Tara's new position was comfortable and funny. She had her two, comfy 'pillows' on either side of her, she was able to hold onto the neck of Lucy's shirt, which was thick enough for her to grip tightly to, and best of all, she could feel her girlfriend all around her as they began to make their way towards the kitchen. Warmth and heat was coming from Lucy's body and it quickly heated Tara up. She could also feel the soft, yet firm thumps of her heart, pushing against her, telling her that she was right there, her heart open to her. To feel her girlfriend, able to warm her up, just by holding her close made Tara feel wonderful. Lucy was her own, personal heater, just like she was many other things for her.

Slightly tired from everything they'd just gone through, and her hiccup incident, she leaned her head back and the two side, watching the walls of the hallway and living room pass her by, as if she were a little kid, tired and leaning against the window of a car, her parents driving her home from the day's events. She saw them pass her by, again and again, the kitchen slowly getting closer to her. She's actually closed one eye, starting to get a little too comfy on Lucy. She could sleep on her, like this. She could just shut down and fall asleep, nothing but her and Lucy's body to keep her warm and snug.

She did not get a chance for this, however. By the time her eyes were getting ready to shut the rest of the way, her body ready to head off into dreamland, they made it into the kitchen. “We're here!” called out Lucy, waving her arms out as she walked up to the counter. Her voice and action had immediately woken Tara from her partial sleep, like a student about to fall asleep in class and having a ruler slapped on the desk, in front of them. She gasped and her heart raced as she dealt with the shock of what had just happened. Her head turned every which way until she realized that they were in the kitchen. “Oh...you scared me!”

The chest behind Tara rapidly moved up and down as Lucy started to laugh. Tara quickly slapped her heels together and hovered out of Lucy's shirt to avoid being shaken out of control. She knew Lucy, and knew that she laughed quite hard, when something was really getting to her funny bone. Tara came down on the counter in front of her, finding a mixing bowl right next to her. It's rim was just as high in the air as she was, and she put her hands over it, looking down into the bowl. She looked back at Lucy as she looked around. “W-Where's everything we need?”

Tara was right in the fact that they were missing a lot of ingredients. They needed to get out the equipment, eggs, vegetable oil, and most importantly, the cake mix. All that was really out was the mixing bowl, and her little helper. The equipment, eggs, and oil would be simple, but as Lucy thought about it, she realized that she had completely forgotten about the cake mix. It was in the house, but not in the kitchen. She had it in the closet, with all of the decorations and gifts that she didn't want Tara to see. It was with everything that she'd compiled for the party.

“Umm...” said Lucy, starting to get slightly nervous. She needed a plan, and she needed one fast. She couldn't blow the secret now. The party was only a day away, and she needed to be sure to keep that secret until the next morning. Looking around, both eyebrows raised and she walked over to a cabinet. “Oh! Right! Here, I'll get the beater down from this shelf. She knew Tara was watching her as she walked over to the cabinets and pulled down a small electric mixer. As she brought it down, she set it down by Tara and plugged it into the wall. The beaters were already hooked onto it, so all they had to do was get the ingredients into the bowl and start mixing.

Trying to put on a more confident face, Lucy got out a whisk, putting it next to the bowl, and Tara, and then looked at her, an idea forming in her head as to how she could retrieve the cake mix without her knowing. “Okay, Tara! We still need Milk, Vegetable Oil, 3 Eggs, and the Cake Mix. Can you get the eggs and the oil out while I go get the mix from the other room?” This was a rather nervous statement from her, but the only thing she thought of to say. If Tara was busy, getting the other ingredients, she might not find out that the cake mix was in with all of the other stuff in the closet, that she wanted to keep a secret from her.

“S-sure, Lucy. I can get all that, no problem. But, why isn't the cake mix here in the kitchen? Where is it?” Lucy had already partially turned to get the cake mix, but froze when Tara inquired about the location of the cake mix. “Oh, um...I forgot it in the other room, when we were putting the groceries away this week! It won't take but a second. I'll be right back, okay?” Tara could sense the nervousness coming from Lucy. The Arte gave her many abilities, and she felt she had a sort of sixth sense about Lucy, at this point. Looking up to her, she nodded. “Alright. Just don't be too long or I'll have the whole thing made without you!”

Lucy got a small grin on her face as she walked away as Tara darted off towards the cabinets, aiming to get some of the ingredients. She let out a sigh as soon as she reached the hallway. “Well, that was close. I almost couldn't think of anything to tell her. Poor girl. I'm hiding stuff from her, and have to make excuses to go to the store, to go to the other room to find a stupid cake mix. I can't wait until all of this is over and we can get this thing going. I want to stop keeping secrets from her. Even if this is supposed to be hidden, I love her and don't like hiding things.”

Lucy came to the bedroom and slowly slid the closet door opening. She knelt down and opened up a plastic bag, procuring the cake mix. She stayed down there for a second and stared at it. It read “Funfetti”. It was a colorful kind of cake, with all sorts of bright colors in the actual cake mix. She thought it was perfect to represent all of the brightness that has come into her life since Tara had. She stared at it for a few moments, not realizing that she was not alone in there. At the very edge of the hallway, on the border of the doorway, Tara's head was peeking out, watching Lucy and her cake mix...