Having Your Cake and Eating It Too

Summary - Setsuna does something nice for Kasumi's birthday. Kasumi also does something nice for Kasumi's birthday.

Ship: SetsuKasu

Everything was perfect. The room was decorated. The balloons were inflated. The presents were gathered. There was even a large banner hanging along the wall, bearing the words: 'Happy Birthday Kasumin!'.

All this had been organized by Setsuna, the idol of burning passion having spent days preparing the surprise for her girlfriend, roping in the rest of their friends as well, not that they needed much convincing. Everyone cared for Kasumi, and now that classes were over for the day, it was time for them to show their love for their favorite little gremlin.

Setsuna however, had one final task to attend to before she could join the festivities.

In the student council room, a box sat on the president's desk, having been placed there in the morning for safekeeping. Inside this box was a treasure, a true relic of baroque work that Setsuna had spent the entirety of last night pouring her efforts into crafting. Her process of creation had been akin to a dark ritual, an unholy sacrament that nearly resulted in the destruction of her workshop multiple times, each setback a harrowing incident of terror that seemed to herald the coming of the endtimes.

And yet her blood, sweat, and tears had ultimately paid off. For at the end of the night, she had succeeded in her ill-advised endeavor. She'd crafted the final component of Kasumi's surprise birthday party.

Setsuna had baked a cake.

And now it was time to unleash it upon the world.

"Happy Birthday, Kasumi-san!" greeted Setsuna excitedly as she opened the door to the clubroom.

She stepped inside, ready to perfect the group's celebration with the humble little pastry held in her hands, when her eyes fell upon the flames.

But not just any flames. No, these tiny flames came from candles. From birthday candles to be exact.

And said candles were placed directly on top of a beautiful, multilayered birthday cake of Kasumi's own design.

"...eh?" she said dumbly.

"Setsuna-senpai!" gushed Kasumi as she ran over. The brunette all but crashed into her, enveloping her with a hug of affection as she nuzzled her face against Setsuna's. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you! This is the best party Kasumin has ever had!"

"Ah, of course," replied Setsuna, recovering slightly with the show of affection. "Anything for my beloved Kasumi-san," she stated.

"Oh? What's this?" asked Kasumi as she looked at the box in Setsuna's hands.

"This? Oh! This is just..." Setsuna paused. "Something I had to pick up for the student council," she lied. Kasumi raised an eyebrow in question, but Setsuna preempted any further inquiries with one of her own. "But what about this beautiful cake you brought? Did you know about the surprise party in advance?"

The brunette detached herself from her girlfriend and shook her head. "Nope! Kasumin just wanted to spread joy to her friends on this wonderful day, and there's no better way to spread joy than with food!"

"Yeah..." agreed Setsuna halfheartedly. It was the exact same sentiment she'd wanted to convey.

She looked down sadly at the boxed cake. Compared to Kasumi's masterpiece, it was smaller, sadder, and much rougher around the edges in both a figurative and literal sense. When given the choice, who would want to eat this?

She wouldn't want to subject her friends to such an obviously subpar experience, and she certainly didn't want to subject Kasumi to it either.

So, taking a deep breath, Setsuna pretended like nothing was wrong. "Your cake looks delicious, Kasumi-san. Let me put this down, then we can all sing to you and you can blow out the candles."

"Hehehe, but of course! Kasumin deserves to be serenaded on her special day~!"

Thankfully, the rest of the party went off without a hitch. It was nothing but smiles and laughter all around, centered on the beautiful brunette Setsuna was fortunate enough to call her girlfriend. But all good things must come to an end, and as the evening sun sank below the horizon, their friends all left in two's and three's, until eventually it was just the birthday girl and her girlfriend.

As the door closed on the last pair to leave them, Setsuna let out a weary sigh as she collapsed onto the loveseat. "Did you have a good birthday, Kasumi-san?"

Kasumi took the seat next to her and leaned on the ravenette's shoulder to cuddle. "The best," she affirmed.

"I'm glad," smiled Setsuna. She closed her eyes and did her best to snuggle closer.

"Hey, Setsuna-senpai?"

"Yes, Kasumi-san?"

"Why did you hide your cake?"

Setsuna's eyes shot open. "...what are you talking about?" she asked dumbly, trying in vain not to tense up.

Kasumi pulled back and looked at her with a frown. "The cake you walked in with. The one that you baked yourself." She gestured to the corner of the room where Setsuna had shoved it unceremoniously. "The one over there."

Caught red-handed, Setsuna looked down in shame. "It... it doesn't matter."

"Of course it does!" snapped Kasumi. "You put all this effort into making a cake for me and you're not even going to acknowledge it?!"

"I didn't want to upstage your efforts!" retorted Setsuna desperately. "You baked a cake too, and it's your own birthday! I couldn't take away from that!"

Kasumi pursed her lips. "Maybe. But that's not the whole reason, is it?"

Setsuna sighed. "It's... My cake is... bad. Small, and flat, and rough. No one would've liked it and it would've made everyone unhappy. And everyone should be happy for your birthday..."

For a while, Kasumi just looked at Setsuna. Not judging, not expecting. Just looking at the beautiful girl she called her own, trying to figure out a way to make her feel better. And then it hit her.

Kasumi stood and walked over the retrieve Setsuna's cake.

"Kasumi-san?"

The brunette grabbed the box and brought it to the table, taking an unused fork as she lifted the lid.

The sight that awaited her was not pretty.

Everything was purple. The edges were noticeably singed. There was a small pool of sludgy residue at the bottom that Kasumi could only assume was raw batter from an under-cooked center that had found its way outside.

But it wasn't all bad. Setsuna had written the words 'Happy Birthday Kasumi' on top in exquisite handwriting, along with a small heart atop the 'i' in her name.

Taking a deep breath, Kasumi uttered a single word. "Itadakimasu."

"Kasumi-san, you don't have to do this!" pleaded Setsuna.

"But I want to," said Kasumi resolutely. "It's enough for Kasumi that you tried. And Kasumi can tell you made this with love. Isn't that right?" she asked with a small smile.

"Yes, I did," confirmed Setsuna. "I love you, Kasumi-san."

Holding up a small forkful of cake, Kasumi smiled brightly at her. "I love you too, Setsuna-senpai."

She brought the fork to her mouth and ate.

Thankfully, Kasumi survived the food poisoning.

~END~