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Yawning, Shepard leaned back from her desk, stretching her arms wide beyond her head with a satisfied hum. There were still two mission reports to finish and file away, fill in her latest injury’s details on her gunshot wound template to submit with the mission reports, look over and probably approve a few supply requisitions from the crew, respond to a couple of emails, and it would probably be a good idea to send a quick vid message off to her mom as somehow the holiday season had already arrived.
Growing up on ships had left much for want during the holiday season. Contrary to the common ideas of how Christmas was supposed to be (according to old lore and traditions from earth, at least), there was no cool and crisp white snow covering the ground, no heady scent of evergreen lingering in the air, no twinkling lights hung over every door. At most there was a small two foot fake tree decorated with whatever crafts the children created during their school hours; and, the odd antique brightly coloured glass bulb with pretty shapes and patterns of glitter that was held in place with tiny mass effect fields in order to keep the bulbs from falling off the dreary looking limbs of the imposter tree and shattering on the floor.
Whenever December had rolled around, some nights she’d crawl up into bed with her mom, wrapped up in pyjamas with the rare cup of cocoa sheltered between her palms, and they curled up together to watch old holiday films on Hannah’s omnitool. If they couldn’t sleep after, occasionally they’d sneak down to the mess hall in slippers and robes, giggling away over the funny parts from the movie as they baked a big batch of snowflake shaped cookies for the rest of the crew. If they were all in the same area, and they all had a night off, Karylen and her mom would meet Anderson and Hackett for dinner; an evening of good food, fine wine (for everyone but Karylen when she was younger), and catching up. It was an evening full of laughs and love, because that was what the holidays were really about, spending time with the people you care about. When the morning of the twenty-fifth arrived, Karylen would exchange a gift or two with her mom in the privacy of their room before going about their day. It wasn’t much but it was enough for the two of them, and they had always been happy.
Suddenly craving a cup of that prized holiday cocoa, Shepard stood and made for the elevator. She internally promised to get back to work once she had the warm mug in her hands, possibly with a large splash of coffee in it too as she had quite the list to get through before she turned in for the night.
The galaxy didn’t slow down just because it was the holiday season, and sadly, neither could she. The Collectors weren’t going to take a break from abducting human colonies in order to observe the peace and goodwill that christmas was meant to evoke. She couldn’t afford to get distracted by happy memories and a wistful sense of longing for better times, but she could manage to cut herself a little slack, sit back and relax for a few minutes with a warm mug of cocoa.
She wouldn’t be able to curl up in the comfort of her mother’s embrace, but Hannah Shepard had always said that a good hot mug of cocoa on a cold winter’s day was like a hug for the soul. It’d have to do.
Glancing at the clock on her omnitool as she punched the button for the crew deck on the elevator, a small smile turned up the corners of her lips. Not only was there cocoa waiting for her down in the mess hall, but if she was lucky she might be on time to bump into Thane for his evening tea.
Sure enough, as she rounded the corner leaving the elevator, there he was. Her heart did a little flip-flop inside of her chest, and Karylen tried to squash the small smile that the mere sight of him always brought to her lips. She was a grown woman, not some love-struck teenager.
“Thane,” Karylen greeted cordially, opening a cupboard and reaching for a mug.
“Siha,” he responded in kind, a small nod in her direction, as he poured hot water over the silken pouch of tea leaves at the bottom of his cup.
Being so focused on making her cocoa, and enjoying Thane’s presence at her side, Karylen was distracted from noticing the iridescent shimmer that signalled Kasumi going into or falling out of cloaking.
There were certain earthly holiday traditions that had completely slipped her mind. But, with living in close quarters on a human ship, and scuttlebutt abound, she should’ve realized that something was afoot.
“Wow, hey boss, is that …mistletoe?” Joker called out from where he was sitting at the tables.
Karylen nearly choked on her first sip of cocoa upon hearing Joker’s words, sputtering a little as she glanced up to the ceiling above the little kitchenette where she and Thane were standing. Sure enough, there was a small sprig of the green holly with red berries.
Kasumi shimmered back into focus as she slid into a seat beside the pilot, high-fiving and snickering, as Shepard glared at the two co-conspirators.
“Mistletoe?” Thane asked, the significance behind the small plant trimming eluding him.
Flustered, Karylen took another quick sip of her cocoa, taking a moment to pull herself together and making a mental note to murder Joker and Kasumi later that evening. She didn’t even have luck on her side, for the mess hall wasn’t empty; there were some members of the crew and squad watching the scene unfold.
“It’s December back on earth, and it happens to be a holiday season for many different religions and cultures,” Karylen began, awkwardly brushing some hair back from her face and behind her ear before hiding behind another sip of cocoa. “According to an old earth tradition, when two people are standing beneath mistletoe together, they’re supposed to kiss.”
Humming, Thane seemed to contemplate the revelation, before setting his tea aside on the countertop.
“Knowing the importance of tradition in Drell culture, it’d be remiss of me not to help you fulfil one of your own,” Thane remarked, taking the mug of cocoa from her hands and placing it beside his own on the counter.
Placing his palms gently on the sides of her face, Thane closed the distance between the two of them, and kissed Karylen under the mistletoe, in front of everyone. Wolf-whistles and cheers erupted through the mess hall, and Karylen was sure she heard someone taking a photo or two.
Breaking apart after a moment, Thane picked up his mug with the hint of a smile turning up the corners of his lips, and handed back the mug of cocoa to Karylen, his hand lingering over her own.
“Happy holidays, Siha.”
“Happy holidays, Thane,” Karylen replied, smitten laughter bubbling up before she could stop herself as he turned to walk back towards Life Support.