Work Text:
Babe looked much like a pumpkin with his oversized sweater. A sudden cold front having him dig out his sweaters and his boyfriend be unamused. Gene liked the aesthetic of fall, not the weather. Gene had stumbled into the house wearing one too many coats from the mild weather. It was even worse when winter came.
Gene had just gotten home from a long shift at work. Barely alive and rummaging for coffee. Babe should have had the day off but he had a shift to cover at the bar. He had wanted to bake cookies and watch hallmarks movie with Gene instead a chunk of his morning would be spent covering a shift.
Another day they would have a whole day having a cozy movie marathon. Gene was huge on cuddling after a long day at work. He hated to leave him home alone when they so rarely had time together. But the extra money would be good for them.
He found Gene asleep at the table next to a cup of coffee and uneaten breakfast. Babe hated to wake him up but he needed to eat. He shook his boyfriend’s shoulder and he got a stink eye. Gene didn’t wake up on days off unless Babe was with him or there was an emergency. He had come to find his boyfriend asleep in the weirdest places. A memorable instance would be the time he had found him lying across the rug having rolled off the couch.
“Babe, did something happen? I thought you were at work already.” Gene asked concern laced through his voice.
“Nothing happened my love. You just fell asleep before eating. You gotta eat you don’t want a repeat of the time you passed out.” Babe replied.
“ You gonna be home at 2 right. I was going to make dinner for you and then we can go to the pumpkin patch tonight. I don’t think I could make it to the restaurant and I am barely going to make it to the photos.”
“ I am going to be home by then and that sounds good. I will see you later, Babe.” Gene told him.
Babe gave him a kiss and got his keys. A mid-week shift would not be too bad and he hoped Lipton was the shift manager instead of Speirs. Speirs always scared away people if they pissed him off. Lipton was easier to deal with but took no shit. Also, Speirs had not forgiven him for giving Luz and Skip candy a few days ago.
Babe walked into the bar and saw Tab’s familiar Hawaiian print shirt. The shift would go by quickly with him. Lipton behind him taking the stock orders. Turns out Smokey had gotten food poisoning. Poor guy and he had to call in. Most people came in for snacks or a few for meetings at this time. He would miss the evening rush coming in by a few hours.
He walked around making sure he got refills and food for those who needed their orders taken. Towards noon he would get the rush and Tab would take over the orders. Babe had become more confident in order taking but felt better behind the bar. He did not like most of the people who came into order food. Most gave servers attitude and he had gone off on a few customers before.
Babe counted down the hours until he could see his boyfriend. Gene had sent him a text of him in a blanket cocoon on the couch. He had apparently listened to Babe’s advice and got some sleep. The last few shifts had taken a toll on his boyfriend and he needed rest. Gene had been on night shifts for the past week. Over the week he had seen him getting worse. His boyfriend a pile of blankets took the cake for the cutest thing he had ever seen. He needed the rest with all the stress his body had taken on.
The shift surprisingly uneventful as he walked back to the shared apartment. His boyfriend had not moved from the couch. He looked less worn but still looking like he needed at least a week of sleep. Babe reached over and gave him a quick kiss. Gene sighed and curled into his blankets more. He would let him sleep until he got the baking done. The more sleep the better.
Slipping on a worn shirt and sweatpants, he padded downstairs to find food for the both of them. Babe slid pumpkin muffins into the oven knowing his boyfriend loved those. Babe had more of a sweet tooth then Gene. But the man loved his fall desserts not that he could fault him. But also he could not outdo Luz and his sweet tooth. Baking was his stress relief and cooking too. The smell of pumpkin in the air as he set the timer as his boyfriend came in for lunch.
Having a nice quiet moment eating late lunch a with him was a ritual when they had the rare day off together. Gene ruffled his hair and sat down next to him. Lunch was a casserole made from early this week. They lived on crockpot meals, casseroles, and one-pot meals with their hectic schedules.
Babe watched Gene drink his tea. It was the only time he pulled out the hot tea otherwise he was glued to the ice tea. He could not pry Gene away from the ice tea especially the sweet tea. He sipped on the tea not much of a tea drinker but he appreciated the comforting warmth from it. Babe also did not like iced tea but he suffered through that when he visited Gene’s family.
They got the muffins out from oven and got the homemade pretzels in. Making snacks for the movie night. He went all out for movie nights with food. Sometimes they would have leftover snacks for the rest of the week. Even passing some of the food off to their friends.
“Are we still watching the hallmark movie marathon?” Gene asked
“Of course we are. Cannot pass it up. It’s fun to analyze them.” Babe said
“ You would be right with that assessment. I’ve been looking forward to this all week. We even got all the good snacks and perfect snogging weather.” Eugene said causing him to blush.
It was no secret Babe loved to cuddle. And his boyfriend could never say no to that. Calming and comforting for Gene to have him that close.
They went into the living room where Babe had carefully laid out the whole buffet of junk food. Babe had gone a bit crazy this time around with how much he had gotten. If they had a lot of leftovers he would give them to the guys at work. Skip and Luz especially would eat all the extra sugar. Which could cause Lipton to have a little too much stress. Those two on sugar could be very entertaining or bad. He did not want Speirs on his ass for the sugar incident.
He shuddered at that and went back to get the blankets out. Speirs could be very nice but his bad side was not something he wanted to be on. They were on good terms right now and he did want to change that by giving Luz access to heaps of sugar. He could cause lots of pranks if that would happen.
Gene wrapped him in a blanket and settled in next to him. Having him by his side felt wonderful and he knew this was the best way to spend the remainder of the shared day off. They rarely got these quiet moments together. Most of their days off were spent with friends or running around for errands.
Now watching cheesy, predictable romance movies they had that. Gene interjecting commentary or arguing with Babe on how bad the movie was. Both like the fall themes for the movies which seemed to be the only thing they could agree on. Their debates ranged from why did they get back together and how does this plot even work.
“Gene did you catch how they met because I cannot understand why she is mad at him,” Babe asked confused with this movie.
“ From what I saw they ran into each other and he is still mad she knocked his coffee on his papers. So this is going to be hate to love story then.” Gene explained.
Babe grabbed more sweets and passed the popcorn over. This one was shaping up to get interesting. The couple would obviously get together after a conflict but it still would be interesting to watch. He leaned on Gene’s shoulder and stole one of the blankets trying to get comfy for what would be a predictable but entertaining movie,
Later they would be going to a pumpkin patch both of them not wanting to sit around. Babe wanted to get couples photos as there were very few of them. He did not like having pictures taken of him. But he could not resist a cheesy fall photo shoot with his love. They had been together for a few years and the fall photo shoot had become a tradition. It had spread to all the other couples they knew too. Luz and Toye going all out with their outfits.
He loved to see all of his friends going to the pumpkin patch enjoying themselves with their partners. Babe could miss more of these cheesy movies for a night of cool fall air, apple cider donuts, and walking around the farm. They would always be on during the holiday seasons.
The movies finally ended and they got dressed up. Rather Gene did as Babe still looked ready for fall weather. Gene wore an oversized flannel over a simple t-shirt. His fall wardrobe basically flannels and shirts. Winter would be a different story as he hated the cold while Babe thrived in the weather. Babe loved oversized sweaters and wore them non stop.
Gene had a smile on his face as they went to the pumpkin patch. He knew Babe loved it so he got excited for it too. The place was not crowded for the time and they took the time to explore. Babe decided to get a few small pumpkins for their porch and apple cider. Gene came back with a variety of jams and canned vegetables. They had tried to do canning but work always got in the way.
They got in line for the photographer and waited for all the couples to get through with their photos as well. Gene held his hand a bit nervous about these photos. Same as every year with him. Babe prefers these photos to the formal couples photos they had gotten the first year they were together.
Babe made him do a cheesy prom pose and a few other silly ones to go with the one serious one. The silly ones were more akin to their relationship. Finally done they waited for the photos to get developed.
They got donuts and decaf coffee. Babe didn’t need the caffeine or he would keep Gene up. That would not be good for his early morning shift. Babe had escaped the morning shift so he could have had the coffee.
Finally, they got the photos as the sun started to set and paint the sky. It had been the perfect day all around even with the surprise shift. Gene had a large smile on his face. Babe felt tired but bursting with happiness. He could not wait for more days like these with him. These are days with nothing but spending time together.