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It had been Lydia’s suggestion in the first place, stated at the beginning of a pack meeting almost right after Thanksgiving, and it had caught everyone’s attention despite the fact that they were all still talking.
Lydia was a little frightening like that…
"I think we should do a Secret Santa this year."
The conversations stop and nearly everyone turns to her, Scott looking around before stating timidly, “Uhm, Lydia? It’s the middle of November…”
"Yes, Scott, I’m well aware," Lydia responds, giving him a smile that makes the "One True Alpha" cower back a little, no one laughing at him being intimidated by the smaller female. "I’m honestly a little worried that you’re not thinking about Christmas shopping now, it really makes me wonder why I’m friends with the lot of you…”
"Why a Secret Santa, though?" Kira asks, her hand raised in the air like she’s in a classroom. "Why not have everyone just buy gifts for everyone else?"
"Because I know the people in this room and I know it’ll turn into a competition one way or the other. Either that, or they’ll just get a bunch of gag gifts for everyone and I really rather not open my present to something screaming at me because someone thought they were funny.”
"Fair point," Kira shrugs, before brightening and asking, "Does this mean we get to make a list of things we like and bring them here before we pick names?"
Lydia smiles again, only this time it’s a more genuine one. “I knew there was a reason I liked you.”
It’s only a few days later that they gather again, a scrap of paper clutched in each person’s hand and a feeling of anticipation making a few of them let out soft giggles as they hand them over to Lydia.
(“Why do you get to hold them?”
"Because you’ll cheat and try to get Scott, Kira will cheat to get Scott and Scott will spend the whole time he’s choosing worrying on whether he should cheat. Liam and Mason will fold to pressure, and I had to nearly twist Derek’s arm to get him to even agree to this in the first place.” Lydia gives Stiles a look that would cripple a lesser man, but just makes him roll his eyes. “So, naturally, I am the obvious choice.”)
"We haven’t done this since we were little," Mason says with a soft smile as he hands his paper over, Liam shuffling after him. "That was with a whole classroom of kids, but still…"
"I remember that," Liam replies, moving out of the way so that Kira can hand her paper to Lydia with a grin that the redhead returns. "Didn’t you punch some kid in the face because he gave me an empty box?"
"Yeah, well…" is Mason’s eloquent response as Scott rounds them all up by handing over his paper with an apologetic shrug when Lydia raises a brow at how wrinkled it is.
"I didn’t know what to put there, I wasn’t sure if some people would think they needed to get me something, so I didn’t want to put on anything too expensive…”
"I’m sure my wallet will thank you when I see that list, man." Stiles quips, throwing his arm around Scott when the teenager goes back to standing by his friend.
"Who says you’re even going to get Scott?” Derek asks from where he’s doing his best to stay out of the way, still unsure after everything on whether he was pack or not. “It could be my wallet that will thank Scott.”
"Pshaw, as if you couldn’t afford anything that any of us asked for!”
"Since you’re so keen to add your two cents worth," Lydia interrupts, making both of them start guiltily, her hands now holding a small mound of tightly folded squares-it’s impossible to tell which one is Scott’s now, it’s that small-and an unimpressed look on her face. “I guess you can go first, Derek.”
Derek shrugs and walks over to Lydia, picking one of the papers out of her hand without even taking a second’s deliberation and going back to where he was standing, sticking the paper in his pocket.
Lydia turns to the rest of them. “Stiles?”
He, of course, has to make a big show of picking one and nearly gets his head bit off after taking too long for Lydia’s liking.
It goes on like that for everyone else and a few people-Kira and Mason-open their papers up right away to see who they got, while the rest of them follow Derek’s lead and put them in a pocket to look at later.
"Happy shopping." Lydia says with a sweep of her hair as she leaves.