[closed]

[harepiece]

Who: Patchouli (sunshade), Ciel (cheats) and Oz (harepiece)
When: Backdated to the weekend after Patchy's call
Where: Dumb Victorians Apartment
What: Nerds have a tea party of reconciliation™ and also kinda birthday
Rating/Warning: None!

[So the pre-arranged day has finally arrived, and after shooting off a quick text to Patchouli in the morning to ensure that plans were still on, Oz has been BUSY IN THE KITCHEN ALL MORNING.

Not setting things on fire, at least...

(Maybe setting a few things on fire.)

But the fruit of his hard labor is now being reaped in the form of perfectly browned toast point sandwiches (that only took like five tries) and a variety of different warm pastries (that he just had to reheat in the oven), along with some much more obviously from-the-bakery type sweets like cupcakes, petit fours, mini tarts, and more. On the table, he's set out a fresh bowl of assorted berries, a pot of clotted cream, a jar of fresh honey, and several different small tins of jam. There's a pretty flower arrangement in the center, and right next to it is the only thing he actually kinda made himself instead of just buying or heating up: a very nicely brewed pot of strong black tea. LONG PAST ARE THE DAYS OF BURNING TEA BAGS...]

Cieeel! I think she'll be here soon. Are you ready?

[It's a light and airy question, but there's some mild concern in it.]

Comments

[cheats]

[ Ciel has decidedly not been in the kitchen, since he's still stubborn and helpless, having deemed cooking "servant's work" long ago. This of course means that every meal he eats is takeout, Gilbert made it, or Oz made it. But even though that's stupid and sad, he has managed to learn one thing, which is getting dressed on his own competently. When Oz calls to him, Ciel steps out of his room, and he's dressed in one of his nice outfits for the occasion. He looks like a proper little gentleman, but it's also ruined by his terrible personality almost immediately. ]

This is going to go terribly.

[ Ciel's pessimism is a staple of this household, but this time, it's just a sign that he's nervous. ]

[sunshade]

[ Oh, look, the doorbell rings right after he finishes speaking. How opportune! ]

[harepiece]

[SO FANCY. Too bad Ciel ruins it by virtue of being Ciel, but hey, such is life...]

It'll be just fine.

[At least he knows Ciel well enough by now to fully understand that this is just a manifestation of nerves. STILL UNPLEASANT, but at least the reason is understandable. For a prickly, people-repellant person like Ciel, reconciliation is probably nervewracking.

And then THERE'S THE DOORBELL and oops, time to get this shitshow on the road. With one last glance to Ciel, he turns and flounces toward the door with a cheerful:]

Just a second—! [And then opening it with GREAT ENTHUSIASM.] I'm glad you could make it! Come in!

[cheats]

[ In comparison to Oz's enthusiasm, Ciel stays firmly where he had been standing. His arms are crossed and clearly standoffish, but he just doesn't know what to do. ]

...Hello.

[ Well. That's a start, right? ]

[sunshade]

[ Please help buffer these two painfully awkward nerds, Oz. Patchouli has no idea what to say, either. ]

....salutations.

[ To her credit though, she's not wearing her trademark pajamas for once, and instead has dressed up nicely (book precariously balanced on her head not included). There is also a bag slung over her shoulder, her grimoire peeking over its edge, although there's obviously something else inside, too. For later. Birthday things, if things go smoothly. ]

Goodness, this is quite elaborate.

[harepiece]

[Oz is definitely here to do the bufferwork... And he immediately starts with smoothing over the tension in the air by being loud and boisterous, as per usual.]

Do you like it? I picked everything out myself so it would be the best for the two of you!

[AND INDEED, if they check, they'll find little things suited to them both. Flowers in shades of purple to match the colors he usually sees Patchouli in, sweets that Ciel has said he's enjoyed in the past: he really has put a lot of thought into the set-up.]

Come on, let's all sit!

[cheats]

[ And now that I'm not on mobile, I can belated say that the outfit on the left is what Ciel had opted for, so they're a group of fancy nerds. ]

[ If nothing else, Ciel is at least vaguely used to Oz being Oz by now, so he bows his head lightly to accept, then pushes off the wall to approach. He's still tense, almost like he's expecting a fight or to run away (and much to Oz's annoyance, it would be the former, since Mr. Paranoid is definitely carrying his pistol right now). But he takes a seat all the same, then looks at his most favorite of sweets that Oz has picked out for him—Chocolate cake pops. ]

...Those are the ones we tried when we first got here, aren't they?

[sunshade]

Ah...you've got an eye for detail, Oz. [ she does indeed notice the flowers, the ends of her mouth twitching in a suppressed smile

Patchouli hesitates for a few seconds, but ends up taking a seat as well. ]

[harepiece]

Thanks! I thought I'd do as much as I could, since I had some extra free time. [LOOKIN SO PLEASED. He notices that little almost-smile, too... See, Patchouli is already pulling up steps ahead of Ciel. What a paranoid dingus...

Oz will seat himself at whichever place is best for babysitting: ie, he can keep an eye on both of them at the same time and make sure they aren't seated uncomfortably close to each other. This is like trying to help out reconciling kindergarteners or something, good lord.

As for Ciel's question:] Mmhm! The freshest ones they had. Oh - the baker said to pass on a hello to you, too. [And then, to Patchouli:] You should try one! They're called cake pops and they're the best.

[cheats]

He's just trying to be nice because he knows I'm going to buy him out.

[ Ciel has been busy since he got the idea into his head of opening a branch of Funtom, and all of those days of paperwork haven't been for nothing. He doesn't talk to Oz about it since he assumes Oz wouldn't understand, but he is maybe a week or two from buying out the bakery as an investment to be able to buy more. Ciel doesn't mess around with business and money...

But that worrying revelation aside, he takes the cake pop and immediately starts to eat. He may be a ruthless businessman, but he's also a kid that loves sweets... ]

[sunshade]

[ As she should, because she's a grown-ass adult and these two are teenagers. Honestly. What are you doing with your life, Patchy, literally all of your friends in Cereal are 17 and under.... ]

Buy him out?

[ Well, she knows what it means, of course, she's just questioning the context. ]

[harepiece]

[She's recapturing her youth through osmosis, clearly...

But Oz just makes this face at that. CIEL, don't ruin nice things by being a little shit...]

Is that what you've been working on?

[cheats]

Of course.

[ He sounds a little irritated that Oz would question it, because this hasn't exactly been a sudden process, Oz!! And he doesn't actually look at Patchouli since he's still being a rude little shit, but he answers her question with his response after that. ]

Why did you think I was joking? I'm going to start a branch of my company here, so that bakery was the cheapest way into the market.

[sunshade]

[ ....alright good luck with that, Earl Kanye. Patchouli adjusts her bag and makes sure the contents are aligned properly because yo she is staying out of this one. ]

[harepiece]

[It may not be sudden but it's stupid and he's surprised it's happening!!]

Don't make life hard for that nice manager if you do buy them out.

[OR HE WILL MAKE LIFE HARD FOR YOU, CIEL PHANTOMHIVE.]

[cheats]

Of course not. He'll just be my employee.

[ He munches on a cake pop, but then motions with the stick towards Oz. ]

You may have a hard time believing this, but I'm a kind employer. [ The "but" is almost tangible. ] They don't work as hard if they hate you.

[ there we go ]

[sunshade]

[ Yet again, she says nothing, because butting into this sort of conversation seems hard, and...uh, well, Ciel's still not looking at her, so she's shying back into awkward silent turtle mode.

sort of. picking up a cake pop and looking at it but not actually eating it ]

[harepiece]

[GOOD LORD.]

Why don't you be nice to him for the sake of being a good employer? [Followed by a sigh though, because it's not like he actually expects Ciel to take that into consideration?! What a rude shit.

But he'll glance over when Patchouli picks one of the pops up and, approvingly:]

That's a good one!

[cheats]

It's irrelevant. He won't even know the difference.

[ He totally will. Ciel is just thirteen and stupid. But as Oz speaks to Patchouli, Ciel takes that as a chance to get a snack of his own. They're both so bad at this... ]

[sunshade]

[ save them, oz ]

Ah...? Are they simply balls of cake batter on a stick?

[harepiece]

[why is he surrounded by dumbs]

I think so! But Ciel would know better than I do since he's done a lot of market research on them.

[TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE, directing them toward each other in conversation and also teasing Ciel subtly...]

[cheats]

[ He gives Oz a Look at that subtle teasing, but with a sigh, he explains: ]

More or less. They're covered with a fondant to keep the inside moist, though.

[sunshade]

Quaint. I suppose I can see why sweets on sticks would be popular.

[ food on sticks in general, tbh. just shovel them into your gullet ]

[harepiece]

[cant stop wont stop.]

It's convenient and portable and delicious! There's no reason not to love them. Actually, I think it would be a good idea if they put more desserts on sticks!

[Like a whole pie.]

[cheats]

[ It's as if Ciel is reading Oz's mind, since he adds: ]

I'm looking into making pies on a stick as well. It seemed like the next logical step.

[ He's not actually psychic though, just similarly fat. ]

[sunshade]

[ what the fuck you two ]

Isn't that a little...unwieldy?

[harepiece]

[WHAT'S UNWIELDY ABOUT IT Oz sure seems like he approves of this idea 110%...]

You could just have a single slice! And seal it up on the sides so the filling doesn't fall out...! Oh, or make a whole pie, but make it like a— a... what were those things called? Toaster strudels? Like a circular one of those!!

[EXCITEDLY LOOKING FROM CIEL TO PATCHOULI even though only Ciel understands this level of fattydingdongs here.]

[cheats]

Putting a slice on a stick would be ridiculous, you moron.

[ Ciel insults Oz as casually as if he were saying something endearing instead, and in turn, it probably just rolls past Oz like it never happened at all. Ciel sighs, then shakes his head as he explains. ]

It's more like the toaster strudel. You just make a very small pie and put the stick between the crust on the bottom and the crust on the top.

[ obviously ]

[sunshade]

...ah. Admittedly, I'd been picturing a slice as well...

[ fiddling with her crescent charm in mild embarrassment ]

[cheats]

You're fine.

[ He says to Patchouli (woah, progress), then nods to Oz. ]

He's the one that's excited about it, so he's the moron.

[harepiece]

[WOW, WHAT A BUTTHEAD. But at least he's a butthead in a progressive direction...]

Who wouldn't be excited about it?! It could work! You would just have to press the sides together. I bet you could even deep fry it like that!

[But why would you want to.]

[sunshade]

[ Oh. She's mildly touched. ]

Would deep-frying pie even make it pie, anymore?