Chapter Text
Sterling Wesley was never deeply concerned about her gift giving skills.
There was never an issue finding the perfect gift for anyone she shopped for. Even if it was a random secret Santa present. She always chose the right thing, making sure the gift was a combination of practical, fun, and sentimental. Every holiday, her choices were praised by friends and family alike.
But this year was different.
It was her and April’s first Christmas together as a couple.
They’d already made it through Thanksgiving, combining their families together (minus a jailed John Stevens, thank the lord) and that evening went off without a hitch. April’s mother and Debbie were close before all of the drama, so it wasn’t hard for them to fall back into step. Anderson loved April and treated her like she was one of his own. And Blair, oddly enough, was on her best behavior for most of the evening.
Until Blair decided to jump start Sterling’s anxiety with how important she and April’s first Christmas was. How the first one was always the most memorable and Sterling had to make sure her gift was perfect. There was no room for mistakes.
“I mean, what about a bracelet?” Sterling asked, walking side by side with Blair toward Fellowship. She adjusted the strap of her bag over her shoulder. “She would like that, wouldn’t she?”
“Uh-huh. Sure. Bracelets are cool,” Blair responded absentmindedly as she scrolled through the apps on her phone. “You should do that.”
Sterling furrowed her brow turning her attention slightly to her left. “You’re not even listening to me.”
“Sure, I am,” Blair lied, eyes fixated on her phone screen. She chuckled to herself as she pressed her thumb against the screen to like a meme. “You said something about a necklace.”
“Bracelet.”
“Same difference.”
Sterling exhaled, exasperated as she grabbed her sister’s arm halting both their steps. “You’re supposed to be helping me.”
Blair growled, tossing her head back. “Sterl, whatever you get her she’s going to love.” She slid her phone into her backpack. “You need to relax.”
“Relax? You’re telling me to relax?” Sterling held her hand out toward Blair, disbelief filling her features. “It’s your fault I’m overthinking this in the first place!”
Blair let out an overly dramatic gasp, placing her hand against her chest. “You’re blaming this on me? April is yourgirlfriend. It’s not my fault that she has unreasonable expectations of perfection.”
Sterling opened her mouth to argue but was immediately cut off when Blair raised her hand.
“Speaking of which, I’m not helping with the Fellowship decorations this year.”
“What? Why? You said you would.”
“Do you honestly think I want to be subjected to your girlfriend’s holiday power trip?” Blair snorted, shaking her head. “That’s your turn-on, not mine.” A broad, sarcastic smile filled her face as she reached out and adjusted Sterling’s collar. “I’ll be back to pick you up at six though.” She raised an eyebrow. “Unless you plan on getting in some boning time…”
Sterling grunted, lightly swatting her sister’s hand away. “Fine, but we’re going to the mall later because, regardless of whatever way you try to spin this-“ She pointed a stern finger at her twin. “My Christmas gift panic is your fault.”
“Whatever,” Blair huffed dismissively. She pulled her phone out of her pocket again checking the time. Her brow raised expectantly. “So, six?”
“Yeah, we should be done by then.”
Blair slapped her hand down on Sterling’s shoulder. “Remember, the Christmas lights go on the tree and around the room.” She raised her free hand and narrowed her eyes as she moved her index finger in a circle. “They’re not a substitute for handcuffs or whatever weird things you two do.”
“Blair, for the love of the Lord,” Sterling groaned, pushing her arm away. She pointed toward the double doors leading to the exit. “Just go.”
“Later!” Blair flashed a mischievous grin accompanied by a peace sign before making her way down the hall and out of the double doors.
“So annoying,” Sterling muttered to no one as she half rolled her eyes and continued on her way toward Fellowship…..
*********************************
Preparing for the holidays was always a hectic time for Fellowship.
The year she took over Fellowship, Ellen decided they would dedicate the first day of December to making sure their meeting room was festive and filled with the holiday spirit. She brought out boxes of lights, ornaments, and a large faux tree that stood dead off to the side towering over all of the fixtures inside the space. She happily told the students to “go wild” and give the room the “brightly colored goodness Jesus himself would enjoy!”
Sterling smiled, amused by Ellen’s enthusiasm as she walked further inside the room. She watched as Ellen awkwardly danced around the students working diligently on the tasks April assigned them. Lorna and Franklin hung tinsel and garland in every corner possible. Ezequiel and Hannah B. worked on decorating the Christmas tree and April stood in the center of the room, directing everyone toward accomplishing her vision for the perfect décor.
Looking at her girlfriend, so firmly in her element, filled Sterling with pride. She smiled widely when April swiveled on her heels to finally notice her, a matching smile breaking out on her girlfriend’s cute face, and pride was replaced with something else on Sterling’s. She just couldn't help herself. Even after all these months together, whenever she saw April, her face transformed into that of a dopey, lovesick teenager.
And when April took a couple of quick paces to close the distance, Sterling couldn't help but to bounce excitedly. There were a lot of things she had no control over when April was around, so she leaned forward, eager to greet her girlfriend with a kiss. A perfectly respectable, chaste kiss. No tongue or anything.
So, when instead of being met by soft lips, April unceremoniously shoved a big box into her arms, Sterling couldn't help the disappointed whine that escaped.
"Sterling, I'm so glad to see you. Would you please untangle this box of lights? These... incompetent fools just made it worse. Not even a Girl Scout could name the knots their flawed, oh-so-flawed, attempts resulted in," April grumbled before giving Sterling's cheek a quick peck. "Thanks, sweetheart. I know you'll do better"
With a sigh, Sterling hauled the box over to the tree and sat down next to Ezequiel, a sympathetic look gracing his face as he looked down, noticing her current predicament. "She got you too? Yeah, she's in total Queen B mode today..."
“Be nice, Ezequiel,” Sterling warned as she pulled a jumbled mess of lights from the box. It was like looking at a brightly colored ball of pure disaster.
Ezequiel huffed, pursing his lips. “I was being nice.”
Hannah B. cocked her head as she fiddled with a particularly uncooperative snowman ornament. “Wouldn’t it be Queen A though?” She raised an eyebrow as she hooked the ornament onto the tree. “I mean, her name is April. Not like, Beatrice or something.”
Ezequiel snapped his head in her direction. His brow knitted together tightly in an unexplainable expression. “What? No, the B is not for her first name.”
“Then what’s it for?”
“Are you serious?”
Sterling quietly chuckled at the duo, shaking her head as she returned to the task at hand. April was right. Whoever thought the best idea to untangle the lights was to tangle them even tighter together needed a swift kick to the head. She sighed heavily, dropping the ball of lights onto her lap as she further assessed her options for pulling the strings apart.
“No, Franklin! You can’t put purple with red! Who even brought out purple garland? It’s not a Christmas color!”
The sound of April’s commanding tone made Sterling look up from her messy task. Sterling never missed an opportunity to see April truly take charge of a situation. Even though her stature was small, her presence was huge, and it was one of the things Sterling loved most about her. Her eyes followed every movement April made on her path to correct Franklin’s obvious mistakes.
Franklin pressed his hands into his hips, leaning aggressively toward April, a string of silver garland hanging from his closed fists. “If purple isn't a Christmas color, why do they sell it at the store?”
April closed her eyes taking in a deep calming breath. "They also sell Santa Claus toilet seat covers. It's called capitalism. If you ever opened a textbook you might not be so ignorant." She snatched the garland from his hand and stomped toward a small step stool. “I’ll do it myself.”
Sterling may have lingered a little too long on the flex in April’s calves as she stood on the step stool to hang the garland. She snapped from her daze the moment April stepped down and swallowed to cover the sudden dryness in her throat. She watched as her girlfriend animatedly moved her hands, showing an elaborate picture of what exactly she was looking for.
That’s when Sterling noticed her ring finger. Something was missing. Her purity ring was gone.
She remembered April incessantly turning the band during Thanksgiving dinner, like it was giving her a rash. April talked about how her father made her swear to not give into her own desires, because saving herself was the Christian thing to do. She even hinted at discarding the band and removing the last piece of John Stevens plaguing her life. As much as Sterling knew April loved wearing her rings and her cross, she also hated the constant reminder of her father’s controlling ways.
A realization hit Sterling like a bolt of lightning. The idea for the perfect Christmas gift for the most perfect person in the entire world. Something she would love and would hold better memories than the constricting band of gold John Stevens had placed on her finger. What better way to show April how much she meant to her, how much she would always mean to her, by buying her a new ring.
A promise ring.
The pride in her gift idea lasted a total of ten seconds before Sterling started to listen to a little voice in the back of her mind. The one telling her she, once again, was moving too fast. A promise ring was a commitment which held a place for an even BIGGER commitment. One she knew that she would love to make with April one day, but was unsure if April felt ready for.
If she would ever feel ready for it.
She was powerless to climb out of the rabbit hole her brain sent her down until she felt the warmth of a soft palm press against her cheek. She heard the faint sound of her name being called out. A much softer sound than the tone being hurled at Franklin just moments before. Sterling snapped out of her own thoughts and met the loving blue eyes staring back at her.
“Sterl, I have the utmost faith that you are the only person in this room that’s not going to drive me crazy tonight.” The corner of her mouth tilted upward, and Sterling felt the flutter in her chest her half smile always brought on. “So, please, honey… I need you to focus.”
Sterling nodded almost numbly as she maintained eye contact with the beautiful girl staring back at her. April’s smile spread a little further and she mouthed a small thank you. She glanced around quickly, placing a small, quick kiss against Sterling’s lips. She tried not to whine at the loss of contact but knew there would be more when April touched her chin then tossed her a tiny, adoring wink.
April stood back up, still looking lovingly at a distracted Sterling who pawed uselessly at the insane tangle in her lap. Sterling smiled up at April and was rewarded with a loving touch, April's fingers lightly brushing over her cheek. When April finally turned away, Sterling returned from her stupor and looked down at the ball of lights in front of her with a deep sigh.
If she was going to be spared the wrath of April, she needed to figure this out. If... Yeah, if... If she wanted to be spared. Sterling looked around the Fellowship room, making sure nobody noticed the blush spreading across her face. But all of them were completely preoccupied, trying ridiculously hard to complete whatever task April had set out for them to a satisfactory standard.
She could relate.
Sterling yanked lightly at one piece of a cable that seemed promisingly loose, but instead of coming undone, it snagged and refused to move another inch. Of all the tasks she could've been given, why did it have to be one that seemed impossible? She caught April glancing at her out of the corner of her eye and gave a quick thumbs up before resuming her exploratory tugging.
Not that her mind was really focused on untangling this particular mess, instead it kept returning to the idea of giving April a promise ring for Christmas. A vastly different kind of mess. She could feel her heartbeat pick up as images of sliding a ring on to April's finger flooded her mind and filled her with such warmth and happiness that she thought she might pass out from a heatstroke.
She snapped back to reality when she heard April bark something at the remaining members of The Holy Trinity; April had turned her focus toward Hannah B. and Ezequiel, giving their work a quick once-over. "What's this supposed to be? Is this really all you've done?" April asked through gritted teeth. "I gave you the simple task of decorating the tree. Tinsel. Baubles. Star on top." She shook her head. At least nothing hanging from the tree was made from heavy cardboard.
"I don't get why this is such a big deal," Ezequiel said with a carefree shrug. "Our beautifully decorated tree is not being entered into a tree decoration competition or anything." He tossed some tinsel over his shoulder, glancing back quickly to see it drape itself across at least three branches. "If such a thing even exists."
"I'm sure there's a Netflix show," Hannah B offered, her voice bright and seemingly unconcerned with the darkening expression on April's face. "I was watching Sugar Rush Christmas the other night, and--"
"And this pertains to our discussion how exactly?" April snapped.
"It's, well, it's about Christmassy things," Hannah B said like it was the most obvious thing ever, how sugary confections and trees belonged together as long as it was about Christmas. "And people were being judged, but I'm not sure on what exactly."
"Probably on how fast they could induce a hyperglycemic coma in the judges," Ezequiel said with a snort.
"I don't care," April said, feeling how everything was slipping through her fingers. "This tree will stand here until winter break, and while it won't be the centerpiece it deserves to be, we will make certain it is a tree that lives up to the Willingham standards of excellence."
“Then we need lights. No Christmas tree is complete without lights,” Ezequiel pointed out and turned to his fellow victim. “Don’t you agree, Hannah B?”
She nodded her head vigorously. “Absolutely. A Christmas tree is nothing without twinkling lights. The way they bounce off the ornaments and make them sparkle.”
“See, April, we clearly need the lights. But where are they hiding? I wonder. Sterling, oh, Sterling... how are you doing?” he asked sweetly, a knowing smirk trying to break through.
April looked at Ezequiel, stone-faced. He might have a point, normally. But not only was he trying to get away with a subpar decorating job, but he was also trying to put her girlfriend on the spot. No, that wasn’t happening.
April glanced over at Sterling, still struggling fruitlessly but tirelessly. She couldn’t yell at her. Wouldn’t yell at her. So, she turned back to Ezequiel and Hannah B., giving them the sweetest smile she could manage. “I don’t like how you decorated the tree. Do it again.”
*******************************
Shortly before six, April and Sterling finally walked out the doors of Willingham Academy, arm in arm, Sterling pulling April closer to give her a squeeze. “Thank you for that.”
April laughed softly and gave her girlfriend a shy smile. “I don’t know what you’re talking about”
“With Ezequiel. You didn’t have to do that.”
“He was trying to use you as a pawn against me.”
“Well, you are the Queen B,” Sterling laughed when April gave her a glare. “His words! Guess you showed him in the end. You’re not the kind of player who sacrifices her pawns willy-nilly.”
“Especially not when they’re as adorable as you. I don’t think he’ll try that again anytime soon.”
They reached the parking lot, Blair nowhere to be found yet, so Sterling pulled April around to face her, resting her hands on her girlfriend’s hips. “You didn’t have to make them remove every single piece of decoration and start from scratch.”
“Didn’t I?” April asked with a questioning half-smile playing across her lips, slipping her hands over Sterling’s shoulders.
“Babe, you know I think your commanding presence is hot,” Sterling said, tugging April closer to her, as to accentuate just how much she meant that last word, “but... maybe ease up on Ezequiel and Hannah B. a little. They’re your friends.”
“My ‘commanding presence’ netted us a Christmas tree to be proud of, but I know what you mean. I’ll see what I can do.”
“That’s all I ask.”
“Franklin, though--”
“Got what he deserved,” Sterling agreed with a laugh, leaning down for a kiss.
Of course, that’s when Blair pulled up, tires screeching, doing what many would mistake for a flawless handbrake turn instead of poor driving, ruining the moment. She rolled down the window, making a disgusted face the whole time. "God, you two are gross! Come on, Sterl. Mom said dinner in thirty."
Sterling narrowed her eyes at Blair before returning her attention back to April. “I’ll call you later,” she promised as she leaned down and pressed a long kiss to her waiting lips.
April smiled through the kiss, resting her hand on the nape of Sterling’s neck. She inched back, looking her girlfriend in the eyes. “Love you.”
Sterling’s smile brightened. “Love you more.”
She gave April another quick kiss goodbye then climbed into the passenger seat of the Volt. The wide smile remained on her lips as she watched April walked toward her own car. The shorter girl turned slightly, giving Sterling a small wave followed by a air kiss. Sterling bit her lip trying to suppress her happiness as she turned away and shifted more comfortably in her seat.
Blair made a gagging noise earning a small punch to the arm as they sped out of the parking lot and headed home….