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When Fury said they were good to go, Sam could have backflipped in glee. It was Christmas Eve, and a criminal fire in an abandoned storage unit down in Brooklyn was not at all where Sam had planned to be that day. And it had gone on and on for hours, such long hours his good Christmas humor had all but vanished by the time they were done — only to realize it was still early afternoon, meaning if he made it home quickly enough, he could still have a nice day and night at home, with the one person he most wanted to spend time with during the holidays.
Speeding tickets be damned, Sam made sure he was home within half an hour of having put his Cap uniform back in his closet at the compound. He had never been more thankful for the fact that they had a driveway — looking for a spot to park around the neighborhood was not Sam's idea of fun. Even less so after missions which, no matter how boring and routine they were, were always some kind of exhausting.
He half-expected Steve to open the door before he could. Boy had too much time on his hands since he retired. But he didn't. Instead, Sam fished his keys out of his coat pockets and carefully unlocked the door, trying not to make any noise in case today was one of the rare days Steve allowed himself to take a nap, and got in. Only to huff a laugh right inside the door.
He smiled to himself as he pushed the door closed again, got rid of his gloves and let his keys fall into the bowl under the coat rack. That's when he heard some noise coming from the kitchen — no napping then — and walked on to find his husband was indeed there, focused on whatever he was making.
"I cannot believe you did this." Sam laughed again, crossing his arms as he took in the sight of his husband in an apron.
Steve didn't even look up from the kitchen counter, his back staying firmly turned to Sam in the doorway. It didn't mean Sam couldn't see the tip of his husband's ears turning redder and redder.
Teasing him further was tempting, but so was kissing the tension out of Steve's neck, and so was hugging him from behind. Not to mention it would allow Sam to peek past Steve's shoulder to what smelled so good. Something something cinnamon and caramel. Something delicious for sure.
Steve didn't particularly enjoy cooking throughout the year but he certainly went all in when Christmas rolled around and the memories of his mom filled his head. Sam rather liked that. He also liked that his husband felt so warm against his chest when he finally stepped closer. He loved the soft gasp that Steve let out, too.
"Mistletoe in the doorway is cute, but if you're not here to open the door for me, it gets kind of lost, doesn't it?" Sam whispered in Steve's ear, warming the tip of his nose against the man's skin.
"You weren't supposed to be home until 7." Steve grumbled, still working away on what turned out to be reindeer shaped cookies. Because of course.
"Mission was quicker than I thought it would be." Sam shrugged without taking his arms off Steve's waist. "Which generally makes my husband happy, but nevermind ."
Pretending to be mad at Steve was a little mean, but it had the intended effect of making Steve finally turn around, quickly enough to give himself whiplash, his eyes wide and too many words tumbling out of his mouth to be intelligible.
"Slow down, love." Sam interrupted, the feeling of rightness and warmth that spread inside him when it worked and Steve calmed down, incomparable in how at home it made him feel.
"I'm happy you're here." Steve said, in that too intense way he often went for. "Even if that means my corny mistletoe thing is a bust."
"Oh yeah?" Sam smiled.
"Of course!"
"What do you say…" Sam purposely trailed off, taking Steve's hands in his and walking backward out of the kitchen, into the hallway and then the entryway, until his back met the front door and he grinned at Steve's still slightly disgruntled, slightly confused face. "We un-bust it?"
The smile came after, when their lips did meet and Sam's lips distended in another grin and Steve's followed suit. Steve's answer to the question was more diffuse, but nonetheless telling — it was the sparkle in his eyes, and the way he let Sam's hands go so he could put his own on Sam's cheeks. And then they were kissing, and every day that passed was a new way Sam knew he'd done the right thing saying yes to this man, and wasn't Christmas Eve the best day of all to be feeling so loved, and to love so much in return.
The cookies had to wait a little while longer before they saw the inside of the oven — it turned out, being freed from work early meant Sam's plan of spending the day in bed with Steve wasn't entirely lost, and they sure were going to make the most of that.