Rain had started to fall from the overcast winter sky by the time FP reached the front door of his small cottage home where he now lived with Jughead. It was with great relief that he stepped inside and closed the door behind him, shutting out the cold. His shoulders ached with weariness as he shucked off his coat and hung it on the nearby rack; it had been a long week, and he was going to enjoy spending the next couple of days resting.
As he turned to walk toward the kitchen, he saw that someone had taken the time to decorate the house for Christmas, stringing up gleaming ornaments, brightly colored ribbons, garlands of mistletoe, and sprigs of holly. A pleasant, sugary aroma combined with the scent of pine to waft through the air to greet him: Christmas cookies were baking in the oven. The thought that someone had gone through all of this trouble to make the house ready for the holidays made FP smile despite how tired he felt. It was a nice way to be welcomed home.
He found Betty and Jughead sitting at the kitchen table finishing up some schoolwork, a platter piled high with cookies of all types—snickerdoodles, gingerbread, sugar, peanut butter blossoms—resting before them.
"Hey, Dad!" Jughead said with a smile, and lightness surged through FP to see the expression on his face. Sometime it seemed like his son went far too long without ever seeming truly happy.
"Hello FP," Betty said politely but kindly. He'd given her permission to call him by his first name, mostly because he knew Alice would object.
"How are you kids doing?" FP asked, snagging a chocolate peppermint cookie from the plate.
"Just waiting for to come home," Jughead replied. He pointed to the oven. "Kevin had to run to the store to get more sugar, but he had us wait here to take the next batch of cookies out of the stove. We were going to stay until he got back."
"You two go ahead," FP said easily. "Kevin shouldn't be long, and I know how to use an oven mitt. Where are you heading out to tonight?"
"The mall," Betty said happily as the two gathered up their books. She gave Jughead a kiss on the cheek. "We're going to get some early Christmas shopping done."
"Drive carefully," FP warned them as they put away their school materials and donned their hats and coats. "If that rain turns to sleet, the roads will get icy."
"We'll be on the lookout," Jughead promised, and then he and Betty dashed out the front door, laughing and chattering happily together.
Even though they quickly closed the door behind them, their departure sent a gust of cold wind through the windows, and FP shivered involuntarily. Rolling up the sleeves on his shirt, he decided that a miserable night like this one call for a roaring fire, and occupied himself with preparing some kindling to go with the cut wood Kevin had carefully stacked by the fireplace.
He had just managed to ignite the wood when the front door opened and shut again. He stood and walked over to meet the newcomer in the kitchen, where he found Kevin unpacking a bag of groceries.
FP grinned at him, noting the item he held at that very moment. "You brought me some sugar, huh?"
Kevin turned to him, blushing at his remark but still smiling. "You know I've always got that for you, FP."
FP spread his arms wide. "Then come over here and give it to me."
Without hesitation, Kevin crossed over to him and kissed him firmly, which FP was quick to reciprocate. When the kiss ended, he wrapped his arms across FP's back to hug him tightly, and FP did the same. For a moment they just stood together, holding each other and soaking in the comfort from the warmth of each other's embrace.
If FP had to choose one moment to live the rest of his life in, he would choose this one. Being able to have Kevin come home to him was like finally getting a warm day of of sunshine after weeks of living through a blizzard.
FP reached up to thread his fingers through Kevin's hair. As he did, he breathed the scents of baking ingredients—vanilla, cinnamon, ginger— that clung to Kevin's clothes, and he was reminded of walking into a bakery.
"You smell as good as you look," he remarked. He glanced around at the decorations. "Did you do all of this for me?"
"I wanted you to have something nice to come home to," Kevin said, reaching up to caress FP's cheek. "I know how tired you've been lately. You've more than earned being able to rest and have someone take care of you."
"Well, ain't you just the sweetest," FP drawled, smirking as Kevin's blush darkened further. He pulled Kevin flush against him. "What else do you got for me that's sweet?"
"Some much-needed relaxation," Kevin said fondly but firmly, putting an arm around FP's shoulders and steering him back into the family room. He gently pushed FP onto the couch. "Sit down," he urged him. "I'll be back with your dinner, okay? You just enjoy the fire."
Kevin moved to leave, but FP pulled him back into his lap.
"Think I'd rather just enjoy you," he murmured, nuzzling against against Kevin's neck, knowing his stubble would scratch at the smooth skin there.
"I want to make sure you're taken care of," Kevin protested. He squeezed FP's shoulder briefly. "I'm going to get you some food. Stay here and relax, okay?"
"Hmph," FP huffed skeptically, but he allowed Kevin to get up from his lap to return to the kitchen. "Off you go, then."
"Thank you." With a smile, Kevin exited, leaving FP on his own for the moment.
He tilted his head back against the couch cushion, content just to drink in the various sensations. With the sweet, comforting scent of baked goods hanging in the air, the heat radiating from the fireplace, and the plush couch beneath his weary body, he could almost be lulled to sleep. Kevin was right; he really could use the relaxation, and it was a nice to simply sit for a few minutes without worrying about the next chore he needed to finish.
Kevin's return stirred him from his temporary reverie, and he blinked away his tiredness as a heavy plate was set down on the coffee table in front of him. The plate was piled with seemed like a dozen Christmas cookies and an enormous roast beef sandwich plus all the fixings, the bread homemade and freshly baked. FP was also handed a cold beer, which, he noted with a grin, was a craft brew that he didn't recognize, meaning that Kevin must have illicitly acquired himself.
"I've never been hotter for you than I am right now," FP declared, twisting off the cap. "What did I do to deserve you?"
Kevin snuggled in close, resting his head on FP's chest. "You didn't need to do anything, FP. I'm happy just to be with you."
FP wasn't good with feelings; specifically, he wasn't used to giving much of a damn about other people's. He had a knack for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time; he'd started (and won) more than a few fights because of it.
But in that moment, warm and cozy by the fireplace, with Kevin wrapped around him, FP found just the right thing to say.
"Yeah," he replied, his voice a bit gruff but nonetheless sincere. "Yeah, I'm happy to be with you, too."
Kevin beamed up at him, and FP wrapped an arm around him to hold him tightly, and together, they settled in to enjoy the evening.