#lil repost/edit i fear bc i wrote this too late and hated it in the morning last time i made those cookies LOL

[petrichorium]

"was wondering where you slipped off to."

a month ago, you think, the sound of a man's voice in your kitchen well past midnight would have given you a heart attack. instead, much to your chagrin, shanks' low rasp—heavy with sleep—only has warmth curling in your chest. you purse your lips.

"’s my home. where would i go?"

shanks presses up against your back. only half an hour ago he’d done the same, tucked beneath the covers of your bed and curled around you so tightly it’d been a challenge to pry yourself free and slip away. you’d thrown on his shirt—plucked it from a corner of your room, a puddle of sea-softened cotton, not bothering to button it any further than you’d found it. he pinches at the sleeve and tugs it down, dragging the fabric down over your arm until it settles, buttoned opening only just covering the swell of your breast.

he’s gentle, touch slight as he brushes the knuckle of his index finger up your bicep. his lips are equally soft when he kisses at your shoulder. his hand finds your stomach, pressing into you, pressing you back into him, then sliding over and settling at the crook of your waist.

that mouth trails over your newly bared skin, up the slope of your collar to unabashedly bury his face into your neck and inhale, deep and slow.

"mm." the noise he lets out is something between a grunt and a sigh, low and rumbling against you. "dunno. you always find somewhere to hide away. what're you making? better be good, for my troubles."

"cookies," you say absent-mindedly, eyes trained on the orange glow of the stovetop light before you where two large brown cookies, still on their baking sheet, are cooling. then you blink. "your troubles?"

"woke up to an empty bed," he bemoans, "had to come down so many flights—"

"three. you think i don't know how tall my lighthouse is?"

"so energetic in the middle of the night. where do you even find the energy?"

you tut, reaching up with your hand to lace your fingers in his hair. almost immediately he turns his face into your palm, pressing a kiss there and rushing to leave more on the pads of your fingers, nuzzling his nose against the soft skin of your inner wrist.

"same place you find the energy to complain, i suppose." your thumb twitches as he nips at the base. "i could kick you out, you know."

"how cruel." his hold around you tightens. "you know my back hurts when i sleep on your stoop."

your head snaps to the side, determined to hide the way your face burns at that straightforward confession. luckily shanks seems preoccupied continuing to kiss at that hand, and a second later the oven timer beeps, drawing the attention of both of you.

"looks good," he says, loosening his grip just enough to let you reach out for one of the cookies, now cool enough to pry from the baking sheet.

"does roux ever bake?"

shanks lets out a bark of laughter. "roux's more of a hearty stew kinda guy."

"ah. 'course." your words are mumbled, spoken through the gooey mass of molten chocolate you've just bitten into. still warm, the cookie begins to fall apart almost immediately, collapsing between your fingers—shanks leans in to catch the greater part of the mess with his tongue, laving it over your palm and then up the length of your fingers for any remaining trace of chocolate, careful to press the roughness of his scruffy cheek along your shoulder with each movement. it draws gooseflesh there, sends a shiver down your spine that pools warmly at the base of your stomach.

"i made two for a reason, you know." in the dark quiet of your kitchen at this hour, you keep your voice low, barely more than a whisper.

"mm." his hum is more chipper this time, muffled around your finger as he slowly draws back. "we can split that one too if you'd like."

but his arm tightens around you once more, and he drags his nose along the length of your neck, lips brushing over the skin. when he reaches the base he pauses, pressing a kiss there—then another to the side, and another, lingering and meticulous as he crosses your nape.

"or," he starts, as if breathing a secret, "we could go back to bed."

"sounds like you've made up your mind."

"come back to bed with me. you need rest."

your lips twitch, all too aware that his plans hardly involve rest—yet still you nod. "fine."

and as soon as the word falls from your lips he has you slung over his shoulder, already on his way towards the stairwell. you catch one final glance at the lonely leftover cookie; in the morning it'll be hard, cold, and far too much to eat alone, but shanks has the right idea, you suppose.

you'd much rather spend the rest of the night tangled in the sheets with him.