"Alright," Trey sighed. Adjusting his glasses, he wiped his hands on the dishtowel again. "Next, we just sprinkle on a little powdered sugar..."

He shook the bag of powdered sugar into the sifter, then held it over the tarts. Kat, Ace, and Grim watched with bated breath, like they were observing the last step in a critical surgery.

Grinning, Trey shook the sifter lightly, patting the side of it with the flat of his hand. The powdered sugar drifted down over the light brown swirls of cream like a flurry of snow. After a second, he put the sifter down, stepping back and folding his arms with a satisfied sigh.

"WE DID IT!" Ace and Grim cheered in unison, jumping up and punching the air.

"W...We did it," Deuce mumbled, still looking listless.

Kat snorted quietly, patting him gently on the shoulder. "There, there," she smiled, putting her head to the side. "Good job."

"Mmm," Deuce mumbled, nodding vaguely.

Ace approached, looking between him and Kat. "Hey, what's up with him?" He asked, brow furrowing. "What happened while you guys were out runnin' errands?"

Kat gave him a look, shaking her head. "He's fine," she said flatly, giving Deuce a final light pat and walking over towards the newly finished tart. "He just needs to... Wrap his head around some things. He'll probably be fine."

Ace blinked, following her and giving Deuce one last suspicious look. "Okay..."

Deuce shook his head, muttering something under his breath that Kat couldn't quite make out.

Ace shook his head, rolling his eyes. "Whatever, man..."

He yawned, stretching his arms behind his head. "Well, anyway-- man, I never realized how hard baking actually is! I'm exhausted..."

"Yep," she agreed, stretching as well. "So, how's--"

Suddenly, the doors slammed open. Cater strolled in, winking and giving his customary two-fingered salute-slash-peace sign. "Hey, hey, hey!" He chirped, bouncing over to the group. "How's it goin', fam? Man, you guys sure look beat... Workin' hard, huh?"

Grinning, he slapped Ace and Deuce on the back, catching Kat's eye and winking. Then he perked up, spotting the three tarts on the counter. "Ah-- no way, you're done with the tarts! Great job! Wow-- the decorations are super cute!"

He walked over, already pulling out his phone. "Hey, I bet these'll go viral on Magicam in half a sec! Mind if I snap a quick pic?"

Of course, he was already starting to take pictures before anyone could even say anything. The loud clicking and flash started filling the kitchens like a mini thunderstorm.

Ace shook his head rapidly, catching up with all the events carried out by Hurricane Cater. "H--Huh?!" He demanded, scowling and planting his hands on his hips. "Hey, man-- what gives?! What, you only decide to show up NOW, of all times?!"

"Awww..." Cater pouted exaggeratedly, putting his phone away and turning to Ace. "Hey, c'mon-- I just wanted to see how hard all my cute lil' kouhais were workin'! Hm?"

He blinked, looking from Ace to Kat and Deuce. "Pffffft-- HA!"

Turning away, he put a fist to his mouth, grinning. "Hey, hey-- what's with those FACES?! Man, you guys look like Trey worked you half to death!"

"Hey, don't be like that, Cater," Trey scolded lightly. Moving across the kitchen, he washed his hands again. "Baking's a tough job if you're not used to it... But these guys actually did great!"

He smiled, shaking his hands and wiping them on the dishtowel slung over his shoulder. "Well, hey-- nothing perks you up after a hard day's work like something sweet! And you definitely deserve it, after all that."

Taking his pen out of his pocket, he flicked it. One of the cabinets opened, and a stack of small plates drifted out, hovering over to the counter on a cloud of white sparkles. "Here-- I'll get you all a slice, okay?"

"YEAH!" Everyone but Kat cheered in unison, pumping their fists and-or paws in the air.

Kat jumped, wincing a little. It had been a long day, and she was pretty exhausted, so her sensory tolerance was running a little ragged-- but she recovered quickly.

Joining the others as they gathered around the tarts, she clasped her hands behind her back, watching. Trey was cutting into one of the huge tarts, transferring the slices onto the waiting plates.

Ace sidled up to Cater, elbowing him in the side with a grin. "But seriously, Cater-senpai... What a coincidence that you decided to show up right when it was time to eat, huh?"

Cater shoved him playfully, grinning right back. "Aw, c'mon, c'mon-- you can just think of me as the official taste-tester, if it makes you feel better!"

"Waaaaaah..." Grim drooled, climbing back up Kat's leg and back and onto her shoulder. "Man, it smells so good... Those candied chestnuts sparklin' on the top, all that fluffy cream underneath..." He started tensing up, wiggling his butt and shifting his weight like he was about to jump.

Kat grabbed him off her shoulder, pulling him into her arms for safekeeping as she grimaced at Trey. "Hey, sorry to ask, but do you think Grim could get the first slice? Otherwise, I'm afraid he's just gonna faceplant into the whole thing..."

Trey chortled, shaking his head. "Sure thing," he replied, nodding to one of the plates. "Help yourselves, okay?"

Hurrying over, Kat grabbed the first plate she could, setting it down on the counter a safe distance away from the tarts. "Here," she said, putting Grim down in front of it. "This one's yours-- do you need a fork?"

Grim shook his head, licking his whiskers. "Nah-- I'm not gonna wait another second! ITTADAKIMASU!"

With that, he literally buried his face in the chestnut cream, eating loudly.

Kat snorted, putting the back of her hand to her mouth and turning away as she wheezed. Christ...

Shaking her head, she walked back over to the others, accepting a plate and fork from Trey. "Thanks!" She chirped, picking up the fork and waving it in a small salute.

"No problem," he replied, handing the next one to Deuce.

"Thank you, senpai," Deuce said, smiling. Well, at least he seemed to be feeling better... Leaning against the counter, she used the side of the fork to scoop up a small sliver of tart.

Ace came over next to her, propping his elbows on the counter and shoving a much larger bite of tart into his mouth. He chewed noisily for about half a second, then stiffened, eyes going wide. "Mmm?! N-No way!" He spluttered, mouth still half-full of tart.

Kat ducked, shielding her own slice from the crumbs he was spewing and glaring. "HEY," she scolded, getting up from her lean and moving away. "Gross!"

Ace closed his mouth, looking embarrassed. "S-Sorry, Prefect," he mumbled, swallowing sheepishly.

"Mmmm... YUUUUM!" Cater piped up, clapping a hand to his cheek as he beamed. "You outdid yourself as always, Trey!"

Deuce swallowed his own first bite, looking amazed. "Wow... Incredible! Th-This is like-- something from a fancy bakery or something!"

"Mmm!" Grim enthused, finally pulling away from his mostly-demolished slice and licking the cream off his whiskers. "It's sweet, but not too sweet... The flavor's super rich, too! And man, these chestnuts... I-it's like they're dancin' across my tongue!"

Kat shook her head. Guess these speeches were gonna be a running theme with him... At least he was eating actual food this time, and not a weird black rock.

Trey laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. "Hey, come on... No need to pile on the compliments like that, Grim."

Kat finally put the piece of her own slice in her mouth, and her eyebrows rose. "Mmm-- wow, okay, this IS good!" She swallowed, taking the next bite eagerly.

"Ooh!" Cater put his fork down on his plate, hurrying over to Trey and tugging on his sleeve excitedly. "That reminds me-- hey, hey, Trey! That thing! You gotta do the thing!"

Trey blinked, looking over at him. "The... Thing?" He repeated, looking puzzled. Then he smiled, giving Cater a knowing look. "Oh-- you mean THAT thing, huh?"

Ace looked back and forth between the two of them, frowning. "What's... The thing?" He asked suspiciously.

"Hey, no need to be like that-- it's not anything weird," Trey assured him.

Walking to the center of the kitchen, he pulled his magical pen out of his breast pocket.

Adjusting his glasses, he looked around with a grin. "Okay-- so tell me, what's everybody's favorite foods?"

"Hm?" Ace blinked, looking around again, then shrugging. "Well, for me... It'd have to be cherry pie. Ooh-- or hamburgers."

Grim hopped down off his counter, hurrying over to them and sitting at Kat's ankle. "Ooh-- well, my number-one all-time fave's GOTTA be canned tuna," he piped up. "Then after that, it's cheese omelets, grilled meat, flan pudding..."

Kat bumped him lightly with the side of her foot. "Hey, I think that's plenty," she said. "If you keep going, we'll end up being here for the rest of the night."

"Heh-- an' you forgot one," Ace added, grinning. "Weird black crystals, right?"

Both she and Grim shot him a look.

Trey frowned. "Black... Crystals?" He repeated.

Kat waved a hand dismissively. "Nevermind... It's a long story. How 'bout you, Deuce?"

"M-Me?" Deuce ventured, putting a hand to his chest. "Well-- I- I guess if I had to pick, it'd be... Omurice?"

Ace snorted. "Laaame," he muttered. "What are you, five? OW!"

Kat had elbowed him sharply in the ribs, almost making him drop his plate. "You really need to learn how to shut up," she told him flatly. "Not everything has to be a banter sesh or roast, you know?"

Ace grumbled, scooting away from her. "Sorry, sorry... Ow. You're pretty violent, you know that?"

"Okay, my turn!" Cater chirped, raising a hand. "My all-time fave's roasted lamb chops with diablo sauce!"

He looked over at Kat, grinning. "Well, Kitty-Kat? You're up next!"

"Uh..." Kat shifted, tapping the fork against the plate as she tried to think. "Um... Hang on, gimme a second..."

Ugh... Whenever anyone asked her about her favorite anything, everything she'd ever liked flew completely out of the window of her mind.

"Uhhh... Watermelon? I guess? Or maybe cheesecake... No particular flavors, but I actually don't like fully chocolate-flavored cheesecake as much."

Trey looked around, nodding. "Everybody ready? Okay, then... Here we go."

He raised his pen, and the red magestone gleamed, gathering light in a swirl.

"Doodle Suit!" He proclaimed.

A ball of white light shot up from the pen, flying towards the ceiling and exploding in a shower of light like a tiny firework.

The white sparkles rained down over the room, and Kat put a hand out, amazed. "Wow..."

This scene-- all these sparkling motes raining down in a shower, it was... It was so familiar...

It wasn't just the white sparkles, she realized. There were tiny, immaterial card suit symbols mixed in, flashing red, blue, black, green and orange as they drifted down like confetti. They landed on the palm of her hand, stayed for a second, then faded away like snowflakes, leaving the barest tingle of warmth behind.

"...Huh?" Deuce said, looking around at the fading rain of sparkles. "What's all this?" He shook his head, and a small flurry of sparkles flew off his hair, fading away into the air and vanishing.

Tucking his pen back into his pocket, Trey strolled over to him. "Take another bite of your tart and see for yourself," he said, nodding to his plate.

Deuce blinked. "Uh-- okay..." He cast an apprehensive look at him, then took another piece of tart onto his fork.

Ace actually beat him to it, shoving another large bite in his mouth and chewing. "Mm? MMMM?!"

His eyes widened again, looking even more shocked. This time, he actually swallowed his mouthful before bursting out incredulously, though. "Th--This is..."

He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. "This is a marron tart, right?! But-- it tastes like cherry pie!"

Grim perked up eagerly, eyes widening. "Huh?! Hang on-- I wanna try!"

He ran back over to his own plate, jumping back up onto the counter and taking another bite of his tart. "Mmm-- wow, thish tastesh just like tuna!" He declared excitedly, then swallowed and took another bite. "Homph-- an' now it tastesh like a cheese omelet!"

He dove straight into shoveling tart into his mouth, chewing noisily. "Ooh-- this time, it's grilled meat! An' pudding! An'--"

Kat took another cautious bite of tart, blinking in surprise. "Wow..." It had looked like marron tart on the fork, but somehow turned the exact flavor and even texture of ripe, juicy watermelon in her mouth.

She chewed thoughtfully, then swallowed, taking another bite. Sure enough, this one was a rich, creamy New York-style cheesecake, drizzled with thick strawberry and chocolate sauce.

"Wow," she said again, kind of at a loss for words.

Cater came over to her, grinning from ear to ear. "Super interesting, right?!" He exclaimed. "Like, if you pulled a trick like this outta your sleeve on a cafe date or something, the girls'd go WILD!"

She blinked, looking around at him. "Uh... Y-Yeah, I guess..."

"It's AMAZING!" Deuce enthused, looking at Trey with sparkling eyes. "Is this your... Your Unique Magic, Clover-senpai? Changing flavors?"

Trey laughed, pushing up his glasses. "Well, technically, it's a type of magic that overwrites characteristics of something," he said. "Not just taste-- color, smell, texture... Pretty much anything along that vein, I can do."

Stepping back, he folded his arms, getting a wry look on his face. "It doesn't last for very long, though... And it's not exactly 'changing', per se. It's more like covering up or scribbling over the real thing... Kind of like a doodle. So, that's where I got the name from. See?"

"Whooooa..." Grim came back over, licking the remnants of marron tart off his whiskers. "Incredible! If I had that kinda magic-- that Doodle Suit or whatever... Then my dream of eatin' tuna for every meal wouldn't be just a dream anymore!"

He hopped up on the counter next to Kat, going sneakily towards her plate. "If ya ask me, that's a billion times cooler than that big-headed bully Riddle's magic..."

Kat snatched her plate out of the way just in time. Grim overbalanced, ending up faceplanting right into the counter. "NO," she scolded, taking her fork and scooping up another piece. "Not yours."

"Heh..." With another wry smile, Trey shook his head, putting his fingertips to his temple. "No, that's not even close to being true. Compared to the housewarden's magic, this may as well be a child's toy... Trust me, the levels aren't even comparable. But... Thanks, Grim."

Shaking his head, he clapped his hands, looking around and smiling. "Okay-- well, it's gotten pretty late; I think I've kept you all long enough. We'll get these tarts to Riddle tomorrow, okay? Finish up your slices and head back to your dorms. Tomorrow's the Unbirthday Party, after all-- wouldn't wanna be late!" With that, he turned, putting the rest of the tarts away in the fridge.

"Okaaaaay," Ace singsonged, scarfing down his remaining tart.

Kat did the same, but a little slower than him. After she finished, she put her plate in the sink, sighing.

Ace followed her, dropping his own plate on top of hers and clearing his throat. "Heeey, Kat," he cooed, looking innocent. "I can crash at your place tonight, right? Right? 'Cause-- ya know-- these big mean senpais of mine ain't gonna let me back in the dorm..."

"Ah-ahh," Cater sighed, hanging his head and rubbing his neck. "Here he goes again, making US sound like the bad guys..."

Kat shrugged. "Eh-- why not," she replied, walking over and taking Grim's plate, which had of course been licked clean.

"Hey, hang on," Deuce objected, crossing his arms. "Aren't you kind of taking advantage of the Prefect's kindness, Ace? It's your own fault for not being able to get back in the dorm..."

"Yeah, yeah, he's RIGHT!" Grim agreed, scurrying over and glaring up at Ace with his paws on his hips. "From now on, if you're gonna stay at our place, you're gonna have to start payin' rent! I want ten cans a' tuna!"

"Haaah?!" Ace demanded, putting his hands on his own hips and glaring right back. "What, you actually wanna make me sleep in the bushes this time?!"

"YOU GUYS," Kat interrupted, walking between them and motioning for them both to back up. "He can stay. It's fine."

Deuce frowned, giving Ace a suspicious look. "Mmm," he muttered. "I don't know..."

"Hey, last I checked, it's my shitty haunted house, not yours," Kat said, rolling her eyes. "Besides, last night actually went pretty smoothly... Mostly. It'll be fine."

"Yeah, but--" Deuce began.

Trey came over, patting him soothingly on the shoulder. "Well, if you're so worried, why don't YOU go over and stay at the Prefect's dorm too, Deuce?" He suggested. "That way, you can keep an eye on Ace."

Deuce blinked, looking around at him. "Really?"

"Sure!" Trey replied, giving him another pat. "As vice-housewarden, I'm hereby issuing you a free sleepover pass."

"Wh-- T-Trey-kun!" Cater spluttered, jumping. "Aren't you being a little TOO nice to the newbies?! Man, I'm jealous..."

He looked at Kat again, grinning. "Hey, Prefect-chan-- mind letting ME crash the party, too? Pretty please?"

Kat blinked. "Uh..." She honestly couldn't tell if he was trying to flirt with her or not... He had a sort of carefree, playboy vibe, and all this just seemed like second nature to him.

"No, you can't," Trey interrupted, giving Cater a stern look. "No hall pass for you, Cater."

"Aww..." Cater pouted, twiddling his hair between his fingers. "Tch, Mr. No-Fun Trey-kun strikes again..."

"Too bad," Trey said flatly, putting an arm over his shoulders. "Come on... Well, Kat-- sorry to dump these two on you like this." He nodded towards Deuce and Ace, still glaring at each other. "Just keep it up until tomorrow, okay?"

With that, he started herding Cater towards the doors.

Kat laughed quietly, shaking her head. "Hey, it's no problem... See you guys tomorrow, then?"

Trey nodded again, and Cater winked, giving a wave. "See you guys tomorrow!" He chirped. "Don't stay up TOO late, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Ace grumbled, flapping a hand dismissively. "Don't act like the good, responsible senpai when you were trying to dorm-crash too, alright?"

Cater stuck his tongue out at him, and Trey pushed the door open, herding him out. The door swung shut again.

Ace yawned, stretching his arms above his head and rolling his shoulders. "Ugh... So, tomorrow's the Unbirthday Party, huh? Rrrgh..."

Shaking his head, he slapped himself lightly on the cheeks, scowling. "Just you wait, dorm leader! Tomorrow's gonna be the day when I finally get this stupid collar off!"

"Yeah, yeah," Kat sighed, stretching as well. "Come on, you guys... Let's just head back, okay?" Scooping up Grim, she walked towards the door. Ace and Deuce followed at her heels, still shooting glares at each other while they walked.

Author's Notes:

I heard somewhere that it's only 'Doodle Suit' because the VA couldn't pronounce 'Paint The Roses' but I like Doodle Suit better anyway. Idk why. It just sounds more fun.

Yeah, I really like Peter Pan. I play Cookie Run: Kingdom and got Peter Pan Cookie in the Disney event and you wouldn't believe the noise I made when I heard 'LET'S GO! OFF TO NEVERLAND!' in the gacha animation. Now I just need Tinkerbell Cookie, aka the closest Fairy Cookie is ever gonna get to being in Kingdom. Pray to the Gacha Gods for me.

(...Small sidenote. I. Do NOT like what didney pulled with the Rescue Rangers movie. I will not watch it. How disgusting is it that it was a direct comparison to what happened to the original voice actor? Christ on a cross, Disney. I love your properties and am currently hyperfixating on your silly little Deviantart gijinka app, but. Come ON. You can't do shit like that.)

(...Okay, rant over.)