#ichiciel

   Akira and Yukari had to tap out for obvious reasons. Valentine’s Day, the lead up to it and the day itself, was a nightmare for them considering all their not so secret, very over the top, and oftentimes obnoxious admirers. So for all intents and purposes, they were in the witness protection program and gone with the cold wind until the zeitgeist of Valentine’s Day blew over.

   Then poor Himari had come down with a cold, she said she was often prone to them because the wintery weather of February simply did not agree with her. Which made sense given how squirrely she was and squirrels did need to hibernate in winter. She was doing alright getting homework, her absolute beloved, done in her condition.

   And as for Aoi, she had her parents overrule her and her activities not just at KiraPati but the band, too. She really wanted to be helping out - and really wanted to be anywhere but the etiquette lessons her parents wanted her to do - and even Mitsuyoshi was apologising for her absence. Ichika and Ciel were sympathetic, of course, as much freedom as they all had, sometimes there was just no avoiding other responsibilities. Especially ones set by parents.

   So yes. It was just Ichika and Ciel, all by themselves, in the KiraPati kitchen. Of course Pekorin and Chourou were doing their best to help out but in the mountains of sugar cookies that Ichika and Ciel, especially, were determined to bake up, there was only so much the fairies could do before they tuckered out. 

   Ciel was being an absolute powerhouse in the kitchen today. She just glistened effortlessly as she went through all the endeavours of baking. Mixing, concocting, getting everything ready with the utmost precision to maximise the best use of their time if they were going to cash in on the hype surrounding Valentine’s Day. Which, in Ciel’s opinion, was the true owner of the title being the most wonderful time of the year.

   Oh, she was having all sorts of flights of fancy of girls giving gifts to their crushes. And Ciel wanted to ensure that everyone who bought from them would have the best biscuits in town and that they would cause the requiting of feelings in an instant. She was certain as she put in yet another tray of sugar cookie dough into the oven and got out the next to cool.

   With all this riding on their baked goods, there was absolutely no time to fluff around, or make mistakes. So Ichika was doing her best to keep pace with Ciel. 

   Which was quite possibly the worst thing that Ichika could have done. She knew she could be a disaster chef a little bit more frequently than once a blue moon. She had none of the training or even innate talent of Ciel, though the latter couldn’t be helped on account of Ichika being human and Ciel being a fairy but still.

   Ichika wanted to help so badly. She felt that her own skills in the kitchen had really taken off since becoming a Pretty Cure and then meeting Ciel? She felt - and saw - her own potential of fulfilling her dreams take off exponentially and so, even though Ichika was worried, she was doing her best. Actually and literally.

   And Ciel couldn’t be happier. Watching Ichika, she was in total agreement that Ichika had become a much better baker in the somewhat short time that they had known each other and the prowess she was showing right here and now was proof of that.

   Ichika had truly risen to the occasion like any good vanilla and strawberry shortcake should.

   By the end of the afternoon, when Ichika’s curfew was just minutes away from settling in, they had just a handful of biscuits left to ice. They could probably wait until tomorrow morning, before they opened to sell on Valentine’s Day but Ichika’s brows furrowed in.

   “We can finish these right now. I’ll call my Dad to tell him I’ll be a little bit late coming home, I’m sure he’ll understand.” Ichika said.

   “Oh, mon lapine, I appreciate it but I don’t want you getting in trouble for my or KiraPati’s sake.” Ciel assured her.

   “But we still have good icing we can use.” Ichika pointed out.

   Ciel turned herself slightly so she faced the bench more. She picked up the bowl and sighed. Ichika wasn’t wrong but nor was she right. What remained of this bowl of icing that they had done up together, there really wasn’t much left to use. They could get… one more biscuit tops out of it and Ciel shook her head. She simply did not think it was worth it.

   And so, before either she or Ichika could get into an argument about curfew and sugar cookies, Ciel ruined the icing. She committed the biggest no-no that there was to commit in a patisserie.

   She stuck her finger in the bowl and turned the bowl so she could scrape up as much icing as possible on her finger. She smiled impishly as Ichika’s jaw dropped. Her hair stood on end, even her twin pigtails were all jagged in her exclamation.

   “What are you doing?” Ichika choked out.

   “Quality control.” Ciel giggled as she then stuck her finger in her mouth. She sucked off the icing and hummed thoughtfully to herself. When she removed her finger from her mouth, it came out with a pop. She nodded to herself, satisfied. “It's good.” she announced.

   “Er, argh, yeah, I sure hope so. We made it.” Ichika said.

   “Yes, we did, didn’t we?” Ciel mused to herself, seemingly having an entirely different conversation to the one that Ichika was having with her. Her eyes turned half-lidded as she tilted her head to the side, smiling, she praised Ichika, “You’ve done excellent, mon lapine, you should head home and get some rest but first…”

   Ciel’s head tilted back upright and as she did, she went for a second scoop of the icing. Or what was left of it and it was even more slim pickings than before after her first sampling of it.

   She leaned in a little closer and booped a dollop of icing onto Ichika’s nose. 

   Ichika scrunched it up. She could swear she felt all the sugar granules in it on her face, crinkly and crunchy but it also smelt really good. Very sweet, just how she liked it.

   “Will you be my Valentine tomorrow?” Ciel asked her. “We can finish it then and share our cookies with all our customers, wouldn’t that be… wonderful, mon lapine?”

   Ichika blushed. She had no idea if Ciel was flirting with her for real or not. Whether this was strictly professional, albeit platonic, or something else entirely. Before she could even toss up either way, Ciel leaned in again and she kissed Ichika’s nose.

   Right in the dollop of icing on it, she licked it up and Ichika felt a shiver up her spine. Ciel’s lips were sweet, as was her breath, and how she licked that dollop of icing, it was incredibly gentle, making Ichika melt.

   Well. That certainly solved Ciel's intentions with her.

   Pulling back, Ciel batted her long eyelashes at Ichika, “Well?” she prompted her.

   Ichika felt her heart race at a million beats per minute. Her fingers trembled by her side but she felt her shoulders stiff and square, almost near her ears. Yet somehow. She managed a smile and then. She even managed to find her voice.

   “I-I’d like that.” she replied, stuttering, blushing.

   “I would like that, too,” Ciel replied, sounding relieved of her confession, “I shall see you tomorrow.”