Crescent x Gradient Oneshots

How Cres got the job but also here's a special for Gradient's birthday

A/N: It's a prequel to the serial killer restaurant AU that was based of a skit someone in my sister's class did.

Crescent grumbled in frustration as he searched through the online store for something his friend would like.

It was Gradient's birthday and he wanted to get him the perfect gift to thank him for giving him a place to stay.

It shouldn't be this difficult. He just had to get one thing.

However, it seemed that anything he would have liked was out of stock, or wouldn't be shipped over for another two months.

He didn't have two months!

Maybe he could make something instead? That would be easier than buying something that might break.

He didn't have any skill in art, so that was out of the question.

Maybe he could cook? With his tendrils, he could probably make a few meals...

Yes, that sounded like a good idea!

What could he make?

Cake, of course. What kind of birthday doesn't have cake? Gradient liked chocolate, so he could make a chocolate cake. And then maybe to balance out the sweetness, some kind of side dish? But what would go well with cake?

Crescent mumbled to himself as he started heading to the kitchen and glancing around.

He was glad that nobody was here at the moment. If he managed to embarrass himself here, in the house of a restaurant owner, at least there wouldn't be anyone to witness it.

That shouldn't be a problem though. After all, his father had ran a restaurant too. He could make a few dishes without any problem.

But just in case he did somehow mess up...

He sighed, shaking his head as he started gathering ingredients. He needed to focus.

He hummed to himself as he started getting to work.

He started on the cake first, since he was so sure that he was going to make that.

Dry ingredients go in one bowl, wet ingredients in the other. He could do this.

Should he make frosting for the cake too?

He'd make the cake first, he decided. And if there was enough ingredients left over, he'd make frosting too.

.•.•.•.

He dried his hands off, looking at the finished cake. He ended up having extra ingredients so he had made frosting too.

He'd just kept it simple and wrote "Happy Birthday" on the cake to finish it off.

Now for that side dish...

"Crescent, did you make this?"

"I- um- it's not finished yet, Gradient!" he exclaimed.

"The cake?" he asked.

"No, that- that's finished. I was gonna make something else to balance the sweetness," he mumbled, fiddling with his phalanges.

"You don't have to do that," Gradient said softly. "My father was going to be cooking dinner for me. What flavour is the cake?"

"Chocolate..." Gradient was silent for a moment.

"Do you mind if I have a slice?" he asked finally.

"It- it was for you, anyway."

"Great! Thank you," he said, grabbing a knife to cut the cake. "You know, cake is our restaurant's specialty."

"It is?" he asked. "I didn't know that..."

"We only offer it to specific people, as of right now," he replied, as he placed the slice onto a plate.

That's... a bit weird. Father always made sure to offer the special to everyone.

"Oh," he said softly, before adding as Gradient took a bite, "do you... do you like it...?"

"This is amazing!" he replied. "I didn't expect it to be this good."

"Thank you...?"

"What else can you make?" he asked.

"I can... I can make different kinds of curry, I guess," Crescent said softly. "Technically, I could make multiple things at once... but I might mess that up, if I'm not careful..."

"Can you try? I wanna see," he said.

"Try what?"

"Making multiple dishes at once. I just wanna see how you'd do it."

"I guess so..."

That was how Crescent found himself working his first shift as a chef at Bluemoon's two weeks later.