Title: Snow Day
Author: Rina (Searider Falcon)
Pairing: Niles/C.C. Babcock
Disclaimer: The Nanny and its characters are all the property of Sony Pictures, High School Sweethearts, and Sternin & Fraser's Ink, Inc. I make no profit from writing and sharing this story.
A/N: Written for the 2013 Niles/CC Advent Calendar. Thanks to Kate811 for saving me from almost slapping a dreaded "Untitled" on this when I drew a total blank on an appropriate title. :)
Niles felt the slam of the front door all the way from the kitchen, the sound so loud it reverberated through his bones. It surprised him that the commotion wasn't followed by the tinkling of shattering glass. Bewildered, he tiptoed toward the kitchen door and pushed it open to listen for clues. Was it one of the children storming into the house in the midst of one of their teenage temper tantrums? Or perhaps the Sheffields in the midst of one of their more heated marital spats?
He groaned as he heard the heavy click of heels. He knew that distinctive gait all too well and prayed that it would fade off in the direction of Mr. Sheffield's office. Instead, it drew closer.
Ducking back to his customary spot at the island, he braced for impact.
Despite his readiness for it, the thwack of the swinging door against the bookcase still made him jump, but Miss Babcock paid him no heed as she flung her purse and beret onto the breakfast table. She tossed her woolen coat over the back of one of the chairs. He frowned as it slid to the floor. She failed to notice.
"Coffee," she hissed.
He opened his mouth, ready to make a pointed remark about manners then thought better of it, deciding it might be wiser to caffeinate and calm her first. Her temper seemed to be in rare form this afternoon. He reached for a mug, prepared her drink the way he knew she preferred it, and scooted it across the island.
She grunted at him in what he took to be some form of approval as she picked it and slunk over to the table to sit. Though her shoulders seemed to lose some of their tenseness, the look on her face remained pained. He whipped out a bottle of aspirin.
"Headache?"
"Caroler-induced migraine."
Niles bit back a laugh.
"I hate carolers."
This time he did chuckle.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, Tiny Tim. Do you realize what utter hell it is to be accosted by such amateurs when you get to hear professionally trained artists on a daily basis?"
He rolled his eyes.
"There was this one little girl...oh, god, I think Nanny Fine could do better." She finished off her coffee and got up to pour herself another cup and almost smiled for the first time that day as he poured the cream for her.
Niles suspected her headache likely had more to do with not having eaten a decent meal since the night before if not longer. The pizza baking in the oven wouldn't be ready for another twenty minutes, so he made a plate of cheese spread and crackers for her to nibble on until then.
Encouraging her to sit back down again, he set the platter down before her and joined her at the table.
"So what sent you lurching out of your cave on a Saturday?"
She gave him a wan smile. "I thought I'd get a little work done."
"Oh...Botox? Facelift? Another rhinoplasty?"
She picked up her knife and gestured toward his forehead with scowl. "Lobotomy."
Touché, he thought.
Still, it frustrated him that she planned to waste a perfectly good if somewhat chilly day holed up in the office.
"Really, Miss Babcock, why bother? Mr. Sheffield's not going to notice either way. Go do something fun with your weekend. Go Christmas shopping, go see a show you didn't produce, take a carriage ride through Central Park, build a snowman."
She looked incredulous at the last suggestion, almost laughing. "Build a snowman?"
"Why not?"
"That's childish."
His eyes went wide as he realized something. "You've never built a snowman, have you?"
"No." She tucked a lock of hair behind her, trying to feign an attitude of indifference to cover her self-consciousness.
"What kind of childhood did you lead? Your formative years were during the Ice Age after all!"
She pushed herself out of the chair and pinned him with a scathing glare as she left the kitchen in a huff.
Niles watched her leave, a thoughtful look crossing his face.
Niles took a certain amount of satisfaction from the way Miss Babcock jumped as he flew into the office and threw down a pile of winter gear at her feet. It made them even after the scene she made when she arrived earlier.
She stared at the mix of clothing scattered on the floor, a blend of her own stuff and a few items that he'd gathered from the closets of the Sheffield family. "What the hell is this?"
"Get ready, Babcock. We are going to build a snowman."
"If you think I'm going to be seen in Central Park participating in such a puerile activity with common riff-raff like you, you can just-"
"Oh, please. That would require me to keep you on a leash. No, we're going to build it on the terrace. Now bundle up."
"Where did you get all this crap anyway?"
She plucked one of the boots from the pile, her brow arched in question.
"One of Miss Margaret's. I figured with enough effort, we'll be able to cram your cloven hooves into them. Hurry up."
"Get out."
"Oh, c'mon, Babcock. Are you honestly that allergic to all things fun?"
"No, get out so I can change, you imbecile. I'm not going to give you a live show here."
He leered at her. "That would be a cheap thrill, I assure you."
"Says the one who's so cheap he relies on stealing Bri...Bar...the boy's second-hand magazines."
"You promise you're going to suit up?"
She pushed him out the door. "Yes. Anything to shut you up for a few minutes. Now go!"
She stood still with her arms crossed as he started to gather snow to build the base of their snowman.
Niles looked up at her, exasperated. "There's no point in doing this if you're not going to participate, Miss Babcock."
"Great. I'll back inside then. I'm freezing."
As she tried to turn and trudge toward the doors, he swung her back around "Oh, no you don't. Get back over here."
"But it's cooooold," she whined.
"You won't be as cold if you keep moving."
"I won't be as cold if I go back inside like a civilized human being!"
"If I don't respond to your claim of being human, will you actually help out here?"
"No."
Despite her protest, she inched closer to him and knelt, gingerly picking up a small handful of snow.
'Work with me here, Babcock. We'll be here until next winter if that's how you're going to go about building one of these."
"I don't want to get my hands wet from the snow."
"You're wearing weather resistant gloves. I assure you they're better suited for this than those overpriced pieces of fluff you insist on wearing."
Miss Babcock sniffed indignantly. "My Gucci gloves are perfectly suited for those of us who are not accustomed to wallowing about in the elements."
To his credit, he resisted the urge to throw a snowball at her head. Since she finally started digging into the snow with a little more gusto, he decided he'd end up ruining this opportunity to get her to loosen up a little if he did.
They stood back to examine the blank body of their snowman.
"Well, he certainly has your wide hips and lack of a waistline."
Something small and hard thwacked right into his temple. Blinking in surprise, he looked down to see a small piece of coal at his feet. He narrowed his eyes at Miss Babcock as he looked back up. She appeared not the least bit remorseful, her lips pursed into an impish smirk. She looked much too pleased with her good aim.
Niles grabbed the bucket he'd used to carry all the items he thought they might use to decorate their creation from her and shook his head as he dug around in it.
"Any preference on how you want him to look?"
"You're the supposed expert here."
"But we're out here for your benefit…"
She peered into the bucket and pulled out a carrot. "The nose?"
"Sure."
She wedged it into the center of the face and took two lumps of coal for the eyes. At first she set them rather lopsided.
"Aww, looks like you."
He sneered at her and readjusted one of the eyes to make it more level with the other one.
They argued over whether to have it smile or scowl and ended up compromising by setting its mouth into a straight line, though somehow it looked rather sinister that way. She pressed some mismatched buttons down its belly. He wrapped one of Mrs. Sheffield's rejected scarves around the wide neck, some hideous piece of rainbow-colored animal print that the former Miss Fine lamented over because it never really went with anything.
Miss Babcock studied the nearly finished product. "Hmm. He needs arms."
"If you think I'm going to go all the way downstairs just to snap off some better branches from one of the trees out front…"
The sudden mischievous grin that spread across her face set him on edge. She shoved the bucket into his hands and tromped over to the French doors. He scowled at the trail of melting snow she left in her wake as she scurried through the office and out into the hallway. Just what did that wicked witch have in mind?
She returned moments later with something hidden behind her back.
He stared at her, eyebrow raised.
She met his questioning gaze with an amused smirk.
Before he could even blink, she whipped out whatever it was and jabbed two items into the sides of the snowman.
Two of his feather dusters.
He sputtered in indignation.
"Those are my good feather dusters! Take those back right now!"
"Oh, Niles. You're favorite dusters? Really? That's the most pathetic thing I've ever heard."
Well, she did have a point.
Still, he wasn't about to let this go without some form of retaliation. He waited until the very moment she looked away from him and reached for her head. Before she could even process what was happening, he plopped her hat onto the snowman's misshapen head.
"Niles! You are not using my cashmere beret on this thing!"
"If the hat goes, then so does my dusters."
"That is not an equal trade."
"Too bad."
She moved to take back her beret, but Niles matched her movements, shifting back and fro to block her access until she finally threw up her hands in defeat.
"Are we quite done now?"
"That's up to you, Miss Babcock."
They turned back to observe their handiwork then glanced back at each other...
...and simultaneously burst out laughing.
She clutched at his coat as she collapsed into him as she cackled. "This is the most ridiculous snowman ever."
"It is," he agreed, grinning at her and feeling secretly delighted at this brief moment closeness, by the way she clung to him, laughing in a way she rarely ever did.
Miss Babcock started to recover but one more look at their wannabe Picasso had her doubled over again.
Although he wanted to remain there for as long as possible, he felt her shiver as she started to calm down once more and he led her back inside.
She looked at him with bright eyes. "That actually...wasn't the worst idea ever."
Then, without warning, she leaned in and gave him a quick kiss right on the lips.
Stunned, he watched as she started walking toward the office door.
"I really did have fun, Niles. Next time, though, let's do something a little...warmer, though."
His heart beat in double-time as her eyes swept up and down his body, her lips curving into a sultry smile, leaving no doubt to what she had in mind. Before he could react, though, she went out the door.
He blinked a few times, trying to process what just happened.
A smile suddenly lit up his face. If he caught up with her in time, maybe that "next time" could start right now.