a cooling rack. Hers looked perfectly cooked and had risen just the right amount. Zane's on the other hand, were massive, some had overflown slightly. She heard Zane sigh behind her, close, and when she turned her head, he was leaning over her, looking at the cupcakes and shaking his head.

"Mine never seem to come out quite right" he said dejectedly "they're probably no good". He went to pick them up as to throw them away but Kawaii~chan got there first.

"Nonsense. All they need is a trim and some pretty decorations and they'll be perfect!" she beamed at him. He gave her a doubtful look but didn't try to throw them out anymore. So they let the sweets cool before coating them in sweet pink and purple icing and topping them off with shiny cachous and sugar flowers.

"Let's try one of each other's cupcakes" KC suggested. Zane looked dubious.

"Ok, but if you get sick off mine, you can't say I didn't warn you" he leaned against the bench as he said it, giving her an expectant look. Kawaii~Chan tried not go pink (that's a first) as she returned it and took a big bite out of one of his cakes, just to make a point. She chewed, noticing how it was kinda uncooked in the middle and not quite sweet enough. She nodded and licked her lips.

"It's good. Add a bit more sugar and its perfect Zane~Kun" she purred.

She had icing on her nose and it was adorable. The big bite she took had her nose just dipping into the lilac icing, leaving a smudge of it there. She was looking up at him, eyes glistening, cheeks rosy, lips pink and her shiny hair curling to frame her petite face. She said something about his cake and then nodded towards her (flawless) cupcakes.

"Your turn!" she grinned, licking some icing off the one in her hand. Zane looked at the cupcakes, choosing one, he went for the pinkest, cutest one of all. 'Just to make a point'
He pulled off his mask and bit in, savouring the perfect sweetness and lightness of the cake made by the Mei'fwa's expert hands.

She couldn't help but stare at him when he took off the mask. After all, she'd never seen him without it on. He had freckles splashed across his nose and cheeks, stark against his pale cheeks and, frankly, it was so positively cute on him that Kawaii~Chan was really struggling not to squeal. When he moved the cupcake away from his mouth, there were two little marks of icing under his bottom lip.

"You look like some sort of vampire Zane~Kun" she giggled, laughing harder when his face flushed bright pink.

"You can talk!" he spluttered, pointing at his nose and nodding at her. Kawaii~Chan put a finger to her nose and felt a large blotch of icing. Now it was her turn to blush. Zane barked with laughter before his face fell, a serious, stern expression on his face.

"But in all seriousness… I am a sprinkle cupcake vampire and I will get you" he warned, face completely straight. Kawaii~Chan's eyes widened. He let out a hiss, fingers poised to strike and made clawing motions with his hands. They both broke out into laughter. Kawaii~Chan noticed when he laughed, his eyebrows would pull up in the middle, face up, and his shoulders would shake, mouth wide open and eyes closed, a nice, booming laugh pushing out of him.

When she laughed, she hunched her shoulders and let her head fall downwards, fingers over her mouth as waves of giggles escaped her lips. Zane felt good. He felt happier than he'd ever been in a long time, certainly since the lodge. Could she alone do this to him? He felt funny, cool and just… good. Not something he was particularly used to… Only something he had gotten a small taste of when he and Aphmau became best friends. But here was this feeling in full swing and he liked it. He liked her.

He startled with the realisation. He really did like her, a lot... She was so pretty and sweet and kind and funny and helpful and lovable and definitely adorable. So many things that she was. And Zane couldn't get enough of them.

So funny and cool and handsome (she had no idea how much so until a few minutes ago) and attentive and cute and protective of the people he cared about. She'd seen what he was like with Aphmau, Aaron and, lately (and to KC's surprise), Garroth. It was something she admired and would do anything to be someone that he always wanted to be happy and healthy. He was unique. His smiles were rare, special. And making him laugh make her almost giddy with happiness.

"Thanks for teaching me Kawaii~Chan" Zane said softly, and Kawaii~Chan was pulled out of her thoughts. "I appreciate it"

"Oh! N-no problem Zane~Kun!" she perked up. "Let's just say I was paying you back for helping me be more serious… remember?"
Zane huffed with laughter. "I agree with that statement 'Miss Chan'" he said, acting all professional. KC giggled.

"We should bring these over to Aphmau~Senpai…" She said, looking out the window, across the road at the red house. Zane started packing the cakes onto a tray.

"Sure thing"
They left the house and crossed the street, Zane having a massive debate take place inside his head. Should he? No. Yes? She did it, after all… it was no big deal to her right? He wanted to. So bad. Yes? No? Yes? No…
Aphmau opened the door for them with a small smile, telling them to come inside before walking to the lounge room ahead of them. Kawaii~Chan looked up at Zane and he didn't even get time to finish his though before he found himself pressing a quick kiss on her soft cheek. She blushed and he was pretty sure he was too. Rushing inside, he pulled up his mask. Repeating the same thought over and over; Idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot, IDIOT…

Notes

Phew, there's a bigger chapter out.
Sorry it took ages. I've had to do a show this week (my school production was very demanding and I'm sooooo tired now) so I've been busy.
And sorry if things seemed to drag and then speed up. I had to write this in pieces due to tech issues :P

But, thus, interaction between our two halves. Finally.
I hope you guys enjoyed. And thanks to one of my commenters, Puffykinz on ArchiveOfOurOwn (I'm posting this on two different fanfic websites btw) for a useful idea that I managed to incorporate into this story.

I know that there aren't many of you reading this story yet. But thanks for the support. I really appreciate it.

So give me feedback please and bear with me and my writing infrequencies :/

Love,
~Wishful

P.s. I got the idea the choker KC is wearing in this chapter from fanart by JPArtist 'Pastel Goth Café Zane-Chan' only in that pic Zane is the one wear a choker w