Work Text:
"Where are we going now, Oikawa?" Iwaizumi asks as the carriage they're in goes into the market district of the kingdom.
Goods were sold left and right, yelling and hollering from different people of different classes for different reasons scatter throughout the place and children could be seen with their parents asking to buy them certain treats.
Despite being royalty, Oikawa prefers to not be called by his title in private by his close confidants like Iwaizumi, the captain of his kingdom's knights.
"Don't worry Iwa-chan! This trip is gonna be worth it!"
The king exclaims as they head to the more secluded part of the district, there were still a lot of people but only a few were actually his people and the royal coach stands out among the sea of dark-colored carriages.
People look from the outside, knowing who is inside. They bow and curtsy despite them not being able to see him and him not being able to see them.
Yet his majesty could care less whether or not his subjects bow to him when they are not in his line of sight, he knows through and through what true loyalty is like.
The sound of clacking hooves fades as the horses slow down and come to a halt, he moves the curtains to one side and looks out the window, making sure that they are indeed at the correct location.
The driver opens the door and he bows as the king and his royal guard leave the carriage and enter the "establishment"
This side of the kingdom is closest to the gates. Few people choose to permanently stay here in fear of being the first ones to get ransacked by bandits if they ever come and neighboring kingdoms who might declare war on theirs.
"Your majesty"
You stopped kneading the dough and bow, your flour-covered hands rest on your apron as you do so.
"Good afternoon. What can I do for you today, your majesty?"
You ask him as you wash your hands, preparing to be of service to the king and cater to his needs.
"I told you to call me Oikawa, y/n-chan!"
Oikawa whines, acts anything but a king which surprises Iwaizumi as the only other times his majesty acts unguarded and unprofessional is with people he personally knows. You look at him a little confused about what to do while waiting for his next words.
"Anyway I'll have the usual, y/n-chan"
He sing-songs while making a stride over to a table and Iwaizumi follows, standing beside Oikawa as the royal takes a seat.
You nod and began making a flame in the oven before putting the pastries in it.
"Take a seat Iwa-chan! We'll be here for a while"
Oikawa pads the seat in front of him, and Iwaizumi reluctantly sits down, knowing he won't hear the end of it if he doesn't.
"Do you know this person personally, your highness?"
He uses the title despite the fact that he's whispering it to Oikawa even thought it's just the three of them in the place right now.
"Me and y/n-chan formed a bond since I'm here every time I return from another kingdom"
He explains nonchalantly and Iwaizumi raises a brow. He was always with Oikawa as he is the king's personal guard unless he-
"Did you sneak out of the castle, Shittykawa?!"
He whisper-yells yet both of you hear it either way.
"No! I just asked Mattsun and Maki-chan to take me here while we're strolling around when I have free time!"
Long story short, he did. Iwaizumi glares at him and Oikawa sweats nervously.
Despite being the king, titles have no meaning when it comes to being best friends with the captain of the knights, their bond throughout the years has been reinforced by hardships from their childhood to Iwaizumi becoming captain to Oikawa's father passing away to Oikawa taking the throne and being crowned king.
"Would you like some tea while you wait?"
You unintentionally broke the ice and the staring contest that they were having a few seconds ago as Oikawa turns his head and lets out a "yes please" while his companion simply nods and you're off once more.
"Why would you need to travel here when you could just get the cooks to make desserts for you back at the castle"
Iwaizumi asks him once he was definitely sure that you were in another room and out of earshot.
"You don't understand Iwa-chan! their delicacies here are the best in the kingdom! No one in the castle could replicate their recipe and taste just as good!"
Oikawa explains and Iwaizumi remains skeptical as he feels like Oikawa isn't telling the truth or the whole truth at the very least.
A few minutes later, you come back and pour them their tea.
Iwaizumi takes a sip of Oikawa's cup first just in case despite Oikawa telling him it's not necessary to do that here but you say that you don't really mind it since he's just making sure that it's safe for the king's consumption.
The knight hands him back his cup after a few seconds and they carry on with their conversation.
"Why not just ask them the recipe?"
Iwaizumi counters to Oikawa's point, his friend begins to go on a tangent about thow he did and you said that you couldn't because it's a family recipe that only a few have mastered throughout the centuries and that would put you and your family out of business.
Oikawa knew he could take the recipe by force but he's not that type of king.
Time seems to pass by quickly when Oikawa's not tending to his duties as you serve up the pastries to his and Iwaizumi's table.
"Try one Iwa-chan!"
Oikawa says as he munches on his plate of pastries and Iwaizumi bites into one.
he'll admit, it tastes really good, he could see why Oikawa would come back here every time but why won't he just hire you to work at the palace? Surely you have family members that could take over the bakery, right?
"It's good. Did you try to offer them a place in the castle?"
It's not like he didn't want Oikawa to go into town or anything, he just doesn't want the king to sneak out and possibly be assassinated because of his recklessness.
"I did but they said that they'd prefer to work here than in the palace even if the pay is high"
Oikawa pouts as he takes another bite.
"Here are your pastries for you to take home"
You smile at both of them as you hand them to baskets of pastries, Iwaizumi was shocked that you're being considerate of him as well. Normally, all eyes and attention were on Oikawa (as he prefers it.) and not him so this was quite a pleasant surprise for him.
"Thanks y/n-chan! If you ever reconsider my offer, just write me a letter and I'll get a carriage to pick you up right away!"
Oikawa smiles back genuinely, Iwaizumi adds to his train of thought as he puts two and two together.
"I appreciate your offer your majesty but I will still politely decline it."
You bow and he lets out an alright as he and Iwaizumi take their baskets before paying for everything and leaving the cozy bakery.
Iwaizumi hands the coachman some of the pastries at Oikawa's orders before he gets in the carriage and closes the door.
"You have feelings for the baker, don't you?"
Iwaizumi nonchalantly asks while Oikawa was drinking tea and doing his paperwork that evening. The young king chokes on the slightly hot beverage and coughs, eyes wide as saucers.
"Where-where would you even get that idea Iwa-chan?! I enjoy what they make but I hold no romantic interests towards them!"
He wheezes out while regaining his breathing and his best friend gives him a "really?" look.
"For starters, after I talked to Matsukawa and Hanamaki, they said that you go there every week when it's their turn to guard you. I asked Yahaba if I could look at your schedule and you have a specific time and day where you spent two hours there and the fact that I'm only finding out about this just now. Need I say more?"
Oikawa is definitely gobsmacked at the knight's explanation and his ears turn bright red as he was caught red-handed.
"Why not ask them out? Our kingdom has no problem with royalty dating normal people. In fact, it makes them feel closer to you since you choose someone who isn't pompous or prissy. A little bit like you, I guess."
Iwaizumi suggests, wiping the tea that's on the table from his little accident a few seconds back.
"Hey!"
He lets out an offended sound at his friend's jab.
"You know I don't have time for love Iwa-chan!"
"But you have two hours to spare every week just to visit them and possibly make a fool of yourself?"
Oikawa does not have a counter-attack to that unfortunately and huffs indignantly in return.
-------------------------
The bell to the door rings as you hear people enter, footsteps echoing throughout the room.
"Good afternoon, what can I do..."
You trail off as you turn around and see the king and only the king which surprises you. What surprises you even more is the bouquet of flowers that he has in his hand as he approaches you.
"For you"
He says as he hands it to you, you accept it with open hands.
"What is this for your majesty? If this is about my place in the palace then I humbly apologize for- "
"No no no! I'm not here for that actually. I'm here for a different reason."
He cuts you off and you have never seen this certain emotion from his before.
"Oh? What reason may that be, your majesty?"
You inquire as you put the bouquet of flowers in a vase before filling it with water.
"Would you like to perhaps talk over some food tomorrow evening? Wine and dine perhaps?"
He tries to come off as smooth and suave like he does all the time and he hopes that his charm doesn't fall flat on you with all the times he tried to persuade you to come to the palace and be his personal baker.
"It would be my pleasure, your highness. What time would you prefer for this to occur? Would you also like me to prepare your usual while we talk?"
You ask him since he didn't come on a typical day that he came to your bakery. He nods and you guys talk as he watches you mix the ingredients together and prepare his pastries.
"Are you perhaps interested in trying what I'm doing, your highness?"
You ask after a few minutes of kneading the dough and he nods, goes around the counter looking like an eager puppy.
Oikawa rolls up his sleeves and tries his best to imitate what you were doing a few seconds prior with some levels of success.
"You have to roll the dough around in circles while also dusting the surface with flour again so the dough won't stick, your majesty"
You chuckled as you sprinkle flour all over the table and showed him how it's done by putting your hands on his much bigger ones and moved it along like how you would usually do when you knead the dough.
Since you were so focused on the tasked at hand, you didn't notice Oikawa was a little red at the face from the sudden movement of yours and all he could think of is how warm your hand is.
Luckily he was able to snap back to reality and focus on what you two were doing and not long after, he was watching the pastries he helped you make go into the oven.
It didn't take long unfortunately before they finished baking which means he has to go and you hand his delicacies to him with a smile like you always do.
You bow as he takes his leave and gets in his carriage.
He takes one last look at you through the bakery's windows before the carriage takes off and leaves the area. He couldn't help himself but immediately take one of the pastries out of the basket and eats it.
The sweet sensation dances on his tastes buds even better than it did before and he has to admit, maybe he does have time for love. Love is sweet and Oikawa Tooru has a sweet tooth after all.