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 Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2023 3:40 pm
Genevieve was supposed to be here any minute, and Aiden was glad that he’d picked a relatively calm time to meet up. Arias had been willing to part with some of the baked goods he’d made this morning that hadn’t turned out quite right, but there were so many fewer now than when he’d first started.
Arias was, of course, always generous for his cousin. He had no intention of charging him and his friend for whatever they wanted to get, so Aiden had already tipped extra while he was chatting up Caius. Who technically should be his–first cousin once removed? It didn’t matter, it was easier to think of him as a nephew. No one had ever really made a big deal of it, and Caius probably would have responded to any title.
He’d come out of his shell, too. He’d smiled when Aiden came in, and waved him over to show him some of the new charms he had. A new box had come in and he was in the process of unwrapping them. Naturally, Aiden had pried–and, immediately upon seeing the little unicorn with pastel colors and flowers in her hair, he had to buy it. Not for him, he just wanted to surprise Genevieve.
He had a box of cookies, an array of mini cupcakes, and two drinks. He hadn’t ordered for him, but Caius had insisted that they try the strawberry cream drink they had. It was sweet, but so light and frothy that Aiden didn’t even feel like he was drowning in sugar.
He was lounging in his seat in plain sight, not quite by the door but where he could see Genevieve when she came in to wave her over if she didn’t see him first.
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Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2023 9:46 am
Genevieve had taken care to dress nicely for her outing with Aiden, of course, she always dressed nicely...the fashion of this planet was very much to her tastes, at least sometimes and she liked it that way. The idea that she could just have a limitless supply of cute skirts and dresses and shirts made her happy, and when she entered the bakery, she peered around first and paused, sniffing the air.
Oh, that was a good sign at least, it smelled amazing in here…so that had to mean that the sweets were as good as Adian had said which…
Spotting her friend, Genevieve waved in excitement and hurried over to the table that he had gotten for them both. “This place smells wonderful! You were not lying at all, were you!”
Not all humans lied, she did know that…but enough of them did that it was kind of a big deal when one didn’t.
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Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2023 10:14 am
Aiden tilted his head. “Me? I never lie. Especially not about this place. Here, sit down,” he said, and seemed excited to have her there. “You can order more if you want, I just got a few things to get us started. Some of these aren’t their prettiest ones, but it’s just because I get the ugly ones for free if I come in before they’ve given them away. They still taste great, though, even if they don’t look great.”
He thought they all looked fine, but he knew that it was probably easier to be a perfectionist and fuss over the little things when you owned the place.
“I got you a keychain, too. The kid up at the register draws all these cute characters, they sell the designs up front.”
He passed over the keychain, and gestured to the food on the table. “Help yourself to whatever you like, though. We can get more if there’s anything you like. Sometimes I like to just hang out here because it smells so good. It gets crowded in the morning and on and off throughout the day but I’m glad we got a table while it was calm.”
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Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2023 6:05 pm
Genevieve sat down, nodding eagerly and gasped when she saw all of the treats that Aiden had procured for them. “Really? We get to indulge in all of these? They look amazing! I don’t know what you’re talking about, I want to eat them all!”
Which, was the point, obviously but…still, he seemed kind of embarrassed by them, or…unsure of himself? She wasn’t completely sure but…it didn’t matter how they looked, it was how they tasted that mattered and…they all looked like they tasted fantastic.
The gift he handed to her made her pause…it was so…so cute!
Genevieve carefully took the keychain and swallowed. “This is for me? Really? I love it! It is so cute!”
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Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2023 7:42 pm
Aiden immediately laughed and nodded. “Seriously, help yourself. I don’t even care if you want to just try a bite of all of them to see if you have any favorites. Is it really so surprising that you would get gifts? Oh, I mean, maybe it is.”
He scratched his chin and was relieved that she didn’t think it was strange, or somehow an unintended insult. He felt like he still had a lot to learn, but he was going to put his best effort into making friends with her.
“There are a lot more,” he glanced back up at where Caius was at the counter. With a brief lull in customers, he could see the young man doodling on a napkin. “It’s kind of easy to accidentally start collecting them. This place is a safe place to go if you ever need any help. Everyone who works here is, you know.”
He shrugged, and didn’t outright say what he wanted, but insisted, “Really good backup. And if you ever get lost, or stuck in the rain, it’s a great place to recalibrate.”
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Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2023 7:49 pm
Genevieve took a moment to hook the keychain onto her purse, spending another moment just looking at it with a fond expression. “I will thank him! The one who does the art, it is truly lovely! And…oh!”
She blinked and tilted her head slightly, glancing over at the boy behind the counter again, feeling a little thrill. “Backup? Really? That…that is neat!”
So this was not only a house of sweets, but one of Senshi and Knights? She wanted to ask for more details, but the sweets were beckoning and Genevieve no longer had the strength to ignore them. Reaching out, she took one of the small cupcakes and bit into it, her eyes growing bright and excited. “Oh! The sweets here are as magical as the art is! Yum!”
The rest of the cupcake vanished after another bite and she took hold of a cookie, but paused to get a sip of the strawberry drink, making a very happy noise.
“I love all of it! You have spoiled me and brought me joy! Thank you!”
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Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2023 8:16 pm
Aiden laughed, and relaxed again into his seat. This was easier than he’d thought! He wanted her to feel welcome, especially after the somewhat rocky start they’d had. Not that she’d done anything wrong, he just didn’t really know how to talk to an alien senshi.
She wasn’t the first person from a far off world that he’d met, but the wanderlust and desire to know more was consuming. He’d spent so long thinking there was so much on Earth that he didn’t know, and there were entire other worlds with people who had lived there? Who could tell stories from there? It wasn’t just the Velencians, it was–
No, he was getting ahead of himself. It was exciting, but she was a person, not a textbook.
She seemed like she had a pleasant personality, and he’d smiled nearly the whole time they’d been chatting. He took a bit of one of the cupcakes in front of him and wondered if that’s what made it taste so good today.
They had a good chunk of the afternoon to talk. Maybe take a walk. He could show her the gardens if she hadn’t seen them already; he thought she might like that.
Maybe find out a little bit more about her world and what was going on there.
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Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2023 9:16 pm
Genevieve grinned and took another one of the cupcakes, feeling utterly peaceful for the first time in…
Well…
A long time.
Sweets were the very best part about the Earth…and sharing them with a friend…a fellow Jupiter friend…was just…
Nice. It felt as though she were doing something right…and honestly…she needed that. Pretty badly.
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