hot cocoa
tim drake x gender neutral reader. 987 words.
notes: secret santa gift for @glorified-red! five times hot cocoa with tim went awry, and one that didn't.
(check out the other gifts from @unmotivatedwrit3r, @quillsareswords, and @birdy-bat-writes!)
warnings: n/a!
♡ tim was a wonderful friend to have. this was doubly true when it was just shy of freezing and he greeted you with a smile. "i brought hot cocoa," he said, gesturing at a thermos sitting beside him on the fountain's ledge. "want some?"
an easy yes.
(you did question the wisdom of sitting by a fountain when you were trying to stay warm, but decided to keep your doubts to yourself.)
"so- look out!" he pushed you to the side, and a frisbee between the two of you- striking his bag, sending it tipping over towards the water.
the ploink of his wallet falling in would have been comical, if it weren't so unfortunate.
♡ a few weeks later found you and tim getting into his car with two more cups of cocoa, laughing about the little girl that had been in front of you in line.
"she was so cute!" you said, setting your cup into the cupholder between you. "did you hear her ask her mom whether marshmallows grew in marshes or trees?"
he chuckled, turning the key. "i missed it." the choking sound of the engine brought you both to a stop, both slowly looking up at the steering wheel. he cleared his throat and tried the key again.
another choking noise, and silence. he tried a third time with similar results.
"i don't think she likes the cold," you mused.
tim dropped his head forward to rest against the wheel and groaned.
♡ an hour late.
and he hadn't even texted until twenty minutes after you were supposed to meet up.
he had no idea how lucky he was that he was cute- because had the apology and offer to take you to get a proper meal not been accompanied by the most adorable grimace you had ever seen, they may not have been enough to keep you from leaving him standing with just a cup of cold cocoa to keep him company.
the two of you turned, moving towards a restaurant (your choice, as he had insisted), and you noticed a stiffness in his step. "are you alright?"
"aw, you still care," he teased, easily sidestepping your attempt to playfully smack his shoulder.
"obviously. i'm mad, not heartless."
"good to know."
"tim..."
"i'm fine. i just, uh, slept wrong," he said sheepishly. "my knee aches, is all."
you hummed noncommittally, not buying it- but also knowing that when tim dodged a question, he was fully committed to dodging the question.
♡ "where do you want- woah!"
before you could even turn to look, you heard the tell-tale sound of something hitting the ground, followed by tim groaning.
"i'm starting to think we need to avoid hot cocoa," you quipped, staring flatly at the soda bottle rolling on the floor and liquid dripping from your cabinets. "how did that even happen?"
"i was opening it, and my hand just... gave out," he grumbled, flexing his hand with a grimace. "i'm sorry."
you set the two mugs of steaming cocoa you had just made on the counter, stepping carefully around the pooling cola. "at least it wasn't eggs."
tim sighed, tugging his coat off and rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. "where do you keep your towels?"
even with the entire kitchen smelling like soda, you couldn't really bring yourself to be upset. tim's help and half-annoyed-half-resigned jokes about a sticky situation made the clean up go by much faster than usual, and soon the two of you were admiring your handiwork.
"i think it's even cleaner than it was before the incident," you observed happily. "you can practically see yourself in the tile."
"i'm not sure it was bad enough to warrant being called the incident-" you raised a brow, and he raised his hands in surrender. "okay, maybe it was."
you scooped up your mug with a hmph, confidently taking a sip- only to sputter at the temperature of the no-longer-hot cocoa.
♡ you were officially convinced that hot cocoa was a perfect way to ruin a fine day.
"in my defense-"
"please don't," you all but whined, almost laughing at the sheepish way his mouth clamped shut. "can you go see if any of these stores have managed to stay in one piece and will sell you a sweatshirt or something? this whole cocoa-soaked-hoodie situation isn't exactly comfortable."
tim nodded, making his way through the crowd of celebrating gothamites and leaving you by a blinking happy new year sign.
twenty minutes later, with you in a fresh (and hideous) gold sweatshirt and tim's coat, you found yourself watching him instead of the countdown on the screen in the coffee shop's window.
he was somehow coated in glitter, but the shine of his skin was nothing compared to the sparkle in his eyes as he glanced over at you.
"happy new year," he mouthed through the cheering racket around you.
you grinned at him, leaning over to kiss his cheek. "happy new year."
♡ "i thought we decided hot cocoa was cursed?" you asked, carefully taking the warm paper cup he offered and cradling it close to your body.
"lots has changed since then," he shrugged, taking your spare hand in his, intertwining your gloved fingers.
you sighed playfully, taking a sip of your drink. "i suppose it has."
"for the better," he added pointedly, squeezing your hand. "because now, i can do this." he leaned in to kiss your cheek, making you roll your eyes fondly.
"i'm still waiting for the disaster, tim."
"see?" he asked, stopping in front of your building. "home safe and sound."
"mhm," you hummed dubiously. "maybe-"
he tugged you forwards suddenly, and you heard something hit the ground behind you.
"do i-"
"you do not want to know that the light fixture you were standing under suddenly fell, no."
you pulled out of his hold to throw your to-go cup in the trash.
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Alight in Your Arms
My holiday gift for @miniature-space-hamster!! I hope you like it as much as I loved writing about them. <3 <3
Summary:
Kaidan takes Ruiz out to the lake for an ice skating date, and hopes the surprise he has planned will go well.
Tags: M/M, Kaidan Alenko, Male Shepard (Mass Effect), Ruiz Shepard (OC), Ice Skating, Winter Date, Fluff, Hurt/comfort mention, Post-Canon, Ruiz and Kaidan being adorable
“Your mom said there’s an ice rink a few minutes out towards town,” Shepard pointed out, interrupting his musings. Kaidan did not miss the silent question in his statement: Why here, and not somewhere with temperature control?
He could think of at least three reasons. Of course, he had no plans to show all his cards at once. He shrugged softly, enjoying the feeling of Shepard’s arm against his under their many layers of clothes. “I figured you’d prefer fewer people around for this.”
“…You know I’ll be terrible at it, don’t you?”
“Well, there is that,” he smiled, and nudged Shepard’s cheek with his nose. His attempt at a grumble was stopped in its tracks when Kaidan took the chance to whisper against his ear. “But it would also be frowned upon to grab your ass in front of the local families.”
Shepard turned his face just enough to let their lips brush together as he replied. “Can’t argue with that logic.” In fact, the warmth that fluttered at the pit of his stomach was nothing if not support.
Thankfully, only a few more minutes passed before they caught sight of the lake.
Keep reading here!
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