#hes just buzzing for a moment but once he eats some peanut butter cookies | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

wicked-mind · 3 years

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Snips

Summary: You are assigned as Bucky’s partner. These are moments or as I like to call them, ‘snips,’ of moments together.

Word Count: 9.2k ( I got carried away )

Warnings: Swearing. Drinking. Some edibles in here. Pining. Serial Killer mentioned (you’re the daughter of one). Violence.

Note: This contains ‘snips’ of your and Bucky’s relationship/partnership throughout two years together. This contains an idea sparked from Criminal Minds concerning Rossi’s storyline. There will probably more of the Bucky and Snips adventures in the future (:

All Writing Masterlist

Any likes, comments, and/or reblogs are always appreciated (: I love that shit!

— The Beginning —

“You’ve gotta be shittin’ me.” Bucky grumbled with his arms crossed. The last thing he wanted was a partner that wasn’t Steve. Hell, he’d even take the birdbrain, Sam. But Steve had this whole idea that everybody needed a designated partner to go on missions with. He thought it would be good for moral and help create a more open group between the avengers and agents than just having the ‘super squad.’ Bucky followed Steve up to the window here they watched some agents train, glaring down at them. He watched one young blonde haired male agent slip on the obstacle course, causing him to scoff, “Really Steve? They can’t even make it to the end.” Steve chuckles and shakes his head slightly, his arms crossed against his chest, “Don’t worry. You partner isn’t one of these agents. They’re new.” He said, starting to walk further down the hallway until they were looking at the advance training corse. It was set up with androids Tony created to test agents in real life situations. The weapons the androids used weren’t lethal as they were only rubber but left nasty welts and bruises. Steve looked down at the woman pinned behind a concrete barrier as three androids approached, “That’s your partner.”

Bucky looked down at the woman as the androids got closer, watcher her quickly move to take cover behind a metal crate. She was playing too defensively and the androids were cornering her, “God, Steve. She might as well be over with the newbies.”

Steve looked at Bucky for a moment before back down to the woman, “Just watch, Buck.” He said. He knew Bucky had rolled his eyes but saw from the corner of his eyes that Bucky listened and was watching the woman. The woman peeked her head around the container for a split second before rubber bullets started to fire at her. She took a deep breath and readied her pistol. She looked up to Bucky and Steve for a split second a smirked before stepping out from behind the steel container, eyes closed, and firing three shots. All three bullets hit the three androids in their metal heads, causing them to fall. The woman opened one eye to look at them on the floor before shrugging to herself and walking off the course. Steve looked at Bucky, “Master marksman. Trained by Clint before he retired. She’s top of her class.”

Bucky rolls his eyes over to Steve, “She seems cocky.” He muttered out, arms still crossed against his chest as if to say he wasn’t budging on this partner thing.

Steve smiled slightly and patted Bucky on the shoulder, “Then you two already have something to bond over.” He said with one more pat before leaving Bucky to stand alone in his pout.

Bucky didn’t like very many people. He is not what you would classify as a ‘people person.’ But it’s understandable after all he has been through. So when the idea from Steve came around to set every avenger up with a partner, Bucky wasn’t thrilled about the idea. He didn’t need someone else around him all the time, especially on missions getting in the way. It was a hard first six months of Bucky and you getting to know each other after being partnered with you. You couldn’t even count the times that he called you annoying or a brat. He even called you close to useless one time before you took out a target sneaking up on him which he then apologized for, instead saying you’re just slightly useless. Eventually it seemed a tide had turned and the two of you began being friends. He even gave you a nickname, Snips, given to you due to all your snippy comments you made to him when you went on missions together and also due to you sniping targets at almost a record length.

What you didn’t know is that while you thought you two were becoming good friends, Bucky was developing feelings for you. He loved the way you snapped back to him, always having something to say. He liked having you always looking over his shoulder when on missions even though he spent the first months saying he didn’t need you. You two were like each other’s shadows. Something he loved most about his partnership with you was the trust. You two trusted each other with everything. Loyalty was a big thing to Bucky and the loyalty you gave off just made him like you that much more. Once reporter dared to say something about Bucky still being the Winter Soldier and he had to hold you back from her and drag you away as you yelled obscenities in his defense.

— The Cookie Situation —

There were aspects of the super serum that coursed through Bucky’s veins that he hated. One was that he could never get drunk to have a peaceful night without his nightmares no matter how much whiskey he drank. But he did find something to help take a little bit of the edge off. The super serum that ran through Bucky’s body was different than Steve’s. It was sort of a knock-off version which meant that with enough of the potent ingredient, edibles worked a little bit. He hadn’t really told anybody about this recent development and always had them hand delivered. They were custom baked for him meaning the nice lady who made them always just sent them in a clear container with no warning labels since Bucky was always the one to receive the package personally. His favorite were the peanut butter cookies and he hand an order to be hand delivered today but he had one problem. Bucky was stuck in a stupid meeting with the lead Avengers, going over the missions for the last month.

You just happened to be taking a walk through the front of the facility when the delivery guy showed up with Bucky’s package. You smiled and signed for it, seeing the cookies through the clear container. You headed back into the facility to set the cookies in Bucky’s room, snatching one for yourself for being such a good delivery girl.

Bucky looked down at his phone as it buzzed, seeing the message saying ‘My son delivered your cookies to a Ms. Y/L/N.’ Oh no. Oh god. There was no way you weren’t going to eat one of those cookies especially after Bucky had eaten the last slice of your peach pie a few days ago. He quickly sent you a message.

Thanks for picking up my package. Just leave them in my room. For the love of god don’t eat them.

He bit his lip and fiddled with his phone as he waited for you to text him back.

Don’t tell me what to do. You ate my pie.

Oh shit. Oh fuck. Bucky had about another hour of this meeting left and meanwhile you probably ate one of his extremely potent cookies. He hoped to god that the cookies wouldn’t kick in for you until he was finished with his meeting. As soon as the meeting ended, Bucky quickly exited the briefing room and started his search for you. First place he looked was the kitchen for obvious reasons but you weren’t there. Instead, Peter Parker, Tony’s partner, was making a sandwich, “Parker! Have you seen Y/N around?”

Peter jumped slightly at the booming of Bucky’s voice, looking at him as he held his sandwich in his hands, “Uhm… Yeah.” He began, “She came in a little bit ago. Her eyeballs were huge, man. I asked her if she wanted a sandwich and she just backed out of the room. Weird right?”

Bucky let out a fake chuckle before swallowing hard, “Yeah, weird.” He muttered, “Well, if you see her come find me.” With that, Bucky turned and continued his search of the facility for you. He eventually gave up on trying to find you himself, “F.R.I.D.A.Y. where is Y/N at in the facility?”

“Ms. Y/L/N is currently in the south elevator.” The AI responded.

“Where is she headed?” Bucky asks.

“No where, Mr. Barnes. Ms. Y/L/N is just standing in the elevator on the second floor.”

Bucky let out a sigh before making his way to the south elevators, clicking the button from the fourth floor hoping you would sill be standing in the elevator. To his luck, there you were when the elevator doors opened standing in the corner with wide eyes looking at Bucky. He walks in and folds his arms, glaring down at you, “Snips. Did you eat one of my cookies?”

You open your mouth to talk but then shut it quickly. Everything was moving different around you like it was somewhere trapped between super slow motion and super speed. You couldn’t figure out which. You bit down on your bottom lip as you stared up at Bucky with blown pupils. When did he get so tall? You glance down to see if for some reason he was wearing high heels but only saw the same black combat boots he always wore perfectly tied.

“Snips!” Bucky said a little louder, snapping his fingers in front of your face to get you out of your trance. He already knew his answer from the way you were looking at him as if trying to discern if he was real or not. The cookies never made him even close to this but then again he was a super soldier.

“Noooo.” You said slowly, drawing out the vowel. You put your hands behind your back and pursed your lips together as you met his gaze.

Bucky ran his flesh hand over his face, trying to figure out what he should do with you when he heard the elevator doors open behind him to see Sam’s eyes flickering between the two.

“What’re you two doin’ just standing in the elevator?” Sam asks, stepping inside and pressing a button to the fifth floor. As the elevator started to move, he folded his arms as he looked between you and Bucky, who had moved to stand beside you, suspiciously. After a moment of silence, Sam turned his gaze on Bucky, “What did you do?”

Bucky shook his head slightly, “I didn’t…. do anything.” He said which was true. He didn’t do anything. He didn’t give you possibly one of the most potent edible peanut butter cookies in the country. You took it upon yourself to eat the cookie.

Sam raised his eyebrows at Bucky as if to say ‘I don’t believe you’ but before he could dig a little deeper, the elevator doors dinged open and he walked out leaving you and Bucky alone in the elevator again.

Bucky let out a sigh of relief when the elevator doors shut leaving you two alone again. He clicks the seventh floor button so he could take you back to your room where nobody would catch you all wide eyed and zonked out of your brain. He waited for the doors to open before looking at you, “C’mon, Snips.” He said and started walking out of the elevator but as soon as he did you pushed the close door button and the button to the main floor. Bucky turned around to see the doors close, “Snips!” He yelled before hearing the elevator going down. He threw his head back in defeat and frustration, “Holy shit.” He muttered out before heading to take the stairs to find you once again.

With the help of F.R.I.D.A.Y., Bucky figured out you were outside in the small garden area in the backyard. Bucky quickly made his way out there to find you staring at all the different colors of bloomed tulips like it was some sort of miracle or act of god. He walked up and gently put a hand on your shoulder, “Y/N. We should get back to your room.”

You jumped slightly at his hand on your shoulder suddenly, tearing your gaze away from the rainbow of flowers before looking up at Bucky with wide eyes again, “Bucky!” You said before looking back at the flowers, “Do you think the flowers, like, know what color they are? Or are they just as surprised as we are when they bloom?”

Bucky dropped his head at your words. You were completely stoned and not cooperating. He looked back at you, “Snips. Let’s go back to your room and I’ll make you my ma’s spaghetti.” He bargained.

Your eyes immediately dart back to his at the mention of food, “Oooooh…. Noodles.” You said as a smile creeped across your lips, “And sauce. Bucky’s sauce and Bucky’s noodles…” You stifle a laughter at your own words then just start bursting out in laughter, “Bucky’s noodle.”

Bucky stared at you for a moment, “Oh. My. God.” He hissed out at you. That’s it. He’s done trying to be reasonable with you right now. He picks you up and throws you over his shoulder as you’re still howling with laughter into his back and you didn’t stop laughing for a moment until he put you down in the safety of your own room, kicking the door shut behind him. Bucky watches you take a moment to catch your breath and your laughter turn into giggles until you stop laughing, “Snips, listen. That cookie you ate was a very potent edible, alright? You need to stay in here until your come down.”

You tilt your head at his words, narrowing your eyes onto his face to focus before they widened again, “Oh my god. You’re a secret stoner.” You said, pointing your finger at him.

Bucky rolls his eyes, “No I’m not. They barely do anything to me, just helps me sleep.” He defended, glaring at you, “Now sit your ass down and I’ll make the spaghetti.” He ordered, pointing over to the couch.

You salute him, “Yes, Sergeant.” You said with a smile before turning on your toes and plopping yourself down on your small couch and turning on the tv to some cartoon. You listened to Bucky go through the small kitchen in your apartment suite. Even though there was a full community kitchen downstairs, each room came with its own accommodations such as a full bathroom, a living room, a bedroom, and a kitchen as well. You could smell the marinara waft through the room and you made a small ‘mmmm’ noise at the smell before you were interrupted by your phone buzzing. You pulled it out and checked the message before your eyes widened. You launched yourself off the couch and went over to Bucky in the kitchen, “Bucky! Logan’s downstairs!” You whisper, pointing at your phone.

Bucky looked at you confused, “Who’s Logan?” He asks, “And why are you whispering?”

You ignored the second question, continuing in a whisper, “I was supposed to have a date with Logan tonight and he just texted me to say he’s here.” You tell him, still pointing at the phone.

Bucky couldn’t help but flinch as the word ‘date’ passed your lips. Date? You were going on a date with a stranger? He folded his arms, “Nope. No way you’re going out on a date tonight. Stark is still upset about the whole reporter thing, there is no way you’re going out stoned out of your mind. I’ll deal with it.” He said, snatching your phone from you so you couldn’t do anything stupid with it, “Stir the sauce, I’ll be back.”

You nod slowly to Bucky and pick up the wooden spoon, staring to stir the sauce and getting memorized in the act easily.

Bucky watched you for a moment and rolled his eyes at how easily amused you got stirring the red sauce. He walks out of your room and to the elevators, going to the main floor and out to the front of the facility where he saw a black car parked and a man sitting in the driver’s seat. Bucky tapped on the window until the man rolled the window down, “You Logan?” He asks, taking a good look at the man you were supposed to go on a date with. He looked tall, not very much muscle though and was pretty much the exact opposite of Bucky. He had blonde curly hair and big brown eyes.

Logan nods, “Yes, sir. I’m here to pick up Y/N?” He asks, fidgeting with the phone in his hands. He couldn’t lie, the six foot mass of muscle leaning over to peer at him through the window was intimidating. This must be Y/N’s partner she had told him about.

“Yeah, that’s not gonna happen tonight, kid.” Bucky muttered out, his lips drawn into a stern line as he looked around Logan’s car before back to Logan, “She’s sick. Sorry she didn’t tell you.” He said, turning to leave but then turned back at Logan, “And next time you ask a girl on a date, bring flowers and actually get out of the car.” He hissed out before making his way back into the facility. You deserved better in Bucky’s mind. You should be greeted with a smile and flowers at the doorstep before being walked to the car where the door would be opened for you. Stupid kids nowadays. Bucky made his way back up to your room where he found you still stirring the sauce, ��All taken care of, Snips.”

You shook your head slightly as he came back inside and took the wooden spoon from you, “What’s taken care of?” You ask confused before remembering, “Ah right. Date night.” Bucky put the pasta into the boiling water, “He’s a punk anyway. You deserve better.” He grumbled out but you were already entranced back to the cartoon playing on the tv. He watched you for a moment, wondering what it would be like for him to be on your level. You were happy about anything and found everything interesting or funny. The cookies never did that to him. Once the pasta was done, he set up two servings and slumped on the couch with you, passing you your plate. He watched the dumb cartoon with you, smiling when you would laugh at things he didn’t really think were that funny. Bucky loved the way you laughed, especially right now. It was pure happiness that rang in your voice. When dinner was done, Bucky did the dishes and cleaned up everything before settling back on the couch beside you. You had changed the cartoon to some comedy movie and were snuggled up half asleep on the couch. You gravitated towards his natural warmth, leaning your head on his shoulder and wrapping your arms around his right muscular one. This was the moment Bucky decided he was unbelievably and unbearable in love with you. The way you curled up against him so easily. The way you looked sleeping comfortably against him like you knew he was there to help you, to keep you safe.

— Birthdays Are The Worst —

Today was special. It was your first birthday as part of the avengers and Wanda as well as Natasha had made a deal about throwing you a surprise breakfast followed by a party later that night. You didn’t like birthdays. It was always the worst day of the year. You used to love your birthday- the cake, gifts, surprises but that changed when you were fifteen. You groaned awake at the sound of your alarm, picking up the clock from the bedside table and yanking the cord out of the wall to shut it up before tossing it at the wall for good measure. You pulled yourself out of bed, already defeated by this day. You managed to stomp yourself into your bathroom without throwing anything else and showered, brushed your teeth, and got yourself ready for the day. You took one last look in the mirror at yourself before walking out of your bedroom and heading to the kitchen glaring at the floor. You almost jumped out of your skin when everybody yelled ‘SURPRISE! Happy birthday!’ You put your hand to your chest as if they gave you a heart attack before looking all of them over. Natasha, Wanda, Steve, Vision, Bucky, and Sam as well as the rest of their partners were there with party hats on and mimosas in their hands with big smiles on their faces. You looked all of them over for a moment standing in place before seeing an unopened champagne bottle on the table behind them. You took a deep breath and stomped over, grabbing the bottle by the neck before turning back to head to your room without a word to anybody.

Everybody watched you go until the door slammed behind you to your room. Natasha looked over at everybody else, “Okay… What just happened?” She asks confused.

Vision tilts his head slightly, “It seems she is not a fan of birthdays or surprises.”

Steve looked towards Bucky, “Maybe you should go talk with her.” He said, his brow pulled together to create a pinch in his forehead.

Bucky sighs, “Yeah… I got it.” He says, taking off his party hat and chucking it on the table before heading down the hallway and turning the corner to stand outside your bedroom door. He sighs and knocks softly, “Snips? Wanna talk ‘bout it?”

“Nope!”

Bucky sighs again, “Well, do you at least need help with the cork? You can never do it right and you don’t need to be losin' an eye.”

There was silence for a moment from you before you finally said, “That would be wise.”

Bucky opened your door slowly and walked in, seeing you sitting on the bed untwisting the metal that kept the cork in place in the bottle. He shuts the door behind him and approaches you to take the bottle, popping the cork without causing any foam and passing it back to you. He watched you take a bigger swallow than you probably should’ve and folds his arms, “So which is it? Hate birthdays or surprises? Because I know you like pancakes.”

You look up at Bucky for a moment then back to the champagne bottle, “I don’t hate birthdays or surprises. I just hate my birthday.” You said softly, “Doesn’t help that Logan dropped his phone in the ocean on his stupid vacation so all I got was a text from some random number that said ‘Happy Birthday! Heart, Logan.”

Bucky rolls his eyes. That stupid idiot boyfriend of yours being stupid again, not a surprise. He couldn’t count the times he’s been annoyed at Logan’s late night phone calls with you, the giggle you’d make when you got a message from him, or the way you’d scrunch your nose when he pissed you off. But the thing that annoyed him most was when Logan would scroll through his phone while you watched movies in the living room with everybody else as you curled up next to him as if trying to grasp his attention. Bucky always ended up watching your movements towards Logan more than the movies, he couldn’t even tell you the character’s names in half the movies from being so focused on you. This just added to the list of why he hated Logan, “Your boyfriend is an idiot.” He said, keeping his arms crossed as he watched you take another sip of the champagne, “Why do you hate your birthday?”

You sigh softly, biting your bottom lip. You didn’t want to answer that question.

“C’mon, Snips.” Bucky said, unfolding his arms and sitting next to you, “It’s me. We tell each other everything.” That was true. You two had a deeper trust than most partners did and you did tell him everything. It’s what made you two the most successful pair when it came to missions even if you two were just as equally reckless. You were always completely open and honest with each other about personal things as well as telling the other when they were being stupid.

You sigh and look up at him from the corner of your eyes, “I made a deal to do something every year on my birthday since I was fifteen. It’s difficult to explain. I’ll just bring you with me.”

Bucky simply nodded, knowing you didn’t want to speak about it and that you would show him the truth soon. He had learned quickly that pressing you wasn’t a good route to go down. You two sat in silence for a while as he watched you take a few more sips of champagne before standing up like you were ready to go. There was already a car with a driver in the front lot waiting to take you to your destination. The drive was just as quiet with Bucky observing the surroundings, trying to figure out where you two were going. But his brow pulled together in confusion when he saw the car pull into a federal maximum security prison, “Y/N, what are we doing here?”

You look over at him, “I’ll explain when we get inside.” You said simply, waiting for the car to pull to a stop to get out. Bucky was right on your heels as you entered, following you through all the security check points before they took you to a meeting room. You looked through the one way glass window as guards brought an older man in with his wrists cuffed as well as his ankles.

Bucky watched the man then looked down at you, “Alright, Snips. What’re we doin’ in a prison on your birthday?”

You keep your eyes on the man who took a seat on one side of the table, a grin on his lips and tapping his fingers on the table as if he was waiting, “Have you ever heard of The Domino Killer?” You ask looking up to Bucky who shook his head, “He was an active serial killer when you were with Hydra so that doesn’t surprise me. He was called the Domino Killer because he would leave hand crafted dominos in the pockets of his victims. He was charged with 32 counts of murder after his daughter turned him in. But he has way more than 32 victims.”

Bucky listened, confusion still written all across his features as he looked at you, “And what does that have to do with you?”

You took a deep breath, “Because he’s my dad. I’m the one that turned him in.” You said softly, “He was supposed to get the death penalty until he made a deal with the DA. He would confess another murder with the location of a body once a year and to one person. Nobody knows about any of this except you. Not even Logan.”

Bucky listened, putting the pieces together, “You’re telling me that asshole in there makes you come here on your birthday to confess a murder to you?” He asks shocked, then shook his head, “No, Y/N. You’re not doing that this year. Forget ‘bout him, he’s nothing.”

You look at Bucky and shook your head, “I have to, Buck. Who knows how many bodies are out there with families waiting to figure out what happened to them… I have to give some sort of peace and if that means sitting across from him while he writes his confession, I’ll do it.” You told him and walked out the door before he could respond. You knew he would watch from behind the glass. You entered the room with your father, swallowing hard and sitting across from him, “Hi, dad.”

Your father grinned, “My beautiful Y/N! Happy birthday, my sweet girl.” He said, moving his hands across the table to take yours but you lean back away. He narrows his eyes at you, “Can smell the alcohol on you, m’dear. Isn’t it a little early for that?”

You grimaced at him, “Yeah, well, it’s my birthday and I can drink when I want. Let’s get to it,” You say, sliding a pencil and the notebook over to him, “Write it down. Every detail.”

Your father sighs, picking up the pencil and starting to write as he spoke, “I ain’t sure why you gotta make this so difficult.” He said, keeping the pencil gliding across the notebook, “All I asked was to see ya once a year on your birthday and ya act like it’s torture.”

“It is.” You replied shortly, keeping your gaze on the notebook instead of meeting his face.

Your father stops writing and looks at you, pointing the pencil at you, “I never treated you badly, little girl.” He reminded, “You had everything your heart could desire ’til you turned me in.”

“What you did was wrong.” You said, meeting his gaze, “Keep writing.”

Bucky watched through the window, his arms crossed and nostrils flaring at your conversation with the man who was your father. He had no idea this was what your father was like, there was nothing about this in your file but it did happen when you were a minor. You must’ve taken your mother’s name after the whole ordeal. Bucky watched you two have short replies back and forth until your father was done writing. He left the room to meet you outside the room as you handed the notebook to the district attorney who thanked you. He walked up and looked down at you with soft eyes, “You alright, Snips?”

You look up at him and nod slightly, “Yeah. I’m fine. Let’s get outta here.”

The rest of your birthday was better. Bucky had made sure to cancel the party Natasha and Wanda had planned for you tonight and instead just had a movie night with everybody. Bucky couldn’t help but feel pity for you- for what you went through at such a young age being the daughter of a prolific serial killer. But he related to the pain of being connected to something you didn’t want to be apart of or had no choice in being apart of. He commended your bravery silently, wondering what it was like for you to have to turn your father in at such a young age.

— A Change in the Weather —

The current mission you were on together wasn’t exactly going to plan like you two thought it would. Sure, you got the information needed but you didn’t notice the missile that came and struck the quinjet before it was too late and all the flares were used. You and Bucky had to jump out of the back before the missile made contact. The terrain wasn’t the best to be stuck in with no supplies. It was freezing temperatures and snowing. It didn’t help that the two of you had to jump into a lake either. Bucky pulled you from the water, swimming to the shore and carrying you over the slippery rocks as you coughed up water that had been stuck in your lungs.

“You alright, Snips?” Bucky asks, gently setting you back on your feet but keeping an arm around your waist to keep you from falling. This wasn’t the first time you two had ended up crashing a jet and having to be in the middle of nowhere but the last time was in a nice warm forest area not in a blizzard.

You nod, coughing a little more before taking a deep breath, “Yeah, I’m good.” You said with a half smile and a thumbs up. The cold wind quickly nipped at your wet skin, making you shiver, “Tony’s gonna be pissed about the jet. We gotta get out of this storm or we are going to be popsicles.”

Bucky nods, narrowing his eyes as he looked around, “We should head towards the mountains. Maybe we can find a cave to sit tight in until the storm passes and someone comes to find us. The emergency alarm should’ve been alerted with the jet went down.” He said, removing his arm from your waist and starting a slow stride towards the mountains.

You nod and follow beside him, keeping up with his strides. It wasn’t long until your teeth were chattering, your wet clothes sticking to your cold skin like ice. You look up at the mountain through the blizzard, only about another mile to go. Your legs started to feel numb and you had no idea how you were still moving them at this point. You stopped, leaning yourself against a tree.

Bucky stopped and looked back at you, “You good?” He asks, not really affected by the cold. He ran hot even if the end of his hair had turned into small icicles. Concern was etched into his features at how cold and weak you looked.

You nod, blinking slowly, “Yeah…” You said softly, your breath shaking from how cold you were. You used your hand to push you away from the tree but your legs betrayed you- instead of putting one foot in front of the other you just collapsed face first into the snow with a groan.

Bucky would’ve laughed at you but he knew your body couldn’t take the cold like his could. He leans down beside you, pulling you up and onto his back with ease, “Hold on, Snips. Not that far now.” He said, pulling your legs around his waist as he piggybacked you the rest of the way to the mountain. He could hear your teeth chattering together in his ear and could feel you shaking violently from the cold, “You need to stay awake.”

“I’m trying…” You whisper towards him between your shivering, “Talk to me about something… How about your date with the girl from accounting? What was her name… Lydia?”

“Lindsey.” Bucky corrected with a small chuckle as he continued stomping through the deep snow, “Ah, I bailed last minute.”

You closed your eyes but listened to him, “What? No! Why? Lindsey seemed nice.” You say softly to him. You couldn’t help but wrap your arms around his shoulders a little tighter. Bucky was warm even with all the snow collecting on you two.

Bucky shrugs slightly, his eyes scanning the mountain for any openings for a cave, “She wasn’t really my type.” He replied.

“What is your type?” You ask, your voice getting softer and more shaky. You needed to get out of this cold. Your fingers and legs were numb and you could feel your suit practically turning to ice on your skin.

You. Everything that you are. That’s my type. That’s what Bucky wanted to say but instead he settled with, “I’m not sure. I’ll know when I see it though.” He stopped in front of the mountain, looking at the wall but seeing no openings, “Snips, I’m gonna put you down for a minute and run ahead to look around for a cave.” He said, kneeling down and letting you slide off his back onto a rock. He turned and looked at you, staying at your eye level as you seated yourself on the rock with your arms wrapped around your body for any type of warmth, “Hey, you stay awake.” He said, placing a finger under your chin and pulling your face upwards to meet his gaze with your drooping eyes, “I mean it, Snips. Stay. Awake. I won’t be gone long, stay here and wait for me.”

You nod, “Okay. Staying awake.” You said with a small smile to him before watching him run off along the mountain side to look for a cave. Once his figure disappeared into the white of the blizzard, you pulled your legs up to your chest and wrapped your arms around them, tucking your head onto your knees. So… Cold… You thought. You thought you couldn’t get any colder but each passing second proved you wrong, “Stay awake…” You whisper to yourself, lifting your head up. Your vision was blurry as you looked for Bucky through the snow. You blinked a few times, trying to keep the sleep from taking over but you fell over into the snow, looking up to the white sky before darkness surrounded you and you did that thing you weren’t supposed to do. You fell asleep.

Bucky eventually found a cave a little away from where he left you. He ran back to the rock he left you on, groaning when he saw you weren’t sitting there, “Dammit, Y/N.” He growled out, looking around. He paused for a moment and listened, hearing your faint heartbeat and breathing. At first he thought you had wandered off then he heard the soft sounds before seeing some of your fingers sticking out from under the snow beside the rock. He ran over and dropped to his knees, pulling on your arm until you were out of the snow. He swings you up into his arms, pulling you close, “C’mon, doll. Wake up.” He muttered as he quickly started a run to the cave he had found earlier. He had to get you out of this blizzard before you were past the point of waking up again. He walked into the cave, still holding you close as he sat down as far away from the entrance as he could. He held you tightly against his chest as he sat on the floor, rubbing your back as he listened to your shaky breath and soft heartbeat, “Snips, wake up for me.” He muttered over to you.

You adjusted slightly in his grasp, blinking yourself awake. Your icy eyelashes ripped apart from each other, then you huddled towards the warmth in front of you, pressing your face into Bucky’s chest, “I’m awake..”

“Thank god. You had me worried there.” Bucky breathed out, keeping his hands running along your back, “Gonna warm you up a little more. No more sleeping. As soon as this storm lets up, someone will come get us. As soon as the jet went down it sent a signal.”

“I’m tired, Buck…” You whisper out against his chest, closing your eyes again at his warmth.

Bucky leans his chin on the top of your head, pulling you impossibly closer, “I know. Just stay awake. Let’s talk about… Logan. How’d your vacation with him go last month?” He asks. Truth is, Bucky didn’t want to talk about that annoying boyfriend of yours that always made you laugh and left kisses on the side of your head, but he had to keep you awake.

You sigh softly, “It didn’t… I broke up with Logan in the airport. I went alone.” You mumble out, “Turns out New Orleans is a pretty good place to be stuck alone. Everybody was friendly and it’s easier to get free drinks when you’re single and sad looking.”

Bucky’s jaw dropped slightly at your words. How could you keep this from him? Here he was, pining over you everyday he had to watch you with that stupid boyfriend. The whole time you were supposed to be on vacation he couldn’t help but be jealous over the fact that you were probably having a romantic time tangled in the sheets with Logan but apparently that wasn’t the case. He wished he would’ve known, he would have taken you to New Orleans and enjoyed it with you, “Why didn’t you tell me, Snips?”

“I didn’t think it was that important.” You say, pulling your head away from his chest to look up at him, “Plus I didn’t want to talk about the reason we broke up in the first place.” Logan had always been jealous of how close you and Bucky were. Logan claimed that you spent too much time with the tin-man even though you explained to him every time you were partners, best friends and that it wasn’t anything he thought. He told you how he would always notice Bucky staring at you from across a room like he was just waiting to get a moment alone with you. The way Bucky would take any chance to make you smile even if Logan was standing right there. He hated the inside jokes you had with Bucky. Logan had said he hated how you were his ‘partner’ and would go off on missions for weeks at a time alone together.

Bucky frowned slightly at you. You didn’t tell him this. You told him everything- even the dark bits nobody knew about like your dad. But you couldn’t tell him something as simple as a break-up with that moron Logan? He keeps his eyes on you huddled into the warmth of his chest, “Let’s talk about it.” He said, “We don’t have anythin’ else to talk about and you need to stay awake.”

You sigh and look up to him, “We were at the airport and I was late because I saying goodbye to you. That started a fight with Logan and he went in saying he doesn’t trust you with me and hated that we spent so much time together. Then he said I should ask for a new partner instead of being with the Winter Soldier.” You sigh again, “I may have punched him and got locked in the airport jail for twenty four hours before driving myself to New Orleans.”

Bucky listened, his jaw dropping slightly again at the story, “You got arrested punching your boyfriend?” He asks, a slight bit of pride filling his chest at the fact you defended him and punched Logan.

“Ex-boyfriend.” You corrected quickly, “And yeah… That’s why Tony was scolding me when I got back from vacation. Apparently I’m already on thin ice because of the whole journalist thing still and getting arrested in a public airport was sort of a big deal.”

Bucky smiles slightly, “Well, I’m proud of ya’.” He said down to you, “It’s about time you got rid of that dumb boyfriend of yours.”

You chuckle slightly, “Yeah… I guess so.” You mutter out quietly.

Bucky eventually lost hope in keeping you awake. Every time you drifted to sleep and he woke you up, you were out in an instant afterwards shivering against his warm body. The only thing he could do was hold you as close to him as possible, trying to keep you warm. He watched your lips slowly turning blue as you let out shivering breathes. Eventually the storm did let up after a while and Bucky could hear a quinjet incoming towards their location. He stood up with you still wrapped in his arms, carrying you towards the noise where Steve and Natasha were waiting at the quinjet. Bucky carried you inside and watched as Natasha inserted an IV into your arm to pump warm fluids through your body as well as wrapping you in heating blankets. There isn’t a word to describe the relief Bucky felt at washing your skin pinked up as well as your lips from the warmth, listening to your breaths grow less ragged and your shivering slowly subside. He planned on giving you a few weeks to recover from almost freezing to death as well as your recent break up before he would take the chance of asking you out.

— I Hate Trains—

Bucky had finally built the courage up to at least ask you out for dinner, or maybe make you dinner and watch a movie together. He hadn’t felt this jittery in a long time. He had been nervous about this for the past week, trying to figure out the perfect way to ask you out but not make it sound like just a friend hang out type of thing. But before he could ask, you two were sent by Tony and Steve on a mission. So here you two were sitting on opposite ends of a train after a random tip came in that there were dangerous Hydra affiliates traveling on the same train. You sat in your seat, pretending to read a book but keeping an eye out around you. The train was pretty much empty besides a few travelers. You looked down and pulled the book up to your nose, speaking into your earpiece to Bucky, “You alright? I know you hate trains.”

Bucky was sitting a few train cars over at the bar, drinking a whiskey and keeping a look out for anybody suspicious. He hears your words in his earpiece and has to restrain himself from rolling his eyes, “Shut up, Snips. I’m fine.” He muttered out and looked around slowly, “Everything’s good over here.”

“Good here too.” You mutter out back into the earpiece.

Bucky looked up as a new bartender from the wait staff came and poured him another whiskey. Bucky grumbled out a thanks to the bartender before throwing back the liquid in a single swallow. It hit him like a boulder instantly, his stomach twisting and his vision becoming blurred. He stood up and stumbled out of his stool, looking at the bartender who had a gun pulled out pointing right at him, “Snips… Trouble.”

As soon you heard there was trouble, you threw your book down and started in a rush to get to Bucky a few train cars down. You were quickly blocked by passengers and staff that were Hydra agents undercover. You pulled out your knife and made quick work, knocking them each back as you progressed through the train cars to get to Bucky. Some of the agents landed some blows to your face and stomach but nothing you couldn’t handle. When you managed to get to the train car, you quickly locked the door behind you and slowly walked down the corridor until you saw Bucky slumped in a chair dazed looking. You quickly rush over to him, “Buck, you alright?”

Bucky looked at you, he was seeing three of you staring at him with a concerned look and your voice sounded like you were far away. Whatever the bartender had slipped into his drink was strong enough to garble his brain and make his body feel numb, “Look out.” He muttered out, seeing an agent coming up behind you.

You quickly turn, punch the approaching agent square in the jaw before kicking him back. But just as the Hydra motto went: cut off one head and it’ll be replaced with two more. More agents started advancing at you. You pulled out your knives and fought them the best you could, trying to keep them away from Bucky at all costs. One agent managed to land a good punch to your ribs, causing you to drop to the floor with a yelp.

“Snips!” Bucky yelled in a slur, seeing you get beaten. He still saw three of you but could make out the red bruises that were forming along your jaw as well as the split lip.

You stood slowly, glaring at the four Hydra agents that remained. You kept yourself standing in front of Bucky, knowing he was probably the target they came for. You rolled your shoulders, pulling out your two blades for each hand, “You want him? Gotta go through me…” You hissed out at them. Your ribs ached, knowing you probably had a few cracked and you had taken quite a beating with it being many of them against you. But your will is strong and you wouldn’t let them take Bucky away. He was your partner. Your best friend. Your person.

Bucky watched as you continued to try and fight the Hydra agents to defend him. He clicked his earpiece, “Sam.. Steve… Anybody we need immediate extraction… I’m down.” He said softly before pushing himself to his feet. He stabilized himself by holding onto the tops of the seats as he watched you take a knee to the same spot from before on your ribs followed by a hard punch to your jaw that made you fall to the ground. As much as it swelled him with pride to see you fight tooth and nail for him, it also caused him pain seeing you take the beatings that were probably meant for him. He stumbled over to the Hydra agent that floored you and landed a hard punch with his vibranium arm to the agent’s face, causing him to fly back and topple over some other agents. With still blurry vision and stumbled steps, he picks you up carefully, “I got you, sweetheart.” He murmured out to you before turning and looking at the emergency door for the train. He walks over to it, adjusting to hold you in his right arm while he pried the emergency door off the hinges, tossing it over at the Hydra agents that were still trying to get to their feet, “Hold on tight, Snips.” He said, holding you to his chest and tucking your head into his arms before taking a jump off the moving train, ducking and rolling as he hit the hard dirt ground.

The next thing you remember after being floored by the enemy agent was staring at the ceiling of the quinjet and Sam trying to talk to you. He sounded like he was underwater and far away, you couldn’t make out his words very well. You look over to across the jet where you saw Steve talking to Bucky who was laying across the floor. When Bucky’s eyes met yours, he stopped mid sentence and tried to get up to go over to you but was held back down by Steve. You reached your arm a little to reach your hand out to him before passing out again.

Sam and Steve got you and Bucky back to the facility and to the med-bay where Dr. Cho was waiting. You were immediately given morphine while they waited for your x-rays to be done of your ribs. They worked on Bucky but whatever Hydra had slipped him was already wearing off and the wounds he sustained from jumping off the moving train were already healing. He was more concerned with how you were doing and the doctors informed him you were being well taken care of. After you were all patched up and weened off of the morphine, you woke up to see Bucky sitting beside you, glaring at you. You groaned slightly and lifted your hand to rub the side of your head, “What’s with the look, Sergeant?” You mumble out.

“You’re an idiot, Y/N.” Bucky hissed out at you much harsher than he originally wanted it to sound. He looked over your bruised face for a moment before his gaze softened, “Taking on all those agents alone was a stupid move. You could’ve been killed.”

“Okay first off, I didn’t die.” You said, looking over to him, “And two, you jumped off a moving train. Don’t talk to me about stupid.” You squirmed your way to sit up in the medical bed with a slight wince at the movement of your ribs, “What did you want me to do, Buck? Just let them kill you? Or worse, take you?” You shook your head at the thought. You couldn’t lose Bucky, “I’ll never let that happen.”

Bucky sighs as he listens to you. Your loyalty to him was unwavering, nothing could tear it down even if it meant you staring death in the eyes, “I’m sorry, Snips.” He said softly, meeting your gaze, “Just seeing you get hurt and not being able to do anything about it…” He flinched at the memories of you getting knocked down to the floor, getting up every time to defend him, “I don’t know what I would’ve done if I lost you.”

“Well, I’m still here. Didn’t die remember?” You say, reaching out and placing your hand on his gently, “You’re not losing me and I’m not losing you. Ever. You’re my person, Bucky.”

Bucky’s heart swelled as you called him your person. That’s all he ever wanted to be in every definition of the term. He wanted to be your best friend. Your safe place. Your only love. Your person. He intertwined his fingers with yours slowly and managed to give you a half smile, “And you’re my person, Y/N.” He said back to you before swallowing hard, “There’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you. I was actually going to ask you before then we got assigned on the mission…” He paused, watching you look at him curiously with an eyebrow raised, “I wanted to ask you out on a date.”

Your eyes widened slightly at his words. Bucky wanted to go on a date… with you? I mean, yes, you’ve thought about it a few times but he was your partner and thought it would be unprofessional to date a coworker let alone your partner which is why you tried dating a civilian like Logan but that obviously didn’t go well. Bucky was a beautiful man, you’ve known that since the first time you laid eyes on him. He had a matching attitude to yours and he was so easy to be around. You watched Bucky stare at you with nervous eyes about what your reaction would be, “Bucky… I…” You began, trying to find your words.

“I’m sorry.” Bucky said, looking away from you in a defeated fashion but kept ahold of your hand tightly as if he never wanted to let you go. He just wanted you to be happy and if that meant just being your best friend and partner, that’s what he would do.

You bit your lip for a moment before speaking, “What I was going to say was that this is a really awkward moment to be asking me out.” You said softly with a small smile, “You just asking me out because you thought I was gonna die? Or you feel pity for me getting the shit beat outta myself for you?”

Bucky narrows his eyes at you as you spoke. You were smiling and that wasn’t a no. You were being snippy with him and it caused a small smile to appear on his face as he squeezed your hand, “Neither, doll.” He told you confidently, “Like I said, was going to ask you before the mission and before I felt pity for you.”

You laugh a little, wincing slightly at the pain your ribs from the action but keeping your smile on your lips, “Alright, Buck.” You told him once you stopped laughing, “I would love to go on a date with you. But I’m not going anywhere until my face is healed up.”

Bucky beams at your answer, grinning like a teenage boy who just had his first kiss. This was just as good as a first kiss. You were the first one he’s actually felt something for since the 40’s. You were his person as much as he was yours, “Don’t worry about that, you’re still the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” He said, reaching up his free hand to sweep some hair from your face with his vibranium fingers, “Besides, I rather cook for you.”

You smile at him, “Oh that sounds good.” You reply before an obnoxious smile covered your features, “More of Bucky’s noodle.”

Bucky laughed slightly and shook his head, “Dammit, Snips.” He chuckled out, “You gotta stop saying that.”

_______________________________________________________________________

Permanent Taglist: @buckypops @stcrryslibrary@bibliophilewednesday @redhairedfeistynerd @princessnnylzays

#bucky barnes #bucky x you #bucky x y/n #bucky x reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barns fanfiction

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jobean12-blog · 4 years

Text

Top Shelf: Chapter 11- The Pages in Between

Pairing: Bucky x reader (Bookshop/bartender AU)

Word Count: 1,637

Summary: You tell Bucky your idea on how to save the bookshop

Author’s Note: Hey everyone, Happy Monday! I know I say it every time but I’m so thankful for those of you that have stuck with me through this story. It makes me so happy. I’m sure you all saw this coming and that’s ok. As I’ve said before this really is just a love story that hopefully makes you feel good and happy. Thank you again! Thank you all for reading! All my love always! ❤❤❤

Warnings: SUPER FLUFFY LOVE FLUFF, implied sexy times :)

Previous Chapters (* indicates smut)

Chapter 1: Enchantment

Chapter 2: Cookie Crumble

Chapter 3: Sweet Anticipation

Chapter 4: Read Between the Limes

Chapter 5: Secrets on the Shelf

Chapter 6: Love Between the Covers *

Chapter 7: Love Lines & Soul Finds

Chapter 8: Drunk in Love *

Chapter 9: Pour in onto the Page

Chapter 10: Recipe for Love *

His response is almost immediate, your phone lighting up as his message comes through. ‘Really baby?? I can’t wait to hear all about it! I’m not going to lie I’m pretty excited.’ You smile at your phone as your fingers fly over the keyboard. ‘I know, me too. I mean it’s just the beginning of an idea and of course we have to talk about a bunch of things but I’m eager to hear what you think.’

You sink further into the tub, a sigh of contentedness leaving your lips. Just as your eyes begin to close your phone buzzes again. You grab it and read the message. ‘Send me one more pic. I have another two hours before I can get home to you.’ Stifling a giggle, you snap a photo of your legs resting atop the edge of the tub and send it his way. ‘Longest two hours of my life,’ is his reply, followed by, ‘you better be awake when I get home…’

Deciding to leave him hanging you enjoy the rest of the warm water, allowing the bubble bath to do its magic. By the time you get out you’re softer than a baby’s bottom and very relaxed. You put on Bucky’s tee shirt and get into his bed, cuddling into his pillow so you’re enveloped in his smell.

He gets home around 2 am, quietly shuffling into his room to find you peacefully asleep in his bed. The blinds are still open, and the light of the moon reflects off your glowing skin. Bucky sits at the edge of the bed, delicately tracing his fingers over your bare shoulder. Brushing some hair from your face he leans down to kiss the corner of your mouth just as it curls up into a smile.

You roll onto your back and blink open your eyes, tugging on his arm so he lays down. “Hi beautiful,” he whispers as his hands smooth over your silky skin. “I’m sorry if I woke you. I was just…” You silence him with a kiss, any excitement over your idea momentarily forgotten.

For once Bucky sleeps later than you, his bare feet slapping against the floor and jolting you from your thoughts. “How long have you been up doll?” You run over to him and throw yourself into his arms. He easily catches you, peppering your face with kisses. “I made coffee. BUT IT’S SO BAD. So now you have to make coffee.” You give him a sorry look, pushing yourself up and onto the counter while he starts a new pot.

Minutes later he hands you a cup, the delicious, hot liquid warming you from head to toe. “Ok, now that we’ve both had a sip of edible coffee and I can concentrate on what you’re saying rather than trying to get you naked, let’s hear it!” You almost spit out your coffee at this last comment, shaking your head in amusement. “Ok, so. Eeeeeeeee, ok, this coffee isn’t helping, I’m practically buzzing!” you say before you jump down from the counter.

Pacing the floor, you chew your bottom lip as you try to get your thoughts in order. To Bucky’s credit he waits patiently, sipping his coffee quietly and letting you do your thing. “Alright. So, I hate to sound all about myself, but everyone really liked the pie last night, right?” Bucky agrees with no hesitation. “And grandma, you and Nat went nuts over my chocolate chip peanut butter cookies, yes?” Again, Bucky nods enthusiastically, smiling big. “And you and grandma really loved my chocolate pie and chocolate chip cookies?”

Bucky gently grabs your shoulders, bringing you into his chest and looking you straight in the eyes. “Yes, yes and more yes. Your baking is amazing and there is no doubt that everyone agrees.” You can feel the blush creep up your cheeks, your head dropping to hide in Bucky’s chest. Feeling the rumble of his laugh makes you smile, his finger hooking under your chin to bring your eyes to his. “I mean it.”

With a kiss you continue. “Thank you. So, if you guys like it there is no reason that other people wouldn’t like it. What if we added a café or bakery to the bookshop? Or both! I realize that it will cost money and right now that’s the problem. But I haven’t really thought all that through yet. However, I think if we add the baked goods and maybe even coffee and hot chocolate and stuff like that it could draw in more of a crowd. Also, you have a bartending license. Maybe we can do poetry slams and/or trivia nights. We can serve drinks and treats and charge at the door.”

Your hands are flying every which way and you’re talking a mile a minute, your enthusiasm warming Bucky’s heart and making him fall even more in love with you. It isn’t until you’re out of breath and he’s finished his coffee that you finally slow down. “Well?” He stares at you for what feels like forever before he puts down his cup and takes you in his arms.

“I love you. And I love your idea. I definitely think we have some things to figure out and a lot to go over but together I think we can make anything work.” You shake your head yes, too many emotions welling up inside you to speak. You simply press your lips to his and tell him everything he needs to know.

Later that morning you head home to do laundry and clean up, missing Bucky the moment you walk through your door. Luckily, he had the idea to stay over at the bookshop tonight and sleep up in the secret attic space. To say you were excited was an understatement.

You pack a light bag and head over to meet him, but not before grabbing the tin of chocolate chip peanut butter cookies you baked earlier as a surprise for him. The bookshop is closing just as you arrive, and you smile at the customer who is leaving. Bucky runs around the cashier counter and plants a firm kiss on your lips.

“Hi. Missed you.” You shove the tin into his hands and say, “I was just about to say the same thing. I made you something.” Bucky’s eyes widen as he starts to open the tin, bringing it up to his nose and inhaling the delicious peanut butter and chocolate smell. “You made me more?” he asks, face still half inside. “Yes, and you can eat as many as you want, as long as you share with me.”

Popping one into his mouth he gives you a thumbs up, placing the tin down and turning the sign to closed and locking the door. “The pizza just got here 5 minutes ago, and they gave us paper plates and everything.” Your mouth waters at the mention of food. “Ok, great. I’m starving. I have water and more snacks too. Are we eating upstairs?”

Bucky nods, taking the cookies and pizza and walking toward the back. When you get up the stairs and open the door you’re surprised to see that Bucky has hung a small string of star lights over the love seat and made a pile of blankets and pillows in the middle of the floor.

“Aw Buck, it looks so beautiful and cozy! This is going to be so fun.” The two of you settle on the floor surrounded by the pizza box and snacks, your feet touching while you dig into your first slice. “You have some sauce right there,” Bucky says, leaning in to brush his thumb over your bottom lip. You take his thumb into your mouth and suck off the sauce, closing your eyes and letting out a moan.

When you open them again his lips are only inches from yours. He carefully takes the pizza slice from your hands. “I was eating that,” you whisper, your eyes dropping to his mouth. “I have something better,” he teases, before pressing his lips to yours.

Laying on the floor amidst the soft blankets and pillows, cradled against Bucky’s chest you watch the rain drops pitter patter against the sky light above you, the lights from the city dancing along the dark walls. The low rumble of distant thunder echoes through the quiet space as you trace small patterns along his bare skin.

“I love summer thunderstorms.” Bucky hums in agreement, his eyes closed and his head resting against one arm while the other holds you close. “Do you think we should tell my grandma our idea?” Bucky’s question catches you off guard and for a second, you’re unsure of what to say. “Well. I think your idea of doing our research and talking to some friends, like Sam, is a good way to start. Maybe after we have a more solid plan we can sit down and show her everything.”

He’s quiet for a few moments, the sound of his breathing and the city below all you hear now that the rain has stopped. “That seems smart. Sam will probably be a big help since he opened the bar at the beginning of the year. And I know he has some other friends in the restaurant business too.” You prop your head up on your elbow and he turns to face you. “Good idea! I like it,” you say, tracing over the stubble on his jaw.

Grabbing your waist, he rolls over and sits you on top of him, the blanket falling from your shoulders. “You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” You gently roll your hips against him, smiling softly. “Oh Bucky.” The words fall from your lips with a quiet tenderness and the world falls away with every brush of his fingertips.

@aesthetical-bucky @auro-ora @azurika-writes @bugsbucky @buckys-broody-muffin @bucky-on-my-mind @book-dragon-13 @devynsdiary @eurynome827 @hiddles-rose @hailmary-yramliah @emilylyoness @hawksmagnolia @ikaris-whore @itsunclebucky @imgaril-lindru @jhangelface0523 @jewels2876 @loricameback @littledarlinhavefaithinme @littleredstarfish @mushyjellybeans @marvelandotherfandomimagines @marvelgirl7 @nano--raptor @randomfandompenguin @sallycanwait68 @softpeachbarnes @scarletsoldierrr @the-wayward-robot @when-the-hell-is-bucky @throwmyheartawayagain @flyawaybay @amandatar-06 @nd1998sc @captainchrisstan @vherriepie @godofplumsandthunder @fire-flv @jamesbarnesappreciationclub @irishflutiegirl @rinthehufflepuff @moonybarnes @nordlysinthewoods @inflxmes @lauratang @my-favorite-fics-and-imagines @buchanansebba @addikted-2-dopamine

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madiletio · 4 years

Text

Snow Kissed

The 'chaos', otherwise known as their families meddling, had started in the late fall after Lance was given the all-clear from Samuel. It had seemed relatively easy initially- Go out, pick out a ring, light some candles and get on one knee to ask her the big question that would change their relationship- hopefully for the better.

Except there was one flaw in his plan and even now, ten miles away from his family home with Katie sitting right next to him, he wasn't sure how exactly he was going to ask. To make matters worse, he made the mistake of telling Veronica about the ring who then relayed that information back to his mother and before he even had a chance to speak, almost the entire Serrano clan was in on his secret.

Of course, he knew that they meant well and he was glad that they were excited, but it still didn't stop the weekly "Have you proposed yet?" question from being asked. And as much as he adored his family, part of him was worried about what they would do the moment they stepped foot out of the car.

"Ance-"

He snapped out of his thoughts once he heard Katie speak to him. "Hm?"

"You okay?" She asked softly, concern adamant in her tone."We missed the turnoff like five minutes ago?"

"Oh shit-" he muttered before doing a U-turn in the middle of a back road.

He felt his cheeks burn from the embarrassment and any mindless thoughts had long since been thrown out the window. Once they were back on track, Katie asked him again. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah!” his voice gave a little crack and he quickly tried to cover it with a cough. “I was just thinking about how good it’ll be to see my mom again. I promise I’m alright.”

Katie raised a skeptical brow at that but thankfully to his relief, she didn't push the issue further. The rest of the car ride settled back into a comfortable silence and by the time they reached the turnoff for his road, his strangeness had seemed forgotten.

Rows of snow-covered rose bushes lined the driveway and he couldn't help but smile once the faint blue of his childhood home came into sight.

"I hope your family doesn't mind me intruding on your holiday.." Katie mumbled.

That took him by surprise, truth be told he didn't even think Katie would think that she was imposing.

"What?" he asked. "You aren't intruding. In fact, they're probably going to be buzzing around you."

Katie gave a slight hum but didn't say anything else. He knew that sometimes she'd get a bit anxious, especially when it involved socializing. So instead of trying to say anything, he reached over and took her hand in his and kissed her knuckles

"They love you. Trust me."

The moment they had parked the car, Sylvio and Nadia came barreling out of the house, closely followed by Veronica and his mother.

"Lance!" His mother exclaimed and wrapped him up in a tight hug. "It's so good to see you home."

"It's good to be back." he gave a contented sigh.

His mother took a step back, taking a moment to look at him before clapping her hands together and then turned her attention towards Katie.

"Katie! It's so good to see you again!" she exclaimed as she walked over to her, giving her a hug as she had just done to Lance.

Katie shifted awkwardly as his family started to jump from him to her. Sylvio and Nadia were tugging on her jacket, trying to drag her back to the house while his mother began talking her ear off. All he could do was mouth a quick "sorry." Before she was out of his sight.

"They haven't been able to shut up about you two all morning." Veronica chuckled and held out her hand, offering to help take some of their bags.

He grinned at that. "What can I say? We're just two phenomenal people." that earned him a jab in the rib.

"Mom had strict words with Abuela before you guys arrived." Veronica started "Hopefully she'll be able to hold her tongue long enough for you to propose first."

"I hope so." He chuckled and both of them made their way towards the house.

It had barely been ten minutes since they stepped foot into his parent's home and already the pair of them had been swept away in different directions. His mother insisted on showing Katie a full house tour (despite the fact she had already stayed at their home on more than one occasion.) All the while his Abuela cornered him in the living room, digging for answers.

"Lance!" she exclaimed and pulled him into a soul-crushing hug. "Look at you!"

All he could do was smile as she pinched his cheeks before stepping back to give him a once over. "You've matured so much."

Without giving him an opportunity to thank her, she had already grabbed his hand and was dragging him towards the dining area. He figured that she was either going to make him have a snack or she was going to really start her interrogation.

"Take a seat, take a seat." she fussed.

He was already screaming internally.

"Abuela, if you're going to ask if I've asked her, I haven't."

Disappointment was clear on her face but she was quick to shrug it off once she caught sight of Katie entering the room, with his mother following her from close behind.

"Well that concludes the house tour!" his mother exclaimed. "You two must be starving no?"

He nodded. "Very."

Abuela clapped her hands together and ushered him to stand. "That won't do in the slightest. Come with me!" she exclaimed.

Dinner, for the most part, went by uneventfully much to his relief. While he had been in the middle of eating some of his mother's garlic knots, Luis had mentioned going to the Christmas night market the following day.

Everyone seemed to beam at the idea and it was quickly decided that they would go.

Once dinner was taken care of and everyone was beginning to wind down, Lance managed to sneak out to the porch for a brief moment alone.

Veronica had managed to wrap him into helping her doing the dishes earlier and the conversation they had was still hanging over his head.

"It doesn't need to be perfect you know," she said, breaking the silence.

"What?" he asked

"Your proposal," she whispered, "We can all tell you're causing yourself unnecessary stress."

"But what if I say something wrong?" he sighed "Or what if she refuses to marry-"

Small footsteps caught him off guard and he turned around to find Nadia standing behind him with an empty glass. She tilted her head innocently at him "Who's refusing to marry who?"

Fuck.

Veronica quickly swooped in before he had a chance to say anything. "Oh we were just talking about a show we've been watching. Did you want some more water?"

The younger girl nodded, seeming to believe Veronica's excuse and got her drink without any further questions. Once she had left the room, the pair of them let out a breath they had been holding.

"Nice save." he chuckled.

"Thanks, you owe me one.”

The following day went by fairly quickly, much to Lance's surprise. Katie and him had woken up earlier than the rest of the Serrano clan and had spent the morning making pancakes for them, which was met with great delight, especially from Slyvio and Nadia.

Before they had a chance to clean up after breakfast, however, his mother was already shooing them out the door, claiming that Lance needed to show her the town. Of course, that confused Katie, considering she had been to his town on more than one occasion. But of course, he knew that this was his mother's way of getting him out the door in hopes of him proposing. She had never been the sutle even if she tried hard to be.

So they had spent the last two hours driving around town before finally stopping at a local bakery for lunch.

The warmth hit them immediately as they stepped foot into the building, and the aroma of freshly made bread made them more eager for their lunch.

Once their orders were placed they managed to find a small table that was tucked away behind a corner. It was a perfect spot for them.

"I'm glad it hasn't snowed today," Katie commented as she sat down.

He gave a hum of agreement. "It would have made driving a lot more difficult that's for sure."

It was cozy within the bakery, leaving the pair of them feeling very content.

"I hope my family hasn't been too much," Lance chuckled "I know that they can be a bit overbearing at times."

Surprise took Katie's face and she put her mug of hot chocolate down. "What? No! They have been nothing but sweet!"

Relief washed over him, as he got her reassurance. They hadn't made any attempts at trying to wingman his proposal, not yet at least.

"I'm glad." He reached over the table and took her hand in his.

Everything felt peaceful. They had some delicious food, warm drinks and it was relatively quiet inside. There wasn't an awkward silence but instead a comfortable one between them. It just felt right.

It felt like the right moment to do it.

"Katie," he breathed, trying his best to hide his sudden nerves.

She nodded, patiently waiting for him to continue.

The back of his neck felt warm, and he could only imagine what his cheeks looked like. He hadn't even started his speech yet and he was already getting flustered.

"I just wanted to say that you-"

His phone began to vibrate on the table, distracting them both. And if it weren't for the fact they were in a public environment, chances are he would have thrown the phone out the window.

"Ah shit," he mumbled. "It's my dad."

Katie smiled at him and nodded for him to answer it, which he hesitantly did.

"Hello?" he asked.

Expecting to hear his father's voice, he was taken aback when it was Veronica who replied back. "Sup?"

He couldn't help but roll his eyes. "What do you want V? I was kinda in the middle of something."

"Oh sorry about that," she said dismissively "I'm at the grocery store with dad right now and he wants to know if there's any food Katie would like."

"Peanut butter cookies. Bye." He shot back and hung up on her before she had a chance to draw their conversation out even longer than necessary.

He ran his hands through his hair, annoyed that their moment was now well and truly ruined. Katie on the other hand still looked content as anything as she sipped away on her hot chocolate.

There would be another opportunity to ask her. He just had to be the patient one.

They had spent the rest of their afternoon back at his parent's house and decided to lounge around until it was dark enough to leave for the market. Somehow Nadia and Slyvio managed to wrap Katie into a serious game of monopoly and near the end of it Luis and Marco had joined in too.

Meanwhile, Lance was lying on the couch, beginning to feel conflicted as he tried to think of a way to propose to Katie without making it cringe-worthy. He had thought about doing it on the ice, but the chances of him losing his balance while getting down on one knee was enough to make him stray from the idea.

Before he had a chance to further his existential crisis, his mother walked in, already tying up her coat and calling for them to get ready to leave. In an instant, everyone shot up from their game and the kids went running to find their coats.

It took his family almost half an hour just to leave the house but once they were all out, Lance realized he had forgotten the ring and quickly turned on his heel and headed straight back towards the house, claiming that he forgot his keys.

Much to his relief, the ring was still in the last place he put it and he shoved the box in this jacket pocket and hurried back out.

"Did you find your keys?" Katie asked once he reached her.

"Yup!" He said and held up his keys as proof. "Are you ready to go?"

Katie gave him a nod and off they headed for the night market.

Twinkle lights lined stalls and hung lowly on the bare branches of the trees, making the atmosphere feel all the more magical. People could be heard shrieking with laughter as they tried to skate and the warm scent of cinnamon doughnuts was very much welcomed.

Since his family wanted to do multiple different things, they had decided to split up for an hour and meet back up in the town center. Truth be told, he was a bit relieved to be walking the market alone with Katie and he could tell that she felt a little bit more relaxed once it was just the two of them.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder as they walked, occasionally making sure that she wasn't cold.

"Everyone is so talented," Katie mumbled in awe, as she looked over the market stalls, taking everything in.

He gave a hum of agreement but truth be told he was paying more attention to her than he was the vendors.

"Do I have something on my face?" She asked, catching his attention.

Quickly, Lance gave a cough and shook his head. "No! Not at all. Your nose is getting a little red though."

Katie scrunched her nose up at the comment. "It's not my fault it's so cold out."

He gave a small hum of agreement "That's what happens when it snows."

They continued to browse in silence, looking at the various handmade items the locals had made. They would occasionally chat, pointing out things they liked to look of or showing them something the other missed.

The longer they were out, the colder they started to feel. They were huddling close together trying to get warm from their combined body heat and just when they were about to turn back and head for someplace warm, Lance spotted their saving grace.

A coffee truck.

"Would you like some hot chocolate?" He asked. looking at her.

At the mention of hot chocolate, she seemed to perk up. "Oh my gosh yes!"

Thankfully, much to their luck, the queue wasn't long and they had their hot drinks relatively quickly. The warmth of the cups made them both sigh out in content as they started to warm back up.

As they made their way through the streets, Lance caught sight of the lit-up gazebo in the town's community garden and was instantly drawn to it. It was like he got hit with a familiar feeling as he pointed it out to Katie, asking her to walk with it.

He felt certainty with every step he took towards the gazebo. This was the place he was going to ask. It was perfect.

Katie was in awe at the sight of the lit-up trees and the way the garden looked, it looked like something out of a fairytale. Eventually, they climbed up the stairs and Katie immediately went to the other side to continue looking at the snow-covered garden.

This was his chance, and he knew it. Quietly he pulled the small velvet box out of his jean pocket and got down on his knee behind her. It was at that moment he realized he didn't need to read out a long speech that he had been agonizing over.

Slowly he got down on one knee and held the box out and held his breath until Katie turned around. Her eyes widened the minute she caught sight of him.

Tears started to fill both of their eyes but he tried hard not to let them fall before he spoke.

"Katrina Holt." he breathed in a shaky breath. "You are the light of my life. I know I'm not perfect and I don't have much to offer you now but what I can promise you with absolute certainty is my love you and you alone."

Katie didn't say anything as she started to approach him, her own tears streaming down her face. He took a moment to hold back his own before continuing his speech.

"So Katrina Holt, my Katie, will you do me the utmost honor and marry me?"

She only managed to give a small nod before lunging herself at him, hooking her arms around his neck and kissed him- barely giving him a second to hold onto her. Because of this, they ended up fumbling to the ground.

There was a brief moment of silence as they stared at each other in surprise before he broke the silence.

"It looks like I've fallen for you again."

Katie couldn't contain her smile as he cupped her cheek and brought her in for a kiss.

The amount of relief he felt now that the main part of the proposal was over and done with was quite rejuvenating. Also, Katie saying yes was a bonus.

Once they broke the kiss they both sat up and he grabbed the box to put the ring on her finger. It was a thin band with three small pieces of emerald in the center. It was dainty but practical- just like her. It slid on like a glove and once it was on he brought her hand up and kissed her knuckles.

"I love you" He whispered.

"I love you too" She replied and wiped the remains of her tears from her face.

They stayed seated in the gazebo for a little while longer, before getting up to regroup with his family.

When they approached his family in the town's center, he could tell right away that both his mother and Abuela were holding their breath. Katie and he shared a look, barely able to keep their own excitement under wraps before telling them.

"So we have something to tell you.." he started, unable to hide his grin.

Katie held up her hand, showing the ring to his family, all the while trying to hide the blush on her face.

Immediately his mother let out an excited squeal and pulled the pair of them into a tight and warm embrace. After that, all of his family took turns to hug and congratulate them.

"So!" his Abuela said with a clap of her hands once everyone had settled down a bit. "We'll need to start the wedding planning."

Both of their faces paled at that and his mother jabbed his Abuela in the side.

"She's teasing." his mother reassured.

Katie seemed to visibly relax at that but Lance still had a tiny bit of dread. They still had a week of staying with his family left. And if his Abuela had any say in the matter, they'd be walking out of his house carrying wedding planners.

"Anyway!" Veronica interjected. "Let's go ice skating and then go home."

Everyone agreed in unison, and they all followed one another to the outdoor rink. And despite his families meddling ways, his heart felt so incredibly full and from the way Katie squeezed his hand from time to time, he could tell she felt the same.

It was a perfect night and they couldn't have been happier.

#plance #pidgance #pidge x lance #voltron #mads writes

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witter-potter · 6 years

Text

how sweet it is (to be loved by you)

summary: el learns a lot of things in the summer of eighty five, like making an ice cream sandwich and how lucky she is to have the friends she has. pairing: el & the party word count: 12,567 notes: *looks at the word count* so uh that happened. anyway, this was super fun to write and includes a lot of my favorite moments i’ve ever written. it’s fluffy and soft, so i hope you all enjoy! shout out to jazz ( @freshxbloom ) for putting this together and letting me a part of it!

(read on ao3) // part fifteen of stories from summer

i. warm, soft and gooey

“It’s so hot, I’m dying.”

Dustin’s loud and sudden groan reverberated loudly around the otherwise still and silent cabin. From her position on the couch, El’s eyes widened. She knew that he was no doubt exaggerating - hyperbole had been her word of the day just a couple of weeks ago - but the sincerity in his voice startled her.

It was just the two of them at the cabin that day. Hopper was at work, while every other member of the party with busy with other commitments. (Mike had been particularly annoyed earlier that day when he had called her to inform her that he had been forced into babysitting Holly that day and taking her to her swim lessons). El didn’t mind though. She loved Dustin and felt like she hardly spent any time with just him these days.

“I’m sorry.” El said softly, unsure of what her response should be. Usually when El made dramatic remarks such a Dustin’s, Hopper’s response was something along the lines of “suck it up, kid.” But she doubted she could say something like that to Dustin.

Dustin popped up from his place on the floor next to her, his hair mused and puffy from the humidity. His face was pinched together, in confusion she realized after a moment, and she heard him hum slightly to himself.

“What are you apologizing for?” El shrugged, not sure she could think of any kind of explanation. Besides, she still wasn’t the best at words and the last thing she wanted to do was cause even more confusion.

“You’re right though. Hot.” El said simply, fanning herself dramatically. Dustin’s face softened, a smile breaking out across his lips as he let out a deep laugh. El grinned.

“Oh!” Dustin suddenly exclaimed, getting to his feet and nearly knocking the living room table over in the process. “I have an idea!”

Without giving any further explanation, Dustin darted into the kitchen area. The cabin wasn’t that big, so El could still see him entirely from her place on the couch, but that hardly meant she could figure out what he was doing. She watched him with confused intrigue as he pulled flour, eggs and sugar from the fridge and cabinets and threw them onto the counter.

“What are you doing?” She finally asked, getting up and going to stand next to him. Dustin smiled at her, that look on his face that she knew all too well as his ‘I have an idea’ face, excitement bubbled in El’s stomach.

“El. Wonderful, wonderful, El.” El giggled. “Have you ever had the pleasure of eating an ice cream sandwich?”

El’s eyebrows crinkled together. Ice cream...sandwich? El had had ice cream plenty of times (Hopper had a bit of a sweet tooth that only ice cream seemed to be able to quell). And sandwiches were one of the few things that El was able to make by herself, completely from scratch (Hopper had been extremely adamant that El learn how to make at least a peanut butter and jelly sandwich so that if for some reason, she needed to feed herself, she could). But the idea of mixing things like mayonnaise and peanut butter with ice cream didn’t sound very good.

Dustin must have seen her confusion because he quickly started to explain. “An ice cream sandwich is when you take two cookies, chocolate chip is definitively the best kind to use, don’t let anyone tell you any different. Then, you put a scoop of ice cream in between those two beautiful chocolate chip cookies, and BAM!” El flinched. “Ice cream sandwich.”

She could practically see his mouth watering as he described this so called ice cream sandwich and while Dustin would eat pretty much anything so his judgement wasn’t always trustworthy, what he was describing did sound good. El enjoyed both cookies and ice cream, so she didn’t see why she wouldn’t like a combination of the two of them.

Wordlessly, El moved around Dustin and opened the freezer. Typically Hopper didn’t allow her to go digging around in there herself, afraid that she would eat eggos straight from the box, but she knew where he kept his ice cream. Pulling out here, she presented it victoriously to Dustin who grinned.

“Perfect.”

Dustin snatched the container from her hands, admiring it. “Is Hopper gonna be mad that we’re using this?” Dustin asks, but by the way he’s already opening it and sticking his finger in, she doubts he cares too much about what the answer to that question is.

She shrugs. “Probably, but he lets me get away with a lot.”

That wasn’t totally true, El still wasn’t allowed to just go anywhere whenever she wanted, hence why her friends typically came to the cabin, but Hopper had learned which battles were worth fighting with her. This meant that he probably wouldn’t even bother trying to argue with her about eating his ice cream.

“Alright then.” Dustin clapped his hands together and El felt her body begin to buzz with excitement. “Let’s get to work.”

Turns out that “work” meant making the cookies. El had made cookies before, Joyce always asked El for help if she was making them while El was there, but Dustin seemed to have a very specific way to make them. He also swore up and down that homemade chocolate chip cookies were the only cookies that were acceptable in an ice cream sandwich.

“Because, when you make them from scratch, once they’re out of the oven you can immediately fill them with ice cream. This makes them warm and gooey and it practically melts in your mouth and it’s pretty much the best thing ever. After nougat, and nilla wafers.”

Luckily, somehow, they have all the ingredients to make said chocolate chip cookies in the cabin. At first El doesn’t know why there’s a bag of chocolate chips hidden in the back of the food cupboard, but Dustin is excitedly taking them from her hands before she can question it too much.

“Now, the secret to the perfect chocolate chip cookie is the amount of chocolate chips.” El is peering over Dustin’s shoulder as he holds the chocolate chip bag over the bowl of batter. They had spent the last 15 or so minutes mixing all the necessary ingredients together, with Dustin taking the lead, claiming that he knew exactly what he was doing.

“What happens if you put in too many?”

Dustin snorted. “El, there is no such thing as too many chocolate chips.” He punctuated his point by dumping half of the bag into the batter, some scattering on the, now disastrous looking, countertop.

Despite the mess, and the overflowing with chocolate chips bowl of batter, Dustin looked pleased with their creation. Clapping his hands together, he turned to El.

“Now, we need to make them into cookies and bake them.”

There happened to be one singular baking sheet in the cabin, which El was pretty sure belonged to Mrs. Wheeler and was brought over by Mike months ago when he wanted to teach El how make homemade pizza. El knew from experience with Joyce that you were supposed to cover the baking sheet with something to make sure the cookies didn’t stick, but before she could remind Dustin of this fact, he had already scooped about 4 cookies worth of batter onto the sheet.

“The key to perfect ice cream sandwiches is having huge cookies to work with.” Dustin informed her. “Here, you make some.”

Stepping aside, Dustin let her have the reigns. El smiled at him, scooping out what seemed to be the right amount of batter before stopping with Dustin made a noise that sounded like Hopper did when she tried to keep information from.

“What?”

“El, who are we making these chocolate chip cookies for, ants?” El squinted her eyes slightly. She didn’t get it. “Nevermind, just, you can put way more batter into a cookie.”

She continued to add batter to her scoop before Dustin made a hum of approval. It seemed like way too much, but he was the expert in this situation, so she didn’t question it.

After a couple of more minutes, they had a full tray of cookies ready to go into the oven. They both were covered in batter and flour, but had satisfied smile on their faces all the same. It was going to take them a while to clean up and based on what time it was, Hopper probably would be home before they got around to it, but El was hardly going to complain.

They had had fun, and that was all that mattered.

“So, in twenty minutes we will be in ice cream, chocolate chip heaven. Are you ready?” Dustin asked, rubbing his hands together. His eyes were bright and full of delight and it made El smile.

“I think so.”

Dustin didn’t look satisfied. “C’mon El! Get excited! You’re about to experience quite possibly the greatest thing you’ve ever experienced in your entire life!” El laughed, both in slight disbelief and at Dustin’s excitement. “You know, thinking about it I’m kind of appalled that when Mike made that list of things that you had to try this summer ice cream sandwiches weren’t on the list, when they’re by far the most important thing.”

El blushes slightly when she thinks back to said list. When Hopper had sat El down, with Mike in attendance, because “Wheeler, I only feel like giving the speech once so you might as well be there” and told her that even though she technically was still supposed to be keeping a low profile, he wasn’t going to make her hideout all summer. Mike had, predictably, been thrilled, and immediately started complying a list of exciting things for them to do this summer.

Thinking back at some of the things on said list - swimming, picnics and catching fireflies being some of the ones that sounded most exciting - she doubts that ice cream sandwiches can be that good. But, she has an open mind.

Dustin and El spend the next twenty or so minutes passing the batter bowl between them. El might not have ever made Dustin’s version of chocolate chip cookies, but she does know that no matter the kind of cookie, or the baker, eating the left over batter is the best part.

Time seems to fly because before El knows it, the oven is dinging and Dustin immediately jumps into action. She watches with wide eyes as he reaches for the ice cream and opens it before approaching the oven.

“Alright El, this is where things get serious, are you following me?” El’s eyes are still wide, but she nods. “Good, so your job is going to be scooping the ice cream. I will be handling the cookies. When I say go, you’re going to scoop ice cream onto three of the cookies and then I will construct them into cookie form.”

Before she can say anything in response, Dustin is putting a large spoon in her hand, followed by the ice cream carton. Because it was sitting out on the counter the entire time they were making cookies, and the subsequent baking time, it’s melted down. Dustin doesn’t seem to mind though, and neither does El. As far as she’s concerned, ice cream is ice cream, no matter how melty.

“Oh these are good, El.” Dustin says as he pulls the tray from the oven. She has no idea where he brandished an oven mitt from, considering she didn’t even know they had one in the cabin, but considering the amount of heat she can rising from the tray, she’s glad he had the mind to put it on. “Absolute perfection, I’d say.”

Once the tray is safely on the counter, El approaches her spoon ready. Dustin takes his time to flip the six, rather large, cookies and El’s mouth begins to water. Dustin was right, they do look good.

“Ready?” Dustin asks, looking at her, a grin on his face. El returns it.

“Ready.” With a clap of his hands, El is off. Her scoops are large and based on the whooping coming from her baking companion, they’re Dustin approved. He follows behind her, pressing the cookies together to form the sandwiches.

Once the three ice cream sandwiches are assembled, Dustin and El step back to admire their work. It’s now that El realizes just how messy the kitchen is, but it’s also right about now that she realizes she doesn’t care.

“El, since you have never experienced the sheer joy that comes with taking a bite of an ice cream sandwich, you may do the honors.” El laughs.

“Thank you.”

“Of course, of course. Besides, I am just excited that I get to be here to witness it. Mike is gonna be so upset he missed this.” El, who had already moved to grab one of their treats from the tray, sends Dustin a playful glare, which he laughs at.

“So, I just...take a bite?” The ice cream sandwich is warm and the ice cream is already dripping on her skin and running down her arm as she holds it in front of her.

“El, I want you to take the biggest bite of that thing that you’ve ever taken of anything in your entire life.” El nods. “I wish I had a camera.”

So, El takes the biggest bite she’s ever taken of anything in her life.

And immediately she’s greeted by the sweetest taste she’s ever tasted. The ice cream and cookie instantly melt in her mouth and she easily swallows. It’s soft and gooey and makes her feel warm inside, despite the coldness of the ice cream.

“So...what do you think?” Dustin’s smile is so big, El was pretty sure she’d never seen him happier.

El considers it for a second. Sure, she’s pretty sure the cookie isn’t cooked all the way through, and the ice cream is dripping all over the floor and is covered her shirt, but the chocolate is sweet on her tongue and her whole body is pleasantly warm.

She tries to mimic the size of his smile with her own, but she doubts she could ever be as happy as he is in this moment. She certainly tries though.

“I love it.”

The victorious whooping that Dustin lets out makes El laugh and even though an hour later, her and Dustin are forced to scrub the kitchen clean by an unhappy Hopper, El would call the day a success.

ii. starts cold but lasts forever

As the summer ticks on, the temperatures only seem to get worse. By the middle of July, the heat is unbearable, so much so, that even after the sun has dipped below the horizon, it’s still blistering outside.

That doesn’t stop El and Max on this particular evening though.

The two girls are laying side by side on the grass outside of Max’s house, alternating between looking at the stars and braiding each other’s hair - El’s finally being long enough - all the while, talking, gossiping as Max calls it, about the boys.

It’s the first time that El has ever been over to Max’s house. Despite his allowance to let her leave the cabin every so often, Hopper has a pretty short list of places that El is allowed to be without his supervision. But, this time he’s made an exception. Billy, who was probably halfway to California at this point, hadn’t been heard from in days and Max’s mom and step dad were out of town for the weekend, leaving Max to her own devices.

Her own devices meaning she would be staying with Steve.

However, on this particular night, Steve was working evening shift down at the station with Hopper, hence El being allowed over to keep Max company until Steve was able to come and get Max, and subsequently also give El a ride back to the cabin where Hopper would be waiting for her.

“God, it’s disgusting out here.” Max sighs, dramatically throwing herself back on the grass. The braid that El had just done in her long red hair, unfurled and lay unceremoniously across the ground.

El hummed in agreement. She assumed that by disgusting, which at this point El strictly associated with the taste of mushy peas, Max was referring to the heat outside, considering how sticky and uncomfortable it was outside.

“We should eat something cold.” El responded, looking down at her friend. Max’s face morphed slightly, the frown that had been stretched across her face curling into a smile. Rolling over onto her side, Max pushed herself up on her elbow. Grass was trapped in her hair, but Max hardly seemed to pay any mind.

“Ellie.” El grinned. She liked Max’s nickname for her. It made her feel special. “You’re an absolute genius.”

“Thank you.” El says with a laugh.

“No seriously, I could kiss you.” Max exclaims jumping up from the grass and onto her feet. El’s eyebrows crinkled together, unsure what to make of Max’s comment, but luckily she keeps talking, not giving El a chance to think about it too much. “I won’t, but I could, because you’re a genius.”

She held her hand out then, allowing El to join her standing. Max seemed to be thinking about something and El watched her friend with curiosity.

“I think we might have ice cream in the freezer. I’m pretty sure it’s just boring vanilla but honestly, I’d eat demodog flavored ice cream at this point.” El blanched, sticking her tongue out and Max laughed, bright and full.

In that moment, El is very glad she decided to be friends with Max all those months right after the Snowball.

“We should make ice cream sandwiches.” El suggests, the memory of the warm and sweet treat she’d shared with Dustin just a week earlier still fresh in her mind.

If possible, Max’s smile grows even wider. She loops her arms through El’s and begins leading them to her front door.

“So you have superpowers and you’re a genius.” Max dramatically sighs, throwing her hair over her shoulders. “No wonder all of them love you so much.”

El knows who ‘them’ refers to, their boys as El and Max had affectionately started calling them. She smiles.

They walk slowly and silently up the front stairs of Max’s house, El taking care of the door with a small slick of her chin. Max lets out a breathy laugh.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get over how cool that is.”

Being inside offers little relief from the outside heat. In fact, it’s almost worse. The air is thick, stale and still, and even as El lifts each of the windows slowly with her powers, nothing seems to fix it. Both girls groan, gazes finding each other.

When they reach the kitchen, Max’s hair is frizzing at the ends and El can feels hers stuck to the back of her neck. Max goes to stand in the middle of the room, while El hovers in the doorway, watching her. The redhead frowns.

“We don’t have any cookies.” Max notes, her frown forming into a pout.

“We could make them.” El suggests, smiling slightly. She’s slightly confused as to why they weren’t going to be making them to begin with. Isn’t that what Dustin said was the best, and only, way to do it?

“Oh no.” Max shakes her head definitively. “Homemade cookies are way too thin and flimsy for ice cream sandwiches. We need the heavy duty ones for this.”

El thinks back to the cookies she made with Dustin, and maybe Max was right. They had been quite thin, and one bite had the whole cookie falling apart in her hand. El hardly had time to form a response to Max’s question before Max was on the move again, her face now set in a determined look.

“I know what we can do.” The phone was in Max’s hand before El could blink and if she hadn’t known any better she would have thought she had been the one moved it. Max quickly dialed, smiling when the person on the other end picked up.

El watched curiously from the doorway as Max spoke.

“Steve.” El could see Max roll her eyes at whatever Steve’s response was. “Yes, it’s Max. Do you have a lot of fourteen year old girls calling you down there at the station.” Max smirked and El couldn’t help but giggle.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” Max dismissively waved away Steve’s words. El couldn’t hear exactly what he was saying, but she could tell he was annoyed. “Can you go and buy us some cookies and bring them to my house?”

El can hear a muffled, “Max, I’m working. I can’t just leave to be your little servant boy all over town” from the other end of line and Max snorts.

“Please, just let Chief-o know that the cookies are for me and El and he’ll probably give you the money to pay for them.” As much as El wants to argue with Max about using her just so they can have cookies, she also really wants an ice cream sandwich.

Her sweet tooth wins this round.

El doesn’t hear what Steve says but based on the way Max quickly says, “Thanks, Steve. You’re the best!” and hangs up the phone, she can deduce that either Steve agreed to it, or Max hung up while he was still arguing.

Whichever it was, fifteen minutes later there’s a knock on the front door. Max and El are sitting in the living room, Max trying to balance an ice cube on her nose while El uses her powers to hold one against the back of her neck. The sound makes them both jump, Max’s ice cube falling to the ground and beginning to melt against the hardwood.

On the other side of door is a very sweaty, very annoyed looking Steve Harrington.

He’s dressed in the typical Hawkins Police Uniform, the pant legs rolled up slightly to expose his ankles. Aviator sunglasses are sitting atop his hair, which seems to have nearly doubled in size due to the heat and he has a very unpleasant look on his face. However, he also happens to be swinging a plastic bag with his fingertips, which causes Max’s face to light up.

“Thanks Steve!” She exclaims, snatching the bag from him. El also smiles in thanks. Steve softens a little bit at her smile, but holds his resolve, especially when Max attempts to close the door.

“Oh whoa, not to so fast there, Red.” Steve says, holding the door open with his palm. From her place just beyond the doorframe, El can see Max’s lips furl into a snarl, but she knows it’s all for show and Max secretly loves the nickname from Steve. “This is the last time anything like this happens alright. I have work that I should be doing. The only reason the chief let me leave is because of that one right there.”

Steve points at El as he talks and she waves. “Hi Steve.”

“Hi Ellie-belly.” El grins widely at the nickname and Max takes this opportunity to begin closing the door.

“Alright Steve, El and I got it. We won’t call you again, promise.” Max is pushing the door as she speaks, so by the time she’s done, the only the beginning of Steve’s words can be heard through the door before he’s cut off.

“I find that very hard to believe.” He says, his voice slightly muffled by the door. They hear him sigh. “Fine. But if you call me again, I won’t be coming. You have two hours before my shift is over and you better behave yourselves.”

Max rolls her eyes and El clamps her hand over his mouth to stifle her laughter. “Yes, Steve. We promise we’ll behave ourselves.” Max parrots. Even though El can hear Steve groan loudly through the door, he descends the stairs and a couple moments later they hear the noise of his car starting.

“Well, now that we have the cookies, we can finally make these ice cream sandwiches.” Max’s eyes are gleaming and El can already feel her mouth beginning to water.

They retreat back to the kitchen and El retrieves the ice cream from the freezer while Max lays the cookies out on the table. Unlike the cookies her and Dustin made, these ones are uniform in size and at least double the thickness.

“Now, it looks like we have enough ice cream to make a couple of these bad boys.” Max claps her hands together. “Alright El, why don’t you grab a spoon out of the drop drawer over there and I’ll get our cookies ready.”

El does as instructed and brandishes a large spoon, grabbing a smaller one too, just in case. When she turns back around, Max has laid out 4 cookies on a plate with 4 cookies laid out neatly next to it.

“We’re not making them warmer?” El asks, slightly confused. One of the key parts of the ice cream sandwiches her and Dustin had made was the warm, gooeyness of the cookies. In fact Dustin had sworn up and down that the warm, gooeyness of the cookies was crucial in correct ice cream sandwich construction.

Max makes a face. “Why? So they can melt the ice cream make it so we only have like three seconds to shove the whole thing in our mouths before we’re wearing more ice cream then we’re eating? No thanks.” El frowns. Max glances briefly at her expression before shrugging. “At least, that’s how I see it. Who told you that the cookies should be warm?”

“Dustin.”

Max snorts. “Makes sense.” With a small sigh, Max turns and leans her hip against the counter. “There’s nothing wrong with ice cream sandwiches with warm cookies, but trust me, I think you’re gonna like this way much better.”

At this point, El’s still kind of new to whole ice cream sandwich concept to begin with, so she’ll try anything. She smiles. “Okay.”

This makes Max grin and she turns back to the plate of cookies. “So what we’re gonna do is put the ice cream in, sandwich it up and then put them in the freezer.”

“The freezer?” El’s eyebrows crinkle together in confusion.

“Yep. Frozen is the best way to eat these things.” El can only eye the cookies with wonder, absentmindedly nodding as Max scoops ice cream onto them. Without thinking El floats the four remaining cookies into the air, hovering them in front of Max’s eyes. Max throws El a smirk, which El returns as she carefully places the cookies to complete the sandwiches.

“How long should they go in the freezer for?” El asks once the plate is securely resting between a bag of frozen peas and a package of pork chops.

“Not that long. We still have like an hour and half until Steve will be here, so we’ll have plenty of time to enjoy them.”

And true to her word, fifteen minutes later Max is pulling the sandwiches from the freezer and El has to admit, they look delicious. El can practically feel how cold they are just looking at them and it makes her mouth water.

When Max hands her one, El is pleased to see that it doesn’t melt. In fact, when she moves to take a bite, the cookie, and the ice cream, are both rock solid.

“See, the best part about eating them frozen is that they last like, forever. It takes so long for them to melt, that you’re pretty much already done eating it before you have to worry about being covered in ice cream.”

El does have to admit that that sounds pretty desirable, because as much as she loved the ones she ate with Dustin, being sticky after the fact because of ice cream running all down her arm, wasn’t that much fun.

It almost breaks her teeth, trying to get a bite, but when she does, she sighs happily. The ice cream still melts pleasantly in her mouth and the chocolate chips are still sweet on her tongue.

“It’s good right?” Max says, a small smirk on her face. El realizes then that Max had been watched her reaction, much like Dustin had. El nods.

“So good.”

Max victoriously lifts her fist, cheering around her ice cream sandwich and El giggles. She takes another bite, still amazed that the ice cream is staying firmly between the two cookies and none has begun to drip onto her arms.

In the end, Max is right, the ice cream sandwiches last them forever. They’re just finishing them off when Steve pulls into the driveway and honks twice. El can’t remember the last time her and Max had this much fun and when Steve pulls up in front of the cabin and El turns to wish her friend goodbye, Max gives her a smile, ice cream still visible on her lips, El’s heart threatens to burst with happiness.

She wouldn’t trade it for the world.

iii. lots of work and time required but the most rewarding

According to the small thermometer in the corner of the cabin it was nearly ninety degrees out and El was bored.

Hopper was at work, which meant that she was alone and to be completely honest, she was pretty sure she was going to die. Either of the heat or absolute, soul crushing boredom - she had finally gotten the hang of hyperboles - and while she couldn’t fix the heat in the small cabin, she could solve her boredom problem.

Pushing herself off her bedroom floor, where she had been desperate to try and avoid the heat, she makes her way through the cabin, stopping with a smile on her face when she reaches the phone. Running her finger down the small piece of paper that has a list of the phone number of basically everyone El knows, she nods when she finds who she’s looking for.

Whispering the number to herself as she dials, she feels nerves settle into her stomach when she hears the phone ringing. She’s never called here before and she’s suddenly nervous that someone else will answer, not the person she’s trying to reach.

“Hello?” She relaxes, the tension releasing from her shoulders and a wide grin spreading across her face.

“Lucas!” Lucas laughs softly on the other end. “It’s El.”

“Hey El! How’s it going?”

El sighs, shrugging. It takes her a moment to remember that she’s on the phone and Lucas can’t see her. Despite Hopper getting a phone line installed at the cabin earlier that month, El’s still only made a couple phone calls (most of them to Mike) and she hasn’t quite got the hang of it.

“I’m bored.” She declares. Lucas snorts on the other line. “I was actually wondering if you wanted to come over.”

“Really? You want me to come over?” Lucas sounds shocked and El frowns.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I?”

“You’ve just never invited me over just me before, that’s all.” El’s frown deepens. Lucas is right though, usually when he comes over, he’s with at least one of the other guys, or Max. She wants to change that right now.

“Well now I am.”

“Okay, cool. I’ll be there soon. Do you want me to bring anything?”

El considers this for a second. Then she gets an idea. She might not be able to make it magically get colder outside, but she thinks she might have something they can do that will cool them down.

“Lucas, have you ever made ice cream sandwiches?”

Thirty minutes later, a knock on the door has El popping up from her seat the kitchen table and darting to answer it. She has a wide smile on her face as she flings it open, all of Hopper’s cautions about answering the door far from her mind. Luckily, exactly the person she was expecting is on the other side.

“Hey El!” Lucas exclaims, a smile on his face as she wordlessly moves aside to let him in. He’s dressed for the weather in a tank top and shorts, but sweat his still splattered across his forehead and a quick look outside confirms that he did indeed bike all the way over here.

“Hi Lucas. I’m glad you’re here.” She says grinning. “Did you bring the stuff?”

Lucas nods, removing his backpack from his shoulder. Guiding him to the table, El takes the bag from his hands and dumps the contents on the table, her eyes widening when she gets a good look at it all. She recognizes all the ingredients for cookies but there are also an array of ingredients she doesn’t understand, like what do they need heavy cream for? She doesn’t even know what heavy cream is.

He must recognize her confusion because after a minute or so Lucas lets out a small ‘oh!’ before clearing his throat.

“Whenever my mom and I make ice cream sandwiches together we always make our own ice cream, and trust me I’ve had both Dustin and Max’s versions of ice cream sandwiches and this is hands down the best way to make them.” El nods, showing her understanding, but in reality her head is spinning.

She had no idea there were so many ways to make ice cream sandwiches.

“It takes a while, the ice cream will actually take a couple hours to freeze, but trust me, it’ll be totally worth it. I swear.”

It’s not that El doesn’t believe him, she’s just overwhelmed and a little confused but she believes Lucas and if he says that this is the best way to do it, then she supposes she should give it a try.

“Okay, let’s get started then.” They share a smile and El knows it’s about to be a good day.

Luckily, Hopper is working until pretty late into the evening, so her and Lucas can spread out as much as they want and not have to worry about bothering anyone. This turns out to be a blessing as it turns out making ice cream is way harder than El could have imagined. Not to mention, it takes forever. There’s just so many steps and Lucas basically told her that if they mess up one little thing, the whole batch will be bad and they’ll have to start over.

No pressure or anything.

El feels the tension release from her shoulders when they finally finish mixing all the ingredients. It had been a quiet affair, both of them too afraid to take a misstep, as Lucas only really brought enough ingredients for one batch. But she feels herself letting out a nervous, relieved laugh when Lucas is placing the batch in the freezer, setting the kitchen timer so they’ll know when to go in and stir it.

“That was hard.” She remarks, taking a seat in her usual seat at the kitchen table. Lucas laughs, sitting across from her and crossing his arms on the table.

“Trust me, you’re gonna be so happy that you did it though when you finally taste it.” El pouts, but nods. At this point she just hopes it’s cold. Folding her arms on the table, El puts her head down, the dark circle of her arms providing little reprieve from the heat.

There are multiple beats of comfortable silence between them. El can hear the tell tale sound of fingers drumming on the table and it makes her grin. The sound is familiar, as Mike is constantly tapping his fingers against the wood, but still different as Lucas’s drumming is rhythmic and soothing, while Mike’s is chaotic and anxious.

“Has anyone ever told you how much you and Mike are alike?” She asks, propping her chin on her arms. Her question surprises him, based on the way he flinches slightly, his shoulders jumping.

A flash of confusion crosses his face before he shrugs. “No, not in so many words but I guess people have said we do things similarly, why?”

El shrugs, the motion awkward with her arms still folding on the table. “You were just drumming your fingers on the table. Mike does that too.”

Lucas rolls his eyes slightly. “A lot of people do that, El.” The comment isn’t unkind by any means, but El’s opinion doesn’t waver.

“I know.” She unfolds her arms in order to playfully shove his shoulder across the table. “But that’s not the only thing you have in common.” A look of intrigue falls upon Lucas’s face. “Do you remember when we all met?”

There’s a deep breath before Lucas nods. They all hardly ever talk about that week in November two years ago. Not wanting to upset Will, who still gets nightmares, or alienate Max, who wishes she could have been there to try and help. But neither of them are here, so El pushes on.

“You didn’t like me.”

“El, that’s not -”

“It’s okay, Lucas.” She cuts him off lightly, smiling. “I understand.”

“Sorry.”

She shakes her head, he never needs to apologize for how he treated her that week, because she gets it. “You didn’t like me because you wanted to focus on finding Will. I can’t be mad at you for that.”

“No offense El, but what does this have to do with me and Mike?” Lucas looks nervous, which confuses her. She makes sure to choose her next words carefully.

“It was how much you care about Will that made you not like me and be,” she hesitates for a second, trying to remember the word that Hopper had taught her that would fit here, “weary of me. That makes you like Mike.”

She’s trying hard to make him understand what she’s trying to say, but he still looks confused. “How does me being weary of you make me like Mike?”

“You cared about Will, you wanted to find him.” She says, and he nods. “Mike cares about his friends. You both care.”

A look of realization crosses his face and he smiles. “Thanks El.” She sees him gulp. “That means a lot.”

Someone’s hand reaches across the table, El isn’t really sure if it’s hers or his, but it doesn’t matter. Their hands squeeze each other in a reassuring, affectionate gesture. El’s chest warms, and despite the heat outside, it doesn’t bother her, in fact she welcomes it.

The calm and comfortable silence doesn’t last long, as the timer dings only seconds later. El giggles when she sees Lucas jump in his chair, a noise escaping his throat. He playfully glares at her across the table and she can only smirk.

“I’ll take care of it.” Lucas says, looking embarrassed. El is still giggling to herself, but she too stands from the table to follow him. Even though he offered to do it, she still wants to watch so she can see how it’s done.

The ice cream doesn’t even look close to being done and according to Lucas they still have a couple of hours before it’s ready for them to eat. El stiffles a groan, she had no idea making everything from scratch would be so hard.

“If you want we can make the cookies now.” Lucas suggest when he spots El’s face. “We’re gonna want the cookies to be cooled down by the time we make the sandwiches, so it might be better if we make them while we wait.”

“Cold?” El asked, before shaking her head. “I mean, the cookies will be cold, like frozen?” She remembered how the frozen cookies had tasted a couple weeks ago with Max, the way it had fallen apart in her mouth and lasted for hours. Lucas shook his head though.

“Nah. I see the appeal in them being frozen, but honestly it just makes it harder to eat. Like why would you want to break your teeth while trying to enjoy something.” El considered this for a moment, head spinning. According to Dustin, the best way was warm and gooey, Max said frozen and solid now Lucas was saying just have them be cooled off.

“Okay.” She said slowly. “This way will make it easier?”

“It should, yeah.” Lucas said with a small shrug. “They’ll be hard enough that they’ll absorb the ice cream and stop it from melting too much but they also won’t hurt to eat.”

El nods, trying her hardest to understand. One thing she had slowly been learning is that, despite what she had learned in the lab, which was that everything had to be done one way or it was absolutely wrong and a failure, everyone had different ways of doing things. And she supposed that that logic extended to ice cream sandwich making.

“That sounds perfect.” She finally said with a small smile.

And eventually, when she finally gets to taste it hours later, it is.

It seems to take forever for the moment to get there, but Lucas her and fill the time with light conversation and laughter. Maybe, just maybe, they also have a small food fight with the chocolate chips that starts when El chucks some at his head with a simple lift of her chin.

The day is fun and full of laughter and when the ice cream is frozen and ready to eat and the cookies are cooled down, her mouth is watering. Lucas grins widely as he hands her the first of the three sandwiches on the plate, seeming to anticipate her reaction.

He’s leaning against the counter, eyes trained on her face and despite the intensity of his glance, she’s grinning as she takes a bite. God, it’s everything she could have asked for it to be in more. Lucas must see the the overwhelming joy overtake her features as she swallows because she sees him pump his fist.

“Yes!” He exclaims, holding his hand out for a high five. She laughs, pressing her palm against his. “I knew that you would like it.”

“I love it.” El corrects, taking another bite, a small noise of enjoyment escaping. “It’s one of the best things I’ve ever eaten.”

“Oh man, Dustin and Max are going to be so jealous when they hear this.” El doesn’t know why Dustin and Max would be jealous, considering their ice cream sandwiches had also been some of the best things she’s ever eaten.

But, goodness, El doesn’t think she’s ever tasted anything so good before. The ice cream melts on her tongue and just sweet enough and the cookie has just the right amount of crumble to it. It’s delicious and she’s glad she’s able to share this moment with Lucas.

“Thank you, Lucas. For teaching me.” She says, smiling. Lucas returns her grin, his smile almost reaching his ears.

“Anytime, weirdo.” He says affectionately, reaching across the counter to shove her shoulder lightly. Warmth pools in her stomach at the once insult that’s become an endearing nickname.

Warmth that stays lodged in her stomach as she watches from the front door as Lucas bikes away a little while later. Warmth that stays until Hopper gets home after dark, and presses a gruff kiss to the top of her head when he notices the third ice cream sandwich sitting in the freezer, a note reading ‘for Hop’ in El’s curly penmanship.

Yeah, all that hard work definitely paid off.

iv. unique and beyond the understanding of others, but still amazing

El quickly learns that she loves going over the Byers house.

Not only does she absolutely adore spending time with Joyce, Will and even Jonathan, who treats with the same care and kindness that he does his own brother, but she also just loves the atmosphere of the home, the feeling of family that surrounds her whenever she’s there.

She also loves how cool it is.

For some reason that El will never understand, the minute she steps into the Byers house, no matter how scorching hot it is outside, it instantly feels at least ten degrees cooler. Mike once explained something to her about wind and air flow, but he had used a lot of words that she didn’t really understand, but she didn’t really care that much. All she cared about was the absolute relief she felt when she crossed the threshold.

So, needless to say that when Hopper dropped her off on the morning of what would become the hottest day of the summer thus far, El was thrilled. Not only would she get to spend the day with one of her favorite people, Will, but she would get to spend it in a comfortable environment.

“Alright, kid. I’ll be back to get you this afternoon after my shift gets out.” Hopper says gruffly as El’s hand hovers over the door of the car. She sends him a look, and he can only roll his eyes at her. “Don’t look at me like that.”

“Sorry.” El mutters, moving to push the door open, but Hopper stops her.

“Hey now, listen kid.” She looks at him and he gives her a small smile. “I want you and Will to stay out of trouble, alright. Don’t go giving Joyce a hard time.”

El playfully raises her eyebrows. “I promise.”

Hopper snorts, causing her to grin. “Thatta girl.” Reaching out, he attempts to ruffle her hair, but she dodges him. “Have fun.”

It’s at that moment that Will appears in the doorway of the Byers house, waving at El enthusiastically. She waves back, giving Hopper a wide smile as she jumps from the car.

“Bye dad!” She casually calls over her shoulder, quickly bolting away from the car and up the front steps of the Byers house. She looks back just in time to see Hopper grinning widely, sending her one last wave.

Her and Will watch as Hopper backs out of the driveway and begins his drive to the station before Will grabs her attention. A soft hand hooks around her elbow and she smiles at him.

“Let’s get inside, it’s unbearable out here.” El can only nod in agreement, following Will into the house. The cool air hits her immediately and she lets out a happy sigh, closing her eyes. She can hear soft laughter coming from Will next to her and she opens one eye to playfully glare at him.

“Was that El at the door?” Will and El break eye contact, El’s face breaking out into a large smile when she spots Joyce. “Hi sweetheart.” Joyce says softly when she spots El.

El crosses the living room in a few strides, accepting the hug that Joyce is offering. “It’s good to see you, sweetheart. Hopper wasn’t giving you too much of a hard time, was he?” El laughs into Joyce’s hair, shaking her head as she steps back.

“Just as much as he usually does.” El says, shrugging her shoulders. Joyce gives a small laugh, a moony eyed grin on her face. El and Will share a small look.

“So, what are you kids up to today?” Joyce asks, crossing her arms. El shrugs. “Well, just let me know if you end up going outside, I have some things I need to do around the house so I wanna make sure I know where you kids are, okay?”

El can see the look in Joyce’s eye, the worry that El is pretty sure will always be present, no matter how many months pass. It’s the same look that Hopper gets when he tells her to call him if she ends up being somewhere that isn’t where he’s dropping her off. It’s the worry that her, or Will, will vanish into thin air once again.

Sneaking a peak at Will out of the corner of her eye, El catches a flash of something across his face before he smiles. “Yeah mom, of course.”

“Too hot to go outside.” El adds, causing Joyce to laugh softly. El doesn’t really know why it’s funny, it is way too hot to go outside, and she’d much rather stay in the cool interior of the Byers house, but she grins regardless, happy to put a smile on Joyce’s face.

“Well, you kids have fun, alright? Just let me know if you need anything.”

“Thanks, mom.” Will says, coming up to stand next to El and grab her hand. “C’mon, I wanna show you something.”

El smiles, nodding at Will and throwing Joyce a small wave as Will leads her down the hallway to his bedroom. He enters first, leaving El to click the door shut behind her with a flick of her hand.

“What did you want to show me?” She asks, watching Will as he moves around his bed. He doesn’t say anything though, only gestures for her to follow him. With her eyebrows crinkled together, she comes up next to him, her lips curling into a wide smile when her eyes find what he wanted to show her.

“Do you like it?” Will asks, smiling. For some reason, El feels tears prickling the corners of her eyes.

On the desk is a drawing. That’s not an out of the ordinary thing for Will to have proudly displayed somewhere in his room, but this is the first time one has nearly brought her to tears. Usually Will’s drawings are fantastical drawings of the party’s DnD characters, or extravagant landscapes that depict far off, mythical places.

But this one is nothing of the sort.

This one is of her.

The likeness is uncanny (although really, if you asked El, she would say that Will made her out to be far more beautiful than she ever thought herself to be), and El can tell that every stroke of the pencil had been made with careful consideration and admiration.

“I love it.” She finally whispers after a couple of minutes of silence. “But why me?” Will shrugged.

“I don’t really know.” He trailed off for a second and El watched him. “I guess, well…you know how Jonathan takes a lot of pictures?” El nodded, fondly thinking about the very first photo he had ever gifted her, a framed photo of her and Mike from the Snowball, which sat on the top of her dresser, “I guess he does it because he never wants to forget anything, so he can remember the good stuff. I don’t really take good pictures, but I wanted to be able to remember stuff too. So I draw them.”

“You want to remember me?” El says, slightly amazed. Will grins.

“Yeah, I do.” El’s heart bursts. She reaches down and gives Will’s hand a light squeeze. The pale mid morning sun shining through the window and illuminating the entire room in a soft glow. Something vibrates between them, something that makes El smile, it’s understanding she things. An understanding of what the other one has been through, and an understanding of how special it is that they’re both here, right now, in this moment in time.

El breaks the silence first, taking a small step away from Will and moving so she can sit on his bed, her legs folded underneath her. He follows her with her eyes, a small smile still on his face.

“I get it you know.” She says. Will’s face transforms into one of confusion and he moves to sit next to her.

“What do you mean?”

“With you mom. I understand.” Luckily, Will seems to gather what exactly it is that she understands, because he doesn’t ask her to elaborate. In fact, he nods, looking down at the floor briefly before meeting her glance again.

“Lemme guess, Hopper?” El lets out a small, breathy noise that sounds like a cross between a laugh and a scoff. She nods, however, causing Will to chuckle.

“Hopper.” She confirms, breathing in deeply. “Mike, too, sometimes.”

“Really?”

El nods, but there’s a small smile on her face. “Yeah. He calls me every night, even if we had just seen each other, and I think part of it is to make sure that I’m still here.” She looks forward to Mike’s phone calls every night, and usually they spend what seems like hours, but she doesn’t miss the way his voice hitches when he exclaims ‘El!’ when she picks up the phone, almost as if he was afraid she wasn’t going to be there.

Will smiles, softly. “He does that because he loves you.”

Her heart picks up speed in her chest, but she rolls on, not wanting to show her embarrassment at his use of that word. “And your mom loves you, that’s why she does it.”

“I know she does.” Will says, an easy smile falling onto his face. They both look wistfully at the closed door to his bedroom, and in the brief beat of silence between them they can hear Joyce puttering around out in the kitchen.

“I wish I had your mom.” El whispers, immediately turning red. She had definitely not meant to say that out loud. She’s about to power through an explanation, desperate to explain to Will that she’s not trying to steal his mom, but Will only lays his hand on top of hers.

“Trust me, sometimes I think my mom also wishes she was your mom.” El raises her eyebrows. “I’m serious, she always worries about you. Everytime I come home after spending time with the party she asks me about you.”

That causes El to blush and she finds herself playing with the fraying strings of her shorts, embarrassed. But then, she laughs.

“I think Hopper also wishes she was my mom.” Will’s eyebrows crinkle together before he also bursts into laughter, the sound reverberating against the walls.

“Maybe someday.” Will says once the laughter has died down. There’s a small grin on his face and his eyes are twinkling as he looks at her and El knows he’s thinking the same thing as her.

“Yeah, someday.”

It’s then that El gets an idea. Based on a look at the clock on Will’s wall, it’s still morning, but she doesn’t think that’s important. Television has taught her that it’s when important, heartfelt conversations are happening that you should be eating ice cream.

“Hey, Will?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you want to make ice cream sandwiches?” Will smiles, nodding.

“Actually, I have a better idea.”

With that, Will is pulling her up from the bed and they both excitedly clamor around his bed and out the door into the hallway. The opening of the door surprises Joyce, who jumps when she hears it, her hand over her heart.

“Jeez, kiddo, don’t scare me like that.” She says, although there’s a smile on her face. “What’s going on?”

“Can El and I have some ice cream?” Will asks, giving his a mom a smile. Joyce frowns, looking at the clock behind her before eyeing her son.

“Will, it’s barely eleven in the morning, why do you want ice cream?”

“Because, it’s summer. We promise it won’t ruin our appetite, please?” Will lightly nudges El with his elbow, which El wouldn’t surprised if Joyce didn’t notice. El grins.

“Yeah, we promise.”

Joyce’s resolve fades, her shoulders slumping and she gestures her hands at them in defeat. She looks playfully annoyed, tickling the back and Will’s neck as he pulls El into the kitchen behind him.

Once they’re in the kitchen, Will moves to the freezer, grabbing the ice cream and setting it onto the counter. El seems to understand what he’s going to ask her before he can open his mouth and she pulls two bowls down from the cupboard, a smile on her face.

“What are we making that’s better than an ice cream sandwich?” El asks, leaning her elbows against the counter, watching with wide eyes as Will scoops ice cream into both of the bowls.

“We’re basically making an ice cream sandwich, only it’s going to be way easier to eat.” Will says. He moves around her to go to what El assumes is the cookie jar, which is resting on the other side of the counter, but El tips her chin, sliding it down so it rests in front of them.

“That’s what you wanted, right?” She asks, nervous for a second when Will doesn’t react. His eyes are slightly wide, but then he smiles slightly.

“Yeah, I just sometimes forget that you can do really cool stuff like that.” El smirks. “Honestly, this isn’t really that exciting, I just always think ice cream sandwiches are really hard to eat.” He says with a shrug, pulling a couple cookies from the jar. “I mean, they’re good, but I always end up getting ice cream all over me.”

El wants to say something, ask him if he’s ever had one of Max’s, where the ice cream is frozen and stays firm between the cookies, or one of Lucas’s, where the cookies are so moist and good that they absorb all the ice cream that threatens to drip down your arms as you eat it. But, she’s distracted by Will’s next movements.

Breaking up the cookies, he starts sprinkling them into the bowls. El peers over his shoulder, watching as the chocolate chips dissolve slightly against the ice cream. Her stomach growls, and Will laughs softly.

It doesn’t take long until he’s done and handing her a bowl.

She takes a bite, the ice cream and cookie combination melting against her tongue. She can feel her lips curling into a smile and she immediately digs back in for another bite. Will is smiling next to her.

“I had a feeling you would like it.”

And she does. In fact she loves it.

Her and Will spend the next hour slowly eating their cookie and ice cream concoction, El enjoying every single last bite, even when it’s turned soupy. They laugh and talk of the last DnD campaign and excitedly converse about the party’s plans to go swimming at the quarry the following week. The sweetness of the ice cream perfectly matching the laughter between them.

Sure, it might not be an ice cream sandwich, but it still hits the spot just right.

v. a little bit of everything, but most importantly, love

If there’s any place that gets even hotter than the cabin as the summer drags on, it’s the Wheeler’s basement.

However, that hardly stops El from spending every other day there. The Wheeler basement has Mike, the cabin doesn’t have that.

This particular day, it seems to be worse than it usually is. Mike and El are tucked away in the corner, as far away from the windows as they can get. Their legs are tucked underneath them against the cool concrete, desperate for any semblance of relief from the heat that they can get.

Honestly, it’s days like these that are El’s favorite. Despite the heat, there’s nothing she loves more than just spending all day in the safety of the Wheeler basement, her first real home. Usually when her and Mike spend the days down here, they’ll curl together in the blanket fort, but today it was just too hot.

So instead, they sit in the corner, under the stairs, in the dim light, the only noise the sound of the dice hitting the game board as they play Monopoly. They’ve been playing for hours it seems like, the rest of the house still and silent around them, making time move both in the blink of an eye and slow as can be.

“How are you so good at this?” Mike asks, speaking for the first time in hours, as he hands her another five hundred dollar Monopoly bill. She’s been ahead pretty much since they started, at first El thought he was just letting her win, but now she thinks he might just be really bad at Monopoly.

“Beginners luck.” She says with a shrug, a smirk tugging at her lips. It’s not beginners luck though, because her and Mike have played this hundreds of times before, and he knows this, causing him to glare at her. He can’t hold it though and after a second he smiles, shaking his head and looking back down at the game board.

She watches his shoulders tighten as he counts the money that’s still sitting in front of him and suddenly she feels guilty. There’s also beads of sweat gathering on the part of his neck that’s exposed to her and she herself can feel sheens of sweat coating the back of her legs. She decides that they need to get out of here.

“Mike, we don’t have to play anymore.” She says carefully, grabbing his hand and stopping him from moving his game piece. Mike looks at her, his face scrunched up, confused.

“We can keep playing, El. I don’t care that you’re beating me.” He says, shrugging his shoulders, continuing to move his game piece. El shakes her head, despite the fact that he’s not looking at her.

“That’s not why.” His eyes find hers again, this time more concerned than anything. She softens, smiling slightly. Her hand finds his again on the game board and instinctually his fingers intertwine with hers.

“Is everything okay? Is something wrong?” She has his full attention now, she knows and she shakes her head. Her heart soars though, at his overwhelming concern for her. It’s something she’s still getting used to, someone caring about her as much as he does.

“Too hot.” She says, her words coming out more like a whine then she had intended. Her other hand that’s not holding his comes up to fan herself. “Can we go upstairs?”

El knows for a fact that the upstairs of the Wheeler house is drastically cooler than the basement is. Mike told her that this is because they have AC upstairs, she doesn’t really know what AC is, but she likes it. The only reason they tend to spend time downstairs is because usually Mrs. Wheeler is home and will float in and out of the living room when Mike and El are there, asking small talk questions and attempting to start conversations.

And she likes Mrs. Wheeler just fine, and god how she wants Mrs. Wheeler to like her too. She just never knows how to answer her questions. Besides, usually the heat isn’t this unbearable.

But, today is the worst it’s ever been, and luckily, they’re the only ones here.

“Yeah, of course.” Mike says quickly, jumping to his feet. He holds out a hand to her and she takes it, letting him help her to a standing position. “You should have said something earlier.” Mike comments softly, his face etched with worry.

El shrugs, resisting the urge to press a kiss to his cheek now that their faces are so close, she settles for squeezing hand. That familiar jolt of electricity that she feels whenever their hands together courses through her.

Without another word, Mike leads them to the stairs, taking them two at a time, El following him like a trail after a comet. When they reach the landing, Mike turns around to look at her, his other hand, not holding hers, reaching forward to press against her forehead.

“Better?”

She smiles, leaning into his touch. He’s being dramatic and worrying about her too much, as he always seems to, but like usual, she hardly cares.

“Much.”

He smiles then, a full toothy grin that takes over his whole face. She watches his shoulders relax and his grip loosens on her hand, now merely holding her fingers in his own. From there, he tugs her softly towards him, moving so he’s leaning against the wall next the basement door.

“What do you wanna do now?” He asks softly, using his hand to push some of her hair back. It’s longer now, the ends close to brushing up against her shoulders, and the heat has caused her curls to become untamable. Hopper refers to it as her lion's mane, always messing it up at the breakfast table before he leaves for work. As much as the gesture makes her feel happy, she much prefers the way Mike runs his fingers through it.

“Doesn’t matter to me.” She says lightly, shrugging her shoulders. In all honesty, she could just stand here and look at him all day and consider it a day well spent.

“It’s so boring up here.” Mike groans, throwing his head back against the wall, the thud of muffled by his mop of hair. “We should have brought the game with us, then we could keep playing.”

“You mean, I could keep beating you?” She teases and he playfully rolls his eyes at her, sticking his tongue out. A laugh escapes her and she returns the gesture.

“You’re mean.” He pouts. “I regret letting you win.”

El scoffs. “I’m not mean and be honest, I was winning fair and square.” She huffs, removing her hand from his so she can cross her arms across her chest.

“Yeah, you were totally winning fair and square. I suck at Monopoly.” Mike admits after a second, reaching out and taking both of her hands in his. He smiles at her, and she melts. And not because of the heat. “You’re totally awesome.” He whispers, leaning forward and pressing a light kiss to her cheek.

Her stomach flutters and she practically dissolves into a puddle on the floor. He pulls her into his chest and she sighs.

From her position, his arms securely around her body, she catches a glance into the kitchen. An idea forms in her head and she smiles.

“We should make ice cream sandwiches.” She says against the fabric of his t-shirt, stepping back ever so slightly to look at him. His eyebrows draw together. “Have you ever made them before?”

Mike considers this, before shaking his head. “No, I don’t think so. I’ve had them before, but I don’t think I’ve ever made them.”

This excites her, and she can’t help the wide smile that breaks out onto her face. Pulling away from him, she grabs his hand tugging him in the direction of the kitchen.

“That means I can teach you.” She says, excitement vibrating through her. This is a rarity for her, not just with Mike, but with anyone. She’s hardly ever the one who knows something someone else does, so the fact that she gets to teach someone else is both nerve wrecking and thrilling all at once.

Once they’re in the kitchen, El stops.

“What?” Mike asks. She can feel him stop behind her, his feet bumping against the back of hers in order to prevent the rest of his body from slamming into her.

El freezes for a second, closing her eyes. All the different things her friends have taught her swirling around in her head like a tornado. The information is coming to her in flashes, warm and soft with Dustin, cold and long lasting with Max, hours of hard work but a delicious outcome with Lucas and laughter and sweet cookie infused ice cream with Will. She doesn’t know what to do.

Mike seems to be able to sense her confusion, because he rests a hand on her lower back, his chin resting on her shoulder. “Everything okay?” He whispers.

El softens, turning slightly so she can look at him. She tries to smile, but she knows the confusion is still coming through. Mike frowns.

“I don’t know what to do.” She admits after a second, looking down at the floor. Her hands find the hem of her shirt, which used to be his, and begin anxiously twisting in the fabric. Mike removes his hand from her back to stop her motions.

“What do you mean?” His voice is soft and comforting and her stomach flips.

“It’s just…” She takes a deep breath. Her heart speeds up, a tell tale sign she’s getting overwhelmed and the last thing she wants to do is start crying because of her frustration. “Everyone’s been teaching me how to make ice cream sandwiches and they’ve all been teaching me different ways and all of them were good so now I don’t know which one to do.”

The words tumble out of her mouth and she can feel her voice wobbling. Now that she’s said it all, it sounds like a silly problem and if Mike were anyone else, she would be laughed at, but Mike’s not like that. Not by a long shot.

“Hey, it’s okay.” He whispers, his hand coming to cup the side of her face. “That seems like a lot of information to process, I would probably be really confused too.”

She shakes her head, but Mike only rubs his thumb against the apple of her cheek.

“Before you say that I’m just saying that, I’m not.” He insists, and she can’t help but let out a small snort. She hadn’t gotten there yet, but that had been a thought on her mind. A beat passes before he smirks, looking down at her. “I have an idea.”

“You do?”

“Yeah.” He says, grinning. His thumb grazes her cheek again and he leans in, this time pressing a small kiss to her lips. She doesn’t think this is what his idea was, but she’s not going to complain if it is.

“What’s that?” She says, rather dazedly once he pulls away, her cheeks feeling flush. She doesn’t think she’ll ever be used to him doing that.

“Well, even though all the ways you were taught were a little different, I’m sure they were all the same in some way, right?” Mike asks. El considers this, slowly nodding. Each one did involve chocolate chip cookies and vanilla ice cream, so she supposes that’s similar enough.

Mike gives one sharp nod, continuing on. “Why don’t we just figure out a way to combine all of the different ways that you learn. Sure, that’s just adding a whole other way to make them, but that way we get to try a little bit of everyone’s.” He puncuates his idea with a small shrug and El smiles.

It sounds perfect. Just like him.

“Yeah.” She whispers.

“Yeah?” Mike repeats, a wide smile on his face. “You like that idea?”

“I love it.”

So that’s what they do. Once El explains the different things she loved about each of the different ways, Mike gets to work figuring out the best way to put it together. Luckily, he determines that they have all the necessary ingredients to make both cookies and ice cream, which means they’ll be able to include all of El’s favorite parts.

“Alright, so.” Mike claps, they’re standing at the counter in his kitchen, everything they need spread out in front of them. “We’ll make two batches of cookies, one first that will get frozen and the other one later that will be nice and warm when our ice cream is done. We’ll also set some cookies from the first batch aside to be mixed in the ice cream.”

It amazes El how easily Mike was able to come up with a solution and figure out the best way to bring together everything that El’s learned from their friends. It’s always been one of the things she’s admired most about him, his ability to solve problems in the way that does best by everyone.

He must be able to see her staring because his eyes find hers. His cheeks blush, hiding his collection of freckles and she can’t help but grin.

“What?” He asks, looking equal parts confused and nervous under her gaze.

“Nothing, I just,” she pauses. She knows what she wants to say, and in the early afternoon sunlight of the Wheeler kitchen, it feels like the perfect time. “I love you.”

She can see the way Mike’s face morphs, from confusion to dazed to happy, a face splitting grin taking over his features. Her heart is threatening to beat out of her chest, thrumming against her ribcage.

“I uh,” He swallows, “I love you too.”

She smiles, their hands meet. They both squeeze, electricity jolting through her. She doesn’t quite know how long they stand there, just smiling at each other, but soon enough the oven beeps, causing them to jump apart.

“I guess the oven is preheated.” El comments and Mike chokes out a laugh, shaking his head.

“Then let’s get to work.”

And work they do. Turns out, her and Mike work very well together, not that El really that surprised. They move around each other in the kitchen with ease, always seeming to know what the other is going to do before they do it. Everything is going great, perfect even.

Until they’re ready to put them together.

“So, uh, problem.” Mike says, from his place in front of the freezer. El looks up from where she had been breaking apart the cookies, her eyebrows knitted in confusion. Mike is holding the container they had used to make the ice cream in in one hand, an apologetic smile on his face.

“What?”

He winces, taking a step forward and placing the container on the countertop. The ice cream, or what’s supposed to be ice cream, definitely does not look the same as it did when her and Lucas made it. Instead of being creamy and smooth, it looks like a chunky mess covered in ice crystals. El groans, tears threatened to spill over.

“I knew that something bad would happen.” She says, looking down at the ground, rocking back and forth on her heels.

“Hey, hey, everything is gonna be fine.” Mike immediately says, his hands falling to her shoulders, squeezing them encouragingly. “I bet it still tastes fine, it’s not like we put anything in it that we’re not supposed to eat or anything like that. You never know until you try, right.”

El looks up, finding his eyes, which are warm and gazing at her affectionately. She nods, reaching up and wiping the tears away from her eyes. Mike gives her shoulders another squeeze, only moving away when the oven timer dings, indicating that their second batch of cookies is ready to come out.

It’s time for the moment of truth.

Ultimately, the ice cream sandwiches kind of suck.

Turns out that using both a warm cookie and a freezing cold one doesn’t do anything to prevent the ice cream from melting quickly, only makes the whole sandwich harder to eat. Also, while it’s very true that everything in the ice cream they made is completely edible the end result is not that great and the chunks of cookies don’t do anything to make the ice cream taste any better.

But, El doesn’t think she has anything to complain.

Because, as Mike laughs, leaning over to kiss her nose, exclaiming that she had gotten ice cream on it, she realizes that these ice cream sandwiches are probably her favorite of all. Even as ice cream gets all over her shoes and the Wheeler kitchen floor and she breaks her teeth trying to eat a frozen cookie, she makes a very important realization.

These ones were made with love, and that’s all that you really need to make a perfect ice cream sandwich.

tagging all my fellow sfs writers: @freshxbloom, @strange-thangs, @maplestreet83, @martiegalwrites, @partwayhappy, @she-who-the-river-could-not-hold, @janeswheeler, @cstlebyrs, @formerlyjannafaye, @jane-el-hopper, @themikewheelers, @elizabthturner, @the-proud-princess, @itcouldbendoritcouldbreak, @scottsclarke, @the-most-beautiful-broom, @hannahberrie, @dancingskygreen, @mileven-and-contemplation, @eddieksgazebos, @mikeswheeler, @moodyandmoonyeyed, @jopper-chopper, @rhapsodyinblueyellowgreen, @michael-hearteyes-wheeler, @stevemossington, @thezoomermax, @bubblynancy, @writer-lia, @janes-mike along with some of my other favs: @stydixa, @mad-maxxy, @fatechica

#stranger things #stranger things fanfiction #the party #mileven #mileven fic #fanfic*#it's mainly abt el & the party but there's a healthy amt of like..romantic mileven so i'll tag them too #this is genuinely one of my favorite things i've ever written #please read and let me know what you think!!!!

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mysmesomespacechips · 6 years

Text

Merry Choi-mas! - Day 8

Summary: 12 days of Choi-mas: A collection of fluffy holiday-themed one-shots with the Choi twins. (AO3)

Christmas Baking: Saeyoung x MC

by @spacechip707

There was a time in his life when Saeyoung hated the kitchen. Besides the fact that it reminded him of his horrendous cooking skills, it had been a place that was mostly empty. Empty pantries. Mostly empty fridge. Empty sink, because he couldn’t bother to scrounge up enough of an appetite to actually eat a meal needing of dishes.

Then, she came into his life, and subsequently his kitchen, like a whirlwind.

She banished the room of its hallow atmosphere, stocking it with snacks and ingredients, albeit healthier than he would've like. The sink was almost always brimming with plates, pots, pans, utensils. And when it wasn’t, she was prompting him to eat something—a command he obeyed greedily. For first time in his life, his hunger was a ravenous beast, spurned by happiness and contentment.

It was why he was ambling towards the once desolate room only hours after dinner was consumed.

But, his feet froze a few strides short of the doorway when a sweetness wafted through the air. Normally, MC prepared her nightly jasmine tea around this time, filling most of the bunker with that delicate aroma. But this was hardly jasmine…it was thicker—and warmer.

Saeyoung’s mouth was already watering as his brain recognized the deliciously tantalizing smell of vanilla. He hurried to the entrance and found his suspicions confirmed. “You’re making cookies—mmph!”

MC abruptly slapped a hand over his mouth, her own finger pressed against her lips. “Shh!” She hissed, peering behind him to the hallway. “Do you want to summon Saeran?”

Saeyoung snorted, causing her to retract her hand with a grimace. “You say that like he’s a scary monster.”

“A Cookie Monster,” MC nodded solemnly. “I’ll give him some, but…I kind of want to make them first. You know how he is with cookie dough.”

She shifted to the side to reveal the disaster on the counter. Streaks of flour lined the marble top, chocolate chips and smears of peanut butter painted the normally clean surface. Saeyoung was pretty sure he saw icing splattering the tiles and the cabinets in the far corner.

"How many cookies are you making?” He breathed in awe. Already, three metal bowls filled with uncooked batter stood tall in the midst of the chaos.

“Five kinds, and three batches of each,” she shrugged.

Saeyoung’s stomach grumbled as another wave of vanilla hit his nostrils. Enchanted by the confectionary spell, his finger reached into the nearest bowl and swiped a generous amount of the creamy, raw goodness. He stuck it in his mouth, an unearthly groan squeezing from his throat.

“Hey!” MC gasped. A mix of betrayal and horror spread across her features as her eyes darted between his finger and his mouth. “You’re just as bad!”

“Sorry,” he said, ducking his head before taking another scoop with his thumb and shoving it into his mouth. He recoiled at the sting of the spoon swatted against his hand. “Ouch! That was the last one, I promise!”

She set aside the metal utensil in favor of a spatula and pointed it towards him with a threatening jab into the air. “It better be.”

Saeyoung squeaked and hid behind his fingers. “Oh, so scary,” he said, successfully eliciting a laugh on her part.

While she preoccupied herself with adding to her mess of flour and butter, Saeyoung waltzed over to the counter and sat on one of the island chairs with a flourishing spin.

He had every intention to watch her—and help if she so asked, when a mini mountain of wrinkled papers caught his eye. They lay sloppily scattered across the the only slab of countertop that was free of baking debris. They seemed old too. The parchment was tainted a yellowish-brown, and splatters of unknown substances stained the corners. But the thing that made them appear so ancient was the fact that they were handwritten.

He traced the lettering with his index finger, almost afraid it would smudge with the oil on his skin. “What is this?” He asked, though he could clearly read “Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe” scribbled across the top.

“An old family recipe,” she replied in between rhythmic beating of a whisk against metal.

Saeyoung wasn’t sure why her answer left a resonating pang in his chest. “Oh,” was all he could manage.

The whisking ceased. He was aware of MC’s gaze shifting towards him, flaying him with the concern that was no doubt pooling in her eyes. But, it wasn’t enough to tear his focus from the tattered document.

Despite having sworn off his past altogether, he sometimes wondered about his own family tradition. His mother was the worst parent to him and his brother, and their father’s benevolence was still ambiguous and would probably remain so. But biologically, he had a family tree. Grandparents…great-grandparents…a whole line of people who had normal families with things like Christmas traditions, funny stories, heirlooms.

How much of that had he lost as casualties of his tragic life?

“Saeyoung?” MC called, startling him out of his trance.

His eyes stung as he blinked for the first time in nearly a minute. He dashed away the smarting tears with his thumb. Clearing his throat, he leaned an elbow onto the counter in attempts to appear casual and forced a smile. “Yeah, sorry. Blanked out.”

Her brows wrinkled in a furrow just as her teeth drew along her bottom lip. Once again, her eyes flickered over his body, inundating him with that worried frown. “You okay? You went paler than this cookie dough.”

Her attempt at levity did little against the sudden weight inside Saeyoung’s chest. Absentmindedly, he dug his thumb into the area above his ribs. His mouth grew dry, and he debated whether he should even say anything. “I was just thinking…” he said finally. “About tradition. And how—well, I’ve never had any Christmas traditions.”

“Not everyone does,” she replied. The bowl hit the marble with a clink, and her hand reached across the counter to cover his. They were a little sticky, but that had no effect on their usual warmth. “But does it bother you?"

“Kind of,” he muttered. He threw his head back, preferring to look at the ceiling instead of the unspoken condolences rolling off of his wife. “It’s something I wanted to do as a kid, you know? Even if it was just with Saeran. The only Christmas tradition we ever had was trying to escape the wrath of our more-than-usual drunk mother.”

A humorless chuckle stole from his throat. He made the mistake of looking back at MC. Her face had grown exceptionally long in the few seconds he had averted his gaze. Her bright irises dimmed, the rosiness on her cheeks fled, and the ever-present smile on her lips was replaced by a dismal frown.

Panicked that he’d ruined her entire evening, he hurriedly grabbed the hand covering his. “I’m sorry,” he pleaded. “I didn’t mean to make this all depressing. I was just overthinking. Forget it, okay?”

She shook her head, her thumb grazing over his palm. Saeyoung swallowed hard. Had he made her so upset that she couldn’t even speak? Eager to fix it, he extracted himself from her grip and grabbed the metal bowl and whisk. “I’ll make it up to you! I’ll help.”

“Saeyoung…”

“No, it’s fine,” he said, brushing off the grave tone behind her voice. “Should I put some Christmas music on too?”

He was painfully aware of her reticence. Still, he beat the butter and sugar with increasing vigor, hoping the quickening tempo would prompt her to add the next ingredient and leave the entire conversation behind. He should’ve known better.

Her fingers appeared in his line of sight. Their gentle touch was enough to make his tense hands yield and slow to a stop. He let out a huff and released the bowl into her hold before resting his head against her shoulder.

He felt her comb through his hair with her signature kindness dispelling the void in his chest just as she did within the very room they stood.

“Saeyoung,” she repeated softly. “It’s okay that you didn’t have everything. But it’s equally okay to want those things. I know that everything we do now won’t always make up for what happened—or what didn’t happen. But, you know you can ask for them, right? Especially from me.”

“Yeah,” he rasped. He buried his face further into her shoulder, his arms winding their way around her waist. As he pulled her closer, that tang of vanilla drifted from her skin and filled his head, serving as a balm to his nerves. “Can I ask for some more cookie dough then?”

Her chest vibrated underneath him as she laughed. With a barely grudging sigh, she pushed him back into the seat. She grabbed a spoon off the counter and heaped it with a charitable amount of dough before offering it to him. “Only because I love you.”

He replied with a tiny smile, his tongue lapping at the gooey mix. MC watched him for awhile, her own smile gradually matching his. Then all at once, she stiffened. “What’s wrong?” He asked.

She beamed up at him, her hands gripping the side of his chair and spinning it around. “I got it!” She said, making her way to the pantry. It was a miracle she didn’t slip on the stray mixture spotting the floor. “Family recipes are usually just a main recipe with some added things here and there that supposedly make it better, right?”

Saeyoung glanced sideways at the stack of papers again. Baking was not his area of expertise, but he’d humor her. “Uh, I guess,” he drawled.

“So, let’s make our own,” she announced. She produced an extra apron from the pantry and extended the crumpled cloth to him. “A Choi family recipe. How does that sound?”

It sounded wonderful.

She waited for his verbal reply, practically bouncing on her toes. It was almost as if her entire body was trembling with giddiness, and the best part was that it was infecting him too. Saeyoung’s head was buzzing, though he wasn’t sure whether it was from ideas or from sheer elation.

He calmed himself for a brief moment, his instinctual logic giving him a mental kick. “MC…you don’t have to do this just for me.”

She snorted and rolled her eyes. “Who says it’s just for you?” She said, though her softened features betrayed her intent. “I want our children to have something especially from us. We would be pretty boring parents without at least a disaster story, if not a recipe.”

Saeyoung’s face heated at the mention of “their children”, but he managed a few easy laughs. “Okay,” he said, taking the apron from his hands. “Thank you.”

She gave him a shy nod as she fingered through the stack of papers in search of a base recipe.

He expelled a sharp breath as he waited. Even with the new resolution, the solemnity in the air was palpable, and Saeyoung was mentally slapping himself for it. Baking was supposed to be fun—not birthed from stress. This wasn’t an episode off of Grandpa Lamsay’s show, after all. He desperately needed to fix it.

Racking his brain for a way to lighten the mood, he slid the smock over his head. A pleased smirk yanked at the edge of his mouth as he read the print on the cloth. Bingo.

“Hey, MC,” he said, grabbing her attention away from the pile. “Did you do this on purpose?”

He stretched out the cloth so she could better read the “Kiss the Cook.” Judging by the blush blooming across her cheeks, she hadn't. He leaned towards her, his lips puckered and emitting exaggerating smooching sounds.

MC turned her head at the last moment, leaving Saeyoung to nearly plummet through the air. He caught himself against the counter and shot a glare in her direction.

“It says ‘cook’,” she said. “We’re baking.”

Saeyoung opened his mouth to reply, but she had a point. Fine. If she wanted to play that way…

He bumped her aside with his hip, ignoring her cry of protest. He opened the drawer and sorted through the litter of rubber bands, vitamins, and candles until he found a plain black marker. He wedged the top in between his teeth, and it came flying off with a pop. He crossed off the offending word on the apron and replaced it with a sloppily written, “Baker.”

“There!” he cried in triumph, turning to proudly display his deed to his wife who was gaping at him through grin.

She took a few steps forward before cupping his face and bringing it down to place a peck on his lips. “You’re too much.”

He hummed in satisfaction, nudging the tip of his nose into the bridge of hers. “Must’ve picked it up from you.”

A gasp spluttered from her mouth. She flattened her palms against his chest and shoved him in the opposite direction. “Don’t be cheeky,” she scolded with zero conviction. “Let’s just get started.”

If the kitchen was in disarray before Saeyoung arrived, it was a war zone after nearly two hours of his experimenting. MC couldn’t bring herself to mind though. Not when he seemed so….happy. It was the only word to describe the light radiating from his face, even when he wasn’t smiling.

Even now, he wasn’t. His mouth was curled downwards in a concentrated scowl as he carefully lined a batch of cookies with icing. His brows were almost knitted together, and MC had to suppress the beguiled squeak churning in her throat every time his tongue peeked out from the edge of his lips like a little kitten.

She was equally as happy. She had been joking slightly when she mentioned the start of a new tradition to pass down, but actually creating one…it was solidifying them as family.

She dusted the flour off her hands and abandoned her newest batch of cookies in favor of admiring the objects of her husband’s efforts. He had decorated quite a few with his childish caricatures made from sprinkles and icing. Granted, there were only about a dozen little biscuits that had actually survived the baking process. The first batch didn’t rise, and the second turned to coal while Saeyoung and MC had been distracted in a flour fight.

But she was proud of the fruit of their labor. They hadn’t tasted any yet, but they hadn’t veered off much from the basic cookie recipe they had started with.

MC peered over Saeyoung’s shoulder to get a glimpse of his current endeavor, which had taken the most of his time so far. She watched as he piped on red curly hair on two cookies shaped like gingerbread. He had already detailed the face as best he could with golden sprinkles for eyes and more red icing for shirts. “Are you making you and Saeran?” She cooed, noting the similarities.

“Nope,” he replied, never breaking focus. “It’s the first two of our children.”

MC choked on her next breath.

“It’s what?” She wheezed through her coughing fit. Heat flooded her face—no, her entire body—when she caught the smirk unfurling in the corner of his mouth. “You’re teasing me."

He turned on her with wide eyes and flimsy piping bag. “You started it with the whole kids talk. I’m thinking about making some more though. We have another two gingerbread. Do you think four kids is too few, MC?”

She swiped some of icing that had fallen onto the counter and smeared it across his smug face. He recoiled, but still released a few chuckles. “Shut up and taste one of the cookies already,” she whined. She poked at one of his elaborately embellished cookies shaped like a tree.

“Do you think they’ll taste good?” He asked, lifting one to his nose and taking a tentative sniff. “They smell fine.”

She urged him just to take a bite. He sunk his teeth into one end, mulling the piece in his mouth for a little while. His brows rose all the way to his bangs, and he shot her a thumbs up. “Mmmm!” He hummed.

MC grinned and extracted the other half from his hold. She was glad they had turned out well. Maybe this would save them from another experimenting session next year.

She eagerly chomped down on the biscuit, slightly unnerved by its softness. At first, it tasted like nothing, and then it tasted sweet--like sugar and vanilla. She was about to praise their concoction until it hit. A salty, bitter, almost sour flavor attacked her tastebuds, and it took everything within her not to gag.

“You tricked me,” she said through the half-chewed disaster in her mouth.

Saeyoung grimaced and spit his own mush into his hand. “But at what cost?” He shuddered.

Unable to take the acrid flavor anymore, she pulled his hand down and spewed the food into his palm. “Sorry,” she muttered when he tensed.

“You are so lucky I love you,” he muttered. He dumped the reject into the bin before thoroughly washing his hands.

MC deflated into the chair behind her. “Sorry it didn’t come out so well. I was really hoping we had something.”

“I don’t mind,” he replied, rubbing his hand against a towel. He tossed it to the side and glomped onto her side in a hug. His voice lowered into something more solemn as he spoke. “Even if we never find our own recipe, let’s make this a tradition. You, me, and tons and tons of flour every year. Saeran can join in too, if he promises not to eat everything.”

She laughed, slipping her arms around him to return to the embrace. “Sounds good to me.”

Their moment was cut short when a familiar set of footsteps thudded down the hall. Saeran slid into the doorway, a franticness glazing over his green eyes. They darted about the room, only to narrow in on the counter. “I knew I smelled cookies.”

MC opened her mouth to warn him, but her words were muffled into Saeyoung’s hand. His mouth turned upwards in a wide grin, and she knew exactly where this was going. “Yeah, we made some!”

She knew she shouldn’t have.

Not with Saeran being so innocent as he dropped over those cookies. But she couldn’t resist it. Besides, she’d just give him a dozen of the good ones later. She scooped a bunch in her hand and offered them to the younger twin. “They’re all for you actually. Surprise!”

“Thanks,” he muttered, though he had an appropriate amount of skepticism.

Saeyoung and MC stood from their seats, not bothering to watch him eat. By the time they heard the crunch, they were already by the doorway.

“What the heck!”

“And, that’s our cue to run,” Saeyoung said.

They bolted down the hall rushing to the safety of their bedroom lest Saeran bypass the security of every other room in the house. They slammed the door shut behind them, hearts racing and legs wobbling.

“Do you think he’ll be mad long?” MC asked.

A laugh burst from Saeyoung’s mouth. “Either way, it was worth it. Did you see his face?”

MC groaned, already imagining the hundreds of antics that would follow her husbands incorrigible pranks. “I just hope that my chocolate chip cookies will be enough to appease him later. As much as our attempted tradition went bust, I don’t want it to be our first and last attempt.”

Saeyoung softened as he turned to her. “Even if it is,” he said with a kiss to her cheek. “I’m happy to die next to you.”

“Saeyoung!” She cried in the midst of his giggles.

He was impossible, but she still looked forward to many more Christmas nights with him in the future.

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