Who: Peeta & Leliana What: Peeta gives Leli his seal of approval When: Before the Giga Slave Plot Where: Peeta's Bakery Rating/Warnings: Low Status: Complete!
Seemed like everyone was getting nibbled on by the Wedding Bug, from Cindy and Garrus’ recent engagement to Alyssa and Peeta’s - but she didn’t know the last two quite well. However they were close to Gale and that was enough, and she knew communication had been relayed about some kind of proper introduction that lasted longer than a couple minutes. Leliana had been busy with all sorts of things; she didn’t want to seem rude, either.
Which is precisely why she put together a homemade basket filled with all sorts of engagement shenanigans. A congratulatory starter kit for their upcoming nuptials, and she’d done something similar with Cindy (she had to - Leliana took her role as Maid of Honor very seriously, mind you). She entered the bakery with it, dressed in a long-sleeve purple lace ensemble on more of the cute side than fancy, nude heels, and the goods gathered decoratively in her arms.
“Bonjour,” she greeted the baker behind the counter, French in full effect. The accent carried over some, velvety with cafe au lait flavors, though she was fluent in both. “Hope you are not too busy?”
There had just been a brief introduction between himself and Leliana at the birthday party because Peeta had to help play happy host along with Alyssa to their guests. His first impression was that she seemed quite nice and he could see that Gale was happier when he was around her, which was something both men strived to be. Peeta had already found his happiness in Alyssa and he hoped that Gale was finding it as well. Since the introduction hadn’t lasted long he was trying to set something up with Gale that would allow the foursome to meet once more for a long period of time.
However, it seemed like Leliana had a different idea and it would please Peeta greatly. When the bell rang to signal a guest in the bakery he stepped out of the back room with a towel in hand and currently covered in flour. There had been an incident with a mixer while teaching one of his newer employees and he was still trying to make sure he got the flour of his eyes. He did one more quick wipe of his face as he stepped forward and then proceeded to wipe down his arms. When those blue eyes finally glanced up it took a brief moment for him to register who was in front of him and with it came a smile.
He may be in love with Alyssa’s accent, but he had to admit that Leliana’s French accent was quite soothing as well. “Always available for a friend. Lovely to see you, Leliana. How are you?” He was going to make a move to hold out his hand in greeting, but realized it was covered in flour and quickly retracted, “Sorry, training in the back and had a flour mishap. Don’t mind me, I don’t normally look like this in the bakery.”
Peeta’s appearance earned an amused tilt of peach-colored lips, and she had to bite back a giggle to not appear impolite. “Very charming, actually. At the very least, a mess equals productivity,” Leliana encouraged, then set the basket of goodies onto the desk. Bridal magazines, all kinds of cute little knick knacks and tools for a couple soon to be wedded. “I’ve been good, though! I wanted to bring by this - for you and your lovely lady.” Gale’s friends all seemed to be enamoured with redheads! Interesting trend.
“I know you two decided upon a more long-term engagement, but the news is still exciting, and planning in advance is supposed to relieve that last minute stress, sooo…” Okay, perhaps this was something to give to the bride, but she didn’t think it they’d be at the level of familiarity yet to show up knocking on their personal door. So to Peeta’s bakery it was!
And now she was craving something sweet, so two birds, one stone?
“Sometimes it does. It also means that they’re going to have to spend a lot of time attempting to clean it up,” Peeta countered with a good-natured smile before moving his gaze over to the basket that was placed on the counter. He stepped over to it so he could see everything that was inside of it and a slow blush creeped upon his cheeks, “Wow, Leliana that’s really nice of you. This looks like it will be a lot of help and I’m sure that Alyssa will love it. I think she’s ready to fully embrace the girliness of planning a wedding.”
“Haha, relieving last minute stress is always a good thing. And I have seem some people take planning in advance to a whole new level. I just had a woman come in here to discuss her wedding cake and the wedding isn’t for another couple years. This will certainly help us make sure to start planning the small things now,” that encounter still made him chuckle although he had heard about people who planned weddings in advance without a groom sometimes, “And this will help me be part of the planning better, so again, thank you.”
It was a really kind gesture and he was going to make sure to mention to Gale that she was definitely starting to win him over. Not that he had disliked her before, but she was certainly proving to be a good foil for him.
Well, she supposed if the couple knew what they wanted and the decision would stay consistent, then whatever eased their minds in the planning! Leliana thought that may be a little extreme, but who was she to judge? It wasn’t her big day. “I have been appointed the maid of honor for a dear friend’s wedding and believe me, the decisions to be made can be rather overwhelming.” Colors, dresses, accessories, venues, centerpieces, party favors, engraved napkins - assuming they went all out, anyway. Cindy’s wedding would be in space, they were already going big.
“Having the groom be involved in the planning helps wonders, so good for you,” she chuckled, winking. “Most men think their only job is to buy the ring and pop the question.”
Peeta had made the mistake of picking up a bridal magazine that Alyssa had purchased and his blood pressure started to rise as he looked at all the things that were required when it came to planning a large wedding. He hoped that Alyssa wouldn’t turn into a bridezilla by any means, which seemed unlikely, but he had to agree with Leliana’s assessment that things were overwhelming, “Ah, maid of honor. That is a big deal, so congratulations. I’m sure you’re doing a great job. But, I fully agree with you with that the groom should be involved. I don’t want to thrust everything upon Alyssa, so I’m trying to help when I can. I’m obviously going to be no good at dresses and such, but I can do bits. At least I know I’ve got the cake covered.”
“So, is there anything I can get you? Consider it a thank you for the lovely gift. I don’t know if Gale’s brought you anything from my bakery, but I would love to convince you to be a client. I mean, if you like sweets,” some people didn’t and then he was thankful that he was quite skilled at making breads.
“Most would argue that cake’s one of the highlights of the whole arrangement,” she chirped, and Peeta being the one to make it? A very personal touch. It was unique. Special for the both of them, which was the entire purpose of a wedding anyway, no? “But considering your very impressive display of goods…” Leliana may have taken a peek at the display case and all its temptation. “It will be exactly the way you want it to be.”
Hm. Did Cindy have someone in mind for a cake? “I may have to steal a business card, though? If you don’t mind - I’m not sure if my bride-to-be has a bakery in mind, but I can at least give her a glowing recommendation of yours.”
“Certainly, I always love recommendations because I know friends are less likely to send bridezillas my way,” Peeta commented with a laugh as he reached over to grab one of the business cards from behind the register. He came back over and handed it over to her, “When is her big day? And are you excited to be a maid of honor?” He was assuming as much since it seemed like Leliana was quite involved in helping plan the wedding.
A Maid of Honor had many important roles. To make arrangements for the bridal shower and bachelorette party, convey with complete honesty whether or not the dress the bride chose was an utter travesty, and to help make sure everything was precisely in line for the bride’s big day. No ifs, buts, or excuses, and part of Leliana’s specialty was delivering threats.
Alright, perhaps she took the role with a bit too much dedication, but that was predominantly that deathly protective side shining through those sapphire eyes and sweet smile.
“Very much not a bridezilla, I promise you. She is one of ours - and by that, I mean someone who is not a stranger to this place and its weirdness.” A quick ‘thank you’ breathed, and she tucked the card into her purse. “Still toying with the dates, last I heard, but I’m going to assume it is on the horizon. She’s an old friend, so excitement is almost too bland of a word to even describe it.”
At least Leliana had a handle on what it meant to be a Maid of Honor because Peeta certainly didn’t. He had vague notions of what the right-hand positions to the bride and groom were, but he hadn’t been involved in any weddings so far in his life. Well, there was that time as a ring bearer when he was younger, but that didn’t count towards anything except embarrassing photos. And Peeta would never fault anyone for taking their role seriously because that meant a lot more to the bride and groom in the end that their trust wasn’t misplaced.
“Oh good and that is lovely to hear. I really enjoy helping our people because they totally deserve it. We put up with way too much shit sometimes. And no worries on knowing the exact date. It gives me a bit more time to work if she comes in early enough. So, basically, you’re incredibly ecstatic about it,” there was a playful smile on his face as he said there. There was amusement in his eyes and he could see that just even speaking about her friend made Leliana glow.
“Alright, so what can I get you? I can’t let you leave my bakery without at least someone to eat. Whatever you want, it’s on me, as a thank you for the lovely gift basket.”
“We do put up with a monumental amount of shit, yes,” she agreed, though the foul word sounded a little funny coming from her. Must have been the all too delicate accent. Usually vulgarity was saved for her native language - sounded much more intimidating coming from her foreign tongue.
Now, his offer of a pastry made her eyes lit, soft blues with bits of brightness. Leliana was very much a sucker for sweets, but since Peeta was the expert here… “Mmmm…” Her finger tapped against her chin thoughtfully. “Give me your absolute favorite. The one you are most proud of. I’m sure I can’t go wrong with the baker’s top choice.”
The swearing did make Peeta grin a little. It was completely her accent that made it even more humorous because it was unexpected. He was used to swearing from just about anyone, something you put up with in the military, but she made him want to laugh, “I’m hoping that maybe we’re just part of some weird reality show and we’ll all be able to retire on a beautiful island somewhere.”
“Do you know how hard it is to pick my favorite? But there are two things that I am really proud of. First is the fruit tart,” he leaned down to grab the item out of the case and put it it in a box, “It is one of my favorite things to eat. And the other is my red velvet cupcake that has some chocolate in the middle. Simplistic, but seems to be one of my best sellers. Now, try these and then you can start explore the other things on the menu next time.” He then put the cupcake in the box as well and moved to where she was to hand it over.
Eeeeeee, was Leliana’s internal (almost external) squeal. Peeta had her beaming. It was the simple, sweet things that got her giddy on a good day. Bad days were messier. “Thank you. I have something of a notorious sweet tooth, and this may just be my dinner.”
She ate like a bird anyway. Little snacks here and there, sometimes they involved strictly something sugary, but she didn’t sit down for a meal all that often. Too busy on the go, or just to busy to eat in general. “I trust your judgement. And will happily return to taste a couple more things. You and Gale might have to wheel me out in a sugar coma.”
There was a thought.
“I will certainly help you out if you end up in a sugar coma. Might as well give these muscles something to do that isn’t kneading dough,” Peeta commented with a soft laugh. At least he now knew how to please Gale’s girl-friend, which was with his natural ability to make sweets. Being a baker certainly seemed to come in handy for making friendships. And Leliana seemed more than happy to come around more often and help him out if he ever needed to taste test anything.
“I shouldn’t keep you around here all day. We’re unfortunately actually quite boring most days, except when there are flour incidents. Thank you again so much for the engagement basket, I’m sure Alyssa is going to absolutely love it. I’m really glad to speak to you in a one-on-one setting as well,” he didn’t mind group settings for meeting someone new, but you never really got a chance to truly know someone until you were alone with them. And so far Leliana had his seal of approval.
“You might find it useful too - not just Alyssa,” Leliana giggled. There was a couple of things in there for him too, since weddings didn’t have to be all about the bride. It was a fairly important day for the groom too, wasn’t it? Goods in arm, it looked like she had everything she needed to get going. Errands didn’t run themselves, unfortunately. “Thank you again, for these. And get back to -” Another giggle, motioning towards the little bit of flour mess. “Back to work, I suppose. Wouldn’t want to keep you from mentoring your new protege.”
“Ha de ha, I’m never going to live this down. At least I know we can only go up from here with their training. But again, thank you so much, and hope you enjoy the treats. Let me know what you think and don’t be a stranger,” Peeta commented with a laugh as he reached up to wipe his brow and found more flour on his hand. That earned a hearty laugh as he moved to grab the basket and store it in the back room until it was time for him to leave, “Hope to see you again soon, Leliana.”