InsaneJournal

Who: Peeta Mellark and Caroline Forbes
What: Caroline comes to get her order from Peeta
When: After this
Where: Mellarky
Rating: G
Status: Complete


The exchange with Caroline on the network had been really amusing and Peeta was excited to put together some food for her to try. He had made some pepperoni rolls for her and some for the shop, and honestly a couple for him to take home later. It was such a simple recipe but absolutely delicious. He was also working on a Swedish Princess Cake now that he had brought it up because he was craving it. That one would take a little longer, but she was more than happy to bring her in the back to watch him finish it up. Right now the cake was chilling in the fridge and he had finished up the marzipan and the two would be combined once time was up.

He was working on cleaning up the cases when the door chimed. He looked up and saw Caroline walk in and a smile appeared on his face, “Hey stranger.”

Caroline was excited to see Peeta again. More excited than she should be for someone she was working with. But she couldn’t seem to calm the fluttering in her stomach. Besides this was more of a social visit. She was just going to have to remind herself to stay professional. Even if she took some extra time to fix her hair and make-up before heading to Mellarky.

“Hey,” she replied returning his smile. “Long time no see,” she teased as she made her way over to him. “You want some help?” She didn’t mind helping Peeta clean the cases if it meant her visit to the bakery would last a little bit longer.

“Oh no, I’m good. Just some downtime cleaning, so not a big deal,” Peeta quickly replied back with a smile on his face. He was definitely not going to make her help him clean out cases. That was something left for his employees or himself. Besides, he was just keeping himself occupied and it didn’t have to get done right this minute.

“I’ve got your pepperoni rolls done and the princess cake is almost complete. Wanted to see if you wanted to watch me finish it up while you’re here,” he had no clue if she would care to watch him or not, but he wanted to at least offer it up instead of making her stand out here while he finished.

Caroline didn’t mind helping him clean. But she was kind of glad that wasn’t going to be how they were spending their time. Especially if it meant she was going to get to watch him bake. “And here I thought I was just coming for bread,” Caroline teased with a large smile. It was flattering that he had gone to make extra things for her simply because she had mentioned wanting to try his favorites.

“Like back in the kitchen?” she questioned with a raised brow. “This feels like some real VIP treatment,” she teased once again. “So yes. I would love to watch you finish up.”

“I mean, you can still have your bread, but I really wanted some pepperoni rolls after talking about them. You also need to at least have a slice of the princess cake because I also needed that after talking about it,” Peeta wouldn’t make her go home with the whole cake because it was a lot for one person, but he would have her try it and then probably give the rest out to his employees.

“Yeah, of course,” he answered breezily before moving to set down his cleaning items and then opening up the small partition that separated behind the counter to the lobby for her to walk through, “It shouldn’t take too long. Just need to take it out of the fridge, put the marzipan on it, and decorate.” Once she was behind the counter they went through the larger door to head into the back. The back room was pretty well organized, but it was a little messy from him making the princess cake and the green marzipan was waiting on the large stainless steel table.

“Very bossy about what foods I eat,” Caroline joked following him back into the kitchen. Of course she glanced around. She could tell he liked to keep in organized back there which of course Caroline was a fan of. She was all about organization. But it was also obvious he was in the middle of making something.

“I have time,” Caroline assured him. “No appointments for the rest of the day, so I won’t be rushing off this time.” At least it had felt like she had rushed off last time with how easy the conversation was flowing and then she just had to go. “Unless of course you want me to,” she added jokingly.

“Not being bossy, just offering up some other items for you to try. Can’t have you only eating bread forever,” Peeta teased her right back. The comment from Caroline drew a chuckle and he shook his head, “Of course not. I’m glad that you’re not going to rush out on me again.” It hadn’t been ideal, but he understood if she was busy. At least he hoped she was telling the truth about the other meeting she had.

He moved to the large refrigerator and pulled out the cake. It looked goofy without the marzipan on top - two layers of cake with jam in the middle and a dome of whipped cream. “She’s not a looker yet, but I promise she tastes delicious,” he commented as he brought the cake to the table and then draped the green marzipan over the cake. He prodded at it a bit to make sure everything looked perfect before grabbing the piping bag and making small flowers around the bottom edges.

“Hey!” Caroline protested with a laugh. “You don’t know what I eat… besides maybe I’m not here just for the bread,” she paused her eyes on Peeta. “Or the treats.” Okay maybe she shouldn’t have said that. This was supposed to be a professional relationship after all. But she couldn’t help the flirting. It was part of her nature, and well Peeta was hot and she enjoyed talking to him.

She had definitely been telling the truth last time. Her days were often full of different appointments. She tried not to schedule them back to back, but sometimes that was just how it worked out. Her eyes went from Peeta to the cake he had pulled out. “If your bread was anything to go by I’m sure it does,” she replied with a small smile. “Besides, I like getting to watch people create. I don’t get to do it often.”

At the not here for bread and treats comment Peeta couldn’t help but turn and look at her, catching her eyes on him. A small smirk appeared on his face, at least he wasn’t reading this situation wrong. Their professional relationship wasn’t that big of a deal - he’d deliver her a bunch of bread and away she would go with it to the party. The caterers would take care of it from there and Peeta would just hope that it brought people into the store.

“Well, maybe you’ll have to try it more often,” Peeta had toyed with the idea of doing some group baking lessons at the bakery, but hadn’t decided one way or the other yet. He could possibly convince Caroline to be his guinea pig and see if he would even be good at teaching people how to bake. He finished decorating the cake and then grabbed the knife on the table, cutting two slices. He moved to grab a couple plates and forks before holding one out to her, “Let me take you out to dinner.”

“Maybe I will,” Caroline agreed, watching as he finished up the cake. She had no idea how it got looking so pretty so fast. Probably would have taken her a lot longer to decorate like that and she was sure it wouldn’t have turned out half as good. But that was why she wasn’t a baker.

She accepted the plate and was about to head out to the tables when he mentioned dinner. It took her a little by surprise. While she could feel there was chemistry between them she still wasn’t exactly expecting a dinner invite. “Okay,” Caroline replied. “When?”

Years and years of practice was how you got things done quickly. Also throw in a timed cooking competition and you become pretty well skilled at doing things fast. Also, piping was pretty quick to do and laying out the marzipan could take a while but he got lucky. He grinned a little at her surprise and then gave an easy going shrug of his shoulders, “Tonight? Tomorrow? Whenever you’re free.” He just wanted to get her into a space where they could talk about themselves and he could learn more about her.

“Tomorrow?” Caroline offered. Not that she technically had plans tonight but it was very short notice for a date, or a dinner. Because she had no idea if it was a date or not, but she was kind of hoping it was. Unlike her last dinner invitation. “Seven?” she added wanting to solidify plans. She liked to have everything in order.

“Sure,” Peeta readily agreed, not bothering to check his schedule because he could figure that out later, “Do you want to meet here and then go out or do you want me to pick you up at your place?” He moved to open up the door so they could go back into the lobby and sit down at a table to eat their cake together. He was curious what her answer would be and he was already trying to run through places they could go eat in his head, “also, cuisine of choice?”

Caroline raised a brow at the mention of being picked up. Yeah this was definitely beginning to feel more like a date than just dinner. “Picking me up?” she questioned tone light as she followed him out to the table. “This almost sounds like a date,” she teased even though she was pretty sure it was. “But you should know I don’t just go out giving my address to anyone.” Caroline took a bite of her cake before continuing. Damn, it was good. “No matter how well they can bake.” She gave him a large smile before answering his last question. “Italian.”

“Oh, it’s definitely a date, nothing professional about this,” Peeta commented with a grin as they sat down and he took a bite of his cake. A grin appeared at her comment and he couldn’t help but laugh, “Well, I can always meet you at whatever restaurant I end up picking out if you don’t want to give me your address. I can start looking right now if you want.” He hoped she was teasing a little bit, but he also wanted to make sure she was comfortable. He grabbed his phone to go to yelp and find a good Italian place to eat around here.

She was definitely teasing. Part of her also wanted to make sure that they were both on the same page regarding dinner. Which it seems like they were. “In that case,” Caroline said grinning right back at him. “You can pick me up.” If she had met him on a dating app or something it would be a different story. But she already knew Peeta and she trusted him. At least enough to give him her address.

"Perfect," a happy smile flashed at Caroline, "then I will keep the restaurant a secret until then." It would also give him a little bit more time to do some more research into where he should take her. He stood up quickly and went behind the counter to grab her order, "just so I don't forget later." It was nice to just sit and chat with her right now that he wouldn't want to interrupt it later.

She was about to object to the keeping the restaurant a secret aspect. Because how would she know how to dress? It didn’t really matter though, she doubted it would be a place with a dress code like her last dinner. Thank goodness because that wasn’t exactly her style. She knew how to dress for a first date, so if Peeta wanted to surprise her fine. Besides she was distracted by him getting a box for her anyway. She had almost forgot that was what she had come for. Or at least her excuse for why she came.

“Thanks,” Caroline said setting it to the side of the table. She’d take it with her when she left, but for now she just wanted to enjoy her cake and Peeta’s company.