Work Text:
Carol picked up a doll, looked at it for a moment, then replaced it on the shelf. “Do we really have to do this?”
“You’re the one who wanted to go shopping for Monica’s Christmas present,” you answered.
“That’s before I knew how awful it would be.”
You raised a brow. “Shopping with me is awful?”
She gave you a look. “That’s not what I meant and you know it. It’s just all… this.” She gestured around at the toy-laden shelves. “I don’t know what kids want. I mean, look at all this stuff.”
“It can be pretty overwhelming.” You picked up a strange-looking stuffed animal. “I don’t even know what this is supposed to be. Any guesses?”
You held it up for her to examine.
“Absolutely no idea.”
You placed it back on the shelf then turned to Carol. “So what do you want to do? Keep shopping here or go somewhere else?”
She shrugged and you followed her to the next aisle. “There’s got to be something here.”
“Why don’t you call Maria and ask her what Monica would like?”
“I can’t. She offered to give me suggestions and I made a big deal about not needing help.”
You shook your head and laughed. “Why does that not surprise me? Well, what does Monica like? Have you seen her room? What does she have displayed?”
Carol stared at a collection of dolls with huge heads and tiny bodies for a moment. “She has a poster of the periodic table on her wall. She likes things about space.” She turned to look at you. “I think we’re in the wrong department.”
Smiling, you grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the toys. “I think you’re right.”
A few minutes later, the two of you were standing in front of an aisle full of educational toys, books, and science kits.
“There’s so much to choose from.” You picked up a small microscope. “What about something like this?”
Carol moved closer to you to look at it. “Maybe.” She picked up another box from the shelf. “An ultimate science experiment kit. This might work.”
You nodded and put the microscope back on the shelf. “That looks good.”
“Wait.” She handed you the science experiment kit without looking at you and moved to the end of the aisle. “I found it.”
“You found what?” You followed her to the end of the aisle. “Wow.”
She pointed at the large telescope and grinned. “It’s perfect!”
You returned her smile. “It is! She’ll love it. It looks kind of heavy, though, do you want to get – never mind.”
She easily lifted the large box off the shelf, then gave you a cocky smirk. “I got it.”
“I see that. I forgot you were Captain Marvel.” You grinned as she winked at you. “Do you want to look at anything else?”
She hesitated for a moment and gave you a look you couldn’t read. “No, I guess this is it.”
After checking out and telling the store employee, who insisted on carrying the heavy telescope, which car belonged to Carol, the two of you left the store, each carrying bags full of holiday gifts.
“Thanks for helping me today.”
You grinned. “It was my pleasure.”
“Most people wouldn’t have wanted to spend their Saturday shopping for a kid.”
“I didn’t mind. It was fun.”
She switched the bags in her right hand to her left, then took your free hand in hers. You started, looking down at your linked hands before looking back at her face, almost missing a step.
She gave you a tentative smile and you couldn’t help but notice the slight flush of her cheeks before she turned her head away, ostensibly to look for cars as the two of you walked across the parking lot.
You bit your lip to hold back a grin, then squeezed her hand, causing her to turn back to you, her face lighting up as she caught your smile.
When you reached her car, you reluctantly let go of her hand so you could put the bags in the trunk. The store employee was leaning against the telescope box, wiping his brow and breathing hard, though he tried to stand up straight when Carol reached for the box, his eyes widening slightly as she easily lifted it into the trunk.
You thanked him for carrying it, then grinned at her as the employee slowly walked back to the store. “Show off.”
“Hey, I didn’t ask him to carry it and wear himself out. He’s the one who practically begged to do it, and I wasn’t going to hide the fact that I could lift it with no problem just to make him feel better.”
Your grin widened. “Cocky show off.”
She laughed. “You want to grab some dinner?”
“I’d love to.”
You slid into the passenger seat, buckling your seat belt, Carol doing the same. After she started the car, she reached into the backseat and grabbed a large binder, which she handed to you.
“Find something good for us to listen to, Y/N. No Christmas music and no slow songs.”
You opened the binder and smiled at her collection of ‘90s CDs. “Yes, ma’am.”
You slid a copy of No Doubt’s Tragic Kingdom into the car’s CD tray, earning a grin from Carol as the first strains of “Spiderwebs” started to play.
She turned up the volume and pulled out of the parking lot, the two of you singing along as she cruised down the highway.