Title: Baking Bliss
Pairing: Fem!Austria x Fem!Prussia
Rating: T for swearing?
The top of the cupcake was a light golden brown that darkened around the edges, which dipped down to cover the mint-green muffin cup just slightly.
A silver knife dipped into a bowl full of buttercream frosting, scooping out a nice, big serving. The dainty hand holding the knife was soft and pale and moved the frosting-covered knife with practiced ease, not spilling a drop in its way to the cupcake.
The frosting was spread easily across the surface of the cupcake. This was the base coating. Once this was spread evenly across the top, the pastry would be put into the fridge to cool the frosting. The rest of the frosting (or as much as would fit) would be stuffed into a pastry bag and also cooled off slightly, just enough for it to form a stiff, triangular cap.
After that she would put glitter on it. She liked glitter.
The bell over the door tinkled as the door was opened. A light breeze blew in, carrying with it snowflakes, the cold, and a woman.
"Oi, Annie!" The woman's pale face was flushed pink with cold. Her long silvery hair was shoved up into a hat, though strands were falling out, loosely framing her face. She also had a scarf wrapped around her neck the kept stubbornly trying to fall off, as well as a knee-length navy-blue coat that didn't look like it would do much against the cold, especially when paired with a short, poofy skirt and a shirt that might have been a bit too short for the winter weather. She wasn't even wearing proper snow boots either, just knee-length black boots over white socks that reached to the middle of her thighs.
The cupcake and frosting were left on the counter as the owner of the hands walked out of the kitchen to see who was there.
"Julchen?" she asked in annoyed confusion. She used her shoulder to tuck a strand of her long dark hair behind her ear. "What are you doing here?"
Julchen grinned mischievously. Her canines were more pointed than most people's, making her seem like a hungry wolf.
"What do you think I'm doing?"
"Being a nuisance," Annaliese said officiously. She twitched the hem of her dress out of the way as Julchen walked toward her. She didn't want the other woman to get her grossness on it.
Julchen shrugged. "I'll allow you that, BUT," -here she paused dramatically for effect- "being a nuisance isn't the only reason I'm here!"
Annaliese snorted. "Oh, really? What other reason could you possibly have?"
"Well, it's my sister West's birthday and I need someone to make delicious cupcakes, and don't try to tell me you can't do it." Julchen glowered at her. "Besides, I'll pay you, of course."
Annaliese hesitated at that. She didn't want to do anything for Julchen, but... if there was money involved...
Annaliese sighed. "Fine, I'll do it. " She could already feel a headache coming on. "How many do you need?"
Julchen grinned her wolfish grin. "Thirty."
"Thirty?!"
"At the very least. And I need them by eight tonight."
"What?! I can't make thirty cupcakes by tonight by myself!"
"I know." Julchen's grin widened. "That's why I'll be helping you."
AYE**LUV**YOU
Annaliese was pretty sure that Julchen was the spawn of the devil. She was starting to wonder if it was even Louise's- Julchen's sister "West" -birthday! What if Julchen was just pretending? What if she was going to bring these cupcakes home and just eat them all in front of the TV? Annaliese wouldn't put it past her...
"Wait, so how do I frost this..?" Julchen asked uncertainly. The cupcake was resting on the counter looking innocent and naked without frosting. Annaliese had just walked her through the frosting process at least four times (making the number of total cupcakes mostly finished a grand total of five) and yet Julchen was still, apparently, unable to frost just one stupid cupcake!
"Okay, this is the last time I'm going to help you." Annaliese walked over to Julchen and grabbed the frosting knife, placing it in the other woman's pale white hand.
"You take the knife and dip it in the frosting," Annaleise directed, grabbing Julchen's hand and leading it to dip the knife in the frosting. "Then you take the frosting and spread it on the cupcake top." She smoothly directed Julchen's hand so that the knife would spread the frosting elegantly across the cupcake.
"Then what?" Julchen asked. her voice sounded weird for some reason, but Annaliese ignored it.
"Then you take the cupcake," Annaliese said in the tone you would use to speak to a small child. "and place it in the fridge to cool." Annaliese gently pushed Julchen to the fridge and watched as she opened the fridge door and placed the cupcake inside.
"Good job," said Annaliese, her tone reflecting how annoyed she was. "Now do that with the rest of the cupcakes and you'll be just fine."
"O-okay," Julchen said. Annaliese began to turn back to her own cupcake until she realized that... Julchen had just stuttered? She spun back around to see that Julchen's usually snow-white cheeks were flushed a dark pink that stood out like a neon sign against her nearly completely white hair and skin. Her red eyes glowed with a feeling Annaliese couldn't quite place.
"Did you just stutter?" Annaliese asked, dark eyes narrowed in suspicion. Julchen shook her head wildly, causing her long hair to fly all over the place.
"No," said the albino. She brushed hair from her face and grinned her wolfish grin. "The Awesome Me doesn't stutter, Annie."
Annaliese glared. "My name," she said testily. "is not Annie. It's Annaliese."
Julchen turned and grabbed another cupcake. "Whatever you say, princess."
Annaliese, fuming, turned away from Julchen. This was probably the stupidest idea Julchen had ever had (which was saying something) and Annaliese had no idea why she'd agreed to let Julchen help. She had no idea why she'd even taken the job in the first place! Thirty cupcakes for anyone related to julchen were thirty cupcakes wasted!
In her rage she frosted at least four more cupcakes. They weren't as perfect as the ones she frosted when she was calmer, but this was only a base coat. It didn't matter as much as the top coat.
She and Julchen frosted cupcakes in silence. Annaliese peeked over every once in a while to check on Julchen and her cupcakes. Her tongue was sticking slightly out of her light pink lips in concentration as she sloppily frosted her cupcakes. She was getting better, though, Annaliese told herself. Maybe she wouldn't have to completely redo the other woman's cupcakes. After all, sloppy cupcakes made by her sister would make Louise happier than perfect cupcakes made by her sister's enemy, right?
When fifteen of the cupcakes had their base coat on and had been cooled, Annaliese pulled out the tray they were on and set them on the counter.
"It's time to frost them," she told Julchen.
"I thought we already did that," said Julchen.
"That was a base coat," Annaliese said derisively.
"Oh," Julchen said, her voice smaller than usual. At this, Annaliese began to feel bad. Julchen didn't know anything about cupcakes, after all.
"Anyway," Annaliese said to break the sudden silence. "Would you like to try frosting one?"
Julchen shrugged, not meeting her eyes. "Sure. What do I have to do?"
"Well, you take one of these pastry bags- whichever tip you like -and then you just squeeze it on like this." Annaliese grabbed a pastry bag and frosted around and around in a circle until the cupcake had a cap of creamy chocolate frosting.
"Lemme try!" Julchen immediately said, eyes sparkling. She grabbed a different pastry bag and another cupcake, then began squeezing the frosting out. Where Annaliese had done it smoothly and hadn't gotten any frosting on the muffin cup, Julchen was not smooth and practiced at all. Her movements were awkward and jerky and she kept getting frosting all over the cup. Her awkwardness brought back memories of Annaliese's awkwardness when she was still learning how to bake, and soon the darker-haired woman was giggling into her closed fist.
"What's so funny?" Julchen asked in confusion as her pale cheeks began to flush once more. "I did my best!"
"I-I know," Annaliese said through her laughter. "But j-just look at it!"
Julchen proceeded to do so and saw that... well... The cupcake looked like a two-year-old had been set loose on it. Instead of Annaliese's perfect little cap of frosting, is just had an ugly pile of the stuff on the top of it.
"That one," said Annalese as she calmed down. "is going to Louise."
"No!" Julchen cried. "No way! Louise's cupcake has to be perfect!"
"Then you'd better work on your frosting skills," Annaliese said, eyes twinkling. "One of the cupcakes you frost is going to Louise."
Julchen's face paled. "Shit."
AYE**LUV**YOU
With every cupcake Julchen frosted, Annaliese swore she got worse. Sweat began to bead the albino's upper lip as she tried to get the frosting to go on the cupcake instead of places such as the counter or floor. Every single one of her cupcakes was so terrible that, when Annaliese imagined Louise and her friends eating them, she couldn't contain her laughter.
"There," Julchen said, setting the pastry bag down on the counter. "That one wasn't too bad, right?"
Annaliese glanced over and almost choked. Julchen, it seemed, had given up and just dumped a load of frosting onto the cupcake. Annaliese vaguely wondered if the poor cupcake would collapse under the weight of it.
"It's... great." she managed covering her mouth with her fist.
Julchen deflated, crumbling to the ground and covering her eyes with her arm. "Is it really that bad?" she asked miserably.
"No..." Annaliese lied unconvincingly.
"It is, isn't it?"
"Well, yeah, actually. It's terrible. I don't understand how practice made it worse."
Julchen moaned miserably, then sat up suddenly and grabbed the hem of Annaliese's long dress. "Annie, will you help me? Please?"
Annaliese rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to say no, but what came out was-
"Sure, fine."
Wait. What? What had she just said?
"Yes? Really? Do you really mean that?" Julchen smiled a smile filled with hope and sparkles and albino prettiness, and Annaliese knew that she wouldn't take it back.
"Yes, I'm really going to help you. Now, stand up and we'll work on these cupcakes."
Annaliese held out a hand and pulled Julchen to her feet, and then they got to work.
First Annaliese grabbed the pastry bag and demonstrated how to properly frost the cupcakes. She even told Julchen exactly how to do it.
Then Julchen tried. And failed. And Analiese told her how to do it again, and Julchen tried again and failed again. Rinse, repeat. Rinse, repeat. Finally they only had six cupcakes left.
"Well," said Annaliese wryly. "this is pretty much your last hope."
"Fuck..." Julchen groaned miserably.
"Don't worry," Annaliese said consolingly. "You've been getting better!"
"Hph. Right."
"No, really. The frosting actually stayed on the cupcake this time. Mostly."
"IT ALL ENDED UP FALLING OFF!"
"Yes, well... that happens sometimes."
"It's happened four times in a row!"
"Yes... sometimes it happens four times in a row, too."
"Really."
"Yes, really. Now, try again, and this time go slowly... and... carefully..."
"Okay... I'll try..." Julchen said, trying her best to get into slow mode.
"Good." Annaliese watched as Julchen closed her eyes, slowed her breathing, then opened her eyes once more and got to work.
...It was like magic. She squeezed the frosting with just the right amount of force; she moved the pastry bag in a slow circle around the cupcake, filling the cap in, if not perfectly, then at least close to perfectly. Even Annaliese was impressed, although she could have done it much better.
When it was done, Julchen put down the pastry bag and stared nervously at the small cake before her.
"How is it?" she asked, wringing her hands.
"It's good," Annaliese told her appreciatively. And this time I mean it."
"Really?!"
"Yes. This one is definitely good enough to give to Louise. You can give the messed up ones to that one girl..." Annaliese frowned and snapped her fingers. "You know, the rude one who swears?"
"Lovina?"
"Yeah, her. Give the messed up ones to her."
"Yes! It'll be awesome! Annie, you're the best!"
Annaliese blushed. "Well, I'm the best out of the two of us at frosting cupcakes."
Julchen sniggered. "Go ahead and take a leaf out of my book, why don't you?"
Julchen grinned at Annaliese, who smiled back despite herself. They stared into each other's eyes for an awkward moment, the smiles both drifting off of their faces. Suddenly, Julchen leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to the corner of Annaliese's mouth.
"I'll be back in fifteen to pick up the cupcakes, okay? Write West's name on her's or something. Auf wiedersehen," she called, walking from the room. Moments later the bell over the front door tinkled as Julchen opened it and left.
Annaliese staggered backward a bit, then fell to the floor, leaning against the cabinets. Had... had Julchen just kissed her? What... WHAT?!
She curled into herself and leaned her chin against her knees. How had she known? Had Annaliese given her some sort of hint? Had she been standing too close to the other woman? Had it been... Oh. Of course. It was when she had been helping Julchen with the base coating of frosting, hadn't it? She had been standing too close or she had lingered for too long, or she had seemed to disappointed when she had had to step away.
Or maybe, said a small voice in her head. she likes you too.
"I doubt it," she said aloud to herself, getting to her feet and twitching her skirt around her legs. "It's probably just some weird Julchen thing."
She turned back to the cupcakes and grabbed one and a pastry bag. "She probably kisses everyone goodbye."
You've never seen her kiss anyone else goodbye in all the years you've known her.
"It definitely didn't mean anything. Julchen would never kiss me out of affection."
Why not? She managed to worm her way into making cupcakes with you.
"Julchen is totally into guys."
Everyone in the BTT likes both sexes.
"Julchen doesn't, though." Okay, that was a really bad lie. Julchen had had just as many girlfriends as she had had boyfriends. Annaliese would know, since she had kept track of them all quite obsessively.
"She was just joking."
How do you kno-
"I don't want her to be joking," Annaliese realized aloud. "I want that to have been a real kiss."
"Really?" Julchen asked, poking her head around the door to look at her. She grinned her wolfish grin. "Good thing then, because I wasn't."
AYE**LUV**YOU
Julchen fled from the room after kissing Annie. She went to the front door, opened it enough that the bell would ring, then let it fall closed again as she sneaked over to the wall separating Annaliese's kitchen from the front room. She hoped that Annie wouldn't come over and check to make sure she had left, otherwise her plan would completely fail.
Suddenly she could hear Annie's voice. She scrambled around, then pressed her ear hard against the wall. She couldn't really make out any of the words, though. Maybe she could find a glass, or- Oh. She could just... move closer to the door... heh heh...
She sidestepped a couple times, as absolutely silently as she could, then stood completely still and listened intently. Julchen was a little bit hyperactive, so standing this still was hard for her, but she could do it if it meant that Annie would spill all of her secrets. She knew that Annie had a bad habit of talking to herself about stressful problems (when they were fifteen Julchen had stolen the other's diary) and she also knew that this would be considered a stressful problem. After all, she had just kissed her.
"She was just joking," she heard Annie say, and her heart dropped like a stone. Did Annie want her to be joking? Was this something she wanted to pretend had never happened? Did she want to pretend all this had never happened?
Julchen was just turning to leave when Annie said, "I don't want her to be joking."
Instantly Julchen popped her head around the door, grinning. "Really? Good thing, then, because I wasn't."
Julchen watched as Annie's face heated up a shade of red not unlike that of a fire truck.
"I... I... I was just kidding," she tried.
Julchen smirked. "Right. Well, if you like, I'm free on Friday night."
And with that, Julchen grabbed the box full of finished cupcakes and left. Annaliese, legs trembling, followed her out of the building.
"Arschloch!" she yelled after Julchen, who whirled around and laughed.
"You know you love it," the albino said, and she was probably right. If Annaliese hadn't loved it then she wouldn't have liked Julchen in the first place
A/N Yep... So... Fem!Austria x Fem!Prussia. THEY'RE SO CUTE AND PRETTY. *cough cough*
Anyway, sorry for lack of updates. I blame school, writer's block, and the fact that, for the first time in a bajillion years I have a BED TIME. O_O I'm very angry about this and often consider staying up till four on school days purely to annoy them.
(I apologize for spelling or grammar mistakes because I handwrote this and then typed it up really fast before and after school, making it bad. DX)
(Stupid parents are stupid because I would have had this up last night if it weren't for them. And yes, I will be trying to get to my other requests.)