Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of this work of fiction, and no profit, monetary or otherwise, is being made through this writing.
A/N: Set after the show, when the boys are adults. Written as a gift for csi_sanders1129. I hope that this satisfies. Enjoy, and Mele Kalikimaka.
Smiling ear to ear, Benny reaches across the kitchen island (he'd been banned to the other side of it after mishap number 2 and a half - Ethan had caught the almost beheaded gingerbread cookie before it ended becoming a full mishap) and wipes the icing out of the corner of Ethan's mouth. He pops his index finger into his mouth, and sucks off the sugary confectionary, keeping his eyes locked on Ethan's the whole time.
Benny loves this time of year, Christmas, even more now that he and Ethan are officially a couple. Unofficially engaged (they'll be announcing their engagement this Christmas, at dinner).
Coming out had been easier than he'd expected, and, if his grandmother, Ethan's sister, and Rory, were to be believed, completely unnecessary (haven't you always been gay?).
Not that Benny had been expecting a parade or anything (it would have been nice, though; parades are always nice), but he'd been expecting a little more than Erica's, "Of course you're gay; I mean have you looked at yourself?" and Sarah's head tilt and slow, accepting smile and nod, the way that she'd squeezed his shoulder a little too hard (vampire strength forgotten yet again) and whispered, "I know, now, go set Ethan straight."
Puns aside, setting Ethan 'straight' about their mutual orientation and attraction (all nighters that ended up with the two of them cuddling in Ethan or Benny's bed the following morning had apparently not been enough of a hint) had been harder than coming out had been.
Ethan, for all of his intelligence, was a little (a lot) slow on the uptake, and, while he'd been supportive of Benny when he'd made the announcement that he was gay, Ethan had kind of...disappeared on Benny for awhile. It had hurt, but Benny had done his best to take it all in stride, and be understanding. He'd even dated a couple of guys, and had almost become serious with one of them, but by then Ethan had come back, and Benny couldn't deny that, even if Ethan was never interested in him, he'd always be interested in Ethan, his magnetic pole.
Contenting himself to simply admire Ethan from afar, and pine after him for eternity, Benny was surprised (pleasantly so) when Ethan asked him out on a date. The date itself had been a disaster of epic proportions, but what had followed - a return to Ethan's boyhood room, pigging out on junk food and playing video games until they couldn't see straight, and then falling asleep in a pile of blankets and intertwined limbs - had been perfect.
Ethan promised nothing, and Benny took what he could get. Stolen moments of time in between college classes, studying, and family time. That the Morgans already considered Benny to be a part of the family simply added to the time that Benny got to spend with Ethan, which was a bonus.
A declaration of love, and not of the, "I love you, man," variety, hadn't occurred until they'd been kind of dating for a year and a half. Coincidentally, that's when they'd also had their first kiss, beneath mistletoe that Rory had spread throughout the bachelor pad that they'd all been sharing for going on four months at the time. It cut down on their commute time, and was a way to assert their independence (Ethan's and Rory's parents were paying two thirds of the rent, and Benny's grandmother was paying half of Benny's rent; Benny's part-time job at the Pizza Emporium left him stretched for time, though it did provide limited funds for date nights).
That was almost a full year ago. The kiss, while it had been awkward and had ended with both of them bursting into a fit of giggles while Rory, and their guests, had cheered them on, had changed their lives. It had occurred beneath the archway of the kitchen they were currently baking Christmas goodies in. They were going to host Ethan's family, and Benny's grandmother, for dinner on Christmas Eve, and Ethan was making gift baskets for their friends, and some to donate to the homeless shelter, this year.
Benny's idea of helping had unfortunately led to the untimely deaths of several gingerbread men, all casualties of icing debacles number one and two (Benny was a little heavy-handed with the icing). Not that he's repentant. Ethan has a billion other little gingerbread men to decorate, not to mention sugar cookies that look like sand dollars, and some that are shaped as trees, angels, and stars. Puffy snickerdoodles, gingersnaps, and orange glazed chocolate chip scones round out the baked goods that they're giving away as a couple. Nearly a year later, and Benny's still giddy about being a couple.
Benny has no qualms with putting his name on the finished product, even if his help had mostly entailed what Ethan had referred to as clean up duty (licking the spoon, and cleaning out the bowl of every last remnant of the different batters was very important to the whole baking process; what better way to test the quality of the dough than to taste it? and waste not, want not has always been a motto of Benny's).
"You're such a child," Ethan says, pointing the icing bag in his direction, and shaking his head. "Enough with the pouty lips and puppy eyes. I still have -"
Benny surges across the counter, Ethan's banishment of him be damned, and presses his lips to Ethan's, cutting off the other man's words, and inadvertently getting icing all down the front of his shirt when Ethan accidentally squeezes the bag of icing.
It's a toe-curling, ear tingling, warmth that spills down the spine like molten lava, kind of kiss, and Benny isn't the least bit repentant when they pull away, breathless. Ethan's cheeks are pink, and his pupils are so large that they could fit a universe within them. Benny takes a moment to relish the besotted look on his lover's face, knowing that, once Ethan gets a look at the resultant mess, he's going to have an entirely different look on his face, and Benny is going to find himself banished to the living room, or across town, shopping for stuffing, or a second ham, though their family is bringing the main dishes, and they're just providing the desserts.
Sure enough, five and a half heartbeats later, Ethan's eyes go wide when he finally takes in the grisly aftermath of their kiss- gingerbread cookies crushed to smithereens, arms and legs broken off at odd, painful looking angles, heads just gone - and he sets his jaw. Eyes glittering with wrath, and more love than Benny feels he deserves on a good day, Ethan points a shaky finger toward the very door they'd shared their first kiss under.
"Out, now," Ethan says, voice a quiet roar of suppressed anger and frustration. "And stop with the sad, I'm sorry eyes, they won't work. Not this time. Out. Go clean up, and, when I've finished decorating what remains of the cookies, I'll come get you."
"And we can -"
"Dine on the fallen, dismembered, headless atrocities that you've left in your wake?" Ethan asks, raising an eyebrow, and the now half full bag of icing like it's a weapon.
Blinking rapidly, bottom lip crowding out the other, Benny nods, heart in his throat, and hands clasped together in front of him like he's praying. In a way he is. And for more than just a handful (or more, much more) of damaged cookies and whatever remains of the icing.
Smiling softly, eyes losing their choler, and showing even more of that amazing love, Ethan nods. "Of course we can. Now, go clean up, and put on that Christmas sweater that my mom sent you last Christmas."
Benny's face falls, and his shoulders sag. It's the ugliest sweater that he's ever seen; even Ethan had taken one look at it and declared his mother to be evil. It's a just punishment, though, and not even half of what he deserves for sabotaging half of the gingerbread men that Ethan had baked (they're the most delicious cookies he's ever had the pleasure of sneaking tastes of).
Dragging his feet, Benny leaves the kitchen, pausing in the doorway when Ethan clears his throat. "After we indulge in removing all of evidence of the one man Christmas cookie massacre that you perpetuated, I'd like to rescue you from that monstrosity of a sweater, if you catch my drift."
Heart skipping a beat, Benny turns around to make sure that Ethan really means what he says, that he's not completely pissed about the destruction of his cookies. What he sees is lust, and a look of fond exasperation. Benny sprints out of the room, and hastens to do just as his lover's asked of him, ugly Christmas sweater from his soon to be mother-in-law and all.