Chapter Seventeen
TEDDY
Teddy finished cleaning up after lunch and decided to bake some cookies while they watched more Christmas movies.
He was pulling out the butter and milk when Ciaran walked in.
“Oh, I didn’t mean to bother you,” he said. “I was just going to get a glass of water.”
“No worries.” Teddy looked at him. “Are you busy?”
“Nope.” He smiled. “What do you need?”
“Wanna help me bake cookies?”
“Oh,” Ciaran laughed. “I can’t bake. You’d be better off doing that on your own.”
“Come on. I’ll walk you through it. It’ll be fun.”
“Don’t say I warned you.”
Teddy showed Ciaran where all the ingredients were, and they placed them neatly on the counter to get ready.
“What cookies are we making?” Ciaran asked.
“Lebkuchen,” Teddy said.
“Come again?”
Teddy laughed. “Lebkuchen are German cookies made during the Christmas season. They’re one of Geoff’s favorites. When his parents came to visit a few years ago, his mother taught me how to make them.”
“Sounds fun. I’ll follow your lead.”
Teddy and Ciaran began pulling out the ingredients. Butter, milk, honey, brown sugar, eggs, and every spice in the kitchen.
“This has a lot of spices,” Ciaran noted, handing Teddy ground ginger and cinnamon.
“It’s a spiced cookie,” Teddy laughed. “We need a lot.”
He preheated the oven and showed Ciaran how to combine the ingredients. Then, Teddy heated the honey and sugar on the stove, stirring until the sugar melted.
“Drop the butter in, please,” Teddy said, adding the lemon zest after Ciaran had dropped the butter, continuing to stir. “Can you get the ground almonds and flour ready? They’ll go in soon.”
“Sure thing.”
Teddy added the spices, the egg, baking powder, and baking soda.
“Okay, now we can add the ground almonds and the flour.”
Ciaran dumped the flour, causing it to cover Teddy’s face. He looked over to see Ciaran laughing.
“What was that for?” Teddy laughed.
“Sorry,” he said cheekily, grinning. “It slipped.”
Teddy grabbed a palmful of flour and tossed it at Ciaran, hitting him square on the nose. Ciaran laughed as he wiped the flour off.
“Okay, that was fair.”
“Stir this while I get the glaze ready.”
Teddy automatically went to kiss his cheek but backed away at the last second. He’d made it an inch from Ciaran’s cheek before realizing what he was doing.
What the fuck?
If Ciaran noticed, he didn’t show it. Teddy let out a silent sigh, relieved. After Ciaran had finished with the batter, Teddy showed him how to prepare the pan and cut the batter.
“This smells nice,” Ciaran said.
“Just wait until they’re ready.”
They placed the cookies in the oven and stood back.
“Now we clean up and wait.”
As they tidied, Teddy couldn’t take his eyes off Ciaran. He and Geoff had cooked together, but nothing like this. Ciaran was in sync with Teddy, and they moved through the kitchen as if they’d worked together for years.
Geoff walked into the kitchen. “Something smells amazing.”
“You’re supposed to be reading,” Teddy said.
“I was,” Geoff stated. “Until I smelled the unmistakable aroma of Lebkuchen.”
“We are making them, yes,” Teddy told him.
“How long until they’re done?” Geoff craned his neck to look at the oven.
“They’ll be ready in about fifteen minutes.” Teddy smiled. “Then we’ll bring them out with tea, and we can sit and talk.”
“That sounds nice,” Geoff said. “I can tell the story of Krampus.”
“Honey, you know I love your stories, but can we do a different one?”
“Wait. Krampus…The man who does the opposite of Santa Claus?” Ciaran said.
“You don’t know the story of Krampus?” Geoff asked, surprised. “Oh, I have to tell you.”
Teddy just laughed. “Okay. We’ll talk about Krampus.”
Teddy brought the tray of cookies, and Ciaran followed behind with the tea.
They placed the teapot and cookies on the coffee table.
Geoff had lowered the lights, so only the light of the fire lit the room with an eerie glow.
He grabbed a cookie and his cup of tea before settling down, prepared for storytime.
“Ready to hear the story of Krampus?” Geoff asked.
“Yes,” Ciaran replied. He’d tucked his feet under him and held his tea in both hands.
Geoff leaned in. “It’s a cold December night, and you’re tucked away in bed.
A little eight-year-old, reading your comic book with a flashlight under the covers so no one sees.
Then, you hear a twig snap. You pull the covers aside to see a shadowy figure cross your bedroom window.
Is it a man? Is it a demon? You can’t tell. ”
Teddy glanced over to see Ciaran leaning in, hanging on to Geoff’s every word. Every few seconds, he’d take a sip of tea, never taking his eyes off him.
“It’s Krampus,” Geoff continued. “A creature so terrifying, children cower in the corner all night, praying he doesn’t come for them.”
“What does he look like?”
“Every child who has seen him describes him as a man-like demon. He has hooves instead of feet, and he’s covered in shaggy fur. His face looks like that of a man, but it’s twisted and distorted, appearing more like a demon. He has two or four horns, depending on who you ask.”
Ciaran curled up tighter. Teddy hated scary stories and wanted to curl up with someone. Geoff was telling the story, so he was alone in this.
“What does he do?” Ciaran asked.
“Krampus has a basket on his back large enough to carry a child. In his right hand is a switch. If you were bad, he’d whip you with the switch to make you behave.
” Geoff paused and leaned forward. “If you were really bad, he’d trap you in his basket and take you to the depths of hell, never to be seen again. ” He let out a maniacal laugh.
“Have you ever seen him?” Ciaran asked.
“Only once,” Geoff said. “I was six. He stood outside, brandishing his switch and pointing at me. I never disobeyed my parents again.”
“Creepy.”
“So, that is the story of Krampus,” Geoff finished with a flourish.
“That was amazing.” Ciaran smiled. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Geoff said.
They finished up their cookies, and Ciaran headed to bed while Geoff and Teddy curled up on the couch.
“He enjoyed the story,” Teddy said.
“It was nice to tell it to a new person,” Geoff said. “Makes it more fun.”
“I’m glad you had fun.”
Geoff gave him a long, passionate kiss.
“I have to tell you something,” Teddy said. His stomach churned. He’d almost kissed Ciaran. He had to tell Geoff.
“What is it, Teddy Bear?”
“I almost kissed Ciaran while we were baking cookies.” Teddy waited. The silence lingered between them.
“Oh,” was all he said. “So, what happened?”
Teddy sat up. “It was a reflex, I promise. He was stirring the batter, and I was going to get the glaze, and I leaned in to kiss him, but stopped. I don’t know why I did it.”
“I understand. I’m not mad,” Geoff soothed. “Do you like him?”
“I do,” Teddy admitted, tears blurring his vision. “I’m so sorry, Geoff.”
Geoff squeezed him tight. “You don’t have to be sorry. I like him too.”
“Then what are we going to do?”
“We just need to have a conversation with him. We’ll give it a few days and talk to him.”
“I love you,” Teddy said.
“I love you, too.”
Teddy laid his head against Geoff’s belly.
Their connection to Ciaran was growing stronger–and not just sexually, since they hadn’t been physical together aside from the one time.
He and Ciaran had cooked and baked Geoff’s favorite cookies together.
Something he hadn’t done with anyone, aside from Geoff’s mother.
Geoff walked the trail with Ciaran, a time he used to reflect, but wanted to share it.
They laughed and joked while playing video games, and he hadn’t seen Geoff laugh that much in years.
Tonight, they shared a fun bit of lore from Geoff’s home.
This is getting more complicated than I could ever have imagined.