Time of Togetherness

Dee swanned into Madeira’s apartment, arms full of gift bags and precariously balanced. She was immediately swarmed by Madeira’s imps, who trotted and floated alongside her from the door to the couch. Knowing her young friend well, Delight did not place the boxes on the center island in the kitchen as she wished. Madeira would be highly upset if she came home and had to deal with presents before she could cook - even though she would have been cooking all day at her restaurant.

Instead, she carefully knelt next to the couch and began placing them onto the ground near the couch. It was slow going, thanks to the demand of Maraschino - Madeira’s little stroodle - that she must inspect every box and bag for food before accepting its presence.

Unfortunately for her, Dee knew better than to give Madeira food. Her pride in her cooking meant she very rarely appreciated the food someone else had made, always finding it lacking compared to her own. While she had found a few buns whose cooking her friend enjoyed, it was not quite enough to make her wish to gift Madeira food.

Instead, the boxes and bags were filled with new cooking implements that Delight had purchased from high quality suppliers. She’d been nosy a few weeks ago and gone through all the brochures Madeira kept around as well as her budget spreadsheet, picking out the proper tools that Madeira was lusting after most.

She supposed it was a bit odd that she still wanted to go to such lengths for Madeira after she had ended their sexual relationship, but… Well, she was attached. She loved Madeira’s cooking, she enjoyed hearing all her thoughts on things, even when she didn’t understand the younger bun’s point of view.

Friendships were worth nurturing too.

She settled onto the couch, once all of the presents were settled, and the imps swarmed onto her lap and shoulders, even her head. Tisane settled onto her head, cooing softly, while Maraschino immediately monopolized half her lap, leaving the other half to Nutmeg and Berrie. Pectin settled onto her shoulder, nuzzling into her cheek, and she smiled as she planted a smooch on the little chirop’s head. As she did, Plum hefted her bulk onto Dee’s lap, flopping on top of Nutmeg and Berrie to loud and indignant squeaks from the fellantern and harpup.

At least the four pampki weren’t too concerned with what she was up to, Dee supposed, they had just cuddled together near the presents. She didn’t have nearly enough hands for Madeira’s imps. Her own imps at home were all very relaxed and calm, comfortable taking turns for attention. Madeira’s imps, however, demanded all the attention all of the time.

…which made her wonder what Cookie, Fragaria, and Marshmallow were up to…

Before she could worry too much, Madeira entered the house. She didn’t notice Dee immediately, as she hung up her coat and purse. “Where is everyone right now?”

“Trapping me on the couch,” Dee called, smiling as Madeira turned. The presents were still out of sight, but…

“Oh, Dee! Hi! I’m sorry I don’t have anything ready, but I can get something whipped up in just a few… Where are the other three?” Madeira’s eyes had spotted the absence of three of her imps quite quickly.

“I’m not sure, I didn’t notice they weren’t around me until I was already trapped.”

Madeira sighed, going to fetch a treat bag. “Well, they’ll emerge once I shake this…” As soon as she shook it, there was an eruption of movement from the couch, as every imp abandoned Dee to race for the treats.

Dee had to giggle at how rapidly even the dignified Plum raced for treats. “Thank you, darling, for the rescue.”

“No problem,” Madeira said, giving the imps pets as she gave them treats. “Oh dear… looks like Marshmallow got into the toilet paper, and that’s what those three were up to…” The last three imps had barreled out from the bathroom to get their treats, and Marshmallow in particular looked guilty… and was tangled up in toilet paper.

“Well, now we know,” Dee said, amused.

Mystery solved, Madeira moved to shut the bathroom door. “What brought you over?”

“Oh…” Dee smiled. “Well, everyone has been talking about this cherubun tradition related to spending time with your loved ones. I wanted to make sure I spent some time with you.”

“I… I mean you know we’re not… like that anymore…”

Dee huffed slightly. “Love doesn’t just mean fucking someone, dear, you know that. You’re my friend who I adore, who makes wonderful food, and who I like to spend time with and get things for. You don’t need to assume I think I’ll get sex for it.”

Madeira deflated slightly. “I… Yeah. I know that, and I do care about you too. I just…”

“Let’s just move on,” Dee suggested, gesturing to the gifts she had bought. “I got you some things I thought would be useful for you, since I know you’ve been robbing your personal kitchen for your diner’s sake.” She knew the younger bun was still struggling to understand interpersonal relationships and what she wanted from them (let alone what other people wanted from them), and so she did her best not to take it personally.

“Ooo, I’m excited to see,” Madeira said. She still went to the kitchen, though, setting some pans on the stove and getting out some pre-prepped ingredients. “I’ll put together some pot pie and then take a look while it cooks,” she told Dee.

“Ooooh, you know I love the pot pies at your restaurant,” Delight said, pressing a hand over her heart, quite pleased.

“I just finished framing your review that helped the diner take off,” Madeira said, smiling. “I still appreciate that so much, I… I really do appreciate you and all the help you’ve given me, Delight. I think I just… feel guilty like I can’t offer anything back, especially after taking sex off the table, since I don’t like subbing…”

Delight stood up, marching to the kitchen, and swept Madeira into a hug, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Madeira… you offer your friendship, your thoughts… Relationships aren’t transactional, darling, they’re not… It’s not I put cash in, I get stuff out. It’s loving and appreciating the time you spend with someone, looking forward to seeing them and hearing their thoughts, hearing about their days.”

Madeira trembled, and Dee wondered briefly if she had said something wrong, before the other bun finally hugged her back. “I… I really appreciate that, Dee, I do… I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to it, but I do appreciate it.”

“I appreciate you, too,” Dee said, petting her ears. “Now I’ll let you get back to cooking, and try to distract the imps for you.”

“Thank you,” Madeira murmured, releasing the hug after a little bit.

Dee stepped back from the hug and went to sit at the counter, deciding it best to distract Madeira with chatting about their days. She enjoyed their friendship, and hopefully one day, Madeira would feel less uncertain of her place within the world and within relationships with other buns.