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artificialqueens · 2 years

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Let's Take Over The World, Hand In Hand, 3/21 (Taywhora) - M8existing

AN: Content warning - smut, calling cigarettes f*g, excessive drinking

I hope you enjoy this chapter! This story will have regular smut. And eventual drug use, which I will start labelling clearly at the top of author notes. And the chapters where the story gets emotionally heavy, I will leave an ample warning here as well.

Also, if there are younger readers, please read at your discretion, and pay attention to content warnings if you do not think you are comfortable reading!

Concrit welcome. I love reading any comments if you have time! I just want to improve my writing!

This story is part 2 of the “Love you, Stupid” Series.

You can read my series on Ao3 here: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2683612.

***

Chapter 3 Summary: It’s Nice Out

April 2020

It has been a fun two months living together. But Tayce has too many women who adore her, and Aurora is a little jealous. This, mixed with the crushing rejection from another interview. And Gucci is sucking the life out of her.

She is desperate for a night out to drown her sorrows in booze. But instead, she finds herself in an unexpected compromising position.

Perhaps this will give her a much-needed confidence boost.

***

Aurora finds the ease of living in a house with five other people surprising. Perhaps it's because their personalities mesh well or their shared interest in fashion; whatever it is, it has been a lively two months. She has fallen into her own comfortable routine within their home, and the monotony of life is less.

Aurora wakes up to an alarm, 6:00 am, laying in for another five minutes before removing her sleep mask. She stretches in bed, empties her water bottle and opens her planner. She scribbles any design ideas that pop up in dreams and writes her three daily goals and gratitudes.

She wanders down the three flights of stairs after cleaning her teeth to do her daily workout in the living area. The only other person awake this early is Bimini, who does yoga and joins Aurora for a fitness app workout. They push themselves hard, which always leaves Aurora dripping with sweat.

But Bimini manages easily. Their physique is truly something else. They only come up to Aurora's shoulder in height, but they are incredibly fit. Wearing baggy shorts and a crop top, their gloriously muscular ass, solid legs and those abs peeking out leave Aurora envious.

Bimini simply shrugs whenever Aurora compliments her figure, attributing it to her vegan diet, pole dancing, watching minimal tv and having a PMA. Positive mental attitude.

After the workout, Bimini massages Aurora, applying firm pressure, cuddling into her from behind and complimenting her improving muscle tone. Fortunately, Bimini hasn't calmed down with her touchiness. But somehow, Asttina doesn't care, so Aurora just enjoys the attention since it isn't coming from elsewhere.

A soothing air surrounds Bimini. They always lounge around reading, water the plants and type away on her laptop. The conversations are insightful, but they are also hilarious. Their intelligence shines through in their humour.

And the vegan curries are delicious.

After a workout, Aurora feels the burn climbing the agonising stairs back to her top floor room, showers, and then goes down one level to Ellie's room. They both share a similar work schedule, working five days a week at the shopping centre, and enjoy each other's company whilst getting ready.

They became friends in college. Ellie has the same passion for design but is interested in costuming and whimsical looks. Dreaming of working for West End productions, Ellie works at a makeup counter for now. Her creativity is unmatched, and she taught Aurora most of the makeup techniques she uses now. Without Ellie, Aurora would probably look like an orange chav mess.

Listening to electronic pop music, competing with the music from the studio below, they do their makeup at her freshly painted lavender vanity. They chat about Ellie's latest escapades since she's a horny menace, laugh at their own incredibly crude jokes and talk about their career goals.

Ellie feels underestimated during her interviews, and Aurora is fed up with running around, doing admin work and buying coffees during internships. She wants a design job but hasn't gotten past first-round interviews.

They change into their work attire. Aurora grabs her lunch and a protein bar to eat on the walk to the tube, looking over at Ellie chugging her daily monster. Aurora loves her twenty-minute journey to the tube is now only five.

They generally plan to arrive for work thirty minutes early so that they can talk more shit whilst Aurora smokes her vape and drinks a coffee. Ellie sips on another Monster. Aurora sighs. No matter how many times she's given the lecture about energy drinks and heart attacks, it never seemed to change Ellie's excessive caffeine habits.

The moment Aurora and Ellie walk through the door, they are greeted with a massive commotion in the living room.

Today, Tayce and Asttina are playing Mortal Kombat or whatever they call that violent game. And both girls are incredibly competitive. It's one of the rare times Tayce looks serious. Ellie asks to take turns for the next matches, and Aurora walks to the kitchen, grabbing a drink of water and an apple to observe it all.

Pip relaxes in an armchair, typing away on her laptop. Bimini rests against Asttina on the couch, reading a book. Both were relaxing and seeming unphased by the yelling and commotion coming from Asttina, Tayce, and now Ellie.

Aurora sees less of Asttina; she's rarely there in the morning as she closes herself off in the second-floor studio, choreographing routines for her Instagram and Tiktok. Her dream is to run her own dance company and be a renowned choreographer and dancer.

But at night, Asttina hangs with the group. At first, Asttina was intimidating, seemingly untouchable, with her unmatched self-confidence and beauty. Her skin is ebony with a natural glow. A muscular figure with a surprising busty chest and bubble butt to match.

But the one thing that makes her seem touchable is watching her adoration for Bimini. Asttina's black gaze is always warm when Bimini is in the room. Her confident stature relaxes, and her fun side comes.

The true Asttina comes out when Bimini cooks up a vegan feast or is laughing at the blondes stories, or right now, as Bimini leans against her, Asttina squeezes her leg between matches and kisses her.

They are a gorgeous couple, and Aurora envies them. Wishing someone would care for her in that way one day.

The household spends their evenings together, catching up on their day, talking shit and sharing a dinner, sometimes cooking a roast, but mostly ordering take out. Sometimes they watch movies or get into deep conversations.

It is fun. And at the end of the night, they all eventually retreat to their bedrooms. Pip is usually the first to go upstairs, sharing the top floor with Aurora.

Aurora thought Pip was on the outside of the group initially. Still, she quickly realises they are arguably the most adored, emanating an air of mystery with a dry tongue that can cut a soul. They affectionately call her 'Sister Sister' for a reason.

When Aurora's social battery runs out, she heads upstairs. Often she'll find Sister sitting on one of the armchairs in the top floor landing. Sometimes Aurora sits for a chat and enjoys the mini jungle of the landing. It's a comfortable place to relax, with or without company.

Tonight, they chat about life, Sister offering to make her a Gin and Tonic, her minifridge seemingly endless with drinks.

The conversations are deep, watching the polluted sky of London and the moon peeking out behind the clouds. Sister is an enigma. When it comes to Sister's personal life, no one in the house knew what was real or fake. As a result, Sister is full of secrets.

No one knows her age. She just jokes that she was 17 and brushes off the subject. Sister is constantly typing away on her laptop and must be doing her job, but none of the girls knows what work is. Sister never alludes to even an industry she might work in or how much she makes. But Aurora and Tayce speculate the pay must be good.

Occasionally, Sister will start paying for all the drinks on a night out when she is drunk. Or shout dinner for a special occasion. Or surprise the household by buying all the groceries for the week and paying the bills.

Sister is the Queen of Bullshit and says she makes a modest living. Or that she hasn't worked a day in her life. So it is a mystery that she lives in a sharehouse if she is rich. But her company is like a warm, painfully dry hug.

The one thing they know is she is a woman of many talents. Sister plays the guitar, insisting she is rusty even though what she plays sounds beautiful and complex. Aurora finds it relaxing listening to Sister play through the wall.

They all know Sister's passion is photography. However, Aurora suspects it isn't what she does for work, as she still watches tutorials on editing photos.

Somehow, their conversations always end in tears. Sister has the uncanny ability to draw out even the most profound emotions from Aurora. After some mild teasing courtesy of Sister (as well as an offered tissue), Aurora says good night. She always works for an hour on her designs before showering and climbing in bed, pulling down her sleep mask. The exhaustion from the lack of sleep during the week makes her crash quickly. Finally, Aurora is ready to sleep and do it all again.

Tayce is a wild card. She's impulsive, with seemingly no routine and pops up at random times of the day. Tayce is irritable if she has an early shoot, complaining whilst making a coffee cup as they work out. They dance whilst smoking 'herbal remedies' in her room while applying facemasks. Tayce asks her to hang out whilst she gets ready late at night for work or meeting with friends.

Auroras crush flourishes. The flirting is subtle, and when drunk, not so much. Just a touch here, and suggestive joke there. Cuddling more tightly than she should and wearing less than usual, knowing she might accidentally flash when leaning forward. But Tayce seemingly shows no interest, and the hickeys and bruises on her chest sometimes prove it.

But Tayce is so elusive. The usual oversharer refuses to share her love life with Aurora, saying a lady never tells.

Aurora knows it stings. One dusk, when Aurora couldn't sleep, she caught Tayce in the backyard smoking, staring at her phone with glassy eyes. Aurora sneaks out, but when Tayce notices Aurora, she perks up. Standing to give her a tight hug, rocking them side to side whilst insisting she is fine and just reading something sad. She was chatting away, even though oceans crash in her black eyes.

Aurora grows curious, but it's impossible to know who. Why is that Welshie so goddamn loveable and contagious?

Sometimes, Tayce attends morning dance classes and joins them for the tube ride to London. Aurora has seen Tayce enter the studio with a few people. Usually, it is an impossibly tall girl with wild natural curls in a questionable outfit, with a tiny ginger girl who cuddles into her side.

But last week, a stupidly gorgeous brunette exuding femininity was waiting for Tayce outside the dance studio. With pale fake tits peeking out of her coat, beautifully styled curls, thick eyebrows, and a small smile on her lips as she hugs Tayce and whispers something too quiet to hear. Aurora felt a bit of an itch under her skin.

Some nights, Tayce asks Aurora to hang out while putting on makeup in her room. She talks a mile a minute. Sometimes she hangs out with Cherry, a goth wig designer Tayce met in college.

She has mentioned Kitty, who sounds like wild fun and shouts everything. Tayce says Kitty loves her spontaneous and hyper energy on a night out, and apparently, she is big shit in the West End.

When the world seems crazy, Tayce always enjoys a wholesome movie night with her friends Tia and Ronnie.

Then her boss Jo, who owns many bars around the city, including the Karaoke one, invites the girls out to her cabaret shows or dinner. She loves Tayce, Bimini and Asttina as her family away from home.

So many people adore Tayce. And why shouldn't they? She is perfect.

Perhaps Aurora is being obsessive. A bit too much. But seeing those beautiful onyx eyes flooding with crocodile tears.

Aurora can't help it.

***

A new part of her routine is job interviews. Lately, an evening each week has been dedicated to interviewing different companies, showing off her portfolio, and being eager for feedback. Anything to help her foot get in the door and out of Gucci.

It's Friday evening, and working at Gucci is draining the life out of her. Aurora scrolls through her notifications and emails.

For fucks sake! Not again…

There is a generic email of rejection from a fashion house. Aurora didn't have the best vibe during the interview, feeling like her designs didn't suit the company, and perhaps it wasn't the right fit. Nevertheless, she had applied because it would be a foot in the door.

But they dare not to give her a fucking call to tell her why?

It's frustrating, and she needs some release. She wants to yell, maybe even cry. Just get out these pent up jitters of constant rejection and ruthless competitiveness.

Aurora peers around the store, not a soul in sight beside her co-worker who is wiping down the counters, so she furiously stabs away at her phone.

[Aurora 19:46] tayce, I'm so fucked off right now. I need to get mortal.

[Aurora 19:48] els, pls tell me you're done soon. Want to get on the piss? Fuck everything

Her first instinct is always to message Tayce. She is a night owl and goes out most Fridays. Then see if Ellie is still at the shops and keen. They can get a head start if they don't head home. Aurora is so desperate for a drink she might even buy an outfit and ditch her uniform in the storeroom over the weekend.

[Tayce 19:55] love u boo boo, r u okay? Want me to come out early? We r at Vaude rn - free wine and dinner w jo xx.

[Aurora 19:57] Nah, I need to buy something, so I'll see you later. Love you too xoxo.

She flutters a little whenever Tayce says those words, even if it's just as a friend.

[Dirty DD 19:53] Hun, the fuck happened? Keen. I finish at 9:00.

[Aurora 19:59] thank fuck. I finish at 9 too. I'll meet you out front xo.

And like that, an hour flies by, and it's time to close shop, changing into her comfier boots and leaving her blazer behind. Thankfully, no one came in, so it was quick work. She vacuums the shop floor, finishes the til count, and gets her co-worker to help with refreshing stock, all while trying not to cry.

Aurora walks over to Sephora and hugs Ellie, feeling tears stream down her cheeks. Ellie's embrace is tight, shushing her hair and saying fuck them, picking up on her energy, assuming it was someone's fault. Ellie is like a giant Care Bear, stupidly colourful and always loving.

"We buy something slutty, then we will do shots, and you'll touch up on Tayce, yeah?" Ellie asks simply. The way she can read her mind is not surprising.

"Yeah… I got another rejection. This time by fucking email. I just don't know what I keep messing up," Aurora sniffles, clinging to the back of Ellie's shirt.

"Well, let's shop and get mortal, hun!" Ellie grabs Aurora's hands, pulling her along to the cheap stores, on the lookout for the shortest dresses ten quid could buy.

***

Electronic music booms and bright, colourful lights assault her senses. Already so loud for so early in the evening. Aurora can feel her boots sticking to the floor as she waits with Ellie to order their shots.

They are both wearing matching mini dresses, Aurora's black to fit her mood and Ellie's bright pink. Both girls are eager for some kind of affection, Ellie in colourful sneakers and ready to snog on the dancefloor whilst Aurora only has her eyes on Tayce. The dress is simple, like a long singlet, but tight to her curves with her black and gold work belt. And whilst her backup boots she leaves outback of Gucci aren't particularly sexy. Still, they're bloody comfortable and easy to dance in for hours.

Aurora hopes Tayce will be in the mood for dirty dancing tonight. The closest contact she gets since moving in is cuddling unless they get inebriated. Tayce looks like a goddess whilst dancing, grinding up against her friends. Aurora feels impatient until Tayce decides to run her hands along her body, moving her hips against her and giggling with that mischievous smile.

Aurora yearns and feels so fucking desperate, even though there are plenty of slags willing for a piece of A'whora.

But living with Tayce, it's hard to consider anyone else. She still loves a sneaky snog here and there with a beautiful stranger on the dance floor. Even allowing them to dry hump her thigh if they're particularly keen. But even when a gorgeous woman moans against her lips, and when Aurora cannot distinguish if it's sweat or that kind of wetness against her leg, her mind can't help but jump to Tayce.

Aurora wants to get over this crush so bad. Start fucking again since Tayce clearly isn't interested. Aurora was getting bored of her fingers and showerhead.

Hopefully, dancing in Tayce's arms should suffice. Aurora hopes to touch that toned ass and give into Tayce's soft fingertips and sneaky teasing.

Aurora returns to reality when Ellie shakes her shoulder, "oi, shot time, babes!"

"Fuck yeah," Aurora prepares herself, shaking her head before relishing the burn of cheap vodka down her throat, and sips her vodka soda as a chaser. Even though the lack of sweetness makes it worse.

Ellie shoves them through the crowd to the centre of the dancefloor, and they get to work. Ellie slut dropping seems to match Aurora's height as she texts Tayce, trying to find the group.

[Aurora 22:48] oi, we're on the dancefloor. You? xoxo

[Tayce 22:49] just having a fag, will get u soon xx

Aurora let the quick drinks in succession wash over her, the dance floor hot, loud and flashing. She enjoys the affection from Ellie grinding against her, squeezing her hands and yapping a mile a minute about how excellent Aurora is, stroking her bruised ego.

"Rora!" Her attention is caught by that sweet, charming accent screaming across the floor.

She watches Tayce shove through the crowd and is radiant as always in matching colours in long lavender pants and crop top.

"I love you so much, boo boo," Tayce’s boney arms squeezing around the small of her back were so comforting. Aurora melts into, swaying a little and wrapping her arms around Tayce's back, "I'll be fine. I've been rejected for another design role and just feel shitty. I don't know what I keep fucking up, but I swear I'll be stuck in Gucci forever."

"Baby, there is no way!" Tayce's leans in against her ear, speaking gently but loud, considering the booming vibrations of house music. "You're incredible, a star. So fucking talent. They're just blind, and you'll easily blow them out of the water when your brand grows."

It's sweet how much Tayce believes in her. She's her biggest fan since looking at her sketches at Christmas. She loves every piece she has made for the bar and is always willing to model any experimental garment.

"It just feels shit," Aurora pulls away and feels Ellie come up and hug her from behind.

"Well fuck em, let's get fucked up, baby! Til Bim has to drag us home," Tayce presses a big kiss into her forehead.

So they dance. They dance till her legs are sore. But how close she was to Tayce makes it all worth it. If she's frank, she enjoys Tayce's hands a little too much as she squeezes her butt.

Tayce sends shivers down her spine as she pulls her close, lip brushing her ear, "drinks?"

Aurora just nods, keen for more shots. She links fingers with Ellie, snogging a random person nearby and pulling her to the bar. Ellie complains, but the offer of a free drink quiets her down.

They chat in the queue. It's hot, and lights flash. Tayce is furiously tapping her phone, probably texting the group. Finally, they reach the front of the line. Aurora orders four shots of tequila and a vodka soda to forget the crushing rejection and frustration of the fashion industry. Ellie keeps up with her pace, downing two shots each when Tayce declines to join, just ordering herself some coke mixer.

But the alcohol fulfils its purpose, and she feels lighter and freer.

"Right, follow me," Tayce leads them outside to the smoker's area, full of dry humping couples and crying twats. Aurora feels herself stubble a little as Tayce strides along to the back, where a security guard is standing by some stairs.

"Jo owns Oogie Boogies as well, so we always get VIP access," Tayce wiggles her brows as she hugs the security guard, leading them up the stairs.

At the top of the stairs, a metal door opens to a room with moody reds and purple lighting. The walls are littered with old looking portraits, and the tables illuminating with candles, deep wooden bar lining a wall.

Tayce leads her downstairs, walking past several rich wooden booths and tables with dead flowers arranged on the tables. Looking down the banister shows several floors, with the bottom with figures moving on a crowded looking dance floor.

The music matches the other bar, but more sophisticated, wooden bars with walls decorated with hundreds of liquor bottles.

"Cool, innit? All of Jo's bars have a secret whisky bar area. It's her thing. She's as goth as they come, bordering on vampire territory" Tayce pulls them into a booth, where a few empty glasses and handbags are thrown across the table.

"This is so cool? How do you even afford it, though?" Ellie looks around like an excited puppy, admiring the portraits with her drink from the other bar in hand.

"It's proper bougie, but one perk since we pull so many tips is a bar tab and half-price drinks when we drink too much one night a week," Tayce wiggles her eyebrows again as she scans the menu.

"Fuck, that is so cool. Fuck the makeup counter. I need this!" Ellie's jaw drops a little, and Aurora feels a sudden wave of wobble, enjoying the plush booth seating.

"Want a job, mama? I can get you one. But trust me, working at Decopunk is hectic. Jo treats me, Bim and Asty like her daughters, but it's cause we put up with so much shit and haven't left," Tayce shrugs, and Aurora melts as she snuggles into her shoulder.

"Rora, don't write yourself off too soon, missy. I'm out after this and can't coddle you, girl," Tayce's smile is magnetic, and those eyes gleaming with candlelight are too beautiful for Aurora to listen.

"I'm fine. I will have a break," Aurora leans forward to drink more but realises her vodka soda is just watered down the ice.

Three shots and two vodka sodas in about an hour and a bit… shit. Tayce is probably right.

Tayce giggles, "Els, I put you on A'whora duty tonight."

"Yeah, I'm cutting you off for a bit," Ellie gives Aurora a stern stare.

“Oi, don't talk like I am not here!” Aurora rolls her eyes.

Tayce gets up to get some water when a loud cackle pierces Aurora's ears.

A short goth girl stumbles into Tayce, hugging her arms around Tayce. Clearly wasted, but Aurora will admit she is cute. She has long black curls and an edgy leather blazer dress with red roses decorating the lapel. Her skin is ashen, and her curvaceous legs are bare in stilettos and fishnets, with beautiful blood-red lips.

But watching the mischievous smile form on Tayce's lips and the warmth in her eyes as she looks down at the girl. And how the girl kisses Tayce's cheek and whispers whatever to make them cackle together is gritting.

Hearing a laugh more obnoxious than Tayce's is a rarity. It's a high howling pitch, and it's fucking annoying.

Tayce pushes Cherry into the seat, still standing to get drinks.

"Girls, this is my wife, Cherry. We became mates in college. She did film, and we were proper camp alternative bitches, doing so many sick shoots together. She does amazing wigs now!" Tayce runs her fingers through Cherry's hair and has an annoying smile.

"And Cherry, this is girls. Aurora is an incredible designer, and I think touch could do some sick collabs. And Ellie here is an incredible makeup artist and designer as well," Aurora feels a little better when Tayce kisses her head.

"Anyway, I'm getting water for the both of you pissed minges. I'll be back," Tayce led the entire conversation, walking away and leaving the girls in silence.

Aurora observes Cherry and sees how she looks at Tayce. It's suspiciously longing, watching Tayce chatting with the bartender like they know each other. The gaze almost matches how Aurora feels, and she feels her eyebrow raise.

I swear if Tayce is fucking this chick.

"Pleasure to meet you," Aurora smiles with her tongue between her teeth.

"Hiya Cherry! Show us your wigs then," Ellie starts the conversation, probably feeling the steam coming off Aurora, thankfully sobering her up the tiniest amount.

Cherry shuffles around and pulls out her phone, "I'm so glad you ask! So my company is 999, not the most creative but a play since 666 was taken. And I have gorgeous wigs. But I always like to add an alternative edge."

They scroll through photos, and Aurora won't admit out loud the images are pretty cool.

One campaign has models splattered in blood sitting on the edge of a bathtub with a leg sticking out and the wigs looking gorgeous.

Another has goth street fashion in an old church with cute bob style wigs. Then another series with a naked girl in a leather mini skirt, her back facing the camera and her deep skin looking familiar.

"Are these Tayce?" Aurora taps the screen to slow down on the images.

"Oh yeah, this shoot was fun. Tayce loves the vampy shit. I have always been goth, but she was more grungy. Very rockstar vibes."

They scroll, and Aurora feels herself flush up a little. Tayce is in white thigh-high boots, her legs crossed and white hair hiding her breasts. Her lip between her glorious teeth with coy eyes.

Or forest long green waves with green fishnets and her body twisted to hide her bits; a peek of her butt and apparent lack of panties.

Then Tayce with her tongue out with her finger in the hoop of a black PVC collar. She is wearing a long wavy blonde wig that Aurora instantly recognises as her Patricia wig. Her legs spread in black PVC pants and chest bare with hair again.

She peers up at Cherry and sees biting her lip too.

"Cute shoot. So how did you meet anyway?" Aurora tries not to sound bitter. But, finding it annoying, she cannot be subtle with alcohol pulsing through her.

"Met at a bar. Dated for a bit and broke up. But thankfully, our music taste and love for blood and gore have bound us together over the years," Cherry raises her brow with a meek smile on her face. Aurora bites her tongue not to roll her eyes.

"Ey babes! I've missed you!" Saved by her friends, Bimini and Asttina stumble into the booth, their bodies glistening from dancing.

Then Tayce returns with water, spending an eternity talking shit with the bartender. God...

Aurora's mood shifts so much in the last ten minutes. Happily drunk to tipsy and bitter.

Tayce scoots next to Aurora, and Bimini and Asttina crowd Cherry. It makes her feel lighter when Tayce places her arm around her shoulder.

The mood calms at the table, and Aurora wants to dance. She feels less dizzy. Most of the girls are chatting between tapping away on their phones.

Aurora looks around and notices Tayce's phone screen, a message from someone named Don't, you Hound. The mysterious heartbreaker.

Cherry is also on her phone. She was leaning into Bimini, apparently a part of the group.

Aurora inhales deeply. She knows she is overthinking shit, and it's definitely time to dance.

Her stance is confident as she stands, faking a good mood in an attempt to cheer herself from a pointless spiral. Finally, she grabs Ellie's hand, "I need to dance. I'll be back."

Tayce moves to let them out and kisses her head again, "I'll come down in a minute, boo."

The bottom floor has colours flashing across the floor. The electronic music is louder even though it is only down the stairs one level. The DJ screams at everyone being gorgeous divas, telling everyone to give it to them. Aurora looks around and realises the majority of the crowd is female, women dancing against each other. The sweet smell of mixed perfumes through the air.

Soon enough, Ellie kisses another chick, squeezing her ass under her dress. Finally, Aurora is alone, just letting herself dance as she sobers slightly. She is definitely tipsy and wobbly but not nearly drunk enough to deal with this.

Then she feels fingertips run along her collar bone and someone grinding their pelvis against her ass. Aurora wants Tayce, but she leans back, enjoying the affection.

Then she hears a whisper, "Hey, pretty lady. Hope you're okay?"

Aurora's eyes widen as she hears the family voice against her hair. Asttina runs a finger through her hair with a slight purr to her voice. "Tayce said you were down, so let us cheer you up."

Aurora feels another set of hands at her hips, and Bimini starts dancing in front of her.

It's a beautiful distraction. Considering Ellie, bless the slag she is, is somehow already kissing a third stranger against a wall, being easy to find since she is so tall. Not being alone is nice.

Aurora gives in, joining with the provocative dancing. The sexy couple she secretly envies, wishing someone would reciprocate some sort of love to her.

It's fun. They dance, grind, slut drop. Then Aurora spots Tayce dancing with Cherry, holding the petite girl tightly in her affection way.

"I love Tayce, but I'm better," Bimini runs a teasing finger along Aurora's chin, stealing her attention and suddenly kissing Aurora. Biminis lips are soft, and her kiss intense. They were instantly dominating as their tongues clash. Fingernails digging into her back. The feeling of different fingers passing over her chest and stomach is a lot.

She hears Asttina giggle a little, "don't stress, Aurora. Just have fun."

She gives in and is unaware of time. The taste of vodka against her tongue nails digging into her hips so fucking hot. A pleasant warmth tingles through her skin, and slight arousal builds.

Her hazy mind relaxes. Her housemates are sweet and sexy. Dancing together like this isn't new, but adding a layer of kissing is a lot of fun.

She feels a buzz in her pocket. And ignores it, the feeling of Asttina's fingers running up her thighs delectable.

Another buzz. And ignoring it whilst sucking Bimini's tongue.

Then another buzz, and the distinct buzzing and punk music of Bimini's ringtone.

Ah fuck.

Bimini pulls away with a cute grin and checks their phone. Aurora pulls out her phone as well.

Two notifications.

[Dirty DD 00:27] off to shag a gorg chick. Have fun! Love u! oxoxox

[Tayce 00:32] Cherry died lmao… had a little sneaky puke. im taking her home. See u tmr. Love u xx

Her mind drifts to Tayce for a moment, in Cherry's bed. But Bimini captures her attention, "looks like Tayce is out. I'm getting a bit tired. I have work tomorrow. Want to head off?"

"Yeah, I think we're done, Aurora. Are you coming home with us?" Asttina grabs both their hands.

"Bed would be nice. Thanks for the dancing. It cheered me up" Aurora shrugs with a smile.

It has been an eventful night, but nice to get her mind off most things.

***

"You're so cute, Rory," Bimini leans on her shoulder, snuggling for warmth in the back of the cab.

"Thanks," Aurora relaxes against her head, still with pleasant tingling of liquor running through her. Aurora notices their hand running up her leg, but is sure it is just a part of the drunken affection Bimini shows. Even though the comforting aspect is riling her up more than usual.

"You're really cute, and 'Stina and I have thought bout it, y’know."

"Bout what?" Aurora raises her brow as she feels Bimini's hand squeeze her thigh.

"Y'know what," their lips ghost up her neck, causing a slight shudder.

This teasing was getting to be a little much. Bimini turns her chin to lock her gaze, their hazel eyes hungry with plump lips between their teeth. Then Asttina's arms wrap around her shoulder, gently rubbing circles into her arm.

"Mmm. Don't play coy with us, Aurora. We see you watching us. A little rude, isn't it?" Asttina's bites her ear, and Aurora whimpers. Her heart starts to race, with that specific heat tingling through her, making her thighs involuntarily squeeze together.

Wow, I am bloody dim…

The flirting makes sense now, but Aurora wasn't expecting this turn of events. Perhaps it is because she fixates on Tayce. Or probably because they are a couple and never mention being polyamorous or anything.

Aurora did a lot of shagging in her last year of college, but this is truly something else. Having two gorgeous people whispering sweet nothings whilst they become braver with their contact, running fingers dangerously close to her panties and breasts.

This attention is too fucking good. Aurora hasn’t shagged since a random hook up on New Year's Eve, being too fixated on Tayce, and wants to play ball.

Aurora bites her lip and raises her brow, mustering her best seductive pout as she leans back in the seat, "I still don't know what you're on ‘bout. But, perhaps, you could show me?"

The air is suddenly tense, and their gazes are ravenous. A pitched moan escapes Aurora as Bimini confidently runs fingers over her panties with no hesitation.

But Aurora holds their hands firmly and whispers fuck when she catches a glance of their cab driver eagerly watching in the review mirror. They sit in tense silence when the others notice they have a small giggle and sit for what feels like an eternity.

They search for their house keys as they approach their home and approach the house frantically, scrambling with their keys and tugging off their heels.

As soon as they enter the front door, Asttina and Bimini pounce on her in a perfectly coordinated and ferocious manner.

Asttina presses her against the door, and goosebumps prickle along Auroras skin as they quickly slip the straps off her shoulders and undo her zip. They strip her in record time, clearly showing this is not their first time with a third partner, and she feels like a prey item for two ferocious lionesses.

Except she is desperate to be eaten.

Two sets of indistinguishable hands explore her body, and Aurora breath hitches as Asttina sucks her pulse point. She loses herself in the moment, with lust simmers through her veins, and she feels herself tremble as her knee is lifted and hot kisses press into her thigh.

She pulls Asttina in for a frantic kiss, wrapping her arms around her neck for stability. The way she firmly nibbles at her lip is so seductive that her hips twitch with anticipation and her knees weak when fingers start toying with her pussy. The speed is intense, and she lets out indulgent moans, absolutely not giving a damn if Sister or Ellie might be home.

Being a toy for two enchanting people is consuming.

But perhaps she is too loud, letting out a frustrated groan as Bimini giggles and stops the motions, "bloody hell. Let's get you upstairs.”

She follows along obediently as Bimini leads her up the stairs, opening the door to Asttina’s bedroom and pushing her into the white silk bed sheets. Bimini slowly crawls on top and pins her wrists by her face, kissing her deeply.

The pace was languid in comparison with Asttina. Aurora attempts to escape, wanting to dig her nails into Bimini's ass, but Bimini is surprisingly strong. So her efforts were futile. But she notices the arousal building much more quickly than usual when she can't push away, feeling Bimini’s cocky smile against her lips.

So captured at the moment, desperately kissing back she doesn't notice Asttina entering the room until the bed creaks. When Bimini breaks the kiss, Aurora turns and admires Asttina's gloriously curvaceous figure, adorned with a matching intricate strappy black bra and thong.

Bimini jaw is slack, complimenting her girlfriend, "God, you're so hot 'Stina. You should really let Rory eat your cute cunt.”

"Mmm… Noted," Asttina leans in to kiss Bimini quickly before they return their attention to Aurora. In which they don’t waste any time, Bimini releasing Aurora’s wrists to start ghosting her fingertips along her folds, and Asttina’s soft lips suck her nipples. They toy with her and the feeling is absolutely luxurious, the smell of their perfume, soft bedsheets and gentle lips making her feel like a spoilt princess.

"Ass up, babes," Bimini taps her hips, and Aurora obeys, turning over to spread wide.

Asttina positions herself beneath Aurora, tracing her fingertips along with her thong. Aurora shivers with lust at the view when Asttina pulls aside her thong. It’s so pretty, and Aurora eagerly kisses her thighs before letting her tongue swipe incredibly slowly along her folds. She was ravenous, and the sweet sound of Asttina's breathy moans was encouraging.

Then feels the heat of Bimini's tongue against her pussy and it makes her whimper, already desperate to move her hips in rhythm with her tongue. She relishes the feeling of the skilful tongue, absolutely wanting to be spoiled and give in to almost anything.

But then she remembers the task at hand, the soft skin of Asttina's thigh against her cheek. She has work to do so concentrates, increasing her pace as she circles her tongue around Asttina’s clit consistently. She glances up and Asttina is beautiful, and an absolute goddess. Watching such a powerful woman with her back deeply arched and moaning frantically because of her is utterly intoxicating.

Aurora runs her fingers along her entrance before slipping in two fingers with ease, quickly exploring with firm motions along her walls to find the sweet spot. Hearing Asttina’s let out a high pitched whimper followed by a slight giggle lets her know she's found it, and she starts quickly pulsing against her spot.

She focuses, wanting to push Asttina over the edge before she gets too distracted with her own building orgasm, Bimini unwavering in her pace. But then she hears a click, and her ass involuntarily tenses at the sensation of a wet length stroking against her. Occasionally rubbing along her entrance and clit.

Aurora feels a slight hesitation in her actions. She never used a toy, and she wants to let it happen, this sex is the best she has had in years. It'll probably feel so good.

But then she feels slightly uneasy. Not sure if she wants to give that much of herself to two people she's only recently met. She knows she is in a safe space, but the building nerves of possible embarrassment if there is pain, or it being unsatisfying. Too many thoughts flood her mind which is interrupting the glorious feeling of her orgasm.

She just wants to enjoy rocking against slender fingers.

There is a quick panic, and she pulls away from Asttina for a moment, her lips drenched, "Wait… not that… sorry, I've just never used a toy."

Bimini presses a kiss against her ass, and Asttina runs her fingers through her hair, "Don't be sorry, babes. I got a bit too keen. I'll make you scream with my fingers."

She feels relief as her lungs empty and squeaks as fingers quickly enter her. A haze clouds her mind as her arousal pulses through her veins. Aurora fucks Asttina with all her passion and the feeling of Bimini delicate fingers pulsing furiously against her spot, hit deep in her core. She feels herself about to crumble and sucks Asttina’s clit, wanting to make her orgasm before her so she can focus her mind on the electric feelings. She pulses deeply in Asttina with her clit in mouth as she hears an irresistible high pitched yelp and feels thighs squeeze tightly around her cheeks.

She remembers to breathe, and gasping for air helps the electricity of her orgasm wash over her, feeling her legs tremble before collapsing into the sheets.

Fuck.

That was incredible. She feels slick with sweat as climbs beside Asttina, running her fingers along her glorious abs shining with perspiration, Bimini crawls beside them, spanking Aurora’s ass and they giggle.

Panting and feeling absolutely euphoric from their mutual orgasms. Well, Asttina and Aurora have mutual orgasms.

Bimini leans over to kiss Aurora gently, "You should sleepover."

"Mmm, you're pretty good. It's a privilege to be our third. And I want to make you cum this time," Asttina winks, pressing a kiss into her forehead.

This is wonderful.

***

After a solid night of shagging, there is a spring to her step.

Aurora knew she was stressed, but she did not realise how pent up she was until fucking til the wee hours of the morning. She sneaks out of the bedroom whilst they were deep in slumber, wanting to wash away the sex and perspiration covering her.

She pampers herself, cleaning herself with her favourite coffee scrub, using a plumping facemask and moisturising her body using the bougie products she saves for a special occasion. She feels absolutely wonderful and didn't think things could get any better.

But then she receives a phone call, simply asking if she was available for a second interview with an upcoming fashion house in a few hours. Aurora is over the moon, jumping around and quickly changing. She wears a stunning white tailored suit she painstakingly altered to hug every curve. Her blouse is in a fun pattern she created as a college assessment, and her black stilettos are high.

Aurora knows she is glowing.

She makes herself a coffee and relaxes in the living area, hanging her samples in garment bags, and gathering her portfolio and favourite sketches. The door to the front door suddenly slams, and she almost shits herself as she hears her favourite welshie yell sorry through the house. Tayce emerges through the doors in her outfit from last night, hair in a messy bun but face fresh.

"Well, well, Missy. Don’t you look powerful? Where are you heading?" Tayce walks over and admires her from head to toe.

"Got a call back for an interview," Aurora feels whole as she watches Tayce's smile grow.

Tayce pulls her in so closely, squeezing and rocking her, "I told you. You're an absolute star. Hopefully, a good root helps with your confidence as well."

Aurora chokes on her coffee, terrified it will get on her white blazer. She composes herself whilst Tayce cackles, choking a bit and holding her head back, hoping tears won't ruin her makeup.

"How did you know?" Aurora asks incredulously.

And Tayce simply shrugs, "I saw you dancing. And Bimini asked me if it was cool a while back. So it was a matter of time."

For fucks sake.

Aurora feels her tongue run along with her teeth. A bit annoyed that Tayce permits her best friends to toy with her. Even though her eyes only long for her.

But she can’t stay too annoyed, Tayce’s smile was so sweet.

“Anyway, I’m off. See you later, slag,” Aurora picks up her stuff, heading to the front door.

“Good luck, yer minge bag.”

***

Aurora breathes deeply to calm herself, quickly checking her makeup in her phones selfie camera before (acting) confidently as she struts to greet reception. They move her to the white room with minimalist art, and Aurora hangs her samples on the rail and places her portfolio and sketchbook delicately on the table. She tries to stop her leg from jiggling, breathing slowly and memorising the points she wants to bring up to sell her portfolio.

An intimidatingly gorgeous woman struts into the room, smiling massively, wearing a stunning blue feather coat with long spikey black nails. Brooke was a bombshell, moving from dance to designing lingerie and cabaret costumes. The company is slowly working towards ready to wear and couture, and there is a fun flair to their intricate designs.

Aurora stands to shake her hand, making her smile as big as possible, letting the formalities commence.

Her hands are smooth with a firm grip, "Hi Aurora, lovely to meet you. I'm Brooke Lynn Hytes, but I am sure you already knew that."

Brooke oozes nonchalance, throwing her feet at the edge of the table, flaunting blue Louboutin's without scuff marks, "Let's keep it snappy. Your first interview with the head of design went well. But I wanted to meet you. Do you know why?"

Aurora can't tell if she is rhetoric but tries to match her indifference and confidence. Finally, Aurora simply replies, "because you see my talent? And want to pay me big bucks?"

Brooke snorts, her blue eyes piercing her, "I like the gall, Aurora. And I see the potential. But there is so much more I need to know before offering the position."

Brooke grabs Aurora's portfolio and scans the pages, "IQ is upcoming, and you need to sew. Your college collection is good. Really good. I love your sketch designs and ideas, but I haven’t seen enough of your seamstress work. I need to see if you can pull it off."

Before she thinks, Aurora stands and model her outfit, "I made everything I'm wearing. Come look."

Brooke raises her brow and stands, raking her eyes up and down Aurora.

"This suit fits me like a glove. And look at these French seams of this blazer," Aurora is thankful she sounds so confident whilst she is secretly shitting her pants. She pulls off the blazer and uses the seam ripper on the table to undo a bit of the jacket lining, revealing the precise hand stitching of the panels.

Brooke tilts her head, running her fingertips along with her work, "Hmm. That is pretty good. And I love how extra you are, ripping apart your work for me. But I'm expanding to gowns for the stage. And I want to break onto runways. I need to see more."

"Like what? I will make it happen. Just tell me what you want," Aurora breathes in, sounding a little more desperate than she would like. She doesn't have a gown, and the dresses she has made recently are simple. Unfortunately, fabrics are so expensive, and she can't just make an extravagant design on a whim.

Brooke has a big smile, her gaze enigmatic as she scans her sketches.

“I like your tenacity. Our head designer did too,” Brooke draws crosses on a few pages of her sketchbook.

And then she pauses on a page with a red and grey gown, “This is beautiful. Tell me about it.”

Aurora smiles a little, the moment flashing into her mind, "It's a recent design. I saw a bright beacon in the middle of a dreary scene. So beautiful in the middle of filth. The white like a hazy smoke, the grey filth and distorted. And the red the beauty in that gross scene."

Brooke raises her brow, "I like it. I'll give you a few months to make it and come back. Make the designs on the pages I marked as well, and let's catch up again in, let's say, three months."

Aurora tries to keep her smile modest. Wanting to burst from her seems, but she calmly responds, "I look forward to it."

It's not another disappointment; it is a door slightly ajar. Nevertheless, Brooke sees potential in her work, and it is Aurora’s first real chance to start a career in design.

But three months is not much time to produce all of these pieces when he is working a full-time job. These fabrics won’t be cheap but have to make them work with her budget. She will need two months to complete the gown, and it will take about one month to save for a suitable chiffon fabric.

Fuck… this gown will take at least 50 hours to make with all the stoning and drapes, and considering the fact she works a full-time job so she can pay rent, it will be tough.

But she knows she can do it. She has to.

—-------------------

Tayce feels delicate after a second boozy night in a row. She taps her bedside table to find her painkillers and quickly empties her water bottle. She struggles to open her eyes but sees Aurora adorably wrapped up like a burrito on the other side of the bed.

Tayce snuggles in, enjoying the comfort in comparison to the night before.

Aurora was entirely over the moon after her interview yesterday. Her usual bright personality was shinning after feeling so upset the night before. They drink at home, doing too many shots and dancing around the living room with the others. Then Aurora stumbles into Tayce's room, demanding to watch runway shows and play The Sims on her laptop before falling asleep.

Aurora is just so sickly sweet, and the warmth to her spirit is like hot cocoa, making her smile as the sweetness hits her core. She brings peace to Tayce, which alleviates some of the perplexing thoughts plaguing her from the night before.

It starts with nursing Cherry, throwing up for an hour before falling asleep. However, the inevitable cab ride to see her ex creates confusion. The sex was ravenous and rough as usual.

But Tayce slept in her arms through the night, not feeling the urge to run as soon as possible.

But the morning was puzzling. Crossing a weird line when they wake up, her ex’s wandering hands led to more shagging, but she did not bind Tayce. Instead, her touch was delicate, kissing down her body gently before burying herself between Tayce’s thighs. She was even allowed to touch her hair.

It was gentle and tender, and it was messing with Tayce's head.

So Tayce was thankful when she saw Aurora that morning. She doesn't know what she would have done if she couldn't snuggle herself desperately into those arms.

Aurora was her perfect security blanket.

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artificialqueens · 3 years

Text

Down with the Recipe, Bake from the Heart, 1/10 (Multi) - Juno

Summary: This year’s Great British Bake Off will see some baking for sure, but also a few surprises. Tayce goes into the Bake Off tent determined to bring the winning cake stand to Wales, along with a few Star Baker badges, but her attention may not be on baking for too long as she gets to know fellow baker Aurora, on the same row as her. And judging by the other contestants, Tayce might not be the only one focusing on something other than baking this season.

A/N: This is a DRUK2 group based on GBBO - there are a few ships! It’s also on AO3 with 12 chapters but I will post here with 10 for ease as the first two and last two will are being done together. No CWs for this chapter! I hope you enjoy.

PROLOGUE - October 2021

It had been Cheryl who had suggested a live react to the grand finale of this season of Bake Off, so the twelve finalists could all gather together, watch the finale, and then the winner’s reaction could be captured on film and put on the internet for the whole world to see. Cheryl hadn’t even been in the cast - she’d been on the previous season - but she said she’d become invested in the season and the bakers so much so that she hadn’t wanted to let them go yet.

And judging by the public’s reaction to her tweet about it, she wasn’t alone.

Pip had mentioned in their group chat that her sister had a big town house in the Wirral, and she’d offered to let them all use it as a base for their live watch. Channel 4 didn’t have anything purpose-built for them, and the filming location wasn’t available, so they’d all jumped at the chance. Plus, Liverpool served as a good mid-point for them all - it saved Joe having to go all the way to Dundee or Ellie having to go to Brighton.

Aurora had marvelled at the amount of space there was once they’d all arrived the previous day. The living room and dining area were one, with a dining table probably big enough to fit a couple of football teams at it; and the kitchen led into the room with an arched doorway. The kitchen itself was enormous too, in highly polished white surfaces that Aurora was terrified to touch with her probably-impure fingers

“Bit posh, isn’t it!” She’d muttered to Tayce.

Pip’s sister and her husband were staying away, and they had the place all to themselves - the twelve of them reunited, with just Blu and Cheryl for company, operating a handheld camera with the intention of sending the finale footage for Channel 4.

As three endings had been recorded back in June, with each of the finalists winning one of the takes, the actual winner’s reveal would be a surprise to all of them, including the three finalists, and ensure no slip ups from the production team.

That didn’t stop all twelve of them worrying. None of them had slept a wink, all of them keeping an eye on Prue’s twitter to make sure she hadn’t accidentally tweeted the winner again. But mostly they’d been together, reminiscing on some of the moments from the season that had made them laugh. All the funny moments, all the tense moments, and one or two viral moments loaded with innuendo.

Not to mention everything else that had blossomed in tandem with nature that springtime.

It had been quite a season. They’d started out as strangers, and now they were so tightly-knit that they hadn’t even entertained the thought that they would possibly be watching the finale without all of them in the same space.

Aurora swilled the glass of champagne that Joe had insisted on pouring for everyone, and watched all of the people she’d grown close to on the season, a peaceful atmosphere in the room as they waited for the finale to start.

Well, not all of them were peaceful. Lawrence and Ellie were being their usual loud selves, jousting with wooden spoons and shrieking as loudly as they ever did - but Bimini was utterly still for the first time since Aurora had met them, laid against Asttina’s chest as they both reclined on one of the sofas, while Asttina raked her fingers through their mullet; and Bimini’s eyes were closed, their lips in a sleepy smile.

Aurora felt familiar hands creep around her waist, a familiar chin rest on her shoulder from behind, and familiar lips at her cheek.

“I can’t believe it’s coming to an end now,” Aurora murmured, her thoughts escaping her unfiltered, as they sometimes did with Tayce at this close range.

“Well, it was never gonna be forever,” Tayce said into her ear. “But we’re all gonna be friends after this, aren’t we! The wonders of technology! Come into the twenty-first century, Rory. We have this thing called the internet, and group chats, and phones -”

“We’re not all just gonna be friends, though, are we?” Aurora replied.

“We’re all just besties, nothing more than that. Rory, I’m joking!” Tayce laughed at Aurora’s horrified expression. “All I’m saying is that this isn’t the end - just the beginning.”

“That’s so cheesy.”

“Yeah, but I’m right, you can’t deny that!”

Aurora let her eyes drift around everyone else in the room.

Tia and Veronica who had barely left their corner of the sofa, hands and legs wound tightly together, both with hearts in their eyes and bigger smiles than anyone else in the room as they chatted quietly, simply enjoying each others’ company.

Lawrence and Ellie, wooden spoons still in hand, making the most noise in the room in delighted laughter as they jousted with each other, almost knocking Pip over as she carried in another tray of snacks to lay on the dining table.

Bimini resting against Asttina’s chest as they reclined on the other sofa, Asttina still running her fingers through Bimini’s freshly-dyed mullet, both of them letting out a contented sigh in tandem.

“Yeah,” Aurora murmured, as Tayce held her tighter, “I guess so.”

——

WEEK 1: BISCUIT WEEK

April 2021

Tayce grinned at the cameras as they panned around everyone. She’d given the interviewer her spiel about how much she’d always dreamt of being in the gingham tent and how excited she was to bring the winning cake stand to Wales for the first time in Bake Off history; and a surprising calm settled in her chest, nerves dissipating, at the genuine warm aura from everyone and everything in the room.

At least Tayce wasn’t in full view of the judges right at the front. That privilege was reserved for two people from London, both of whom looked right at home in front of the cameras, although their names were a mystery for now.

It was all very familiar from seeing it on the telly the last eleven years. Immaculate worktops with varnish that shone like glass; the tent walls decorated with bunting and flowers, and the pastel shelves and adorned with china cups; the multi-coloured KitchenAids ready to whisk, fold and anything else - Tayce’s was pure white, while the woman from Nottingham on the bench opposite her had a turquoise one.

Tayce chanced another glance at her; the tight-lipped smile showed a single dimple, and her long blonde hair was tied off her face, but her fingers drummed nervously on the workbench, and she evidently wasn’t as poised as the veneer she displayed for the cameras.

Tayce smiled to herself. It’ll be fun winning this thing.

——

Signature: 24 Iced Biscuits

The best bit of the show when it was on the telly was the banter between Matt and Noel. Seeing them in person, even from a distance away, made Tayce’s stomach bubble with excitement, and she had to cling to the workbench a little tighter to stay upright.

“Well, bakers, welcome to the gingham tent! Back for another season of Prue-Paul’s Baking Race!”

Prue’s sweet smile was complemented by her brightly-coloured glasses and sharp, matching blazer, while Paul’s cool stare lingered on everyone in the room a split second longer than they all would have liked.

“For the signature today,” Matt said, “the judges would like you to make twenty-four iced biscuits. The biscuits can be any flavour -“

“ - but should tell the judges a little bit about yourselves or where you’re from.”

“Where are you from, Noel?”

“Oh, you know, the moon.”

Everyone was laughing, even Tayce; although it wasn’t that funny - but the whole room was dancing with nerves by now, starting to become contagious from the people around her.

“On your marks -“

“Get set -“

“BAKE!”

Once Matt Lucas and Noel Fielding had declared the immortal lines to the room, everyone was scrambling for ingredients from their bags and the fridges.

Tayce was still cringing a bit at the dragon-shaped cookie-cutter her mum had found in some gift shop near the castle in Cardiff. She didn’t understand why tourists would be making dragon-shaped biscuits inspired by their trip to Wales, but for once she was thankful for tourists. Her friend Cara had customised it a little when she’d seen her a couple of weeks ago, by melting the tail with her lighter, elongating it a little, and extending the jaw and ears to make it look a little more ferocious.

“Can’t have people thinking you’re not breathing fire,” she’d said, passing the cigarette back to Tayce, “otherwise they won’t think you’re competition.”

And Tayce had nodded, holding smoke in her lungs half a beat longer than usual, wondering if she cared whether anyone thought of her as competition. After all, it was Bake Off. The last sabotage attempt there had been a national scandal the following day.

The most unproblematic, drama-free show on the telly.

Nothing was going to happen here.

——

“The judges are coming for you next,” one of the cameramen nudged Tayce out of her thoughts, just as she was measuring out her flour, causing it to fly upwards in a cloud “Just a heads up. Oh, sorry love.”

“Right, right.” Tayce nodded, brushing flour from her face. “What do I say to them again?”

“Just … talk. It’s the first episode. Show them your personality.”

“Personality,” Tayce repeated, nodding. “I’ve got oodles of that.”

“Great stuff. And don’t forget to be doing something bake-ey while they’re coming over.”

The cameraman dodged out of the way to make room for the medical team, running to help the woman in front of Nottingham, who had managed to slice her finger on something already.

“Here they are,” Tayce muttered to herself, taking a deep breath and straightening as the judges, along with Matt and Noel, came over to her.

“Morning, Tayce!”

Paul Hollywood was shorter than he appeared to be, and Prue Leith was taller, but nothing prepared Tayce for meeting either of them. Tayce held her breath for a split second, smiling somewhat mechanically to try to mask the sudden heat in her face.

“Bore da, folks! I’ve brought the weather with me!” Tayce beamed, indicating the heaving downpour of rain that was falling outside the tent; and they all laughed politely.

Tayce momentarily stopped concentrating on the judges and noticed the woman opposite her, turning to watch Tayce interact with the judges. And every time she was describing the perfect quality that her dragon-shaped shortbread biscuits would turn out, she seemed to slow her actions, looking up over at them.

The conversation was light, but Tayce could feel the calm authority of both judges before her, making words freeze on her tongue. It only went on for a minute or two, but Tayce was left feeling as if she should have prepared more.

Oh well. What’s done is done.

The ingredients for her biscuits were mixing slowly in the KitchenAid, the gentle whirr of the blades almost lulling Tayce to sleep as she sipped her cup of tea, before she took out the ball of shortbread dough and rolled it out to cut into biscuits.

“Your accent is so nice.”

Tayce looked up from her biscuits, to see the woman from Nottingham had come over, tucking her hair behind her ear, leaving her hand resting at the back of her neck to play absently with the strings of her apron. Up close, the dimple in her cheek was emphasised as a shy smile twitched at the corners of her mouth.

“Thank you!” Tayce stood to her full height. “This place doesn’t look like Barry Island yet but give it some time!” She leaned against the workbench, tossing her hair away from her shoulders.

“My accent is … well, it’s just … northern,” she continued with a giggle. “I’m Aurora, by the way. I’m so bad at names, I’m sorry, you’ve probably already said yours!”

“Don’t worry, I am too. I’m Tayce. And if I forget your name, well - yeah, same.”

Aurora’s gaze lingered half a second too long as she tested the name on her tongue.

“Tayce.” Her smile widened. “Nice to meet you.”

——

Tayce was terrible at names. She had no idea how she was going to remember who all eleven of these other people were, especially as one of them would be going every week - the pool of people getting smaller and smaller until Tayce would be remaining with whoever else was any good out of these lot.

As the day went on, she started to pick them up.

She had to learn Asttina’s for one, because Asttina seemed to know everyone’s name from the word go. Asttina was one of the two Londoners at the front, and was the only one of the group who had made a deliberate effort to come round to all their workbenches to formally introduce herself during the bake itself, her demeanour confident but her handshake gentle and light as air.

“Nice to meet you, Tayce,” she’d said, with a cool smile that reminded Tayce of a Miss World competition. “Looking forward to tasting all your bakes!”

She knew Pip’s name too, on the bench just behind Asttina, as she’d turned up in the tent wearing elf ears, claiming they were for luck. Everyone had been staring at her workbench, where she’d positioned a tiny blue handbag with a red circle in the middle, saying she took it with her wherever she went.

“I had a sesh with a psychic,” Pip explained to them all as a group of them crowded round her. “She’s a bit of a local celeb in Liverpool, Psychic Sally they call her, but - anyway, she told me to look for a sign in blue and red, said it was from me great-grandpa - and the same day I walked past one of those handbag shops on Paradise Street and there it was, in the window, 70% off!”

“Definitely couldn’t have been a coincidence, Pippa,” Tayce grinned, and Pip shook her head in agreement, but she had a mischievous glint in her eye and Tayce wasn’t entirely sure how serious she was about the whole affair.

Ellie’s name too had become familiar, because of the amount of times the show’s medics would groan it when she managed to hurt herself on something that episode. Ellie herself had been quiet most of the day, seemingly a little shy and evidently the youngest in the room; but she’d bounced on the balls of her feet at meeting Matt Lucas, garbling something about her and her brother doing all the impersonations as kids.

The soft-spoken woman in front of Tayce was called Cherry, and Tayce had found that out because she’d pointed it out to everyone when she put cherry flavouring in her biscuits.

“Does that actually, y’know, work as a flavour?” Tia had asked her when she was explaining it to them.

Tia was another name that Tayce knew, mainly because the woman was so tall and striking. She looked like she’d come straight off a catwalk and wandered into the Bake Off tent by complete accident on her way to London Fashion Week, happening to become covered in flour in the process.

Cherry had huffed. “I don’t know, but you eat cherry-flavoured things all the time! What could go wrong with putting it in biscuits?”

Tia grimaced. “Wait. Have you … never put cherry flavouring in biscuits before? Didn’t you practise at home?”

Tayce couldn’t help but feel a twinge of mirth as she watched Cherry chew her tongue, her cheeks flushing, but her jaw set obstinately. “I know what I’m doing. I can do this.”

“You haven’t even practised this bake? Okay. So how late do the trains run from here to Newcastle?” Tayce had asked Cherry, and Aurora had doubled over in wheezing laughter as Cherry had folded her arms.

“Darlington. Darlington, not Newcastle. And there’s been trains there for nearly two hundred years, love.”

That had just made Aurora laugh harder, clutching her stomach and shaking in silent giggles, leaning on Tayce as Tayce had led her back to her workbench and let her wipe the tears from her eyes before continuing with her biscuit dough.

That was the most important thing Tayce had learned so far in the tent. The woman from Nottingham opposite her was Aurora, and Aurora lit up the whole bench.

When the judges had stood with her earlier, she’d cooed about how much she adored baking everything for all her family - making fairy cakes for charity bakes for work, birthday cakes for her family, tipsy cakes for her best friends for their birthdays, or anniversaries, or whenever they were just feeling crap.

From the smile that she couldn’t hold back, Tayce knew that Aurora was the only person in the room who meant it when she said that she loved baking.

——

“One hour break, folks, and then filming starts for Technical, okay?”

The first bake was over, and Tayce’s shortbread biscuits shaped like dragons had gone down pretty well with the judges. She wasn’t sure if she’d had the best feedback, her nerves kicking in and blocking out most of the other contestants’ comments; but she thought she’d done enough for this round at least.

One of the producers herded them like sheep - or maybe cats, judging by how Ginny had gone chasing after a squirrel they’d seen - back into Norton Hall where they were all staying for the weekends while filming was happening. It was a huge, Georgian manor mouse with ceilings touching the clouds, far more halls than were necessary, and so many excessive bedrooms that each contestant had a room each.

Tayce had half-expected four-poster regal luxury as she’d opened the door to her own, twice the size of her room in her flat; but no such luck - it was furnished sparingly, and all the beds were normal. A small double, she noted. Not that she was likely to get lucky with these master bakers, but a woman could dream.

The floorboards creaked as she crossed the room and flopped backwards onto the bed, gazing at the ceiling, the elation sending a shiver through her skin as she realised again that she had made it to Bake Off.

The Bake Off!

They weren’t meant to change clothes between takes unless they’d made a huge mess with the food, so Tayce just retouched her eyeliner and went back down to the communal room, where most of them had gathered back in the group, polite conversations carrying on amongst relative strangers as they sampled each others’ biscuits.

What a surreal scene.

A group of almost strangers, half of their names unfamiliar, and she was meant to discuss baking with them all.

“Alright, babs?” She heard someone pushing a plate in front of her. “My name’s Ginny, Ginny Lemon, and if you don’t like lemon, well - just skip my biccies, alright love?”

“No, lemon is great,” Tayce forced a smile, taking one of Ginny’s biscuits. “Thanks hun.”

“You’re welcome! Which ones did you make - wait, I remember, the Welsh dragons?”

“Now how did you guess that one?” Tayce raised an eyebrow at them. “My mum’s idea, she was like, do it for the Welsh! So of course she found a dragon-shaped cookie cutter from somewhere. One of the tourist shops in Cardiff. Tourists love dragon biscuits apparently.”

“Oh I know love, I know - speaking of weird biscuits, have you ever tried a Worcester sauce biscuit? I don’t recommend it if you haven’t, but have you?” Ginny shook their head, tutting. “Tastes like shit! Waste of biscuit. Waste of Worcester sauce too, though. Anyway, Pip’s looking lonely without me. Nice to see you!”

And Ginny fled from Tayce’s arm, scurrying back over to Pip. Tayce tasted the biscuit, bracing herself for Worcester sauce, blinking with surprise to find it was actually pretty good, the lemon flavour really tasty, and finding she wanted another.

Most of the rest of the biscuits were arranged on a bench at the back. Tayce picked up another of her own and went down the line, eager to see which had depleted the most.

Gravestone biscuits were the biggest shocker for her - two different sets of biscuits were there, iced to resemble gravestones, mostly untouched - but Tayce politely picked up the better-looking of the two and found a lovely chilli kick to it when she tasted. But gravestones weren’t the only common theme - two different rose patterns were there, one set iced in different shades of pink, and the other with a deep red icing. The pink roses were almost all gone, and Tayce took the second-to-last one, enjoying the raspberry flavour, and grabbing one of the other roses to go.

Tayce peered around the room at the other contestants from her vantage point at the table. Most of them had dropped into twos and threes - with twelve people it was bound to happen - chatting amongst themselves, quietly and politely for the most part, although the two Scottish women in one corner were laughing as if they’d known each other for years.

Eventually, she joined Aurora, who was talking to someone whose white-blonde hair and pencil-thin eyebrows looked very familiar …

“Joe Black,” she said, extending a heavily-tattooed hand to Tayce, whose stomach flipped upon hearing the name.

“You’re - on Instagram, that woman -“

“My internet infamy precedes me, but in that case I hope so too do my bakes, and of course my sense of fun.” Joe’s voice was theatrical, her gestures affected; but her smile was warm, and Cherry looked as enamoured with her as Tayce was feeling.

“And who wins the biscuit version of the wars of the roses?” Joe continued, pointing down at the two rose-shaped iced biscuits on Tayce’s plate. “Lawrence, or Veronica? I must say, the amount that Veronica worried about her own bake, that time probably could have been spent thinking up a better biscuit flavour than rosewater, don’t you agree?”

Tayce glanced at Veronica’s biscuit, then up at Aurora. “Does it taste that bad?”

But before Aurora could answer, they were interrupted by “Alright, babes! How’s it hanging?”

The woman joining them had rich violet hair scraped off her face into a bun at the crown of her head, and an intense green stare. Tayce took the hand that was extended to her, finding a firmer handshake than Asttina’s, trying to follow the stream of words from this woman’s mouth.

“I’m Lauren, but you might as well call me Lawrence, that’s all Ellie’s been calling me all day, thinks she’s fucking hilarious, and I’ve not really met any of you yet because, you know,” Lawrence paused for breath, waving her hands, “baking contest, ooh I’m not here to make friends, et cetera, but now that we’re all here and we’re not baking right now, I thought I’d better find out who everyone is! Are you the one who made the dragon biccies?”

“That’s me, baby!” Tayce grinned. “Bore da, bitches!”

“See, I knew you were Welsh, and there Ellie was trying to convince me the dragon biccies were by someone who just really liked Puff the Magic Dragon, she owes me a tenner now - and you’re - oh wait, I know you!” Lawrence wagged her finger at Joe, whose expression didn’t change apart from the slow blink. “That Instagram video!”

Joe fixed Lawrence with a stare. “Yes, that Instagram video; I know that precedes me, but I hope by the end of this competition that can be eclipsed by my culinary skills.” Her voice still kept the throaty drawl, but Tayce was starting to sense her irritation at the association.

Cherry had already offered her hand to shake, and Lawrence took it. “Alright, I remember your name, because you put it in your biccies as flavouring! Where’re you from, do they grow cherries there?”

“No - I’m from Darlington.”

Lawrence blinked, frowning. “Darlington, near Sweetie-shire is that?”

“No, it’s near -“

“I’m joking babes, I’m joking! I know it’s - hey, hey Ellie!” Lawrence stopped to shout to Ellie, who had evidently reappeared. “Els! It’s not Puff the Magic Dragon! Where’s my tenner? Hey!” And she was gone in an instant, Tayce turning to watch her chase Ellie as she scurried out.

“Anyway,” Joe continued, motioning to Tayce’s plate and one of the gravestone biscuits, “I’m so glad you’re enjoying mine! I know my sense of humour is a little … ah, morbid, but I didn’t count on being one of two people with this bake, let me tell you that!”

Joe glanced over to the left out the sides of her eyes; Tayce followed her gaze to Pip, oblivious, making herself a cup of tea.

“She didn’t - like, you don’t think she -“

“Oh, no, not in a month of Sundays! But it’s a strange little coincidence, isn’t it? The viewers will love the drama!”

Joe opened her mouth wide to let out a violent cackle, a sound that might have made a shiver glide down Tayce’s spine if she hadn’t been mid-biscuit.

——

Technical: 8 Wagon Wheels

The Technical challenge was the first time Tayce felt her nerves return in a rush.

Everyone had identical ingredients and an identical recipe, but nothing prepared any of them for whipping the gingham cloth from them all and flipping the instructions over. Tayce ran her pencil down them, her head spinning.

On the first read, she recalled nothing.

Focus.

She took one steadying breath, letting go of as many nerves as she could, and then ran her pencil back down the list, jotting down timings and a couple of notes. They only had an hour and a half; precision was key.

On her right, Aurora was fidgeting with her apron, twisting her hair around her finger, before grabbing as many bowls as she could from the drawers and setting them all down ready.

It almost felt like more pressure, rather than less, having no judges in the room - just Matt and Noel, and they couldn’t really interact with the bakers at this point, mostly just talking amongst each other and having to film occasional silly quips for the television interludes.

You’re not gonna get this finished if you keep looking at Matt and Noel!

So Tayce mentally blocked out everything and anything around her, not taking her eyes off her workbench. Instructions, ingredients, whisk, repeat. Oven, timers, filling, cooling, done.

She barely remembered anything else that happened in the room.

As she put the last wagon wheel on the tray to take to the front, she wiped her brow, took a swig of tea, and then heard the immortal lines.

“Bakers! You have one minute to go!”

Tayce looked around the room. Tia, three desks ahead, was looking flustered, covered in flour from head to toe - a difficult feat when you were six feet tall - and Veronica, just behind her, was rounding the corner to help her move the biscuits over to the tray one by one as she spread on the jam and marshmallow fluff. Bimini, who Tayce was sure had finished about ten minutes earlier than everyone else, was doing the same thing for Asttina, leaning over her workbench and talking soothingly to her as they both moved biscuits around.

On the other side, Ginny was rubbing Pip’s back, trying to help her load wagon wheels onto the tray but only succeeding in knocking the handbag to the ground. Ellie broke two of her wagon wheels by dropping a palette knife on them, her squeak causing Lawrence to turn from her bench and put her hands on her hips.

But Tayce felt an unexpected wave of relief when she saw Aurora finishing her own biscuits right on schedule, stepping back with a sigh, rolling her head and her eyes to the ceiling.

They had to bring the biscuits to the front table, and put them behind their respective photographs for blind judging. Looking at the other biscuits on the bench, Tayce nodded to herself in satisfaction. She definitely wasn’t the worst. The photos were all a blur, but there was definitely one disaster, chocolate and marshmallow oozing; Ellie’s broken biscuits; and another tray with a biscuit missing.

It was easy to breathe a sigh of relief for herself.

“Just get into any order,” the producer said, pointing to the stools that had been set in front of the table, “but don’t sit directly behind your photo. Otherwise it just looks obvious.”

Tayce’s biscuits were second from the right, so she bunched towards the left, and found herself between Aurora and Joe. Joe had pretended to trip over her feet while carrying her own biscuits up, cackling gleefully at Veronica’s pained expression as she watched. Veronica, mercifully, had sat as far from Joe as she could.

Aurora was breathing rapidly next to her, and Tayce gave her a nudge with her knee.

“Chill girl! Relax! It will be fine!”

Aurora nodded, but said nothing, focusing on trying to breathe at a normal rate once again. Tayce could practically hear her heart hammering. She nudged her again playfully, and Aurora nudged her back, taking a deep breath out and seeming to calm from then.

Once Prue and Paul were back, Tayce grew a little sleepy. The judging went on for much longer than on telly, and tent was hot from all the baking and warm bodies, plus Aurora’s knee jogging rhythmically was enough to make her feel a little drowsy. Her biscuits were second to last, and Tayce wasn’t really focusing on any of the other critiques as they went down the line, not even those of the two women on either side of her.

She hated tents. They reminded her of camping. This one wasn’t like any of the camping tents, propped by firm wooden walls and decorations but it still reminded her of trips to the Gower when she was at primary school. And thinking of the Gower made her think of day-tripping to Tenby, where the air was hazy with salt and fresh fish, and the sea was far too cold as they skimmed stones, watching them bounce once, twice, three times …

A nudge at her side from Aurora brought her down from her reverie; blinking, Tayce saw the judges had reached the biscuits behind her photo, looking up expectantly to see who would claim them.

Oh, yeah. It’s the Technical, and I’m here to be judged.

She raised her hand, realising that she’d been in a dream so long that she didn’t even know what place the judges had called her for.

“Tayce - good flavour, biscuits had a good crunch, and the chocolate has set well; it just wasn’t quite filled enough.”

Nodding and smiling, she waited for them to move on to the next person before she leaned over towards Aurora, muttering from the corner of her mouth “Where did they put me again?”

But before Aurora could answer, Paul spoke up. “And in second place, we have -“

“You came third, you bitch!” Aurora whispered, her mouth open in awe, and she looped her hand into Tayce’s and squeezed. “How do you do it? You always look so put-together! Not like - Miss Second-Place down there.”

Tayce glanced at Veronica, right at the end of the line of bakers on their stools, whose hand was raised to claim second place. She was nodding earnestly at the praise, but she still wasn’t smiling, her lips tight and her other hand still quivering a little in her lap.

“That means that first place goes to - Asttina!”

But Aurora hadn’t let go of Tayce’s hand, and Tayce was suddenly more aware of that contact than whoever the winner was, even as she slowly drew her hand away for the polite applause that followed.

“Where did you come?” Tayce asked her in a whisper.

“Seventh. Not great. I over-baked them a little bit,” Aurora shrugged. “I’m never gonna be good at technical.”

——

“Congrats on coming top of Technical!” Tia clapped Asttina on the back as they came back into Norton Hall, and Asttina responded with her winning smile.

“Thanks, babe. I thought you all deserved a taste of what I can do!”

There was a collective amused murmur around the other bakers at Asttina’s slightly smug tone. Tayce grinned, staying silent for now, wondering what the others would have to say to that.

“Oh, there’s more to come, is there?” Tia continued.

“I should hope so.” Asttina licked her lips. “From all of you lot as well.”

“There’s no need to be cocky,” Veronica said, the first time any of them had really heard her speak. Veronica was tiny, with blonde hair and a nasal voice that was louder than any of them had expected; most likely feeling the sting of coming second.

Asttina shook her hair back. “I’m not cocky, Veronica, I just know what I can do. Read the CV, it’s all there! If you want to win stuff, you need to know yourself. Do you want to win?”

“Does the Pope shit in the woods?” Veronica retorted.

It was Tia’s snort of laughter that started them all off, diffusing the vague tension creeping into the room. Asttina’s laugh was only drowned out by Veronica’s as she realised what she’d said.

“Is the Pope a Catholic, does a bear shit in the woods … I know, I know. I mean, yeah, I definitely do want to win.”

Asttina shrugged. “Then there’s no point being modest about what you can do. Let your bakes do the talking!”

One of the producers came in at that moment, motioning for them all to come round, and they all bunched together.

“Alright folks, the day’s filming is done, we’ll begin tomorrow at nine sharp for the Showstopper challenges. Until then you’re free to relax and have a nice time - please don’t go into any areas marked as Private, and no excessive drinking, but otherwise, have a good night!”

“Thank you!” They chorused, clapping for some unknown reason, as some of the staff rounded up the leftover biscuits and cleared them away.

“The filming crew get them,” Veronica explained to Tia, “I asked earlier what happened to them all because I knew we wouldn’t be able to eat them all.”

“You know what this means?” Cherry said, addressing them all from on top of one of the sofas. “This is the last evening we’ll all be together. Let’s all cheers to the cast of GBBO!”

She pulled a bottle of something from her bag, and the rest of them grabbed a mug each, sharing out the gin Cherry had brought, and bringing all their drinks together in cheers.

——

Showstopper: A gingerbread sculpture of a place that makes you nostalgic.

The Showstopper was about as broad as you could get. Everyone seemed to have something different in mind. Bimini and Asttina, on the two front benches, looked as poised and confident as they had all the previous day; and Asttina, buoyed by her Technical challenge win, puffed her chest in pride.

Tayce had practised her gingerbread over and over, but nothing prepared any of them for being in the tent, where the pastel colours and the novelty of the bright, friendly conversations started to switch to a competitive edge.

Especially after the Technical, where they had all been ranked. Having a number against your name now, combined with a vague grade against the Signature challenge, meant the Showstopper was the be-all and end-all for some of them.

That was it Tayce thought to herself, as she watched Aurora’s grim determination pass her face every second.

And she wasn’t the only one.

Cherry, on the workbench in front of her, had come sixth; but she’d been much quieter all morning, concentrating on reading and re-reading her instructions, tapping her pencil against her chin and growling frustratedly every now and then.

Ellie, wearing a pair or Pip’s elf ears, was doing even worse. Being ranked eleventh had done very little to ease the nerves she had displayed the day before, and her morning had already started with another blue plaster on yet another finger.

But Aurora was the only person Tayce was concentrating on. Something about the way she’d held her hand … and Tayce was far too quick to let her mind run away without her, thinking it meant anything, when obviously it probably didn’t.

“What are you doing?” Tayce called to Aurora over the chatter of everyone else around the room; but Aurora didn’t reply, her tongue running over her lips as she surveyed the mess that was the butter and sugar mix before her.

“Aurora?” She asked, making her way to stand by her behind the bench.

Aurora was still silent, but the noise from the bowls and KitchenAid she was using spoke volumes for her without her needing to say a word.

“D’you want a cup of tea?” Tayce asked her eventually, waiting for the curt nod from Aurora before sprinting to the tea station, in a tent outside.

When she got back, Aurora had moved up to Ellie’s workbench, and even though her back was to Tayce, she could see her shoulders shaking and Ellie’s hand rubbing her back, before offering her a can of the Monster she always had to have, the label covered in masking tape to escape product placement.

Tayce approached them both to comfort Aurora too, but as she did, cameras zoomed in on all three of them. Aurora pushed them both away and walked out of the tent, covering her face.

Ellie looked from the camera to Tayce and then back again, confused more than anything, and Lawrence, turning from her bench, looked back at them all with a frown.

“What’s going on here? Is she alright?” Lawrence pointed to Aurora, who was busy wiping her tears away in the far corner, with Matt Lucas at her side and a camera in her face.

“No,” Tayce muttered, “and she won’t be while there’s a lens on her.”

After that, Tayce kept half an eye on Aurora as she baked. She mostly ignored the cameramen as they hurried around the tent, taking stock footage of them cutting gingerbread shapes, using their ovens, and decorating, but Tayce purposely kept her mouth tightly closed, and her expression firmly neutral.

As Noel called for ten minutes remaining, Tayce was finishing the detailing of the roof of the stadium. The band were meant to be playing biscuit instruments and there was meant to be a crowd, but Tayce had settled for calling it a backstage pass moment, where VIPs could meet them, and just made models of herself and her friends.

“Time is up! Bakers, step away from your bakes!”

Noel called time, and Tayce took a step back to properly admire her finished product - and really, she was blown away by her own bake. The gingerbread houses she’d made in practise had gone alright, but this one, even in the pressure cooker environment of the tent, had gone almost perfectly, down to the timing of the bakes.

“Wow,” Tayce whispered to herself, “week one is done!”

She took a few seconds to admire everyone else’s in the tent. Some were much better than others. Joe’s looked a little strange - she’d meant to do a wedding scene with the gingerbread church, but the roof was crooked, and the gravestones falling over, not supported by the sticky sugar mixture they’d all used as adhesive. Cherry’s ambitious building was incomplete, and Tayce didn’t even know what it was meant to be.

But Asttina’s was incredible - a beautiful beach scene with a model of a beach hut and even a Ferris wheel. Ellie’s technical slip up was definitely repaired by the pub she’d built, adding fondant banners inside and making the dull gingerbread colours come alive with her imaginative take on the icing outside; while Lawrence had made a theatre, melting jelly babies to create beautiful stained glass in the windows, something Tayce kicked herself for not thinking of.

They all had a chance to leave the tent for a break, to sit outside in the shelter, and to have a breather before the actual judging of the bakes was done.

“I don’t envy the judges,” Joe said, her drawling voice awed, as she took in all of the gingerbread houses from their vantage point outside the tent. “They definitely have their work cut out for them, don’t they?”

“Everyone did amazing,” Aurora nodded, “it’s just a case of who did less amazing. D’you reckon they’ll just take this into account, or the whole weekend?”

Tayce didn’t know why she was worrying. Aurora had come middle of the pack in technical, but had been praised for her Signature, and her gingerbread house - modelled on her Nan’s, she had said - was so prim and dainty that Tayce knew the judges were going to eat it up, and not only literally.

“It won’t be you, chillax!” Tayce reached to rub her hand.

“Who d’you reckon it will be then?”

“Well, they tend to take into account the numbers assigned at the Technical challenge, and the Signature comments, to make the first analysis, at least,” Joe chuckled, “that’s what we see on the television. Who were the bottom three for Technical? I was tenth, Ellie was eleventh, who was twelfth again?”

“It’s - erm,” Aurora pointed, but the name escaped her for a second. “Tia. Tia was twelfth.”

“It’s probably between the three of us, then,” Joe said brightly, “unless something goes … horribly wrong to one of the Showstoppers. And how likely is that?”

As they looked through the panels of the tent, one of the gingerbread houses collapsed into pieces onto the tray it was set on.

Tayce glanced around the other eleven bakers to see whose it was.

One of the bakers had her head in her hands, shoulders tensed, while the two people on either side of her hugged her tightly.

——

“Seriously, Joe, how did you make that happen?” Aurora’s voice was hushed, tense, after the award for Star Baker and the first elimination had taken place.

Joe’s eyes widened as she shook her head. “I don’t quite know - maybe it was just something, spoken into the universe, made to happen.”

“Or maybe it was just gravity and shitty caramelised sugar sticking it all together,” Tayce added.

“Yes,” Joe replied, “or that too.”

Joe, Ellie and Tia had all survived their stint in the bottom at Technical - but Pip, who had come ninth in Technical, and whose Signature had received mediocre feedback, had laughed behind gritted teeth at presenting her collapsed gingerbread house - “More of an Ikea house,” Paul had commented cheerily - which had ultimately turned out to be too hard to bite into and had sealed her fate. Not even the lucky elf ears saved her from the first elimination.

“I was so sure I was going home this week,” Aurora sighed later that night, back at Norton Hall, where everyone had eaten so much of each others’ gingerbread houses that they all felt ill.

“You wouldn’t have, yours was good!” Tayce rubbed her arm. “Relax! It’s done now. Just focus on next week instead.”

“And I can’t believe Prue said she’d like to try a bit of carpet when they were looking at Ellie’s pub,” Aurora said, shaking her head. “Did anyone else catch that?”

“Yeah, I did!” Tayce sniggered. “They’re so innocent! This is just gonna be a load of innuendos all season, isn’t it? Imagine what they’re gonna say for next week too.”

“Oh, yeah. It’s cake week, isn’t it?” Aurora seemed to perk up. “That’s a bit more my comfort zone.”

Suddenly the door opened, and Asttina was led back inside the area by the cameraman and a producer. Everyone broke into applause - this time genuine, not the muted, polite sound that had echoed round the tent in the technical. Asttina had just given her winner’s interview and called her family, and now wore the Star Baker badge proudly on the lapel of her jacket, her grin wider than the Cheshire Cat’s.

“How did your mum react when you said you were Star Baker this week?” Bimini asked her.

Asttina smiled the warmest smile any of them had seen all weekend from her at the mention of her family. “They screamed so loud that you probably all heard it in here. My mum was falling off the sofa, my dad was waving a wooden spoon, my brother was banging on the floor with his feet - oh, it was great.”

“Well-deserved, babes,” Bimini nodded, and Asttina pulled them in for a hug.

Everyone else was clamouring around Asttina, congratulating her on her Star Baker win this week and admiring the badge she’d won - biscuit-shaped, or at least cookie-shaped - but Tayce hung back, exchanging a glance with Aurora, a glint in her eye; and both of them knew what the other was thinking.

Let’s not cross Joe Black. She might make our Showstoppers crumble.

——

ELEVEN BAKERS REMAIN

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artificialqueens · 3 years

Text

The Point's That There In't No Romance Around There, Chapter 2 (Diamond Chaney, Multi) - Sportkura

AO3 link

chapter 2: and i tried last night to pack away your laugh (like a key under the mat)

A/N: aka: The Girls Being A Menace To Diamond Chaney, or Lawrence & Ellie: Idiots To Lovers.

—

“Surely they’re not this oblivious, right?”

“Oh Vee,” Tia replies. ”You underestimate Lawrence and Ellie too much. They're capable of even being more clueless than they are right now.”

The rest of the girls chuckle at Tia’s ribbing and continue to watch as Lawrence and Ellie take off their makeup in the same station, shoulders and knees almost touching with how close they are. They just finished filming the finale, and while they're all excited to see each other again, there’s more important stuff at hand, like gossip. The cameras are blissfully off, so the girls are relieved this won’t air when they watch in interest as the two queens are indifferent to everyone around them, attention only to each other.

“Oh look at them, in their own little world.” Joe sighs in mock wistfulness. “Ah, young love.”

Cherry snorts. “You’re only 30, love. It’s not too late yet.”

“Still!”

“Okay, so—” Sister interjects. “—can we all agree that this was cute at first, but now it’s just borderline painful? This has been going on since the first episode babes!”

“We did have a bit of a break in between.” Cherry sighed. “So really, can’t blame them for acting like that.”

They’re met with a chorus of yep’s, uh huh’s, and oh sure’s, and even the noise doesn’t interrupt the moment the two Scots are having. They hear Ellie shout “Stop—! Lawrence, bugger off, I’m gonna get Micellar water in my eye you cow—”, laughter and adoration coloring his voice. They watch as Lawrence keeps making smart remarks ("Well if you don’t want shaky hands then you have t’stop drinking that Mango Loco, you’re already a fuckin’ energizer bunny—”), eyes fond and grin even fonder.

All of them collectively wince.

“Girl, this isn’t borderline painful.” Tayce comments. “This is painful. Oh, good God—s’like watching a trainwreck.”

“You can see the hearts practically surround them like a cartoon.” A'Whora mimes throwing up. “Disgusting, really. Absolutely appalling.”

“I know they’re rather preoccupied, but d—d’you reckon they know about….us, as well?” Bimini hesitantly inquired. They were met with a chorus once again, this time full of protests, what are you talking about’s and half-hearted excuses, which Ginny scoffs at.

“Oh, don’t give them that!” Ginny snapped. “I’m betting my right arsecheek that Lawrie knows about all of us anyways, and if she’s got us all figured out, we might as well hang it on a fucking billboard.”

An awkward air permeates the group at the sudden revelation of feelings, only to be cut by Tayce.

“Well—cat’s out of the bag.” He muses. “So let’s not worry about that anymore, alright? We’re all good judy’s here?”

“What I’m more worried about is the fans. I mean—” Veronica nervously adds. “—good job on all of us for figuring our shit out sooner rather than later, but I’m curious as to why we’re going for the more subtle route and they’re….not.”

They continue watching in pain, until a voice pipes up.

“Think we’ll finally beat the American girls when word slips out ‘bout all of us?”

Asttina’s quip immediately gets taken over by a cacophony of Don’t joke about that’s that finally has Lawrence and Ellie look in their direction, and they all hurry back into taking off their makeup as well.

(See, Lawrence has been observing, but what he doesn't know is that the rest of them—sans Ellie—have been observing them as well.)

Cherry spots it the moment Ellie walks into the werkroom, and she turns to her other side to see the other girl's reactions and sees Lawrence, whose face is a myriad of emotions Cherry can’t quite understand. Was it shock? Jealousy? Alarm?

Lawrence makes a side comment about how Ellie will be eating shit soon with those fuckin’ chaps she’s wearing, the clumsy bitch—and beams as Ellie poses for the camera.

Once they're all sat down, Ellie smiles at Lawrence, all shy and timid, and Lawrence gives a small grin back, and then it all clicks for her.

Asttina catches it when they’re rehearsing for Rats, all trying to quell Lawrence’s sudden panic. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Ellie, ever the empath, trying hard not to cry at the sight of his friend in deep distress. He sees Ellie’s hand clench and unclench and the tense set to his shoulders, like he’s doing everything he can to not run up to Lawrence and dry his tears.

Once they're done with rehearsals, Asttina smiles as Ellie immediately goes to Lawrence’s side, saying something so ridiculous that sets Lawrence off wheezing for a minute.

A’Whora almost weasels something out of them during lunch. It’s a rambunctious but pleasant affair; they’re all bonded as a group well enough to fill the silence with small talk and laughter, and he unceremoniously plops himself right next to Ellie instead of going to Tayce’s side, to which the Dundee queen immediately side-eyes him for.

“Alright.” A’Whora starts, appearing as nonchalant as he can. “Is Lawrence just taking the piss, or are you two really swapping kilts on the down low?”

Ellie almost chokes on his food, but immediately recovers. “What—scared we’re taking the spotlight from you and Tayce?”

A’Whora scoffs. “Oh please, as if I’d let that happen!” And continues in ragging on Ellie.

It doesn’t escape A’Whora’s notice that Ellie completely dodges his question.

Sister begins to suspect something when she and Ellie joke about snogging during Untucked, sees Lawrence narrow her eyes in suspicion before going back to sulk about her performance in Snatch Game. She’s not a heartless bastard, so she does her best to comfort the Glaswegian, and later when the lip sync starts, Ellie holds her hand in a vice.

When Lawrence is declared safe, she sees Ellie's body visibly sag in relief. She pretends to not catch the tears in her eyes, and just squeezes her hand in comfort.

(When they're all in the studio for their meet the queens videos, they all ask Tayce, A'Whora and Bimini just what the hell is going on between the two Scots. It’s been eating everyone else up for weeks, since their little scene after filming the finale, and the 7 of them pester the other half of the top 5 about it until they relent.

When they know Lawrence and Ellie can’t hear them, Tayce, A'Whora and Bimini just look at each other, then back at the rest of the girls.

“So—I don’t wanna beat around the bush, but you thought they were together?” Tayce asks them. The other queens stare at each other in confusion.

“T-they’re not?” Tia clarifies. “Are you sure?”

“Did we not see the same thing at the finale?” Sister interjects.

“Did they break it off and just decide to be friends or something?” Asttina adds.

“Oh, they’re definitely not dating babes.” Bimini answers, swiping their face with a cotton pad. “Completely gone on each other? For sure. But dating?”

“Nope!” Tayce answers back. A'Whora mhm’s in resigned agreement.

The confusion, then, turns into outright distraught. They all chance a look at Lawrence, who’s trying to pack her outfit, and Ellie, sprawled on the couch, still in drag and pestering her. They turn back to Tayce, A'Whora and Bimini, who suddenly look tired.

“You’re kidding.” Asttina exclaims, long-sufferingly.

A'Whora chuckles, though there’s no humor in it. “How do you think we feel?”)

See, Lawrence Chaney wasn’t as dense as a sack of bricks when it came to feelings.

The thing is, he didn’t specify whose feelings, though.

Sure, he might be a little clueless—oblivious, some might say—when it came to other people fancying him, but that was less of actual airheadedness and more insecurity and self-deprecation. Which, to be honest, was not the topic on hand at all, because there are more important things to think about right now.

It hits him, once everything's done and the season has finished airing, that he and Ellie are the only ones left. They're the only ones left. He figured everyone else’s shit out, but that left him and Ellie sticking out like sore thumbs.

It shouldn't bother him, because should anyone really give a rats ass about the fact that all the other girls have more or less hooked up? But the thought proverbially slaps him across the head and knocks his brain sideways, and he begs whatever deity that is listening to him that Ellie doesn't realize that everyone else seems to have paired off except them, and then the thought slaps him across the face again as to why he’s panicking about not wanting Ellie to realize in the first place. It’s not like he likes Ellie that way, right?

Lawrence’s eyes widen.

He’s—oh don’t tell him he’s—

It shocks him straight to the bone at first, his sudden feelings towards the one person more oblivious than he is, and in a blind panic he calls the first contact he sees on his phone, which was Sister.

“Now? You only realized you bloody liked her now?!” Sister shouts in bewilderment once the other queen finishes his tirade. “You won RuPaul's Drag Race and you only figured out your feelings for Ellie now?!”

“Alrigh’, I get i—I get it! You can stop actin’ like I pissed in ‘yer bed!”

“Please tell me you’re joking, love.” Sister pleads. "We thought you knew since the finale.”

“Oh really, Miss 'I-thought-Gin-leaving-the-competition-was-because-she-hated-me’? You're really going to be like that with me right now?”

“Right–um, no, we’re not going to talk about that.” Sister says with finality. “We’re going to talk about you, and what you’re gonna do with this.”

Gonna do with this…?

“Gonna do with this?” Lawrence questioned. “Gonnae do with ‘what’, exactly?”

“This!” Sister’s tone is borderline hysterical. “Your feelings! For Ellie! For the love of—if you tell me you’re going to pull an A'Whora and bottle this up, I wi—I will come down to Glasgow and smack you right across the head.”

The resounding silence sets the Liverpool resident off even more. “Lawrence.” He says, scandalized.

“Well I’m not the most articulate person, am I?!” Lawrence replies, equally scandalized. “I—I was jus’ hoping this’ll y’know….die down? S’not like El’s fancies me back, either.”

(Lawrence doesn’t see it, but Sister momentarily throws his phone on the table to clutch at his beanie like it’s giving him a headache.)

“Loz,” Sister picks his phone up again. “I say this with kindness—and because by virtue of Rupaul, we’re family now.”

Lawrence rolls his eyes as Sister continues slowly. “If you can figure out me and Gin, and Joe and Cherry, and about everyone else—you can figure out that Ellie’s crazy for you, too.”

“So I was right!” Lawrence completely ignores the last part because hoo boy he needs to unpack that later, and cheers in triumph. “I knew there was something going on with all of you’s, and then you lot kept denying it!”

“Lawrence, I swear to God—” He gives him the Sister Sister Resigned Sigh in B Flat. “—Not the point! If you don’t tell El’s yourself, we will.”

“Excuse me—we?”

“Yes, Loz, all of us, and we’ll actually do it, don’t think we’re just ripping the piss out of you.” To add insult to injury, he continues, serious this time. “Look, we ju—we just don’t want you to botch this up.”

“Oh get the fuck out of here! What is this—a shitty Netflix movie?”

“Some of us—” Sister continued, undeterred. “—some of us have done something really stupid, like say—spontaneously book a train from Brighton to Darlington to visit one person, or uh—move in with someone you swore you weren’t love with. Maybe even almost break quarantine protocols just to spend a weekend in someone’s flat in Worcester—”

“—And whose fault was that, really?”

“One date.” Sister pleads with him. “Just ask her out on one date, you know Ellie—if she turns you down, she won’t let it ruin your friendship. She’s more horizontal than a goddamn pool cue.”

He continues, voice bordering on exasperation. “And all of us know she won’t turn you down—Lawrence, for the love of god, she looks at you like you invented that Mango Loco Monster she bloody likes—”

“—I’m not doing this with you!” Lawrence says with fake enthusiasm as he abruptly ends the call, and sinks even deeper onto his couch.

He supposes he’ll never exactly pinpoint when his feelings towards Ellie went from platonic to more than. Ellie was a good friend. More than a good friend, even. Was the closest thing he had to a best friend—a constant—in the competition. They’ve been through thick and thin, ever since that one fateful Instagram DM all those years ago. Ellie saw all the parts in him, both good and bad, and still decided to stick by his side. He hopes he was like that to Ellie too, despite everything that tried to get in their way.

Maybe it was that one night in Dundee, maybe it was when she saw her walk into the werkroom, maybe it was when Ellie called him at one in the morning after that night—that night when that episode aired that they’ll never talk about except in I’m sorry’s and It’s okay’s. Maybe there was never an exact moment, even. Maybe it was always there, simmering but never boiling-over; ever-present but never obvious for them to notice it.

Bastards. Sister was right.

They may have their arguments and spats (that one episode still rings clear in his head) but he’ll be damned if he let’s anything ruin his friendship with his fellow Scot.

He just hopes his feelings won’t be the final nail on the coffin.

He spends a good chunk of time agonizing over it, the dramatic little shit that he is. Said good chunk of time involves a lot of swearing, pacing around the flat, laying on the couch and moaning about the situation he’s in. His phone buzzes a couple of minutes later and Lawrence chooses to ignore it, knowing that it's Sister again and he doesn't want to hear another lecture, thank you very much.

“Acting like a mother hen—chrissakes—I’m only a coupla’ years younger than her and now she’s preachin’ t’me about ‘doing the right thing’.” Lawrence mumbles to himself, and sees that his phone is buzzing again, this time a message from Ginny.

From: Gin x

ffs lawza answer sister already she’s gettin pissy

and stop being an idiot and just tell els she’s probably just as obsessed with u babs

To: Gin x

and fuck off ❤️

Speaking of doing the right thing—he pulls up his calendar and notices that he has to do a video with Ellie this weekend, and spends the next hour not only thinking of a video idea, but what to do with his feelings for the Dundee queen.

Once everything’s set, he just waits for the inevitable.

The recording went well, Lawrence supposes. It was fun to go back to memory lane and see all the old (circa 2016) videos of them, but the more they watch old videos of them, together, bantering, performing and getting the crowd hyped up, it becomes more and more glaring that this has been in the running for a long time. She introduces Ellie in one video, and Lawrence cringes at the way her voice absolutely goes in that adoring quality when talking about the Dundee queen. Either Ellie doesn't notice, or she’s just being nice and doesn't mention it to her. Lawrence isn’t religious, but she briefly looks up and sends a prayer in thanks—for appearing normal somewhat on tape right now—and not like the melting pot of nerves she is on the inside.

The video is all done and is ready to send to her editor, but they watch a couple more for nostalgia’s sake. There’s this one particular video, though, of them bantering to stall some time for the next performer, and when she looks at Ellie, who’s looking at the screen, all she sees is unabashed affection in her eyes, and once again she thanks whatever deity is looking out for her now that they’ve stopped recording.

Now or never, Lawza.

“Listen, El’s—” Lawrence rushes out. “—D’you fancy going to lunch with me later?”

“Hm? Oh! Yeah, sure.” Ellie distractedly replies back, and tears her eyes away from the video. “Want to invite the other girls? Heard A’Whora and Tayce are in town.”

Of course they are, probably wanting to spy on us too like some nosy fuckers. “No, I–uh–I was thinkin’ it could be just—us two?”

Ellie smirks, and goes back to watching the video. “What—like a date?”

She meant it as a joke—Lawrence knows this—but when she remembers how insane this past year has been for her drag career and for her feelings towards Ellie, she thinks screw it and is serious for once when she says, “Ye–yeah, actually.”

This time, Ellie’s head snaps up to her, completely forgetting about the video playing on the laptop. “Loz, wha—”

“See, I’ve been thinking,” Lawrence starts, eyes closed like she’s bracing for impact, afraid of the car crash that is her nervous rambling. “Which I know—surprising, right? But yeah, I just realized now that all of our sisters are practically recitin’ wedding vows to each other right now, which just leaves us two, and for a second, I didny want you to realize that.”

“Loz—”

“—A-and then I don’t know why I didn’t want you to realize that everybody else has been pairing up except us, and when I did realize why, I was—I was just about to shit myself, because, god, El’s—”

“—Lawza—”

She takes a shuddering breath, and continues. “—I’m so fuckin’ gone on you. Fully wig over heels. Probably have been for a long time now, so I’m sorry for springing this up on you so sudden. You’re like, my best pal—but Sister said the rest of the gals will kill me if I don’t pussy up and say anything—which, I don’t wanna risk, personally—they’re fuckin’ terrifying when they want t’be, especially Sister, still don’t know why she brought an axe at the finale—”

“—Lawrence!”

“Yeah—?” Lawrence finally stops her rambling, and when she opens her eyes, she sees the same unabashed affection on Ellie’s face, only this time aimed at her.

“Would you kill me if I said I was gonna say yes even if you didn’t have to explain yourself?” She jokes.

“Well—I—”

“I’m fucking gone on you too, dumbass.” She says lightly, though Lawrence can see her blush peeking out from her foundation. “Have been for a while now too, though I just didn’t notice it until you were rambling about it—you know me, fuckin’ A’Whora could scream from the rooftops about how she’s bangin’ Tayce and I wouldn’t even blink twice—so yeah, I’m crazy for you too. Don’t know why I only realized now, but em—”

“Now who’s rambling?” Lawrence teases, and oh fuck, she doesn’t know if its from Ellie’s confession or from her corset, but she suddenly feels lightheaded.

“Oh my god—shut up! You’re ruining the moment.” Ellie grins, and Lawrence thinks she could get used to that cheeky grin being directed at her, even when she’s being a little shit.

“Yes, I would like to get lunch with you, bestie.” Ellie continues, batting her lashes for emphasis, and stands up to run away from Lawrence when she approaches her.

“Oh, playing cheeky with me, are ye? After I fuckin’ poured my heart out for you—”

“Nobody said you had to write a fucking sonnet, Shakespeare! Lawrence if you come any closer I swear—”

(During their date, Lawrence snaps a photo of them eating lunch—he’s a sentimental cow like that—and posts the photo on his Instagram stories, writing “forced me tae have brunch w/ her send help xx” as a caption to avoid suspicion from the fans. Several pings! come from his phone not even a minute later, and he groans loudly at the fact that the notifications came from 10 certain people replying to his story.

“Someone giving you a hard time?” Ellie inquires, and tries to take a peek at his phone.

Lawrence squeezes his hand to placate him. “Several someone's actually. But naw–s’okay mum, I got it.” He jokes, and fires a quick “i hate you x” to A’Whora’s “FUCKING FINALLY. tell me when u want to double date!!!” and to Sister’s “told you so you hound 😘”.)

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