sweetened smell (Ghostbusters)

[ecto_one_spengler]

Theme Prompt: Prompt #252 - Midnight Snack

Title: sweetened smell

Fandom: The Real Ghostbusters (+movie canon AU)

Rating/Warnings: PG, but has a discussion of periods as well as light spoilers for Ghostbusters: The Video Game (2009) and Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
Bonus: Yes

Word Count: 904

Summary: Egon ends up waking in the middle of the night to someone's late-night baking.

Author's Note: A nightmare to format, but a delight to write. This happened because I wanted muffins and I can't make any right now at home. :(

--

He groans as a light shines from the second floor through the open firepole staircase near the barracks, cursing his headache for everything he's got. Egon at first suspects the bed next to him - but its occupant, Peter, is still asleep, snoring faintly while unaware of Slimer. Then the scientist drowsily suspects his partner Ray, but Ray is still asleep in his own bed as well, curled against a stuffie resembling Egon himself as well as another resembling Dopey Dog.

That just leaves the couch-bed, which is empty. He huffs and slips out of bed, and by this moment, Egon begins to smell something incredibly sweet close by, reminding him that his daughter has inherited his sweet tooth. This time, he thinks her project must be muffins - it’s her go-to when she’s stressed over something, and it’s more complicated than Peter’s preference of microwave hot cocoa and Ray’s tendency to go to their shared candy storage.

Plodding carefully to the second floor, Egon now can parse what exactly Callie is doing, hearing her struggle to keep her actions quiet. Judging by the noise he can hear, she’s likely on the last mixing stage, the oven faintly going as it preheats to the temperature of choice. She’s tied up her hair, and dressed in her usual nightclothes, though she’s nicked Peter’s apron and Ray’s bunny slippers - presumably to attempt to hide her mess and steps a little easier given she doesn’t wear her ballet shoes at night anymore since the time she had to exorcise Walter Peck.

(To some degree, if I'd not been stressed up to his ears with stopping Ivo Shandor, I would have laughed at the time at Peck passed out on his stomach.)

But something else happens that clues him in on why Callie is awake - she winces slightly when she bumps into the counter, holding her midsection.

(..oh dear.)

Egon sneaks back upstairs for the Midol Peter asked him to buy, once again silently thanking his sardonic friend for the heads-up, and then he comes back down a little louder, to show Callie he is awake. The blonde-headed Spengler quietly yelps and turns around, her eyes wide.

“..Dad? What’re you doing awake?” she whispers, hiding the mixing bowl full of batter behind her back.

“I’d ask you the same, Calliope. What do you think you’re doing?” Egon replies, slightly sterner than he normally would speak. Callie lowers her head, scratching the back of her neck and clearly trying not to drop her bowl.

“I just got hungry?” She shrugs, and Egon amends his assessment (Peter, you really ought to stop teaching my daughter how to lie.) before he walks over, peeking over to find one of his fellow Ghostbusters’ stack of notecards, with Peter’s recipe for chocolate chip and butterscotch muffins written hastily down on one. He just side-eyes Callie, still crossing his arms. She slumps, and turns around again, putting the bowl back down. “...okay, I can’t sleep. Uncle Venkman said chocolate helps a little.”

(I suppose that’s true - with your preference for dark chocolate, over milk chocolate like myself.) Egon nods carefully, and glancing at the nearby wall clock, he looks toward his daughter once more, frowning. “It can be helpful, but three in the morning isn’t really optimal for baking. You know how Venkman likes his beauty sleep.”

Callie rolls her eyes, and just as quietly as before, she scoops out around twelve small muffins, just enough dough, and Egon catches the slight scent of oats (of all things). Maybe a personal addition from Callie, who leans against the oven door with some exhaustion in her eyes after putting the muffins inside.

“I know, but.. It hurts and I feel tired and gross. I hate thinking about this stuff..”

“It’s normal for you, Callie. The most one can do is to mitigate the pain and maintain blood sugars until it ceases.” Egon hands the medicine over to his daughter, and she goes ahead and takes a dosage with the water she has on the counter, wincing a couple times. “I know you haven’t exactly been the biggest fan of this since you turned twelve, but it will pass.”

“..thank you,” she mumbles, shutting her eyes. “Dad, can I sleep out in the rec room? I wanna see that tape of Destroy All Monsters before you have to mail it back.”

“I’m sure the others wouldn’t mind. I’ll stay out here to mind the oven incase you do fall asleep.” He nods, and Callie goes into the rec room, shortly followed by the noise of the VHS machine. Egon waits.. and waits.. and his legs start to ache from the most recent bust again by the time 24 minutes have passed, so he removes the muffins. (..they’re done, for sure. I swear, if Slimer decides to eat these ones, I will deatomize him.)

Next, he checks on Callie - she’s fallen asleep again, so he places a note on the throw pillow her head’s on, while also putting a blanket over her so the February chill doesn’t get to her too bad. Once again minding the muffins, they’re just about cool enough that he can remove them from the tin.. And he quietly tries one, finding it pleasantly warm and sweet and bitter, much like the kid who made it. He puts up the rest in one of Janine’s tupperwares, and quietly sneaks back upstairs, leaving Callie in peace.