Set after 3x10 "Brave New World". Salex try to make a cake for family dinner, but things keep getting in their way.
"Great! So we have all the ingredients… but where's your mixer?" Glancing around Alex's bare kitchen, Sean lost some of his enthusiasm.
Jill's kids were recovering from their illness, which meant that family dinner with Alex was back on. She was extremely excited to meet her boyfriend's sisters, so much so that she decided to bring a homemade dessert. Sean absolutely adored his girlfriend's eagerness and desire to make his family happy. However, he also knew her baking abilities. She was going to need serious help baking a cake from scratch. Fortunately, both were able to get the entire day off from their various Division and Navy duties, so they could spend as much time as needed trying and failing to bake together.
Opening and closing her mostly empty cabinets, Alex shrugged. She and Sean had spent most of the morning looking up recipes and buying ingredients from the grocery store. They were more than prepared to start baking. The only things they were missing were the baking equipment Alex's kitchen sorely lacked, "I don't think I have one."
Sean should've expected that. He knew Alex hardly cooked, let alone baked. Of course she wouldn't have a stand mixer. But that would be alright. The recipe they were following wasn't too difficult. There could be other ways they could mix the ingredients, "Okay… we can probably use a hand mixer, or just a whisk."
"I don't have those either," Alex closed the last empty drawer. She and Sean should've taken stock of the tools in her kitchen, not just the food she had had, before they had gone to the store. Neither should've assumed they could've just started baking- not in her kitchen, at least.
"You wanted to make the cake at your apartment, but you don't have any baking supplies?" Sean scoffed. Alex had made a huge deal about wanting to make the cake in her apartment and drive to his sister's house with the dessert rather than bake in his apartment in D.C. He hadn't put up much of a fight since his kitchen didn't have that much more food or supplies than hers. But he had assumed she had at least some of the tools they would need. He didn't think that she wouldn't even have a whisk.
"You said it yourself: my oven is way better than yours," Alex argued. The last time they had made homemade pizza together, Sean had commented that her oven worked way better than his. Since that was the case, the perfect cake she wanted to make should've been made with the better oven. Also, on the rare occasion that she had cooked, she had managed to do just fine with the few things she had in her kitchen. Baking shouldn't have been that different, "Also, I figured we could make do, like when we cook."
"Cooking and baking are two drastically different things. We need actual equipment and tools, which means another shopping trip," Although he was a little annoyed, Sean wasn't mad at Alex. He had learned long ago to just accept and enjoy the process with her. It made things far more enjoyable. And he always wanted to have fun with her.
Alex deflated against the kitchen counter. She had just gotten back from the store; she didn't want to go back out, hunt down all the things they needed, and fight the crowds to check out and return home. There had to be an easier solution to their shortsightedness. Thankfully, after another second of thought, Alex was able to think of one, "Wait. Nikita made cupcakes for Michael's birthday. I think she might have all the stuff we need."
Quickly, Alex texted Nikita, who thankfully was also taking the day off, what was going on and what she needed. It didn't take her best friend long to reply with a yes and an invitation to come right over. Alex beamed, "Okay. She says we can borrow it. While I walk down and get it, why don't you make a list of exactly what we need."
"It'll be a long list. Walk safe," Sean smirked. Alex barely had time to roll her eyes before her boyfriend kissed her goodbye. Her smile turned dreamy, and she hardly remembered to grab a box and her keys as she left her apartment.
It was only a short walk to Nikita's apartment building. They lived within a block or two, which made hanging out and getting bites to eat together extremely easy. Alex was banging on her best friend's door in no time, intentionally trying to annoy her, "I'm here to steal your shit."
"You need that big of a box for a stand mixer?" Throwing open the door, Nikita glared. She had barely read Alex's text message. All she had seen was that she and Sean were trying to bake for family dinner, and she knew that they'd be missing supplies. However, Nikita didn't think it was so much that it could fill a giant box.
"Sean texted me a list of other things I need. Apparently, I don't have any baking supplies," Alex immediately made her way to Nikita's kitchen. She had felt her phone buzz often as she had walked. Sean had been right about it being a big list. She didn't have a single thing they needed for her perfect homemade cake.
After Alex texted her boyfriend that she had arrived, Nikita scrolled through the texts to see everything that was needed. The stand mixer, cake pans, cake container (for when they drove to Sean's sister's house) and parchment paper were expected items. Alex never baked, so of course she didn't have those. But according to the list, she didn't even have basic kitchen tools. Nikita scoffed in disbelief, "You don't even have mixing bowls, a whisk, or measuring cups? How have you been cooking?"
"I can make do with what I have," Once again, Alex defended herself. Her best friend didn't believe her as easily as her boyfriend did, however. Nikita shot her a disbelieving look that instantly made her crumble, "There's also a lot of takeout and leftovers- and some of those leftovers come from you."
"Honestly, at this point, you should just hire a personal chef," Nikita rolled her eyes. She didn't cook that much more often than Alex- especially recently. But at least she had recipes, food, and cooking supplies whenever she did.
"Ooh. That's tempting," With all the money that Alex had, she shouldn't continue to live like she had used to. She should find more creative ways to feed herself. Though, honestly, since she had started dating Sean, she learned she could rely on him for food. He'd cook, or teach her how to cook, whenever takeout became too much. So why hire a chef when she already had the perfect man milling around her kitchen.
Nudging Alex as she passed, Nikita chuckled and began to fill the box with baking tools and supplies. After she had completed everything on the list, she also added some frosting bags, decorating tips, and food coloring. That way, Alex wouldn't be over later, demanding more things, "Here. I'm gonna give you some decorating stuff too- make your cake all pretty."
"Thank you!" Alex beamed. She could make her perfect cake look better than she had imagined with the added supplies. She'd have to find a way to save Nikita a piece as a thankyou.
While the women had been filling the box with baking supplies, Michael had been folding laundry in the other room. Alex's excited voice had eventually grabbed his attention, however, and he soon poked his head out to quip, "Hey, Alex. Finally learning how to make things other than pizza and burgers?"
"You're home!" Alex couldn't help but exclaim when she saw Michael. She excitedly glanced at the engaged couple, so utterly glad that they had worked on whatever they were going through and were finally mending their relationship, "When Ryan said Nikita was also taking time off, I thought it was because her concussion was way worse than she was willing to admit. I didn't think it was because you two were…"
Midway through her sentence, Alex finally noticed the expressions on the engaged couple's faces. Michael appeared ashamed of himself; he looked away from Alex and seemed to be having an internal war with himself. Nikita, on the other hand, shot her best friend a panicked, warning look. Then was not the time to bring that up. The two were mending slowly, trying to get back to how things used to be without dissolving into any arguments. The fact that Michael hadn't been home was a particularly sore subject- especially since Nikita had almost been killed without him noticing. It should not have been brought up by Alex.
She should probably leave right that moment. Grabbing the heavy box of baking supplies, Alex awkwardly shuffled backwards towards the door, "Thank you again for this, but uh… I should go. Sean's waiting."
"Make sure to clean all that stuff before you return it. And text me when you're home," Nikita opened the door for Alex. She quickly nodded and left the engaged couple alone again. Hopefully, with her gone, they'd be able to talk instead of just standing there awkwardly.
Before she stepped out onto the street, Alex set down the box and texted Sean that she was on her way. She made sure that he had read the text before she picked the heavy, cumbersome box up again and staggered down the sidewalk towards her apartment building. She half-considered texting Sean to just meet her on the street and carry the box for her when- all of a sudden- a man stepped in front of her path. Alex barely managed to stumble to a stop before she slammed into him. He didn't mind, however. He simply smiled, "I'm sorry to bother you, but that's a really nice looking stand mixer. I was wondering where you bought it."
"Oh. It's actually not mine; it's my friend's. But I think she got it at like Target or something," Alex readjusted her grip on the box. She wasn't exactly sure where Nikita bought all her stuff; it probably came from different stores as she and Michael had slowly decorated and supplied their apartment. But Target was a good place to suggest. Alex and Nikita (and Sonya at times) liked to aimlessly wander the aisles there, after all.
"I'm Bryan. I'm new in town, and I'm still figuring out where everything is. Do you think we could swap numbers, and you could text me the address?" The strange man continued to smile brightly at Alex. Except, whatever genial feelings she had had towards him instantly vanished. Telling him where Nikita had potentially bought her stand mixer was one thing, giving him her phone number, however, was completely out of the question. Where did that guy even get off turning a simple conversation into something gross and opportunistic. Why couldn't he just ask a neighborly question, then leave.
"It's Target. You can just look it up," Alex tried to give the man her best 'fuck off' face. But she was afraid that it came off as more of an uncomfortable grimace. She used the cumbersome box to keep her distance from the man and began to inch around him.
She wasn't fast enough to escape him, unfortunately. He stepped in front of her again, racked his eyes over her, and continued to push his luck, "Look, I normally don't do this, but I would really like to take you out for a coffee sometime."
Alex's heart dropped to her stomach at the stranger's admission. She clutched the box tighter against her and stuttered uncomfortably, "Oh, no. I have a boyfriend."
"Not like that. We can go as just friends. You can introduce me to the city. Or we can just swap numbers or something," The man continued as though Alex's response didn't matter. Alarm bells began to ring loudly in her head. She had to escape that conversation. No matter what she said or did, that man- whose name she had completely forgotten- would keep pressing and pressing until he got the answer he wanted. How Alex felt or thought didn't matter. He only wanted his own satisfaction. She had to escape before that ever happened.
Unfortunately, the man had her path blocked on the sidewalk. Alex didn't think she could get around him, especially with the heavy box in her hands. She had to find some other way out of there. Glancing quickly around her, she noticed some people crossing the street. If she backed up a little bit, she could be on the crosswalk. Then, she could cross the street and be as far away from the guy as possible. She'd have to cross the street again in order to get to her building, yet she didn't care. As long as she was away from him, she'd be fine, "Again. No."
"You're really beautiful. I'd really like to take you out," The man tried one last attempt to get Alex to go out with him. In her opinion, that was his worst move yet. She wanted nothing more to escape that conversation and never ever see him again. If she had to drop the box of baking supplies so she could make a hasty exit, she would. She just couldn't be there anymore.
"Okay. No. I gotta go," Alex stepped off the curve of the sidewalk and hurried across the street without looking for cars. The other pedestrians crossing let her know she was safe, but she wasn't entirely sure that was the case until she looked behind her. The man who had pressed so hard for her number lost interest in her the second she walked away. He simply waved her off and continued walking on the sidewalk as though nothing had happened.
She kept her eyes on him until she lost sight of him in the crowd of people. Then, she finally made her way home.
By the time Alex returned home, the bright happiness she had felt that morning had completely disappeared. She dragged her feet to the kitchen and unceremoniously dropped the box on the kitchen counter. Sean grinned at her, yet she didn't have the energy to return it, "Hey. That took a bit. The box slow you down?"
When all Alex did was slump against the counter, Sean instantly went on red alert. He ignored the cake, the recipe, and the supplies, and just focused all of his attention on his suddenly upset girlfriend, "What is it?"
A part of Alex wanted to tell Sean everything about what had happened. Except, she couldn't form the right words to phrase it. After all, in the grand scheme of things, her conversation with that man wasn't a big deal. It had only been a weird and off putting encounter. It wasn't worth thinking about anymore. Alex should just try to move on with the rest of her day, "Nothing. Nothing. I just need to text Nikita that I'm here."
Sean waited for Alex to finish texting Nikita before he attempted to ask what had happened again. Clearly, her walk back from their friend's apartment hadn't been as uneventful as he had hopped. She had seen or heard or experienced something that had greatly upset her. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah. Yeah," Alex expelled a shaky breath. She was safe and sound. There had been no real threat. She was fine. Except, she couldn't stop thinking about the man and how he wouldn't leave her alone. She couldn't even redirect her focus towards the thought of making her perfect homemade cake for Sean's family. That man had completely dragged her down. She had to say something to expel him from her mind. And, also, her boyfriend deserved to know if a creep had tried to pick her up or not, "It's just… there was this guy on the street…"
"What happened?" Sean demanded harshly. If there was a creep out there who had hurt Alex, then he was prepared to hunt him down. He wouldn't be able to get away with what he did. Sean would make him pay in all the worst ways possible.
"Nothing. He just kept asking for my phone number, and he wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. And he was just being pushy. He didn't touch me or follow me. He was just weird," Alex instantly dispelled Sean's worries. She hadn't been in any immediate danger. The man had only been pushy about getting her number and not accepting a 'no'. It wasn't really anything to get too worked up about. Though, Alex continued to feel like shit after the encounter.
"I'm surprised you didn't tell him off," Sean tried to lighten the mood, yet he wasn't certain how well it had worked. Alex continued to fidget with the ends of her hair, worry her lip between her teeth, and glance at everything in the room but him.
"I want to now. But in the moment… I don't know… I just kinda froze," Alex huffed. She had a lot of choice words floating around in her head that she wanted to yell at that man. She simply wished she had been able to think of them during the conversation. Maybe he would've left her alone sooner. Or maybe things would've escalated and she wouldn't have been able to walk back to her apartment.
Alex's shoulders were so tense, Sean could actually see her muscles tightening. He attempted to soothe her with a gentle touch. And although her shoulders dropped back down, she was nowhere near alright. Her anxiety continued to run high, as did her frustrations towards that man and towards herself, "In all other situations, my fight or flight instincts are purely on fight. I mean, if I saw that guy hit on another woman like that- like if I had been with Nikita or Sonya- I would've fought back. But during moments like those… when I'm by myself, all I want to do is run. By myself… it's just… it's harder to just protect myself."
"It's scary when you're alone. You don't know what's gonna happen," Sean ran a soothing hand along Alex's bicep. He had heard his sisters and girl friends have similar conversations. No matter how tough they were, during moments like the one Alex had experienced, all bravado left them. The focus shifted from fighting back to running away. It was easier and safer to de-escalate things rather than potentially make things worse. After all, one wrong word or one wrong move could make a terrifying encounter turn into another statistic.
"Nothing would've. I mean, it was in broad daylight, and other people were around. But… it's just so hard to not think of the worst sometimes. Like, I couldn't help but feel that that was when something bad was going to happen," Alex confirmed what Sean had said. She wasn't in any real danger, but it didn't matter. When the man continued to not listen to her, she lost all of her Division and rogue training. She was no longer Alex the spy, or assassin, or doubleagent, or even heiress. She was a scared little girl, terrified of the men who leered at her and took what they wanted from her. And she hated it. She hated being so scared and so helpless.
"I'm so sorry you had to go through that," Sean replied softly. He didn't know what else he could say or do to make it better, so he just wrapped Alex in a tight embrace. She instantly crashed her head against his sturdy chest and held him tightly. He kept her in his arms for as long as he could, swaying her gently and placing tender kisses to her crown. It wasn't until she was completely relaxed that he kissed her temple, slightly lessened his grip, and whispered sweetly, "Is there anything I can do?"
Honestly, the best way Alex knew to release the frustration and uncomfortable feelings in her chest was to rant about them. But she didn't think Sean would've wanted to hear her say how much she hated men. That was better reserved for her best friend or her mother. Her boyfriend, on the other hand, could just keep kissing her and holding her in his strong, warm arms, "Another hug?"
"Of course," Sean chuckled softly. He gladly squeezed his girlfriend tightly again and cradled her head as she laid it against his chest once more. The two swayed slightly back and forth, letting comfort and warmth wash over them. A loving embrace like that one was the best medicine either of them could think of, and it truly worked as a perfect balm. Alex was soon able to hum in contentment and be one hundred percent at ease. Finally, she could convince herself that it really was okay and that she was one hundred percent safe and sound.
Thoughts of the cake ingredients sitting on the counter made Sean want to pull away from the embrace. He could deal with those and make the dessert while Alex continued to calm down. He knew she'd want to talk about what had happened more, preferably to another woman who would know exactly what she had gone through. He could give her the chance to do that as he baked. He was okay by himself if she was being comforted, "I can bake the cake by myself if you wanna call Nikita or your mom."
"No. I wanna make the cake with you. That jerk shouldn't ruin the rest of my day," Alex pulled enough away from Sean's embrace to look at him as she responded. She still really wanted to make a homemade cake with her boyfriend. She wanted to have fun and to bring smiles to family dinner. A terrible moment while walking home shouldn't have stolen that from her. It couldn't have that much power over her.
Though, Alex was fairly certain that she would call Nikita in the morning and try to schedule a lunch date with her. She definitely still wanted to rant to her best friend- to someone who'd completely understand her frustrations and anxiety- about what had happened. She also wanted to catch up on what was occurring in Nikita's life. There were a lot of new developments, specifically with her fiancé, "Besides, I'll probably just call Nikita tomorrow. She's gonna be too busy with Michael tonight."
"Michael's home?" Sean asked, delightfully surprised. The last he had heard regarding the engaged couple was their adventure in Kosovo. Though, based on what Alex had told him about the mission, he wasn't shocked to discover that what had happened had finally caused a change in Michael's and Nikita's strained relationship. It had taken a life or death situation for Sean to get his priorities regarding Alex straight, after all, "Hearing his fiancée almost die probably snapped him out of it."
"You should've seen his face when it happened. He absolutely snapped out of it," Alex snickered. Now that Nikita was safe and sound, making comments on how Michael had reacted to the situation was way easier. In fact, Alex could make a lot of jokes about it. Yet she wasn't going to do so at that moment. There were far more important things she could've been doing, like making the perfect cake with her boyfriend, "But let's stop talking, and start baking, huh?"
"Yes, ma'am," Sean instantly agreed. He and Alex dissolved into bright laughter that made following the recipe difficult at first. But they soon figured it out, and after some trial and error, had the perfect cake to bring to their happy family dinner.
The more time Alex spent smiling and joking around with Sean, the more she forgot about the man on the street and the creeped out feelings he had given her. He in no way could occupy the same space in her mind as her boyfriend. She'd forget about him completely and he'd have no impact on her life. Unlike Sean. She was going to keep him and the happiness and comfort he brought her forever.