A/N: Don't yell at me! I know it's short and not what you were hoping for. I might use this later in a story, but for now it doesn't really belong anywhere – so it is a bit vague. You can thank Johanna-002 for this one. I may have stolen a few words from her ;) Anyways, let me know what you think!
XOXOXO
Red sighed as she listed to Nicky ramble on about her day. To anyone else it might have sounded frustrated or annoyed, but it was all affection and amusement. Sometimes Nicky just couldn't shut up. Had it been anyone else she would have thrown them out of her kitchen with a harsh word or two on the way out. Well, everyone except Lorna. How do you really get rough and tough with someone carving faces onto your vegetables?
With Nicky - Nicky was just special. Red knew that she didn't hide her favoritism well and if she were asked she would have no issue saying that it was true. She loved all of her family, but Nicky was her baby. She was spoiled, didn't always listen, and almost always got away with breaking rules. She had a childlike innocence that could charm Red into nearly anything.
She walked over to the younger woman who was oblivious to her motions. Nicky was prattling on about something, hands gesturing as fast as the words slipping off her tongue. Red didn't particularly mind it, but some days it was as though Nicky just couldn't slow herself down. If Red didn't reel her back in, she'd be delirious by bedtime. Nicky had a tendency to run herself down into a near comatose state if you let her, exerting all her mental and emotional energy through speech alone.
When Red got within arm's length she tried to interrupt the manic tangent. "Nicky, honey?" The younger woman's words stuttered and slowed, while her brow furrowed in confusion. Red could see that something had managed to reach her, but hadn't quite sunk in. Her words got jumbled and she was at the point where she was confusing herself.
Red shook her head in amusement. She reached up to where Nicky was sitting on the counter and cupped the girl's face in both of her hands. "Nicky," she said more firmly.
"Huh?" Nicky asked, confusion evident on her face. She had no idea how Red had ended up in front of her and it showed all over her features. She looked at Red with such an adorable look of confusion - eyes wide and bottom lip popped out.
She pulled Nicky's face forward and leaned in to speak. "Hush," Red encouraged. She patted the girl affectionately on the cheek, but at the tender and hurt look on her face she pulled her forward once more and kissed her on the forehead.
Catching up to the moment at hand, Nicky tried to squirm away. "Eeeey," she said, scowling at Red in warning. Once Red let her go, she rubbed roughly at her forehead in frustration.
Red chuckled gently, amused instead of irritated. She placed a large pot on Nicky's lap, much to the girl's chagrin. "Go get me some more potatoes. You can help start peeling them for dinner," she directed.
Watching Nicky huff her way down from the counter and into the storage room was enough to soften her resolve. When Nicky came back, Red conceded to her girl's excitement and asked her to continue on with her story.
It didn't take long for Nicky to bounce back to her previous level of excitement and suddenly the potatoes were getting peeled at a rate that only matched her words. The faster she spoke the more progress she made. Red would have to remember that the next time Nicky needed to talk.