You were definitely rethinking your choice of friends, Tony being the main reason for this. After the Avengers had wandered across a chocolate fudge cake you'd made and tried some, there was a mutual agreement that you were responsible for the desserts for any major festivity or special occasion.
Your family owned a patisserie, and you'd grown up learning how to bake, make the perfect puff pastry, and create savoury and sweet culinary delights.
True, you had kinda thrown the mantle over to your younger sibling, opting instead to serve as a sniper in the army, but you were the proverbial old dog that couldn't be taught new tricks, especially when baking was involved.
Unfortunately, your talent was also your downfall, as you were in the large, modern kitchen in Avengers Tower, trying to make three different desserts.
Festive cinnamon cheesecake, mulled wine and apple turnover, and mint and white chocolate layered sponge. The delicious aromas of Christmas were making the Avengers particularly hungry, and two people decided to 'help', forgetting that their presence made the space considerably smaller.
Of course, it was the Super Soldiers, Bucky and Steve.
"Hey, (Y/N). Everything OK?" Bucky asked, a slightly flirty smile on his face. Unbeknownst to you, both of the Super Soldiers had a rather large crush on you, and because of the old fashioned, social butterflies they were, the best way to tell you how they felt was to help you and keep an eye on you.
"Fine, thanks. OK, here's the dealio. Bucky, taste some of that, see if there's enough cinnamon. Steve, please can you try some of the filling for the turnover?" You rushed out, the presence of both highly attractive soldiers and the stress of doing three different recipes combining to fluster you massively.
"Hell yeah!" Bucky said triumphantly, a joyful gleam in his eyes
"Well, I'm not gonna complain." Steve smiled, nudging you lightly, which in turn made you smile.
Bucky raised an eyebrow at Steve once you'd turned your head. Steve blushed a rosy pink, attempting to appear nonchalant. Bucky began to quake with contained laughter at his obvious, elephantine crush on you.
"Fellas, if you'd kindly stop giggling like girls for two seconds, I'd be mighty grateful." You teased, watching Bucky start to sport a light pink hue and Steve turn salmon pink.
"I'd like to put a couple of slugs through this cheesecake." You stated blandly, eyeing the dessert treat distastefully. Bucky scooped up some of the left over mixture onto his index finger and advanced with an almost deranged grin.
"You dare, you just dare, and I will personally break your legs." You cautioned, backing away from him.
"Looks like I'm not walking for the next six weeks then." He shrugged, applying a large dollop of cheesecake onto your nose. You glared at him before wiping the cheesecake from your nose, smiling slightly as Steve tiptoed up behind him with the flour bowl, any second now about to--
"Gah! Steven Grant Rogers, you idiotic little punk!" Bucky coughed, trying to dust the deluge of white from his clothes and hair. To make it even, you cracked an egg onto Steve's hair, watching his surprised and mildly disgusted facial expressions amidst gales of hysteria.
The two Super Soldiers shared an almost identical look that only meant trouble, before grinning and moving towards you. Realisation dawned on your face as you decrypted their plan.
"No. Nopety nope nope no. No- urgh!" You squealed, as they embraced you in a surprise group hug, simultaneously covering you in flour and egg.
"Yuck, guys." You complained, looking down at your oversized Miami Dolphins sweater, now liberally coated with batter. Sighing, you pulled it off, grateful for the long sleeved pop art shirt you'd decided to wear that day. Apparently, you weren't the only one keen to shed your ingredient caked clothing; Bucky and Steve had decided to take off their jumpers, leaving them only in t shirts.
"Jeez, it's like you two want to contract pneumonia this winter." You shivered, shaking your head at the two.
"Please, like you're not enjoying the view." Bucky teased, making the muscles in his arm ripple, with Steve doing the same. You rolled your eyes, turning towards the stove.
"Ha ha ha." You said drolly, making sure the apple hadn't cooked down to nothing. Two arms wrapped around your waist.
"Ah, don't be a Scrooge, doll."
"Barnes, I'll either end up burning you or myself, neither of which are on the agenda, because stem cell treatment and skin grafts are not fun, trust me."
"(Y/N)? Do you want the cinnamon?" Steve questioned, watching you attempt to reach said spice. Succumbing to defeat, you nodded, once again frustrated with your height, or lack thereof.
Steve got the spice jar down for you, hands muddling as you took it from him, a light pink dusting your faces.
"Note to self: always have tall friends." You joked, trying to alleviate the awkward atmosphere. The oven timer went off, and the sponge cake was done. When everything was done, you did a victory lap of the kitchen, much to the amusement of the two.
"(Y/N)? Since we've been so helpful, can we ask you something?"
"Yeah, shoot, not literally."
"Well, uh, we were wondering, if uh--"
"-- smooth, Rogers. What my dear, socially incapable friend is trying to say is, would you like to go on a date sometime with him? Or me?"
"Sounds great. We need to get ready, guys, so go on. I'll tell you later."
In your room with the door shut, you began to fangirl hard. Now you had possibly the hardest decision in front of you.
Who to choose?
***
So there we go. My great festive masterpiece.
Happy Christmas!
Hope everyone has a fantastic time! Also, nothing vaguely educational for a whole two weeks? Not gonna complain...