A cabin of cedar and pine stood as a beacon of warmth among blankets of snow in the shade of the evergreen trees. The wooden awning overtop the front door was lined with Christmas lights, twinkling as they remained unperturbed by the wind. The interior lights shined and illuminated the outside furniture and the pathway stones that were barely peeking out from freshly shoveled snow.

A gruff older man walked up the front steps, setting a snow shovel off to the side as he opened the front door. He was covered in powder from the snowflakes floating down from the pine needles and he shook it off like a dog would water. He pulled off his knit gloves. Red calloused hands showed just how soaked the articles were before he moved to pull off his stocking cap and unravel the scarf tucked into his jacket and nestled tightly to his nose.

The pitter-patter of steps came from the creaky wooden boards above as a small set of feet ran down the stairs. A horned head with pie-cut eyes and a huge grin greeted the man as the toon ran over, tugging on the hem of the older man's coat. He chuckled. "Give me a minute, Bendy, just hold on." He moved, shrugging the coat off as the little toon took it.

The little devil seemed to have found an old sweater lying about the cabin, hand stitched and clearly too big for him. It draped almost below his knees in length, and the sleeves were falling over his hands and dragging across the floor. Despite this he was still able to take the man's jacket, fiddling with the scrawled out mark on the cleaning tag labeled 'Henry' before doing his best to shake it out and run it over to the coat rack. A couple of steps up on a chair and the little toon was able to toss it onto the hook. He hopped down, peering up at Henry as he finished putting everything else off to the side. His nose was red and his eyes squinted slightly as he smiled. "I see you're able to get around more easily."

Bendy nodded, tugging on the man's free hand. He frowned for a moment, feeling the cold radiating from it and he stared as his brows furrowed, changing his mind seemingly mid tug as he went from pulling Henry towards the stairs to dragging him towards the fire instead. He laughed, letting the toon tug him along. "I'm not that cold - I was prepared!" he insisted but Bendy wasn't completely buying it, pulling the man by the fire before throwing a blanket at him. He kept laughing, moving the blanket around his shoulders before his eyes caught sight of the pine tree on the far side of the room.

The tree was decorated with a variety of ornaments. Metallic orbs caught the light and seemed to sparkle with it. There were a couple of simple stuffed dolls with halos and wings. Those were sprinkled about in good number and Henry could feel a small twinge in his chest at what they meant. Tinsel was sprinkled around the needles as it seemed to reach for the top of the tree - unadorned, as it was.

Bendy followed his gaze, almost jumping as he rushed to the tree and quickly began to set aside the broken pieces of ornaments and the clumps of tinsel that had seemingly missed their mark. He turned and gave Henry a sheepish grin. Henry hadn't even noticed the mess until the toon had drawn attention to it and he shook his head with a bemused smile. He wrapped the blanket around himself tightly, looking between the couch and the rocking chair as if pondering where he might want to relax before he felt another tug, this time from the end of the blanket.

Bendy's grin was broad but shaky as he held up a five pointed star. His feet seemed to toe at the ground as he pointed back at the tree.

Realization dawned on Henry then and he patted the toon's head, a gentle rub between the horns as Bendy relaxed. "Need help there, kiddo?"

He nodded, skipping towards the tree as Henry followed. He hoisted Bendy into the air with a single huff, moving him close enough to the tree to be able to top it with the star. It was a simple thing - metallic and gold and practically made of glued together, crumpled ole aluminum but it still made a good topper. He set the toon down, who beamed and looked to the star, a single gloved hand gripping the edge of the blanket as he stood by the old animator.

Yeah, it was a nice tree. Henry paused in his thoughts, once again remembering the couch and the chair before another idea came to mind. He started walking, Bendys grip slipping from the blanket as he moved. "It's cold in here, ain't it? I got an idea to get us both warmed up." Bendy's head tilted, curious as he followed Henry out into the tightly knit kitchen. He hopped up onto one of the chairs, standing as his hands rested on the table - his body waist height to the edge. He watched the human meander about the cabinets as he grabbed a couple of mugs and placed a pot on the stove. A jug of milk was taken out of the refrigerator and poured into the pot as the heat was turned on. It was only when the chocolate was taken out of the sideboard cabinet that the toon's curiosity got the better of him and he smacked the table to get the man's attention. His hands went by in a wave, a question flitting about as his fingers moved in sign and Henry placed a finger to his lips in a motion for silence. "You'll see."

Chocolate was grated into fine bits and set off to the side. Mini marshmallows were grabbed in fist fulls out of plastic before being sprinkled into a bowl. An old wooden spoon was taken from its holder on the counter before being dipped into the milk with slow stirring motions. Every once in awhile Henry would lift a bit of milk to taste, humming as he did so before the temperature was just right and he put the chocolate in, stirring some more as the milk darkened and browned. Bendy tried his best to peak from the table but couldn't see much more than the small plumes of steam as they rose up from the pot.

Henry turned the heat off with a click he moved to pour the drink into the mugs. Some of it spilled across the counter and the toon sprung into action, jumping down from his chair and running to grab a towel before handing it off to the animator. Henry thanked him as he cleaned the spills up. Soon after the mugs were moved to the table and Bendy hopped back up into his chair, staring at the cup that was slid over to him. The scent wafted with the vapor and the devil watched as the man slid a chair out to sit down and plop a few sticky marshmallows into his own cup.

The man took a sip and contently closed his eyes. It took a moment for them to peak back open, brow raising at the toon that only seemed to be staring at him as if he'd grown an extra head. "Well?" He spoke, a lilt to his voice as he slid the bowl of marshmallows over and motioned towards the drink.

Bendy frowned, looking towards the mug with furrowed brows as he picked it up with oversized mits. He watched what looked like white foam swirl atop the mixture before pressing it hesitantly to his lips and taking a sip.

A warm sweet sensation washed over him and he let it sit for a bit before swallowing it. He felt tingly and the warmth that spread from the base of his fingers down his arms and radiated out from his belly seemed to agree with the pleasantness of the drink. He beamed and Henry chuckled, taking another sip of the cocoa. "Thought you'd like it. It's hot chocolate."

Bendy seemed to take this in for a moment, looking down towards the mixture as he took another sip. It was only after he had swallowed this bit that he had looked to the balls of sugary fluff still on the table and decided to plop some in. The spoon sitting in the glass suddenly seemed to make sense, and he spun it, watching as some of the marshmallows would duck under the liquid before popping back up, drizzled in milky chocolate. He even watched as Henry seemed to scoop up some of the cocoa in the spoon and pour it over the sugary floats before he did the same. They squished and puffed in his mouth with the taste of cocoa. It was nice.

The afternoon passed by in warmth as the fire was stoked and the days chores tackled. Dusting and cleaning among other tasks and Bendy helped too - taking a feather duster as he went around the very bottoms of book shelves and chairs. He even managed to disturb a mouse before Henry got them to go upstairs to dust instead.

Henry moved around boxes, setting them aside in the storage space as Bendy freely explored the one room he had yet to be in since they'd gotten to the little cabin. Looting through boxes but always picking items up gently, inspecting them before putting them just as they were. He even found a teddy bear, so dusty that a puff of the specks came flying out and he tilted his head, wiping the bear off before setting him on top of another box just above his head. He leaned up on tip-toes, patting the stuffed animal between the ears before he kept looking around through the boxes. His hand brushed against something and he looked more closely before grinning.

Henry was stacking another box up to deal with later. He swiped a hand across his brow - his aching body a sour reminder of just how old he was getting as he felt a tug. He looked down.

Bendy was still wearing the same sweater he had on before but this time he was wearing more. A pink hat, frilled with white feathers sat on his horns and covered up one of his eyes. He also had on an apron not made for his frame - the white material was splotched with different shades of color, worn and used. The neck loop hung around a shoulder, big enough for his head to fit through but not small enough to stay on his body. The rest of the apron was dragging across the floor and the toon had to be careful not to step on it. He raised up his arms, sweater covered hands clasping the ends of the apron that should have been tied around his waist.

Henry's heart swelled, and not just from Bendy standing on his tiptoes, hands reaching upward as far as he could stretch. The little toon was practically playing dress up with the old articles that had been lying around for years untouched. Seeing them being used again after all this time was a little bit nostalgic and he bent down, picking the little devil darling up in his arms. "Having fun?" The toon nodded vigorously while Henry just raised a brow. "You sure you want that hat?"

Bendy almost seemed to huff, cheeks puffing out before he adjusted the frilly thing on his head, tilting it back to a more acceptable angle with the aprons ties still flopping around in his hands. He grinned triumphantly, hands on his hips as the hat fell back down over his eye and Henry laughed. "Fair enough," He spoke, carrying the toon out of the room. "But if you want an apron we might have to get you a different one, that one definitely doesn't fit."

If they noticed the blue of the sky turning to fuschia neither mentioned it. They were once again back in the kitchen, the smell of tomatoes made their way around as Bendy stirred the soup. It wasn't bacon soup - the toon couldn't even find any bacon in the fridge, much to his own dismay, but Henry had promised that this new combination was just as good. He did his best to believe him but he couldn't help the skepticism he sent through his eyes whenever he glanced at the man beside him.

Bread and cheese in a pan with a little bit of butter coating the outside edges, a sandwich if Bendy ever saw one. But he wasn't sure why it'd go well with tomato soup, much less why you'd put it in a pan.

Somedays he wished the studio had had more promotional food items.

The table was set and the water was poured - cheese melty and hot poured out between toasted slices of bread as Henry cut the sandwiches in half. Bendy rested his head on the table, watching as pickles were sliced and placed around the edges of the plate as a decoration before it was set in front of him along with a small bowl of the tomato soup. It certainly smelled nice if Bendy could say anything about it at all and he pulled his sweaters sleeves back, the excess material bunching up at his elbows as he picked up a sandwich half and dropped it back down onto the plate in the next instance.

"Careful, it's hot!" Henry smiled, blowing on his own sandwich before tentatively picking it up. Bendy watched as Henry dipped it into the soup, letting the excess dribble back into the bowl before taking a bite of the meal. The old animator knew he was being watched, for even with his eyes closed he gave a content hum and touched his middle finger to his thumb. "It's great," He spoke, mouth full and he swallowed. "Try it. Grilled cheese is great with tomato soup."

Bendy looked down, blowing on the grilled cheese before he picked it up - just as slowly and delicately as Henry had. His head turned as he dipped it into the soup, raising it as he watched the droplets plop back into the bowl before doing it again and raising it to his mouth. He bit into it, cheese hot but less so then it was as it melted and flowed with the creamy soup. He swallowed, his mouth feeling oily and he wiped his mouth on the back of his gloves before dipping the entire sandwich in the soup up to his fingertips. Henry only smiled as he watched, the toon eating one half and then the next and then holding up a half of a pickle as it flopped over and touched the back of the little demons hand. He looked at it, looking to the soup and before Henry could tell him no he dipped it in and ate it like that as well, unperturbed and Henry laughed. "Well, that's one way to eat a pickle." He hummed, looking at the remaining slice of dill on his own plate before trying what Bendy had done. Strange, but not bad. Bendy beamed.

The stars were just beginning to come out when they found themselves wrapped up next to the fire. Henry had managed to find a comfortable enough position by the flames and between him and Bendy was a box of graham crackers, a bag full of (bigger) marshmallows and a couple bars of chocolate. Metal prods usually used to stoke the fire were being used as roasters instead, and Bendy watched as the flames lapped up and made the marshmallows puff up more and more. He took his out of the flames when it caught on fire, however, and the ink running down his brow signalled his panic even as Henry leaned over and blew out the flame. The smell of carbon made Bendy's face scrunch up and Henry laughed. "Still edible," He commented mid bite on a marshmallow as he stuck another one on the prod and shrouded it in the flames. Bendy watched as it also caught on fire but Henry let it go like that, letting it get a nice coat of charcoal before blowing it out. "You ever made smores before?"

Bendy shook his head, poking at his own marshmallow as it stretched and dripped onto the floor and stuck more readily to his fingers. Henry smiled, eyes crinkling. "Here, let me show you. They're really good I promise." A graham cracker was fitted with two little rectangles of chocolate, fitted then with the charcoal-mallow before being squeezed in between another cracker. The melty goo overflowed off the edges and Henry licked his fingers of the excess before taking a messy crunch out of the s'more. Marshmallow stuck to teeth, the cracker becoming harder to hold onto as a couple of pieces fell to the floor and he pulled it away, chewing. Bendy almost seemed to laugh himself though no noise came out and he quickly moved to do the same thing Henry had.

He was beginning to think sweets might be his new favorite kind of food. With company, anyway.

It was late as the stars fully took over the night sky that Henry had finally fallen asleep. He was tucked in, courtesy of the little darling devil himself as the toon rested against the cold window, sitting on the sill with another hot cup of cocoa (he'd insisted). A knit beanie was pulled over his horns, the tips only slightly poking out at the top and he had the oversized sweater pulled over his knees to the cuffs of his shoes. His feet slid a bit as he adjusted them, and he let his face rest against the cool glass, the contrast between the cold and the heat radiating from his hands soothing in its own way. A couple of white streaks flew by in the sky, drawing the attention of pie cut eyes as he watched the specks sparkle.

He breathed against the glass, a puff of condensation wafting over it as he thought back to the pools of ink. How under the dim lighting it too sparkled and flowed…

But even as he thought about it, it no longer scared him - not up here. Not where the sun would rise and warm his skin, even if the night turned into something similar to what he had been through it was always infinitely better. The moon was a beacon - a beacon of hope - and it always signalled that the sun was still there, even as it floated among the murky darkness.

Murky darkness that had shades, that had color, and that could no longer hold him down to the Ink machine, hold any of them down to the Ink machine. To a sickening game that none of them wanted to play.

He breathed in and out. He thought about blankets of snow as they were in daylight - so bright and more white then he'd ever seen in his life. He thought of the even smaller bright white rabbits, hopping to and fro in fluff and mush as they skittered along the snow drifts. He thought of Henry, safe and sound who started to snore on his place on the couch and he shook in a giggle that would never sound out from his core. Hot cocoa was wrapped in hands that radiated the coldness of ink, of ink that enjoyed warmth, and he closed his eyes. The window fogged up with each exhale, and dripped with the steam wafting up from the mug.

He never even realized that it had been Christmas eve as the jingling of bells drifted him off to sleep.

A/N: I'll provide a link to the HEA!AU (Happily Ever After Reel) on my profile for anyone interested. It's an adorable AU full of fluffy goodness where Bendy, Henry, Allison and Tom all get to be happy. I had finished writing this around the time they had started posting their own Christmas story, and I held onto this to edit it a bit more (and I'd be lying if I said I didn't get cold feet for awhile there) before just now posting it up. Merry Belated Christmas everyone and Happy New Year!

I know this entire story is pretty much just eating food but all these foods are ones I have fond memories of, in one way or another. I hope I made them seem cozy enough.

This is probably the first fic I've written where I hadn't had a name for it by the time I was done writing it. Usually that's one of the first things I come up with, but this one didn't come until my glorious friend and editor Eggu supreme recommended 'Kindle for the Heart' and I rolled with it from there. Thanks Egg!

I do have an outline for a second chapter sitting in my docs. I want to write it out, but if it's not up by the end of January I might never get to it. I'll try.