helping is its own reward, but dessert sure helps

After their initial meeting and impromptu sleepover, Kohara's relationship with Quince grew faster than a sapling with high quality fertilizer could.

That, in and of itself, had its pros and cons. At least according to Kohara.

Cons: another bun now knew of Kohara's secret love for sweets and comfort. (Ask anyone and they'll tell you it's no secret.) And sometimes, Quince will have xyr working on Pedigree Pets when she's too busy to do it by herself.

Pros: Quince always calls Kohara to try a new snack. And she's hot. And xe gets to play with cute imps!

Still, the pros far outweigh the cons, even now, when they're manning the counter while xe munches on the last of Quince's new snack, fingers sticky with caramel.

The shop had been incredibly busy in the afternoon, when xe got Quince's call for help, but now that night had fallen, things had slowed down a fair bit. Only three customers lingered in the shop now, accompanied by their faithful little imps.

As Kohara waited for the customers to finish their browsing, xe looked to the side, where Boob laid down, on top of the counter. Both Kohara and Boob hadn't settled on what snack was perfect for the impup. While xe had suggested what they thought would be a cool look for the imp, little Boob himself hadn't even taken a second whiff once he denied whatever snack had been offered.

Footsteps took Kohara out of their reverie. The weight of Quince's head made itself known against Kohara's shoulder.

She sighed with a heavy noise, and let herself relax further against them. One of Kohara's hands made its way up and patted her head comfortingly.

Mademoiselle nosed against Kohara's hip. Xe threw her a quick look, and, much to her displeasure, announced, "I have no treats left, Mademoiselle, sorry."

The ever soft pink imp let out a whine of displeasure, sitting down with the body language that Kohara could only describe as a full body pout.

Quince wrapped strong arms around their waist and squeezed, "You have no snacks for her, but…" She blew the lightest puff of breath against the sensitive skin of Kohara's neck, and ended in a seductive tone "...do you have any for me?"

Lightly, xe slapped one of the arms wrapped around them, "Behave." They warned, causing Quince to giggle and squeeze one last time before letting go with another sigh.

Kohara can see the eye bags under her eyes, and remembers that while she does look sturdy, Quince did indeed just open a brand new shop offering a brand new service to all buns, which means just about everyone is checking it out, with only herself as the one managing it all.

And she looks just as tired as that sounds.

Cracking their knuckles, Kohara sends her to sit on the backroom while xe kicks out the last few stranglers, as politely as they can.

"Shop is closing in three minutes. Pay for your stuff and get out."

…Which isn't a lot.

Kohara hears Quince choke on laughter in the back and smiles.

The last three customers rush to the cashier, and Kohara efficiently scans the items they picked and sends them off with a 'Come back again!' filled with fake cheer.

Once the last of them is out the door, Kohara unlocks the padlock that keeps the showcased imps of the day safe on the storefront windows. 

The Stellaram, as Quince had dubbed it, was the first one to leave, cuddling into Kohara's arms and melting their heart instantly. Right after it, the fairy caterpillar looking one, Lepidaisy, floats around Kohara, going straight to some of the clouds around them. The energy they display, even after a full day, is refreshing. Lastly, the Cribbit hops out, the blue crystals on top of its head always make Kohara think of emperors, and, with the way this specific Cribbit is picky, the comparison holds true.

Kohara hoards them to the backroom, where xe can hear Quince coo over Mademoiselle and Peach. At the sound of her voice, the other imps perk up and rush to her meeting.

Kohara and Bruno are the only witnesses to how she coddles, coos, pets and babies them. Her fingers are deft in their caresses, they avoid the ice crystals in the Cribbit, and gently tickles Lepidaisy's long belly. The Stellaram floats to her lap and immediately falls asleep once in the comfort of her presence.

Kohara finds that xe wants to join them. 

Bruno trots happily over to Quince, and settles on the soft fur of the Stellaram. Mademoiselle rests against Quince, not twitching in the slightest by the addition of the four imps.

Quince just looks at Kohara. She sits, looking as cozy as she could be, with all her colorful imps, and little Bruno, the only black spot, around her.

"Hey, Kohara?" She starts, voice laden with exhaustion, "I think I finally figured it out."

"Figured out what?"

"The perfect snack for Bruno."

Against the tiredness she clearly feels, she is excited as she talks.

"I know you've been looking into it, and I know how lovely you think these fancier little guys are. But Bruno is more low-key, don't you think?" Bruno raises his head from its position atop the Stellaram as Quince scratches his chin. "He would look perfect in lavender."

Kohara can picture it, and knows that Quince is right. Bruno is too busy getting all the scritches he can to give any input, but Kohara has a feeling that should xe offer him the snack that would cause the lavender color change, Bruno, as picky as he is, would gladly consume it.

With that, Kohara cements the decision they'd had earlier in the day, and walk further into the room. The easy friendship they made with Quince allows xem to be bold and vulnerable.

Now that Quince had fully finished settling her shop, the back room had become homey and snug.

The first thing Kohara noticed when they saw it, was that Quince has potted plants on her windowsill, and a small collection of recipe books that Kohara knows are all about desserts. She has a soft cream couch, that she and her imps are currently cuddled on, and a paired loveseat.

There's a dresser that has some of Quince's clothes in it, for emergencies, and some of the drawers already have clutter in them.

Kohara had taken the opportunity of knowing about said clutter to stash xyr surprise amidst it, hidden in plain sight. Or, well, as plain sight as being inside a half forgotten drawer could be.

They grab the tin box xe had put there earlier in the day, while Quince had still being far too busy with too many customers, and proudly presents it to her.

She lets out a curious noise and reaches out her hands, "What's this?"

"A gift," They say, and let their body fall onto the vacant loveseat as tiredness, and a fair bit of shyness, catches up with them, "It's for both you and the imps."

As Quince just stays looking at the box, xe decides to clarify, "I have a little experience in the kitchen, and I've seen you work your magic enough times to note down a thing or two. It helps that you have so many recipe books just out there." Kohara motions for her to open the box.

When she does, a happy sort of surprise paints her features. She pulls up a macaron to her lips and bites it.

Kohara continues speaking, even as Quince shares the macarons with the imps around her. "So I made the macarons for you. It's all fun to cook and bake for others, but sometimes it's nice when someone does it for you too. So I did."

The sunny smile Quince sends them is all Kohara needs to know that it was a good idea.

The macarons are over in a matter of minutes, and Kohara and Quince's friendship is just a tad stronger by it.