Raspberry Chocolate Souffle

 "Ice Bear needs eggs." Ice Bear blinked once at Grizz and then walked back into the kitchen. The sound of pots and pans banging around followed in his wake.

Shaking his head, Grizz frowned, but called Panda into the living room. "Ice Bear needs eggs," he repeated, looking expectantly at Panda.

"Ooookay?" Panda gave his brother a quizzical look, and glanced down at the phone in his hand when it pinged.

He blushed, and started swyping a response to whoever had sent him a text at speeds that Grizz could never hope to replicate. Eyes locked on his phone, Panda headed back to his room, leaving Grizz to deal with Ice Bear's need for eggs, whatever that meant.

"Uh...knock, knock," Grizz said, popping his head into the kitchen, unsure of what he'd see. The sounds had been getting progressively louder, and, if he was completely honest, Grizz was mildly concerned for his safety.

Ice Bear stood in the middle of the kitchen, apron a mess of what appeared to be streaks of dark chocolate and...blood(?) or maybe some kind of red jam (at least that's what Grizz hoped it was), his chef's hat was askew, and he blinked at Grizz when he spotted him.

"Eggs," he stated, and Grizz felt the fur on the back of his neck rise when Ice Bear took a step toward him, electrical egg beaters whirring on their highest setting, sending some kind of white batter flying everywhere.

"Uh, I'll just, I'll just go and get those eggs for you, how about that? Would that make you happy?" Grizz kept his eyes locked on Ice Bear as he backed out of the kitchen, and out of the house.

He raced to the supermarket, missing his brothers. It was so much easier to walk to the market when he was with Ice Bear and Panda. He'd have to ponder the whys and wherefores of that later; right now he was on a mission, and he feared to think about what would happen if he did not get those eggs to Ice Bear as soon as possible.

He grabbed two dozen eggs, giving them a cursory check to make sure that none of them were cracked. He really did not want to get on Ice Bear's bad side right now. He knew, only all too well, what those egg beaters could do when wielded in anger, or well, when wielded by him, because he had no idea what the heck he was doing with egg beaters on a good day, and he had no business trying to do anything with them on any kind of day, and he was really off on an unnecessary tangent right now, but the line was long, and he was starting to get antsy.

That look on Ice Bear's face, mouth tight, eyes darker than normal, had not been pretty, and he was mildly worried for Panda, off in his own little world of online dating, or whatever it was he'd been doing when he'd blushed and run off to his room. If Ice Bear got desperate, waiting too long for the eggs, what would he do to innocent little Pan Pan?

Grizz bounced in place, impatient to get to the front of the line so that he could buy the eggs, and get home before Ice Bear did something that they'd all regret. He wanted to rant and rave, wanted to scream at the man who dug around in his pocket to make exact change, only to find himself a penny short. He would have given the man the penny, but he switched to credit instead, making the wait completely irrelevant, and making Grizz want to pull out his fur at the roots.

He wanted to redirect the little old lady who had brought seventeen, not fifteen, or under, items into the fifteen items or less line to the correct line, but knew that, right or not, he'd probably be kicked out of the store, and that would mean no eggs for Ice Bear.

So, he waited, and waited, whistled, counted the number of tiles in half of the supermarket, and when it was his turn, and the line was shut down so that the cashier could go on break, he did not lose his cool, or run out of the store with stolen eggs. No, he did not. He calmly walked over to the line he was redirected to, and waited, again, tapping his foot to the catchy music that played over the speakers.

What felt like days later, it was finally his turn, and he smiled at the cashier, offered what pleasantries he could, and realized...too late, that he'd left his money at home.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Grizz was frantic. Ice Bear needed eggs. He needed them, and he had no money. How was he going to get his brother what he needed now?

"Uh, sir, if you don't have money, you're going to have to get out of line. I'll have someone put the eggs back," the cashier said in a bored voice. She didn't look up from filing her nails, and, shoulders hunched, head down, Grizz left the store empty-handed.

Filled with trepidation, Grizz dragged his feet on the way home, wondering what, if anything, he'd be able to tell Ice Bear, and how he was going to face him without the promised eggs. Heart heavy, and mind filled with terrifying scenarios involving electrical egg beaters being wielded in anger and that cleaver that Ice Bear seemed to favor, Grizz reluctantly opened the door, and stepped into the house.

All was quiet. Not a single pot or pan jangled. Grizz detected no electrical whirring, no sound of grumbling. Nothing. It was too quiet, and Grizz feared for Pan Pan.

"Pan?" he asked, voice too quiet to travel past the living room. "Ice?"

There was no answer.

Fearing the worst, Grizz stepped further into the house, willing to take the blame for whatever he saw in the kitchen, or in Panda's room. Even as prepared for travesty as he was, what met his eyes was something of a surprise, and Grizz frowned in disbelief, heart hammering, mouth going dry.

Sat at the table, happy grin in place, was Panda. He had his trademark bib in place, and was feasting on something chocolatey and raspberry filled, his mouth completely covered in the telltale red and brown.

"Ice Bear made souffle," Ice Bear said. He smiled at Grizz, and indicated for him to take a seat.

Confused, and more than just a little worried, Grizz sat, wondering if Ice Bear was going to attack him from behind. He could almost hear the whir of the egg beaters. He felt Ice Bear's shadow fall over him, and closed his eyes.

"Mmm, it's really good," Panda said around a mouthful of food, and Grizz opened his eyes, the scent of raspberry and chocolate filling his nostrils, and making his stomach grumble. "You're gonna love it, Grizz," Panda assured him.

"B...b...but, eggs," Grizz said, looking around the room, trying to figure out if he'd imagined that request, or had misheard Ice Bear entirely.

Ice Bear's cheeks grew pink, and he looked down at his apron. "Ice Bear found eggs hidden behind a box of Popsicles."

Grizz wasn't sure if he should laugh, or cry, or strangle Ice Bear. He opened his mouth, and closed it when the heavenly scent of the souffle made his mouth water.

He took a bite of the souffle, and closed his eyes. It was perfect, and Grizz sank into the chair, savoring the perfectly married tastes of chocolate and raspberry, the hint of vanilla, and what he thought might be a touch of chili pepper.

"Sooooo good, isn't it?" Panda asked.

Grizz could only nod. When he opened his eyes, Ice Bear was watching him, mouth slightly down turned, as though worried. Smiling, Grizz took another bite, and actually moaned. It was that good.

"I'll go back to the supermarket and buy you as many eggs as you want," Grizz said, voice dreamy.

"Wait, you know what we should do? We should get a chicken coop, raise our own eggs," Panda suggested, licking at the corner of his mouth, but not quite catching the last remnants of the chocolate-raspberry mess that he'd made of his mouth.

Ice Bear stepped closer, eyes searching Grizz's, and Grizz's heart raced. He blinked up at Ice Bear who bent closer to him. Instead of backing away, Grizz closed the short distance between them, and when Ice Bear moved, their lips met. A shock, like static electricity, passed between them.

Ice Bear backed up a little, his eyes grew wide, and he said, "Ice Bear noticed chocolate in the corner of your mouth."

Grizz licked his lips, felt Ice Bear's breath ghost across his face. He was only dimly aware that Panda was still talking, planning where to put the chicken coop, and how to go about collecting the eggs, how many chickens to buy. He only had eyes for Ice Bear who'd licked his own lips, and leaned in closer, tongue darting out to lick up the chocolate that had gotten stuck in the corner of Grizz's mouth.

The kiss, when it happened, tasted like chocolate and raspberry at first. The flavors exploded across his tongue, along with something minty and wholly unrelated to the souffle, and Grizz knew that he was tasting Ice Bear.

When they parted, both of them were breathless, and panting, and Panda was staring, wide-eyed, at them, mouth gaping. He was making a long, drawn out sound that he usually reserved for cute koala, or cat videos he saw on the the internet.

Grizz blinked in the bright light of several flashes when Panda finally recovered, and started snapping off photos of the two of them, though Grizz couldn't understand why. Didn't understand why until he turned to look, and found that Ice Bear's cheeks were still pink, and he had an arm draped across Grizz's shoulders, and a besotted look on his face, and a dainty smudge of chocolate that looked a little like a thin mustache.

And, okay, so Grizz would run back to the supermarket and buy every egg in the store right now if it would make Ice Bear happy. But he couldn't do that with the way that Ice Bear was pressed up against his side, humming some kind of tuneless melody, idly playing with the fur on Grizz's arm. And that was okay, too. He was content, Ice Bear was mollified, and blushing, and Panda had a goofy smile on his face, and tears of joy in his eyes.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/7818928