Work Text:
Kotetsu had been relaxing on the couch, lazily watching the news when Kaede burst through the front door, barely remembering to take off her shoes before yelling for her dad. She had moved in after her admission to the Hero Academy, and things had been peaceful most nights. Except for today, apparently.
Startled, the hero straightened up, looking ready to jump into action if the need called for it. “Everything alright Kaede?”
“No. We’re in a Code Red, Dad. Code. Red.” Before Kotetsu could ask for clarification his daughter shoved her phone in his face, his eyes going cross as he tried to focus on the screen in front of him.
Leaning back to get a better look, confusion splayed across his features. “Cupcakes?”
Kaede huffed, tossing her hands in the air in frustration as she began to pace around the living room. “So, we gotta do a presentation for Culture Appreciation Day tomorrow. I wanna do this whole thing on Hanami, and it’s, like, all ready to go. Except! That…that…jerk Bianca told everyone how she’s making cannolis and that’s all anyone can talk about now! But she’s totally cheating cuz her family owns a bakery!” Kaede had other choice words about Bianca, but she bit her tongue knowing her dad wouldn’t exactly appreciate her real thoughts on the matter.
She turned to her dad, hands on her hips in determination. “And I can’t let Bianca have the better project! We gotta make sakura cupcakes tonight!” The teen motioned for Kotetsu to get up. “That means now, Dad. This is gonna take all night, so come on.”
Kotetsu chuckled, holding his hands out placatingly. “Alright, alright, cool your jets sweetheart. How many cupcakes are we making? 10? 20? It can’t take that long. We can head out after dinner, and it’ll be a piece of cake.” His lips quirked into a smirk at the unintentional pun.
The Teenage Death Glare of Doom the hero received sent a shiver up his spine. Kaede had been spending way too much time with Barnaby (not that Kotetsu really thought that was a bad thing). “You don’t get it. We’re presenting to all of Miss Klein’s Humanities classes. I need 100 cupcakes. By tonight.”
Oh. Fuck.
---
Heaving in the multiple bags of groceries and equipment, Kotetsu could feel his wallet sobbing in his pocket. He would do absolutely anything for Kaede, and she wasn’t above exploiting that sometimes, but why did cupcake stuff have to be so damn expensive? Grumbling under his breath, he placed the bags on the kitchen counter and began taking out items, noticing Kaede pull up a how-to video on her laptop for making flowers out of icing.
As Kaede waved him over from the couch, he set down the packet of icing tubes and joined the teen in the living room, leaning against the back of the couch. Only about a minute into the video, Kotetsu asked his daughter to pause it while he grabbed his phone from his pocket.
“Heeeey, Bunny. You free tonight?” A pause, the blond’s voice faintly heard through the phone. “Do ya mind coming over? We need your help with something.”
---
As the first set of batter baked, the three of them watched the video in silence, Barnaby nodding to himself from time to time as if he were making mental notes. As the younger hero got up, he pulled a hair tie from his back pocket and worked his hair into a small ponytail at the base of his neck. Kotetsu felt his mouth go dry as he stared, until Kaede jammed her elbow into his side rather harshly. “Don’t be gross,” she hissed. “No time for that.”
He grumbled as he got up as well, rubbing his side gingerly. Had his daughter’s elbows always been weapons of mass destruction?
It had been decided that while Kaede and Barnaby worked on filling more cupcake tins and prepping the icing, Kotetsu would make dinner for them all. Most of the work was going to be decorating the cupcakes, and that’s when all hands needed to be on deck. The older hero had made a joke about the three of them using Hundred Power to rush through the job, but that was met with a resounding “no.”
Geez, no sense of humor these two.
---
The first batch of cupcakes were out and cooled down, and now it was time for the icing. All three held icing tubes in their hands as they eyed the chocolate cakes in question; no one seemed willing to make the first move. It was Barnaby, sighing and muttering about how ridiculous they were being, that reached for a cupcake and broke the spell of apprehension the Kaburagis were under. They all started with a base layer of light pink, switching to a more vibrant shade once it was time to form the flowers.
Peace lasted for all of two seconds when green eyes glanced over to his partner to see Kotetsu holding the tube at a completely wrong angle, smearing icing in a flat blob instead of the elevated arc it was supposed to create. Another sigh passed the younger man’s lips. “Weren’t you paying attention to the video? 45 degrees, Kotetsu; and you need to spin the cupcake slowly to get the right shape.”
The brunette pouted for all of a moment before his face lit up and he waggled his brows. “How about you help me then? You can hold my hand juuust right.” That suggestion was met with a swift kick to his shin from two directions.
A very dignified yelp left Kotetsu’s lips, and he glared at his quote-unquote ‘family.’ “Fine! Then don’t complain about my sakuras!” Despite his words, the older hero did try to correct his angle. It didn’t stop his first few petals to look more like puffy pink cloud blobs, but there were a few that almost looked right.
They all worked in tandem, occasional comments or humming along with the records playing in the background dispersed here and there. A few times within the first hour Kotetsu would complain about his wrist cramping up and would drape himself over either Barnaby or Kaede, fishing for sympathy. But both kept their gazes firmly on the cupcakes, their hands working slowly to make the best lines possible in forming the raised flower petals.
After that the older hero kept quiet and worked without a fuss, understanding just how much this really meant to his baby girl. And when his wrist really did feel numb, he would get up to make tea for everyone, hip resting against the kitchen counter with his heart full of affection as he watched two of the most important people in his world work together side by side. It had been far too long since he had felt this content with his life.
As the night approached midnight Kaede was sent to bed. There were still a significant proportion of cupcakes left to decorate, but her dad and Barnaby promised to keep working until it was all taken care of. They weren’t scheduled into work the next day, but she still needed to rest up for school. The teen grudgingly accepted they were right, and while she wanted to keep working, she knew they wouldn’t let her down. Hugging both men a goodnight, Kaede went off to her room with sounds of quiet bickering following behind her.
---
Kaede grumbled as she dragged herself out of bed, glancing at her alarm to see it was around four in the morning. She didn’t want to get up, the blankets comfortable and inviting, but her bladder had other ideas. And since she was already up and about, the teen figured she might as well check on the cupcakes to make sure they really were ready to go when it was time to head to the academy.
Padding lightly down the hall, a small “oh” escaped Kaede as she spotted her dad and Barnaby passed out on the couch. Cupcakes littered the coffee table, so at some point the two had migrated from the dinning table to the living room; most likely Kotetsu complained about his back, sparking the move. A glance at the kitchen shows that that was the last of them. The rest sat in plastic containers, ready to be sent off for the day.
Barnaby’s head was thrown back, a soft snore emitting from him. His glasses skewed. A frosting heart was drawn on his cheek, along with what looked like bunny ears and a tail added to it. One of his arms draped over Kotetsu, holding him close as the older man nestled against his shoulder. Kaede wasn’t a hundred percent certain, but she was pretty sure she saw drool slicking against her dad’s cheek.
Smiling, Kaede tiptoed to the closet to pull out a throw blanket and carefully draped it across the sleeping men. With utmost care she took Barnaby’s glasses and placed them on the coffee table for safe keeping. Then, without second thought, she bent to gently kiss both of their cheeks (in Barnaby’s case the unfrosted one) and whispered, “thanks for being the best dads ever.”
Not wanting to risk waking her dads, Kaede opted to not put away the remaining cupcakes. That was something she can deal with later. For now she headed back to her room and softly closed the door behind her, smile never leaving her lips.
---
The cupcakes were an absolute hit. Take that Bianca. They ranged from wildly misshapen blobs of frosting to beautifully crafted 3-D petals; all three of them had gotten significantly better with each finished cupcake. Even when another kid got a wonky treat, it was as if they could tell they were made with a great deal of love that added to their taste and charm. Kaede was proud to announce to her dads later that week that everyone was still raving about their cupcakes. And just for an added laugh, told them to brace for another batch of 100 before Summer break started. The reaction she got was so worth it.