Author's Note: So, I may or may not have been a little obsessed with Triangle Strategy for the past month or so. Oops. Anyway, Serenoa and Frederica are ludicrously wholesome, and I love these two. So of course I had to write something for them.

Originally, this was going to be Frederica actually making dinner, but then I got their second side story, which is exactly that. So I altered this slightly so it could be an in-between thing without contradicting their actual interactions too much. Either way, you can never have too much Dumb Fluff, so I'm happy with this.

Mixing Up Mishaps

Frederica took a deep breath as she looked at the ingredients spread out in front of her. This couldn't possibly be that hard, could it? She was making a big deal out of nothing. Other people cooked their own food all the time.

Besides, she could study complex spells with no trouble! When she thought of it that way, making a meal sounded simple. And that encouraged her—dinner couldn't be much harder than magic.

…Well, "dinner" was incorrect. Frederica had decided that she should start with something small. A few side dishes first for practice—then dinner. And so she'd flipped through the cookbook Geela had given her until she'd found something easy enough.

That was how Frederica found herself in a small corner of the encampment with the ingredients for a loaf of bread assembled in front of her. It looked relatively painless, even with the writer's rather…verbose directions. She only needed a few things and enough time for it to rise. Frederica took another deep breath, nodded, and began to mix the ingredients together.

Flour, water, salt, a few herbs. The salt made this a precious recipe, and that was slightly nerve-wracking. But mixing everything together was simple, and Frederica relaxed as she carefully added the recommended amount of water.

Finally, she was ready to let the dough rise. Frederica moved it into a bowl, set it aside, and wiped her hands off on a clean cloth. Then, she sat down, pulled out one of her magic tomes, and decided to pass the requisite time with some studying.

Eventually, she glanced over at the dough. It…hadn't changed very much. Frederica eyed the cookbook again; the recipe claimed the dough should've doubled in size by now. It didn't look nearly that different, if it was different at all…

Panic crawled into her stomach. Had she made a mistake somewhere? Frederica couldn't have; she knew she'd waited long enough… Shaking her head, Frederica decided not to worry about it. She couldn't stress herself out now, not when she'd come so far!

Before she could question herself further, Frederica moved the dough into the pan Hossabara had lent her. Then, she lit the flame on the small oven, set the pan above it, and let the bread bake. Now she just had to wait a little longer, and it'd be done.

The bread did smell nice, Frederica thought. That had to be a good sign, right? She couldn't have messed up too badly, then…

After several more minutes of reassuring herself, Frederica killed the flame and carefully moved the pan onto the table. She closed her eyes for a second, feeling dramatic for it. Then, she leaned over and opened her eyes.

The bread looked…unlike most of the breads she'd seen before. It was dry and lumpy around the outside, and it sat low in the pan. It hadn't risen to the puffy, round shape the cookbook had promised.

Frederica sighed, trying not to be too disappointed. What had gone wrong? She was sure she'd done everything correctly, but…

As she glanced aside, her eyes fell on a small packet sitting on the table. Realization struck her, and Frederica groaned as she sank down into her chair.

"I forgot to add the yeast," she mumbled.

Such a silly mistake… That was one of the first things the recipe told her to do! Still…such a simple error should be easy to avoid next time. It could've been worse… At least Frederica hadn't burned anything, or ended up with far too much dough, or any of the other disastrous situations she'd imagined.

Despite her initial disappointment, Frederica was slightly heartened. If she'd been decent enough on her first attempt, she could get it right for sure on her second. And then maybe she'd feel ready to try something more complex.

Out of curiosity, Frederica picked at the bread. She cut off a small piece and cautiously took a bite. It really wasn't bad… Sure, it looked weird, and the texture was rather dense, but the flavor was nice. It was nothing she'd actually want to give to Serenoa, but…maybe it hadn't been a complete waste.

And so, with that encouraging thought, Frederica began to clean up her table. She'd get things right eventually; she was sure of it!

The second time, Frederica thought, went much better.

She'd decided to make bread again, following the same recipe as before. It helped that she felt more confident going in. That, and she'd sat there muttering, "Add the yeast. Add the yeast," to herself as she worked. Frederica was sure she would've sounded ridiculous if anyone overheard her, but it worked.

Finally, she removed the pan from the heat and looked over her results. The bread looked perfect—it had actually risen properly. Frederica couldn't help the grin that spread over her face. It was a simple recipe, but she'd finally done it!

Still, she cut off a piece of her bread to check the inside. That looked good, too, having the proper airy texture. Frederica took a bite, sighing after she finished chewing. It really had turned out well… It was still warm, and the flavor was good.

Really, most people cooked for themselves all the time, and baking was just following directions. But Frederica couldn't help being proud of herself. She'd never done this before, and learning something new was always satisfying.

"Lady Frederica?"

Frederica jumped, glad that she'd finished eating her slice of bread. (Choking on it would've been embarrassing.) She thought she'd been alone in her little corner of the encampment… Fortunately, it was only Geela, and the older woman raised an eyebrow in amusement as Frederica coughed awkwardly.

"Geela! I didn't know you were here."

"I was helping Hughette look for something, and it didn't take as long as she thought." Geela shrugged, glancing down at the table. "Did you…?"

"I did!" Another grin split her face. "I made some bread. Would you like to try it?"

"But of course."

Geela obligingly took a slice when Frederica handed one to her. She watched anxiously as Geela chewed on it. Frederica knew it had turned out well, but there was still something intimidating about the silence.

Finally, Geela finished eating, and she hummed contentedly before she replied. "I have to say I've always been fond of warm bread. But, more to the point, this is quite good! I like the herbs you used."

"Thank you," Frederica said in relief. "This was my second attempt, but…I'm feeling a lot more confident now."

"You should be." Another vaguely-amused look crossed her face. "Why, if you keep practicing, I don't think you'll have much to worry about."

Frederica nodded. "Yes, I figured so. Now, I don't mean to impose, but…would you mind helping me clean up, since you're here?"

"Of course not."

And, as they set about wiping up the table and putting bowls aside, Frederica decided she was very proud of herself indeed.

After a third attempt at bread—which also went well—Frederica decided she was ready to try something else. She had to move on eventually, and she was confident enough in her bread-making skills that something with a few more ingredients was worth a try. Thus, Frederica flipped through the cookbook until she found a recipe for some mixed-berry muffins.

It really wasn't hard, Frederica thought as she worked. She just had to be sure the fruit was evenly distributed, but besides that, it wasn't too different from the bread. By the end, she had a couple muffins that were unbalanced, but…if that was the worst thing that happened, Frederica could deal with it.

…She'd forgotten to get some rags with which to clean up afterwards, though. And Frederica had made a bit of a mess. "A bit" was an understatement, actually… Frederica had spilled some of the flour earlier, and it had gotten all over the table, not to mention on her dress. Some had even ended up in her hair, somehow. The baking had gone just fine, but she was a little embarrassed.

Maybe Hossabara had some clean rags. Frederica knew she couldn't avoid being seen altogether—the encampment was usually crowded in the evenings, after everyone was done with their training, meetings, and other business. But she thought Serenoa would be out for a little longer, so maybe she could avoid having her betrothed seeing her covered in flour.

Frederica carefully crept towards the bar, glancing around every so often. She knew she was being silly—everyone would be too tired to judge her at this point. But—

"Frederica?"

She jumped and bit her lip. There was Serenoa himself; when had he arrived? It looked like he'd just bought something from Lionel, which made it that much luckier that he hadn't seen her sooner.

"Er, yes?" she said sheepishly.

"What have you been doing all day?"

His tone was more amused than judgmental, which was a relief. She didn't want to completely give away what she'd been doing, though… Well, she didn't have to admit that she was practicing her cooking skills for him, did she? Frederica could tell the truth without spoiling the surprise she eventually wanted to give him.

"Well, I was just…baking a little," she finally said. "Just to try it, you know? And it mostly went well, but…"

Frederica gestured at herself, and she laughed a little. It was kind of funny… Embarrassing, yes, but still funny. Serenoa shook his head, and an amused little grin crossed his face. He stepped towards her, absently brushing his hand across her cheek to get some of the flour off. Frederica flushed slightly at the contact, hoping it wasn't too obvious.

"I'm sure you did far better than I would have," he admitted. "Do you want any help cleaning up?"

"Oh, no, I wouldn't want to interrupt—"

"It's fine," he cut in gently. "Benedict and I were discussing some things earlier, but I'm free now. I'm sure you're capable of doing it on your own, but I don't mind helping."

Finally, Frederica smiled and nodded. "Well, I suppose it would be rude of me to turn you down, then."

Serenoa nodded, reached for her hand, and fell into step with her as they crossed the remaining distance to the bar. His hands were warm, Frederica thought as Hossabara lent her a few washcloths and a small basin of water. It was such a simple gesture, but…receiving such casual affection was something she wasn't used to.

They carefully balanced the cleaning supplies and made their way back to Frederica's corner of the encampment. She stole one more glance at Serenoa, lightly squeezing his hand before letting it go. In response, he gently brushed some of her hair aside, and then they got to work.

Fortunately, it didn't take very long between the two of them, though Frederica felt guilty for making him help. Still, Serenoa reached for her hand again when they were done, which she gladly accepted.

"Did you have any more plans for the night? I thought it might be nice to sit outside together, if you wanted to," he offered.

"Of course; I would love that."

And, as they headed out of the main tent, Frederica decided she very much enjoyed the small but frequent gestures of affection he gave her. Even if this instance had been prompted by one of her own mishaps, it was no less special to her. Perhaps that made it more special, in a way.

They sat together in a large clearing nearby. Frederica held a book in her lap while Serenoa alternating between cleaning his sword, sorting through his items, and curiously peeking over her shoulder. She smiled, leaned against his arm, and felt him shift comfortably against her.

It was a small moment in the grand scheme of things, but it was truly moments like this that made her feel welcome, and Frederica hoped they never lost the chance to do things like this together.