#also i might change the title cause it kinda gives of smutty vibes and theres absolutely nothing smutty about this

[ladywhistledcwn]

sometimes this has a hot, sweet taste

A shirbert cooking Christmas fic (in January, yes).

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The 24th of December had arrived in Avonlea, snow engulfing the town in glorious stillness. Anne struggled to walk fast enough, her feet kept getting stuck in the snow that nearly reacher her ankle. She regretted sneaking off a bit, after all if she had told Marilla she would've insisted Anne take the horse. Then she wouldn't be shivering and the bottom of her dress wouldn't be soaked. Nevertheless she walked on. It was her job to save the Christmas Eve dinner after all. As was tradition the Cuthbert's would spend the evening with the Blythe-Lacroix family, the only difference this year was they wouldn't be dining at Green Gables, and a Gilbert Blythe had insisted he wanted to prepare the dinner. 

Bash and Hazel tried to dissuade the boy, each for different reasons, but he would not relent. Anne tried to as well after hearing many a horror story involving oatmeal from Bash.

"Ye of little faith, Anne-girl." Was all that Gilbert replied after Anne pleaded her case. She had even tried to enlist Marilla to her cause, but she thought it was a splendid idea. 

"At least it won't be spicy." Marilla had said. "It'll be a sensible meal, even if it isn't all that good." Anne just rolled her eyes and groaned.

This was her first Christmas with Gilbert as her beau and she wanted it to be perfect. Everything else had been perfect thus far. Their beautiful walks under gorgeous snowfall, sitting in front of the fire after dinner talking softly, and stealing a kiss or too in Gilbert's barn under some mistletoe that mysteriously appeared tied to a beam (Anne insisted she hadn't placed it but Elijah saw her sneak into the barn and had told Gilbert, he still pretended he didn't know it was her). They'd even gone ice skating! It couldn't be any more romantical if she tried. 

And so she trotted one, hoping to sneak into the kitchen, work some magic on the food, and leave. All before Marilla could notice her absence. Anne couldn't've been more surprised when she opened the door and was greeted by the most heavenly scent. The kitchen was empty but busier than ever. The last time she had seen that kitchen in such a state was when they were all cooking for Mary's last easter. The memory hurt a little bit less now, but it still saddened her to think of the woman she looked up to.

She would've marveled at the sight in front of Anne's eyes. The stove was littered with pans, potatoes were boiling, dumplings were steaming, and vegetables were stewing. A quick peek into the oven confirmed what her nose was already telling her... a turkey! This had to be Mrs. Lacroix's doing, before college Gilbert couldn't cook to save his life and she doubted very much that he had time to cook in Toronto.

The aforementioned boy stepped into the kitchen, a basket of eggs in hand. She took in his dirty apron. Okay so maybe he did help, doesn't mean he did all of this.

"Anne! What are you doing here? You're not supposed to be here until nightfall." He didn't even stop to give her a hug and a kiss as he always did, he went straight to the stove and plopped all of the eggs in a pot of boiling water. What planet is this?

"I-I know, I came to he- Did you make all this?!" She flayed her arms gesturing to the entire kitchen.

"I did." Gilbert said, stepping away from the stove. A proud smile adorned his face, Anne would kiss him if she wasn't so confused. 

"I came here on a very important mission, Gilbert Blythe! I came to save Christmas our taste buds from your awful cooking and I find you cooking a feast that smells amazing. Something's just not adding up!" She paced around the kitchen as she recited her short speech, and she found herself out of breath by the end of it. Gilbert leaned against the dining table, nodding his head at her rant, his proud smile replaced by an amused one. 

"Well at the moment Delphine isn't giving much use to the cookbook you made her so I thought I would. I took it with me to Toronto and I whip up a recipe every now and then. Certainly surprised the fellas at the boarding house." 

"Certainly surprised me! Why didn't you tell me in any of your letters? I would've given you a tip or two." Anne melted at the image in her mind. Her Gilbert so far away in Toronto, tired and hungry after a long day of studying, baking Mary's potatoes from the little recipe book Anne had made. "Well I still have to taste it, cooking isn't easy at all you know. Even when you think everything is going perfectly, remember my liliment fiasco? So I should stay and make su-"

"Give me a chance." He interrupted her. "I wanted to surprise you tonight, and you already ruined half the surprise by seeing this. I at least want you to be surprised when you taste it." She couldn't very well argue with him when his arms were around her waist and his hair was messy in that way she liked and he looked at her in that way that made her knees feel weak.

"Alright then, I'll see you tonight."

And she did. And when she walked into the parlor wearing that blue dress he hadn't seen her in since that fateful day, her hair streaming down her back because she knew he liked it like that, she knew she wasn't the only one surprised that day. It took all the self control she had not to run into his arms and kiss him in front of everyone when he looked at her like that. Like he couldn't believe she was real. 

Her perfect December streak was not ruined that 24th. The food was delicious and every bite reminded her of Mary. And after dinner, while the adults sat in the parlor having tea, she stood next to Gilbert in front of the sink, drying the dishes after he washed, and she caught a glimpse of a life she once thought impossible but now seemed close enough to touch. She would be patient though, after all, life could wait its turn. At least until she wasn't so full.

#mine #im not sure whether to upload this to ao3 or not #im thinking of maybe doing a series of short fics like this one #at least until i get enough inspiration to write a long one shot #or maybe my first multichap who knows #anyway let me know what you guys think #awae #awae fanfiction #shirbert fanfiction #shirbert #also i might change the title cause it kinda gives of smutty vibes and theres absolutely nothing smutty about this #like at all #they dont even kiss lmao