Just Like Rabbits
Chapter 1
"Isn't it a bit late for cream puffs, Mash?" Approaching his roommate, Finn noticed the pink apron he usually wore was plastered with sugar and bits of dough.
"The ears…" Mash muttered to the mixing bowl's contents as he stirred the cream vigorously, unaware of Finn's question.
Taking a step back at the unnerving reply, Finn decided that now was maybe not the best time to engage Mash in conversation. Hearing him mumble the two words again, Finn was suddenly filled with a deep and inexplicable sense of foreboding.
Feeling nervous was not something that concerned Mash Burnedead, the emotion didn't have a place in his mind's inner workings. But as he hesitated in front of the decorated dormitory room door, Mash acknowledged that the faint sensation somewhat akin to his stomach doing backflips did feel rather uncomfortable. Or maybe it was just hunger, since he had missed lunch by spending the afternoon making cream puffs. Although baking the sweet, fluffy treats came to him almost as naturally as push-ups or running, this batch had presented a unique challenge.
Mash rapped gently on the door, taking care not to damage the wood. Regardless, the heavy oak retained several small divots from his knuckles.
"Come in," a voice filtered back from inside the dormitory, tinged with faint annoyance.
'Push or pull? Push or pull? Push or pull?' Wracking his brain to remember which direction the dormitory doors typically opened, Mash hesitated.
"Please don't make me repeat myself..."
It was a push. The door swung open, and Mash exhaled a breath he didn't realize he had been holding.
"Hello, Mash." If Rayne Ames was confused about the first year's unexpected appearance, his stoic expression didn't show it. While it was not uncommon for younger students to visit his room, given his role of house Adler Prefect, Mash's arrival was somewhat of a surprise. "Is there something I can help you with this evening?" Perturbed by the first year's lack of response, Rayne straightened imperceptibly in his desk chair, "Is something wrong with Finn?"
The older boy's question went unheard as Mash noticed a small rabbit figurine on his desk and stepped into the dorm room, letting the door swing closed behind him. "So, you do like rabbits."
Bewildered at Mash's line of questioning, Rayne felt inexplicably exposed by the other man's intense stare. "Stop asking me that."
Producing a plate out of thin air, Mash crossed the room to place the gift on Rayne's lap. It held a beautifully crafted bunny-shaped cream puff, and a carefully folded handkerchief.
"I said I don't- Did you bake this?" Rayne faltered, examining the intricate pastry with interest. It appeared expertly made and was much too adorable to consider eating.
"I thought you didn't like rabbits?" Mash countered with a smile, stiffly taking a seat on the bed across from Rayne.
Glancing quizzically from the pastry to the first year, Rayne examined him guardedly. Mash's dark hair framed intense yellow eyes and pale skin, his angular features at odds with a childlike air of naivety. Rayne also noticed how the school uniform strained slightly across his broad shoulders.
"I was right, you do like rabbits." Pleased with his deduction, Mash's smile broadened.
"It… is very cute," Rayne conceded, eyeing the treat, and knowing there was no way he could bring himself to bite such an adorable, albeit edible, rabbit.
"Thank you for the handkerchief," Mash continued, "Please accept this cream puff as thanks for your help earlier in the dungeon."
Gesturing at the adorable dessert, Rayne's voice cracked, "It's shaped like a rabbit, how can I eat this…" His proud brain would not let his mouth complete the sentence with it reminds me too much of my bunny, Usami. This unfortunate misunderstanding would prove to be Rayne's undoing.
Ever kind and naïve, Mash leaned toward Rayne until he was well within the prefect's personal space. "It's not very different from eating a regular cream puff," he explained, balancing one hand on Rayne's lap and pointing with the other at the pastry's ears, "You can either start with the top, or eat it all in one bite!"
Rayne felt his face flush at the strong hand on his leg and sudden proximity to the younger boy.
This excruciating moment ended abruptly as Mash tore an ear off of the pastry in one swift movement and held the sticky dessert up to Rayne's lips. Rayne opened his mouth to protest, which is how he, Rayne Ames, Divine Visionary, the Sword Cane, and summoner of the God of War Ares, ended up being hand-fed a piece of homemade cream puff by Mash Burnedead.
The initial horror Rayne felt from seeing Mash disfigure the rabbit pastry was quickly overshadowed by the rich taste of cream in his mouth. Worse still, Rayne was utterly unprepared for the electric sensation of Mash's warm fingertips brushing against the tip of his tongue and lips.
Whether the sound that came out of his mouth was a gasp of surprise or a moan, Rayne would never admit. At first glance, Mash did not appear to have noticed it at all, but if Rayne had not been so preoccupied he would have seen a faint blush spread across the first year's fake mark.
Standing as abruptly as he had arrived, Mash hurried towards the door before turning back to face the prefect. "I knew you liked rabbits," the first year added with a smile, before slamming the door behind him and splintering it into pieces.
Any semblance of composure lost, Rayne leaned back in his chair and took another bite of the cream puff.
Mash was right, he did like rabbits.