A/N: Thanks so much to those who gave me ideas for this chapter! Remember, suggestions are always welcome—I know I'll need some for future letters. xD

Like the last one, this chapter is mostly from Suzuna's perspective. However, the next one will be from Aoi's. I will try to fluctuate between the two of them.

Anyway, read and review, please! I love hearing feedback!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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C is for Cake

n. 1) an item of soft, sweet food made from a mixture of flour, shortening, eggs, sugar, and other ingredients, baked and often decorated

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She was never too fond of her own deserts.

Every error stood out, every imperfection mocked her. It wasn't that she despised imperfections in and of themselves; no, rather, she welcomed them, accepted them. She understood them. She possessed many of her own.

Normalcy bored her; imperfections were interesting.

However, somehow sweets and cooking didn't fit into such a simple philosophy very neatly; it was the one thing she had to make absolutely certain was perfect.

These insecurities did not suit the apathetic, taciturn dark-haired girl at all.

Nevertheless, it was a nice, breezy day, and more than anything, Ayuzawa Suzuna wished to bake a cake. Her older sister had already gone to work and her mother was busy buying groceries, so she took this peaceful moment as an opportunity to make something sweet.

Onee-chan will be pleased to eat some pastry in her free time.

The cake seemed to be a flawless masterpiece to the average onlooker. Juicy red strawberries lined the edges of the dessert and swirls of icing decorated the center. Suzuna licked a bit of cream from her fingers. Despite its pleasant outer appearance, something was wrong, imprecise in its form. She couldn't quite place exactly what or where it was—only that it was there.

Suzuna boxed the cake.

And ignored the inadequacies.

Now to Onee-chan's job.

She took her time getting out the door, cake box held protectively in her thin arms and satchel thrown carelessly around her slender shoulders. The walk turned out to be a pleasant one that suited her tastes. The quiet twitter of birds, the occasional car that drove by. Calm, serene, an enjoyable silence that eased her mind.

A chime of an opening door.

His eyes caught her own the moment she entered Maid Latte.

Little did she know that this enjoyable silence would not be for long.

"What are you wearing?" Hyōdō Aoi accused in a scathing tone, mouth pulled into a scowl. He was seated in a stool near the back of the café, a glum, almost pouty expression plastered to his face—the kind people usually had when they didn't get what they wanted.

Huh?

Suzuna blinked.

Looking down at her body, she could only see a simple weekend outfit. Knee-length shorts. A green long-sleeve shirt. Casual white sandals. A side bag. And a strawberry shortcake in her arms.

Nothing particularly unusual.

"Clothes."

It was obvious to Suzuna that this indifferent response was not satisfactory with the boy; his expression remained irked. The two stared at one another for a long moment before the dark-haired girl spoke again, face completely and utterly passive.

Ah.

"I see. Would you prefer it I were to show up naked next time, Hyōdō-kun?"

His reaction was worth it.

Eyes widening at her blunt words, the teenage boy immediately turned his head, arms crossing over his chest in an expression of embarrassment, frustration and maybe a hint of anger. It was obvious to the apathetic girl that she had once again caused that amusing shade of red to burn Aoi's face, for one reason or another.

She had the sudden urge to pinch his cheeks.

Must control myself.

She controlled herself.

An awkward moment passed by before Aoi turned his head back towards her. His visage had regained most of its original color, although Suzuna could see that telltale rosy hue that continued to glow on his cheekbones. Eyebrows furrowed angrily and teeth grinded together—she knew that he was not pleased at all with her unique sense of 'humor'.

"Of course I didn't mean that, idiot," he growled at her. "I'm talking about your fashion sense. That outfit is not cute or attractive in the slightest! There's no fluff, lace, or even a hint of pink!"

Oh?

"Should there be?"

"Yes! You're a girl, aren't you?"

A flicker of amusement.

"I believe so," Suzuna said. Her lips had curled up into something of a smile, strangely wicked and slightly disconcerting. "And you, Hyōdō-kun?"

Indignation.

"Wh—Hmph! What are you trying to say, eh?"

A shrug.

"Nothing important. Since you asked, I decided to do the same," she replied, hands still firmly placed on either sides of the cake. Her impish smile had disappeared long ago. "You don't need to answer, of course. Correct me if I am wrong, although, I am quite certain that Hyōdō Aoi-kun is a boy."

Exasperation.

"That's beyond the point! Why do you insist on wearing such boring clothes?"

A question mark.

Suzuna paused for a moment and contemplated his words. Were her clothes really boring? Why did she insist on wearing them? Did she need fluff, lace, and pink?

And why did Hyōdō Aoi care so much?

"They are inexpensive."

"Is that all?"

Utterly unaffected, her silence was enough to aggravate him further.

"Gah! You're just like Misaki-chi!"

Puzzled by the comparison, Suzuna gracefully pulled out a chair from the table near his stool and sat down, angling her body so that she was facing him. She placed the cake box down on to the surface, careful not to ruin the intricate texture of the frosting that lay within the confines of the cardboard. Two imperfections were more than enough.

"Am I?" she questioned, placing a finger to her lip in thought. "On the contrary, Onee-chan and I are often told we are polar opposites."

"Feh. When it comes to clothing choice, you both have bad taste."

At this comment, most would be offended, many even apologetic, but not the remarkably reserved Ayuzawa Suzuna. She had more than enough tolerance for this kind of behavior; she experienced enough of it at school—people were always so quick to judge her in regards to Misaki.

"You're not really that calm, are you, Ayuzawa? You're probably just like your maniac of an older sister!"

This was often followed by a painfully cold and distant stare that made even the most confident students uneasy. That was the best part—their awkward apology and excuse to leave.

Suzuna would laugh in that inexplicable way of hers if she wasn't too busy trying to scare these people away.

"If only both of you tried to be more feminine… Such a waste!"

Oh, yeah.

Hyōdō Aoi was still there.

More feminine?

Suzuna took this opportunity to observe his own outfit—he was clad stylishly in a pair of designer pants and a nice vest and shirt that made Suzuna look back to herself in thought. By comparison, she felt her clothes was plain, a sharp contrast to his fashionable ones.

He's difficult to relate to. We have nothing in common.

Yet, I'm somehow drawn to him.

"A waste of what?"

Aoi cringed. He avoided the question.

"What are you doing here, anyway? What's in the box?"

Ah, yes.

"This cake is for Onee-chan and her friends." Her response was as smooth as always. "Why are you at Maid Latte, Hyōdō-kun?"

Haughtily, he spat back, "My business doesn't concern you, Suzuna."

An exaggerated gasp entered their ears.

The two looked towards the sound at once.

"What's this?" Ayuzawa Misaki exclaimed with a large grin and her hands on her hips. Her pretty amber eyes glimmered with mischief. "Aoi-chan is referring to my younger sister without an honorific? So, the two of you are already married, then?"

The horror was visible in the boy's expression, but Suzuna was already speaking before he had the chance to furiously deny such a preposterous notion.

"Actually, Onee-chan," the apathetic girl explained, raising the palm of her hand. "Hyōdō-kun was saying my name with disgust, not affection. Therefore, it is safe to say that he does not think of me as a 'wife figure'."

In a flustered huff, Aoi fumbled out his words. "Y-Yeah! You don't know anything, you old hag!" he agreed hastily.

A slight quirk of the lips.

"I may be the 'husband figure', however."

Misaki laughed hard as the navy-haired boy viciously spewed out a string of angry and mortified remarks in his defense. The younger of the Ayuzawa sisters silently observed him but anyone who knew Suzuna could see the lapse of delight that slipped though in her features.

Those usually quiet and large tea-colored eyes of hers stirred with amusement.

Aoi saw this.

He felt his skin grow hotter.

"Dammit! You both drive me crazy!"

He sank down in the stool, covering his face with his hands. Misaki rolled her eyes at his behavior and patted the blushing boy upon his head, purposely ruffling his navy locks despite his vexed pleas for neatness. Her hand was swatted away in irritation at once, causing her to laugh even harder.

"Oh, Onee-chan," Suzuna suddenly remembered, interrupting the lighthearted scene before her. A hand tapped the top of the box. "I baked you this cake because—"

"You both can eat it."

Silence.

Aoi peeked through his fingers to see Suzuna staring dumbly at the distancing figure of her older sister, who had left her table and was taking the orders of another group of customers. Her apathetic mask held no sign of her emotions, making Aoi wonder what exactly was going through her head.

Suddenly, Suzuna turned to face him.

To his surprise, she gestured to the chair beside her.

"I'm not sitting over there with you."

Defiance and distaste laced his tone.

"Why not? Do you work here?" she asked, ignoring his blatant aversion towards her.

"Well… no, but—"

"Then you are a customer today."

She patted the chair again. He rolled his eyes.

A sigh escaped him.

"This cake… isn't completely awful…"

Though she could tell that Aoi was impressed for the most part, Suzuna was not oblivious to the disdain in his tone, as if he was reluctant to admit that he liked her cake. That same strange and fluttery feeling arose in her chest again from the compliment and her mouth turned up ever so slightly.

Is this pride or satisfaction?

…Or perhaps it's another emotion entirely?

"Ah, really? Thank you, Hyōdō-kun"

A faint tint of scarlet burned his cheeks—that was not what he meant. Flustered by her simple gratitude, Aoi frowned, obviously hoping for a response as insolent as his own. He briefly wondered if Ayuzawa Suzuna ever got angry at all, being as calm and robotic as she was.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," the navy-haired boy mumbled as he bit into another piece of the cake. "Don't get a big hea—"

He paused to look up at her, eyebrows raised. Suzuna cocked her head slightly to the left in confusion as she munched on her cake.

Was something wrong?

Swallowing his bite, Aoi leaned across the table to get a better look, seemed satisfied with himself, and then sat back against his chair, arms crossed. He gestured to the corner of his mouth.

"You've got a little icing over here," he pointed out with a grimace.

At this comment, she observed him as well. A similar dab of icing dotted his lower lip.

So do you, Hyōdō-kun.

Suzuna paid his comment no mind, returning to the cake. Her ignorance sent a flurry of irritation throughout Aoi, who could hardly handle such carelessness. Cute girls were supposed to be graceful in their manner of eating as well, right?

Not that he thought Ayuzawa Suzuna was cute, of course. Especially not with that tiny bit of white frosting on those damn alluring lips of hers that he definitely did not have the urge to suddenly feel against his own.

Ha.

That was plain ridiculous.

"Jeez! You make such a mess when you eat…"

Without thinking, he impulsively reached over with a napkin to wipe away the cake from the unsuspecting dark-haired girl's face when she suddenly glanced up and caught his eyes.

He froze.

The napkin was brushing against Suzuna's lower lip and she felt herself stiffen at the touch. Licking his own lips, Aoi managed to unintentionally get rid of the frosting that dotted his own mouth, gaze never leaving hers. A faint tingle spread through Suzuna's body as she stared into his deep cobalt eyes, a strange sort of heat crawling up her neck and face. Her pulse quickened.

Aoi seemed to realize what he was doing at once, eyes widening, but before he could explain himself—

"Ehhhh? My Aoi-chan and Suza-chan are on a date?"

His hand fell immediately. The napkin floated to the table.

…Date?

Hyōdō-kun and I?

The manager, who had somehow appeared behind the two, pressed her hands to her cheeks. Her blue eyes were glowing excitedly as a sweet, pink, flush rose to her cheeks.

"Moe!"

Suzuna noted, with interest, the red color that had immediately tinged the navy-haired boy's face. She pressed a hand to her own in curiosity, surprised to feel a strange heat emitting from the soft skin of her cheeks.

What had just happened?

Was she… blushing?

In an attempt to clear her mind, she reached over the table to discreetly pull a single strawberry from the cake. That peculiar feeling in her chest arose again; it was something she never had felt before meeting this Aoi person and she couldn't help but wonder why it had occurred in the first place.

Ayuzawa Suzuna was not a girl who flushed with embarrassment.

No matter what.

Surely, this reaction had to have a reason.

How… bizarre.

Turning his head sharply up at Satsuki, Aoi's glare sent daggers. "Satsuki-san! It's not like that at all!"

"Ne, Aoi-chan, it's alright to have a girlfriend! You are growing up into a man, after all!" his aunt rambled on without a care as an aura of flowery things seemed to radiate from her small body. "I know how those teenage hormones work—you can't keep your hands off each other! When I was your age, I was head-over-heels for this cute boy who…"

Aoi groaned and covered his ears. Ignorant to his aggravation, the petite dark-haired girl was busy chomping away on a strawberry, her tea-colored eyes cloudy with thought. Suddenly, the sound of a chair squeaking loudly entered her ears and Suzuna could sense that Aoi had gotten up and moved toward her.

He abruptly grabbed her by the wrist.

Hm?

Suzuna looked up into urgent cobalt eyes.

"Let's go."

The half-eaten strawberry was left forgotten.

Tension was visible in Aoi's shoulders as he marched down the pavement, hand clasped forcefully around Suzuna's arm. The fuzzy warmth that had vanished earlier from her body had engulfed her once again at his touch, although it was much slighter this time and Suzuna knew how to control her emotions well.

She allowed herself to be dragged only long enough to snap out of her surprise and planted her feet firmly on the ground. Aoi stomped ahead, not expecting to be pulled back by the adamant dark-haired girl. She felt his fingers around her wrist stiffen, and then suddenly loosen in realization.

He swiveled his head back at her and hastily released her arm. He looked as though her skin had burned him.

"I—uh—didn't mean," Aoi stammered, troubled. His face had begun to lose its flushness and he looked down at her feet instead of at those impassive amber eyes, unconsciously rolling his hands into taut fists. Suzuna could only observe him with genuine curiosity.

Had Satsuki's comments really made him so uncomfortable?

"Hyōdō-kun, what is the matter?"

"It's…"

His voice trailed off into something like a weak murmur.

…It's?

"Hm? Did you say something?"

He tightened his jaw. "It's embarrassing!" Aoi hissed through clenched teeth.

"What is?" the petite dark-haired girl asked.

An impatient growl.

"You just don't get it, do you, Suzuna? Aren't you bothered by my aunt and your sister teasing us so much?"

His teeth were bared and his nose was wrinkled, a natural expression of frustration and humiliation. For a moment, Suzuna had lost her train of thought; those fiery blue eyes were burning into her so intensely. Something stirred in her chest and stomach.

I need to remain alert.

Snapping herself out of such sentiments, she stared right back at him, her own tea-colored pools absolutely unfathomable.

"No," she replied, unperturbed. "I'm can't be bothered to be bothered about it."

Her attempt at a joke only aggravated the teenager further.

"How can you be so calm about it?"

"Is it really such an issue? After all, we did get to have the cake to ourselves."

Something in the way Suzuna said the words made Aoi pause.

He was about to let some snarky comeback roll of his tongue when she took advantage of his lack of defense and stepped towards him. A single finger had traveled up his face, hovering above his lips. He had no time to react—she was right in front of him.

Ah. He's making that cute face again.

She leaned in close and positioned her lips beside his ear, immensely intrigued when he stiffened at the proximity. "Hyōdō-kun didn't know this, but he had a tiny piece of cake right here."

Eyes widening at her words, Aoi backed away from Suzuna within seconds, brushing an arm fervently across his mouth. Her finger had never made contact with his lips but he could still feel its presence lingering there. It was a… strange sensation. Nonetheless, the younger Ayuzawa noticed the flush that rose to his cheeks in response to her actions and a fleeting smile danced across her pretty features.

"Let's go back, Hyōdō-kun. Manager-san and Onee-chan are probably wondering where we are."

She turned around and began moving towards the café when a hand wrapped itself around her elbow and yanked her back.

"Don't…"

Aoi's head was lowered and his usually expressive eyes were hidden behind his navy fringe so Suzuna could not tell what he was thinking. She suddenly became aware of how much she depended on his expressions to understand him. Without them, she couldn't be sure of what he must have been experiencing.

Grip tight and unwavering, he held on to her just like before, except this time, he didn't act as though her touch repulsed him.

"Don't tease me like that…"

He sounded breathless, almost pained. Suzuna had half a mind to tease him further but his strange manner of speaking frightened her. Just a little.

She did not let her discomfort show.

"Like what?"

"You know!"

"I don't."

Aoi huffed out something angrily before surrendering, letting his fingers fall from her elbow. Straightening up, the navy-haired boy pushed past Suzuna without a glance back and stuffed his hands in his pants pockets, clearly disgruntled.

"Whatever," he muttered. "Let's go eat a little more of that cake before it's all gone."

He shook his head quickly in an attempt to correct himself, glancing back to look at her with a serious visage.

"Not that it was good, or anything, got it? It's just bad to waste food…"

"Right."

A look of relief crossed his features as he turned around again. For a moment, she simply stood and observed his trailing figure, eventually allowing a languid smile to lounge on her features. In all honesty, Ayuzawa Suzuna was never too fond of her own deserts—the imperfections bothered her. They didn't stand out to anyone except herself and no one ever seemed to have anything bad to say about them.

People loved her cooking.

Yet, it still bothered her.

Although, he…

He claimed that her cake was bitter, boring, ugly, and bland. Albeit, he was lying and actually failing quite miserably at doing so. The telltale glimmer in those cobalt eyes as he bit into the delicious pastry revealed to her the truth that his tongue was too stubborn to say.

Even so, Hyōdō Aoi was the first person to insult her cake baking skills.

It was…

Surprisingly thrilling.

She would have to work much harder to pass through that obstinate wall of defense and hotheadedness he had created for himself. Surely, it would be difficult, not to mention risky and positively entertaining, however…

Hyōdō Aoi is one of a kind.

The perfect imperfection on the cake.

Suzuna would not have wanted it any other way.