Submission (#49126) Approved

“What do you MEAN I’m not on the list!?” Delulu screeched, decked out in her very best fairy appropriate gala attire. The bun at the door not seeming amused nor impressed with her outburst of a tantrum.

“I mean -” She caught herself, taking a breath and starting again with a more pleasant tone and demeanor, “Perhaps there’s been a misunderstanding. You see I go by many names outside of Delulu.” She said, sweetly, to which the bouncer blinked at her blankly. “How bout Delicious~”

“No.”
“Delectable-”
“No.”
“Delightful??”
“No.”

“More like, Delusional~” Snorted another bun in the line behind her, to which Delulu was completely unphased and her face briefly lit up as if that was the one, “Oh yeaaah, thanks - Delusional??” The bouncer sighed again, hard. Their patience slowly thinning out. “No. Listen, no invitation no entry. Now please get the hells out of my line.”

A small frown appeared on her face, well - more of a pout. She rolled her eyes and stomped her foot. “Fine~! I don’t want to be at this stuffy party, ANYWAY.” She announced loudly and falsely. Starting to turn on her heel to leave, just to pull a complete 360, grabbing onto the bouncer's arm in a last ditch attempt to get them to reconsider, “PLEASE LET ME IN, I’LL DO WHATEVER YOU WANT.” She balled, and after hearing herself realizing that wasn’t nearly as seductive as she had hoped it would be. Listen, she was desperate.

In response the bun flexed their muscle and growled down at her, making her feel a smidge smaller than she already was. She snatched her hands away from them, lifting her hands and exasperation. “FINE. Damn you. Damn all of you!” She said, squinting at the other buns who were also growing impatient with her taking up the line.

“Finally-”
“Oh shut your trap!” Delulu snapped, aimlessly to whoever that voice belonged to. She stormed a few steps down and away from the venue, pausing in front of a nearby alleyway to break out a piece of candy to chomp down on to soothe her nerves. How the hell is she supposed to run into her Bun Charming now?! The whole invitation situation is really cockblocking her right now.

She was in the middle of blowing a bubble, looking down the alleyway that served as a back entrance to the event. Multiple buns were moving things in, and some seemed that they were just arriving to begin a shift for the event. Unexpectedly she spotted a familiar face that almost caused her to choke on her gum. “P-Pan?!”

The chill-faced cozy bun slowly turned at the sound of her name being called. Her fluffy ears twitching at the sound of it. She was carrying stacks of containers that held her infamous baked goods. It seemed that she still had some flour on her face and in her hair showing some of it may have been completed last minute. She smiled when she spotted the familiar face, “Oh hey, Lulu. How’s it bakin?” She asked, shifting her stance to better accommodate all the boxes she was holding. It was borderline a safety hazard, as they were stacked up so high they covered up most of her face, obscuring what little vision she had left.

A thought crossed Delulu’s mind, and a mischievous grin was soon to follow. She glanced at the bouncer who was a fair distance away and occupied checking the invitations being presented by the guests. She quickly moved into the alley and up to Pan, “Here, lemme help you with that~” She cooed sweetly, grabbing some of the boxes of treats allowing her to finally be able to see what was in front of her. “Thanks, sugarbun. You don’t have to do that-” She started, to which Delulu cut her off, ‘Nonsense! It’s no trouble really.” Delulu replied as casually as she could muster as she started to follow her friend inside, her heart pounding with such excitement it started making her hands tremble. She was in.

They were in the kitchen area, there were many buns bustling around - swapping out empty trays for full ones. The food looked absolutely exquisite. That along with the scents wafting out of the box were enough to make her mouth water. “S-sooo - Pan, are you one of the caterers for the masquerade this year?” She asked, trying to make small talk as she continued to follow her to one of the tables where she was to drop off the boxes.

Pan nodded, tiredly in response, opening them up to reveal the mini baked treats inside. They seemed to be bite sized donuts, all in the shape and decoration of different butterflies. The decoration was done in a way that was simple yet classy. Sure to be a hit at the event. Delulu had to fight the urge to treat herself ahead of time. “Yeah, it was a bit of a rush order. Had to get my Sunshine to help out a bit and they’re used to eating my food, not making it.” She laughed as she worked on getting the items out of the box to which Delulu continued to assist.

“I’m heading home after this though, not really my scene. Way too many people, and the thought of being dressed up for hours makes my skin itch.” She shuddered. Delulu was only half listening at this point, smiling and nodding as she finished helping Pan get the pastries set up for the workers to handle. Catching the eye contact of some of the other people working the kitchen. Clearly she stood out.

“Excuse me, guests aren’t supposed to be back here.” One of the staff said, they were a pride bun who didn’t seem to be anyone special. Just another worker, but clearly they gave themselves a self-declared sense of authority. “O-Oh me, well you see -”

“Hey, she’s with me. Helped a bun out, I think that warrants her skipping the line - don’t you?” Pan said, speaking up and sliding the bun one of the pastries. They stared at Delulu suspiciously, and then to Pan - and then the pastry. Nibbling down on it with a bit of a grumble, “Please be quick about it, you really shouldn’t be back here.”

Lulu looked at her friend with a bit of a surprised look on her face, she had already been cooking up her own story to tell them, but Pan stepped right up and took care of it herself. The sloth bun looked at her with a nudge and a knowing wink. “There’s only a few boxes left, I can handle those myself. Go and hurry your ass onto the dancefloor, yeah?”

The lust bun looked around for any prying ears before getting closer to Pan, speaking in a hushed whisper. “You - you know??”

To which Pan snorted a laugh, “Sugarbun, I literally saw you fighting with the bouncer as I was arriving. Plus, you’re not exactly known for being a good samaritan.” Delulu grumbled, disagreeing with the last part, mumbling under her breath, “I could be.”

“Suuure, sure.” Pan said, patting Lulu on the cheek with casual affection. “Don’t get caught.” She teased, taking that as her moment to leave her quirky friend behind.

Delulu snapped back to it with an affirmative nod, remembering her mission.
“Bun Charming, here I come!”