Work Text:
24 December, Christmas Eve
T'was the night before Christmas,
When all was quiet and well,
And this story follows,
Two soulmates in a hotel.
Outside the hotel building, snow was falling gently to the ground, covering everything in a white blanket. A silence filled the air, broken only by the occasional chirping of a cricket.
Inside one of the hotel rooms, there was a small plastic tree in a pot. And Tandy Bowen was decorating it with ornaments of all colours and shapes, making sure there was an equal distribution on all sides.
Tandy stopped and took the time to admire her work for a moment, smiling to herself. It was the first Christmas she was celebrating with Tyrone, and she wanted it to be as spectacular as possible. The gift though... Oh boy. Tandy's heart began to beat faster at the thought of giving Tyrone the gift she had picked out for him. A moment of panic washed over her. What if he didn't like it?
No, no. It'll be fine. Tandy tried to silence that nervous voice in her head, despite the increasing anxiety that she felt gnawing away at her insides. All of a sudden, she had felt so nervous. Why? This was her best friend she was thinking about. Of course, she wanted to be more than that-- and after they left New Orleans, she had almost every opportunity to tell him, but the words just wouldn't come out. What if by telling Tyrone how she felt, she'd be losing him forever?
Goddamit, get it together. Tandy cursed at herself inside her head. It was Christmas Eve. She was gonna have a good time with her best friend, and that's all she wanted for now.
As Tandy was hanging up the last of the decorations, she heard the familiar whoosh of a teleporting ability, and knows it's him before she even looks up.
Tyrone Johnson pulled up his hood, revealing his handsome face and a bright smile. Tandy returned his smile and immediately turned away to make sure he couldn't see that she was blushing.
"So did you get everything we need?" Tandy asked without looking up a second time.
"Yeah. Hot chocolate packets, marshmallows, popcorn, a handful of rented movies..." Tyrone said as he placed 2 large bags on the table and started pulling out their contents.
5 minutes later, the two of them were sitting on the king sized bed, sipping hot chocolate, munching popcorn and watching old movies together.
Every once in a while, however, Tandy would turn to Tyrone, just for a brief moment so he wouldn't feel her staring at him, and gaze at his face longingly. Wow, Tandy thought while holding her breath. How does he do it? How does he always make me feel like this?
Maybe it was the way he smiled. The way he laughed. Or maybe it was the fact that whenever she felt like crap, like she'd never be happy again, he'd just put his arms around her and all of a sudden the world made sense again. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she directed her attention back to the movie.
Many hours later, they had finished the last of the movies (as well as the popcorn and the hot chocolate).
"Well," Tyrone said with a shrug and a yawn, "guess it's time to sleep."
"Actually, I was thinking we could..." Tandy stood up, walked over to the TV and pulled out her present from behind it. Tyrone gave a surprised laugh as she sat back down on the bed next to him. "What, now? Can't we do this in the morning?"
"I couldn't wait," Tandy smiled. She practically shoves her gift into his hand, her heart racing as she recited what she was about to tell him about her gift in her head one more time.
"So," Tandy began, "remember the night we first met?" Tyrone took a moment to think about it and chuckled. "Yeah, I think you stole my wallet."
"That's right." Tandy smiled. "And I never gave it back to you, did I?"
"Wait... You mean you're returning my wallet to me?"
"Nope." Tandy tried to stifle a giggle. "After I took all the money out, I threw it down the drain. Don't have the slightest hint where it is now."
Then, as she saw a confused expression come over Tyrone's face, she couldn't help but burst into laughter, further increasing Tyrone's evident confusion as he opened the box. "No...no, Tyrone," Tandy laughed, struggling to regain her composure. "No, it's a NEW wallet. To replace the one I stole from you. It's slightly bigger, it's got more pockets, and it comes with a chain, so nobody can just steal it off you." She winked at him.
"Wow. Wow, it's great, I love it," Tyrone smiled as he held the wallet in his hands before putting it on the table. "And now--" Tyrone said before teleporting away for a split second and then returning with a small box, "--here's yours."
Tandy looked at it for a moment, and slowly took the present. She unwrapped and opens it-- revealing a sparking bracelet inside.
Wow. Just wow.
She slowly looked up at Tyrone, who was smiling hopefully. "Well? I know it's not much, but do you like--"
Tandy wrapped her arms around Tyrone and hugged him tightly. When she finally let go of him, she slipped the bracelet over her hand.
"Thanks, Ty. I love it."
And that's when Tandy knew what she wanted to do next. She wasn't sure if this was the right decision or not, but she didn't care at this point. She cupped Tyrone's face in her hands, and kissed him, keeping her lips firmly pressed to his.
And to her relief and joy, she felt Tyrone's arms wrap themselves around her waist as he kissed her back, pushing her onto the bed gently, yet firmly as their lips remained locked.
25th December, Christmas Day
The sun came shining through the small holes in the curtains, piercing the darkness of the room. Tandy woke first, slowly opening her eyes, finding her arms wrapped around Tyrone's chest and shoulders.
"Psst! Wake up, sleepyhead," Tandy whispered softly in his ear. "It's Christmas."
Tyrone opened his eyes a creak, staring into Tandy's eyes, and put an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him. "Merry Christmas," he smiled at her.
A few moments of silence passed.
"So, you wanna get up and spend some time in the snow?" Tandy offered. "I bet I could kick your ass in a snowball fight."
"Don't be too sure about that, Tandy," Tyrone laughed. "I can teleport, remember?"
Tandy laughed too, and she took a moment to realise how happy she was to be here. With him. Nothing more, nothing less.
"Well..." she murmured, closing her eyes again and pressing her head to Tyrone's chest, "maybe in an hour or two." Tyrone chuckled and ruffled her blonde hair gently in response.
"Sure."