A few hours later, Liam carried his sleeping daughter into the house, with Elsa following along behind him.
"Here's this," Elsa whispered as she handed him the stuffed lion that Anna Elizabeth had gotten from the gift shop.
With a nod, Liam then took the lion before he continued onto Anna Elizabeth's room. He pulled the covers back before gently laying the little girl down.
He softly kissed her forehead before he whispered, "Sleep well, love," laying the lion down beside her. She never even stirred as she continued sleeping.
Liam watched her a few moments and smiled at the sight before he walked out of her room.
He then saw Elsa in the kitchen, gathering baking supplies. He sauntered over to her before he asked, "What's all this, love?"
Without looking up from her task, Elsa answered, "I thought that I'd make some animal shaped sugar cookies for Anna Elizabeth to decorate when she wakes up."
"That sounds like a lovely idea," Liam told her before he wrapped his arms around her from behind. He then questioned, "Would you like some help?"
"Uh, well, not exactly," Elsa admitted, nervously fingering her blonde braid. Liam furrowed his eyebrows in confusion before he released her.
He then moved to stand beside her as he asked, "Why is that?"
With a sigh, Elsa then told him, "Because you always make a mess. I don't know what it is with you and baking, but it always ends up looking like the flour bag exploded."
Liam couldn't help but laugh at that before he asked, "Isn't that a bit extreme?"
"No, not really," Elsa replied, and she couldn't help but giggle, earning a head shake from her husband.
She then began mixing up the sugar cookie dough as Liam leaned on the counter and watched her, smiling as he did so. Without looking up, Elsa then commented, "With how good you are at cooking, I'm still surprised that you make such a mess while baking."
Liam shook his head once more before he told her, "Well, cooking is less precise than baking, which is practically a science in itself."
"You don't like baking because it's so precise?" Elsa posed, looking at her husband with crossed arms and a raised eyebrow.
He rolled his eyes before he pointed out, "You, love, are every bit the, well, perfectionist that I am, as we often point out to each other when we've gone extreme."
Elsa scrunched her nose as she considered his words. She then conceded, "I suppose that's true." She then turned back to the mixing bowl before she added, "I think that's one of the reasons we work so well together. We balance each other out."
"One of the many reasons," Liam agreed with a smile before he leaned over and kissed her forehead. Elsa smiled at the gesture.
She then began humming as she continued mixing the batter. She then stopped and shook her head when she realized it came from The Lion King.
"You know, I never thought I'd spend my time humming Disney songs."
She couldn't help but chuckle, and Liam joined her. He then added, "Or chasing around a three-year-old."
"And on that note, how is your back and shoulders from giving Anna Elizabeth that piggyback ride all around the zoo?" Elsa then asked, giving her husband a concerned look.
"Oh, love, I'm fine. I know she's growing rather quickly, but she isn't too terribly heavy," Liam replied, resting his chin in his hand.
Elsa hummed in response. She then told him, "It probably would have been less strenuous to just carry her, but she's so stubborn about it," pausing her mixing to give him a pointed look.
Liam rolled his eyes before he pointed out, "The little lass is rather independent, which she gets from you, love."
With a sigh, Elsa then resigned, "I don't suppose I can really argue with that."
Liam couldn't help but grin and shake his head before he teased, "You don't suppose. Need I remind you how you would never let me help you carry your books, your bag, or anything else while we were at NYU."
"I could carry it myself," Elsa began. She then paused and added, "Besides, you had your own stuff to carry."
With a smile, Liam then said, "And there's the lovely independent woman that I couldn't help but fall in love with."
A smile made its way on Elsa's face. She did have an independent streak that could be off-putting, but it warmed her heart that Liam never saw it that way.
She then told him, "And even though you're incredibly stubborn, I couldn't help but fall in love with you."
Liam smiled at her once more before he leaned over and captured her lips in a sweet kiss. Elsa smiled into the kiss before she happily returned it, threading her fingers through Liam's brown curls.
When they pulled away, Elsa covered her mouth and gasped. At Liam's head tilt, she then explained, "My hands had flour on them, and it got in your hair," quickly handing him a kitchen towel.
He couldn't help but chuckle as he ran the towel through his hair. He then spoke, "I suppose I should know better than to distract you while you're baking."
Elsa giggled before she spoke, "It was a welcome distraction." She then kissed his cheek before she continued mixing the dough.
Liam then placed the towel aside as Elsa resumed humming. A couple minutes later, she took the ball of dough and placed it on the counter.
When she had rolled the dough out with her rolling pin, she grabbed the cookie cutters and handed her husband one. She then smiled and asked, "Wanna help?"
He smiled at her as he answered, "Sure, love. I'd love to," receiving an even brighter smile in response.
Liam and Elsa then worked side by side as they made the cookies, which included lions, tigers, bears, giraffes, and elephants. Once they finished, Elsa placed the cookies in the oven and set a timer.
Liam then helped her clean up the kitchen. He was about to retreat to the living room when Elsa grabbed some eggs from the refrigerator.
"Elsa, what do you need those eggs for?"
"I'm making royal icing," she explained as she grabbed vanilla and confectioners' sugar.
Liam couldn't help but chuckle before he told her, "Only you would want to make your own icing, love."
"It's better if it's homemade," Elsa matter-of-factly stated. She then grinned and told him, "I seem to remember that you didn't even know that you could make royal icing when you came
over to help me with those cookies for that Christmas bake sale that the culinary school put on to raise money for charity."
Liam looked thoughtful for a few moments before he smiled and spoke, "Ah, yes, I remember that. You were determined to make all the cookies for the bake sale by yourself, and you soon realized that you couldn't do it alone."
"So, I called you for backup," Elsa supplied, and she couldn't help but smile. She then added, "Part of me was surprised that you agreed to help."
"So, dating for nearly a year wasn't enough time for you to see that I really was rather fond of you and that I wanted to help you however I could?" Liam rhetorically asked, a grin playing across his features.
Elsa couldn't help but grin back before she seriously continued, "It's just that neither one of us were particularly adept at asking for help, no matter how much we needed it."
"That is true," Liam agreed. He then closed the distance between them and moved a piece of blonde hair off Elsa's forehead.
He then offered a genuine smile and told her, "But falling in love helped us both see that we didn't have to be so strong all of the time."
Elsa returned his smile before she leaned in, and he met her for another sweet kiss. When they pulled away, the blonde then said, "That night you helped with those cookies was also our first kiss."
Liam smiled at her as he spoke, "I couldn't forget that, love. It was quite amazing."
"Yeah, it was," Elsa agreed, offering him another smile, as well as a slight blush. She then chuckled and said, "Especially since it was pretty much completely spontaneous."
Liam chuckled as well before he told her, "Well, we were rather in our own little world when it came to our relationship. As fond of each other as we were, I don't think we were as concerned about a first kiss."
"Which made ours even more special," Elsa told him with a smile. She paused before she continued, "I'll admit that I wasn't quite sure what to do when you first pressed your lips to mine, but then I just let myself get lost in it. And I found that I was really happy about it."
With a smile, Liam replied, "That makes two of us," playing with the end of her braid. He chuckled and added, "Even though I think I apologized for being too forward."
"Oh, you did," Elsa confirmed with a chuckle of her own. She then told him, "And then I told you that it was absolutely perfect and really sweet."
Liam then rested his forehead against hers. He smiled as he told her, "I love you, Elsa." She smiled back as she replied, "I love you, too, Liam."
They stayed like that for a few moments, just enjoying the feeling of being together and in love.
They then heard: "Mommy, Daddy! Where at?"
Liam and Elsa both chuckled before he went to fetch their little girl while Elsa finished making royal icing.
When Anna Elizabeth saw Liam, she then asked him, "Daddy! Where Mommy?"
He bent down on her level and explained, "Mommy made zoo animal cookies, and you get to decorate them."
Anna Elizabeth gasped before she exclaimed, "Cookies!" She then ran into the kitchen, leaving Liam to trail behind her.
Elsa had just grabbed the cookies out of the oven and placed them on the counter. Anna Elizabeth ran up to her mother and exclaimed, "Decorate cookies!"
Elsa smiled down at her just as Liam brought in a chair. The blonde then told her little girl, "They're still hot, so we can't decorate them yet."
Anna Elizabeth slumped her shoulders before Liam lifted her up and placed her in the chair. He then ruffled her hair and suggested, "But I'm sure Mommy will let you help make the icing."
"Yes, I will. We have lots of different colors to make," Elsa added with a smile. Anna Elizabeth smiled brightly in response.
She then asked, "What do, Mommy?"
Elsa had already separated the royal icing into several different, small bowls. She placed one in front of Anna Elizabeth and told her, "We're gonna make this red icing."
Anna Elizabeth scrunched her nose as she looked back and forth between the bowl and her mother. She then asked, "How Mommy?"
Liam then interjected, "Well, love, you know how we make the milk change colors when we make strawberry milk?"
Anna Elizabeth nodded in response, making her curls bounce. Elsa moved them from in front of her eyes before she told her, "We're gonna do the same thing with food coloring."
She then gave the little girl the tube of red food coloring. She then explained, "Mommy is gonna help you count out four drops of coloring," holding up four fingers.
"I count, Mommy," Anna Elizabeth stated. She then held up her fingers and counted off: "1, 2, 3, 4."
Liam grinned and shook his head while Elsa simply sighed. A smile appeared a moment later at her determined little girl.
She then gently explained, "I'm very proud that you can count, Anna Elizabeth, but Mommy still wants to make sure that you don't put too many drops, okay?"
Anna Elizabeth looked thoughtful for a few moments before she said, "You help Mommy."
Elsa smiled before she opened the food coloring tube. She then said, "Okay, put the drops in the bowl."
Anna Elizabeth nodded before she began squirting the food coloring into the icing, counting all the while. Elsa was helping her count as well.
When they had enough food coloring, Elsa then told the little girl, "Alright, Anna Elizabeth, it's time for you to stir," handing her a spoon.
She nodded excitedly and plunged the spoon into the icing. Liam leaned down beside her while Elsa began mixing in the other food colorings.
Anna Elizabeth aggressively stirred the icing, getting some of it on the counter. Liam placed a gentle hand on her arm and told her, "Not so hard, love. The icing will change colors."
The little girl nodded before she replied, "Okay, Daddy." She then started stirring more slowly.
Just then, the icing began changing from white to red, and Anna Elizabeth squealed in delight. She then exclaimed, "It red!"
She then continued stirring until all of the icing in the bowl had changed colors. She then exclaimed, "Look!" holding up the bowl to her parents.
Liam and Elsa both smiled before he complimented, "You did a great job, love," ruffling her hair.
"Yes, you did," Elsa agreed, offering another smile. She then told her, "And the cookies are ready to be decorated," placing the other bowls closer to her daughter.
"Yay!" Anna Elizabeth cheered. She then shifted her gaze from the bowls to the cookies before she asked, "What do, Mommy?"
"Well," Elsa began before grabbing a spoon and sprinkles. She then explained, "You're going to put the icing on the cookie with this spoon and then you can put sprinkles on it, okay?"
Anna Elizabeth nodded before she took the spoon and sprinkles. She then looked at the cookies and scrunched her nose as she tried to decide which one to decorate.
She then grabbed one and asked, "This lion, Mommy?"
"It is a lion," Elsa told her. She then smiled and suggested, "How about you, me, and Daddy all decorate a lion cookie?"
"Yes, Mommy!" Anna Elizabeth excitedly agreed. Elsa smiled once more before she grabbed a lion-shaped cookie. Liam grabbed one as well, and the three of them then began decorating.
Anna Elizabeth ended up with more red icing on herself than on the cookie as she haphazardly spread the icing with her spoon. She then poured some sprinkles on it.
When she was finished, she proudly held it up to Liam and Elsa. They both praised her creation.
Anna Elizabeth beamed before she asked, "Finish, Mommy and Daddy?"
"I am," Elsa told her before she presented an exquisitely decorated cookie. Anna Elizabeth clapped while Liam shook his head.
He then mouthed, "Show off," earning an eye roll from his wife. She then asked him, "And what about your cookie?"
"Here it is," Liam told them before he presented his sugar cookie, a mix of red and orange with sprinkles that was slightly messy.
"Like cookie, too, Daddy," Anna Elizabeth told him with a bright smile. He smiled back at her before he kissed her forehead.
She then asked, "Eat cookies, Mommy?"
Elsa smiled as she answered, "Yes, Anna Elizabeth, you can eat your cookie."
The little girl bobbed her head excitedly before she took a huge bite of the cookie, ending up with icing and sprinkles on her face.
"Very good cookie," Anna Elizabeth spoke in between mouthfuls. Liam and Elsa couldn't help but smile and shake their heads.
When the three of them had finished eating, Anna Elizabeth asked, "Decorate another animal?"
"Yes, we can. But first, let's wipe this icing off of you, okay?" Elsa told her, ruffling the little girl's hair.
Anna Elizabeth nodded before Elsa grabbed some paper towels. The blonde wet them slightly before she wiped her little girl's face and arms, as well as her hair.
As soon as Elsa finished, Anna Elizabeth grabbed three more cookies, two of them being elephants and the other one being a bear.
She handed her parents a cookie before the three of them began decorating, smiling and laughing as they did so.
Liam and Elsa may not have always been sure exactly where their relationship would take them, but their life together with their little girl was even more perfect than they could have imagined.
I hope y'all enjoyed this story! Just thought I'd let y'all know that the next update will be another one-shot for this collection. Until next time :)