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"Are you certain I won't receive food poisoning?" James dubiously inspected her freshly baked cookies for the hundredth time. His sloe eyes narrowed suspiciously, eyebrows furrowed. He untied her apron before hooking it up on the peg, and then hugged her from behind. Pressing her against the counter so he could peer pretentiously down his nose at the cookies.
Flour dusted his cheek, his lower lip still sticky with batter from licking it off the spoon. Even his hair was boyishly mussed, though his eyes glittered with delight. "Do you remember how last time I grew tremendously ill after I ate that suspicious looking cake you made?" James asked as an afterthought, canting his head.
She let out a huff. "I made one mistake, one." She emphasized as she leaned back into his hold. "I triple checked my work, I'm not going to kill you."
"And I nearly died." He reminded her, playfully tightening his hold. He could feel her chest rising and falling and the urge to kiss her rose sharply. It was only stopped by the fact that a part of him still was suspicious. The other half wanted to press his cheek against hers and smell her sweet scent. But as she leaned into him, he found it more difficult to pretend to be annoyed. "And that mistake was nearly my last. Just saying."
"Oh, get off it." She murmured before picking up a cookie, taking a small bit from it. After a moment of chewing, she swallowed. "See? It's fine."
"One bite doesn't prove anything." He said, still maintaining his hold, though his eyes did track her mouth as she chewed. Seeing the cookie disappear and the shape of her lips when she swallowed made him more tempted. He tried to fight it. "I am not eating those."
She pouted but took the opportunity of his lips staying parted to force a cookie inside. A proud smile overtook her lips as she placed her hand under his chin. "Chew."
"Mmhp.." He muttered as the cookie met his tongue, then with a reluctant chew, he bit down. He could already taste the sweetness of the dough. And with one last bite, his entire attitude changed. Now instead of pretending to be annoyed, he was actually flirting. "And for the record", he mumbled with a mouthful, "I didn't say the cookies looked unsafe."
She let out a small squeal as her hand covered his mouth quickly. "Disgusting, swallow for Merlin's sake!"
"Mmph." His eyes narrowed in mock annoyance when she covered his mouth to stop the noise. He knew all the buttons to push to drive her crazier. He chewed once more before swallowing with a small burp following. He smirked to himself. "You told me to chew."
"I didn't know I had to tell you how to eat." She protested as she leaned against the counter, the cold tile sending a shiver through her body.
James chuckled, his eyes wandering over her shivering form. He knew he was getting to her. When she was like this, it was hard not to take advantage. "I know how to eat." He insisted. "I just like to draw it out because I know how much it bothers you."
"You're insufferable." She muttered, pulling out her wand. With a simple movement, the cookies packed themselves away and the kitchen returned to its previously spotless manner.
"I'm insufferable?" He asked, looking absolutely shocked at her audacity. He didn't look as angry as he sounded, if anything it looked like the comment made him smirk more. "That's coming from a woman who thinks that poisoning me is an appropriate way to win an argument." He pointed out casually, leaning fully into the counter and crossing his arms over his chest. "And then just decides to magically-clean-it-up instead of actually apologize?"
"You're not dead, are you?" She questioned before pinching his arm. "You seem pretty alive to me."
James' eyebrows lifted when she pinched him, but then a soft smile appeared as he wrapped a strong arm around her waist, drawing her closer as the other hand landed on the back of her neck. He pulled her fully into his embrace until her body was flush against his. "You're a menace." He teased. "A stubborn, prideful, and adorable little menace."
