Cupcakes and Stuff [Closed]

[alliee_g]

Was it possible for the bakery to be a blessing and a curse? Allie wasn't sure, but sometimes it felt like it. Baking bread wasn't a glamorous job and the hours were earlier than she ever hoped to see. However, the pay was decent and her boss had given her a deal with her rent on the flat. So, in the end it probably evened it out

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[plainlypat]

On the list of things that people wouldn't have guessed about Patrick from looking at him (which included gems such as the fact that he owned and adored a cat, had a rather phobic aversion to marionettes, and did not, contrary to popular belief, spend the whole of his free time at the gym), first and foremost among them was the fact that he had a sweet tooth. A giant, nothing-is-ever-sweet-enough, sugar-coma-or-nothing, all-consuming sweet tooth.

And this place. This place. Well. He imagined that if there was a heaven, this was what his would look like when the time came.

He hadn't planned on stopping by on his way home from work that morning. Really, he hadn't. But it was a lovely, brisk, clear sort of morning, the late fall air still lingering in that fine balance between chilly and bone-numbingly cold, and he had purposely taken the long way back to his flat. Because he was enjoying the weather. Absolutely.

Clearly, it was a lost cause.

He had timed himself almost perfectly to arrive just as the 'Closed' sign was being flipped over. He was practically salivating already as he walked through the door and made a bee line for the display case, looking over that morning's selection, somehow trying to convince himself that it wasn't dessert-for-breakfast guilt-worthy if morning was actually bedtime. Right? Right.

[alliee_g]

It was not the kind of man Allie had expected to walk into bakery. Usually, her first customers were little, old women looking for their weekly supply of scones, or posh housewives looking for pastries to pass off as their own for afternoon tea. This man looked like he'd be more comfortable lugging around sacks of sugar than eating the bisquets made with them. His handsome, masculine features looked completely out of placs surrounded by the pastel pinks and yellows of the bakery, and it seemed to almost amplify his good looks. Allie thought of how she must look- hair tied back, covered in flour with bread dough underneath her fingernails --and made a beeline for the kitchen, but Henry was there to stand in her way. He silently shook his head, gently taking Allie by the shoulders and spinning her back toward the front of the store.

Reluctantly, Allie approached she counter. She reached up to wipe her cheek, leaving a light line of flour under her eye as she did, "Can I help you?"

[plainlypat]

Pat tore his gaze away from the taunting display of deliciousness, his sense of manners and politeness apparantly being one of the few things with a stronger hold on him than his sugar addiction. While the delectable arrangement of freshly baked goods had been a sight for sore eyes, he hopw emopw, up to meet his greeter's, the alternative sight wasn't exactly a downgrade.

"What'd'you recommend from today's batch?" he asked with a plesant smile. Nevermind that he was just getting off of a twelve-hour-shift - service industry workers knew how to treat other service industry workers. As tired and overworked as he might be, it was no reason to spare this lovely young lady the kindness of a simple smile as he oggled the pastries. (...Ahem.)

[alliee_g]

Decently polite and a nice smile? How unrealistic, Allie couldn't help but think. She never trusted men that were as pretty as she was, and this one was no exception. Her eyes narrowed slightly, gaze lingering on her customer's face for a moment longer before dropping to the array of baked goods that decorated the display case.

"The fresh fruit tarts are quite nice," she mused, tilting her head to the side as she traced little circles once the glass case. Her grey eyes then glanced up, innocently meeting the mans gaze, "Of course, so are the chocolate cupcakes.."

[plainlypat]

"Chocolate cupcake it is, then." Psh, as if the fruit tart had ever had a chance. Pat was of the firm belief that fruit did not belong in desserts, should never even be allowed to call itself dessert. The very idea of it was just ridiculous.

The anticipation of the decision now lifted, he looked back at the woman on the other side of the case with a bit more focus, properly taking in the sight of her, suddenly quite thankful for his lack of self-control. "You, um," he brushed at the spot on his face that mirrored where she had streaked herself with flour, a tiny amused smile pulling at his lips, "you've got a little something..."

[alliee_g]

Chocolate Allie thought dryly, dipping down to retrieve the dense, delicious, dark chocolate cupcake from the glass case. There was no way a man like him could maintain his percentage of body fat and enjoy hunks of cake. Silently, she added it to the list of traits that made this man unreal.

"Of course--" she murmured, sliding the cupcake across the counter top, "That'll be- wait, what?"

Her hand flew up to her cheek, leaving a dainty an delicate duplicate of it in flour across her face. It only took Allie a second to realize her mistake, and she flushed, squeezing her eyes shut in slight embarrassment. Grabbing a damp towel from behind the counter, Allie wiped her 'war paint' off, unable to help the small smile that crept onto her face as she did.

"I'm," a nervous laugh escaped her lips, and Allie rolled her eyes at her own awkwardness, "sorry. It's been a long morning."

[plainlypat]

Pat couldn't help the quiet laugh that bubbled out of him, aimed not at her flour-stained blunder but rather at the endearing way she went about apologizing for it.

"I can only imagine. Long night," he offered with a sympathetic shrug. And indeed it had been. He had totally earned that cupcake.

[alliee_g]

Allie liked his laugh. It was warm, and awake, and real. Allie'd forced so many laughs behind the counter of the bakery that a real laugh sounded almost musical to her ears. She tucked a strand of hair back behind her ear and gave a little smile, "I don't know where you've been, but the night is long since over."

She paused, eyes full of thought as se meet his gaze just for a moment before glancing away.

"It's on me," she decided, pushing the drawer of her old, beat up register shut, "Here's to welcoming the day."