+S-C+ : Sweetheart

“Are you absolutely sure this is the right call?”

There was a long pause, Fiasco didn’t bother to ask again, he knew they heard him well the first time. Vitamine looked back at his partner, the sweat of terror and exhaustion clear on his face. He had been standing for hours, above a patient who should have by all accounts been dead the moment they got here. They came in around early afternoon, mauled by a ferocious virus, internal organs held in only by their hand, black staining the table and clothes of everyone around. They had used half a dozen bags of blood to keep them alive and patched together the skin, but the most dangerous and risky call yet to be made was hanging over the young apprentices like a sword about to drop. A part of the virus’ talons, the tip of it’s claws, was lodged in their heart, and was left with a dangerous choice; remove the claw and hope Fiasco cold regenerate the tissue surrounding it in time before the blood spilled out, or leave it in and hope the patient survived long enough to stabilize and do it later. Without ever moving his gaze away, he asked Medicine for the blood pressure on the monitor, an invention of Azuula’s that could read the bp of a boy (or virus if he could get it to work right one day) with a diagonal wavelength on the screen and numbers to the side, with a steady beep as an audio indicator, a noise which had been burned into their minds permanently as the evening dragged on. “Ninety over sixty”. It was low, even most of his body patched up the heart was still leaking a steady amount, and there were no guarantees it would stay in one piece for much longer. He took a long,

“We’re doing it. Sensei, get ready to put everything you have into this spell, and do it on my count, no sooner or later, and Medicine, get the next bag ready now, and prepare to put another in as we do so”. His partner dabbed the sweat off his forehead with a spare cloth, before doing as he instructed, holding another bag in hand.

“On three”

Beep

Beep

Beep

“NOW!”

Black shot all over him as he pulled the talon out in one perfect motion, the monitor screaming at everyone in the room, and for a moment, Fiasco thought he saw Vitamine lose all confidence in himself…and yet not once did he waver as he worked to keep the blood in with any spare rags he could as Fiasco worked to close it, Medicine dropping another bag of blood onto the rack, the next minute was the longest of the seven hours they had spent in surgery, but eventually, the patient stabilized.

“Alright, test over!”

“OH THANK FUCKING STARS!” Vitamine tossed the prop claw tip against the wall, and collapsing into the nearby stool chair, grabbing the nearby glass of water and chugging it down in one go, panting heavily as Medicine fell besides him, both of them having pushed far beyond what they thought their limits were. It was a cruel test to be sure, the last thing anyone would expect him to put his students through, but life was cruel, hard, and out there were monsters on both sides, if they were going to be ready, he needed to push them to their breaking points and hope they’d pull through.

Today, at least, they managed to do that.

“H-how S-sensei, how do you do it?” Vitamine could barely get those words out of his mouth. His partner (and almost surely his lover) was just as broken, even after completing his own separate ‘exam’ with an operation just as hard as this, he was still inexperienced. At first, Fiasco wasn’t sure Vitamine would be ready, he had lagged behind his peer for a long while, and still did to an extent, but after much hard work and extra hours put in, he proved himself ready, and he couldn’t be prouder.

“Trust me, I once worked an entire night to save a boys’ life, I didn’t sleep once, only had candlelight, and I was all alone, it can ALWAYS be worse, you won’t always have the luxury of them being able to come to you, more often you’ll be coming to them”

“Gee, thanks for killing the mood” Vitamine complained, Medicine flashing him a him a look before Fiasco burst into laughter. “Ahahahaa sorry sorry, I have a hard time turning off my teacher mode I guess, you’re probably wondering whether you passed and are waiting for me to stop blabbing”

His student waved a hand, “I don’t care if I passed, I just wanna die I’m so tired”

“Well that’s a shame, because I was going to tell you that you passed”

Fiasco chuckled to himself as he saw his eyes shoot wide open, as if forgetting his exhaustion. “WHAT?! I PASSED?!?!”

“As of this moment, you are practicing medicine with your friend, you BOTH will now be treating patients on your own when circumstances allow. Congratulations, I’m truly proud of you both!”

“T-T-T *SNIFF* THANK YOU SENSEI”

“S-SENSEI!!!”

Fiasco could barely keep his balance as the two tackled him almost to the floor with their hug.

———————————————————————————————————————

“Hello, sorry sorry I know this is last minute, is Cookie still here?”

The cafe maid he spoke to, Cocoa as he could recall, was out front tending to the tables with Sunshine. “Oh hell hello mister Fiasco! Yes Cookie is still here, he’s just cleaning up before heading home, should I tell him you’re here?”

“No that will be fine thank you, and is Lotus feeling any better?”

Cocoa nodded vigorously “Yes sir Mister Fiasco! His fever is practically gone, the remedy was amazing! His cough is all better now, and he said he should be able to come back to work tomorrow! Thank you so much again sir!”

Fiasco never got quite over being a bit flustered when thrown praise so much, just thankful the evening light worked to hide the tinge of red on his cheeks as he waved his hand. “I’m truly glad to hear that, just don’t let him work himself too hard too soon, and he should be fine!”

The two thanked him once more before he finally made his way inside, rewarded with the welcoming cheers of the bell rigged above the door. Instantly, Fiasco felt his mouth began to drool as the heavenly scent of baked sweets, cakes and cookies, brownies, tarts, and every other variety he could think of resided in these walls. It was his home away from home, Fiasco had spent more gold here than he would care to admit, but Cookie was the greatest at his craft, being described by many as the greatest baker who ever lived, a title Fiasco thought wasn’t too far off.

Cookie was as cute as he always was, having a bit of frosting smeared on his cheeks as he went about closing the shop, too engrossed in what he was doing to ever notice the mess he made on himself, something Fiasco always had fun teasing him about, and it didn’t hurt that his flustered reactions were so damned cute…wait, where did that thought come from?”

Cookie, for once, was the first to greet Fiasco, usually he was too wrapped up in his work to notice customers come in until they greeted him (even with the bell added) though given he was just cleaning up. “Oh my gosh Fiasco hey! How you doing? Did the two little ones pass their exam???”

“That’s actually why I’m here, I need a cake…to celebrate”

His smile grew to levels almost too adorable for Fiasco to bear, hopping up and down in place as he squealed. “OH MY GOOOSSSSSH FIASCO I’M SO HAPPY FOR YOU YOU HAVE YOUR APPRENTICES!!!”

In a welcome (but unexpected move) Cookie grabbed him from over the counter and pulled him into a deep, warm hug that soothed the healing angel, and made him realize just how tired he was after a long day, suddenly feeling his eyes grow a bit heavy as he let them flutter closed. The warmth of his skin, the sweet smell of happiness and passion topped with frosted goodness, the bit of smooth, silky hair that brushed against his face, it was so…soothing, so peaceful. Again, confusion startled him out of his thoughts, sure he delved into how sweet and cute Cookie was, but this was…different, or maybe it wasn’t, maybe he had just failed to notice how odd these feelings truly were.

He couldn’t ponder these feelings too much for too long, not unless he wanted to make things awkward. “So you just want me to get the cake ready for them? I can come in early tomorrow and get it ready so that it’ll be ready in time for them when they come in tomorrow to start their first day!” Fiasco wanted to give the two a day off in advance, he originally planned to let the two have a day or two off to rest before hopping back into work with him, but the two were so adamant that they be allowed to go back into work the next day (assuming they passed, which they most certainly did).

“Oh my gosh you don’t need to do that, I’m sure they’ll be willing to wait a day or two for their surprise! I can’t bother you like that!”

“Bother?” the baker seemed utterly perplexed by his concern, laughing in what Fiasco thought was an ADORABLE fit of giggling that turned his cheeks slightly pink. “I don’t just do this because it helps pass the time silly, I love doing this sorta thing, and don’t bother paying me either, consider this one on me”

“I can’t do that, especially if you’re doing it that early! Please please at least let me help you make it!” Fiasco insisted, he would have bothered arguing over rightfully paying him, but Cookie was at times, as stubborn about getting rewarded for his efforts as the healing boy himself was (for once he was on the receiving end of it). “Alright alright” the baker laughed again, still as sweet as before “You can help, I’ll start right near when the sun comes up, I’ll be right here when you come, so just knock and I’ll let you in ok? OH and of course bring something to carry it in!”

“It’s a date!”

Fiasco waved goodbye and headed home to rest, only after did he flop onto his bed did he realize what he said as he left.

Date

He flushed furiously.

———————————————————————————————————————

Cookie was here, just as he said, and thankfully he wasn’t put off by what Fiasco said the other day, they never bothered to bring it up, and the morning went smoothly. Fiasco had never done a lot of baking himself, he knew the basics sure, most boys did, but it was here, watching the master in his element work, that he truly began to see what an intricate and complex craft it was. Cookie did the same things all the boys did, mixing some sugar, flour, what and sugar, making his own frosting. But it was the little things he did, how obsessive he was over every measurement, checking them three times at least before throwing them in, how perfectly organized the kitchen was for maximum efficiency, if he asked Cookie could probably walk around here and do a whole days’ work blindfolded and not even break a sweat. Here, Cookie was the master, and he the apprentice, in total awe of the master at his craft. “My gosh, I can barely keep up with you, I hope I’m not slowing you down!” Fiasco admitted, perhaps not thinking his offer all the way through. His host, however, was as accommodating as always. “Oh no you’re a natural actually! Most people can’t keep up with me in the kitchen, plus you always have some wonderful ideas!”

“Oh you flatter me, you’re the one who makes them amazing!” Fiasco had helped pitch ideas on what he could bake for customers, cake designs, little recipes Fiasco himself dabbled with, and was always astounded by not just Cookie adopting them eagerly (one of them being chocolate and peanut butter, an idea that Cookie said was the most genius thing he had ever seen and heard, just thinking about it now and the praise they gave him made his cheeks burn) but by how well they continued to sell. Cookie kept offering to compensate Fiasco by sharing the proceeds, but was just happy he could help. “Ehehe, alright, well if you won’t let me praise you for that, then you’ll have to settle for being my most loyal and favorite customer” he argued, setting the cake in the oven to heat, cranking the alarm. “I mean, to have the legendary healing angel Fiasco in my shop all the time?”

Healing angel, he still never could get used to that name, he always wanted to be a doctor sure, but word of his skills and powers made him almost a legend, boys from all over came to see his work, to get treatment, or just to even say hello to him and have a chat. “Oh my gosh stoooop” he was blushing harder now. “B-besides, I’m not perfect, I wish I was half as strong as some others….like you”

Cookie blinked, processing this. “Y-you think I’m strong? But I’m a baker, I can’t even fight, what am I gonna do, whisk a bad boy or virus to death?”

The healing angel shook his head “No not like that, I’m talking about this, all of this” he motioned all around the establishment, looking wistfully. “You founded this so young, when you had just started out, you worked so hard to get this place built doing all sorts of odd jobs, you saw your dream and didn’t let anything stop you…let nobody stop you”

Cookie didn’t say anything, he knew exactly who he was talking about. The worst part was, Shiva could be charming from the few times they interacted, he preyed on Fiasco’s kindness, and even still, they couldn’t help but still long for him to come back, as deeply fucked up as it was. He’d never take him back, no way in hell, but it made it hard to want to put his heart back out there. “Fiasco…”

They felt their face light on fire as their face, pointing down at the floor, was tilted up to face his….so close…so….beautiful.

“Fiasco, the fact you were able to cut him out when you did, after all the time he had wriggled his way in IS what makes you strong, a lot of boys wouldn’t be able to do what you did, standing up for yourself. You’re the coolest boy I’ve ever known Fiasco, and don’t ever put yourself down like that”

“C-cookie” he could smell his breath, sweet, like frosting. Fiasco’s lips trembled, mouth watering, finally noticing they had the same blush on his face. But he seemed to realize what was happening, panicking, tried to get back to work. “I-I’M SO SORRY THAT WAS A VIOLATION OF PERSONAL BOUNDARIES AHAHAHAHAHAH HAVE NO IDEA WHAT CAME OVER ME WOW BETTER CHECK THE OV-“

No, this needed to happen, and in a very un-Fiasco like move, forcibly turned him around, grabbed him by the shoulders, and pinned him against the wall. “C-COOKIE! Y-you’re always so kind, so generous and always go out of your way to help others! You’re so smart and funny, way more than you think you are! You’re well read on everything, you have an amazing sense of humor! The way you laugh when you hear a joke is so full of life and love for it! The way your hair shines in the sun and that cute smile of yours! Your warm eyes that I just wanna stare into all day, the feeling of your hands when I hold them, I-I love them, I love you!!!”

The only sound was the ticking of that little clock on the kitchen counter as the two closed the distance, lips meeting in a soft, warm, blissful kiss.

And another

And another

And more still, cupping each other’s faces as time flew past them, the only thing that stopped them was the ringing of the alarm, and for a moment they couldn’t quite remember what it was for, before realizing it was their cake. “O-oh my gosh quick grab me my oven mitts, and set the cooling tray over there!”

———————————————————————————————————————

“W-what is this?!!!?!?”

“M-Master Fiasco? W-what is-“ Vitamine couldn’t finish his thoughts, before Cookie rounded the corner and set off the little party popper he brought over to celebrate.

“Consider it your graduation present, I’m truly so proud of you both, you’re not only the best students I could ever have, but I consider you my closest friends too. I’m honored to have you not as my apprentices anymore, but fellow doctors in the field, even if you still have more to learn”

“M-MASTER FIASCO SAMA!”

The two tackled him to the floor after he had set the cake down on the table for them, their tears staining his outfit as they hugged him so tightly he almost couldn’t breathe. “T-there there no crying boys! It’s time to celebrate…plus this is getting kinda tight guys”

“O-oh shit sorry master!” Vitamine apologized, his more crude language always slipped through when he was nervous, but he calmed them down and let them enjoy their treats in private, letting themselves settle down before he went and hung out with them. Cookie approached, whispering into his ear. “Oh my gosh they totally like each other”

“Oh my stars I know right?! I can’t wait for them to confess! I just hope I can overhear it sometime!”

The baker grinned, teasing his newfound boyfriend. “Aren’t you supposed to be all innocent and pure? Eavesdropping? What would your students think of that?”

He closed the distance again, a playful smirk on his face as he grabbed a bit of frosting from the top of the cake and smeared it on his lips. “Probably that I need to get myself a lover and keep myself busy”

Chu