Time Warp: Cupcake Construction Co. [Bunny]

[Finn Eogeum]

Late Spring 2021

Today was a taste-testing day for the public. Of course, Finn was anxious. This whole... owning a store bakery thing was new to him. He had worked in places like this and places more serious and boring than this before, but when it was yours, and your name was on it... it made it more scary. He had almost backed out on multiple occasions leading to the opening of the shop, but thanks to encouragement from friends, family, Rue, Vicky and most importantly (in this situation), Margery. Well, Bunny, but he liked Margery, so there. She was now his partner-in-sprinkles, and their bakery had now been open for a month or so. It wasn't a very packed business at the moment, but that was okay. They just needed people to notice them. And not just their romantic partners (who were going to rob them of all their money if they kept stealing treats, grr).

Speaking of.... Finn was still trying to get used to the ring on his fourth finger. It was odd, and it got in his way sometimes, and it was a bit of a nuiscance, and sometimes, he felt like taking it off for periods of time would be easier than keeping it on but... he couldn't bring himself to. He looked at it and remembered the sincerity in Rue's eyes when he'd asked... if it was anything else, he could easily remove it, but this... this stupid piece of jewelery now had too much sentiment. He would never take it off, if he could manage it.

Finn flipped the sign at the front of the shop to 'open'. Hopefully this little event would get them some more publicity, as well as helping them choose flavours and such. It was easier to know what people liked when they actually told you what they liked. Of course, Bunny would be doing most of the talking that might need to be done, but he was still there, for obvious reasons, with a little kawaii bow in his hair for Bunny's sake and to fit with the aesthetic. If he could manage, he would spend his time with some of the stuffed animals he'd made to decorate the shop, or baking.

[Deleted]

After two years and an Associate’s degree in culinary arts, Bunny could hardly believe that she was the co-owner of a bakery in Pilot Ridge. It had been something she daydreamed about for years, but didn’t know how to make happen before she met Finn. After she discovered how well they worked together and the delicious, cute things they could concoct, it had seemed only necessary to drag him into her dream and make it a reality. And now here they were, a month into the business, and already putting on their first major event (it helped that it was super fun and free!). They were in a great location, near a couple of schools on the edge of downtown, and already people were peeking in the window to check out what the “free taste-testing day” was all about. Now that Finn had flipped the sign to open, she hoped they would get busy quick!

She was ridiculously excited for this. Sure, they had a pretty good selection of flavors for both their pre-made and create-a-cake choices, but most of them were pretty classic and unoriginal. This was going to be a great way to see which of their new, experimental flavors were the best received by the public to add them to their menu. Some of her personal favorites were the bubblegum frosting and cake batter, orange creamsicle, and dragonfruit, although she had tasted all of the flavors and enjoyed pretty much all of them. Everything, of course, was bright and happy and colorful, from the interior design to their aprons to the cake and frosting and other desserts themselves. Bunny already adored this place.

She was busy hopping around and handing out the samples and voting cards to the people that had wandered in, with a Hello Kitty dress on and a big bow in her hair to match Finn’s little one. Her smile never left her face as she informed people of how the voting worked and to let her know if they needed anything else for her to assist with. Rue wandered in after a short time, and the excitable girl bounced up to him and gave him a big hug (or at least, as big as she could manage on his large frame). He laughed and returned the embrace. “Finn’s in the kitchen, I think,” she informed. “He can help you with the taste testing stuff, if you want~” Bunny gave him a playful wink and called out,”Finny! Someone’s here to see you~”

She giggled and went to help another pair who had just walked in; Rue chuckled at her enthusiasm and wandered to the counter, waiting for his fiancé to appear. “I’m expecting some delicious stuff,” he told the older man with a mock-serious face when he appeared.

[Finn Eogeum]

Margery and Finn clicked in a culinary way and a friendship way pretty well. Probably had something to do with Finn's childish disposition, but that was just how he was. He'd matured a little over the years, but he was still himself, and that was fine. It meant he could do things like open a bakery whilst having some confidence in himself at least. He and Margery weren't the same, but they were like two artists - their visions would probably never be exactly the same, but they were similar enough. Besides, he never would have managed this on his own, and even though he and Bunny were as bad as each other sometimes, it just made things easier in the end, to have someone you can understand and who understood you. Mostly.

If Finn was a true businessman, he'd be thinking about how today would help their business boom a little more, gather interest and such and help further them as a noticeable part of Pilot Ridge. He would be thinking a bit more like Bunny was, about the usefulness of this whole experience. Sadly, he was distracted by the most mundane things. Having decorated the store mostly by himself - with some help, but it was his design - he was easily distracted by the small things that caught his eye. Someone moved that stuffed dolphin, those sprinkles on the cupcake on the wall are uneven, who even designed this logo?

Oh... right. Well, Margery, along with others, usually did a good job of telling him everything was fine and then distracting him. Worked every time.

Margery fit in with the theme of the store perfectly, as usual, being bubbly and bright and energetic and warm and friendly. The only reason why Finn was warm at the moment was because he was in the same room as a hot oven. When he heard his name called though, he hesitated before strolling out, brushing his hands on his apron (well decorated with cute little stuffed animals), as if he'd been doing something useful. When he realised it was Rue (who else?), he dropped the 'act', "You better." He said softly, scanning his eyes over the numerous people in the store, heaving out a quiet breath, feeling a nervous tension in his chest. "I should be helping." He stated, still making a face. He shook his head to shake the expression off and to snap out any anxiety he felt. He had no idea why he was so twitchy. He moved around the counter to stand by his partner, giving him a small smile, "I'll be your personal tour guide if you want." Of course, Rue had probably tasted a few of these before during the experimentation times when Finn needed a second opinion. He eyed Margery, probably talking to potential customers, thinking, "I wish I could be more open like that." Well, he could. He had been. Finn was a very friendly person - most days, it wasn't this much of a struggle to leave the kitchen.

Maybe he was having an off day. He wished he could look at his own aura... Finn fiddled with his ring.

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Bun often forgot that Finn was eight(?) years her senior. They got along so well, it was easy to think he was younger (and not in a bad way!). Working with him was a lot of fun. Sure, he had off-days, but everyone did, and Bun made sure to try and counter-act the days that he wasn’t doing so well with even more cheer and optimism than usual.

Like today – she could tell that something was off with him, but she hadn’t said anything, just went about with business as usual. Sure, it was a little difficult to handle everyone by herself, but so far it was manageable, and she didn’t mind hopping around from group to group, making sure everyone was happy and being helped. She had hired a part-time student from Hammel too, and she should be getting there soon to help as well. Bunny hoped Jackson would stop by eventually too… He needed to taste test this stuff himself!

When Rue went back to the counter, she got back to her business. Bun hoped that seeing his fiancé might help Finn out a little, not just so he would be more helpful, but so that he would be happier! Rue smiled at Finn when he appeared, immediately recognizing that something was off. “Hey… It’s alright,” he murmured, stepping behind the counter and taking the older man’s hand, giving it a squeeze. “She’s doing just fine. She’s in her element, and it’s not yours right now. That’s okay.” He knew Bunny understood about this sort of thing when they had made the bakery; she knew what to expect. “A personal tour guide sounds great,” Rue replied with a soft smile. He leaned down and kissed his lover’s cheek. “I think I’ve tried a couple different flavors of things, but maybe I should fill out one of your official sheets, huh?” Maybe going through the motions with him would help put Finn’s nerves at ease and help him get back into customer service.

Rue noticed him messing with his ring and smiled fondly. “Have you got used to that yet?” he asked quietly, fiddling with his own. “I still have a hard time believing it some days.” He still thought he must be dreaming that he was going to marry his best friend. It seemed too good to be true.

[Finn Eogeum]

Finn had never said it outright, and would probably forget to until a really odd moment, but he did appreciate how Margery worked with him, and not against him or around him. As much as he hated his own disorder, he had had to learn to work with it, as hard as that was, and he was silently glad she didn’t yell at him on his worse days. She was very good at this whole business thing – as was he. He just didn’t believe that, especially on his not-so-good days. Which was why he was glad his fiancé was here. If anyone could help his confidence and such, it was Rue.

The reassurances were warming. Finn was glad he had finally gotten over himself enough to be able to deal with being touched (by some people… mainly Rue – strangers were a whole different hurdle to try and manage), so his hand being held made him feel not so alone. He nodded along as his lover spoke, “Sure it is.” It was helping a little, but Finn was supposed to be somewhat responsible for this establishment too, so he really felt like he needed to get a grip and just… deal with it. At least he could deal with it enough to just help Rue. It was kind of cheating, in his head, but it was better than hiding at the back the whole time. He smiled, and then smiled more at the cheek kiss, looking at Rue almost in awe for a couple seconds. He loved affection more than anything. “Okay. Good.” He made a face, “You don’t have a sheet yet?” He said disbelievingly, shuffling off to get him one quickly and returning to him, pushing it into his chest, “Dummy.” He was ‘grumpy’ at him, but nowadays, he struggled to get too upset with Rue. The man was just too kind to him for that.

“Huh?” Finn didn’t even realise what he was doing, and looked at his hand as Rue spoke about it, “Oh.” Another thing he didn’t realise was how easily a smile stretched across his face. He did notice, however, the way it felt like his chest contained electricity, and how it always felt that way around Rue. “It’s nice.” He said simply, but his tone of voice clearly held more meaning than such a boring phrase. He looked at Rue for a couple more moments, “…really nice.” And then he quickly looked around, “Uh, okay, what have you tasted?” Then he held a hand up, walking to one of the tables, “Doesn’t matter, you’re special so you can have double tastings.” He grabbed one of the samples and held it up so Rue could eat it from his hands – and without much time to think, Finn began grilling him, “What d’you think? Is it good? What flavour do you think it is?” He looked up expectantly at his best friend with wide eyes, waiting for answers. They had quite a few to get through. Sorry, Bunny, Finn was busy with something else now.