aragarna | [Ficlet] My Sweet Pumpkin

Title: My Sweet Pumpkin
Author: Aragarna
Genre, rating: Halloween fluff, gen, g.
Characters: Peter, Elizabeth (canon Peter/El)
Spoilers: 5x01
words: ~650
Summary: El bakes a cake and has a revelation

My Sweet Pumpkin

Peter pushed the entrance door of his Brooklyn home. “Hey, hon!” he called.

A cheerful “Hey, hon.” echoed from the kitchen. Peter dropped his jacket on the stair railing, and headed toward the kitchen. Elizabeth was baking. Various utensils were displayed on the kitchen island. At his sight, a warm smile illuminated her face.

Peter approached and slid behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist before putting a delicate kiss on her cheek. He replaced behind her ear a strand of hair that had escaped from her ponytail.

“June invites us to her Halloween party, tomorrow night,” she said.

“Oh right, Neal mentioned some cooking experimentation.”

Peter dipped a finger into the preparation bowl and licked it. “Hmmm, pumpkin pie,” he approved. “At least, I know I’ll like the dessert.”

El snapped his hand. "So, is your costume ready?”

Peter frowned. “What? What costume?”

“For the Halloween party. Hon, you need a costume.”

Peter made a miserable face. “I hate costume parties,” he groaned. “Do we really have to go?”

Elizabeth giggled. “You know, it’s too bad you had to give back that orange jumpsuit, you would have made a lovely pumpkin.”

Peter slowly turned to his wife, eyes wide-opened with shock. El bit her lips to restrain a laugh.

“Too soon?” she asked.

Peter growled and took another dip into the pumpkin mix. “Yeah, a little.”

“I’m sorry, hon,” El said, intercepting his hand and licking the pumpking from his finger. “I’m joking. It’s just a dinner, June, Neal, probably Mozzie, maybe a couple more friends of June’s and us. Hmmm, you taste good… pumpkin.”

She winked. Peter made a face and took his finger back. “Don’t call me that.”

El looked suddenly pensive. “You know, I have to say, orange is a nice color on you.”

Peter rolled his eyes. “I have some work to do,” he said as he retreated into the living room.

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The next day, Peter went home early, as per Elizabeth’s request, so that they wouldn’t arrive too late at June’s for the dinner. Peter had argued that it would save them a lot of time if they’d met directly at June’s but El seemed to have other plans – which wasn’t to reassure Peter. Yet, the house was empty when Peter came in, so he decided to settle himself on the sofa with a well deserved beer. But he barely had the time to open the bottle that El was pushing the door.

“Hey hon,” she greeted him cheerfully.

“Hey hon,” Peter shot back as he put the beer down on the small table and got to his feet to embrace his wife.

She gave him a quick kiss before dropping a small package on his hands. Peter noticed the mischievous smile and the sparkling eyes. El was up to something.

“There, I bought you a little something.”

“For me? What is it?”

“Open up!”

El’s excitement was suspicious. There was definitely something up. Peter unwrapped his gift, revealing… an orange sweater. It was not bright orange like a prison jumpsuit, but it was still definitely orange.

“It’s burnt orange,” El said, as if she was following his mind. “Put it on!”

She quickly unknotted his tie and Peter complied. Elizabeth clapped her hands, visibly satisfied.

“Peter, you look fantastic!”

Peter looked down at himself while El adjusted the collar and cuffs of his shirt underneath the sweater.

“Do I?”

“Yes, you do,” she said softly, wrapping her arms around his waist and tugging him close. “So, do you like it?”

Peter looked at his wife and smiled. It was deliciously heartwarming to see Elizabeth so cheerful and gently teasing, after everything they’ve been through in the past few weeks. It was all behind them now, and it felt good to be able to joke about it.

“Yes. It’s perfect,” he whispered before kissing her delicately. “I love you, hon.”

“I love you too, pumpkin.”

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Happy Halloween everyone !