#aledunno

Alejandro concentrated carefully as he weighed the flour. The recipe said one cup and not a grain more. He released a breath he didn't know he'd been holding as the flour reached the small red mark on the side of the glass.

Unfortunately, victories in his house never lasted long, and Noah- who had just woken from a nap- had awkwardly bumped into the side of his hip, causing a cloud of white dust to blow around his face.

Alejandro went to shoot the boy a dirty glare, but paused and smiled as he saw the sleepy boy sat up on the counter, leant against the fridge. Noah was so cute when he was tired, and it was the only time Alejandro could say so without getting death threats or curses thrown at.

"Morning, Babe." Alejandro said to the younger boy, walking over to plant a kiss gently on Noah's left temple.

Noah hummed contently and leant in to Alejandro's warmth, but hesitated as he noticed the flour accumulating on Alejandro's cheeks.

"You uh... got a little something..." Noah mumbled as he directed Alejandro to the mess, before shrugging and dusting it away himself. His attention was then drawn to the origin of the flour, and he grinned as he saw all the ingredients laid out on the work surface. "Making Christmas cookies?" He asked casually, trying to hide his obvious excitement. Alejandro nodded and his smile widened. "I don't suppose you need any help, do you?" He asked, inquisitively.

"Well, I guess I could do with a spare hand." Alejandro smirked. Noah was just too adorable sometimes.

Instantly, Noah hopped off the counter and made his was towards the ingredient, checking that Al was using the right recipe and the good cutters; the ones that were shaped like little stars and Christmas trees. Suddenly, he paused, for his eyes fell upon the small pot of mixed spice next to the sugar. He picked it up and turned it over, sighing.

"Alejandro, don't use this. Unless you want your cookies to taste like cheap store bought ones." He muttered, opening the top cupboard and pulling out the red biscuit tin with the spices in it. It was a bit of a stretch for the small boy, but Noah always liked to prove he could do things for himself. From the box, he selected cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. "Use these," He ordered, "they're nicer."

As Alejandro was tasting the spices, the front door blew open, sending a blast of cold, windy air through the entire house. The two men looked up confused, but were relieved to find it was only Duncan, who had just returned from a shopping trip.

Duncan was bundled up in a hat, scarf and gloves, his denim jacket soaked with snow. In one had, bags of gift, that he hurriedly stashed away. In the other hand, three steaming hot cardboard Starbucks cups. He shut the door and made his way towards the kitchen, where his boyfriends were busy baking. The warmth from the oven felt nice against his cold skin, and he smiled.

"Guess who bought gingerbread lattes?" He sung out. Instantly, the other two were all over Duncan. All three of them loved gingerbread lattes, they were so delicious and creamy.

"Did you get my order right?"

"Yes Alejandro."

"Two sugars?"

"Yes Alejandro."

"Extra cream."

"Yes Alejandro."

"Good."

Alejandro graciously took his cup from the tray, and took a tiny sip from it. He let out a sigh and smiled. Then he turned back to his dough.

Noah on the other hand, cared not about his order, and instead took the cups from Duncan, laid them on the counter and then returned his attention back to his boyfriend.

"Duncan, you're soaking, you're going to catch a cold!" He muttered. Instantly he stripped Duncan of his hat and scarf, kissing him as he went. He continued to kiss him as he pulled away Duncan's jacket and gloves.

Duncan grinned and put his shivering hands on the small of Noah's back, bringing his head down to kiss the younger boy. In response, Noah's arms went around Duncan's neck. But just at that moment, Alejandro cleared his throat. Both boys attention was drawing to the taller male.

"Your lattes are going to go cold."

Noah and Duncan chuckled, and leant up, kissing Alejandro on either cheek.

"We love you too, Darlin'." Duncan smirked, as he reached for his cup. Looking over at the rolled out dough, he grinned. "Awesome, just in time for Christmas cookies.

All three boys took a cutter each, and placed their first shape into the dough. Noah had a star, Alejandro had a Christmas tree, and Duncan's was a cat.

"... That's not very Christmassy..." Noah said, puzzled.

"Yeah well, it's a Christmas cat. And besides, you don't even celebrate Christmas, Noah."

To that, Noah shrugged. Duncan had a point.

After a few minutes, every dough shape was laid out on a baking tray, waiting to go in to oven.

"We'll see you on the other side." Alejandro said to the cookies, which just earned him puzzled looks. He placed the cookies in the oven, set the timer and turned his attention back towards his drink.