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February M.E. 741
There was a clatter and a crash. A yelp and a colourful childish curse. "Bubble-gum poop!"
A door opening was heard and Gladiolus at least tried to hide. He knew he shouldn't have been in the kitchen alone, let alone at 3 am in the morning. But it was important, he had to get this done before school.
Footsteps on the stairs, signalled the imminent arrival of not one adult like Gladiolus had predicted, but three. He ducked down behind the counter, trying to come up with a plausible explanation for the mess he'd made.
The kitchen door opened and a female voice called out. "Gladio?" his mother. "Are you in here?"
"Gladiolus?" his father, and the seven-year-old bit back a squeak in alarm. He hadn't realised his father had come home from work.
"Master Gladio?" Jared, and it was Jared's kitchen he'd just made a mess off. This was not going to end well.
Gladiolus accepted defeat and he stood up carefully, hands in the air like he was surrendering to an armed police force. He grinned.
"Would you believe me if I said a Nifillian assassin broke in through the window and when I tried to protect everyone he started pulling ingredients from a cupboard and throwing them at me?"
"Where is this assassin now?" his mother asked, the calmest of the three. Her amber eyes betraying how amused she was.
Gladiolus puffed out his chest, motivated by her playful words. "I scared him off. I'm a shield you see!"
He took a step forward, to lunge into a victory pose. Arms outstretched as he flexed inexistent muscles. It would have been impressive had he not stepped on an egg. The shell cracking under his feet, cutting into the skin. The yolk running through his toes making the floor slippy. His foot slipped from underneath him and as he went down he flung his arms out to catch something, anything. A bowl, there was a bowl on the side, filled with the flour and sugar he'd been mixing for a cake. A cake for Ignis' seventh birthday and as Gladiolus fell, he grabbed the bowl and pulled it down with him. He hit the floor first, his head bouncing off the marble flooring. The bowl came second, catching him on his forehead, spilling its contents and causing the whole world to swim, before inevitably going dark.
February M.E. 742
Gladiolus was determined not to fail this time. Having spent last year's birthday in the Citadel medical wing, with Ignis holding his hand the whole time as he recovered from a concussion. He felt the least he owed his best friend was a proper cake. It's not every day one turned eight after all.
The current eight-year-old (nine in two months, as he constantly reminded people) glanced around the kitchen. His baby sister Iris, only nine months to her name, glanced around at him. Mimicking his every move.
"Right then, you're going to be my sous chef," he announced poking Iris in the stomach to make her giggle. She gurgled, not able to form words, and shook the rattle she was holding in her hand.
Grinning, Gladiolus jumped onto a chair to reach the high shelves and started pulling down the ingredients he would need. Flour, sugar, eggs, butter. Making a cake was easy, he'd seen his mother do it enough times that he knew he had to measure out the ingredients and whisk before putting in the oven. It wasn't rocket science.
With his sister occupied with her toys, Gladiolus got to work. He got a large mixing bowl and added the butter, eggs, sugar and flour before whisking it into a creamy mixture. It was hard work, whisking and he made a mental note to do it more often, he'd have muscles in no time. There wouldn't be any need for real training!
Thinking that it needed some chocolate, Ignis loved chocolate after all. Gladiolus turned back to the cupboard and grabbed the hot chocolate powder. There was a small plop from behind him and Iris' amused babbling but he thought nothing of it. Jumping back down off the chair, he spooned in some of the powder and stirred it turning the mixture from beige to brown.
He was ready. He glanced longingly at the oven, but he wasn't allowed to use it without adult supervision, so instead, he went to the microwave. Iris screeched and pawned at him, tiny hands trying to grab onto the bowl as he took it away. Gladio chuckled, dipped his finger into the mixture and placed a tiny bit on her lips. She grinned and lapped it up.
He placed the bowl in the microwave, set the timer and set to tidying up. He wasn't going to leave a mess, or he'd never be allowed to do this again (not that he was supposed to be doing this now, but he wasn't alone. He had help.)
The microwave started making an odd groaning sound before a cracking was heard and a pop. Iris screwed up her face at the noise, her little button nose quivering before the waterworks started.
Startled, Gladiolus rescued her from her high-chair and stared at the microwave that was now smoking ominously. When it sparked, Gladiolus turned on his heal and ran.
February M.E. 743
Gladiolus learned two important lessons last year. Primarily; metal explodes in microwaves and secondly babies made terrible sous chefs because they throw metal objects into mixing bowls without the actual chef knowing.
Iris was nearing two now, Gladiolus nearing ten. Ten was a big year, double figures, he was almost a teenager. Ignis was going to be nine, they were both still in elementary school and everything was going to be perfect. Including this cake.
Deflated from his previous failed attempts Gladiolus had decided to cheat this year and had bought a boxed cake mixture. It seemed simple enough. It was a confetti angel food cake mix and all he had to do was add water.
A friend from school had told him that his mother makes these cakes all the time. It was so simple a baby could do it. So grabbing the only baby he knew, Gladiolus set about making the cake.
"Cake?" Iris babbled. Gladiolus nodded, sat her in her high-chair and handed her the box. She contemplated it like an old man contemplated the newspaper, before shaking it. Giggling as the packet inside rattled around.
Gladiolus smiled and grabbed the utensils he would need; spoon, a jug of water and a bowl, before trying to retrieve the box from Iris.
"No!" she said with confidence. "Mine!" she hugged the box with a pout, glaring whenever Gladiolus tried to take it.
"Come on Moogle, I have to make the cake for Iggy."
"Iggy," she repeated.
"Yes, Iggy. It's his birthday. Now can I have the box please?" he reached out to grab it, but Iris pulled away suddenly. The box flew out of her tiny hands and landed with a plop in the sink. Iris giggled as bubbles floated into the air whilst Gladiolus scrambled after it.
It was soaked through, the cardboard box ruined. Fortunately, the mixture was protected by a plastic bag within the box. Gladiolus dried it off emptied the mixture and added water before stirring.
He couldn't see the ingredients anymore, the water combined with the washing-up liquid that had been left in the sink, all but smudged the packaging so Gladiolus would have to wing it. Placing the mixture in a cake tin he placed it in the oven and waited.
February M.E. 744
Last years cake had tasted terrible. There was no sugar coating how awful it was. Gladiolus hadn't even given it to Ignis, throwing it down the garbage disposal as soon as he had tasted it. Apparently, his friend had skipped over the finer details of how to make a box cake. Including that as well as water, he should also add oil and eggs to give it flavour and to not make it taste like cardboard. It was dry and chewy and probably the worst thing Gladiolus had ever tasted. Even Iris didn't like it and Iris ate dirt!
This year was going to be different, even though he'd said that for the past two years. He could feel it this year. Iris, now almost three, was at day-care so he didn’t have to worry about her interfering. His dad was at work, Jared was shopping and he was alone. He was also prepared. He'd researched online and found the perfect recipe. Ignis had taken a liking to red velvet cakes and Gladiolus had been astounded to learn that red velvet cakes were actually made with beetroot. He figured if he could pull this off and convince Noctis to eat some it would be a double birthday present. Ignis was always encouraging the young prince to eat his vegetables.
He read the recipe three times before gathering his supplies. He peeled and grated the beetroot and added it with the other ingredients in a food processor to mix it together. Once done, he transferred it into a cake tin and stuck it in the oven. Where he left it to bake for an hour whilst he tidied up.
He was feeling pretty confident about himself and about the cake. So far nothing had gone wrong. That was until he was putting the ingredients away.
Jared kept a pretty organised kitchen, there were no packets, everything had been emptied into glass jars or plastic Tupperware all labelled with Jared's neat cursive. Except one jar wasn't labelled, a jar of white powder stuck at the back of the cupboard. Curious, and he thought it must be salt or bicarbonate of soda, something that he hadn’t used in his recipe. Taking the lid off, his sucked his pinkie a little to wet it before dabbing it in the powder and bringing his fingers back to his lips. Sugar, caster or granulated, he couldn't be sure, but it was definitely sugar.
Frowning he glanced down at the jar of sugar that he'd used and picked it up sniffing at it cautiously. The label said C. Sugar, which to Gladiolus meant caster sugar, however, there was another label he hadn't noticed before, on the other side of the jar, one that explicitly stated, Salt.
"Oh bubble-gum poop, he muttered as he glanced towards the oven.
February M.E. 745
The pressure was on. Ignis had started baking and had even contemplated making his own cake, which Gladiolus knew shouldn't be allowed to happen. He knew what went wrong last year, he'd used salt instead of sugar due to the label from the sugar coming off and sticking to the salt.
This year he was prepared.
Iris watched him interestedly from her seat, her little four-year-old feet swinging innocently as her eyes took in everything he did.
"What's that?" she asked pointing to the cake tin and Gladiolus told her. She nodded and pointed to something else. "What's that?"
"Flour."
"Ew, why you put a flower in a cake? Flowers are for smelling not eating dummy."
Gladiolus sighed and patted her softly on the head. "It's spelt differently and don't call me dummy."
"Daddy calls you dummy," she replied innocently pulling a piece of paper and a box of crayons towards her. "He called you a dummy last night."
Gladiolus hummed at this nugget of information. "Did he now."
"Yep, but he said that Iggy makes you less of a dummy. Said that he… complicates you."
"Complicates?"
"Uh-uh," Iris nodded and stuck her tongue out as she doodled with her crayons.
"You mean compliments?"
"That's what I said," Iris muttered without looking up.
Gladiolus shook his head and set to work on making the cake. It was a simple sponge cake, nothing ambitious just eggs, flour, sugar and butter mixed in a bowl and placed in the oven.
It was a rare sunny February morning and Gladiolus had opened the veranda door to let in some air as he cooked. The kitchen had become rather warm and he hoped the cool air would help to cool the cake. Allowing it to be decorated sooner.
"Looks good," Iris said finally looking up from her drawing.
"Yeah?"
"Can I taste test it?" she asked reaching a finger towards the sponge.
Gladiolus swotted her hand away. "It's hot and it's for Iggy."
Iris pouted but withdrew her hand. "Play with me?" she asked innocently.
"Play what?"
"Tea party!! Mr Snuggums and Mrs Nesbitt are having a tea party and have invited us!"
Gladiolus didn't want to know who Mrs Nesbitt and Mr Snuggums were but acquiesced and helped his sister down from the breakfast bar before following her into the living area.
Mr Snuggums it turned out was a moogle, Mrs Nesbitt, a chocobo. Others were in attendance as well, a bear named Honey, a hedgehog named Miss Prickles and Holly, her ever faithful rabbit.
"Oh thank you for the tea Mrs Nesbitt," Iris said with a low gravelly voice to imitated Mr Snuggums. "How is your daughter?" she glanced pointedly at gladiolus who sighed and picked up a tiny plastic tea-cup and stuck his pinkie in the air whilst he drank.
"My daughter is fine, thank you for asking. How did your surgery go?" as far as high pitched female voices went, Gladiolus thought he did pretty well. Well enough that Iris didn't laugh at his attempt, but he certainly wouldn't be sharing it with anyone anytime soon. Especially not Ignis.
"Oh very well thank you… kitty!!" Iris jumped up suddenly, jostling the table that Gladiolus had awkwardly wedged his legs under. He glanced over at where Iris was running to and saw a black and white cat perched on their father's chair licking its paws. A trail of cake crumbs led back to the kitchen and Gladiolus sighed.
February M.E. 760
Almost four years into the darkness and there was still no light at the end of the tunnel. Hope was fading fast and the three of them were struggling to get by. Their duty and honour went without a trace as the crystal absorbed him. Gladiolus took it the worst of all, his one purpose in life had been to protect Noctis and now he was gone… He did, however, have Ignis.
Without daylight, days rolled into months and months rolled into years, so he couldn't be sure of the exact date. It was cold though, with hammerhead saying they saw snowfall in Cavaugh. Gladiolus knew roughly the year and the month and he knew that Ignis' birthday was coming up. His twenty-sixth birthday to be precise.
Over the years Gladiolus had tried and failed to make Ignis a cake. From knocking himself unconscious to accidental explosions and ingredient mix-ups. He'd made the perfect cake once, a cake that had been ruined by a cat that had come in through the open door.
He hadn't tried since: store bought or Jared made only. In the years of darkness ingredients and food supplies had been hard to come by, but somehow, through hard work and cultivation by a myriad of experts, a way had been established to grown fresh ingredients. Due to the nature of the system and the demand for the ingredients, ration tickets were distributed. And Gladiolus had saved up his ration tickets for the past month and a half in order to buy what he needed.
Cleigne wheat, leaden sweet potato, sugar, baking powder, salt, cream of tartar and a single lemon.
Ignis was out, he and Talcott had gone to investigate a near-by tomb in the hopes of gleaning more information about the chancellor. He made sure his sister was nowhere in sight and all windows and doors were closed before he started baking.
It didn't take too long; he knew how to cook after all. He'd just had a run of bad luck when it came to baking a cake for Ignis. Maybe it's because he knew how special Ignis was to him, or how much he loved him. They were more than friends now and had been for years. This was just one of the ways Gladiolus wanted to show how much the advisor meant to him.
He was just putting the finishing touches on the cake when the door opened. The sound of a cane on wood and Gladiolus smiled.
"I'm in here," he called. Letting his best friend and partner know where he was.
"Gladio," Ignis said as he stepped into the main area. Gladio crossed the distance and pulled the smaller man into a hug, knowing that the contact alone would be enough to reassure and relax his lover. There was a sniff then; "Did you bake?"
"I did," and with a quick kiss on Ignis’ forehead, he pulled apart and turned towards the cake, lifting it slightly and moving it closer to Ignis.
Ignis rested his cane to one side and placed his hands out so he could grasp the plate as Gladiolus placed it in his hands.
Ignis sniffed again and Gladiolus grinned as a look of recognition fell over face.
"Lemon Chiffon…" Ignis gasped and gingerly placed the plate back on the table. Gladiolus barely had enough time to make sure the plate wasn't going to fall off when Ignis' lips were pressed against his. "How?" he asked when they pulled apart for air.
Gladiolus just shook his head and captured Ignis' lips in another kiss. "A story for another time perhaps?" He kissed him again. "Happy birthday Ignis."