You had no idea for how long you'd been staring into nothing when you heard a knock on the door. The deadline was tomorrow, and you hadn't even started.

"Huh? What? Who?"

"How's the cake going?" Bazz-B said from the doorway.

You sighed. You always did want to see him, but...

"No peeking, Bazz. It's against the rules."

"I'm not peeking! Just asking! Honest!" he said, and went to the fridge and got himself a canned soda. "Not like there's much to see, anyway."

He was right, of course. There was nothing on the table except for the ancient Quincy cookbook you had found in the archives. It was thick, dusty, and smelly, and now it was full of your colorful paper bookmarks.

"You don't know what to make, huh", Bazz said.

"What... what are you talking about? Of course I know what I'm going to make!"

You looked away and felt warmth in your cheeks all of a sudden. Bazz noticed, and his grin widened.

"Come on, you can tell me. What's the problem?"

Could you? Could you really tell him, or anyone in the whole castle, for that matter? When did any of you ever look out for each other, or help each other out?

"It's just..." you began, running your thumb over the bookmarks, "all of these recipes are so old. Surely His Majesty has tasted each of them already."

"So?"

"So, I wouldn't want to bore him!"

"It's His Majesty we're talking about, any old classic cake will do, trust me."

Except, of course, that was probably not what Bazz himself would go for. That was your dilemma - you knew all too well that His Majesty preferred traditional things, but what could you possibly make that would also prove interesting to a guy like...

"Bazz, if you were the King of the Quincy, what kind of cake would you want?"

He began to laugh.

"To be honest, I don't really have a sweet tooth."

"... Oh..."

"If I were King... I'd want something... I don't know. Fun!"

He pointed towards the unlit candle on the table, and shot a tiny flame at it. In that moment, your eyes lit up as well.

"Bazz! You're a genius!"

"Haha, what?"

"No time to explain, I have to get started on it right now, so if there's nothing else you want from the kitchen...?"

He smirked.

"Well, there was something else, but you're obviously busy, so I'll just be on my way. Good luck with your cake!"

What in the world could he possibly want? And why did it matter that you were busy? Did he want something... from you?

Regardless, right now you had work to do.

.

(One sleepless night and one busy day later)

You took in a deep breath and wheeled in the enormous cake, made up of multiple smaller cakes. It was pentagonal in shape, with blue marzipan stars around the sides... and completely white in the middle.

You cleared your throat and announced to the crowd:

"Your Majesty... this cake holds a truth we Quincy all know... With your permission, I would like to ask Sternritter H to assist with revealing it."

"Very well", His Majesty said. "Bazz-B, assist if you wish."

Bazz was there in an instant, his eyes wide with excitement, warming his palms together.

"What do you need me to do?"

"Please, can you shoot a flame at the surface of the cake? Just a small flame will do."

"What?!"

The crowd was murmuring, and even His Majesty had raised a brow.

"Go ahead, it'll be... fun!"

He looked at you with a confused smile, and then he pointed his finger towards the cake. You nodded. His finger lit up and he shot.

The surface of the cake caught fire, and the first triangle of the pentagon began to burn away, revealing beneath it...

"The sealed King of the Quincy", Bazz read out loud; the text was written in blue icing.

After it finished burning away, the second one caught flame as well. You faced him and recited the next verse.

"Over 900 years, he shall recover his heartbeat."

Bazz nodded and grinned. You wondered if he was thinking it too. It almost felt like a...

"Over 90 years, he shall recover his intellect."

... like a vow... not just any kind of vow...

"Over nine years, he shall recover his power."

All you needed now was a blessing.

Bazz then turned to the King himself, and you did too.

"And over nine days, he shall recover the world", His Majesty finished, and clapped his hands slowly.

All the others began to applaud as well, but you only had eyes for Bazz, who was smiling at you. He looked so in awe, and you couldn't believe it had all gone so perfectly.

.

It was incredible, barely a crumb was left! His Majesty enjoyed it, and most importantly...

"Need a hand with that?" Bazz said.

"Sure, thanks, Bazz - and thanks for the idea, too."

"No need to thank me, the idea was yours", he winked.

He pushed the cart all the way into the kitchen for you.

"How do you even know about baking trends from the world of the living?" you asked. "I thought you didn't have a sweet tooth..."

"I do like sweet things, I just don't crave them. Well, that's not really true. There's something sweet I'm really craving right now..."

He seemed very pleased with himself, and when you looked in the same direction where he was looking... you understood why. The two of you were standing right under the mistletoe.

"Ah, so that's what you wanted yesterday!"

"I mean, only if you want it too."

You didn't reply, you just wrapped your arms around his neck, and right away you were surrounded by his pleasant warmth. His kiss was a celebration, you could feel the joy and passion in the pressure of his lips against yours. You weren't sure how or when, but the two of you had started moving, like a slow dance.

"Do we really have to go back, Bazz?"

"Ugh... Yeah, we kinda do..."

You shrugged and smiled, and then you kissed him again.

.

.

.

Thank you @whatshernameis for requesting, thanks to everyone who reads, and have a wonderful rest of the holiday season!!!! 🥰

I started off with a hot pink base and I added that fiery glitter topper over it which has a lavender base to it actually... and it still turns out a bit too red in the pictures. It's a lot more raspberry irl. But I don't really edit anything except for the zoom in my pictures. It's fine.

I was thinking I might want to add a bit of something darker like a darker pink but then I was like no lmao this needs to be super bright and in your face!!

I do really love the tiny holo sparks though!! Quincy Vollständig is holographic lolol

Definitely not a winter mani but what's better than this to invoke a bit of much needed warmth 🥰