Work Text:
The fall air creeped through the open window. The sun was just rising and the birds were still waking up, but not the Lady of the Hollow. Evangeline Fox was currently running around the room, looking for ingredients in the cabinets. Her pink hair was tied up in a messy bun, a few loose strands framed her face.
As she looked for sugar, she rubbed her open palm on her cheek, leaving a streak of flower on her cheek. Evangeline opened multiple cabinets but none had sugar in it.
Suddenly a cabinet in the far corner opened and a bag of sugar fell onto the counter. The pink haired girl smiled and picked up the bag. “Thank you!” She said to the Hollow, patting the counter as the cabinet closed itself.
Evangeliene rushed back over to the main island in the kitchen and placed the bag of sugar on the counter. She pulled out some of the island’s drawers, looking for a measuring cup. She grabbed the one she needed and closed the drawer.
She scooped out a few cups of sugar and mixed it in with the butter. Evangeliene was definitely the baker in the family, since she had memorized this recipe. Then she added in her eggs and her dry ingredients to the bowl.
Evangeline placed the bowl in the crook of her arm, she picked up a spoon and began to stir all the ingredients together. As she did, Evangeline internally panicked when she read the clock on the kitchen wall. It was almost 9…the time Jacks and her would normally get up.
To be completely honest, she was surprised he hadn’t even noticed her gone yet. In hindsight she would’ve started earlier but she was just so tired because said husband and her did....some things last night.
Evangeline blushed as she recalled the previous night. Soon enough the ingredients were stirred together. She placed the bowl back on the counter, grabbed a smaller bowl full of pre-cut apples and poured the apples into the batter.
Using her spoon, she folded the apples into the mix as quickly as she could. Evangeline then grabbed her already prepped and greased cake pan and poured the batter inside. Using her spoon, she smoothed it down and topped it all off with a sprinkling of cinnamon and sugar.
The pink haired girl grabbed the pan and placed it in the oven. She turned to the tabletop beside the oven and set the small timer for 40 minutes.
Evangeline breathed a sigh of relief as the cake started baking but she wasn’t done yet. She quickly opened on of the bottom cabinets and pulled out a few boxes wrapped in red paper.
The Hollow opened its kitchen door and a wooden cart rolled through towards the girl. She smiled and patted the wall in front of her. Evangeline quickly placed the gifts on the bottom shelf of the cart, putting the bigger ones on the bottom and the smaller ones on top.
She then stood up and shook her skirts out as she walked over to the open fire. Evangeline grabbed the iron rod next to it and carefully took the tea kettle off of the iron shelf that it was on.
She placed the kettle on the counter beside the fire, waiting for the iron to cool as she placed the fire poker back beside the fireplace. Two cups and saucers appeared beside the kettle, thanks to the Hollow. The girl smiled to herself as she carefully poured the hot water into both cups.
In the pink cup she added a ginger tea bag while in the blue cup she added an earl gray tea bag. Evangeline placed honey and sugar in hers but only added a dash of sugar to her husband’s.
Just as she placed the cups of tea, as well as pastries on the cart, the timer went off. Had time gone by that fast?
Evangeline grabbed an oven mitt and carefully pulled out the apple cake. After taking it out of the pan and placing it on a white plate. She cut the cake into slices, taking two and placing them on plates by the tea cups.
She smiled at her work and added the finishing touches to the cart before she pushed it out into the hallway.
Evangeline made her way down to their bedroom, quietly opening the door and rolling the cart inside. She pushed the cart to the table by the window.
The pink haired girl sneaked a look over at her husband as she set the table. Jacks laid in their shared bed in his night clothes with his blond hair tousled. His hand reached out towards Evangeline’s side of the bed, patting the sheets and looking for her warmth.
When he didn’t find her, Jacks’s eyes shot open. Evangeline smiled as he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her.
Suddenly, his wife ran towards the bed and tackled him. Evangeline and Jacks laughed as he cuddled her close.
“Happy birthday, my love!” Evangeline smiled.
Jacks returned her smile and kissed her lips softly.
“Thank you, Little Fox.” He looked over at the table. “What’s all this?”
“I made you breakfast, come on!” She helped him up and led him to his seat.
As he sat down she cut a piece of the cake and speared it onto a fork. She lifted the fork towards his mouth.
Jacks took the piece and chewed gratefully. He hummed softly.
“Not bad.”
Evangeline scoffed. “It better not be. I worked really hard on that.”
Jacks smirked and pulled his wife into his lap. He dragged his hands along her thighs.
“Thank you for this….Evangeline.”
His wife smiled brightly and kissed his forehead.
“Of course Jacks. Happy birthday, love of my life.”