Mute 》Mashle: Magic and Muscles

5. Yuki and the Awkward Proposal

It was the greatest first week at Easton Academy. Yuki shared a few classes with Lance, who made sure to sit as close to her as possible. The classes she didn't share with him, she had with Mash. And Yuki had enjoyed every moment with them. Even when it's unintentional, Mash would always find a way to make her laugh.

During class, they were learning how to ride a broom. Yuki was curious about how Mash would fly a broom. She even stood next to him in case she needed to use her Cursed Speech to make the broom float. Yet, he managed to stomp on the ground hard enough for the broom to fly right into his hand. Yuki's mouth formed an 'O' in amazement as she applauded him. Mash blushed a bit while scratching the back of his head and muttering a thanks.

Then, they were racing with other students. She was curious how he would race against the other student. Right as the professor shouted start, Mash chucked the broom across the field before jumping on top of it. Yuki clapped for him again, then gave him a congratulatory pat on the shoulder, which pissed off a few students.

Although Yuki did grow weary when Lloyd Cavill wanted to "befriend" Mash. She's heard of him: the son of a VIP from the Bureau of Magic. Lloyd is also chummy with the vice principal, so to put it in short words...you do anything to piss him off and you'll be expelled. And it doesn't help that Lloyd would instigate other students just so they could get kicked out. He tried to get Mash to visit him after school on the field so they could "talk." Yuki had to think quickly to put as much distance between them, so she politely waved a Lloyd before dragging Mash away. She also needed to come up with an idea to make Mash forget about the meeting.

So, they're using the homeroom to bake sweets.

The duo wore aprons and headpieces to avoid getting dirty. Mash was putting in the filling for his creampuffs, which he grew excited with each passing minute so he could eat them.

"This is pretty fun. Making creampuffs on our own," he told Yuki. She nodded as she whisked the batter for another batch. When Mash looked over, he noticed three goodie bags filled with sweets. Each bag had different drawings: one was a huge lemon, the middle was filled with hearts, and the last bag had repetitive cartoon drawings of a rabbit's head. "Oh, you're making extras?"

Yuki nodded again as she closed up the first bag. She tried to be clever and baked lemon treats for Lemon, so there was lemon bread, scones, curd, shortbread cookies, and even a can of lemonade. Mash watched with interest as she grabbed the bag with hearts before she started bagging up the heart-shaped chocolates she made for Lance, except Mash didn't know it was for Lance.

"Wow, you must really love baking," he commented in a monotone voice. Yuki smiled as she closed up Lance's bag. She set it aside before she began sprinkling powdered sugar on the next dessert. Mash's eyes never left the heart-shaped bag because, for some unknown reason, he wanted to know if they were for him. He wished they were for him. Mash nervously scratched his cheek. "Who - Who are those for?"

Sadly, Yuki didn't hear his question because she was writing something on a small piece of paper. She stabbed the middle with a toothpick before using the other end to place on top of the dessert, then slid the plate over to Mash.

Mash's eyes widened when a plate of creampuffs appeared in front of him. "Are these for me?" he asked. Yuki smiled while pointing at the note. Mash gently plucked it off and read, "Thank you for the most memorable first week of school. I can't wait to see what this year has in store for us. I'm very happy that we're friends. P.S. Congratulations on your big win. P.P.S. If you need help with anything, just let me know."

Yuki went back to frosting the rabbit-shaped cookies. She looked back to see how Mash was enjoying his treat, and it didn't faze her to find the plate almost empty. Only one lone creampuff was displayed. She wanted to snap a photo of Mash with crumbs on his face.

"Oh," Mash said as he got a bit gloomy. "I'm sorry. They were really good and forgot to offer you one." Half of his face turned blue. "I feel bad now."

She waved her hand in a way that told Mash it was OK. Yuki did make them for him, after all. But she appreciated that he wanted to share one with her. A bright idea came to her. When Mash looked at her, she motioned for him to cover his ears. He complied but was confused. Yuki slid the last creampuff over and grabbed it.

"Grow," she chanted in a soft voice.

The creampuff glowed while it grew to the size of a watermelon. She gently set it back on the plate and then handed it to Mash. His eyes sparkled, mouth watered, at the flaky delicious dessert in front of him.

"Wow," he said in his monotone voice as the backdrop changed to yellow with sparkles. He picked up the creampuff and took a big bite. The corner of his lips twitched as he munched on the pastry. Mash looked at Yuki, who just finished sealing the rabbit goodie bag. "Marry me?"

Yuki nearly dropped the goodie bag. Half of her face was blue with lines going down. She slowly looked at Mash and had that look that said what did you say? Mash started to quake in fear - and more importantly nervousness. The question slipped out of his mouth before he could process it.

"Uh, um," Mash stuttered a bit awkwardly. "I - I didn't say anything." He grabbed a huge chunk of the creampuff and ripped it before handing it out to her, slowly wishing the ground would sink him in. "W - Want some?"

There were only two options Yuki could think about. Mash was already red to the face from embarrassment and she didn't want to embarrass him further. So, she could either pretend that she didn't hear anything or tell Mash about Lance. Yuki does value their friendship and she doesn't want to ruin it. Who knows, maybe Mash only asked because he loves the pastries so much and it's kinda like a joke proposal between friends? But if it isn't then he should know that she's already engaged to someone else so he could get over of is possible crush.

She decided to tell him the truth. Yet, she wasn't sure how to begin. Yuki nervously scratched the back of her neck, which made Mash gulp that she hadn't responded or taken the creampuff. Her hands went to grab the paper and pen before she wrote something down. When she looked at Mash, she bowed while holding the piece of paper out.

"Mash, if I've done anything to lead you on I'm so sorry," he read. His face got gloomier as he read the next few sentences. "I love you as a friend and if things were different then I'm sure I would have liked you more than that, but I'm currently in a relationship." He felt something inside shatter along with a cracking sound on the ground. His eyes widened in shock when Yuki got on her knees and kept bowing in apology as her head kept hitting the ground.

Mash knelt and grabbed Yuki's shoulders before she could bash her head against the ground again. "Please, don't hurt yourself," he said. Yuki kept her gaze on the floor as a streak of blood dripped down from her forehead. "You're bleeding."

He grabbed her arms and pulled her up. Mash looked around for something to put over the cut but couldn't find anything. The best thing he could do was rip off part of his apron that was still clean before pressing it against her head. Yuki glanced at him and gave him a small thankful smile.

"Does this mean you're taken?" he asked. She nodded in response before noticing how close they were. There was little to no room for her to move around because he was standing in front of her while holding the ripped cloth on her head. Her hand went over half of her face to cover the blush that slowly rose across the bridge of her nose.  Of course, he wouldn't know what personal space is even if it's unintentional. "Should I take you to the nurse?"

Yuki shook her head as she awkwardly moved around Mash. She grabbed the cloth on her head instead of him as she motioned toward the door as a way of saying she was going to leave. Mash nodded as she left. Yuki calmly walked down the corridor. It was then when she turned the corner she sprinted toward her room. She slammed the door behind her and leaned her back against it. Yuki was panting. She reached up and placed her hand over her heart while sliding to the floor.

Her hands reached up to grasp her head as she mentally began to panic.

》》》》

A/N: In moments like these I can't decide who's going to be Yuki's endgame between the two.

Watch, it ends up being Orter.