Pricingham One Shots!

Peppermint

Arnold struggled to open his eyes, wincing in pain when the bright morning light shone directly into them. With an exaggerated yawn, Arnold stretched out his legs, accidentally kicking Kevin's shins. That garnered a sleepy grunt from the taller man, but he did not wake up. Instead, he simply tightened his grip on Arnold's waist and laid his chin on Arnold's shoulder.

This was Arnold's favorite time of the day, and being hugged like this made him feel so warm and needed. It was a joyous feeling. Though, it did seem a bit strange that he was the one who was awake first. Kevin was a very punctual man, and whenever Arnold stayed at his place, Kevin was always the first one awake.

He felt Kevin's hot breath on his neck, and felt so completely content when he heard the other man hum sleepily. It was when Kevin intertwined their legs that Arnold was faced with a tough decision: spend the rest of the morning cuddling with Kevin, or wake up and make him something special?

It was a terribly hard choice to have to make, and with every passing moment he seemed to be won over by the prospect of cuddling with a sleepy Kevin. When he was awake, Kevin did not appreciate much physical contact, but, when he was tired, he became a very cuddly person.

What a treasure-!

But, Arnold also did figure that, perhaps, if he did something nice for Kevin in the morning, he'd be cuddly all day. That's what he hoped for, anyways.

Being careful not to wake him, Arnold slowly slid out of bed, at a snail's pace. His heart nearly stopped, however, when Kevin grasped his hand lazily, giving out a tired grunt. Kevin's eyes gradually fluttered open when Arnold attempted to disconnect their hands, and he squinted against the harsh sunlight to look up at him.

"Uhhhhhm, good morning buddy-!" Arnold whisper-shouted, accepting the fact that he'd already ruined his surprise as he leaned over and picked up his glasses from the bedside table.

Sitting up, with great effort, Kevin ran a hand through his hair, gazing at him sleepily through half-lidded eyes. Such a sight to see-!

"Mmph...Good morning, dear."

Arnold leaned forward and placed a hand on Kevin's chest, pushing back slightly.

"How about you just....go back to sleep for a minute? I'll be back in a jiffy!" Before he could dart off for the kitchen, Kevin gripped the hand that was on his chest and stared back at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Arnold, what are you going to do?"

"Heh, something you'll like?"

"Mmph." Kevin chuckled with a roll of his eyes. He tapped the back of Arnold's hand gently and smiled at him groggily.

Hurrying out of the room as soon as he could, he slid down the hall into the kitchen, almost crashing into a countertop.

"What does Kevin like, what does Kevin like, what does Kevin like???" He whisper-chanted to himself as he searched through the cabinets aggressively. His hands soon landed on a container of instant coffee, and he pulled it out excitedly. "Kevin loves coffee! ...What else does he like?"

---

Kevin yawned loudly before pulling the blankets back over himself; they were so warm and encompassing, somewhat akin to Arnold. It was a marvelous feeling, to be cared about in such a way. Although most of Arnold's attempts at loving acts failed, in the traditional sense, they simultaneously won Kevin over, filling him with the warmest of sensations. He had a very certain charm to him, a quirky, fabulous charm that Kevin adored oh-so-dearly. Just even being allowed to call him 'dear' was wonderful in and of itself.

And to think that he could love an egotistical brat like Kevin....It was astounding! Every day he found himself in Arnold's arms, he could feel nothing but grateful. Mornings like this are what he lived for, what he strived for. But, he couldn't help but feel a tad bit jealous. Of course he did! Why couldn't he ever feel content? He was so greedy, it disgusted him.

Being in a relationship with Arnold meant that he had to put aside jealousy for most of the time, since Arnold was also with Nabulungi, but, Kevin wasn't nearly that perfect. He knew it would take a long while for him to accept that, and, it had been a 'long while'. Not to get him wrong, Kevin absolutely adored Nabulungi, she was great, but, it was hard not to be envious of her.

It wasn't often that him and Arnold got to spend mornings like this together, because Arnold lived in a shared apartment with Nabulungi. Those two got to share mornings like this all the time, and yet, Kevin could count these mornings on his fingers. Well, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration, but still-!

Kevin wished that the three of them could share an apartment, but, he was a bit conflicted about sleeping spaces. He felt too uncomfortable to share a bed with both Nabulungi and Arnold, but he would feel terribly rude if he made her sleep somewhere else....He thought about this a lot, but, he truly did want to spend more time with Arnold, at least more time than he was currently getting.

"Wakey-wakey!! I brought you food~!" Arnold sang as he practically kicked down the door. Kevin yelped quickly, being roughly pulled from his thoughts. But, he soon recovered and smiled lovingly up at him. "I hope you like it, best friend!" Arnold cheered as he handed him the tray of food.

"Do you think that, y'know, since we've been together for two years, you could maybe call me something other than 'best friend'?" Kevin asked in a joking tone, although he was completely serious.

Arnold leaped into the bed next to him, nearly knocking the tray out of his boyfriend's hands. "Like what? Like 'honey', or 'cupcake', or 'pumpkin', or 'kitten', or what? Those don't seem to fit you. I think....Peppermint! Yeah, 'peppermint' fits you! You're sharp, and quick witted, and fresh, and crisp, and you kinda remind me of Christmas because you look like one of those perfect choir boys who sings those Christmas songs, y'know? And because you always give me that fun, giddy feeling that Christmas always does! Oh! And your breath is always so fresh, like peppermint! Well, it doesn't actually taste fully like mint. It's like a combo of coffee and mint...Like a peppermint mocha!! That's another thing I like about Christmas: peppermint mochas! I actually don't like coffee that much but-" Arnold paused, however, when he noticed the expression on Kevin's face.

His nose was scrunched up, but not in the good way. You see, when Kevin laughed, his nose would always scrunch up, and he'd look so adorable and perfect and- Well, this was not one of those times. He was making a face like he had just smelled something rancid, and his eyebrow raised in that way it always did when he wasn't perfectly happy.

Arnold noticed those things, albeit a tad bit childishly, but still, it's the thought that counts.

"Uhm, are you okay Kev?" He asked a bit warily. He followed Kevin's gaze down to the bowl that was in front of him. It was a bowl of cereal, but instead of using milk, Arnold had used coffee - a marvel idea, right? He couldn't have thought of anything better if he'd tried. He scooched a bit closer, their hips bumping together, almost tipping over the bowl for the second time. "Do you not like it or something?"

A second passed before Kevin turned and beamed brightly at him, erasing all of his fears. "No, I love it!" If Arnold had been astute, he would've noticed that Kevin was obviously lying (he's a terrible liar) to make him feel better. But, perhaps it's best that he didn't. Kevin leaned over and kissed him tenderly before patting him gently on the back. "Thanks sweetie."

When he did things like that, staring at him with such an earnest look, he swept Arnold off of his feet, stealing away his breath with ease. God, how he loved him-!

"No problem, Peppermint."