Stephew Oneshots.

Smoke Alarm

 Matthew sat in his recording closet, the script in front of him staring him in the face. It had been an incredible theory to research but it would all go to waste if he didn't present this in the best possible fashion. Of course, he still had to be enigmatic in order to keep the audience's attention but he hoped that they would take something away from this theory. Maybe it would have an impact on them. Whenever he created these kinds of theories, he always wanted his audience to then be able to look at the world of video games in a different light.

Glancing at the time, he sighed – it was 3:30pm. He needed to wrap up this script quickly before the livestream began, although he was sure that the chat would continue to call him LatePat even if he did turn up on time. Several hours had already passed yet he was no closer to finishing this recording. He was meant to send it off to the editors the day before but he wasn't satisfied with the quality. Stephanie had taken on the job of writing the next script for Film Theory whilst he tried to finish the voiceover, despite him protesting that he could handle it. She was very aware of how tight for time they were since VidCon and E3 were infringing on their spare time.

Beep beep beep. Beep beep beep. Beep beep beep.

The incessant beeping was high pitched and repetitive, immediately grating on Matthew's nerves. He sat in his closet for a few moments longer, hoping that Stephanie would turn it off but to no avail. Groaning, he stood up and opened the closet door – quickly saving his work before he left, not wanting a repeat of what had happened in the past. Padding down the stairs in his socked feet, he dodged past Skip who was asleep on the bottom step. Pausing for a second, he gently scratched his cat behind his ears, smiling at his content little face. Skip could be a jerk but he was adorable. The sunlight tended to stream through the window directly onto the bottom of the staircase, meaning that it had become Skip's sleeping spot (despite the fact he had a perfectly good bed). Team Theorist had adapted quickly to the cat's habits, all of them being remarkably capable at avoiding stepping on the cat.

"Stephanie? Why is the smoke alarm going off?"

Rounding the corner into the kitchen, Matthew's mouth stretched into a massive grin at what he saw. His beloved wife, a talented best friend and intelligent woman, was waving a towel at a pile of burnt cookies – desperate to get them to stop smoking. A chuckle escaped his lips as he crossed the room to her side, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close to him. A squeak of surprise escaped her mouth at the show of affection from her husband but she allowed it, one hand resting on his and the other cooling the blackened cookies. Glancing around the kitchen, Matthew noted with amusement that her laptop was on the counter – the script for Film Theory partly finished. As he placed a kiss on the top of her head, Stephanie pouted, slightly annoyed that her cookies were ruined but more annoyed that she could've eaten the cookie dough instead.

"I was trying to make cookies for you as a surprise. I know you've been struggling with that recording and I thought it'd be a nice gesture as well as a nice snack for during the livestream – to make a change from all the disgusting things we eat on a regular basis. Then I got distracted by the script because I was trying to think of a really bad pun to make so I started scrolling through the internet and before I knew it the cookies were burning."

Looking down at his wife with amusement dancing in his eyes, Matthew took in every detail of her beautiful face. Her nose was scrunched slightly at the smell of burnt cookies, causing the dimples on her cheeks to become more prominent. Brown eyes stared up at him with embarrassment flickering through them but as she realised he was staring at her, they flickered away. A blush burned across her cheeks and the back of her neck like a wildfire, causing her to turn from the cookies and bury her face in his chest in an effort to hide it. Chuckling, he ran his fingers through her hair, his heart swelling with love for her. She was perfect for him. Always had been. Yet sometimes it slapped him in the face, reminding him of how lucky he was that she had chosen to be with him.

Stephanie rested her head against Matthew's chest, loving the comfort that he gave her. Her hands rested against his chest, the cookies forgotten. The fabric of his shirt was clutched between her fingers, the burning scent of her cooking intermingling with his smell – a mixture of deodorant, laundry detergent, and smoke. With her eyes closed, she could imagine that they were anywhere in the world. Yet no matter where she envisioned that they could be, she wanted him to be by her side. What was the point of experiencing the world if you couldn't share it with those you loved? Her mind drifted to the day they got married, remembering how they danced together, not caring what others thought of their terrible co-ordination. In that moment, she had rested her head against his chest and just swayed with the music – not wanting her perfect day to end but also eager to start a new adventure by his side. Part of her wanted to do the same but the incessant beeping of the fire alarm wasn't as soothing as the band that played at their wedding.

Hisssss.

The Patrick's squealed with surprise as the sprinkler system above the oven turned on, spraying them both with water. Gasping in shock, Stephanie dived forward and chucked her dish towel on top of her laptop – protecting it from the cascading water. An evil idea popped into Matthew's head as he watched her. He waited until she turned back to face him before lunging forward and hoisting her up over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. A cry of indignation escaped her lips as her husband carried her around but instead of carrying her out of the range of the sprinkler like a gentleman, he deliberately walked under the sprinkler and laughed as she shrieked for him to put her down. They were both drenched by the water but Matthew couldn't stop laughing as his wife squirmed on his shoulder – trying to escape his clutches. For someone who didn't go to the gym for very long, he had a very strong grasp.

"Matthew Robert Patrick put me down right now! Don't make me pour out the Diet Coke!"

Gasping in fake outrage, Matthew swung his wife down from his shoulder and placed her on the now soaked kitchen counter. She smiled smugly at him and leaned forward to kiss his nose, chuckling at the droplets of water that dripped down from his hair. Who needed to shower when you had sprinkler systems? Matthew grinned at her, not caring that they were both drenched or that they hadn't finished their work yet. None of their priorities mattered to him in that moment, all that mattered to him was messing around in the kitchen with his wife. It was moments like these that defined their relationship. Sure, romantic gestures were always nice and they had some great memories from those times but it was these kinds of moments that fuelled their never-ending love for one another.

"You do know the stream is meant to start in five minutes right?"

A cheeky smile was firmly fixed on Stephanie's face, her damp hair sticking to her face. Matthew shrugged in response, leaning down and planting a kiss on her lips – loving the blush that grew on her cheeks. He loved that he still had such an effect on her after all these years. Their college romance that nobody thought would last was stronger than ever and he was damn sure that he would love his wife more and more every day. After all, there were dozens of reasons why he loved her yet he loved finding more reasons. Her smile, her intelligence, her thoughtfulness. Resting his forehead against hers, he muttered:

"They can just blame Jason."

The quiet giggle was all the confirmation he needed and he captured her lips with his own again, the butterflies in his stomach just as powerful as they had been all those years ago.

A/N

A little cute one that I wrote between revision sessions :)

Sorry about the delay between stories, I'm focusing on my exams at the moment. I'm also working on something special with a good friend of mine that you will all hopefully be interested in ;)

Much love,

Caitlin x