Title: I’d love to be the reason a smile comes to your face
Fandom: Once Upon a Time
Character/Pairings: Mad Hatter | Jefferson/Pinocchio | August Booth
Word Count:1,287
Rating: NC-17/Explicit
Warnings: mental health issues, sexual content
Summary: A Valentine’s day meal gone wrong, a blanket fort, some comfort and a side of sexy fun times.
Notes: written for fan_flashworks prompt: #217: Blanket & Feb allbingo prompt: Dinner for Two
*title from: To Comfort You by Bette Midler



Jefferson’s freaking out. It’s not working. None of it’s working. He should be able to do this. He knows he should. Decades to master cooking and somehow he can’t even manage to make rice. He’s failed again. Rice burnt, pan encrusted with the messy remains of his failure. The pan’s probably ruined too, it would serve him right.

There’s smoke everywhere. Distraction plus forgetfulness equals the rice boiling away on a too hot burner instead of being turned down to a simmer, the way it’s supposed to be. He’s ruined everything. Valentine’s day and he just wanted to surprise August with something special. A nice dinner at home for the two of them, away from anyone else. Away from staring eyes and uncomfortable questions. Why haven’t we seen you? Where have you been? He doesn’t want to deal with any of that. He feels safer in his home, he feels safer with August. He’d been yo-yo’d back and forth during the multiple curses, same as everyone else, but for him, it had been too much on top of everything else. It didn’t help that nearly everyone has their heads stuffed with memories of their cursed selves reading Alice and Wonderland as kids. They look at him as in a certain way, like they know him like they know the state of his mind. Now he doesn’t leave the house much unless he’s with August or Grace, and even then it isn’t often. He feels broken and weak and hates himself for it.

He knows he should clean out the pan and start again, or even use a different pan; he has plenty. He can’t bring himself to do it. He’s ready to explode. The rage feels hot and sharp under his skin like it’s clawing its way out of him. He throws the pan across the room, knocking down several other pans that are hanging from hooks on the ceiling. He throws something else, he’s not even sure what. Crash. Bang. He’s on a roll now.

***

The smell of smoke is the first thing August notices as he walks through the door. He makes a beeline for the kitchen and finds Jefferson crouched under the table muttering to himself. Never a good sign. He shouldn’t have left the house; Jefferson had been acting anxious all morning, but August had wanted to get in a visit with Marco before the weekend. He gets down on the floor and helps Jefferson out from under the table. “It’s okay, I’m home now.” It takes a heroic amount of patience but he eventually gets Jefferson out of the kitchen. “Why don’t you take a shower, I’ll get things cleaned up out here.”

“I wanted to make you dinner, but I couldn’t -- I couldn’t make it work.” Jefferson’s talking too fast. His whole body shaking, his arms wrapped around himself as if he’s trying to keep from coming apart. It hurts, seeing him like this. August wraps his arms around Jefferson and holds him until the shaking subsides.

After he gets Jefferson into the shower, August puts an order in at Granny’s. She tells him it’s going to be a bit of a wait, being that it’s a holiday and all. He manages to get the kitchen looking a little less like a disaster area by the time Jefferson is done in the shower.

Jefferson comes out of the bathroom wearing his paisley print silk pajamas, August’s favorite. They look good but then Jefferson can make anything look good. “Feeling any better?” He looks better, less frazzled and ready to fall apart. August has finally started getting a handle on Jefferson’s mood swings. They’ve been living together for nearly eight months. It wasn’t always easy, but it was always worth it.

Jefferson looks thoughtful for a moment, then shrugs. “I guess.”

August moves closer and runs a hand through Jefferson’s wet hair. “I ordered food, it’s going to be a while though.” He leans in so their foreheads touch.

“What can we possibly do to pass the time?” Jefferson’s voice soft and suggestive sends shivers down August’s spine. It’s very tempting, but August has a plan. “I was thinking we could make a blanket fort.”

“A what?” Jefferson looks up at him, surprise clear in his eyes.

“A blanket fort, remember last time?” They had done this before, dragged out pillows and blankets and set them all up in the living room. It had been cozy and romantic and very comforting. He knows Jefferson can use all the extra comfort he can get right now, even if he is unlikely to admit it.

Jefferson’s eyes light up and a smile grows on his face. “Yeah, I do. That was fun.”

Together they gather all the blankets and pillows they can find and create a blanket fort that puts all other blanket forts to shame. August pulls out some fairy lights and strings them all along the inside of the fort before laying down to take it al in. “Beautiful.”

***

Jefferson lies down on his side, eyes locked on August. He reaches out a hand and caresses the side of his face. He loves the way the scruff feels underneath his fingertips. “My thoughts exactly.” He loves this man and has no idea what he did to deserve him. Jefferson hadn’t been looking for happily ever after when they first met. All he’d been looking for was a fun night. Somehow that one night had grown into more than a year of dating and several months of living together. He’s a lucky man. “When did you say the food was going to get here?”

August moans and then glances at his watch. “We’ve got about twenty minutes.” Jefferson smiles, he can think of a lot of things they can do in twenty minutes.

August rolls him onto his back, the weight of him makes Jefferson feel safe. His mind, still buzzing with his earlier failure in the kitchen, begins to calm down just a little while other parts of him start to perk up.

“I really like these pajamas,” August tells him as he slips the shirt off. He kisses his way down Jefferson’s bare chest, unties the pajama bottoms and slides them down over his hips, exposing Jefferson’s erection. August brushes gentle kisses along the inside of his thighs before working his way back up to the main course. Jefferson has one hand on the back of August’s neck and the other gripping the plush blanket beneath him as Augusts wraps his mouth around his cock, quelling the last of the buzzing in his head.

***

August wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. Jefferson reaches out to tug at his jeans, eager to return the favor and the doorbell rings. Jefferson makes a sound of protest when August pulls away. He doesn’t really want to leave, but Granny would never take an order from him again if he didn’t answer the door. “Food’s here,” he says as he rolls out of reach. Jefferson pouts.

“You can save me for dessert,” August says with a wink before making his way out of the fort.

August returns to their food with the food. “This was a great idea,” Jefferson says. He’s sounding better, more relaxed and less frantic. He’s relieved, Jefferson’s bad days worry him. August loves him more than he could ever have imagined loving anyone. He reaches out and brushes his fingers along Jefferson’s jawline. “I have to admit, it was one of my better ones.”

Jefferson grabs his hand and kisses the palm.“I love you.”

“I love you too,” August says and he tries to not rush too quickly through dinner, though he’s quite eager for dessert.