#mine**ff

There were bowls everywhere, and a dust cloud of flour was mushrooming into the air as Willie poured it from a large bag into the bowl in front of them.  Reggie was off to the side with another bowl, cracking eggs with flourish.  The oven was on behind Willie, and Reggie was in the middle of telling a joke that had Alex’s boyfriend doubled over in laughter.  In short, it was pure chaos, in the most innocent, lighthearted manner, and strangely, perfectly expected from both of the ghosts present.

Still, though, it was chaos.  “Uh… what the hell did I just walk into?” Alex asked, his voice incredulous.  Willie glanced up first, setting down the bag of flour, and Alex was met with the sight of his boyfriend with flour streaked through their hair and a smear of what looked like cake batter across their cheek.  He was smiling brightly, the kind of smile that made him radiate warmth and light that instantly warmed Alex’s heart and nearly made him forget about the strangeness of the situation.

“Oh, hey bro,” Willie said, somehow turning a word Reggie and Luke had used so many times in the past into the most romantically affectionate word Alex had ever heard.  They stepped from behind the island, walking over to him.  “We’re baking!”

“Yup!” Reggie chimed in, from his vantage point.  “Willie and I were kinda bored, y’know?  I thought it’d be nice to make cookies for everyone, especially now that we can!”

Willie smiled sweetly at him and Alex nearly forgot how to stay standing.  “You were out, and Reggie asked so nicely, and I figured, why not?  We made your favourite!”

“I--” Alex started, staring around the room.  “Why is-- what-- the kitchen--”

“Use your words, ‘Lex,” Reggie quipped, chuckling.

“Reggie?” Willie’s soft voice edged into Alex’s thoughts, and he absently heard his friend chirp in response.  “Mind giving us a sec?  I’ll keep an eye on the oatmeal raisin batch.”  A beat passed as footsteps echoed out of the room.

Alex groaned.  Not even the promise of sugar cookies could stop him from pointing out the obvious.  “The kitchen’s a mess.”

“Well, yeah,” Willie said, taking Alex’s hands and stepping backwards, pulling him with them.  They ended up sandwiching themself between him and the island before reaching around, slipping their hands in Alex’s back pockets.  “We didn’t want to just make one type of cookie, so we just kind of made them all, and a couple of cakes, too.  I’m sure Ray won’t mind.”

Alex’s brain had already started to short-circuit the moment Willie’s hands were in his pockets, and their comment didn’t help matters.  He stammered, watching the way Willie’s nose crinkled in amusement, trying desperately to come up with some coherent reason why it was utterly insane that the kitchen looked the way it did.  It was difficult, though, when Willie was looking at him with warm, brown eyes.

Alex blinked, his hands (which had been hovering awkwardly once Willie dropped them) landing on Willie’s waist.

“I missed you,” they murmured, leaning forward and pressing their lips to Alex’s, a brief, fleeting kiss that left his lips tingling as they did every time, always as though it was the first time.  “I wanted to surprise you.”

“It’s, er, definitely a surprise,” Alex replied, slowly lifting a hand and running his finger through the cake batter smear.

Willie raised his eyebrows, tugging him closer.  “I kinda wish I was baking with you, though.  D’you maybe wanna do that sometime?”

“Sure,” Alex replied, finding it hard to focus on anything when Willie was so close, his presence filling Alex’s senses.  “But only if it’s not as messy as this.”

He just barely caught the mischievous look in Willie’s eyes before they twisted away.  “You mean, like this?”

Alex’s brows knit together in confusion and he didn’t have time to react before Willie was flicking a handful of flour in his direction.  He coughed, blinking.

“Dude, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get it in your face!” Willie blurted, reaching for his waist.

They were too endearing, and Alex couldn’t stay mad at them.  Really, he couldn’t even get mad.  As Willie fussed over him, swiping at his cheek, Alex noticed there was still cake batter on his finger.  He reached out, smearing it on Willie’s nose.  “That’s payback,” he said, letting out a small chuckle.

Willie was stunned for half a second before they reacted, a fond smile on their face.  “You always find some way to surprise me, Alex,” he said, leaning in to kiss him, his arms around Alex’s neck.  Alex slipped his arms around Willie’s waist, holding them close.

Willie pulled away first.  “Wanna try the sugar cookies?”

“Of course,” Alex replied, grinning back at them, following them to the counter.

“I... I just...” he stammered, lifting his arm off Willie’s shoulder for a moment.  They didn’t let him remove it completely though.  Willie’s hand snaked up, lacing their fingers with his, pulling his arm back.

“You’re overthinking things,” he said, tilting his head against Alex’s shoulders.  “Come back to me.”

Well, when he put it that way...

“Okay,” he said, craning his head downwards.  Willie caught on immediately, kissing his cheek.  It was a simple action, an act of affection, sure, but it was something Alex was used to.  It grounded him, and he let his head hang for a moment, enjoying being so close to them.

“You good?” Willie’s voice was soft, gentle, his breath tickling Alex’s cheek.

“Yeah,” he breathed, relaxing against Willie once more.  “You called me babe.  It surprised me.”

Willie rubbed their thumb against his hand.  “Is it okay if I call you that?”

He took a moment to think about it.  “Yeah, I think so.”

“That’s good, babe,” Willie said, with a chuckle.  “I like saying it.”

Alex hid a secret, fond grin.  To be honest, hearing the word from Willie in reference to him made him stupidly happy.  It was a reminder that they were actually together.  He had a boyfriend.

Alex was the luckiest ghost in the world, he thought, as he caught Willie’s gaze.

“Should we start up the movie again, or are you going to keep yelling at it?” they asked, a twinkle to their eye.

“I just don’t get why she would pass up the clearly better option to stay with him,” he said, gesturing at the tv.  “It doesn’t make sense.”

“It’s a movie, Alex,” Willie said, patting his knee.  “It doesn’t have to make sense.”

Alex gave an exaggerated sigh.  “Oh, fine.”  He paused as an idea came to him.  It was a delightfully impulsive idea, a very Willie idea.  His acceptance of being called babe emboldened him, though, and he drew in a breath through his nose to steel his nerves.  At a questioning eyebrow raise from Willie, he made his decision.  “Can I lie on your lap?”  he asked, speaking quickly as though he thought he might back out halfway through the question.  “I mean, it would be more comfortable, and then maybe I won’t want to yell at the movie so much and—“

“Babe,” Willie interrupted, disentangling himself from Alex.  “Of course you can.  I’m here for you, whatever you need.”  They patted their lap, and Alex had a brief moment of panic, of ohdeargodwhatdidijustsuggest.  Willie wore an encouraging smile, though, and that was more than enough for him.

Alex shifted, slowly lying down with his head on Willie’s lap.  His boyfriend looked down at him, hair falling and framing their face perfectly, the soft glow from the lamp behind the couch illuminating them.  Their expression was soft, and Alex gave a lazy smile in return.  He could stare at Willie for ages and never get tired of it.

“Good?” Willie asked, their fingers playing with his hair.  Another casual show of affection that made him shiver, but in a good way.  In a way that reminded him once again that the gorgeous person on whose lap he was currently lying was his boyfriend.

“Yeah,” he breathed, lifting a hand and twirling a strand of long, brown hair around his fingers.  Willie breathed in sharply through his nose, and Alex watched as their Adam’s apple bobbed.  He wasn’t the best at casual shows of affection, but this was something that just felt so natural in the moment, and he had already been impulsive, so what was one more time?

Neither of them noticed when the tv shut off from inactivity, so caught up were they in smiling at each other and playing with each other’s hair.

“Babe?” Willie murmured, their fingers light against the skin at Alex’s temples.  Already, the word sounded natural, as if Willie had called him that for ages.  He hummed in response, and Willie bent down over him, kissing his forehead.  “I could stay with you like this for hours.”

This time, the flip Alex’s stomach pulled was far from uncomfortable as he focused on the spot on his forehead, still tingling pleasantly from the kiss.  “Me too,” he whispered, finding Willie’s hand with his own.  “Definitely.”