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“Oooh Cass! Cass! This is my favorite!” Rapunzel said, excitedly, standing on her tiptoes in an attempt to see better over a group of children all clamoring around the same booth. Cassandra had once been one of those children— relieved from duties like schoolwork and chores for a brief winter break, given a handful of copper coins, and released into the winter market. This year, it seemed, the kingdom of Corona had outdone themselves. There was more on display than Cass ever remembered, but perhaps that was only because Rapunzel was determined to stop at every single stall and inspect the items for sale with great enthusiasm.
Now the princess had found the foreign chocolatiers visiting from Arendelle, whose novelty treats were as delightful to look at as they were to eat. She pressed closer, in awe over the detailed chocolate carvings of everything from miniature cats to full sized roses. She took in a deep breath of the chocolate and sighed in delight, already digging out her purse to fish out some coins. The unmistakable shimmer in her wide eyes made Cass’s heart skip a beat.
Cass stood idly by, arms folded across her chest in an attempt to preserve heat. The sun had long since set, and although Corona’s winters tended to be mild by most northern standards the temperature dropped significantly without the assistance of the sun. At this point, the air around her was freezing, and she wouldn’t have been surprised to see snow had the skies not been so clear. Maybe a light sweater over her thin tunic wasn’t the best choice this late in December. She had to admit, though, that the market looked more impressive at night— the hundreds upon hundreds of tallow candles lit in the square made for a beautiful scene, transforming the typically dark space into a glowing wonderland. In the middle of the market was the largest Christmas tree that could be found within the Coronan borders, hauled there and decorated by at least a hundred volunteers. Raps, of course, had helped with the shimmering golden garland, claiming her years of experience with seventy-odd feet of hair made her a natural at getting the ridiculously long thing twirled around the tree just right. In the end, she’d managed to pull it off, and paired with all of the decorations strung about the square, Cass couldn’t avoid the nostalgia of Christmases past washing over her. Everywhere she looked evoked the happy feeling of the holiday.
Cass turned her attention toward the booth with the hot chocolate. The line to get some was stretched out past the petting zoo, and at this rate she doubted she’d be able to convince Raps to stand still that long in the midst of all the activity around them. But she could practically smell the chocolate peppermint delicacy of her childhood and her mouth started to water. Maybe she could convince Raps to let her wait while she went and checked out the rest of the market. But this was supposed to be a date. And weren’t you supposed to stick together on a date? Admittedly, Cassandra couldn’t say she’d been on many dates, but Rapunzel had practically been avoiding staying close to her the whole night.
As if reading her mind, Rapunzel appeared at her side, bumping against her shoulder before stepping back like Cass were a precious glass vase that would shatter upon the slightest touch. She held up the paper bag containing whatever chocolate she’d just purchased.
“All set!” She said cheerily, tucking the bag into her purse. “Shall we continue?”
“Lead the way, Raps,” Cass said, wishing she had pockets to shove her hands into.
“This night isn’t just about me, you know,” Rapunzel pointed out. “It’s about us. So if there’s something you want…”
“Outta the way, Princess!” Uncle Monty boomed, his arms full of paper-wrapped boxes. He bumped into her, causing one to fall off the top and into her hands. “Oh, perfect,” he said genuinely.
“...You mean, you’re giving this to me?” Rapunzel asked.
“Yes, so that you can give it to Cassandra for me.” He looked at Cass. “Don’t open it until the big day, though, okay kid?”
Rapunzel’s eye twitched and she opened her purse with a pout, stuffing the present into it when she spotted her most recent purchase.
“Hmph. You might be in trouble, Monty,” she said smugly. “The chocolate brothers are kind of dominating this market, and I’ve heard they might want to stay the whole winter season. They’ve even got the Royal Approval from two separate kingdoms.”
“Are you kidding?” He replied. “Karl and Klaus are a blessing! I’m so busy baking Christmas stollen and schmalzkuchen orders I can’t even begin to think about chocolate! Without those boys I’d be up a batter river without a whisk.”
“You’d be what?” Cass asked, but she wasn’t given an answer as Monty started to rush along.
“Now, if you’ll ladies excuse me, I’m going to go get a good spot to watch the fireworks. Have a most merry Christmas, Cassandra!” He gave her a huge smile, which faded when he looked to Rapunzel. “And you, too, Princess.”
“Merry Christmas, Uncle Monty,” Cass called as he hurried away. Rapunzel clasped her hands together excitedly, ready to forget the pessimistic baker had ever crossed her path when she was enjoying this night with the woman she loved.
“Fireworks!” She said. “I forgot they were doing fireworks tonight.” In her excitement, her hand landed on Cass’s arm briefly before she drew it away just as quickly. Cass got that awkward feeling again, wondering what she’d done to make Rapunzel so… the opposite of Rapunzel.
“Well, there are a lot of December holidays,” Cass pointed out. “It’s hard to keep track of them all.”
“Where should we stand to watch?” Rapunzel wondered, spinning in a circle. There were so many people around that it seemed unlikely they’d get any closer to the docks where they’d be setting them off.
“I wish we could get up higher,” she said. “Maybe I should talk to the festival committee about having hot air balloon rides over the city next year.”
“Well, I don’t have a balloon handy, but I can do you one better,” Cass said, nodding to the right. “Come on.”
Rapunzel was happy to follow along, weaving through the crowd with Cass before ducking into one of the empty side streets.
“Mrs. Vogel won’t mind if we use her roof for a little while,” Cass said. Yet another memory from her youth washed over her-- using the dressmaker’s roof as a scouting location. Only now she wouldn’t be sitting up there shivering and futilely watching for pickpockets alone. She quite liked the idea of replacing that memory with something much better.
Rapunzel laughed as Cass used the uneven bricks on the side of the building as footholds and started to scale it. She glanced over her shoulder.
“You coming, Raps?”
“You know it!” she said, happily following Cass’s lead. “Although, I can’t help but wish I still had my long hair at moments like these. I could have saved you the trouble.”
“Eh, nothing wrong with a little extra exercise. Besides… I like your short hair.”
Rapunzel smiled to herself.
“I like yours too,” she said, and Cassandra could only describe the feeling the compliment bloomed within her as giddy.
Cass rolled onto the roof and stuck her arm out to pull Rapunzel up the rest of the way. The building was only two stories, but it gave them the height advantage over the market and the people, a spectacular view.
As the two of them settled on the roof, Cass blew into her palms and rubbed them together quickly, hoping to at least gain some feeling in her fingers again.
“Are you cold?” Rapunzel asked. In an instant, Cass felt her palms being enveloped by a wonderful warmth as Rapunzel gently wrapped her hands around them. “Oh gosh, you’re freezing!” She said with concern.
Cass’s eyes widened and she felt her heartbeat quicken as she watched Raps lift one of her hands and press her chilly fingers against her cheek.
“I’m always so warm that I didn’t even think to bring a pair of gloves,” she said. The words barely registered with Cass who was too busy trying not to blush and failing miserably.
Rapunzel caught her staring as their eyes met. Suddenly, she was blushing too, but she seemed hesitant to let go.
“Cass…”
A happy shout rang out from the street below and Rapunzel suddenly dropped Cass’s hands, glancing away toward the source of the noise. It hadn’t been directed at either of them, but it had still startled them out of the moment nonetheless. Cass hugged herself self consciously, about to bring up the awkward tension that had been hanging between them most of the night when Rapunzel spoke.
“I’m sorry,” the princess said quietly. “I know you aren’t big on public displays of affection. I should have asked.”
Cass arched an eyebrow at her, leaning forward and trying to get a better look at Rapunzel’s turned face.
“Is that why you’ve been keeping a good foot of space between us all night?” she questioned.
“Well, yeah,” Rapunzel shrugged. “I’ve been working on the whole ‘not crossing boundaries’ thing, you know? I don’t want to do something that makes you uncomfortable.”
“It’s okay,” Cass replied. She reached out for Rapunzel with her right hand and laced their fingers together. “You don’t have to worry about that. I’ve actually been working on the ‘speak up and share your feelings when something is wrong’ thing, so…” She let out a sigh. “I promise I’ll tell you if I don’t want something. But you can safely assume that I do. Want you. You know, to, hold my hand and stuff.”
“And stuff?” Rapunzel repeated, looking up at Cassandra shyly. “Like, a kiss?”
Cassandra couldn’t help the little smile that formed.
“Yes.” With her left hand, Cassandra cupped Rapunzel’s cheek and gently tilted her face upward, gazing into her bright, beautiful eyes. “As long as you don’t mind cold fingers and a frostbitten nose.”
A bright smile broke across Rapunzel’s face as she covered Cass’s hand and held it in place, nuzzling into it happily.
“Cass, I never feel cold when I’m with you.”
Cassandra’s smile widened and she leaned in, brushing her lips against Rapunzel’s. The princess melted into the kiss, slow and gentle, in no rush to break apart this time, no matter what was going on below them. Or above them. Or anywhere else beside right there and then, kissing the woman she adored.
They were still kissing when the first firework shot up and boomed in the air, and even that didn’t make Rapunzel draw away. The second came and went, fizzling out as the sparks between them continued to fly. As the third exploded in the distance, Cass finally broke apart from the kiss and pulled Rapunzel close to her so the princess could rest her head on her shoulder and sigh contentedly.
They sat there together for a long moment, just basking in the glow of the display in the distance and enjoying being close to each other.
“I got you something,” Rapunzel said after another minute. “Well, I obviously got you some other things too, but I have this one thing right now and I’m not waiting until Christmas to give it to you.”
She pulled out the bag from earlier and presented it to Cass.
“The chocolate you got just so you could rub it in Monty’s face?”
“No!” Rapunzel scoffed. “When I initially bought it Monty had nothing to do with it. He just so happened to show up, and I got carried away. But I got it because it made me think of you!”
Cass chuckled and started unwrapping the treat.
“I’m only teasing you, Raps.”
From within the tissue paper Cass revealed a small chocolate sword. A scandanavian style one from the looks of it, with a short pommel and grip which she promptly bit off.
“Oh wow,” she said, mouth full of chocolate and creme filling, “this is amazing.”
Rapunzel beamed, and happily accepted the bit of the candy blade that Cassandra broke off and placed between her lips. They giggled and ate together as the sky flashed with spectacular reds and yellows and blues, the display growing bigger and bigger until the grand finale brought temporary daylight to the dark night. The crowd below erupted with cheering and clapping as Cass stole another kiss, this one even sweeter than the last.
Rapunzel smiled at her dreamily.
“Is there anything else you want tonight?” she asked.
“I could use something to wash this down,” Cass hinted. Rapunzel glanced down at the market.
“The line for the hot chocolate has gotten shorter,” Rapunzel noted. “And I’m pretty sure I remember something about the dark chocolate peppermint being my girlfriend’s favorite this time of year.”
Cass grinned at her and together the two of them descended the side of the building, getting their feet back onto the ground. As they stepped into the crowded streets once more, Cass reached out and took Rapunzel’s hand. Rapunzel glanced down as their fingers intertwined and Cass swore there was color rising in her cheeks.
“I love you, Cass,” she blurted suddenly, grinning up at her girlfriend.
“I love you too, Raps,” she said, squeezing her hand.
Cass should have been chilled to the bone considering the weather— it seemed to be on the verge of snowing, and it was certainly cold enough for it. There was a slight breeze blowing icy air across her face and she wasn’t wearing anything more than her usual travel clothes with a sweater thrown over top. She didn't even have a hat.
But Raps was at her side, their fingers laced together, and she couldn’t have felt any warmer.