"And...We're...Done!" Antonio said triumphantly, wiping a smear of icing off of the counter, "That's one sachertorte, three trays of cookies, a dozen cupcakes, and some suzu castella!"

The afternoon meeting of the baking club had been a remarkable success, even if it didn't quite go to plan...At first, the group had agreed to make a sachertorte, something which they thought would take a long time, seeing as the dessert required so many layers...But with everyone's help, it didn't take very long at all. So then Sadik suggested that they make something else to fill up the remaining hour for which the group had use of the school's kitchen, but no-one could quite agree on what to make, so they all did their own thing.

"I'd say that we have enough stuff here for a tea party," Sadik remarked.

"Then maybe we should have a tea party," Antonio suggested, "How else are we going to finish up all of these sweets?"

Lovino glanced up at the clock, before he made his remark. "That's such a girly thing to do! Besides, it's almost time for dinner, and you know what Sister Bernadette will do to us if we don't eat it all!"

Ah, Sister Bernadette...One of the crabbiest nuns in the school. Antonio remembered the other night, when his least favourite food was being served, all too well. For not licking his plate clean, he'd ended up with a twenty minute lecture from her and Sister Marianne in the disciplinary room...

"Then why don't we have it later?" Sadik suggested, "We'll have a midnight tea party, and we'll invite Francis and Feliciano!"

"And how are we gonna do that without getting caught?!" Lovino scoffed.

"Don't worry, we won't get caught," Antonio assured him, "I'll hide the treats under my bed"-

"And I'll bring the tea," Sadik offered.

"I'm sure some Lapsang Souchong would go great with all of this."

The group all turned to face that familiar voice. Arthur, still in his uniform, bright-eyed and clean cheeked, as if his episode of quiet sobbing in that room had never occurred. Antonio wasn't going to question him about it, though. The Etoile bore such a heavy burden, being the figurehead of all three schools on Astraea Hill, so maybe he was just a bit stressed? But if that was the case, why did he choose that room, which Afonso said was off-limits, to vent his stress in, when there were plenty of other, more private places to do it?

"Good afternoon, Mr Etoile," Sadik greeted cordially, "What brings you here?"

"I was just wondering if I could join you for your tea party," Arthur said innocently, "It does sound like a lot of fun~"

"What, are you gonna rat us out to the nuns are something?!" Lovino spat, "Mr Etoile?"

"And why would I do that?" Arthur purred, "I wouldn't want a cute little thing like..." and he scanned the room for Antonio, eventually finding him stood by one of the ovens, "You to suffer at the hands of the nuns~"

Antonio stood, completely paralysed as a heatwave washed over him. A midnight tea party with Arthur? Ok, he was going to be surrounded by his new friends, but the knowledge that Arthur was going to be by his side that night made him want to explode...

"K-keep your hands off of him!" Lovino cried, as Arthur's fingers ghosted over Antonio's lips, "You're making him uncomfortable, bastard!"

"N-no...I'm f-fine..." Antonio assured him.

Arthur, satisfied that he'd had enough fun with the baking club, let Antonio go, and slyly whispered, "See you at dinner~"

Later that night, Antonio and Lovino set out everything that they had made that afternoon as quietly as they could, arranging the sweets on their tiny table as best as they could.

Before long, Arthur arrived, along with Sadik...But soon enough, Francis and Feliciano were there too...

"Bonjour~" Francis trilled,

"Ciao!" Feliciano cried.

"Sh! Not so loud! You'll wake the"-

"Wake who?"

The boys froze in their spots. Sister Bernardette and Sister Marianne were at their door, stern expressions on their faces. Fuck...

Yo! Sorry, I know it's been a long wait, but I finally got this chapter done...In fact, lots of things have kept me from posting it, namely, a hiking trip to Scotland, a back injury, and business with some of my other projects...I'm sorry I can't tell you when the next chapter is coming, but I honestly don't know when I can get it done...Thanks for your patience,

Kitty x