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1. Lemon cupcake
The first time Gavin set food in the bakery, he was anything but pleased.
He was in an awful mood. He had had a bad week, a bad year, a bad life , and the very last thing he needed was to be running errands for the fucking Detroit Police Department.
It had been a stupid bet.
A bet he should have not taken but he had, because he was an idiot that couldn’t pass up a challenge.
He’d been played .
And now, on top of his stressful and demanding job, he was the DPD’s errand boy for a month .
To add insult to injury, the bakery in question --that had become the precinct’s favorite in the five months since it’d opened-- was the most ridiculous place he’d ever encountered. It was pastel pink and white, all big windows and dainty counters, soft and bright and sparkly.
The Sugar Plum Fairy.
Gavin eyed it with distaste. Jesus fuck, how was this his life.
A bell chimed merrily when Gavin opened the door. He glared around, grimacing, trying hard to remain untouched by the cheer. Maybe if he scowled enough, he’d be able to keep his own personal little cloud of misery over his head.
“Welcome!” a cheerful voice greeted him from behind the counter.
Gavin inwardly rolled his eyes. Fitting the theme of the shop, the man behind the counter was smiling at him brightly, warm chocolate eyes trained on his with boundless friendliness. He was wearing a cute striped apron over a white button up, and a golden name tag that identified him as Connor.
“Here. Please,” Gavin grumbled, thrusting a list in Connor’s direction, and if the tagged the please at the end it was only because Connor looked like an overexcited puppy and even Gavin wasn’t about to kick him.
Gavin could feel Connor’s eyebrows raising as he scanned the long list. “This is like the order for the entire DPD,” he commented. Luckily, he went to work without trying to engage Gavin in further conversation, efficiently taking out items from the glass counter that displayed cakes and pastries.
A bit mollified, Gavin finally allowed himself to take in his surroundings without prejudice. The glass counter housed not only cutesy cupcakes --which Gavin expected-- but some muffins, brownies and an assortment of cake slices that looked, honestly, delicious. Furthermore, there was a coffee machine at the other end of the counter that was big and modern, and even Gavin could admit that the smell of coffee and bread was making his mouth water.
Gavin was debating whether to swallow his dignity and order a mint mocha for himself --his absolute weakness-- when Connor finished packing everything in orderly boxes, putting them on the counter in front of Gavin.
Gavin paid without much fuss, making sure to tip because he’d been a server as well and knew what it was like.
“Detective?” Connor called before Gavin had taken a step away from the counter. Surprised, Gavin turned around. He was wondering how the little shit knew his rank when Connor placed a delicate yellow cupcake in front of him. “On the house,” Connor explained with what Gavin recognized was his best customer service smile.
“Oh, I don’t…” Gavin began to refuse. He had never been a cupcake person. If someone had asked him, Gavin would have placed himself firmly on the muffin side of the fence. Muffins were fluffy, and tasty and delicious, while cupcakes were flavorless things topped with sugar.
Yet again, this was free food, and it wasn’t like Gavin could blame Connor for good customer service.
“Ok, thanks,” he mumbled, accepting the cupcake. Distractedly and gracelessly, he crammed it whole into his mouth.
He outright blacked out for a second.
The fucking cupcake was good . More than good, the bread tasted like actual lemon sponge cake, moist and sweet and lemony, and the top was tangy custard, and it was the most delicious thing Gavin had eaten since god knows when.
Unashamed, he moaned, closing his eyes for a moment to savor every last speck of taste, because jesus fuck . Gavin didn’t know who had baked it, but he wanted to kiss them it was so good.
He actually sighed when he swallowed the treat, mournful the experience was over. From behind the counter, Connor was watching him with something between amusement and a determination that spoke of him having managed to prove a point.
“That was fucking excellent,” Gavin praised, licking his lips like a cat, his bad mood having evaporated. “Shit, what do you put in them? Are those even legal?”
Connor chuckled, pleased. “I’ll send compliments to the baker, detective,” he winked.
“God, yes . I think I love them,” Gavin declared. He toyed with the idea of buying another one (or another dozen) but he somehow didn’t want to get used to the flavor. He wanted to keep it as something special, something to look forward to when his days were shit, a small treasure that was his only. “I’ll be back tomorrow,” he threatened, and went on his way in a better mood than he had been when he’d come in.
The door closed behind him and Gavin didn’t notice the pair of grey eyes that followed him from the kitchen.
2. Red velvet rose
Past beyond the month he owed because of the bet, Gavin returned to the bakery.
Not everyday.
He definitely didn’t go every day, but he went often. During the next couple of months he ate his steady way through the menu. He was lucky that the cupcake flavors seemed to rotate, because that way he could taste different things every time and not get tired of it.
Soon, he developed a pattern. If he went to the bakery before work, he’d have a muffin and a cup of unsweetened coffee. If he went in the evening, he’d let Connor pick something out for him, engaging him briefly in friendly conversation before he took his bounty to the table on the corner to enjoy it in peace. And when he came at night, just before they closed, he’d have the lemon cupcake that had made him fall in love with the place.
Those were the bad days, when the world was harsh and cruel and everything was awful, and Gavin’s other choice was to go to his dark, empty flat, and cry himself to sleep. The tart lemon on his tongue brought tears to his eyes more than once, and Gavin was thankful he had such a small thing that could help him feel less alone on his hard days.
There was another reason he went to the bakery, but he kept it mostly secret. A month into his visits, the baker came out from the kitchen with a tray of fresh brownies while Gavin had just crammed a delightful banana and chocolate cupcake into his mouth like the savage he was. And Gavin’s brain had short circuited not because the stupid cupcake was absolutely fucking delicious, but the baker was...tall. And strong.
He glared at Gavin as he passed the tray to Connor with gorgeous grey eyes, and Gavin couldn’t but stare dumbly, because the man had the sleeves of his white shirt rolled up, and his shoulders were insanely broad, and in general the man was so attractive that Gavin almost choked on the spot.
“Here, detective,” Connor grinned. When Gavin finally blinked, he realized that, one, he’d been staring at the closed kitchen door for an impolite amount of time, and two, Connor was offering him a napkin. “You have some, eh, frosting…” he trailed, gesturing towards his mouth.
Gavin used his fingers to find the offending misplaced chocolate and then licked them clean, unwilling to waste even the smallest bit. He startled when, through the door’s square window that connected the kitchen and the shop, he met the baker’s eyes narrowed in a glare. Probably at his manners, Gavin figured.
Awkwardly, he wiped his fingers on the napkin Connor had so helpfully offered.
That was the beginning of a pattern.
For some god forsaken reason, the man -- “My brother Niles”, Connor explained with a sigh. “The baker and owner.”-- would often come out from the kitchen when Gavin was there. Always for reasons related to the shop, mind, for it was obvious the man was busy. But always, every single time, he glared at Gavin.
Gavin had been taken aback and confused at first, but in the end he refused to cut short his enjoyment just because the owner had an issue with him. So the more the man glared, the more vocal Gavin was with his reactions, not pulling any stops to show his enjoyment and taking amusement in antagonizing the other man. He figured that, as he was already disliked, he might as well give a reason.
Tina only rolled her eyes when Gavin confessed his confused crush to her one evening after they had gotten a coffee.
“Figures,” she sighed, because it was just like Gavin to find attractive someone who disliked him.
So several months went like this, and his strange antagonism with the baker became a fact of life, something Gavin secretly enjoyed (because the man was hot even when he was glaring and Gavin was not made of stone).
Those were the state of things when Gavin followed Tina into The Sugar Plum Fairy one cold morning of mid February.
The bakery was packed. It was only natural, of course, seeing as it was Valentine’s Day. Still, Gavin patiently waited with Tina so his friend could buy a small heart shaped cake for her wife.
Busy as it was, Connor had only time to give them a tight smile. Gavin was waiting for Tina to get her change so they could scram and never get into a crowded place again, when the door to the kitchen opened with a little more force than necessary.
The bakery was not big. That meant that there were barely a handful of steps between the kitchen door and the register, but even so Niles came marching out of it, stiff and glaring at Gavin with such an intensity that if Gavin hadn’t been a cop, he would have taken a step backwards in fear.
“Here,” Niles said, slamming something in the counter before Gavin.
Stupidly, Gavin stared, because this was the first time the man had said as much as a word in his direction.
“Wha--?” Gavin began, looking down.
There, in beautiful contrast against the immaculate wood, was a red cupcake.
Gavin stared some more, open mouthed. The shop was always full of good-looking food, and today, especially, there were plenty of beautiful desserts. Pink heart shaped macarons, cakes and cupcakes decorated with berries, chocolate or sprinkles. Some really appealing stuff, if Gavin was being honest.
However, the cupcake in front of him had to be the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. It was very obviously red velvet, but the chocolate on top of it had been styled to look like a rose.
It was gorgeous, and it looked mouth watering even when it would be a pity to eat such a pretty thing.
“Eat it,” Niles ordered as if reading Gavin’s mind, and Gavin shivered. Niles’ voice was deep and certain, the tone of someone used to giving orders and fuck . There was no way Gavin wasn’t going to embarrass himself, all the more because his traitorous brain obeyed the command without question.
It was almost like an out-of-body experience.
Gavin saw himself reaching for the cupcake and cramming it into his mouth in a big bite as usual, eyelashes fluttering as the chocolate mixed with the taste of the red velvet.
God it was delicious, and Gavin had to cover his mouth with his hand because he was sure he had made more a mess of himself than ever.
When he opened his eyes, it was to meet Niles’ own. They held each other’s gaze for an awkwardly long time. Suddenly, and out of nowhere, Gavin had the wild wish to kiss him. But then, as if reading Gavin’s thoughts, Niles turned around and marched back into the kitchen as suddenly as he had come out of it.
“Gavin Reed,” Tina hissed when they were outside, safely away from prying eyes. “What the hell was that ?”
Gavin shrugged. He too was confused, but there was one thing he had very clear, “He hates me.”
“Hate,” Tina spluttered. “ He just gave you a rose for Valentine’s day! ” she screeched.
“Probably some extra stuff he had lying around,” Gavin dismissed her. “After all, Connor was too busy. He’s the one that gives the complimentary bites away.”
Tina looked at him for a second, stunned.
“You’re the stupidest human being I’ve ever met,” she lamented. “Complimentary cupcakes,” she snorted a while later, when she thought Gavin couldn’t hear her. “Jesus christ.”
Gavin ignored her. Instead, he occupied himself with remembering the taste of the cupcake, and those beautiful grey eyes.
3. Bread pudding
The sky was already dark when Gavin stopped in front of the bakery.
Vacantly, he pressed a shaky hand against the glass window. It was cold against his skin, the solid touch the only thing that grounded him in that moment.
The Sugar Plum Fairy , it read in a fancy calligraphy, and Gavin could do nothing else but look past it and inside the shop.
Empty.
Of course the bakery was closed. It was nearly 10 pm, and Gavin had known it wouldn’t be open. Still, he had gone nonetheless because the other choice was too terrible to contemplate.
He had been too late.
He hadn’t been able to save the young man.
Silent tears that he tried to keep back ran down his face, hot tracks that felt dirty on his cheeks.
If only he’d been faster. Smarter. Better .
But he hadn’t. He had only been stupid Gavin, and he had not been able to do anything.
Gavin didn’t know how long he was there, but was shaken out of his thoughts by the sound of steps.
“Excuse me, we closed at--” a voice he knew began to say, and Gavin didn’t even flinch when those hard eyes were directed at him. Some part of his mind registered that he knew this person, but to be honest, at that moment, he was too exhausted to care. “Detective?” Niles tried again, but his tone was different this time. Alarmed. Concerned. “Are you alright?”
Absently, Gavin noded. He felt floaty, the grief dulling his senses. He was not aware if he said something else, but suddenly there was a warm hand on his back, a gentle touch guiding somewhere, and Gavin couldn’t do anything else but follow.
The rest, Gavin remembered in flashes.
Stairs. A lit apartment.
Soft hands that sat him at a kitchen table, wrapping a warm blanket around him.
“Drink this,” Niles said, wrapping Gavin’s hands around a warm mug, except something was wrong. Niles hated him, and it was well deserved, and this man was being so very gentle that Gavin wanted to cry again.
Still, he obeyed. The hot chocolate was warm and rich, and felt heavenly on his tongue.
He drank it all.
“Here,” Niles said again, and a plate was placed down in front of Gavin.
Gavin frowned.
Bread pudding.
He swallowed, mouth suddenly dry.
His grandmother had used to make it for him as a kid. Gavin had always been begging for it, and she would always laugh and tell him he had the tastes of a poor man, liking cheap things like that, but then she’d sing as she made it.
Slowly, Gavin took a bite.
Tears filled his eyes and spilled down his cheeks as the dessert melted into his mouth-- warm and sweet and tasting like secure love and home.
“I--” Gavin began.
Strong hands pulled him forwards into a strong chest as Gavin cried. Niles smelled like cinnamon and bread, and that fact somehow made Gavin cry harder.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered an eternity later.
Embarrassed, he pulled away from Niles, a bit startled to find the man’s grey eyes so close.
“Detective?” the man asked, stern even in his concern. “What can I do? How can I help you?”
Gavin’s eyes fell to the man’s lips, the temptation too much to ignore. He wanted-- he wanted to lean in, and kiss him. He wanted the comfort of another person’s skin. He wanted...he wanted this man to kiss him and make him forget, help him feel alive again.
But that wasn’t fair.
It wasn’t fair.
“Gavin,” he choked out, clearing his throat. “My name. Call me…”
“Gavin,” Niles repeated, understanding the request.
Gavin closed his eyes, letting the sound of his name settle around his neck like a spell of summons. “Again.”
“Gavin.”
Gavin swallowed, face twisted with emotion. “Again,” he whispered.
Gently --oh so gently-- Niles tucked Gavin’s head under his chin, arms tight around him, and repeated Gavin’s name until the man fell asleep.
4. Lemon meringue pie
Things became weird after that.
After witnessing someone’s emotional breakdown --and Gavin still blushed to his ears when he remembered that-- you’d think two people would become friendly. This time, however, wasn’t the case. Very little changed between Gavin and Niles in the weeks that followed. Whenever Gavin was in the bakery, Niles would still glare at him, answering in monosyllables if Gavin tried to talk to him.
It was natural, Gavin told himself. Niles had seen someone in trouble and had helped. He was a good person. It was just Gavin he disliked.
And yet Gavin couldn’t help but remember soft hands, gentleness and a warm embrace, and then look at Niles and want .
That’s why he was so baffled one Sunday when Connor, looking fed up and pissed, walked to Gavin’s table --the one in the corner near the window, the one he preferred-- and, pointing to where Niles was standing at the door of the kitchen, said, “Detective, please do me a favor and help my idiot of a brother.”
Which was how Gavin ended in The Sugar Plum’s Fairy kitchen, standing in awkward silence there with Niles, the two of them trying not to look at each other.
“Over here,” Niles said at last, and Gavin, because at this point there was very little he wouldn’t do if it meant Niles would like him, followed.
The door Niles opened was in a corner, and instead of the pantry it looked like, it turned out to be a hidden set of stairs.
Gavin climbed behind Niles, baffled. The stairs were dark, but the light coming from the top was bright enough that Gavin could navigate them without issue. When they reached the second floor, Gavin closed his eyes, dazzled.
When he was able to open them again, he found himself in a small apartment. Gavin looked around, his natural curiosity strengthened by the recognition of the place Niles had taken him when he’d been feeling so out of sorts.
Now that Gavin had the attention to spare --and he most definitely didn’t blush at the memories-- he finally had a proper look. The room was open, with a good sized kitchen tucked on one side of the apartment. There was a wooden table against the wall near a smallish window, and two big grey sofas on the other side in front of a pair of sliding doors that led to a small balcony.
It was all very sober and minimalistic, and Gavin couldn’t peek at the bookshelf because at that moment a very small ball of fluff came trotting out from under one of the couches and stopped a few feet away of the two men, yelling its little lungs off.
“Oh, hello there little beauty,” Gavin cooed at the kitten, kneeling on instinct and placing a hand on the floor. Immediately, the kitten jumped towards Gavin, sniffing at his hand with obvious curiosity as Gavin remained very still.
“I found a cat earlier this morning,” Niles explained, a bit unnecessarily. His voice was a bit odd, tight, but the kitten had fallen backwards in its enthusiasm and Gavin couldn’t tear his eyes from it. “Someone abandoned her in a box in front of the back door. I just couldn’t…”
“You gonna keep it?” Gavin asked, smiling softly because of course Niles was the sort of person not being able to ignore a stray kitten.
“Connor thinks a pet would be good for me,” Niles said. Gavin nodded, still not looking at him. This was altogether the most Niles had ever said to him, and he didn’t want to jinx it. “Since North came to work with us last week, my schedule has freed a lot, so I agreed. But I don’t know how to take care of a kitten,” he confessed, and Gavin didn’t think he was imagining the slight note of panic in his voice. “Connor said you’d mentioned you had cats in the past, so we thought...I...her name’s Bagheera,” he concluded. When Gavin peered up, Niles was looking straight ahead like a soldier, mouth tight, the tips of his ears red, and oh .
Gavin grinned, picking up the kitten with one hand to check for a gender, and yes, it was female indeed.
The kitten wiggled in Gavin's grip, meowing in protest of being such treated.
“Bagheera alright,” he chuckled, setting the kitten back on the floor and watching her scamper to hide under a couch again. “She looks about four weeks, so you’re in the clear. She should be able to eat solids, perhaps mixed with formula if we’re a bit off on her age.”
“Formula?” Niles asked, looking a little lost.
Gavin smiled. “Show me what you got.”
By the time the kitten supplies they ordered were delivered, Gavin had already given Niles a crash course in how to care for a kitten. He walked Niles through the room, pointing out how he could cat proof his apartment and where would the best places for scratching posts and cat trees be.
“See, cats are not naturally destructive,” Gavin explained. “It’s people who are bad owners. If a cat begins to destroy furniture or what not, it’s because it’s bored! Just...give the poor thing somewhere to scratch, or something to do!”
From his feet, the kitten loudly meowed in agreement. When Gavin looked up, it was to meet Niles’ intense stare. It was only then he noticed he’d been monologuing for a while.
“Huh, sorry for the lecture,” he apologized, bending to pick up little Bagheera and have something to do.
“You know a lot about cats,” Niles commented neutrally, watching the kitten struggle in Gavin’s hands, trying to climb the man’s arm to his shoulder.
“Yeah, my mom always had at least three when I was growing up,” Gavin babbled. “We had this one cat. Her name was Scout, and she was this big Maine coon mix. She loved me. My mom called her a velcro cat because she needed me to hold her at all times.”
Niles watched Gavin place the kitten on the floor and kick a ball for her to chase. Bagheera did, sliding into the floor in her excitement.
“You don’t have a cat?” he asked, curious.
“Now? Nah. My job...if something happened to me, it’d be days until someone had any reason to go to my place. I couldn’t stand the thought of subjecting a cat to that,” he sighed, and because he was watching Bagheera be adorable, he missed the frown in Niles’ face. “Cats...they’re alright. They don’t care who you are, as long as they are fed and loved.”
Niles nodded. “I...empathize with that feeling,” when he continued, he sounded tense, like it was an effort to speak. “I am...like this,” he said, gesturing at himself. “It’s always been hard for me to make friends. Which is why Connor thought I needed a pet, I guess. Since no one else…” he trailed off, and Gavin’s clarity moment was so powerful that he felt dizzy. Maybe Niles didn’t hate him after all.
In the silence of this confession, they both just stood there, once more avoiding each other’s eyes.
“I have some pie,” Niles said, out of nowhere, startling Gavin. “As thanks?”
“You don’t need to thank me…” Gavin began, but because he was now paying attention, and he was a detective after all, he noticed the small drop in Niles’ shoulders. Damn . “I’d love some,” he corrected himself. “I do love your desserts.”
Niles’ ears were pink as he pulled out a pie from the fridge and served Gavin a slice. It was surreal to sit at Niles’ table under such different circumstances. He didn’t remember much of it, for he’d been in a terrible place the last time he’d been there, but it was certainly different: the bright room, the curtains fluttering in the wind, the cat playing with his feet, and Niles’ back as he tinkered away in the kitchen.
A home.
It was a long time since Gavin had felt such longing, but right then, he felt it.
Niles’ very movement was assured and controlled as he set down the plate in front of Gavin before taking a seat across him.
“Lemon pie?” Gavin asked, surprised. A perfect layer of meringue sat on top of the lemon custard, Gavin’s absolute favorite dessert, and he felt his mouth watering at the smell alone.
“I thought you liked it?” Niles asked, worried. “You always have the lemon cupcake when you’ve had a bad day, so I assumed….”
Gavin looked at him, open mouthed, heart beating hard on his chest. He’d noticed. All this time Niles had been watching him, taking notice of such small things, and shit .
Wildly, Gavin wonder what would happen if he leaned across the table to press a kiss to Niles’ lips.
But Niles had said friends .
He’d said he had trouble making friends, and Gavin was damned because he was not going to take that away from him. He’d happily be Niles’ friend if that’s what he wanted.
So instead, Gavin took a bite of the pie.
It was delicious.
5. Gingerbread
Gavin bit off the head of the gingerbread man with no regret, pleased by the snap of the cookie.
Because he could, he took a moment to savor it, appreciating the play of spices on his tongue. It was excellent, of course, as everything Niles ever made, and Gavin smiled a little, pleased by this small little confirmation of something he’d already known.
The subject of his thoughts was on the other side of the noisy room, politely listening to someone talk his ear off about something Gavin couldn’t hear. That day, The Sugar Plum Fairy had a little open house celebration to thank its regulars. The shop was all dolled up with Christmas ornaments, courtesy of Connor, and the smell of gingerbread permeated the room, pleasant and warm in contrast with the nasty weather outside.
“You should ask him for a dance,” Connor said, materializing out of nowhere. Like Niles, he was wearing a cute santa hat and a bough of holly pinned to his Christmas sweater.
“You don’t even have space to dance,” Gavin shot back, because by now he was beyond pretending he didn’t understand what Connor meant.
“There’s always the kitchen,” Tina pointed out, materializing on Gavin’s other side. And Gavin knew her enough to know when she was planning something.
Gavin shrugged them off. In the past few months he and Niles had reached a comfortable level of friendship. When Gavin came in late, Niles would always take over closing the shop to talk to Gavin. They spent almost every weekend together, either playing with Bagheera or watching movies. They’d cook together, go grocery shopping together, and more than one time Gavin fell asleep on Niles’ couch, with Bagheera curled on his chest, Niles silently reading beside them.
It was nice, and it was domestic in a way Gavin was not used to, and also it was completely platonic and Gavin was not about to jeopardize what they had for the sake of some misplaced, greedy feelings.
So no, he was not going into the kitchen, because from where he was he could clearly see the mistletoe hanging over the door, and that was a terrible idea if he ever saw one.
Except, of course, that as the evening went on he forgot all about it. It was close to nine when Gavin went into the kitchen, sent by Connor with instructions to find a rag to wipe a bit of mulled wine that had been spilled.
The kitchen was quiet, and after the music and buzzing of people taking, it felt like an oasis of quiet. Still, he didn’t linger. Dutifully, he opened a cupboard he’d been instructed to, and he was just grabbing a rag when the door opened behind him, letting burst sound enter the quiet room.
When Gavin turned, Niles was standing at the door, looking at him with an inscrutable expression.
Gavin’s heart quickened, and his traitor eyes couldn’t help but go up to the ceiling, where a bough of mistletoe was hanging, a mirror image to the one outside.
He remembered Connor and Tina’s sly smiles and inwardly swore. He was going to murder them.
“Huh, I just came for…” he trailed off, showing Niles the rag. He slowly walked towards the man like he was a wild creature and he would pounce at any moment. “Huh, Niles...there’s a...some mistletoe there, so maybe…”
Niles didn’t move. He stood still as a statue, waiting for Gavin to come closer and closer, blocking the exit until they were almost chest to chest.
Gavin looked up, heart beating like a scared bird on his chest, trying not to read too much into it. But Niles raised a hand to his cheek, cupping it gently, and Gavin subconsciously licked his lips, fear and hope warring within him.
“Is this alright?” Niles asked, eyes searching. He was so close Gavin just had to stand on his toes a little and he could kiss him. He wanted to. He so badly wanted to, but he still didn’t dare.
“We don’t have to…” he began, voice dying in his throat when Niles’ thumb caressed his cheekbone gently.
“You don’t want to?” Niles whispered, already beginning to retreat, and that was too much for Gavin.
Pushing upwards, he placed a soft kiss in the very corner on Niles’ mouth, just a press of lips that made his heart almost beat out of his chest. Gavin lingered a little because he was only human, but then, before he could pull away, Niles turned his head, chasing Gavin’s lips so they could kiss properly, the sweetest, softest press of lips.
Gavin trembled, eyes fluttering shut at the almost innocent contact.
“Niles,” Gavin breathed, and it was ridiculous because this was the most innocent kiss he’d ever shared with someone and still he felt like he’d run a marathon.
“I’d like to kiss you some more,” Niles bluntly announced and Gavin couldn’t help but laugh in delight, hardly believing this was happening.
“For tradition?” he teased, trailing his hands up Niles’ chest to lock them around his neck, emboldened by the weight of Niles’ hands on his waist.
Niles eyes were dark, and the small smirk he gave to Gavin was mischievous.
“Because I want to,” he answered before kissing Gavin again.
+1 banana pancakes
When Gavin woke up, the bed was empty.
The room was dark and quiet as he sat up in bed. Sleepily, he took inventory of his aches. Some of his muscles hurt from last night’s strain, for Niles was always through, but it was a pleasant sort of ache, the sort a person got from any vigorous exercise.
With a yawn, he picked Niles’ discarded shirt from the floor and threw it on before leaving the room.
The living room was bright. Even before Gavin’s eyes adjusted, he heard the thump of a cat landing on the floor, and then small claws that dashed towards him before feeling Bagheera twirling around his ankles.
With a smile, Gavin pet the cat long enough to pacify her before he went to the kitchen, from where a wonderful smell was coming from.
Banana pancakes.
“Morning,” Gavin mumbled, sliding his arms around the man in front of the stove. “No work today?”
“North is taking my morning shift,” Niles answered, turning around to take Gavin into his arms.
He would never tire of this, Gavin thought as Niles dropped a kiss on his temple.
“Go sit down, sweetheart,” Niles chuckled as Gavin continued to cling to him. “The pancakes will be ready in a moment.”
“Love you,” Gavin answered, voice muffled against Niles’ shoulder.
“Love you too,” Niles smiled, and the look on his face was the most beautiful thing Gavin had seen in his life.
Heart full of emotion, he was overcome by the wish to kiss his boyfriend, and this time, because he could, he did.
All was well.