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Today was the day of the school fundraiser, and the four of them decided to have a bake sale and sell chocolate chip cookies for it. It was unanimously agreed by everyone that wasn't Toby that Nick should be the one in charge of baking them and that Toby should stay far away from the kitchen, so Lucas, Jessica and Toby were in charge of getting the stand set up and selling the cookies Nick made.
It seemed like a good idea at the time, but they severely underestimated how in demand their cookies would end up being, so Lucas left Toby and Jessica at the stand and rushed to the Tripp house to give Nick a helping hand in any way he could.
Upon entering the Tripp house and making his way to the kitchen, Nick had just finished putting a batch in the oven and was surprised to see him. "Lucas? What are you doing here?"
"The people at school really love the cookies," Lucas explained quickly, trying to catch his breath. "We're running out, and there's still so many people who want some."
Nick grew alarmed as his gaze snapped to the remaining ingredients he had on the counter. "I don't have enough ingredients to make any more! This batch is the last one!"
"I'll get more ingredients for you," Lucas promised. "What do you need?"
Nick was visibly relieved. "You're a life saver! We're running low on chocolate chips, and we've ran out of eggs, and the all-purpose flour's looking low, too... oh! And we need more butter. I think we're okay for baking soda, but we need more granulated white sugar and brown sugar. Extra parchment paper would be nice, too. I'll pay you back later!"
Lucas nodded seriously before rushing out the door to the nearest grocery store, and after making sure he remembered the list of items Nick said to buy, he quickly bought the required items before returning to Nick, who had just taken the latest batch out of the oven to rest.
"Great timing!" Nick said when Lucas returned with everything. "These ones should help tide over the students," he added, gesturing to the batch that was resting. "They still need to rest for a few minutes, but once they've finished, can you package them up for me in one of those special vented bakery boxes while I work on the next batch?"
Lucas knew exactly what Nick was talking about and agreed, and after a few minutes of watching Nick expertly going through the process of making the dough, he did what Nick instructed.
He only got around halfway through when his phone rang.
Seeing the caller was Toby, Lucas answered. "Hello?"
"We're goners!" Toby wailed from the other end of the line, and Lucas flinched as he pulled his phone away from his ear due to the sheer volume of Toby. "We're done for! All the cookies have almost run out, and people are staring at us!"
Lucas brought the phone back to his ear. "I'll be over with more cookies soon," he promised. "Just hang tight." He ended the call before turning to the direction Nick was in. "Toby just called asking for more cookies."
"I know," Nick responded. "I heard Toby from all the way over here. The situation sounds pretty dire, so you better get this batch over to him ASAP."
Lucas grinned. "That's the plan!"
He finished packaging the rest of the batch as fast as he could before rushing over to the school, where he found a crowd of angry students that weren't there before around their stand that didn't have enough cookies for all of them, and when a nervous Jessica spotted him, she gave a relieved smile and waved him over.
Lucas arrived at the stand and set the box down. "Hope you guys weren't waiting for long. I came over as fast as I could."
"We've been saved!" Toby exclaimed, eagerly looking for more boxes. "How many did you bring with you?"
"Just this batch," Lucas confirmed, tapping the top of the box for emphasis. "But Nick is baking more as we speak, and I have to go and help him out," he finished as he turned to leave, causing Toby to splutter.
"You can't just abandon us here!" Toby shouted indignantly after him as he ran off, but there was no changing his mind.
Nick needed him, and he was sure Toby and Jessica could hold down the fort without him.
Back in the Tripp house, Lucas updated Nick on the situation. "The batch I brought over won't tide the crowd over for long. People can't get enough of them. How did you make the cookies so delicious, anyway?"
"I did a lot of research," Nick explained proudly. "I used the most optimal recipe that provided the best flavour with the ingredients used and the time required to make them without chilling the dough, since without the need for chilling they're quicker to make." His proud look turned sheepish. "Maybe I shouldn't have made them taste so good, because it's gotten us in a lot of trouble."
Lucas shrugged. "Well, there's no turning back now. But since I'm here," he added, voice full of determination. "I'm gonna help you make more. An extra pair of hands should help speed things along and make things easier."
Nick looked at him gratefully. "The recipe is over there," he said, pointing at a page on the counter. "I noted everything down so I could follow the recipe properly, but since I've gotten used to following it, I don't need it anymore so it's all yours."
Once Lucas got the necessary equipment, he grabbed the recipe and set it beside him before getting to work. The first part was familiar because he saw Nick doing that part during the few minutes he was watching him, but for the rest, he relied on Nick's precise instructions of the recipe.
Having such precise instructions was really helpful, and by the time he finished the dough, Nick took his own batch out of the oven to let them rest and started packaging them a few minutes later. Since the oven was free, when Lucas finished placing dough balls on the baking tray (using an ice cream scooper per Nick's instructions after lining the tray with parchment paper), he put his batch in the oven.
Since Nick started making more dough and Lucas was waiting for his batch to finish, he decided to take Nick's packaged cookies and bring them to Toby and Jessica, and when he got back, he took his batch out of the oven to rest like Nick did before. Nick — who had already prepared the tray for his next batch — put his batch in as soon as Lucas took his out, and once Lucas's batch had rested for a few minutes, Lucas started packaging them.
Once he finished packaging his batch, since Nick was waiting for his own batch to finish baking, Nick took Lucas's packaged cookies to bring them to Toby and Jessica while Lucas worked on making more dough. When Nick returned, the two of them repeated the process a few more times, working together seamlessly to supply the cookies to Toby and Jessica throughout the day.
They were relieved when Toby and Jessica confirmed they only needed one more batch, and once it was time for the fundraiser to end, Lucas and Nick were left exhausted.
Both of them were covered in flour and left panting by the end of such a busy day, and it was taking everything they had not to fall to the floor from exhaustion.
"Thanks for helping me out," Nick finally said. "I don't know how I was gonna do all this on my own."
Lucas smiled. "I was glad to help out. Like I was gonna pass up an opportunity to spend time with you."
Nick gave a shy smile. "I'm glad I got to spend time with you, too."
Lucas knew the deeper meaning behind Nick's words — and he knew that Nick knew he knew — but neither of them had actually talked about their feelings yet. Now was no exception, and he was content to continue to leave things between them unaddressed for a bit longer until a better time when they weren't exhausted.
"While we wait for Toby and Jess to return after counting the money we made from selling cookies..." Nick added as he looked around the kitchen. "We should clean everything up." His gaze landed on Lucas for a second longer than necessary before moving to his own clothes. "Including ourselves."
After taking the time to clean everything in the kitchen so it was spotless by the time Toby and Nick's parents returned from their trip — as well as cleaning themselves up and getting into some fresh clothes — they retreated to one of the couches and sat down with matching groans.
Lucas didn't know how long they spent sitting, but after a while, Nick turned to him. "By the way, I have something I want to give you."
"What is it?" Lucas asked.
Nick stood up, wincing from the movement, and held out his hand. "Do you trust me?"
"Always," Lucas confirmed with a grin as he took Nick's hand and stood up. His legs were still a bit wobbly, but he found his footing soon enough.
"Good. Follow me," Nick beckoned, and they made their way back into the kitchen, still holding hands.
The two of them holding hands wasn't anything new — it had become a recent habit of theirs that they didn't talk about — but the familiar contact still made him happy as he followed Nick's lead.
"Close your eyes," Nick instructed, and while Lucas did just that, he felt Nick release his hand. A short time later, he heard Nick's voice again. "Okay, you can open them now."
Lucas opened his eyes and he was met with a plate of heart-shaped shortbread cookies, and his eyes widened in amazement as he gently took the plate before his gaze moved up to meet Nick's.
A blushing Nick scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Too forward?"
Out of all the things he was expecting, heart-shaped shortbread cookies was not one of them, and he shook his head, still amazed. "Not at all. I'm just surprised. Where is this coming from?"
"We have been meaning to talk about us for a while," Nick answered, which made sense. "And while I was coming up with the best chocolate chip cookie recipe, I had the idea to make you some shortbread cookies since I know how much you love them and I wanted to do something nice for you. This was before I found out you were going to be helping me, so in a way it's like a thank-you gift now."
He remembered the offhand comment he made to Nick about shortbread cookies some time ago, and if he was already feeling great from the gesture, knowing that Nick made them for him because he specifically remembered the one time he said he loved them made him feel extra warm inside.
Nick knew him so well.
"You really didn't have to do that," Lucas replied in a way that showed all the fondness he felt. "Thanks for all the effort you put into them. I'll have to try one now because I'm sure they taste good."
"They should be," Nick confirmed. "I followed the recipe exactly. If you don't like them, then there's something seriously wrong."
Taking Nick's word, Lucas took one of the shortbread cookies and tried it, and as the flavour hit him, he smiled blissfully.
"That good, then?" Nick asked, seeing his reaction.
Lucas swallowed. "The best shortbread I've ever had in my life. I'd say this is even better than those chocolate chip cookies. Between the chocolate chip cookies and the shortbread cookies, you've really outdone yourself." His eyes lit up with an idea. "Hey, maybe we should do shortbread cookies for the next fundraiser," he suggested. "I'm sure the people at school will love them as much as I do."
Nick laughed. "I'll think about it. At least next time we'll be more prepared for how much baking we need to do, and I'd love your help for next time, whenever that is."
"I'd love that, too," Lucas spoke before his attention shifted back to the plate of mouthwatering shortbread cookies. "Do you want to try one? These are really incredible and I'd love for you to experience it."
He was caught off guard so much when Nick suddenly kissed him that he almost dropped the plate, but by the time he realised what was happening, Nick pulled away with a shy smile. "You're right, they really are incredible."
"Did —" Lucas said with a disbelieving laugh, smiling widely and feeling very flustered. "Did you just kiss me?"
Nick nodded, returning his wide smile. "I've been wanting to do that for so long and saw a golden opportunity. Was that okay?"
Lucas nodded back. "That was more than okay. But as much as I enjoyed it, it would've been nice to have some notice in advance before you kissed me, because then I wouldn't have frozen."
"In that case, can I kiss you again?" Nick asked.
Lucas nodded again, and the two of them lean—
The abrupt sound of the door slamming open interrupted them, and they quickly leaped backwards as Toby entered the house with Jessica in tow.
Toby immediately flopped down on one of the couches with a dull thud, oblivious to the moment Nick and Lucas were having as he lay there. "Man, I'm beat! The school better be happy after all that hard work we put in."
Nick and Lucas exchanged glances and chuckled, with Lucas setting the plate of shortbread cookies — all of which had fortunately remained on the plate despite the sudden movement — on the counter before the two of them made their way to Toby and Jessica to greet them.
"Welcome back!" Lucas spoke.
"Yeah, it's good to see you guys back in one piece," Nick added.
"Barely!" Toby exclaimed from the couch before groaning. "I thought the day was never gonna end. With all that crowd going up to us like that, I saw my whole life flashing before my eyes!"
Jessica rolled her eyes, but looked as exhausted as Toby felt as she slumped down on the other couch since Toby was currently occupying the entirety of the first one. "Don't be so dramatic, Toby. We were fine. Exhausted and overworked, maybe, but fine apart from that." She turned to Lucas and Nick. "How were things on your end?"
"About the same," Lucas replied truthfully. "We're exhausted, but we're just glad we managed to make enough cookies for everyone."
"I wouldn't have been able to do it without Lucas," Nick spoke honestly as he looked at Lucas fondly, with Lucas returning the fond look.
It took a few moments of being lost in Nick's eyes before snapping out of it. "Oh yeah, how much money did we end up earning?" He eventually asked.
"Brain fried," Toby once again groaned. "Too many numbers. So many students. Many buying more than once. The light!" He gasped dramatically, stretching his hand forward at something only he could see. "It's coming closer!"
"Over seven hundred dollars in total," Jessica supplied, ignoring Toby's antics.
"I never want to see another cookie again!" Toby exclaimed before proceeding to faceplant into the couch.
"He doesn't mean that," Jessica explained to Nick and Lucas. "I'm sure he'll be craving them after some time. He just needs to get over the stress of today first. Truthfully, so do I." Her attention shifted to Toby. "But it's over now," she reassured him. "We don't have to do this again for another while. I think I speak for all of us when I say we should hit the hay early for school tomorrow."
Toby's head jolted up from the couch, feeling the opposite of reassured. "Haven't I suffered enough?!" He exclaimed again. "What have I done to deserve such a cruel fate?!"
Lucas shook his head disapprovingly at Jessica. "You should know by now not to mention the 'S' word in front of Toby when he's like this."
Toby didn't hear Lucas, and instead proceeded to faceplant again. "Just put me out of my misery-y-y..." he whined into the couch, before his sounds of distress faded and became snores a few seconds later.
"I'll take this as my cue to go back home," Jessica said, standing up. "I'll see you guys tomorrow. Lucas," she addressed. "Are you going back to your house, too?"
"I think I'll stay the night here?" Lucas revealed with a questioning glance at Nick, who nodded. "Yeah. I'm staying the night here."
Despite her exhaustion, Jessica smiled. "It's about time the two of you talked about your feelings."
Nick and Lucas exchanged shocked glances. "How did you know?" Nick asked.
Jessica shrugged. "I had a feeling something was different between you. Besides, the two of you were staring into each other's eyes not that long ago. It wasn't hard to put two and two together." Looking at the snoring Toby, she smiled. "He'll be glad once he finds out, you know. It might even make up for having to go to school tomorrow."
Toby twitched in his sleep and his face morphed into a grimace as he murmured something none of them could catch, before he shifted his position and his expression became peaceful again.
"Sometimes I wonder if Toby has a sixth sense for this kind of stuff," Nick observed.
"Maybe his fight or flight is kicking in?" Lucas suggested.
Jessica shook her head to get back on topic. "Anyway, like I said, he'll be happy when he finds out about you guys."
Nick nodded. "We'll keep that in mind. See you tomorrow, Jess."
"Yeah, see you soon," Lucas added before Jessica left, and his attention landed on the sleeping Toby. "Should we just leave him there?"
Nick shook his head. "Probably not. We'll have to wake him up eventually, but for now we should just let him sleep. Maybe we could watch some TV while we wait," he suggested.
Lucas agreed, and after putting the plate of shortbread cookies back in the cupboard for Lucas to bring home tomorrow, the two of them made their way to the other couch. Getting an idea, Lucas wrapped an arm around Nick's shoulders.
Nick's eyes widened. "Lucas?"
"Is this okay?" Lucas asked, unsure. "I can move if you want. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable."
Nick smiled. "I'm not feeling uncomfortable," he said, wrapping his own arm around Lucas. "I like being with you here, Lukie."
He had always loved that nickname ever since Nick first called him by it, and now was no different. If anything, it was different in a good way, because they finally talked about what was going on between them.
Unable to resist the urge to kiss Nick again, he did just that for a few seconds, making up for their interrupted moment.
"You wanted to do that again, too?" Nick asked, gazing fondly into his eyes.
"We were interrupted last time," Lucas answered, returning Nick's fond gaze. "I just thought now was a good time to fix that."
Nick hummed knowingly. "And it's definitely not because I called you 'Lukie'?"
"Well, that may be part of it," Lucas admitted with a sheepish smile. "Now that we've finally talked about our feelings, being called 'Lukie' feels extra special. It's no longer just a friendship thing anymore."
Nick chuckled. "It hasn't been 'just a friendship' thing in a long time. In fact, I don't think it's ever been 'just a friendship' thing, since the first time I called you that I knew about my feelings."
"I know that," Lucas replied. "But there's a difference between knowing and actually talking about what we know."
"I know what you mean," Nick agreed. "Even though we both knew of each other's feelings, talking about them and us makes it feel more real now that everything is out in the open."
"Exactly," Lucas confirmed before his look turned shy. "I never got the chance to ask this earlier, but since we've talked about our feelings, I was wondering if you'd like to be with me? Like as a couple?"
Nick quickly kissed him. "Oh, Lukie," he said with a wide smile once they parted. "Was there ever any doubt?"
Lucas laughed sheepishly. "Just checking. I don't want to assume things."
"For what it's worth, I'm glad you checked," Nick confessed. "Because I don't want to assume things, either. I would've asked you myself at some point if you didn't ask."
"And I probably would've said something similar to what you said," Lucas revealed. "Probably would've kissed you, too. But whether it was from me asking you or you asking me," he added, smiling fondly at Nick. "I'm glad we both know we're together."
Nick returned his fond smile. "I'm glad we know we're together, too."
The conversation ended and the two of them fell into comfortable silence, and as they watched TV together, Lucas felt his eyes getting heavy and decided to rest them for just a moment...
*****
Toby groggily woke up, feeling disoriented by his surroundings at first before realising this wasn't his bed he was sleeping in but the couch.
Stretching, he looked over to the other couch, and couldn't hold back his grin over what he saw.
Lucas and Nick were sat beside each other with Lucas's head resting on Nick's shoulder and Nick resting his head on Lucas's, the two of them fast asleep. He wasn't sure how long the two of them were like that, but he decided he could give them a few more minutes before waking them.
And if he snuck a photo to remember the occasion and to tease Nick about later, well, that was something for him to know.