Hi hi! It's been a long time everyone, but don't think you can get rid of me so easily! Lately, I've been feeling extra nostalgic and have been watching the Yumeiro Patissiere anime and reading the manga again (even though I really should be working on my final assignments for my second year of university, yes, that's how old I am now lol). I left a long time ago saying that I didn't know when I would be back and that my muse for this fandom had disappeared. Can you believe that was almost 3 years ago? I know most of my fanbase must have left by now, as we're all growing older and moving on with our lives, but I couldn't help but whip up a new drabble after years of not writing Yumeiro Patissiere fanfiction. I had fun writing it, which was refreshing! By the time I was writing stories for this fandom back in 2014/2015 it felt much more like a chore than something fun to do. I can't promise any consistent updates, but I can say that I am still around and all the notifications from this account get sent to my e-mail, so if you message me or leave a review, I will get it, don't you worry!

I hope you enjoy this little story!

~Mikashi-chan / Carole :)

Life as We Know It

"Ichigo… Wake up."

The young brunette squeezed her eyes shut, turning over, "No."

"You're so stubborn," her partner said again, pressing his palm against her shoulder blades. "Come on, it's 10am already."

Ichigo opened her eyes slowly, adjusting to the morning light filtering into the room. She had left the window ajar the night before, and a soft breeze swept the paper thin curtains into a dance. "Mmmm, 5 more minutes," she whispered, turning back around.

"You're so lazy," his soft hands moved her hair out of her face. "You're lucky it's a Saturday."

"Speak for yourself, I don't see you getting up anytime soon."

She shifted her legs under the blanket, her feet finding his calves and intertwining their legs together. She pressed her face into his chest, pleased when his arms circled around her, "I wish we could stay like this forever," she murmured into his chest.

A lazy Saturday morning, the sweet French breeze wafting through the window, the beat of his heart in his chest, the smell of chocolate. Everything about this moment was a dream come true. She felt his muscles relax finally, submitting to her wishes, as she hoped he would. "We can't have forever, but we can have right now." He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.

Ichigo wondered to herself how she had gotten here. It seemed like just yesterday she had transferred to St. Marie academy, burning crepes and being yelled at by that devil, Kashino Makoto. But she had grown stronger and stronger every day. With the help of her friends (and even that terrible Kashino), she had found the courage to join the Japanese Cake Grand Prix. Not to say the journey wasn't easy. Her and her team mates struggled through hardships, but the fact remained that they stuck together.

When they went to Paris, all they had were each other.

Just months ago, it was through the strength of her friends that Ichigo was able to create her own strawberry tart. After the countless hours she had put into honing her craft, she had done it; surpassed her grandmother and looked forward to an exciting future. Henri Lucas wanted to train her to be the best, just like his grandfather had done for her grandmother. Ichigo had once kept him on a pedestal. She strived for his attention, yearned for it. But life had a funny way of not working out that way.

It was through her hardships that she also got to know Kashino Makoto. The third, and most sardonic of the sweet princes, he and Ichigo had gotten off on the wrong foot from the start. He was rude, crass, and never seemed to show any sort of sympathy. He criticized her constantly, and fought tooth and nail with her. And yet, she couldn't help but feel that she owed her successes to him.

Though harsh, his chiding pushed her to try harder, to catch him in this ever running game of cat and mouse. She wanted to be his equal, someone that he acknowledged, but with the skill she had when they met, that was impossible.

But through getting to know him, she found that beneath his hard exterior, he had the kindest heart. She wondered why he seldom showed it, but found that the more she got to know about him, the more of his heart she was able to see.

Kashino Makoto was in fact, one of her strongest supporters from the start. He was brash and hard headed, yes, but he was bad with words and expressing his true feelings. But perhaps the reason he and Ichigo got along so well was because they complimented each other. Her way of connecting with people's hearts, and his way of being painfully honest, helped the two grow in ways that wouldn't have been possible on their own.

The more she knew about him, the more she was intrigued. She wanted to know every part of him; his likes, his dislikes, his strengths, and his weaknesses. She wanted to be there to support him when he needed her, and she always wanted him to be there when she turned around.

"What are you thinking about?"

His voice brought her back to the present, their moment, this taste of what forever might feel like. "Nothing, just thinking about what we were like when we first met."

"Huh? You like thinking about that?" He rolled his eyes, one of his hands smoothing out the hair on the top of her head. "We're different from who we were back then. Lord knows you couldn't have beaten Team François the way you were then."

Ichigo laughed, looking up at him. When he looked at her, there was this sparkle in his eye that made her feel safe. "And you couldn't have been this close to a girl as you are now."

He scoffed, pulling away from her, and smacking her lightly on the head, "Idiot." Slowly, he hoisted himself out of bed, and Ichigo sat up to look at him. His messy blonde bed head, and those pajamas that were a little bit too small. He had grown a lot in the past few months, but then again so had she.

"Makoto?"

Kashino paused, his hand on the door knob, "Yeah?" He turned back to look at her, and she simply smiled.

"Nothing, I'm just happier when you look at me."

Kashino laughed, opening her bedroom door, headed toward his own room before the others noticed where he was. "You're an idiot."

~Review Replies~

AmyNChan: It was a very dramatic one-shot for sure LOL.

8melody23: That's so kind of you! I treasure my Yumeiro Patissiere fanfiction very deeply, and once it became a chore, I was super discouraged by it. But, recently I've felt that my love for the series has come back, after watching it again! I can't promise any consistent updates, but I'm glad that I still love the show as much as I did when I was younger!

Guest: I am very much still alive! I don't come around here much because my life is crazy, but I am still around!

Guest: That's what I thought as well, once it became more of a job than a hobby, I found myself beginning to lost interest. I would write for the sake of pleasing people and getting their approval, and that was no fun. I'm happy to be writing on my own terms now!

Guest: LOL, yes I am actually quite old... I turn 20 this year, but I'm a child at heart! I started writing fanfiction for this site when I was only 11, oh how the years have gone by!

Guest: I'm glad you love them! That makes me so happy!

Not Voldemort: That's alright, feel free to PM me here, I get e-mails when I get sent messages, so I'll be sure to answer! I did find inspiration in watching the series again... It reminded me how much I love it!

Christiene7: Hi hi! To clear up some confusion, none of the stories are related to each other. Their all just stand alone stories that don't follow the plot line of any of the other chapters. They're just supposed to be fun little stories, so I don't elaborate much on what happens before and after each short story, but I hope you will still enjoy them!

Chocolate Rose: I'm so happy that you enjoy my stories! I don't ever want to stop writing things that I love, I've just had to take a long break to find what I loved so much about writing stories for this fandom. I'm not promising to be back consistently, but I thought I'd share a spark of my inspiration while I had it!

you fan: I'm so glad you love this story! I will write more when I can, though I can't promise anything. Thank you for your support!

kikithecatlover: I'm not giving up! I was very discouraged back in 2015, but I feel reinvigorated once again! No promises on the stories I bring to the table, but I hope to find happiness in writing fanfiction again!

pinklpscatty: That's a very intriguing idea... I'm not sure if I'm the person to write it. I used to take requests back in the day, but with a much busier life, I want to focus on writing the stories that I love. I hope that's alright with you!

ala8cibotori: It's been a long time since I've thought about that story! I feel as though I've outgrown it, and can't see myself pursuing it anymore... But do feel free to imagine up your own story based on what I've started!

Mayumi Nakamura: I can't believe you read all of the chapters in 1 day! That's a lot of reading! I'm so happy you enjoyed them :)

gleamqueen: That sounds fun! I did plan a story a long time back about Team Ichigo's time in Paris, though it would be a very long winded story that I don't think I can write for this series, and honestly don't have time to write at all. I'm not currently taking requests, because I want to write what I find fun and exciting, but if I find inspiration for a story like that, I'll try my best!

It's been a long time since I've been here, but I hope that I was able to bring you some joy or nostalgia, or both. The time I've spent writing fanfiction for this fandom and for this website is very precious to me, and I hope that I can continue to make people smile with the stories I create!

With love,

~Mikashi-chan / Carole :)