Cupcakes

Ailane groaned for the billionth time that day. She wished she could squash the cupcake she had just bitten, but held herself back when she reminded herself that Peipain would most likely scold her for doing that to something that was still perfectly edible.

Tears of frustration formed in her eyes and she quickly wiped them away. No matter how many times she kept trying, her cupcakes still weren't even close to being as good as the ones Peipain made, despite her rereading the recipe multiple times with each attempt. They were getting better, and they weren't exactly terrible, but she had spent hours in the kitchen already and made countless attempts. And they only had so many ingredients…

Asking Peipain to make them would have been easier. But this was a gift for Aion. A gift for her brother who, despite what she would pretend, she loved very, very much.

Perhaps much more than she should.

Despite the nature of her feelings, she doubted Aion would notice. He wasn't the smartest person in the world, after all. Plus, she did plan on saying the gift was to congratulate his band on having their new song on the top 10 of the week in Midi City. So he wouldn't realise the true meaning of it even with hearts on the cupcakes (or at least she hoped so).

She took a deep breath and set the latest "failed" cupcakes aside. She still had enough ingredients for one more attempt.

She reread the recipe once again, along with the other paper with notes Peipain had given her about the process. She had them pretty much completely memorised by that point, but reread them three times just to be sure.

She put all the ingredients in the right order, mixed them as much as needed, and poured it into the slots of the cupcake tray. She made sure the oven was at the right heat before putting the tray inside, turning it on and then turning on the timer in her phone. This was her last attempt. There wasn't room for failure anymore.

She took one more deep breath. She looked at the piping bag full of icing, as well as the cupcakes from previous batches she had used for icing practice. Her face heated up. If there was one thing she had certainly perfected after so many hours, it was making heart shapes and Aion's face with the icing.

After a while, the timer went off and she removed the cupcakes from the oven, then took them out of the tray. They looked great, but there was only one way of knowing if they were actually good.

She took a bite out of one. Then another. She groaned again. It was good. But still not good enough .

She set the cupcake down on the counter and then sat on the floor, pulling on her hair as she tried to hold back the tears gathering in her eyes. What was she doing wrong? How was Peipain that good at this?

She started sniffling and couldn't hold back her tears anymore. This was her last attempt, and it failed like all the others. Even if she had one more try left, would it even be worth it? It would never turn out as good as she wanted anyway. The one time she decided to put effort into something other than music…

There was a knock at the kitchen door. She expected to hear either Peipain or Hundrekko, but…

"Are you there, Ailane?" It was Aion's voice that came from behind the door.

She froze. What was Aion doing there, without even telling her he was coming over? She couldn't let him see her like this.

She quickly stood up, but it was too late.

"I'm going in." Aion said before entering the kitchen.

She froze again. Of course he would see how there were cupcakes and flour all over the kitchen. And she would have to explain what the hell was she doing…

"What's going on?" He got closer to her, looking her over. It was hard not to notice that she was also covered in flour and other things, or how her eyes were red and her cheeks wet. "You look like a ghost! Why were you crying?" He cupped her cheeks, drying them with his thumbs. She hoped he wouldn't notice how her cheeks warmed up with his touch.

"I-I…" She tried to speak, but having him see her like that just made her feel even worse. She sobbed, no matter how much she tried to stop. And the more she failed, the more she got angry at herself for it.

"Hey…" Aion started talking, but then stopped. He just stood still for a moment, looking at her in confusion. She did want to answer him, but her crying wasn't helping her at all.

Then… He hugged her, pressing her face to his chest. Her heart skipped a beat and she hugged him back.

"I'm still confused," he started patting her hair. "But if you need to cry it out first, I get it."

She tried to say "thank you", but it was almost incomprehensible through her sobbing. So she just held him close and tight. She also didn't know if she'd ever get the chance to be that physically close to him again, so she wanted to enjoy it while she could.

He didn't seem to mind it. The whole time, he just gently held her close with one hand and ran his fingers through her hair with the other.

Slowly, her sobs became less frequent. She stopped crying on his chest to look up at him. And when she did so, he smiled gently at her.

"Are you better?" He asked.

"Y-yeah…" She wiped any leftover tears from her face. "But why are you even here? You didn't say you were coming over."

"Do I really need a reason to see my sister and give her a surprise visit?"

Her cheeks heated up a bit, and she shook her head.

" Now can you tell me what's going on here?"

She was quiet for a moment, feeling a little embarrassed about her extreme reaction. But there was nothing she could do about that anymore. Instead, she avoided looking into his eyes as she spoke.

"I was trying to make cupcakes… For you." Her face heated up.

He stopped for a moment to look over the kitchen. "Why would I need this many…?"

"That's the problem! I've tried dozens of times and none of them are good enough! None of them are as good as the ones Peipain makes!"

Aion took a moment to respond. "Does it really need to be like Peipain's?"

She frowned. "Of course yes! Peipain's cupcakes are amazing! If I'm gonna make something for you, I can't settle for something mediocre!" When she said that, her face heated up again and she turned her back to him. "D-don't get the wrong idea! It's not like I… Like I…" She tried to come up with an excuse, but couldn't find anything good enough to erase what she had already said.

Aion didn't say anything about that. Instead, he grabbed one of the cupcakes from her most recent attempt and took a bite out of it. He smiled. "But these are really good."

She turned towards him again. "Don't eat them!" She tried to take it away from his hands, but he then held it up too high for her to reach it.

"Why not? They're great!"

"Your tongue is probably broken! Have you ever even tried Peipain's cupcakes before!?"

"I have. And I am telling the truth when I say I like yours. Probably even more than Peipain's."

She looked down. He didn't seem to be lying just to make her feel better… "You really think that?"

"Why would I lie?"

She was quiet.

"You don't have to be perfect. So stop worrying." He pat her head with a smile. She blushed, but smiled as she looked up at him.

Then she started pushing him out of the kitchen, making him jump at the suddenness of it.

"What's the problem now!?"

"I still have to decorate them! So wait outside for now! Oh, you can keep the one you already bit tho."

He chuckled, then ruffled her hair some more. "Sure. I'll be waiting."

"Stop messing with me and just go!" She slapped his hand away and gave him one last push before closing the door behind her.

He chuckled behind the door, but then she couldn't hear him anymore. She took a deep breath. But, this time, she smiled proudly as she headed back towards the counter.

She piped the icing onto the most recent cupcakes. Aion was right. It didn't need to be perfect, it didn't need to be exactly like Peipain's. They were good enough to make Aion smile. And that alone made her happy.

She remembered how he had pat her hair and how his hands felt against her face. Her cheeks heated up. Maybe she would get more of that affection later, or at least she hoped so…