Nigel surveyed the ingredients on the kitchen counter in front of him: a bar of dark chocolate from the bakery section, whipping cream, sugar, vanilla extract, milk, caramel sauce, two saucepans, a spatula, a mixer, a glass bowl, and a whisk. He was pretty sure he had everything.

He wasn't exactly comfortable in the kitchen – cooking wasn't exactly his forte, especially as he'd been surviving off of takeaway as a student who was too busy to keep a lot of ingredients and a mixture of rushed snacks and restaurants while on a hunt – but this was something he was confident in making.

Pulling the bowl that he had placed into the freezer out, he poured in the whipping cream, added some sugar and vanilla extract, and then a little more of each, tasting as he went. Turning the mixer on, he whipped the cream until it formed peaks that stayed when he pulled out the mixer.

He placed a saucepan with water on the stove and turned the heat on, humming 'It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas' as he moved. Grabbing a knife from the block on the counter, he roughly chopped the chocolate bar, not worrying so much about making it perfect since he was melting it on the stove anyway. Before he started melting the chocolate he placed a second saucepan on the stove, this time filling it with milk and putting it on low. Nigel was so focused on his task that he failed to hear the soft pad of footsteps behind him, and he jumped slightly when arms wrapped around his middle and a warm body pressed against his back.

"From scratch, huh?" Sydney commented, her breath hot on his cheek. She dropped her head slightly to rest her chin on his shoulder.

Nigel hummed and stared at everything in front of him, thrown off by Sydney's sudden appearance. What was he doing? Oh, right.

"Where did you learn to make it like this?"

"From my dad," Nigel said, tipping the chocolate into the glass bowl and placing it in the saucepan with the water. "He used to make it when Preston and I would come in from playing outside. We'd sit in the kitchen while he made it and then take our drinks into the living area and just talk and play board games. There might be a fire if the weather was really nippy." Nigel whisked the chocolate gently as he spoke, the chocolate streaking the sides of the bowl as it melted.

"That sounds lovely," Sydney commented beside him.

"Those were the times Preston was usual tolerable," Nigel said. He didn't catch Sydney's arm sneaking out until it was too late and she was dipping a finger into the melting chocolate. "Hey!" He turned to see Sydney grin as she stuck her finger in her mouth. "Hands off the merchandise."

Looking hardly chastened, Sydney returned her arm to his waist, and he took the opportunity to press a kiss to the corner of her mouth where he could reach.

Nigel returned his attention to the items in front of him, pleased at the consistency of the melted chocolate. Scraping the bowl, he poured the chocolate into the milk, bubbles at the edges of the pan telling him the milk was ready.

"When's the last time you made it?"

"Erm, shortly before I left England I guess." A memory of making it for Amanda while she waited in bed floated to the surface. He shoved it away. He much preferred the person in the kitchen plastered to his back. "When I got here it just felt like something else that felt like home that I didn't want with me."

Sydney didn't reply and Nigel wondered what she was thinking as he whisked the chocolate into the milk.

"Do you want to grab mugs?" he asked a minute later, realizing that he had forgotten a rather key element.

"Sure."

She withdrew from him to get the mugs and he immediately missed the heat of her body against his. When Sydney reached up to grab two Christmas mugs from a higher shelf Nigel caught a glimpse of smooth skin between her tank-top and shorts. Sydney turned to place the mugs on the counter next to the stove and his eyes snapped back to the mixture in front of him as he pretended he hadn't been watching her.

"Nigel."

He looked towards her and was rewarded with a dollop of whipped cream on his nose. "Your fingers…" he said, catching her hand as she withdrew.

Sydney laughed, unruffled by his tone. "Don't think I didn't see you eyeing me."

Nigel trusted the hot chocolate to sit for a moment on the stove, the heat on low, and took her finger in his mouth, sucking it clean and hearing the hitch in Sydney's breath. Abruptly he let her go, his ears burning, and turned to pour the hot chocolate into the two mugs, swiping at his nose as he did so. He moved on to the whipped cream and scooped some on top of each mug and then drizzled the caramel sauce on top.

"And voila." He handed Sydney one of the mugs and watched her take a sip, suddenly nervous. Had he used the wrong chocolate? Not enough vanilla in the whipped cream?

Her eyes closed and she hummed in a way that he definitely associated with pleasure.

"Nigel, that's delicious," she said, opening her eyes and lowering the mug. She licked at the white mustache over her lip.

Nigel smiled, pleased and took a sip from his own mug, feeling the whipped cream leave its mark on his upper lip as well.

"Come on," Sydney took his hand and led him to the couch in the living room where they could see large snowflakes falling outside the window. The two of them curled up on the couch, Sydney tucking herself under his arm and drawing her legs up in front of her. They sipped their hot chocolate and watched the snow fall as it gently coated the ground.

"Thank you," Sydney said, tilting her head to look at him. "For the hot chocolate, and for sharing home with me," she continued softly.

He pressed his lips to her forehead, feeling completely at peace.