A/N: Thanks so much for those reviews of the prologue. As I said last chapter, this innocent fluff feels 'alien' to me, given my angst ventures as of late. Here is the next installment - same disclosure and raiting applies.
The Christmas List
Gingerbread
Lindsay's apartment was filled with the rich, spicy aroma of fresh-baked gingerbread. She watched in amusement as Danny sat at her kitchen table, contorting his face in concentration as he whipped together butter cream frosting. Twenty-three items had made it to her Christmas list. The first three had been simple enough – hang mistletoe, drink hot cocoa (with whipped cream!) every day, put a wreath on the front door. Number four, "build a gingerbread house", required a bit more effort and preparation. Despite his lack of confectionary creativity, Danny had scoured the corner market the night before for all the necessary ingredients. His dedication to their project – to her - was enough to lift Lindsay's spirits. She found herself humming Walking in a Winter Wonderland under her breath and tapping her toes as they busied themselves about the kitchen.
"Alright, I think it's good," Danny declared with one last forceful stir, holding the bowl of frosting towards Lindsay for inspection.
"Let me check." She sat down next to him and dipped one finger into the bowl, scrutinizing its consistency. She wiped some of the fluffy concoction on his lower lip, then leaned over to lick it off in a slow, tantalizing manner.
"Perfect," she whispered in his ear. "You have skills. But I knew that already."
He smiled. "You know, I could get used to this baker's assistant thing."
"But you still won't wear the apron?" Lindsay asked, gesturing to the ruffled red number hanging over a chair. Danny's glare answered her question. "Okay, okay!" she laughed, getting up to retrieve the gingerbread that was cooling on top of the oven.
When she returned with the tray, she also carried a bowl full of gumdrops, candy and sprinkles for decorating the house. First, they used a pastry brush to apply thick lines of frosting along the edges of the gingerbread slices, the cement that would bond the pieces of the house together. Before long, a floor, four walls and an arched roof were standing, albeit unsteadily.
"I'll take a picture of it when we're done," Lindsay said proudly. "Our first gingerbread house."
"We should make it into a miniature version of the lab," Danny breathed thoughtfully, carefully applying rows of chocolate chips to create windows.
Lindsay, meanwhile, was sprinkling sugar over the roof to serve as snow. "Complete with a certain stairwell?" she inquired mischievously, referring to the dark hideaway they used several times a day for 'unprofessional' touching.
The reminder caused Danny to grin, and he took his concentration away from the construction task. Still bent over the gingerbread house, they leered at each other, remembering their secret ritual. All the steamy kissing and groping that occurred there, if discovered, would surely get them fired. Their hands accidentally bumped, and in an instant, the gingerbread house toppled over.
Neither said a word as they gazed mournfully at the sugary rubble between them. The candied accents had spilled across the table top, and the once-solid walls of gingerbread had cracked into pieces. Appropriately, Silent Night drifted across the room from the radio.
Danny gulped. "Oops."
"Oh well," Lindsay said smoothly, brushing her hands on her apron. "It's not about the finished product, it's about the experience, right? We've got lots of other things to do, anyway." She studied the rumpled paper before her.
"So are you going to tell me what else is on that list of yours?" Danny asked suspiciously. "So I can prepare for whatever comes next?"
Lindsay grinned broadly. "Nope."
He grabbed the spatula he had used to apply the frosting, which still contained a generous-sized glob, and held the end back with his finger, catapult-style.
"If you don't want to be wearing frosting in about five seconds, you'd better tell me what's on that list."
Lindsay leapt up from her seat, the creased paper firmly in her grasp. "You know that tale about the little gingerbread man who runs away before anyone can eat him?" she asked.
Danny raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Um, no."
Lindsay smirked, slowly rising from her seat. "He says, 'You can't catch me!'" With that, she took off across the kitchen in a mad dash, of which Danny immediately took chase. They circled the table multiple times, challenging each other with playful glares. She narrowly escaped his grasp as she darted into the living room, where she then paused to strategize her next move. It occurred to her then just how silly they looked; chasing each other like children, standing there huffing and puffing with just a sofa separating them. However, her hesitation was then her downfall, as Danny dove across the back of the sofa, tackling her and pulling her down along with him. They tumbled about playfully for a moment until Lindsay regained control, propping herself up on Danny's chest as he lay beneath her.
"Gotcha," he announced, his hands firmly gripping on either side of her hips to support her. "So if one catches the gingerbread man, what's the reward? A nibble?" He nuzzled and nipped at her neck.
"Oooh, then I guess I'm the winner either way," Lindsay laughed as she leaned down to place a soft kiss on his lips. Danny, however, turned away in a pout of frustration.
"I want to know what's on that list," he whined. "I have to make sure you didn't come up with something totally crazy."
Lindsay shook her head. "This was your idea," she pointed out, biting her lip to avoid giggling. "You said we would do everything – no conditions. It's too late to back out now."
He grunted. "Just so you know, I won't be sitting on Santa's lap at the mall." Suddenly, he rolled out from underneath her and flipped Lindsay to her back, pinning her under him. "Give me the list," he demanded. "I don't think you're in the best position to argue with me right now, anyway."
With a melodramatic sigh, Lindsay finally pulled the wrinkled paper from her pocket.
"Oh, this?" she laughed, dangling it in front of his nose. "This isn't the list. This is the gingerbread recipe!"
Up next: O Tannenbaum