a/n: i learned this from Little House on the Prairie novels

Day Twenty-five: doing something sweet

Timeline: dating

Jenny stirred the hot, melty maple syrup with a thin white spoon, mesmerized by its whiskey-ish amber colour and a little overwhelmed by how heady hot syrup smelled. She inhaled, and looked up as the door opened.

She arched her eyebrows at Gibbs. She was still taken aback from being handed a jug of syrup and told to heat it up on the stove while he disappeared into the snowy backyard.

"What're you up to, Cowboy?" she drawled.

He held up a bucket and grunted, jerking his head towards the living room.

"C'mon," he said.

He strolled over and sat down in front of the fireplace, his back to the lazy, crackling fire. He set the bucket down and beckoned for the bowl of syrup, examining it very critically.

She laughed a little.

"I can't have fucked up warming syrup," she remarked.

He shook his head, giving her attempt the seal of approval.

"Grab me a sauce pan from the kitchen?"

"You have saucepans?"

"Why d'you keep asking me stuff like that like I didn't have a kid to feed for twenty years," he grumbled sarcastically. "Saucepan."

She snickered and obliged, returning with a saucepan and sitting down with her legs crossed on the carpet. He held up his hand, then turned to the bucket and started patting snow in a very firm, compact manner into the saucepan.

She watched curiously, picking up the bowl and stirring the syrup, holding it in her lap. He eyed the packed snow thoughtfully, and then nodded to himself, reaching for the bowl. He scooped up a massive amount of syrup on the spoon and began to drizzle it over the snow.

Jenny arched her brows with interest; pursed her lips.

He kept drizzling until the spoon was dripping, and then he handed it to her, waving his hand as if she should lick it or something. She tasted the maple syrup tentatively, enjoying its warmth, and looked down at the swirls of amber liquid.

"Jethro - "

"Candy," he grunted. "Snow candy. Works better with molasses, but syrup's okay," he explained. "Small town luxury," he added with a smirk.

She tilted her head, reaching forward. He held her hand, clutching her fingers.

"Wait."

"Are we really so boring that we're watching syrup dry?"

"Wait for it, Jen."

"Wait for it to what, do a backflip - file my tax return?"

He ignored her, and then after a full two minutes, released her hand and gingerly picked up some syrup swirls, breaking them into curly-cue smaller pieces. He took an old tin from his coat pocket and opened it, revealing powdered sugar, and sprinkled it on the hard maple syrup.

He handed it to her.

She took it warily, eyeing the so-called snow candy; the small town luxury. She put it to her lips, sucking gently for a second, and then biting down cautiously.

The piece of candy was both warm and chilly at the same time, and no sooner had it broken against her teeth did it began to melt on her tongue. She blinked in surprise - it was good, even if it was overwhelmingly saccharine.

She reached for another piece silently, and he grinned, offering her the powdered sugar. He gave her a look, requesting her judgement.

"My my," she sighed, letting another piece melt in her mouth. She sucked on the tip of her finger for a moment, giving him a sultry look. "You are a frontier man, aren't, you, Almonzo?"

He looked bewildered.

"I like Duke better," he said dryly.

She laughed.

"Almonzo is from The Little House on the Prairie," she said lightly. She pointed to his treat. "They used to do this. I never thought it was a real thing."

"In the flesh," Gibbs said, gesturing.

"One question," she asked smoothly. She lifted the sticky, syrupy spoon from the bowl. "The snow is melting fast," she purred. "What are we doing to do with all this syrup?"

She put her finger to her lips again, and he caught her meaning - and grinned.

-alexandra