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Trudging his way into the kitchen for a late-night snack before returning to look over some more of Blackwatch's latest mission briefings, Gabriel had not expected someone to already be there, no less making anything that was not just two slabs of bread and lunchmeat in between.
Nonetheless, Gabriel immediately came in contact with a bright kitchen and spotted the famous and renowned Strike-Commander in old pajamas covered in flour, fretting over what type of cookie cutter he was going to use for the white dough that was thinly rolled out on the counter. A sight that even Gabriel did not expect to see. But, there was a first for everything, he guessed.
Quietly and effortlessly, Gabriel walked up behind the blonde, still watching him debate on if he should use the star-shaped cookie-cutter or the snowman-shaped cookie-cutter. At that moment, it was pretty amusing watching Jack stew on what to choose, his brows furrowed and eyes glaring down at both cookie cutters. Honestly, if it were not for what was happening now, Gabriel could have sworn that Jack was making one of the biggest decisions in their entire lives.
Of course, that was simply not the case in the slightest.
After a moment or so longer of watching and waiting for when Jack would finally turn around to realize that he was not alone, Gabriel eventually had enough. Making his presence known, the Blackwatch Commander placed a hand on Jack's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.
Jack froze in response.
"Gabriel," Jack began with a sigh, causing Gabriel to chuckle. "Sneaking up on me? Really?"
"Well, what better way to let you know I'm here? Can't just tell you. There's no fun in that." Gabriel joked and pressed a quick kiss on the blonde's cheek, his hand sliding off the other man's shoulder and, instead, wrapping around the blonde's waist. "The stars would look nicer, by the way."
"Thanks."
Resting his chin onto Jack's shoulder, Gabriel peered over it and watched as one strong hand pressed the cookie cutter down onto the dough and took the newly formed star with the other, placing it gently onto a baking tray covered in parchment paper. He watched the pattern continue a few more times before he finally broke the silence once more.
"What are these anyway?" Gabriel asked.
"Sugar cream cheese cookies," Jack answered. "My Ma used to make them when I was growing up. Found the recipe looking for an ugly sweater to wear at the Christmas party this weekend. Thought it would be nice to give some to the members here on base. You know, Christmas spirit and all that."
"Very nostalgic," Gabriel quipped.
"Hey, they're good," Jack retorted back. "Everyone loved them. She always made enough for everyone to try and take home, especially when it came to the holidays. I remember how she would spend hours in the kitchen making them. Even after all of that, she never seemed to get tired. And, on top of all that, the kitchen smelled amazing afterward."
"Well, I can't wait to have some."
Letting Jack go to heat up the oven, Gabriel decided that it was better to join in than to just watch and began to gather ingredients from the pantry, placing them on his designated spot on the counter.
"And just what are you making?" Jack asked, watching Gabriel go back and forth from the kitchen to the pantry.
"What? I can't make cookies too, boy scout?" he chided, a bag of sugar pressed against his chest.
"I didn't mean it like that," Jack chuckled before pressing a chaste kiss on Gabriel's lips and taking the sugar off his hands. "Get whatever else you need. But I need to use some of the sugar."
With a nod, Gabriel made haste back to the pantry and gathered the rest of what he would need. Once settled, Gabriel began to haphazardly toss in his ingredients in his bowl, eyeballing everything to the best of his ability, with no measuring utensil in sight. Doing all of this, of course, earned Gabriel an incredulous look from Jack, which did not bother him the tiniest bit.
"Do you want a measuring cup?" Jack asked, ready to hand it over. Gabriel, on the other hand, waved it off.
"I'm good. I don't need one."
"Are you sure?" Jack pressed.
"I'm sure," he replied. "This is how my Abuelo made them. Or, well, anything."
"Really?"
"Yeah." Grabbing a whisk, Gabriel cradled the bowl in one arm and began to stir, his back pressed against the counter. "He was always a measure-with-your-heart kind of guy. Never wrote anything down. He just knew."
"That would drive my Ma insane," Jack commented, sprinkling sugar on each of the stars before finally putting them in the oven.
"Probably." After a bit of stirring, Gabriel set the bowl down, grabbed a bag of chocolate chips, opened it, and dumped the entirety of the bag into the bowl. Soon after, he returned to stirring. "But, it was always good. He always put his soul into whatever he made. And, well, when everyone came to visit for the holidays, everything just felt extra special with what he made."
"Well, I can only guess that yours will be just as good as his." At that, Gabriel could not help but snort.
"I'm just doing my best here, Jackie."
"Hey, so am I."
Hearing a beeping from across the kitchen, Jack quickly dashed over to the oven and pulled out the tray of piping-hot cookies. Fortunately, they were as perfect as they come, golden and puffed up slightly to perfection. Unfortunately, with the rush to get the cookies out of the oven, Jack did not have the foresight to put on oven mitts before taking the cookies out.
Luckily, spotting this, Gabriel put his bowl aside and began to lead Jack to the med-bay right as he put the tray down on the counter.
"Wait, did I just-"
"Yep."
"I mean, I think I'm fine-"
"Don't start, Jackie," Gabriel chastised as the two entered the med-bay. "Don't start."