It sure did take a while for me to write about Johnny and Candice. I feel like they're my brand at this point lmao

I'm posting this a few days after Christmas, even though this is meant to be a Christmas one-shot. I was busy the days surrounding Christmas as well as the actual holiday itself. But I promised myself when December started that I'd write a holiday one-shot, so here we are.

I named this after Fool's Holiday by All Time Low, but it's not based on it at all. I just liked the name of it for the one-shot + I didn't really know any other Christmas songs to name it after.

So, with that said, I hope you're still in the holiday spirit, because here is a Christmas one-shot. :)

(Oh and requests are still closed)

Fool's Holiday - All Time Low

Candice walked out of the last store she'd be visiting that day.  She had multiple bags in both of her hands, and her next stop was home.

She and Johnny would be going to Cleveland for Christmas, to visit his family, but she wanted to make sure she had all her gifts before ever leaving Orlando.  They had to be wrapped, and labeled, and ready to be torn open by the recipients.

She had left a couple of hours ago, and she hadn't heard from Johnny once.  She didn't want to worry, but normally, he'd at least text her something. 

Candice got to her car, and after putting all her bags in the trunk, she climbed into the front seat, and she pulled out her phone, to call Johnny.

It took a few rings, but he answered.

"Hello?" She assumed he hadn't looked at his caller ID.  He normally knew it was her.

"Hey," She greeted him.

She could hear some shuffling around, and he said, "Oh, hey Candice.  What's up?"

"I'm just getting ready to come home, and I wanted to make sure everything was okay," She replied. "I haven't heard from you all day."

"Oh, yeah, sorry," He apologized, though he sounded distracted. "I've just been busy here at the house, getting things ready for Christmas, you know?"

"Okay..." She wasn't sure she believed him, but she had no idea what her husband was currently up to, so she didn't mention it. "Well, I'm about to leave in a few minutes.  I'll see you soon."

"Sounds good." He paused. "I love you."

She smiled. "I love you, too."

They hung up, and she sighed.  Whatever he was up to, it wasn't all that important.  He made sure to tell her that he loved her, so he wasn't too distracted.  He was probably having trouble wrapping his gifts - she made sure Johnny always wrapped his gifts to her - and was panicking about the lack of time.

Eventually, she started the car and began the drive home.

***

When Candice pulled into the driveway, she was instantly confused.

The windows were open.  Sure, they lived in Florida, but it was December.  The windows should not be open.

She got out of the car, and headed to the back of it.  She grabbed her bags, and she made her way into the house.

She was greeted by a strange smell, but before she could investigate, she went to their bedroom and set her bags down.

Now that she was not bogged down by bags upon bags, she made her way through the house, smelling her way to the kitchen.

And there was Johnny.  The kitchen was a mess, and he was bent over, looking at something in the oven.

As she took in the scene before her, Candice realized that she couldn't figure out what the hell was happening.

"Johnny?"

He straightened up; he hadn't been expecting her.  He turned around to look at her, and smiled, though somewhat nervously.

"Candice!"

"What's going on?" She asked.

The kitchen was her domain.  Sure, it was stereotypical for the woman to cook, but she loved to cook and bake.  She knew where everything went and she made sure it was nice and organized.  Johnny cooked sometimes, but he normally left most things to Candice, simply because it made her happy.

Right now, though, it looked like Johnny had opened every single cabinet and drawer, and multiple things were strewn across the counter.  Some of those things probably weren't even used.

"Well..."

"Don't even think about lying because you have ruined my happy place," She warned him.

He held up a finger, signaling for her to wait a minute.  He turned around, opened the oven, and pulled out a cookie sheet with... something on it.  Candice thought they might be cookies.

"I was making these," He said, setting the cookie sheet down on the counter that separated the two of them.

"It took you that long to make cookies?" She asked.

He shrugged. "Yeah."

"Why did you make cookies?"

"It was supposed to be a present, a surprise," He explained. "You're always wrestling or cooking, there's no in between.  I wanted to try making the Christmas cookies this year, so that you didn't have to.  And... it took multiple tries."

Candice couldn't stop herself from smiling. "Why did it take so many tries?"

"The first time, I tried following a recipe I found online," He told her. "But there was something wrong with it, because they didn't turn out right.  So, the second batch, I tried finding one of your recipes, and I found one, but..."

"But what?"

"I got distracted, and I burned them," He confessed. "The whole kitchen was filled with smoke; I had to open all the windows to air the house out." He looked down at the cookies in front of him. "This was the third try.  They don't look so good right now, but once I decorate them, hopefully they'll look nice."

"Oh my god."

"What?"

"Johnny, my three favorite things in life are cooking, wrestling, and you.  I get that you were trying to do something sweet - which, it is sweet, and a nice surprise - but the kitchen is my safe space.  I love it," Candice explained. "If you want, we can make Christmas cookies together next year, and the year after, and forever and ever."

"Yeah, okay." He nodded. "Letting me be in the kitchen by myself was a mistake."

"Hey, these don't look so bad," She said, looking down at the cookies.

"But the mess..."

"I'm trying not to think about it," She told him. "Don't mention it."

"Oh, okay."

She reached down and picked up a cookie.  She wasn't sure what shape it was supposed to be, but it was sort of round.  It wasn't hot, but it was nice and warm.

She took a bite...

...and scrunched up her nose.

"Did you put any sugar in these?"

Johnny looked off in the distance, just completely emotionless.  After a few moments, he looked back at her.

All he said was, "I'm not making a fourth batch."

---

"Do not open 'til you've got forever to spend with me on a fool's holiday."