Word Count: 1710
"Well, guess that's how it goes," Y/N grumbled as she looked the list of names up and down. The rankings for the previous week's tests were out, so Y/N had shown up to check them like the rest of her class.
Coming in at twenty-first, Y/N was situated around her usual score. It was a good enough ranking but hardly a result that stood out. She hadn't found this exam any more challenging than previous ones, though it was still a relief to see she'd done as well as she'd expected.
Surprising no one, Rosé reigned over all the rest from her typical first-place position. She truly was a genius, but Y/N knew perfectly well that she didn't attain that position without applying herself. Y/N had often seen her studying after dinner. She wasn't about to argue that Rosé wasn't smart, but she felt confident that it was the hard work that put her at the top more than anything else.
"Rosé is first again, huh?" I mumbled.
"Of course she is. The angel's on a whole different level," Jennie commented, causing Y/N to make a sour face.
"What's with that look? Was your rank that bad?" Jennie came over, puzzled by her friend's odd expression.
Only the top fifty test scores had been posted. As such, Jennie hadn't come to see her own score, but rather, to accompany Y/N.
"It's nothing. I'm twenty-first."
"Oh? Isn't that better than last time?"
"Only by a little. Gotta consider the margin of error."
"Whoa, you clever people even speak differently compared to us common folk," Jennie grinned.
"Yeah, yeah." Y/N ignored her friend's sarcasm and turned back to the class rankings.
She knew Rosé really gave it her all when it came to studying. She didn't like all that effort to show, however, so she worked tirelessly in secret to make her success look like it came naturally.
Others might've praised her or called her a genius, but since they didn't know about all the behind-the-scenes struggling, they couldn't recognize her actual accomplishments.
That must have been an oppressive way for Rosé to live.
"I should at least do something," Y/N whispered.
"Hmm? What did you say?"
"Nothing. Come on, let's go back to class."
"Kay."
-
"Huh? What's this, Y/N?"
Rosé had gone to the supermarket and returned with dinner ingredients.
When she had started to put them in the refrigerator, a conspicuously unfamiliar white box had caught her eye. "Hmm? Ah, it's a cake."
It was likely that Rosé already had an inkling as to the box's contents based on its shape, but she'd gone ahead and asked anyway. Y/N had gone to a patisserie that Lisa talked about a lot on social media to buy the cake. "Do you like cake?" Rosé asked.
"Not really. I bought it for you."
"What? Why?"
"I thought it would be nice as a little celebration because you were top of our year on the test. It's to congratulate you."
Rosé quickly blinked a few times, unable to process that the cake was for her. She looked quite taken aback.
"But I get the top rank every time, so it's not really something to celebrate," she protested.
"Well, you're always working hard, so I thought it might be nice to get a reward for once. It's a shortcake. I hope you like that."
"Huh? I mean... I don't hate it or anything..."
"Great. Have some after dinner."
While Rosé still looked a bit troubled, Y/N cut the conversation off there. She had decided that it would be best to act like this was no big deal since Rosé always seemed troubled when people treated her like she was special.
Rosé was the type of person who would exhaust herself taking care of someone else but then neglect herself. Y/N had never once seen the girl do anything enjoyable for her own sake, and whenever anyone praised her or showed appreciation, she would just redouble her efforts and run herself down.
Simply put, Rosé was not good at accepting kindness from others. Y/N hadn't known her for all that long, but she was sure that much was true. That's why she wanted to return just a little bit of the kindness Rosé was always showing her.
Y/N smiled again as Rosé got everything ready in the kitchen and began cooking for that night.
After dinner, Rosé put the cake on a plate and brought it over to the coffee table with a nervous expression. Y/N couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.
"Why are you laughing?"
"Nothing. Don't worry about it."
"It doesn't seem like nothing."
"It's fine-stop worrying."
Y/N found it amusing that Rosé was acting so stiff, but Y/N's laughter clearly bothered her. She was supposed to be showing her some appreciation, not making fun of her, so Y/N quickly shut up.
Rosé set the cake and the coffee she had brought along with it on the low table, then sat down on the sofa.
Her movements were still slightly stilted, and Y/N felt another fit of laughter coming on, but Rosé was sitting next to her now, so she did her best to quash the temptation.
With a shy look in her eyes, Rosé glanced up at Y/N.
"Right, so congratulations," Y/N said.
"Thank you very much. But..."
"It's fine- just enjoy it. You worked hard."
"That's true, but..."
"Come on, eat up. Even you should treat yourself to something nice once in a while."
The deed was done, and the cake was already here. Rosé couldn't object to that. She gave a small nod before picking up the plate of cake and a fork.
"Very well, then I will gratefully accept this," she said.
"Please go ahead."
With a nimble wave, Rosé cut the cake into bite-size pieces with her fork and cautiously tried some. Y/N imagined that girls were naturally very picky about their sweets, but since she'd gotten the cake from one of Jennie's favorite shops, she was fairly confident it was a good choice.
She knew her hunch was correct when she saw Rosé's eyes widen slightly when she put the cake in her mouth, then the corners of her mouth relax slightly. Usually, Rosé's expressions didn't change all that much, but recently, she'd become a bit more animated, or perhaps it was that Y/N had gotten better at reading her emotions.
The mellow, carefree face that Rosé let show as she slowly savored her cake was one she made only while eating.
"Hmm? Is something wrong?" She must have noticed Y/N staring, and she quickly looked away.
"No, nothing," she answered hastily.
Now it was Rosé's turn to stare at Y/N. Suddenly, she snatched up the fork again, as if an idea had just struck her.
She stabbed one bite of cake and held it out toward Y/N in a suggestive way. In other words, she was offering to feed her.
"Oh, um... no, thanks, I didn't really want any," Y/N protested.
"Really?" Rosé asked.
"No, well, um... if it's alright."
A beautiful girl, hand-feeding her cake. For many gay people, it would be a dream come true.
Unfortunately, Y/N's shyness prevented her from enjoying the situation as much as she would've liked.
"You're the one who bought it in the first place, Y/N, so you've got to have some, too."
Rosé seemed entirely unaware of any of the implications behind her gesture. She maintained an ordinary, clueless expression as she held the cake out towards Y/N's mouth.
There was no way she could turn her down, so Y/N steeled herself and bit down. An incredibly sugary flavor instantly hit her.
"This is crazy sweet," she said.
"Well, it is cake."
That wasn't what Y/N had really been getting at, but Rosé remained oblivious. Sweetness spread through her mouth as she chewed, but she was too preoccupied with something else to appreciate the flavor.
"This really doesn't seem weird to you, does it?" Y/N questioned in a low voice.
She was practically gagging on sweetness and shame, and Rosé was acting like this was all quite normal.
Y/N snatched the fork from Rosé's hand and held out a bite of cake to her in the same way she had done for her.
Turnabout is fair play, right?
"Um." Rosé hesitated.
"Eat it," Y/N insisted, her tone surprisingly forceful. Rosé looked even more confused.
Perhaps knowing that she had started this, she decided to play along and timidly took a quick bite. The action reminded Y/N of a small bird nipping at something.
Y/N stared at Rosé as she chewed, and gradually, a change came over her. At first, she had just looked entirely bewildered, but as her mouth moved, a slight redness spread across Rosé's face.
By the time she swallowed the cake, there was no hiding her obvious embarrassment. Rosé's usually milk-white cheeks now resembled apples, and her eyes were shimmering, slightly blurred with tears.
"So what do you think?" Y/N asked.
"It's d-delicious..."
"Not that. What do you think about being fed?"
Surely Rosé understood now how Y/N had felt earlier, and her eyes shifted down to look at the floor while she trembled faintly. "I feel very much like running away."
"I bet you do. That's exactly the sort of thing that might give people the wrong idea, you know. Save it for your straight friends, okay?" Y/N turned away sharply to emphasize her point.
"Okay," Rosé replied in a voice that was barely above a whisper.
She'd probably only fed Y/N so easily because she trusted her and only see her as a friend. Rosé hadn't meant any harm by it, of course, but it was still troublesome.
A stubborn sweetness still clung to the inside of Y/N's mouth.
Guess someone feeling too safe around you can be its own kind of problem.
In the end, Rosé curled up into a ball next to Y/N, looking slightly embarrassed as she let a small sigh escape.