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Language:
English
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Published:
2023-12-05
Words:
1,180
Chapters:
1/1
Comments:
10
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13
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If You Love Someone

Summary:

On a cold winter morning Jon wakes up with a clear mind. In comparison to how his winter mornings used to go, the mornings he has now that Audrey and Shawn are in his life are much more colorful, warm and loving - and noisy, because there are some loud cooking noises going on in his kitchen.

Notes:

(See the end of the work for notes.)

Work Text:

On a cold winter Saturday, the sort in which snow almost looked blue in the shadows and icicles hung from the windowsills, Jon woke up with a clear mind. It was still hazy with sleep like he was disconnected from the world and didn’t have any responsibilities.

That line of thinking immediately shut down because there was no end to his responsibilities as a teacher. He rolled his neck around and heard a concerning popping noise but it sent tingles of relief down his spine. Jon rubbed the sleep from his eyes and breathed out slowly, his breath warm against the cold winter air in the room.

He looked over to the other side of the bed and smiled. Audrey was still fast asleep, a curtain of hair pressed against her cheek and spread out on the pillow like an ocean wave. She breathed evenly, her arms close to her chest and her hands resting on her pillow and she didn’t seem disturbed by the cold because of the copious amount of blankets on the bed. She was mesmerizing, someone to look upon and smile because she just brought that effect in people.

It was through his quiet gazing that Jon noticed Audrey gained a pretty good mess of tangles at the back of her head. He considered using his fingers to coax the tangles apart but didn’t want to risk waking her up. And besides it looked like that particular fight was more suited to a comb and hairbrush.

Jon did lean over to press a kiss to her temple and aside from a sleepy noise Audrey didn’t stir.

It was then that Jon was aware of noises that were starting to come from the kitchen, making Audrey more alert as she asked a mumbled question through her sleepy haze, something that wasn’t quite clear but Jon could figure from context that she was asking what was going on.

“Don’t worry,” Jon said because he had a good idea of who was making a racket like a herd of elephants in the kitchen. “Go back to sleep.”

Evidently that was enough to soothe and coax her back to sleep as she lowered her head back onto the pillow. Jon got up as quietly as he could, grabbing a jacket to put over his pajamas and heading to the kitchen.

By all accounts pointing to a miracle it was relatively clean, just a few specks of pancake powder on the counter. The air smelled of pancakes with the works, eggs already set on the table, bacon and sausage and Shawn was shoving bread into the toaster when he took notice of Jon.

“Morning!” Shawn said all chipper, the kind that only came to the youthful. He piled up two plates with pancakes and sausage, tending to the bacon next.

“Are you kidding me?” Jon asked, though his tone betrayed the half-grin on his face. He shook his head and rested a hand against his hip as he watched Shawn putter about the kitchen. “What do you want?”

“What, can’t a guy do something nice without any strings attached?” Shawn asked in turn. He pointed to the coffeemaker. “Coffee’s ready.”

Jon went to pour himself a cup and sat down at the set table. “Around this time of year kids usually want something and butter their guardians up.”

“Nah, I just wanted to do something nice for you and Audrey.” Shawn jumped back a little because the bacon spat out a few droplets of grease. He placed them onto a plate and gave a smarmy grin to Jon. “But if you insist I do have a Christmas list.”

“I know, Hunter,” Jon said. Shawn brought the plates over and went to fetch the freshly made toast and jar of jam before sitting down. “I appreciate this, so thank you.”

Shawn had already shoved a syrup covered pancake into his mouth. As Jon fixed his plate he briefly wondered about teaching Shawn the importance of using a knife and fork before shaking his head and taking a sip of coffee.

“Where’s Audrey?” Shawn asked when he finally swallowed down the pancake, almost like a seagull. “Kinda doesn’t count that I made you both breakfast if she’s not here.”

Jon ate some pancake and bacon before replying, “She’s still sleeping. Probably wanted to sleep in so I tried to be quiet. She must be pretty tired if she slept through your little circus act.”

Shawn laughed at the quip and changed the subject somewhat. He spoke before finishing off some bacon, “That’s good. You gotta cherish her, that’s how you keep the love alive.”

One thing about being a teacher was being surprised at the wisdom that students could say sometimes. Jon drank some more of his coffee as mulled over those words.

“That’s an astute observation.”

“It is an ingenious one,” Shawn said. He spread some jam on a piece of toast before taking a bite. “I’m full of ‘em.”

“So you do pay attention in English class,” Jon said.

“I have a good teacher,” Shawn said. It easily could’ve been spoken jokingly but there was too much warmth in that sentence for it to be anything but genuine.

Jon smiled as he reached for some of the scrambled eggs. As he put a little more pepper on them he asked, “What are your plans for today?”

“Gonna take your motorcycle out for a spin.” Shawn grinned around a mouthful of toast.

“No.”

Shawn shrugged and then told his real plans for the day: “Me, Cory and Topanga are gonna go to the ice rink. Standing invitation for you and Audrey.”

“Don’t think so, Shawn,” Jon said. “We have work to do.”

“Aw, weren’t ya listening to me when I said you gotta know how to keep the love alive?” Shawn groused. “You can take an hour out of your day. And besides, I bet Audrey is gonna say yes.”

Jon rolled his eyes. When Shawn really wanted to he could coax them to see things his way, it seemed. And besides that Jon and Audrey would be on a one-ticket train to burnout if they didn’t take a break.

“Only because of your eyes,” Jon said. “Those ought to be classified as hypnosis weapons.”

“That a yes?”

“That’s a fine.”

Shawn did a quiet fist pump and then got back to his breakfast with more gusto. It was moments like this that it really iterated to Jon that Shawn was just a kid. Maybe Audrey was always aware of that and that contributed to her being patient and loving with Shawn. God knew that there was no instruction manual for being a parent and if it existed Jon would’ve showed at least five copies into Chet’s hands.

But he wasn’t worth thinking about in this moment. Jon could faintly hear Audrey getting ready for the day, and he smiled at the thought of her being surprised by this breakfast that Shawn made just because he could. All that counted in these laid-back moments was enjoying his time with Shawn and Audrey.

Notes:

Merry Christmas to Mercedes_Aria! 😊

Like many others, the "found family," trope is something I enjoy a lot and it's the same for how I feel when I read about the Autumn in Philadelphia Trilogy. I see this particular fic as something more nebulous to the timeline of the Autumn in Philadelphia Trilogy, like it's just, "Yay! Everything is pretty chill, sweet and fluffy." Which is probably my go-to for writing in general but it is what it is XD But yeah, it was a lot of fun to write and I thank Mercedes_Aria for letting me us Audrey as well :D