Archive of Our Own

“Jade! Jade!”

Tori waved, hurrying down the hallway. Jade turned at the sound of her voice, her face perpetually locked into a frown. It softened only slightly as Tori approached.

“Any plans for the holidays?” Tori said.

“Why?” Jade said.

“Do you want to go to Cat’s family’s Christmas party?” Tori said. “I’m guessing you already got an invite, and I thought it would be nice.”

“You want to go too?” Jade said, eyeing her.

“Sure, why not?” Tori said.

She smiled hopefully. Jade continued to look back; Tori wilted.

“Look,” Tori said. “I have to find someone else’s party to go to or I’m spending the holidays with Trina again, and I am doing anything to avoid that.”

Tori did her best wide-eyed, pleading stare. Jade tried to remain stony-faced, but even she couldn’t last.

“Sure. Not like I’m going to my family’s,” Jade said.

Tori sighed in relief.

 “You were invited?” Jade said.

“I think so,” Tori said. She made a face. “I got a very confusing phone call. Something about her brother moving to the Maldives and extradition treaties?”

“Same,” Jade said. “It’s a way away. You up for a plane ride?”

“Sure,” Tori said. She beamed. “It could be fun!”

This might have been a mistake.

She did want to be Jade’s friend, Tori knew. Yes, they had friction sometimes, and yes, Jade could be spiky, but she wanted to try. It wasn’t in her nature to not want to make a friend.

And there was a nice person there, someone Tori liked. They were just buried below several layers of snark and glower. It just mattered to her, for some reason she couldn’t put her finger on. She wanted Jade to like her.

In retrospect, her master-plan to bond with Jade West probably shouldn’t have started with an hour-long car ride to the nearest airport with a flight to the Maldives, followed by a terrifyingly long flight sat next to her.

So far, Jade had insulted her music taste, her snacks, her hair, her car, and had stopped only to consume said snacks. She crunched noisily on a chip.

Tori was driving; nothing but highway stretched out ahead of them. Several minutes passed in silence.

“Er,” Tori said, bravely. “Do you want to do anything?”

“Sometimes,” Jade said conversationally, “I wonder, if I was in a car crash out here, and it was a quiet road, how long would it be before anyone found my body?”

Ah. The patented Jade West topics of conversation. Tori coughed.

“Christmas carols!” Tori said suddenly, trying to remain cheerful. “That’s seasonal. Do you want to sing something?”

“Christmas songs are lame,” Jade said.

She wasn’t sure what reaction she’d expected. Tori stared at the road for a couple of minutes more, before giving up and started to sing regardless. She glanced sideways to Jade, trying to silently coax her to join in.

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year,” Tori began.

“Boo,” Jade said. “Halloween erasure.”

Tori opened her mouth to continue; Jade booed again. Tori sighed, and stopped.

“Okay,” Tori said, trying to stay bright. “If you don’t like that one, are there any you do like?”

Jade frowned. She pursed her lips, eventually settling. Tori braced herself.

“Wonderful Christmastime,” Jade said. “I like that one.”

“Oh,” Tori said. “Oh! Yeah, I can work with that.”

Honestly, she’d been expecting worse, but a nice wholesome holiday melody would be a good way to-

“It’s about witchcraft,” Jade said.

Tori blinked.

“Huh?” Tori said.

“The moon is right, the spirits up. We’re here tonight, and that’s enough,” Jade sang.

It was, Tori reflected, rather impressive just how unsettling Jade could make a cheery melody. She was undeniably a good singer, and always had been, but when she wasn’t performing, she had a tendency to just lock eyes with you and sing while barely blinking.

Tori cleared her throat. Okay, implied witchcraft didn’t quite suit the cheerful holiday bonding vibes she was going for.

“Okay!” Tori interrupted.

Jade smiled.

“Do you like any Christmas songs that are actually about something Christmassy?” Tori said.

“Witchcraft’s Christmassy,” Jade said. “The date was taken from a Pagan celebration, this is just going back to its roots.”

“Any others?” Tori said.

Another silence. The car hummed.

“I can tolerate Carol of the Bells,” Jade said eventually.

That… fit. Still, it was a nice compromise.

“Okay!” Tori said brightly. “Want to sing that?”

“Sure,” Jade said, eventually.

She did like singing with Jade, honestly. For all the snark, it was easy to fall into a rhythm with her. When it came to singing, none of the arguing ever seemed to matter, they just clicked.

“What are you doing?” Jade said, after two lines.

Tori blinked.

“I thought we were singing,” Tori said.

“We are,” Jade said. “You can do the bongs.”

Tori paused, then huffed. She’d seen a few orchestral renditions of the Carol; some of the choir sang the lyrics, and some did an impression of the titular bells. It definitely sounded good. Still, this wasn’t a performance, this was just meant to be fun.

“This is bonding!” Tori said. “I’m not just sitting here saying ‘bong’ while you sing the actual song.”

“You’re the one that wanted to do carols,” Jade said.

“I’m not just going to bong!”

“You. Be. The. Bell,” Jade said, staccato.

Jade. Tori waited for a long, silent minute. She glanced at the satnav; expected time of arrival: too long.

Yep, this had definitely been a bad idea. And, on top of that, she probably didn’t want to pick too much of a fight this early on in what would likely be a very long journey. Tori sighed.

Well she supposed it was technically still singing with Jade. It could still be fun.

“Fine,” Tori said. “Let’s do it.”

Jade smiled. It was mildly unnerving.

It was almost night by the time they made it to the airport. They had plenty of time to get to the flight, anyway. They parked the car, made sure it was the long-term lot, then headed back to start unloading. A wheeled suitcase each, plus a small bag for hand luggage.

Tori pulled out her suitcase – a brighter, violet thing – and then took Jade’s, handing it over. Unsurprisingly, Jade’s was black.

The zip burst open at the slightest movement; apparently it had been stuffed to within an inch of its life. Tori stumbled back.

All that burst out was a plastic bag. It was soft, but large enough to have over-taxed the case. Jade scowled, and Tori knelt, meaning to pick it up. The bag slipped off of its contents; a pale purple teddy-bear stared up at Tori, fur soft, and arms permanently open in a hug.

Tori did not ‘aww.’ As much as one might doubt it due to her willingness to spend several hours with Jade West in a small, confined space, she did have some sense of self-preservation.

Still, it was cute; she looked up at Jade, on the verge of cooing.

Jade snatched it back.

“Present for Cat,” Jade muttered. “Don’t.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything,” Tori said. She smiled fondly. “It looks like something Cat would love.”

Rather violently, Jade tried to shove the bear back into her case; a violet leg stuck out past the zip pitifully. Tori winced as Jade tried to close it.

“I’ve got some room in my case?” Tori said.

Jade looked up from her attempts to squash the teddy-bear; Tori had already opened her case, revealing an open space atop folded clothes. Jade paused a moment, then relented, standing up and handing the bag over without a word.

That was the Jade Tori liked, Tori decided. The one that would care enough to know her friend’s tastes, and buy her a gift like that.

Even if she was still glaring. Sometimes Tori wasn’t sure if Jade even realised she was glaring, or if it was just how she looked at things.

Suitcases newly packed, the two headed off for the airport; there was a lot of queuing, but after the car ride, it felt like it passed quickly. Their luggage was loaded onto the train, and then they lined up to head into security.

“So,” Jade said. “What did you get her?”

“Huh?” Tori said.

“You saw my gift,” Jade said. “What are you getting Cat?”

“Oh. Er. Gingerbread box,” Tori said. “A recipe book, and a few gingerbread men with tools so she can decorate them herself. Felt like something she’d like.”

Jade eyed her for a moment. Tori had the distinct impression she was being judged.

“Not bad,” Jade said.

“Thanks,” Tori said.

“She’ll like mine more,” Jade said.

“It’s not a competition,” Tori said. “We’re getting her presents, that’s all.”

“Sounds like something someone who’s given up on winning would say,” Jade said. “Why is that? Cat not good enough for you to try?”

“I am not arguing about this,” Tori said. “Gift-giving isn’t something to fight over.”

“Says the loser,” Jade said.

They reached the front of the queue. Jade scowled.

“This isn’t over,” Jade said, walking backwards a couple of steps, before turning and walking through the metal detector. She frowned a moment, then waved off the guard, sighing and walking back.

There, she pulled a knife out of her sock, a pair of scissors out of her other shoe, and another pair of scissors out of an honest-to-god thigh holster. Tori raised an eyebrow.

Then Jade walked back through. Another beep. She groaned, mouthing ‘one second,’ to an increasingly perturbed security guard. Jade counted up on her fingers, frowned, then mouthed ‘Oh.’

One more trip back through the metal detector, she pulled more scissors out of her bra, set them back on the tray, and boldly strode back under. It beeped again.

“Okay, no idea,” Jade said.

Half a dozen security guards were staring at her, most wary, one cautiously approaching with a handheld metal detector. Tori pointedly stared at the ceiling.

“I don’t know her,” she said, when the person behind her cleared their throat.

Jade, meanwhile, submitted to the scan.

“Er. Miss. You know you can’t bring sharp weapons in your carry-on?” said the guard, carefully running the detector down Jade’s arms.

“Say what?” Jade said.

“Heads, I get the window seat, tails you do?” Tori said.

“You’re on,” Jade said.

By some miracle they’d gotten through the rest of security without a major incident. Tori wasn’t going to question it in case they ended up arrested. Again.

Tori flipped. It came down heads. Jade grouched as they slid into their seats.

“If we crash and need to forage for food, I’m eating you first,” Jade said.

Tori threw a pillow at her.

“Get some sleep,” she said. “It’s a long flight.”

They’d had to run to reach the boarding lounge after security, but they’d made it in enough time to get onto the plane. Now everything was loaded on, they were sat down, and all that was left was to wait until they were in the Maldives.

When there, they could be taken to the Valentine household for the holidays.

It was already dark outside. Tori glanced out the window; there wasn’t much of a view, beyond a few distant lights from the airport. She watched them for a long few minutes before the plane started to move.

Once they were in the air, Tori reached for her phone; she had a lot of time to fill, but she had music, an audiobook, and one paperback to last the journey. Still, it was dark out.

She looked sideways. Amazingly, Jade had taken her advice, laying on the pillow ready to sleep. Tori couldn’t blame her; the car ride had nearly wiped her out too, and Jade had mentioned something about being up early.

She looked almost gentle like this, too. It was a novelty. Quietly, keeping that thought to herself, Tori got comfortable next to her and closed her eyes.

Sleep came faster than she expected. Travel could be exhausting; she only woke up when something nudged her. Blinking blearily, Tori opened her eyes.

“Whazzat?” Tori mumbled. She rubbed her eyes; Jade was still asleep. She murmured, kicking vaguely. Tori frowned; Jade groaned again, then shouted.

Tentatively, Tori reached for her shoulder. Jade punched the seat in front of her. She was anything but a quiet sleeper, apparently.

“Jade,” Tori said.

Jade mumbled.

“Jade!” Tori said.

She grabbed Jade’s shoulder. Jade jerked awake, and the next thing Tori knew there was a knife at her throat.

“Jade!” Tori said.

She hesitated.

“Wait, how did you even keep that?” Tori said.

Jade paused a moment, glancing down at her hand, then quickly pulling back into her seat. The knife had vanished by the time Tori next saw her hands.

She looked paler than usual, sitting a little more stiffly in her chair. It looked like she was catching her breath. Tori swallowed.

“Er, Jade?” she said.

No instinctive murder. That was probably a good sign.

“Are you okay?” Tori tried.

“`Course,” Jade said. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Tori waited, as if Jade was going to elaborate. She wasn’t particularly surprised when nothing else came. That was just like her.

“Jade,” Tori said.

Jade put her headphones in. Tori sighed, and looked away, reaching for her book. She probably wasn’t going to get to sleep right away, especially if Jade wasn’t.

Then she made the mistake of looking up; Jade had decided to start playing a horror movie on the screen in the back of the seat in front of her. Tori winced, looking away. Well. That was a horrifying mental image to have when she was trying to relax.

Jade bobbed happily next to her, with just faint screaming audible through her headphones. Tori kept her gaze steadfastly down for the next couple of hours.

Yeah, she hadn’t expected Jade to be the best company. She had tried though.

And in return, one count of attempted murder, one threat of cannibalism, and some downright traumatising visuals in her peripheral vision. Tori sighed.

She didn’t know why she’d signed on for this.

Eventually, Tori shifted in her seat, and blocked the sight of Jade’s screen with her book.

“Hey?” Tori said.

Jade didn’t hear her. Tori nudged her, taking a handful of attempts before Jade finally paused and took out her headphones.

“Can I get past? Need the bathroom,” Tori said.

“Say please,” Jade said.

“Jade,” Tori said.

Jade raised an eyebrow. Tori sighed.

“Please,” Tori said.

Jade mused for a moment, before pulling back in her chair just enough to let Tori squeeze past in front of her. Tori walked carefully down the aisle.

Well, it was a couple of minutes to herself. A couple of minutes over a lot of hours, but still; they were barely even a quarter of the way there. She’d take what she got.

Not that Jade seemed to be having the best time of it either. Whatever Jade was going to admit to, Tori knew what bad dreams looked like, and though she wasn’t going to speculate as to what was going on in Jade’s head, she knew that nightmares could suck.

Though if she didn’t want to talk about it, there wasn’t much she could do.

Still, all things considered, probably still better than Christmas with Trina.

A couple of minutes of relative quiet later, and Tori went back to their seats, only to find Jade now sitting next to the window, headphones in, resuming her movie.

“Are you kidding me?” Tori said.

“What?” Jade said, pausing her screen on a rather bloody frame.

“That’s my seat! We settled this,” Tori said.

“You gave it up,” Jade said. She shrugged.

“I didn’t-”

Someone on the row behind them shushed. Dropping her voice, Tori sat down in the aisle seat.

Honestly, she didn’t care all that much. A seat was a seat, and as nice as the clouds looked, she’d be closing her eyes or watching a movie for most of the flight. It was just the principle of the thing.

Tori slumped.

A little time later, and Jade finished her movie. She was struggling to keep her eyes open by then; apparently her curtailed nap hadn’t been quite enough for her. Tori glanced over sympathetically.

Ugh, still being sympathetic, even after all this.

She couldn’t help it; she wasn’t one to give up on something, and she was going to get along with Jade if it killed her. Which it might. Still, that was why she’d decided on all this.

Tori breathed out, and gently rested her hand on the arm between their chairs. Jade looked at it as though it was a snake.

No, Jade probably liked snakes. Jade looked at it like Tori would’ve looked at a snake.

“I get nervous on planes,” Tori lied. She smiled hopefully over at Jade. “Help me?”

There was a pause. Jade stared at her hand, suddenly less tense now that it wasn’t implying that she needed help. Quietly, Jade took it.

“Fine,” Jade grumbled. “If you insist.”

Tori smiled across; it wasn’t returned, but she hadn’t let that dampen her spirits yet.

Maybe it was just because she was half-asleep, but Jade didn’t look all that threatening just then. She let her eyes drift shut for a moment, fingers still interlocked with Tori, less worried about whatever bad dreams she’d had. Whatever it was that was bothering her, sometimes knowing someone was looking out for her could help.

It was… nice, honestly.

“If we crash,” Jade said, suddenly.

“You’ll eat me first, I know, I know,” Tori said.

“Nah. I’ll save you. You’d be helpful at cooking the other survivors,” Jade said drowsily.

“Um. Thanks?” Tori said.

It was almost sweet, coming from Jade.

The plane landed after a long journey. They slept through the first half, and entertained one another throughout the rest: or at least, they entertained themselves in close proximity to each other. Tori had gotten a fair way into her audiobook, while Jade had stolen Tori’s paperback.

At a certain point, it had even become almost comfortable; still, it was a relief to finally get out of the cramped plane seats.

Get off the plane, reclaim their cases, adjust to the sudden heat hitting them like a brick wall, and take a cab to the address Cat had given them. The lack of good food, after a bad night’s sleep and the better part of a day still spent on the plane, wasn’t doing any wonders for their alertness. Jade even seemed too tired to argue.

It was late by the time they made it to Cat’s. Jade stumbled out the cab, heading around to the back to unpack. She pulled out both suitcases, then realised that on instinct had taken out Tori’s, and stared at it for a moment as if calculating if she could be bothered to put it back in the car just to be annoying. She took long enough that Tori was able to quickly slide up and grab hold of her case.

Jade grumbled vaguely, but left it at that.

“She said she had a room for us,” Tori said. “Room for both of us to unpack, I think. After she’s gone so she doesn’t see your present.”

“I know,” Jade said.

“Why didn’t you wrap it before we left?” Tori said.

“You don’t wrap soft things if you’re bunging them in a suitcase,” Jade said irritably. “They’ll just bounce around and the paper gets torn.”

Huh. That was thoughtful. Tori smiled fondly; there was that nice side again. She wondered if Jade was talking from experience.

“Don’t,” Jade said.

“What?” Tori said.

“I can feel you looking at me,” Jade said.

They made it to the front door. The place wasn’t excessively fancy, but it looked perfectly comfortable even outside of the sunny environment. It was admittedly a little jarring to be this hot at Christmas. Tori knocked.

The door swung open, revealing a well-decorated, cosy interior, and Cat Valentine in a bright red Christmas sweater, wearing a reindeer headband and with a strip of snowy wrapping paper stuck to her face.

As soon as she saw them, she started beaming.

“Ooh! You’re here!” Cat said. She clapped, then called back over her shoulder: “They’re here!”

She barrelled forwards. Tori, being the closest to the door, was caught in a squeezy hug first; she smiled, returning it as best she could with one arm on her suitcase.

Cat took half a step towards Jade to give her a hug too, and faltered when Jade brandished a knife.

“No,” Jade said.

Cat pouted, but stepped back regardless, allowing them entry.

“Er. Cat,” Tori said. “You’ve got a little something…”

Tori touched her own face; frowning, Cat reached up to feel her own cheek, finding the wrapping paper. She tugged it off.

“Oh! We were doing presents earlier. I thought I got all of it,” Cat said. She paused a moment, then jumped excitedly, suddenly enough to give Tori a mini heart attack. “This way!”

Carefully, Tori and Jade followed. They collapsed their suitcase handles, carrying them more awkwardly as opposed to wheeling them, taking care to navigate between the tables and Christmas decorations.

“So here’s the tree. And there’s the kitchen. Dinner tomorrow! And here are the stairs. And here’s Chocolate the Moose, say hi!”

She scratched the head of a plush toy that was resting on a shelf, giggling to herself. Tori awkwardly waved at it. Jade continued to glower.

“And here’s your room!” Cat said. “Shared bathroom, but two beds, and plenty of space.”

She pushed the door open. There was a long pause.

“There’s only one bed,” Tori said, uncertainly.

Cat frowned, looking in at the room. She tilted her head and started to count on her fingers.

“Cat,” Jade said. “Your fingers are taped together.”

“Oh!” Cat said. She laughed happily, untangling them. “Okay. One bed!”

“Now wait a-” Tori began.

A voice called from downstairs.

“Ooh! Got to go. Good luck settling in, say if you need anything!” Cat said.

“A second bed?” Tori said.

“Bye!” Cat said.

She ducked out the door, leaving Tori and Jade looking at one another.

The room was fairly comfy; the walls were plain, if bright, with tinsel strung up in the corners and a dodgy paper decoration hanging from a light in the centre of the ceiling. There was a window that looked out back, currently just showing the stars.

And one bed. It was admittedly a double, and the mattress was soft, but still very much one bed with one duvet.

“Well?” Jade said. “Going to go out and ask if you can use the couch?”

“Why am I the one using the couch?” Tori said.

“Why wouldn’t you be?” Jade said.

Better than Christmas with Trina, Tori told herself, repeating it in her head like a mantra. Still so much better than Christmas with Trina.

Still, she opened up her case; wherever she was sleeping, this room had the storage space. They were going to be there for a few days so there were changes of clothes, a few belongings, and then gifts – she gave the paper a once-over, making sure the journey hadn’t damaged them. One for Cat, and one for Jade.

She glanced over; the bed was covered in Jade’s stuff, and she was in the process of wrapping up the gifts. She aggressively bit into a roll of tape, putting the finishing touches on Cat’s present.

There was a gentle tapping against their door. When it opened, a woman neither of them knew was stood there; Tori was quick to introduce herself.

“Hi! You must be Cat’s mom. Tori Vega,” she said. “This is Jade.”

Jade gave a cough that sounded suspiciously like ‘kiss-ass.’ Tori elbowed her.

“Hello!” Mrs Valentine said warmly. “Welcome to- Ah, perfect! Are these for Cat? Do you mind if I take them ready?”

“Sure, Cat’s mom,” Tori said.

“Whatever,” Jade said.

“Wonderful!” she said.

“By the way,” Tori interjected. “Do you have a spare couch I can sleep on? There’s not really enough room in here.”

“What? Oh, nonsense, I’m sure you can share,” Mrs Valentine said. “I wouldn’t recommend leaving your room much during the night – my son can sleep-walk, and it will upset Cat if you do it tomorrow night. She’ll be worried that you’ll disturb Santa.”

“But…”

Presents in hand, Cat’s mother brusquely walked out the door. Tori looked back; Jade angrily knocked her case off the bed.

“You’d better not snore,” Jade said.

Better than Trina. Better than Christmas with Trina. Tori swallowed.

Sharing a bed with Jade West. There was no way this could go poorly; well, she had hoped that a holiday together would make them grow closer. This just wasn’t completely what she had in mind.

She doubted this was the right environment to see that good-hearted person she knew was somewhere inside Jade. It made the prospect of spending more time with her a little unnerving.

“So,” Tori said.

She walked over, sitting at the foot of the bed. She hesitated.

“We could try to get on, while we’re here?” Tori said.

“I could do that,” Jade said, after a moment’s thought.

Tori breathed a sigh of relief.

“So long as you do absolutely everything I say,” Jade said.

Tori sighed again in what was definitely not relief.

“That wasn’t what I meant,” Tori said. She gave up. “We should try to get some sleep.”

“Don’t hog the sheets,” Jade said.

“So long as you don’t either,” Tori said.

Maybe Jade would be less crabby after a night’s sleep. Christmas miracles were a thing, right? Well, Christmas Eve tomorrow, but still.

A few minutes later, and they were in bed. They were back-to-back, each staring off the bed, Tori clinging desperately onto her corner of the bedsheets.

Turning her back on Jade might not have been the smartest thing, but the alternative made her blush. She wasn’t going to fall asleep staring at the back of Jade’s head, or worse yet, looking into her face. That was…

Tori swallowed. She was still very conscious of Jade’s presence behind her, of the warmth of her body achingly close.

Friends, Tori told herself. She just wanted to be friends. There was a part of Jade she admired, buried beneath all the spikiness and snark. Maybe she’d catch a glimpse of it again. She was embarrassed to admit that this all felt like it would be worth it if she could.

Eventually, Jade started snoring. Rolling her eyes, Tori redoubled her efforts to fall asleep.

When Tori woke up, she felt… warm. Safe. She was wrapped up in something that smelled comforting, something warm and sweet and right.

It was nice. So nice, in fact, that it was a while before she remembered that she was visiting Cat’s family.

And that she was in bed with Jade West.

Tori’s eyes snapped open. She heard regular, asleep breathing; Jade hadn’t woken up yet. Still, she felt warmth. She could feel a weight around her, a presence much closer at her back. An arm was draped over her protectively, resting gently yet firmly over her midriff.

Tori bit her lip. Okay. Not what she’d expected. Jade was sleep-spooning her.

Jade shifted, mumbling vaguely. Tori held her breath.

It was more pleasant than it should have been. Jade’s arm held her surprisingly close, making it hard not to feel bizarrely safe. She was warm. Comfortable. Happy, even.

And she had no idea what the right move was. Waking Jade up didn’t feel like a good idea, but at the same time it felt… invasive, almost, to just lay here while her friend was asleep.

Jade shuffled again, and Tori felt a forehead bump into the back of her head. Oh. And now Jade was chewing her hair.

Even that was somehow nice. It felt so normal, if weird. Nervously, Tori bent her head forwards, carefully trying to extricate herself. Jade’s regular, rhythmic breathing faltered for a moment; Tori took the opportunity to shuffle away as Jade woke up.

Jade screamed. At the same moment, Tori fell out of the bed, flat onto her face on the floor.

Slowly, Tori rolled over.

“Um. Morning?” Tori said.

Jade clutched the sheets to her, eyes wide, staring in a panic at Tori.

Okay, maybe don’t mention the fact that they’d apparently been snuggling for a decent portion of the night. Tori flushed. She didn’t want to imagine how Jade would react. Hell, she wasn’t sure how she was reacting.

It was nice. It was nice in every way she’d wanted this trip to be, a chance to bond more with Jade and at last truly end up comfortable around her. So why was her heart racing like Jade had pulled a knife on her?

Jade took a deep breath.

“You snore,” Jade said.

“Not as loudly as you,” Tori shot back, on instinct. “And you fell asleep first.”

“Until you woke me up,” Jade said.

Okay. Trading barbs. That was… familiar, at least, moreso than whatever that had been. Slowly, Tori sat up, trying to think about that.

Don’t think about Jade’s breath on the nape of her neck. Don’t think about Jade’s arm over her. Don’t think about how good it had felt. How much she’d liked it. Wanted it.

Tori swallowed.

“So,” she said. “Er. Want to see when breakfast is?”

There had been surprisingly little snark from Jade that morning. If anything, she’d been downright withdrawn. The Valentine household had been more than hospitable, providing a cooked breakfast for the whole family plus guests, which was a welcome improvement on airplane food.

After a good night’s sleep (and Tori was still avoiding thinking about that), and with a warm meal in her, she’d shaken off most of the tiredness of the journey.

Now, it was Christmas Eve. She could properly appreciate the decorations when she wasn’t struggling to keep her eyes open; the Valentines seemed to be especially festive. Tinsel, fake snow, a tree in the main room (currently lacking presents it seemed), and stockings hung up on the mantlepiece.

Cat was still wearing her pyjamas, a soft lilac unicorn onesie, but had tied a bell to the horn in celebration of the season and was laughing delightedly when she shook her head.

Tori stood out of the way. Unlike Jade, who was splayed out on the couch, she never felt completely comfortable when visiting someone else’s home. She preferred to keep to the wall and not feel like she was standing where people might want to go.

Maybe they could try board games later? That could be…

She had a sudden mental image of Jade playing Monopoly and promptly decided against that.

They’d been left Christmas sweaters in their room that morning. Tori was wearing hers happily, a festive red and green, gaudy design that made her smile.

Filling time, Tori pulled out her phone. Maybe she could check The Slap.

She scrolled past a few updates in her friends’ lives (Trina was asking her to fly back and cook for her), half-spotting Jade getting up. Jade was just walking past her when she heard Cat cheer.

“Ooh, you need to kiss!”

Tori froze. She was too taken aback to see Jade stop almost identically to her.

“Mistletoe!” Cat said, waving at the doorway. “It’s tradition!”

Jade’s head jerked up. Tori swallowed.

She wasn’t sure why she was suddenly panicking. Well, she was, kissing Jade would be… Anything that put Jade’s teeth in close proximity to her body was inherently alarming. Jade biting her lip, or just leaning in that close to her, or…

And her heart was racing again. It didn’t feel like normal wariness though. Tori hesitated, unconsciously leaning in.

“Cat. This isn’t mistletoe,” Jade said.

“It’s not?” Cat pouted.

“It’s not?” Tori said.

Jade reached up, pulling something down from the doorway. She opened her hand to reveal a reindeer figurine.

“How did that get up there?” Cat said.

“It looks nothing like mistletoe,” Jade said.

“It did!” Cat said insistently, waving her hand. “It was hanging over the door! And it was green!”

“It’s brown.”

“Brownish green!” Cat said.

Jade groaned; Cat quickly took the figurine from her, fussing over it as she walked away. Muttering to herself, Jade went through the door, leaving Tori lingering by the wall.

Okay. Jade wasn’t going to kiss her. She was happy with that, right? The idea of it had scared her. That was definitely fear. That was…

Uncertainly, Tori put her phone away and walked after Jade. She wasn’t sure why; Jade was just out in the garden, getting some fresh air away from the hunger-inducing smell of dinner being prepared. It was hours yet before it would be time to eat.

“So,” Tori said, elongating the syllable.

Jade didn’t look back. That figured.

It wasn’t that she wanted to kiss Jade. No. That would be stupid. But Jade acting so horrified by the idea was not exactly flattering, especially after… ugh, especially after everything. She’d wanted this to be going better.

“You could try wearing the Christmas sweater?” Tori said hopefully. “Get into the cheerful spirit.”

Jade shot her a look.

Yeah, Tori reflected, she probably should have figured that.  

 “I’m surprised you didn’t just tell Cat that Santa wasn’t real,” Tori said. “Feels like something you’d do.”

“Why would I do that? I like it when people are wrong about things. It means I’m better than them,” Jade said. “It’s why I still let people say that you’re pretty.”

Tori groaned.

She wasn’t sure why it was suddenly hitting harder. Maybe it was spending days on this trip and making no headway, but Jade still being so Jade after all of this…

“Alright, I get it!” Tori said.

“You do?” Jade said.

“You’ve made your feelings quite clear,” Tori said.

“I… have?” Jade said slowly.

“Look, I tried, okay?” Tori said. “I thought this’d be nice, the two of us, spending the holidays together, not competing for once.”

Jade faltered. It was a rare look on her, a flicker of uncertainty, almost vulnerability.

“You don’t want to be friends, do you?” Tori said.

“Is it that obvious?” Jade said.

“Kinda, yeah,” Tori said.

There was a pause. Then Jade kissed her.

Oh. So that was what that was like.

It lasted a good few seconds. Tori’s eyes went wide, while Jade’s closed as she leant in. The moment of contact, close, warm, lingered for longer than either of them expected.

Slowly, Jade pulled back. Tori blinked.

“Jade?” Tori said.

“I’ve tried to stop it, okay?” Jade said. “I just care about you.”

Tori blinked again.

“You’ve threatened to kill me about five times over the last two days,” Tori said flatly.

If it were possible, Jade blushed.

“God, don’t remind me. Going soft,” Jade said.

She hesitated.

“Tori?” Jade said. “You said you knew. If this was some bluff, it’s gonna be six times.”

Tori gulped.

“That wasn’t… quite what I expected,” Tori said slowly.

Jade was looking at her. Jade had kissed her. Damn it, why was it so hard to think?

Jade swore, jerking Tori out from her distracted spiral; wait, right, if someone kissed you, they probably expected more of a response. More of a…

Wait, how was she even meant to respond?! She was expecting a declaration of eternal enmity, and had been half-prepared for a challenge to a duel (Jade felt dramatic enough for that), and instead she was thinking of…

Of being in Jade’s arms. Of Jade’s lips against hers. Of those moments where she could actually work with Jade, and how nice it was up until something happened and Jade shut her out again.

“Jade…” Tori said, softly.

“Damn it,” Jade said.

She took a step back; Tori moved closer, grabbing her hand. And then Jade was back to glaring.

“Really?!” Jade snapped.

“Wait, what have I done now?” Tori said, defensive.

“You say this now?” Jade said. “I’ve barely been subtle for ages, and you take this long to bother to talk to me about it?”

“Barely been- Jade! Death threats!”

“I threaten to kill everyone I care about, what’s your problem?” Jade said.

Deep breaths, Tori. Deep breaths.

“Can we start over?” Tori said. “Please? I don’t want to start fighting, not about…”

Her voice trailed off when she realised she suddenly wasn’t sure how she wanted to end that sentence; at her hesitation, something new flickered over Jade’s features.

About what? Feelings? Having feelings?

How nice it had felt?

“Make it good,” Jade said. Her heart didn’t seem to be in it, though, her voice coming off more weak than confrontational.

Tori hesitated.

“You. Um,” she began. “You like me?” Like, like like me?”

“I am not saying ‘like like,’” Jade said.

Okay. Fair.

“You don’t hate me?” Tori said, voice suddenly small.

A dozen expressions flickered across Jade’s face, too quickly for Tori to make them all out; she unsurprisingly quickly settled on something stony and unreadable.

“You thought I what?” Jade said.

“Again, Jade, death threats,” Tori said.

“Ugh! You’re so dense. I threaten everyone, you’re not special, why would you think I…”

Jade paused, voice trailing off. She considered her words.

“Okay. I see your point,” Jade said, conceding reluctantly. “Maybe, on occasion, sometimes I come off a little harsh.”

“You threatened to eat me!”

“I’m saying sorry!” Jade said. “What else do you want?”

Tori flushed, suddenly at a loss for words all over again; it was easy to retort, easy to say the simple things, but when it came to more than that, words didn’t seem to be enough. There were a dozen things she wanted to say and they all got in one another’s way, so much that she couldn’t string a single sentence out of any of them.

She opened and closed her mouth a few times. Jade was still unreadable, face set, and something in Tori rebelled at that. Not now, of all times.

“I wanted to be your friend,” Tori said. “I like it when we end up not at each other’s throats. That’s all this was, and I thought you didn’t want that. It’s really hard to tell when you’re kidding sometimes.”

“We’ve been friends for ages,” Jade said. “Not just anyone I let annoy me as much as you.”

“See! There!” Tori said. “Right there! How am I meant to take that?”

Jade was quiet for a second. She seemed to make a conscious effort to bite back her default response.

“Tori,” Jade said. “How many people have you seen me push down the stairs?”

“A few,” Tori said. She frowned. “Hey! One of them was me!”

“Water under the bridge, that was ages ago,” Jade said dismissively. “Count yourself lucky you’re just getting words- I mean, if I really didn’t like you, do you really think I’d hesitate to do more than just say something a bit mean?”

Tori paused.

There was something there, she supposed; she kept getting glimpses of a softer Jade under this confrontational exterior she projected, she knew it was on some level an act. It was just hard to interpret a lot of it as anything but hostile.

Though, she supposed, that was the point. It was just words. When it came to action, when it came to what mattered, Jade had her back.

And Jade had agreed to come on this whole dumb trip with her after all, spending hours in the car and hours on the plane and the night in the same bed. Empty words aside, she was still here.

“Wow. You really did say that in the most threatening way possible,” Tori said.

“Thank you,” Jade said.

“It wasn’t a- sure. Sure, whatever,” Tori said. “It’s not easy to tell what you’re thinking sometimes.”

“Why are you buttering me up so much?” Jade said.

Jade looked at her suspiciously. Tori tried to focus on that, on the easy replies, but her mind kept wandering.

Jade had kissed her. And that wasn’t remotely what she’d planned with any of this, but at the same time she hadn’t even considered it as an option. She still wasn’t sure how she felt about that possibility, just that it made her feel the same way was waking up in Jade’s arms, and…

Oh. Tori swallowed, processing.

Jade and snark just came in the same package, and it was a little weird thinking around that; Tori always considered herself an expressive person, so it was easy to chafe with someone that was anything but. She just needed to look at things a little differently, see the actions that contradicted the words, and see the motives.

“You said you liked me,” Tori said, eventually.

Jade froze.

“No I didn’t,” Jade lied a little too quickly.

“Jade,” Tori said.

“You must’ve been standing too close to a speaker last performance,” Jade said. “Hearing’s going. Uh-huh.”

Tori stepped closer, grabbed her, and kissed her. Hard. For a moment, Jade froze; then, in the next second before Tori could panic or pull back, she felt hands grabbing at her hair and pulling her in.

She closed her eyes, letting herself properly experience the kiss this time. No surprise, no shock, just letting it happen.

The Jade she wanted to spend the holidays with. It might have been unexpected, but it still felt right.

When it ended, neither of them pulled back particularly far. Tori could still feel Jade’s breath tickling her chin.

“So?” Jade said. The word seemed to slip out by accident, a momentary curiosity, a flicker of something below the barbs.

Tori kissed her again, and felt Jade wrap her arms around her with as much gladness as the first time.

The day wore on. When cooking had started, Tori had offered to help (and Jade had scoffed), but been turned down by Cat’s parents. A few minutes after that, and Tori had retreated to her room, getting out of the way of the running back-and-forth.

A few minutes after, noncommittally, Jade wandered in after her. Tori smiled to herself.

“This place is too hot,” Jade grumbled.

“Is the Maldives,” Tori said.

“That doesn’t make it okay,” Jade said.

She sat down on the bed. Tori hesitated.

The kissing had been nice. The closeness, being on the same page, it was everything Tori could ever have wanted.

Okay, they’d jumped apart at a sound from the other room, but that didn’t change how she felt. It just left a couple of questions unanswered. Tori took a deep breath.

“So,” Tori said.

“So,” Jade said.

Okay, how did people talk about this stuff?

“Are we, er, dating?” Tori said.

“Why, do you want to?” Jade said.

Her words almost sounded dismissive; the look in her eyes was anything but. Focus on the action, not the words.

“Kinda,” Tori said. She swallowed. “Yeah. A lot.”

“Then I guess we are,” Jade said. She paused. “If you tell anyone, I will kill you.”

“Jade!” Tori said. “If we’re together, can I ask for you to take a break from murdering me? Please?”

Jade pouted, but sighed.

“Fine,” Jade said. “I just… Can we not rush in to telling everyone? Everyone at school anyway.”

“Yeah,” Tori made a face. “God, the gossip.”

“Try it out a bit first?” Jade said. “I don’t like starting drama if it turns out to be nothing. At least, not drama about me.”

“I know,” Tori said. She paused. “I hope it’s not nothing.”

Jade mumbled something. Then she grimaced.

“Okay, you get up here right now or I’ll- I’ll look very crossly at you,” Jade said.

Tori smiled fondly, already getting up and approaching the bed; Jade was leaning back, head directly by the air-con. Tori snuggled up closer to share the breeze.

Somehow the heat wasn’t that effective at dissuading them from getting closer. Tori wriggled happily as Jade dropped an arm over her.

Who’d have thought Jade West was a cuddler?

Not the most comfortable thing to do in this heat, but worth it. The comfort of proximity, and the feel of her breathing, her heartbeat, and the implied trust.

It lasted all of a minute.

The door swung open. Tori jumped, banging her head against the headboard; Jade quickly moved away, ending the hug by elbowing Tori in the face. It was probably an accident.

Cat was standing in the doorway. She looked between them, surprise making her unsure of what to say.

“Er,” Tori said.

The duvet was pulled up high, though they were still side-by-side; there was only so much room in the bed after all.

“We were cold?” Tori said, eventually. “Just warming up.”

“Yeah. Warming up. That’s all,” Jade continued quickly. Both of them were sweating profusely.

Cat nodded slowly. She closed her mouth.

“Dinner’s in five minutes,” she said. “Come down when you’re ready!”

Tori breathed a sigh of relief as Cat stepped back, closing the door behind her. She looked at Jade.

This was… honestly, nice was too mild a word. It was all the good parts of Jade that it felt she so rarely got to see, and then more, the person that she really cared about and who made her feel somehow entirely safe.

But she wasn’t sure how she felt about it being out in the open immediately, just as Jade felt. They could feel this out and explore it a little themselves before everyone had to know. It was definitely something of a change.

Tori opened her mouth to say something, stopping only at the muffled sound of Cat’s voice calling from outside the room.

“Mom! Dad! Tori and Jade will be a bit late, they’re having sex. Ooh! Cupcakes!”

Tori buried her head in Jade’s shoulder. Jade cackled.

Dinner was awkward. Tori stared at her plate; if nothing else, the Valentine family didn’t skimp on Christmas roast, even on the day before. Spare cuts of meat that they wouldn’t need tomorrow, a lot of vegetables that they already had around, and a lot of things that they took the opportunity to prepare in advance.

Tori swallowed.

“Um,” Tori said.

Were they staring? It felt like they were staring.

“We, er, weren’t. Sleeping together, I mean,” Tori said. “Really. I think it maybe looked that way, but we were just, um, cuddling. I promise.”

Was this appropriate dinner conversation? She wasn’t sure anything was completely appropriate. Still, she didn’t want to visit Cat’s parents and have them think she was hormonal enough to just do that in the middle of the day with Jade.

Cat’s mother cleared her throat.

“Sorry. Just wanted to clear that up,” Tori said. “Nothing more inappropriate than cuddling has happened under-”

“No, we were absolutely having sex,” Jade said.

Tori flushed, and shot a look across the table at Jade; Jade glowered back, pointedly stabbing her meal with a knife.

“We were not doing anything as sappy as cuddling,” Jade said.

“Jade!” Tori said.

“We weren’t,” Jade said firmly.

Well, she wasn’t sure what else she’d expected from dating Jade. Despairingly, Tori ate, gaze fixated on her plate and not meeting anyone else’s eyes. Cat hummed happily to herself.

Christmas day. Tori woke up groggily, and didn’t move.

She was sure Jade would blame rolling over in her sleep for the fact they were spooning again, but at least she understood it now. No need to feel guilty or panicky, and no need to shuffle away. She could just enjoy what moments she had.

She closed her eyes again and let herself rest, feeling the warmth of Jade behind her.

It was strange, normally she’d have been so excited to get up on Christmas morning, but today she couldn’t think of any present she wanted more than this.

Okay, that was cheesy. Maybe it would be better to keep that thought from Jade. Still, she smiled.

It was a while before she heard Jade’s breathing stutter, becoming irregular for a moment as she woke up. She didn’t move; Tori smiled to herself. She waited a couple more quiet minutes, still in faint disbelief that this was happening.

It was flattering, she supposed. Jade was awake, but wasn’t going to admit to it else that would mean admitting to cuddling; she felt Jade squeeze her a little bit tighter, holding her closer, with strict deniability.

Even so, she was pretty sure Jade enjoyed being challenged on occasion.

“I know you’re awake,” Tori said.

“No I’m not,” Jade said immediately.

There was a pause. Then Jade hastily rolled away, grouching. Tori rolled over to face her.

“Morning,” Tori said.

“Morning,” Jade echoed. She opened her mouth to speak, then hesitated. When she spoke, it seemed to take conscious effort. “I… want to tell you something.”

“You do?” Tori said.

“I,” Jade began. She swallowed. “I need coffee.”

She quickly rolled off the far side of the bed. Tori pouted, pulling herself up into a sitting position as Jade tip-toed to the door. She crossed her arms, annoyed, as Jade left the room.

The Valentines had been welcoming hosts; they’d showed a very demanding Jade where the ground coffee and mugs were last morning, and been happy for her to keep herself supplied with suitable amounts of caffeine. Tori waited, staying comfy under the sheets.

Jade came back with two mugs, sipping from one. She walked back over to her side of the bed.

“Ooh, thank you,” Tori said. She extended a hand to take a mug; Jade protectively drew both cups back.

“Get your own,” Jade said. “I’m gonna need more than one cup to get through this conversation.”

Still, she put her second mug down atop the cabinet on Tori’s side, glaring as if to dare Tori to comment. Tori just smiled.

Jade gulped down a mouthful of hot coffee, shuddering.

Then she reached down under the bed, and pulled out a neatly wrapped box. The paper was surprisingly restrained, but definitely Christmassy, and not much larger than Tori’s hand. Slowly, Jade put it on the bed.

“Wanted to give you your gift in here,” Jade muttered. “Easier. Look, you know I don’t talk about f-”

Jade faltered. She heaved slightly; concerned, Tori leaned in, gently resting a hand on her side.

“Jade? You okay?” Tori said.

“Feelings,” Jade said. She retched. “Ugh.”

Considerably less impressed, Tori leant back, eyeing her. Almost self-conscious, Jade ran a hand through her hair, fiddling.

“Yeah, well, case in point,” Jade said. “I’m not great at… stuff. And I know that’s not exactly your ideal, or whatever, but I’m me, and it’s not going away, so. Yeah.”

She took a moment to sip her coffee, closing her eyes for a second.

“I was going to give it to you anyway,” Jade said. “Even if this didn’t happen. Say something like ‘It’s lame, you’re lame, I thought of you.’ Just, er, merry Christmas.”

She coughed, and flicked the box closer to Tori. Frowning, Tori picked it up.

She opened it carefully, a small, dark box inside the wrapping paper. She slipped the box open; inside, on a thin velvet cushion, was a bracelet. It was silver, in two distinct pieces, connected by a thin chain. There was a pale jewel set into the top.

Fancier than what she usually wore, but gorgeous nonetheless. She couldn’t help but smile as she slipped it on.

“Jade. Thank you,” Tori said.

Jade cleared her throat.

“Even if I don’t always say it, or if I’m not… great at it,” Jade said. “I want you to have something you can look at to remind you that I… You know.”

She downed the rest of her mug without waiting for it to cool. Tori looked down at her wrist, the silver of the bracelet stark against her skin. It was definitely a reminder.

She smiled fondly.

“I knew you were secretly nice,” Tori said, beaming. Jade made a face.

“Ew, no,” Jade said.

“I’ve seen it now. No denying it,” Tori said.

“I’m breaking up with you,” Jade said.

Tori pouted. Jade did her best to keep up her glower; eventually, she relented with a sigh.

“Fine. You can stick around, I guess,” Jade said.

“Hug?” Tori said.

“How committed are you to the ‘no death threats’ thing?” Jade said.

“You’d miss me too much,” Tori said happily.

Jade’s eyes narrowed. Still, she made no effort to move when Tori shuffled closer, drawing her into an embrace.

“Thank you. Really,” Tori said.

Jade mumbled something indistinct. Tori held her close, trying to soak up the memory completely.

The closeness to Jade, the smell of her hair (and of alarmingly strong coffee), and the warmth on a Christmas morning. The disbelief and the thrill that they’d started dating, and seeing Jade say she cared, albeit in a very Jade way.

Something to be reminded of every time she looked at her wrist.

“Love you,” Tori said.

“I…” Jade began. She hesitated. “I guess you could have that coffee. If you really wanted to. Christmas gift.”

Well, it wasn’t like she expected Jade to say it in words.

Christmas with Cat was an interesting experience. Most of breakfast was spent keeping an eye on her so she didn’t immediately launch herself at the tree. For the time being, she seemed to have been placated by a playlist of Christmas songs being put on shuffle, letting her bob happily on her chair.

Tori hummed along, smiling just as much; she was more patient than she’d expected to be. Normally she’d have been so eager to get to unwrapping presents – and while she was definitely still looking forward to it, she could wait.

She had what would no doubt be her favourite present already anyway. She glanced over the breakfast table to Jade. Jade met her eyes with a silent glare, wordlessly conveying don’t you dare be sappy.

Tori smirked back, and just as wordlessly responded try and stop me.

As the breakfast dishes were piled away, Cat’s father spoke.

“Dear,” he said, looking to Cat’s mom. “Do you think we’re forgetting anything?”

“I can’t think of anything,” she said back. “Unless, do you think, now’s a good time to get to the gifts?”

“Rocking around the Christmas tree- huh?” Cat sand, before suddenly jerking upright. “Presents?!”

“I think now’s about time,” Mrs Valentine said.

“Yippee!”

Cat launched herself across the room at mildly terrifyingly speed. Tori and Jade exchanged looks, accidentally mirroring one another’s smiles, before moving at a more reasonable rate over to the tree.

By the time they’d sat down, Cat had torn open Jade’s present and was squealing in delight at the teddy.

“I love them!” Cat said. She squeezed them in a suddenly tight hug. “Thank you thank you thank you!”

Tori caught Jade smiling. After a few seconds, Jade noticed, cleared her throat and looked away.

Tori crouched, finding the present she’d wrapped, and retreating to hand it over to Jade. She smiled encouragingly; Jade hesitantly took it.

It took her a little time to open it. The box was small enough, and rectangular; there was a DVD case behind the wrapping paper. Jade’s eyes widened.

“Is this…” Jade said, slowly.

Tori grinned happily. She’d known Jade’s favourite movie for a while, she was very vocal about The Scissoring; getting a signed copy had taken a bit of good luck, but she’d jumped as soon as she realised she had the chance.

It felt like a good gift. Jade stared at it for a moment, faltering in surprise. Then she looked up to Tori.

“Okay. You get one hug,” Jade said.

Tori grinned, and threw herself at Jade; Jade returned it for a good few seconds, squeezing just enough that Tori couldn’t pull back until after she’d composed herself.

“Ooh, what did you get her?”

Tori jumped, turning around; Cat’s mom was a couple of steps behind them, apparently drawn in by the sudden hug.

“The Scissoring! Only my favourite movie ever,” Jade said, enthusiastic.

Mrs Valentine blinked.

“Your… favourite movie… is about…” she said, slowly,

Jade grinned. Tori flushed.

When it came to dating, Tori liked to think that one thing she was good at was getting on with parents. She could be responsible, appropriate, supportive; she tried, that was the point.

Apparently it wasn’t quite enough to counter-act Jade gleefully causing chaos. Cat’s mom cleared her throat, trying to change the topic.

For a moment, Tori considered trying to explain it. Then again, ‘a movie where people get stabbed with scissors’ wasn’t exactly the best excuse.

Oh god she was going to have to introduce Jade to her parents. Jade in all her well-hidden sweetness and overt evilness. That… Okay, honestly that sounded like it would be kind of fun.

“Jade, is it?” Mrs Valentine said, awkwardly. “Did you get Victoria anything?”

“Yeah,” Jade said, only faltering for a split-second. “I already gave her it in our room.”

And she said that in maybe the most suggestive way possible. Mrs Valentine raised her eyebrows, and quickly moved away; Tori flushed.

“No! She didn’t- We didn’t-” Tori stammered.

Her bracelet jangled on her wrist. Pouting, she looked over at Jade.

“Really?” Tori said. “Okay, you don’t have to admit to not being a total badass, but really?”

“You signed on for this,” Jade said smugly. Tori’s pout continued, before fading.

“And you signed up for this,” Tori said, and immediately tackled Jade with a hug.

Jade screamed, flailing very half-heartedly, but making no particular effort to escape.

Vaguely, they both heard the background song change. One melody faded out, and another started up, a familiar instrumental beginning. Slowly, Tori moved out of the hug.

Carol of the Bells. Tori still remembered the car ride to the airport. She exchanged another look with Jade.

“Want to?” Tori said.

“Sure. Whatever,” Jade said. “Why does it feel like so many big events in our lives come with musical numbers?”

Tori shrugged. “We’re both doing the lyrics this time.”

“Fine,” Jade said, play-acting a groan.

When the song started up, they slid smoothly into singing along; they didn’t openly dance at first, but it was hard not to sway, sharing grins that even Jade couldn’t quite shake.

(Cat, meanwhile, was worryingly happy to provide the ‘Bong!’s in the background).

When the track finished, they collapsed into the same chair, squeezing in side-by-side. Tori laughed.

“God, I love you,” Jade murmured. Then she froze. “I didn’t say that.”

Tori kissed her cheek, leaning in.

“You mean it?” Tori said.

Another, jauntier carol started to play as Tori lay close by her side. She almost missed Jade’s whispered affirmative – and let Jade think it had been inaudible over the music. That was probably the point, after all.

“Love you too,” Tori said. “Best Christmas ever.”