Archive of Our Own ^beta

Their fates had been sealed the moment Wendy discovered easy bake ovens at kindergarten. Her next birthday following that, she got her very own. Christmas after that became dominated by cookbooks, the one exception being the handmade apron. Even after she'd grown out of that, that little apron hung on her bedroom wall as a decorative token.

Needless to say, Wendy was very much into baking. At a young age, she essentially became responsible for all the cakes and cookies for birthdays and holidays; although supervision was always present, very quickly it felt unnecessary. She just seemed so capable.

It was treated as a given that she would grow up to be a baker. For some people, she basically already was. All she lacked was her own place to bake and sell.

Still attending middle school, Wendy approached her two older brothers with the determination to open her own bakery. Her plan had been to use the next few years to prep, so she could open it as soon as she graduated high school...

Her brothers' enthusiasm ended up causing it to open just weeks after she declared her dream to them. And while they were also still in school themselves, the allure of a bakery run by students that was only open when school was out still brought in interest. 

Their only real obstacle, it seemed, was themselves...

Ingredients were, obviously, important. More stock requirements meant more ingredients were necessary. When Wendy was still a little tyke that could at most run a stand on the driveway, simple grocery runs had been enough to supply her. Now, new ambitions meant new strategies.

Early in the morning - so early that the sky was still somewhat dark - the brothers arrived at the shop to greet and unload the supply truck that arrived every weekend. In another few hours, Wendy would be joining them, beginning the first batches right before they opened. Since Natsu and Gajeel ran the counter - and somehow made that work with their personalities - it gave Wendy more room to bake throughout the day rather than all at once in the morning.

On one such morning, Natsu was coming back out from bringing in boxes when he caught the sight of Gajeel leaning far into the truck for the last one. As Natsu approached, a grin formed on his face - a thought had just come to him.

"Last one?" he asked, keeping his tone casual and ordinary.

"Yeah." The answer came out as a grunt.

"Just slide it over, I'll catch it."

Gajeel did just that. Natsu caught it with one hand - he needed the other for his scheme. The next thing Gajeel knew, a foot had kicked him deeper into the truck, while the door slid down on his ass. Giggling behind him ensued - familiar and partially muffled - as Gajeel's brain caught up to the situation. His legs - the only things outside of the box truck - dangled, thrashing along with his shouts.

"Hey?! What the crap?!"

Natsu nestled the last supply box under his arm, his laughs growing louder and more intense the longer he saw the prank's result. Out of glee, his eyes closed, fending off a few forming tears. It was an utterly stupid thing to be cracking up at, but that was just his kind of humor. Really, anything at the expense of his older brother was good enough for him.

"Oiiii!! You're dead meat, Salamanderrrr!!"

That was weird. When Gajeel cried out that "affectionate" nickname, it sounded like it was getting farther away. Confused, Natsu opened his eyes.

Wait, had he laughed over the sound of the engine starting?! Because now it was driving away!!

"Oh, shit, Gajeel!" he cried out, letting the box fall as he chased after his brother and the supply truck.

Wendy had picked out a new decorative statue to place inside the bakery.

Mere hours after it was set up, it was now laying face-down on the floor, a crack over the eye of the beautiful woman it depicted.

"Crap, what do we do?!" Natsu kneeled down next to the casualty. "Wendy's gonna be back within an hour!"

Gajeel opened his mouth to answer, then suddenly paused. The cause of this revealed itself, as he bent down and picked up a chipped off piece from the ground. Natsu had completely missed that - this was worse than he thought! Just where had that fallen off from?!

"Quick, go get some glue or duct tape!" he shouted.

At half Natsu’s volume, but still louder than an inside voice, Gajeel replied back, "Nah, that won't be enough. Get out your lighter, I can try some welding on it!"

Half an hour later, Wendy arrived to the sight of her pyromaniac and smithing brothers... just doing what they do best.

Catering services hadn't been on the table when they first opened for business. But when a rich kid is having a birthday party? It didn't matter if he was apparently from a rival high school from Natsu and Gajeel's - the publicity potential was too much for them to pass it over.

Since it wasn't something originally planned for, however, they had no proper procedure for organizing and collecting the details. In the chaos of trying to just wing it, something had slipped through the cracks...

The fact that the yacht serving as the venue would be moving.

Motion sickness kicked in swiftly. Their plan had been to act as servers, mainly to ration out the supplies they brought onboard. However, they allowed the free-for-all against their table to ensue. In their states, they couldn't fend it off even if they tried.

Fortunately, the birthday boy didn't notice, giving them glowing reviews.

They added a strict new clause that they wouldn’t board any moving vehicles.

Holidays meant capitalizing on special themes to draw in a spike of customers. Halloween was a classic. All you had to do was break out the orange and black food dyes, hang up some toilet paper and bedding sheets, and dress up as literally anything but a baker. It was fun. 

In Gajeel's opinion, it was his favorite "special occasion" since this business started operating. All the others got too annoying. Valentine's Day got too mushy - and incited a surprising amount of relationship drama both within the store and out on the street in front, which was a pain to deal with without erupting into fury himself. Christmas just felt too cheesy and unnatural - and the costuming there was more humiliating, not to mention the taste in music. (As if he could judge.) 

Mother's Day and Father's Day were fine, but for the trio it sometimes hit... hard. That was too uncomfortable to endure sometimes.

But Halloween? He could lose the fake customer service mask and not get chewed out for it. It was great! Honestly, he didn't even really need to dress up; he could just get away with his usual attire and call it a day. But where was the fun in that?

For their second year of business, the trio decided on the costume theme of "Demon Lords". Isekai anime had been popping off earlier that year, with "Demon Lords" being a reoccurring theme within them. It made sense to take advantage of not just one, but two different points of interest - Halloween and current media trends. Last year they had (accidentally) done the same with the dragon costuming, unknowingly poising themselves to be mistaken as kaiju by younger Godzilla fans excited for upcoming projects.

Capes, horns, crowns, even fake fangs - they were dressed to intimidate. Which was easy for the brothers, Gajeel especially. But Wendy? Yeah, she was having trouble there...

Her little cheek puffed in frustration - albeit, away from the eyes of the customers. "Why is everyone smiling at me? I'm trying to be an evil demoness!"

Up and down, Gajeel took in the final result of her dress-up plan. The little spiky clips keeping her ponytails up. The floofy, black lacing coming out from her ruffled skirt. The lengthy, swirling ribbons around her neck and wrists. The sparkles on her shoe tips. The many-pointed buckles on said shoes.

And the gentle twinkle in her eyes that never went away, no matter how much she scrunched up her face.

"Beats me," he lied, fighting for his life in keeping his face stone-cold.

Jingling of the entrance bell saved him, as their attention turned to the little kids that entered. There was no adult present with them, but the bundle of money in the tallest one's hand suggested that it was fine. As that tall kid went straight for Natsu at the counter, the others started fanning out to admire the displays - both of decorations and of desserts.

A little boy stopped close to Wendy and Gajeel. He peered up at Wendy - who must've gotten an "evil" idea, as she started curling her fingers and growling.

"I'm the terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad Demon Lord Marvell!" she said. "You better arm yourself with a pastry fast! It's my only weakness!"

The boy blinked.

Gajeel considered his options. He considered them quick. This was just a little kid. He might just end up causing a scene that'd backfire, if he stepped in. But Wendy started it, anyway. Her pouting face was adorable... But so was her "proud of herself" face. It wouldn't be her actual victory. But she didn't need to know that.

Wendy didn't notice, with Gajeel being careful to angle his new position behind her in a way that his shadow would fall anyway but over her. The little boy noticed the movement, however - which is exactly what he'd been counting on. Tiny eyes veered upwards - over Wendy's head, but from her perspective, he might as well still be staring at her. Yet what he was actually viewing was the scowling, pierced face of a former delinquent.

Obviously, his eyes popped out and he yelped. Rushing towards the taller kid, he started mumbling his begging for a pastry to hold.

Wendy grinned as her hands went to her hips. Gajeel smiled behind her.

Being a big brother was nice.