Guilty Pleasure Friends

La Dolce Vita

Kuro's eyes went wide. "Mahiru's birthday...?"

He had never thought about that, he realized. He and Mahiru had been friends for months, and not once had he thought about when his friend's birthday might be, that it might be soon. The topic had simply never come up... Had Mahiru forgotten to bring it up? Or had he just not thought about it because he already knew Kuro's birthday thanks to his title of class rep, and everyone else knew his?

"Yes!" Hyde grinned mischievously, stepping closer and leaning against the wall next to Kuro, all up in his personal space. "Wouldn't that be the perfect opportunity to repay Mahiru-kun if you think you owe him so much?"

Kuro nodded thoughtfully. Yes... yes, he had a point. Kuro had always wanted to thank Mahiru properly, do something for him and show his gratitude for everything he had done for him, over and over again. If there was an opportunity to surprise him and make him happy, and with such a convenient excuse too...

He frowned. "But... what should I do for him?"

"It's his birthday, big brother." Lily smiled, shifting closer to them and lowering his voice. "Logically, the easiest option would be baking a cake, wouldn't it?"

Kuro sweated nervously. He didn't have the slightest idea how to cook, let alone bake. He wasn't entirely sure he could even manage to make something without blowing the school up, let alone produce something remotely edible. "What a pain," he muttered, slightly disappointed. "I can't bake."

"Bake what?"

Lily jumped, spinning around and breathing a sigh of relief. "Misono!" he exclaimed, a startled hand on his chest. "Why, you scared me! How long have you been here?"

Misono stepped into the group, looking from one to the other. "About since Kuro said something about baking." He frowned curiously. "What are you three up to?"

Lily's smile widened. "Oh, we were just talking about big brother baking a birthday cake for Mahiru-kun! It would make a nice thank-you gift, don't you think?"

"Did somebody say cake?"

Hyde spun around, looking startled but not surprised. "Lichtan!" he burst out, just as the boy in question peeked into the circle. "Sheesh, don't startle me like that! You want me to die of a heart attack?"

Licht scowled at him. "Good riddance."

"Excuse you!"

"Hey," Kuro interrupted them just as Licht was opening his mouth to spit a comeback, "you're getting off topic. Shut up or go get a room... what a pain."

They looked at each other, then at him, then back at each other. "We don't need a room!" they yelled in unison. Pausing, they turned around and gave each other a glare. "Don't imitate me!"

"A-Anyway," Lily smiled awkwardly, "good timing, Licht-kun. We were right in the middle of planning a birthday surprise for Mahiru-kun, since he's turning seventeen soon... Do you know how to bake a cake?"

Licht struck a sparkly pose. "I'm an angel."

"Yeah," Hyde helpfully offered, "we usually believe that means yes."

---

Kuro looked right and left, peering out into the corridor. All clear. Careful not to make too much noise, he slipped out of his room, locked the door and snuck into the staircase, always on the alert for any unexpected noises.

It wasn't that he was doing anything forbidden. He was only slipping out to go to the grocery store and buy the cake ingredients the others had listed off for him yesterday. His only worry was that Mahiru might spot him going out and ask where he was going or, even worse, offer to go with him. Because he really, really wasn't sure what to tell him in that case.

But the dorm was empty, and Mahiru was nowhere to be seen. Kuro relaxed a little. Looked like it was all clear, after all.

"Big brother!"

He jumped, only to breathe a sigh of relief a moment after. Lining up next to him were Lily and Hyde, giving him knowing smiles as they caught up to him from behind. "We decided to go with you," Lily said quietly. "Do you mind?"

Kuro looked from one to the other. Three Servamps going somewhere together... that was a strange thought. How long had it been since they had last done that? Had they done that at all since the gang had split up?

But that had been different. Back then they had spent time together because they were a group, brought together by him. Now they had all gone their own separate ways. And yet here they were, setting out to do a perfectly harmless activity together, just to surprise a mutual friend. Funny how the world worked sometimes.

"What a pain," he said, sighing and digging his hands into his pockets, looking down to hide the tiny spark of happiness in his eyes. "Just do what you want or something. It's a free country."

Lily smiled, and Hyde grinned. Side by side they walked down the street, turning a corner and continuing towards the local grocery store. Kuro gazed straight ahead. For some reason he felt strangely comfortable with these two around, a little more secure in his trip to the store and his hunt for ingredients. Three pairs of eyes saw more than one, and if they came across Mahiru one of them would warn them for sure. And Lily knew how to bake too; he'd help him pick out the right things to use. He just hoped none of them would start talking on the way.

"So," Hyde said with a knowing grin, looping an arm around his shoulder and leaning in way too close, "how are you planning to decorate the cake?"

Kuro groaned inwardly. This was exactly what he had feared. Why did Hyde just have to get all up in his personal space and tease him like that? This was why he had planned to go alone.

"Beats me," he muttered, still gazing ahead. "Do I have to decorate it in the first place? That sounds like a huge pain."

"But big brother!" Lily and Hyde burst out in unison, staring at him with shocked eyes. "Don't you want to thank him as best as you can?" Lily continued. "You should definitely put in the effort to make Mahiru-kun happy!"

"Exactly!" Hyde added. "You should totally go the extra mile, after all you're trying to impress your cru– oww!"

Kuro nudged him in the ribs, shutting him up. "He's not my crush," he said flatly. "Mahiru's not the kinda guy to care that much about decorations anyway. What a pain."

But even as he said that, he couldn't hide the fact that he was blushing. Furiously.

What was it with Hyde and the idea that he could be in love with Mahiru? Yes, he liked him. A lot. He liked him more than he had ever liked anyone before, but it wasn't like that was hard to accomplish. For the largest part of his life Kuro had been alone, isolated and shunned and never truly caring about anyone, including himself. He had felt loyalty before, towards the Servamps and their founder and possibly another person or two he couldn't remember. Responsibility. Maybe gratitude too, or a sense of companionship, he didn't know. But Mahiru had been the first person he truly liked from the bottom of his heart, the first person he had ever called his friend. Was it that surprising for him to get a little attached? Was it really that strange for him to want to protect the boy who had reached out to him and brought him out of his shell with his life?

No, that couldn't be it. Hyde was exaggerating. Yes, that had to be it. He loved Mahiru as a friend, loved him more than life itself, but he definitely wasn't in love with him. He didn't have a crush on him. He'd never had a crush on anyone, but if he did get one, shouldn't he be the first to know? Hyde and Lily couldn't tell strong friendship from romantic feelings, that was all. And he was only blushing because it was embarrassing.

Well, if he had to fall for someone, he figured it would be Mahiru. But that was hypothetical. He wouldn't fall in love with his best friend; that was way too troublesome. He'd just end up breaking his own heart anyway. No use trying.

Wait, why did that thought hurt so much?

Kuro shook it off. No use thinking about it. Where had this thought even come from? Hyde's teasing and Lily's knowing looks had to be playing tricks on his mind. What a pain... he was so not telling them about all these confusing feelings. No need to provide them with more teasing material.

"Big brother? Big brother, are you listening?"

Kuro blinked to find Lily waving a worried hand in front of his face. "We're at the grocery store," he remarked, gesturing to the entrance. "You were zoning out, is anything the matter? Is there something troubling you?"

Nope, definitely not telling. "Nah," Kuro said quietly, hoping and praying that his blush was gone. "Just kinda wanna take a nap."

"Your face is red too, you're not falling ill are you?" Lily put a hand to Kuro's forehead, breathing a sigh of relief. "No, you seem to be doing well... If there is anything you want to talk about please tell us, big brother!"

Hyde nodded and winked. "Were you thinking about Mahiru-kun? I can give you some romantic advice anytime!"

"Don't need any." Kuro blushed again, feeling caught. "What a pain."

Before either of them could say anything else and make him question his feelings even more, Kuro walked into the store, looking from side to side and trying to figure out in which direction to go. Crap, he didn't know this store at all. Where were all the baking ingredients at? He only knew the location of the cup ramen and potato chips.

"Big brother!" Lily called over, motioning him to an aisle nearby. "Over here!"

Kuro followed him and found himself in front of a shelf full of eggs in all shapes and sizes. Well, not really. Obviously they were all egg-shaped, and they were all roughly the size of an egg too; the only thing they seemed to differ in was the price and the design of the packaging. Sighing, Kuro reached down to grab a box of ten from the lowest shelf where the eggs were cheapest. What else was he supposed to look at?

"Hold on, please." Lily took the carton from his hands, gently placing it back on the shelf. "Unless something goes terribly wrong, we won't need that many eggs to bake a single birthday cake. And where should we keep the leftover eggs? Here." He reached for a smaller carton with six eggs. "This much should suffice."

Kuro took a look at the price tag and cringed inwardly. "Expensive... Can't deal."

"Yes, you could say they're eggspensive," Hyde piped in from the side, grinning at his own terrible pun. "But don't worry, big brother! We don't have group funds for nothing!"

Kuro sighed and put the eggs in the shopping basket. Hyde did have a point. Since Kuro was pretty much perpetually broke, the whole team had put money together to buy the necessary ingredients, more or less happy to participate. It was a relief, having everyone's support like this; if he had been by himself, Kuro wouldn't even have been able to afford the eggs till next month. Probably shouldn't have spent everything on a month's worth of junk food. Oh well, it's not like I knew back then.

Kuro pulled the crumpled shopping list out of his pocket, glancing around and comparing the listed ingredients with the shelves nearby. "Where's the other baking stuff?"

Hyde let out a not-so-graceful snort. "Big brother," he said, stifling a laugh, "did you really think they'd all be together in the same aisle?"

Kuro didn't see what was so funny about that, but even Lily chuckled. "There is no such thing as a cake ingredients aisle," he explained, leading the way along a row of shelves. "The flour and sugar are in another aisle, the chocolate in yet another, and we still need cream from the dairy section too. Don't worry, I'll lead the way."

He turned around a corner, took a step forward– and bounced back as if he had walked into a glass door.

Kuro walked smack against him, pulling a face. "Hey," he complained, "don't just stop like that, what a pain."

Lily turned around and put a frantic finger to his lips. "Shhhh!"

Kuro blinked up at him, confusion growing. "Hey, what's wro–"

Hyde peeked past them both, jolted back and covered Kuro's mouth before he could finish his sentence. "Shh!" he whispered. "Let's wait here, big brother! Don't move! Act normal! Don't say anything!"

Kuro looked from one to the other, back and forth between them, not understanding a thing. "Hey," he said again, quieter this time. "What's wrong with you?"

Pushing aside his companions, he turned around the corner– only to zip back into the aisle faster than lightning.

Standing in the next aisle, comparing price tags and happily oblivious, was none other than Mahiru, shopping basket in hand, trying to decide which brand of cookies he should buy. What the hell was he doing here? Why now? And why here? Why in the cookie aisle of all places? Mahiru never bought cookies. Why had he decided to get some today of all times?

"Bad timing," Kuro whispered to Lily and Hyde, who nodded solemnly. "Can't deal."

"What do we do now?" Hyde glanced right and left, as if searching for possible hiding spots. "Wait till he's gone?"

"But what if he comes this way?" Lily whispered back.

Kuro sighed. "We should probably leave and come back later."

"But the eggs!" Hyde protested.

"And Mahiru-kun's bound to go outside again sometime," Lily added. "Where do we hide then?"

"Dunno." Kuro eyed the exit. "We should pay for the eggs and sneak out and then–"

"Oh, hey, Kuro? What are you doing here?"

All three of them simultaneously jumped three feet into the air.

"M-Mahiru," Kuro said, shoving the basket in Lily's hands as he turned around, hoping and praying that Mahiru wouldn't get suspicious of the look of absolute terror on his face. "If you're here, you should say something... what a pain."

Mahiru laughed. "Sorry, sorry. I didn't think you wanted to come here too. Since you always like to stay indoors if you can, you know?" He eyed Kuro, then Lily and Hyde who were standing behind him. "What are you guys doing here?"

The three of them looked at each other and swallowed. What should they say?

Kuro's eyes rested on Lily, who fervently shook his head. True, Lily wasn't a very good liar if he didn't know what to say. They both turned to Hyde instead, who glanced back and forth between them with a look of growing confusion. "What?" he whispered.

"You're the actor here," Kuro whispered back, nudging him. "You explain it."

Mahiru was still watching them in puzzlement.

"Hey, hey," Hyde lowered his voice even more, "the last time I ad-libbed was..."

"Just do it."

Hyde pulled a face and stepped forward, putting on his most casual expression as soon as he faced Mahiru. "You here too? Fancy to meet you here, Mahiru-kun!" He smiled brightly. "You know, Lily just wanted to bake a cake for the children at the orphanage so big brother and I kindly decided to help him with the shopping." He turned around to wink at Kuro. "Right, big brother?"

Kuro wasn't too happy that Hyde had mentioned cake, but there was no helping it. "Yeah, something like that."

"That sounds awesome, Lily!" Mahiru smiled brightly. "I'm sure the kids will love it! And Kuro, I can't believe you're helping, that's great! You should go with Lily to give them the cake, I bet they still remember Mr. Panda." He, Lily and Hyde laughed as Kuro blushed. "You guys should've told me! Need any help with the cake? I like baking so–"

"No!" they burst out in unison.

Mahiru blinked, taken aback. "What's wrong?" he asked. "I wouldn't really mind, you know..."

Kuro, Lily and Hyde swallowed, looking at each other as panic rose inside them. How should they explain their outburst? And most importantly, how could they get Mahiru to not help them bake his own birthday cake?

Lily and Kuro looked at Hyde. Hyde shook his head. "No way," he whispered. "I just saved us already! This time it's you guys' turn!"

Lily just fervently shook his head. Kuro closed his eyes. Focus, he told himself. Taking a deep breath, he racked his brains for an excuse, something, anything. Something that would convince Mahiru... something that would explain their freakout, anything...

An idea struck him. This might work.

"Sorry, Mahiru," he said, hoping he looked and sounded about as casual as he didn't feel. "But Lily promised the kids to bake it himself. Wouldn't want him to break his promise, would ya? We're just helping him shop."

Mahiru gave him a long look, processing the answer. Kuro swallowed. Had it worked? Had he bought it?

Then Mahiru smiled, and all three of them relaxed. "I see!" he said happily. "Lily, why didn't you just say so? Then I'm not gonna get in the way! Just tell me if you need any help or something, okay?"

They unanimously breathed a sigh of relief. Hyde gave Kuro a nudge to the ribs, grinning. "Nice one, big brother!"

Kuro ran a hand through his hair. "Good thing he's so gullible."

"Ah!" Mahiru's face lit up with an idea as he hurried towards them. "But I can help you guys with the shopping, right?"

They all tensed up again.

"A-Ah, certainly," Lily stammered before anyone else could say something. "There is nothing wrong with him helping us buy the ingredients," he whispered to the other two's questioning looks, "is there?"

"Just the irony," Kuro whispered back. "Good news is we don't gotta worry about accidentally buying stuff he doesn't like."

---

They finished the shopping faster than planned. Mahiru bustled through the aisles and shelves with the busy routine of a housewife with no time to spare, picking out the best ingredients with an experienced eye. Before Kuro knew what was happening they were all outside again, and Mahiru fell into stride next to him with a warm smile, glimmering and sparkling with a hint of pride.

Kuro blinked at him, confused but not unhappy. He didn't understand what he had done to make Mahiru smile like that, this warm smile that was too radiant and blinding and beautiful for this world, the one that made his heart flutter and armies of butterflies take flight in his stomach. The smile that always made him grateful to know it was directed at him, him and nobody else.

A blush crossed his face. "Bright..."

Mahiru blinked. "What?"

"That smile... it's blinding my eyes." Kuro shielded his face with his hand. "It's too bright."

"Geez, Kuro! Is that an insult or a compliment?" Mahiru frowned at him, but his expression slipped and his smile broke through again. "I'm just proud of you, you know? You never even used to go to class and now you willingly go outside in your free time and help people shop for a cake you're not even gonna eat..." He beamed. "You really have changed, have you?"

"You did."

"...Huh?"

Kuro swallowed. His feet tripped over something that wasn't there. His face flushed. Crap. Crap, what had he just said? It had slipped out... He hadn't meant to tell Mahiru! What now? Evade the topic? Cover up with a joking remark?

Mahiru's eyes rested on him, too warm and too brown and too curious. "What was that just now, Kuro?"

Kuro hung his head. "...nothing."

"Okay." Mahiru's expression softened to understanding. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I'm not gonna insist or anything, you know?"

Kuro nodded. Of course he wouldn't. That was the way Mahiru was; he never put anyone under pressure, not when it came to these close personal matters, and especially not Kuro. He wasn't surprised to get this kind of reply. And yet...

And yet, why did he feel so guilty this time?

It made no sense. He was hiding much bigger secrets from Mahiru, secrets he was never planning on telling him, ever. Secrets that could make even the kindest, most accepting human being in the world hate him. Secrets that could get Mahiru killed. So why did he feel so strange about not telling him this one embarrassing thought?

You changed me, Mahiru. That was all he had almost said. Why was that so embarrassing in the first place? Hadn't he said much more embarrassing things to him before? This should be no big deal... Were Hyde's words getting to him? Was he afraid of showing too much affection for fear that Mahiru might also think he was in love with him? He definitely didn't want Mahiru to think that. No matter what happened, he didn't want to make this friendship awkward. It was the first true one he'd ever had, the most important one in his life, and he was not going to ruin it with any actual or perceived feelings.

Wait, actual? There were no actual feelings here. Just friendship. Very strong friendship. Love, fine, but not romantic love. That wouldn't happen. He wouldn't allow it to happen. Not now, not ever.

Kuro closed his eyes. His head was spinning. Great, now he had gone and made himself all confused to the point where he didn't know what to think or feel anymore. He wanted to tell Mahiru. Mahiru deserved to know. But if he really looked that much like he was in love, should he really show his feelings? Wouldn't that just create a huge misunderstanding?

Kuro took a deep breath, determined to say something. "Mahiru?"

Mahiru looked up with an encouraging smile. "Yeah?"

"You..." Kuro's voice trailed off. His courage faded. It's okay, he tried to tell himself. You already told Mahiru a ton of embarrassing stuff and he never batted an eye. Hyde's probably just teasing you. And even if he's serious, Mahiru is dense. Just tell him.

Mahiru's eyes still rested on him, wide and curious. Kuro swallowed. Just say it, he thought. Just tell him that you're not the one who changed, it's him that changed you. It's the truth... what a pain.

He took another deep breath and exhaled weakly. He couldn't do it. "...Never mind."

Mahiru nodded in acceptance, but Kuro didn't miss the slight shadow of disappointment that crossed his face, sending a stab of guilt through his chest. Sorry, Mahiru, he thought, dropping his gaze. I don't know what's wrong with me either. I'll tell you sometime.

Avoiding Mahiru's eyes, he picked up his pace and caught up to Lily and Hyde walking a few steps ahead, falling into stride beside them. Even now he could feel Mahiru's gaze on him, but he forced himself not to look. Just ignore him. Everything else is too troublesome.

Hyde turned to grin at him, and Kuro swallowed. Oh great, here comes more teasing. What was it this time? It wasn't like he had said anything strange to Mahiru... had he?

Oh wait. Wait.

It wasn't until Hyde opened his mouth that Kuro realized his mistake.

"Why did you catch up to me, big brother?" he asked with a wink. "You and Mahiru-kun were looking so cute together! And weren't you just about to tell him something very important?"

Kuro swallowed. Not good. Not good at all. He hadn't said anything potentially romantic to Mahiru... but at the same time he had completely overlooked how his behavior must have looked to people. To anyone who didn't know what he'd been thinking... it had to look like a failed love confession.

Had Mahiru thought so too? Was that why he had looked so disappointed just now? Did he... want Kuro to confess?

No. No way. What was he thinking? Mahiru couldn't possibly have thought that. He wouldn't fall in love with Kuro in a million years. And that was why Kuro wouldn't bother falling for him either. There was no point in falling in love if it was one-sided anyway... and besides, Mahiru wasn't even his type. He didn't know what his type was, but he liked Mahiru as a friend. Not romantically. Whether or not it would be one-sided was all hypothetical.

But then why had the thought of Mahiru wanting him to confess made his heart skip a beat?

Kuro sighed and hung his head. His thoughts and feelings were spinning in circles. He was going nowhere, and he wasn't sure what to do. Should he ignore it all? Or should he try to figure out the source of these feelings? No... that would be too troublesome. He wasn't good with these things, and he definitely didn't want to find out what he might possibly uncover.

Just focus on the birthday cake for now. That should really be enough to keep him occupied.

---

Mahiru stepped up to the window and stretched, gazing at the setting sun in the distance. Another busy day done, and today sure had been productive. He'd been pretty busy with the sports festival until lately, and other work had piled up; but now everything was done and finished, and he could finally relax again.

He closed his eyes, feeling the rays of the sun against his lids. Everyone had seemed productive today. Even Kuro had left the quiet safety of his room and ventured out to the grocery store with Lily and Hyde, willingly, to help them shop for cake ingredients. A smile crossed his face. Kuro sure had changed, hadn't he? To leave the room of his own free will and without being dragged by the collar, and not even to go somewhere with Mahiru... He was growing more independent. More confident, perhaps. More... sociable?

But at the same time he had acted strange today. Mahiru frowned, remembering how startled Kuro had looked when he had stumbled across him and the other two former Servamps at the grocery store. What had he been so startled about? And why had the three of them whispered frantically among themselves before answering Mahiru's questions? Something seemed strange. Had Kuro just been embarrassed to be caught helping people when he usually made such a big point of complaining every time he had to do something for someone? Or was it... something else?

And that hadn't even been it. All the way until the cash desk Kuro and the other two had seemed strangely jumpy, as if they were hiding something. What were those three up to? Was it really just the cake Lily had promised the kids?

He sighed. No use thinking about it. What was way more worrying was the way Kuro had acted on the way back. Was it just Mahiru's imagination, or had he acted even more awkward than usual? He had blushed a lot more than usual, and the way he had kept avoiding eye contact definitely hadn't seemed normal. The way he had caught up to walk beside Lily and Hyde instead of walking with him as usual wasn't normal. And what had he been trying but unable to say? Kuro had grown so honest with Mahiru lately, and now this. Had something happened? Had he done something wrong? Had Mahiru accidentally damaged the bond of trust they had managed to build up?

No, that couldn't be it. He didn't know what he could possibly have done. Kuro should still trust him. He hadn't seemed like he suddenly distrusted him, more like he was having trouble expressing himself. Like he was having trouble putting his feelings into words.

Mahiru sighed and frowned. Whatever it was, he just hoped it wasn't anything serious or permanent. This awkward, nervous Kuro was making him worry. No matter how he turned it in his head, something seemed wrong, and he just couldn't put his finger on it.

Maybe he should talk to Kuro about it. When something seemed to be bothering a friend, thinking simply, he should probably ask about it. Especially if the friend in question was as important to him as Kuro was.

Please be okay, Kuro. Whatever is making you act like this, I hope we can get it figured out.

---

Kuro wasn't entirely sure they really needed that many people to bake a cake. That aside, they did make a merry gathering.

Lined up in the home economics classroom, side by side, were Lily, Misono, Hyde, Licht, and Kuro himself; on the counter in front of them lay the pile of ingredients, obviously way too big to make one small cake. Mahiru had insisted to buy that much so all the kids at the orphanage would get a slice, and now none of them had any idea what to do with all the leftovers, except maybe use them as backup in case something went spectacularly wrong.

And standing in the door, blinking at them as they stupidly blinked back, were two more people.

"S-S-Sendagaya!" Misono blurted out, blushing and pointing an accusing finger at a slightly puzzled-looking Tetsu. "What are you doing here? How did you find us?"

Tetsu tilted his head to the side in confusion. "You're the one who told me, senpai," he said bluntly. "Remember?"

Everyone in the room simultaneously turned and stared at Misono.

Misono blushed even redder, looking back and forth between Tetsu and the group, panicking. "H-He's wrong!" he stuttered frantically. "I never said any such thing! I would remember if I did! In fact, I made a point of not telling anyone at all!"

"That's true," Tetsu mused. "'No, I am not free today! My friends and I are gathering to bake a birthday cake for Shirota, but I won't tell you what we're doing!' is what you said."

Misono sputtered a series of incoherent noises. The others looked at each other and then back at him and collectively sighed.

Kuro placed a grandfatherly hand on Misono's shoulder. "You're banned from talking to Mahiru till his birthday, Bastard-chan."

"Wha–?!" Misono jumped back, freeing himself from Kuro's hand. "This is a mistake! You are mistaken, stupid! I never said any of that! Sendagaya, you imbecile!"

Tetsu exchanged a disappointed look with Hugh standing next to him. "Should we leave again?"

Misono opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything Lily cut him off. "By all means, do join us!" he said with a big smile. "The more the merrier!"

"O-Okay!" Tetsu's eyes lit up with a spark of excitement. "If you guys don't mind, sure."

Misono blushed and grumbled, but he didn't protest. Kuro just shrugged and nodded; Hyde and Licht didn't seem to care either way. Hugh looked every bit as enthusiastic about joining the group as Tetsu did; he practically bounced across the room, examining every single one of the ingredients.

"What a fascinating display," he mused, standing on his tip-toes to peek over the edge of the counter. "You have picked excellent ingredients, O my dear brothers. With these I will gladly be able to help you bake a cake to leave everyone standing in awe!"

"Do not let him," Lily whispered to Kuro as Tetsu excitedly agreed with his friend. "I made one attempt to bake with big brother and he ended up eating all the dough and giving himself a stomachache." He chuckled. "Well, not that Misono is much better in that aspect."

Misono glared at him. "I heard that, Lily!"

"Hey, let's get to work already." Kuro raised his voice just enough for everyone to fall silent. "If we stay here too long we're gonna be caught and that'll be too troublesome. Can't risk Mahiru finding us." He sighed, turning to Lily. "Tell us what to do. You're the pro here."

Hugh shouted something about him being a professional too, but Kuro ignored him. He just wanted to get this done, as well and as quickly as possible, and then find a place to hide the cake until they gave it to Mahiru tomorrow.

"Right," Lily said, pulling a neatly folded sheet of paper out of his pocket and unfolding it. "Very well. First of all, we need to prepare the dough. Who would like to volunteer?"

They all looked at each other. Then Kuro stepped forward, picking up a bowl and spoon from the counter. "It's just mixing stuff, right?"

"More or less," Lily replied, although he didn't seem too happy with that remark. "Hold on, you won't need that spoon and bowl yet, big brother. First of all you have to measure the ingredients, you know?"

Kuro frowned at him in confusion. "So you don't just put in a pack of everything? What a pain."

Misono spluttered and nearly tripped over his feet. "You don't?"

Lily gave them all a slightly helpless look before smiling again. "You do not," he reaffirmed, watching as Kuro groaned unwillingly and Misono's jaw dropped to the floor. "You have to mix them in the right proportions."

Kuro sighed and reached for the flour and the kitchen scales. "How many packs do I need?"

"...Hold on–" Lily smiled uncomfortably– "I'll do it myself. Big brother, may I...?"

"Sure," Kuro mumbled and stepped aside as Lily started measuring flour, eggs and sugar in very exact amounts. He didn't really get what could be so hard about finding the right amount of some ingredient, but whatever, he wouldn't mind. As long as he got to help with something else later.

Hugh snatched the recipe off the counter, taking a peek at it. "Interesting," he remarked with the aura of a seasoned gourmet. "However, I'd rather make some adjustments to this marvelous creation. For one, we need more sugar." Scrambling and stretching, he reached for the pack of sugar, shoving it towards the mixing bowl Lily was pouring everything into. "Put in more sugar, Lily!"

Lily jumped, startled. "B-Big brother!" he burst out. "I'm very sorry, but we can't put in any more sugar! You have to mind the chocolate we'll include later..."

Hugh pointed a finger at him. "Include more sugar! That is an order!"

"B-Brother..." Lily raised his hands in defense. "But the recipe..."

"Put in more sugar, Lily," Misono ordered from behind. "A cake has to be sweet!"

"Not you too, Misono..."

"If Hugh says it needs more sugar then it needs more sugar, Lily-senpai."

"Tetsu-kun too...?"

Licht struck a dramatic pose. "Sweeter is better."

Sweating bullets, Lily turned to Kuro and Hyde, his eyes pleading for help. "Big brothers...!"

Hyde pursed his lips. "It's not like I have to eat it anyway."

Lily's eyes turned to Kuro, begging for some support. Kuro shrugged. "Dunno. Don't care how much you put in as long as it tastes okay."

With a sigh of utter resignation Lily turned back, reaching for the sugar. "I suppose a little more won't hurt," he said awkwardly. "If it becomes too sweet we can always cut back on the chocolate later..." Pouring everything into the bowl, he turned around. "Who does the mixing?"

"I do!" Misono said before the others got the chance. Sticking out his chest with pride, he stepped forward, confidently taking the spoon in his hands. "I always mix the dough at home. This is easy!"

"Um, Misono, you have only ever mixed crêpe dough so far..."

"Who cares! How much harder can this be?"

Kuro sighed to himself. "Famous last words."

Misono grabbed the bowl and started stirring. Quickly at first, then slower and slower and slower. His arm started trembling. His face started sweating. His expression grew more and more intense.

"Damn it, it's rock-hard!" he said through gritted teeth, desperately yanking at the spoon. "My spoon is stuck! Is this concrete...?"

"Here, let me."

Misono turned around to find Tetsu standing awfully close to him, fingers curling around Misono's hand still holding the spoon. "S-S-S-Sendagaya!" he yelped, jumping and nearly head-butting Tetsu in the chin. "Don't sneak up on me like that, you bastard!"

"Sorry." Tetsu ran a hand through his hair, looking only mildly apologetic and not at all ashamed. "Can I keep stirring it? I'm not really good with all the other stuff, anyway."

"A-Alright," Misono grumbled, hurrying to get away from him as quickly as possible. "Go ahead, Sendagaya. And next time just ask before you sneak up on me, do you understand?"

Tetsu nodded and started stirring. Well, he might call it stirring. To Kuro it looked more like vigorously spinning the spoon around at maximum speed, whipping it around faster than the eye could follow. Dough was splashing everywhere, splattering in Tetsu's face, on everyone's clothes, the counter, the floor. The only place where the amount of dough was continuously shrinking was the bowl itself.

"Okay," Kuro said, wiping a splotch of dough off his face and licking his finger, "why do I kinda feel like that's not how it works?"

Lily rushed forward and grabbed Tetsu's arm. "Tetsu-kun, stop, stop! The dough is getting everywhere! Please don't waste the ingredients!"

Tetsu stopped stirring, turning around to blink at the mess, then gazing down his own dough-splattered shirt. "Ah," he said awkwardly, "sorry. I thought it was harder so I kinda went all out."

Sighing, Kuro walked up to him to peer at the sad rest remaining in the bowl. "You sure wasted a lot, Onsen Dude." He measured it with his gaze. "Guess we could still make a cupcake."

Truth be told, he was starting to get a little frustrated. They did say that too many cooks spoiled the soup, or in this case the cake, and he was starting to feel it. They had been here for what felt like ages and made no progress at all, instead wasting their time goofing off and arguing over the amount of sugar and throwing the dough all over the place. At this rate he would never get an acceptable birthday cake for Mahiru. And what should he do then?

He eyed the pile of ingredients on the table. Good thing Mahiru had convinced them to get so much. Otherwise one of them would have had to run to the grocery store now, or they really would have needed to make a cupcake.

"Hey, everyone." Licht licked a stray splotch of dough off his wrist, but his face was serious. "Let's do this right this time. Something as divine as a cake isn't something to waste."

Hyde pulled a face. "You say as you're snacking, Lichtan..."

"Everybody, shut up."

Everyone jolted up. Kuro's eyes had gone dark, glowing with a fierce intensity that brought back shadows of the past, shadows of a boy standing in the middle of a battlefield, ready to fight. He wasn't just frustrated or mildly annoyed anymore. He was angry. Seriously angry.

"Take this seriously," he growled, glaring at everyone in the room. "You want Mahiru to get his surprise tomorrow or not?"

They all looked at him, then at each other. Lily smiled gratefully, giving a sigh of relief. Hyde grinned awkwardly and scratched the back of his head. Misono swallowed and hid behind the counter, looking downright terrified. Tetsu and Hugh exchanged a confused and slightly guilty glance. Licht looked unapologetic, but he seemed to agree.

"All right," Lily said with a smile, breaking the tension. "Then let's add more ingredients until we have enough dough for a cake again, shall we?"

"I'll measure the flour," Kuro said quickly.

Licht stepped forward. "I'll take care of the sugar."

"And I," Misono declared, "shall crack the eggs. Read the recipe, Lily."

Lily smiled and picked up the recipe sheet, wiping off bits of dough and flour. "Alright then, is everyone ready?"

Kuro measured and weighed the flour on the kitchen scales, making sure to get the amount as precisely as he could. It was a bit of a hassle, but for once he wouldn't make do with a result that was just more or less okay. This was for Mahiru's birthday. Mahiru deserved nothing but the best.

A few steps away Licht looked tempted to snack on the sugar, but Hyde kept a close eye on him. Kuro noticed that he had poured in a little more sugar than was in the recipe, but he didn't mind. They had discussed this only a few minutes ago, and the wasted dough hadn't tasted that bad with the extra sugar.

There was a loud crack, quickly followed by a startled yelp and a curse, and Kuro spun around.

Misono was holding an egg in his hands– or rather, he was holding the tragic remains of an egg. To be precise, the only thing he was holding was a cracked shell; everything else had spilled on the floor, complete with the entire carton that had somehow crashed to the ground, pooling on the floor in a wobbly mess of raw eggs.

Everyone stared at Misono. Misono stared back, blushing. "I..."

Kuro let out a sigh from the very depths of his soul. "Ah, what a pain."

"I-It wasn't me! The stupid carton was on the edge! What bastard put it there? Of course it would..." Misono's voice trailed off, his face turning redder and redder under everyone's stares. "I... I'll clean it up... Do we still have enough eggs?"

Kuro narrowed his eyes. "You're not touching those, Bastard-chan."

"I'll clean it up! What do I need? I– whoa!" Misono stepped right into the smashed eggs. His foot slid out. Shrieking like a little girl, he tumbled backwards, falling down on the floor, right into the eggs.

"Misono, careful!" Lily called out, dropping everything to hurry and help him up before he could fall again and do any more damage. He didn't even notice that he had knocked the bag of flour over, its contents spilling freely over the counter and down on the floor. Kuro leaped forward, trying to gather the flour back as well as he could, only to knock his elbow into Licht, who blurted a curse as the kitchen scales tumbled over, sugar spilling everywhere.

"You monster!" Licht burst out, jumping to pick up the kitchen scales and start gathering the sugar back into them, careful not to leave out a single crumb. "Not the sugar, you demon!"

Hyde jumped in, trying to yank the scales from Licht's hands. "Lichtan, no! You can't eat the sugar once it was on the floor!"

"Let go, shit rat! It's a sin to waste sugar!"

"It's a sin to feed that sugar to Mahiru-kun! What if he gets sick, geez?"

Licht snatched the scales away from Hyde with a yank. Sugar spilled all over him. Misono was still frantically trying to get rid of the raw egg on his clothes. Lily was searching for something to clean the floor with. Tetsu and Hugh were hurrying around the room searching for a broom or a mop, knocking things over in the process. Kuro tried to gather the flour, but it kept falling through his fingers.

That was when the door opened.

Everyone froze.

"What the hell are you doing?"