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“I don’t understand.” Squall frowned, staring down at his sister. The down always threw him off momentarily. He never remembered getting taller than her. Ellone had always been so much taller than him until suddenly she wasn’t.
“Oh, c’mon Squall.” Ellone smiled warmly. “We went to cookie crawls as kids every year.”
That part he remembered. Their mother had loved it. Every shop in town would be open late on Christmas Eve for last minute shoppers and each would offer free cookies to customers. Judges would even come around and award the shop with the best cookie a ribbon and small donation.
It would be cold, but he’d be holding into his mothers gloved hand as they traveled from shop to shop and a cookie was handed to him inside every store while she shopped. Ellone and their father would usually race ahead with grins, making sure they got to try every cookie on the block. It was one of those Christmas traditions that he didn’t really mind.
“Yes, i just don’t understand what that has to do with me now.” Squall said, fairly irritated when Ellone pretended she didn’t understand.
Her smile was already bashful and he knew he was about to be sweet talked into something he didn’t want to do.
“Well, my shop will be open so i may as well participate in the cookie crawl.” she beamed.
“No.” Squall said instantly. “You can’t bake.”
“Ah...ha..” she laughed nervously. “That is true. Still, i’m setting up a hot chocolate station and people will like that too.”
He thought about it and nodded after a moment of consideration. Who didn’t want hot chocolate during the cold holidays? “Okay…” he said cautiously. “I trust you to be able to make that.”
Ellone actually snorted and crossed her arms. “Gee thanks.”
He harrumphed and mimicked her stance. “Don’t play me, sis. Why are we having this conversation?”
She smiled faintly. “Well, i might be a teeny bit understaffed.”
Squall groaned. “Ellone!”
“It’s the holidays, Squall! People wanted to take off to be with their families! How could i say no?” She defended. “Maybe i want to be with my family too which would be so much easier if my brother was around for the cookie crawl.”
“Helping you run your bookstore is not being around for the cookie crawl. Did you just let everyone take off? Are you running the freaking place by yourself on one of your busiest weeks of the year?”
“No!” She said quickly. “One of my employees stayed to help me.”
“One.” Squall stared, bemused.
“Uh huh. He even takes the night shift and closes for me a lot of nights. Things will be busy though during the cookie crawl and we could really use the extra help.”
Squall heaved a sigh. “Really, sis?”
“Please!”
He shook his head, knowing he was always weak to his sister on the rare occasion she did ask him for a favor. “Fine…”
“Wonderful! Thank you Squall! You won’t even have to be there all day, the cookie crawl doesn’t start until six.”
“Yeah.” he said, already tired and he had so little time to mentally prepare. Well, he had three days but that still wasn’t enough time to get him in the mood to socialize with total strangers.
~
On Christmas Eve he dragged himself to town and gave himself a moment to reminisce. Everything was decorated to the nines. The Christmas tree in the square was huge and it sparkled just as much as the rest of the town did. Beyond just the baking all of the shops made sure to decorate and make their business look not just appealing to shoppers but genuinely festive.
It was nice and nostalgic, even if he could personally do without the groups of historically dressed carolers.
The ground was still covered in the remnants of snow from earlier in the week and families were already showing up to get a head start on their last minute shopping.
He stopped in front of Remembrance, his sister's book store and admired the lights and window display. He was hopelessly biased but he enjoyed the fact that his sister’s business was so successful.
He could however, be both proud and annoyed he had to come out to help her all at the same time.
Walking into the shop was an assault on the senses. There were a few people milling about, browsing the bookshelves and chatting with their friends. He knew his sister was behind the cheerful Christmas music playing over the speakers too. What worried him was the smell. It smelled good. He searched for the source and right inside the door was the hot chocolate station Ellone had promised and a table piled high with actual delicious smelling cookies.
“This isn’t right…” Squall muttered, actually worried for the general public.
“Have one.” Someone nearby said. “Before we run out. The cookie crawl starts soon.”
Squall was borderline scandalized. How could she do this? “Ellone doesn't bake. No, Ellone shouldn't bake and if she brought these cookies in here i will flip this table over and claim there was an earthquake regardless of the fact that they actually look edible.” He’d lived through far too many horror stories where her baking was concerned.
“Lucky Ellone didn’t make them then.”
“Who did?” Squall asked, turning to look behind the register where a man sat, elbows on the counter, chin resting on palm as he observed Squall. He was cute. Fuck, he was cute and blond and had a little dangly wolf earring and oh fuck…
“I did.” he said, with the faintest of upturns to his lips. “I know better than to let Ellone bake and she was disappointed to not have cookies for tonight. You must be Squall, she said you’d be coming.”
“Yeah.” Squall said, clearing his voice. “Yeah, you’re…” He paused. “Ellone said someone was still working with her but she didn’t give me your name.”
“Cloud.” He said simply.
Oh, Squall did not like this. He did not use words like ‘cute’ lightly. Fuck, his eyes were so blue. He couldn’t determine if Cloud was slightly older or slightly younger so they must have been right about the same age. “Nice to meet you.” He backtracked a little. “You made the cookies?”
Cloud hummed. “Yeah, they’re edible.” he smirked. “You might even say they’re good.”
Squall felt the slight sting to his face but he brushed it off. “They’d have to be. Thank you for helping Ellone out.” He knew what traditions meant to her.
Cloud inclined his head. “She’s a good boss.”
A moment later, Ellone appeared out from the back wearing the most festive, elf inspired dress. Squall decided right there on the spot to not complain about the night for a moment. She could have requested he match her…
“Squall!” She greeted excitedly. “I’m so glad you're here, did you try a cookie? Cloud made them, they’re so good. We have to be in the running with those.”
“Not yet.” Squall answered quietly, accepting the hug she pulled him into. “What did you want me to do?”
She pulled away and clasped her hands in front of her. “You know where all the sections are and how everything is organized. Please just be at the ready to point people in the right direction. Cloud will take the register and i’ll be up front to greet people since i know that’s painful for the both of you.”
Squall blinked and cast a questioning glance at Cloud who just offered the faintest of smiles in return. That little smile was going to do things to him all night.
“Yeah, okay. Can do that.” Squall muttered, pulling his coat off and rounding the counter to store it there for now. Maybe he spent too long glancing at Cloud perched on the stool behind it but whatever. He was allowed to look. Unlike Squall's jubilant sister, Cloud was dressed in all black. Black pants and a black sweater but when he got a little closer he realized there was a ring of light blue around the collar.
He had to smile, wondering if that was Cloud’s idea of Christmas attire.
The front bell to the store jarred him from his thoughts as a few people wandered in. Half heading for the cookies and the other half making a beeline for the bookshelves.
He excused himself softly, feeling Cloud’s stare as he wandered out into the store himself.
Most people, in his experience, liked browsing on their own. They didn’t need a shadow but if Squall loudly told one person to not hesitate to ask for anything, well then, they all likely heard him and he could wait a while before he did it again.
In the grand scheme of things, his job for the night was a simple one, but necessary. Ellone was making a good impression up front and it would be harder to do if she was running back and forth to check on people.
Cloud might have managed but people could get easily irritated when there wasn’t someone at the ready to check them out.
For over an hour they all worked on their separate jobs but Squall probably had the most freedom to wander around aimlessly with no real work to be done other than asking someone if they needed assistance. It gave him all the time in the world to sneak peeks at the blond and fantasize a little.
It had been several months since his last relationship where he was forced to admit both to his girlfriend and himself… that a girlfriend wasn’t what he was interested in. Since then, there might have been a little surveillance done on cute boys around campus but no one had struck him just right until now.
He just had to hope he wasn’t getting his hopes up for nothing but Cloud was downright beautiful and just seemed like he played for the same team.
Squall checked the time when the door opened with a ring and several children ran in and oddly enough, Santa Claus followed them. For the past few years on Christmas Eve, the town had a story time for the kids, read to them by Santa himself. Ellone had been quick to volunteer her shop as the perfect location. There were books aplenty and it seemed to fit the whole atmosphere.
Ellone handed each child, and Santa a cookie on the way to the story corner and this was a good opportunity for the kids' parents to do a little shopping of their own.
Squall rounded the counter, taking a moment to open the second register and help things go a little faster before the line backed up too far. He’d worked in Ellone’s shop off and on for years and knew the ins and outs even if it had been a while since he’d been here last.
If nothing else, it gave him a reason to stand beside Cloud and listen to him speak softly to customers. His voice was soothing and Squall had never wanted to hold a voice before. If something like that could be bottled…
God he hated sexual awakenings.
They didn’t have much chance to talk, but it was nice all the same. Normally Squall wasn’t all that chatty either and things were just awkward when he tried.
The door thrust open, bringing the cold with it and the bells chiming as a teen dressed up as an elf sauntered in, rubbing his hands together to warm up from the cold.
“C'mon, Riku. These cookies are gonna be the best!”
The elf kid dragged in another silver haired teen who might have been slightly older. He was dressed normally and if he was embarrassed that his friend was dressed like an elf, he didn’t show it.
“Sora.” Cloud said calmly. “One. Don’t eat them all. They’re for the crawl, not your stomach.”
Sora grinned at him bashfully but didn’t hesitate towards the cookie table while his friend got them hot chocolate.
“Friends of yours?” Squall asked.
Cloud smiled a little and shrugged. “Sora is my younger brother. He was helping Santa pass out presents earlier.”
Ah, explained the elf attire. “That’s sweet. He volunteered?”
“Yeah.” Cloud nodded once. “He’s very… in the spirit.”
“That’s a gentle way to put it.” Riku said, hovering close to the counter with two cups in hand. “Sora is Christmas cheer personified. Year round.”
The way the kid spoke, the soft look he threw over his shoulder at Sora. Squall was envious. He was in love with his friend.
“Well, we can’t all be that cheery.” Cloud mused.
“No.” Squall agreed. “But it’s nice to have someone like that in our lives.” He glanced across the shop at Ellone who was on her knees, helping one small girl pick out a book.
Cloud grunted out a noise that sounded like he agreed.
“Cloud, your cookies are definitely one of the best.” Sora said, appearing beside Riku, munching on a cookie and taking the cup of hot chocolate Riku held out to him. “Alice’s are super good but she has a cafe so that’s almost unfair. Same with Ella’s bakery.”
“I take it you’ve tried every cookie on the block?” Cloud asked dryly.
“Yes,” Riku said before Sora could. “You’d think he was a judge.”
“I could be.” Sora grinned up at him, and Squall saw it. There was mutual love there. He didn’t know if either teen had verbalized it yet but it was clearly obvious to everyone around them.
“Yeah, it’s a great talent.” Riku mocked.
“Whatever, you’re jealous.” Sora laughed.
“Are you done helping Santa?” Cloud asked, breaking up their playful bickering.
Sora nodded. “Uh huh. Now i have the rest of the night to finish shopping.”
“You mean, start shopping.” Riku teased.
“That too.” Sora snickered.
Cloud hummed, the sound soft. “You better get going then.”
“Alright.” Sora said, sipping the hot chocolate slowly as if it were recharging him. “I’ll see you later than.”
“Take care.” Cloud waved as Sora grabbed Riku by the wrist and all but dragged him out again. Despite the chatter and the Christmas music playing in the background things suddenly seemed quieter without the teens.
“So…” Squall started. “Do they have any idea?” Could someone be that in love and be oblivious?
“Nope.” Cloud smiled faintly. “They’re young, give them another year and they’ll have it all figured out.”
Squall laughed softly, unable to help it. “A year? If they get it in a years time they’re doing better than me.” He’d never thought of himself as a late bloomer, it just took a while to get his preferences straight. Or not straight as the case had been.
“That right?” Cloud cast him a long glance but they were interrupted when a few people got in line again to check out. They couldn’t exactly have personal conversations while taking care of customers but it went faster with more than one register open.
Things were busy, which was good for Ellone. It was great for the shop and the cookies were gone. The judges had swept in and out again, all of them in outrageous Christmas outfits but whatever, that was their decision. They’d taken cookies and seemed thrilled once they’d left and Ellone was overjoyed.
Winning didn’t actually matter with her, she just didn’t want to be the one shop with awful cookies. He remembered being a kid with her and making faces at each other when they got a hold of cookies they didn’t like. Their mother however, wouldn’t allow them to be rude so they’d eat even the bad cookies.
“Is it close to closing time?” Squall asked after a while. It certainly felt like he’d been there hours but the shop was emptying bit by bit and more and more people seemed to be out on the streets now.
“A bit, but everyone’s going out for carols. They had the tree lighting earlier, just one more tradition. Didn’t you do them?”
“I did but it feels like a long time ago.” He remembered the vigils around the Christmas tree, everyone with a lit candle as songs were sung and a performance was done by a choir that used bells.
The first time his mom had let him hold a candle by himself had been a big deal. It was a fond memory.
“You’re not going to meet Sora?” Squall asked.
“Butting into his almost date sounds fun, but no. I’ll hold down the fort so Ellone can go.” Cloud said, and Squall wasn’t sure if he really was that selfless or if there was something else that kept him away.
While Cloud was ringing up one of the last customers Squall rounded the counter to grab some hot chocolate. He’d seen his sister put out another batch only an hour before. The cookies were gone, but that wasn’t surprising. Only bad cookies lingered during a cookie crawl.
He made a cup of hot chocolate and grabbed a second for Cloud. It was already done before he'd even thought about it.
“Squall!” Ellone sang softly as she slid her coat on. “The vigil’s starting any minute and-” he paused, watching as Squall passed the cup over to Cloud who took it with one of those small smiles.
“And?” Squall glanced back at her.
She looked between them, smile growing. “And would it put you out too much to stay behind and help Cloud? I won’t be gone too long.”
“Oh.” Squall blinked. “Sure.”
“Good, thank you.” She drew him into a tight hug. “There might be a few more stragglers popping in but things will likely be slow now.”
“Okay.” Squall said. “We got it.”
“Yes, yes, i can see that. You’re in charge Cloud!” She said as she headed out the door.
There was a beat of silence after the door shut behind her and Squall offered an amused huff. “I see who her favorite is.” He joked a little.
“Well,” Cloud said, sipping his warm drink and standing to stretch. “I do actually work here you know? You can be my helper.”
Squall snorted. “Is that right? What do you need help with?”
Cloud actually grinned a little, a wicked comment on his tongue when the door popped open and a man stepped in, offering a polite hello as he wandered back behind the first row of shelves.
Squall couldn't help but loath the man’s timing and maybe the man himself too. It might have been wishful thinking but he was sure something had been about to happen.
“You never got a cookie, did you?” Cloud asked. “Don’t think you went near the table after showing up.”
“No.” Squall shook his head. “With as fast as they went i figured i’d let them go to the customers.”
Cloud smiled faintly and bent down to retrieve a small tin from under the counter. “Come have one.”
“You brought extras?” Squall looked faintly surprised.
“Nah, they were just for me and Ellone to eat when we got a chance but we didn’t.” Cloud said, holding the tin out as Squall stepped closer.
He took one and tried it, knowing he was under a great deal of scrutiny. He was pretty sure Cloud’s opinion of him would plummet if Squall didn’t like his baking.
“Fuck, what is this?” Squall asked, mouth full. “This is delicious. Sora’s right, if you don’t win this thing was rigged.”
Cloud actually laughed, looking pleased. “My twist on a snickerdoodle. Good?”
“Great.” Squall said, having no problem whatsoever with finishing it. “Might be a new favorite.”
“What was your old favorite?”
Squall blinked, having to think about it. “Dunno, maybe shortbread?”
“Shortbread, huh.” Cloud looked thoughtful, pulling out his phone and scrolling a second later. “I could do shortbread.”
“You could..what?”
Another woman stepped inside. The flow of people had halted considerably like Ellone had said but they were still open. Cloud didn’t even have time to respond before the man reappeared with three books under his arm. Squall wandered around to ring him up since Cloud didn’t seem like he was done looking up whatever he was doing.
“Have a good night.” Squall said on autopilot as the man took his bag to leave.
“Shortbread looks ridiculously simple. I can do that.” Cloud said.
Squall blinked, feeling his face heat up. “What?”
“Shortbread.” Cloud said. “You’ll have to come back and get it though.”
“When?” he was pretty sure his brain was short circuiting.
“Dunno. You’ll have to keep showing up until they’re here.” Cloud mused, looking fairly pleased with himself.
This felt like flirting and Squall was always too bad at that shit. “Sounds like a long cookie crawl.”
“Yeah, could be.” Cloud agreed. “So can i assume you’ll plan to come back and get them?”
“Yeah.” Squall muttered, face feeling hot. It was the perfect reason to come back to the shop more often and Cloud likely knew that.
“Good.” Cloud said, leaning forward to peck a kiss against Squall’s mouth and before Squall could even gasp in surprise Cloud pointed up above them to the mistletoe that had evidently been hanging above the desk all night. “It’s the rule.” Cloud said.
“The…rule.” Squall agreed, face stinging hot. “Yeah.”
This was one more good memory he had to add to his cookie crawl Christmas Eves.