#350||347 - [4] - Fire Emblem - Mercedes/Leonie - Mistake (Remainder)

[mayemerald]

Title: N/A
Fandom: Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Pairing: Mercedes/Leonie
Rating: G
Prompt: (350) 347 - mistake
Word Count: 774

Summary: Mercedes finds herself with a ruined tray of macarons. Leonie offers suggestions.

Mercedes stared down at the tray of cookies in her hands. Macarons, she reminded herself, they were supposed to be macarons. It had been a rough week at the monastery. Even Annette had lost her enthusiasm, barely able to stay awake in class, let alone participate. Mercedes felt like time was slipping through her fingers against her will. She hadn’t made any progress on the spell the Professor had assigned her, the humidity made it impossible to look put together, and she could still feel the breath of a dying soldier her healing had been too late for.

So, she had decided to bake cookies. Macarons were notoriously difficult, but Mercedes had made them perfectly a dozen times. They were involved, with filling and decorations to be whipped up while the cookies rested and baked. There was always something to do. Baking was something she was good at, it was fun, and more importantly, it would cheer the others up. Fun. Cheer.

It was hard to see fun or cheering up in the ruined cookies before her. They had gone from pale green to ugly brown. They had cracked, revealing an odd, hollow gap between the bottom of the cookie and the broken top. It would be wasteful to throw them away and start over, but she couldn’t help but feel it would be equally a waste to use her carefully made chocolate ganache on these.

So, Mercedes stared down at the tray of cookies in her hands. She should at least put it on the counter. Step one. Then she could figure out what to do with her hands instead of just holding a tray.

“Oh! Hey, Mercedes! I was wondering who was making the mess hall smell so good!” A head of orange hair popped into the kitchen. Before Mercedes could even blink, Leonie had snatched one of the cookies up and taken a bite out of it.

“Ah, they aren’t—”

“Mmmmf!” Whatever Leonie had to say was stopped by her finishing the cookie in hand at a rapid pace. She wiped the crumbs off her face with a gloved hand.

“Mint, right? I’ve never had it sweet before. Sometimes we’d put it on roast meat or vegetables, if we were feeling fancy.”

“That’s right. Peppermint is pretty popular as a flavor for sweets in Faerghus. There’s, ah, some candies based on it.” Mercedes trailed off, unsure if Leonie was interested.

Leonie wrinkled her nose. “Those red and white striped ones? I always thought they were for the scent, like incense. I wouldn’t want to eat one… Oh, it’s much more subtle in these, though!”

“Well, yes. That way it wouldn’t overpower the filling…” Leonie meandered over to the counter, peering down at what Mercedes had arranged.

“Mint and chocolate? I volunteer to test ‘eme once you’ve assembled them.” Leonie nodded approvingly.

Mercedes bit her lip. “I don’t think I’ll actually put them together this time. The cookies aren’t really in any state to make a sandwich.” A small, bitter laugh came out against her will.

Leonie considered the tray. “I see what you mean. No structural integrity. What are you gonna do instead?”

Mercedes didn’t reply right away. “... I don’t know.” The frustration that had briefly subsided came back, almost bringing tears to her eyes. But she wasn’t going to cry over cookies. There were much more important things to deal with, and shedding tears wouldn’t fix those, either.

If Leonie noticed her thoughts, she didn’t react at all.

“What about some kind of tart, or pie? If you crumble them up, I bet they’d make a tasty crust. And chocolate on top.” She picked up another cookie and rubbed it between her thumb and pointer finger, dissolving it into dry, light brown bits.

“That’s not a bad idea at all.” Mercedes couldn’t see a problem with the concept. She would just need to think of some kind of filling for the pie. A custard, maybe, or some kind of fruit. She might even be able to scrounge up the ingredients for a cheesecake, since that would hold up better under the weight of the ganache.

She turned to head for the pantry to see what she could find, steps feeling much, much lighter than they had a few minutes ago.

“I still expect to be your taste-tester!” Leonie called out. Mercedes paused to look at her, leaning her hip against the counter, one elbow resting there to prop up her chin with her hand. There was an amused smile on her lips.

Mercedes laughed. “Only if you earn it. If you can pull a bow, you can whip some cream.”