Work Text:
"Dude, it's still so cool that you have your own place."
Eddie snorts into his phone, scratching out yet another terrible lyric from the notebook in front of him, his favorite electric guitar balanced precariously on his lap. "It's not a mansion, Henderson, it's a minimally furnished one-bedroom apartment. Nothing really that cool about it."
"Nah, it's definitely cool. You live on your own. I'm gonna be stuck with Mike, Lucas, and Will when we all move out, it's been planned since we were eight."
Eddie chuckles. "Don't let them hear you say that. They'll never let you live it down." He glances up at the clock on the wall and sighs. "Look, I gotta go so I'm not late for work. Talk later, yeah?"
"Wait! Can I come over soon?"
"No. Bye, Henderson." Ending the call, Eddie places the phone back on its receiver and then sets his guitar upright next to him on the floor. He stares at the open notebook in front of him, sighing at the lack of inspiration he's found lately. Sometimes he regrets breaking up the band back in his final year of high school, but they'd all slowly started going their own ways by that point, and it didn't seem like the others wanted to be the ones to bite the proverbial bullet. So he did it. It was only a few years ago but sometimes it feels like it's been an eternity.
He decided to keep pursuing music on his own, though, to make his own stuff and try to get his name out there. It hasn't been easy, a lot more rejections than he'd been hoping for, and he's not exactly in the city he wants to be in yet. But he's not giving up. Even though he currently doesn't enjoy his place of employment, it's better than being broke on his ass and homeless. So he sucks it up and lets it pay the bills.
Standing from the couch, Eddie moves through his apartment to get himself ready for the work day ahead, grabbing a fast shower and a quick bite to eat on his way out the door. He does a triple-check to make sure he has his wallet and keys, having forgotten one or the other too many times to count, and then locks up the apartment so he can officially leave.
"Hi there."
Looking up, Eddie gives a small smile to the beautiful blonde standing in front of the partially open door next to his, a bright smile on her face. "Um, hi. You're uh, you're…Chrissy, right? I think we met a few months ago when I moved in."
She nods. "Yep. Chrissy Cunningham. And you're Eddie Munson?"
He nods. "The one and only. You just getting back from somewhere?" he asks, gesturing to the small duffel bag sitting at her feet.
She glances down at it and then back up at him. "Yeah. Spent the night at a friend's house helping her planning her Christmas party."
Eddie's brows furrow. "Oh, is it really that time of year already? I swear it was just Halloween." He takes a deep breath. "Well, guess I'll have to figure something out for decorations, then. Maybe some kind of wreath or something on my door to show people I'm at least somewhat in the holiday spirit. What do you think?"
Chrissy stares at him wide-eyed. "You haven't decorated yet?"
"Uh, no." A quick glance at the front of her door shows a very festive wreath. "I'm guessing you have?"
"As soon as it was socially acceptable to do so. I take it you're not super into Christmas?"
Eddie shrugs. "I don't hate it. It's just not my favorite holiday."
Chrissy nods once. "Right. Well, even if you don't end up loving the holiday like I do, I think we can do something about your lack of decorations."
Eddie's brows furrow. "What are you talking about?"
She smiles brightly again. "You'll see. What time will you be back?"
"Um…around six."
"Perfect. I'll see you at six-thirty. Bye, Eddie." She waves and then disappears into her apartment with the duffel bag, the door shutting tightly behind her.
Eddie stares at the space Chrissy just occupied, blinking a few times to try and wrap his head around what just happened. That is the longest conversation he's had with the woman, and he'd be lying if he said he's not curious.
.
.
.
A quick knock at the door pulls Eddie out of his head, grateful to have a moment away from the open cookbook lying in front of him. He moves toward the front of the apartment, taking a moment to straighten out the front of his t-shirt before pulling open the door to find Chrissy standing on the other side with a cardboard box in her arms that's almost as big as she is.
"Special delivery!"
Eddie chuckles. "Hi. Here, let me take that." He steps forward to grab hold of the box and carry it into his apartment, the click of the door and the sound of unfamiliar shoes on the hardwood letting him know that she's following. He sets the box on the nearest surface and then turns around to face Chrissy again. "So, where do we start?"
"Well, I'm pleased to see that you already have a tree."
"It's fake," he tells her. "Found it down in unclaimed storage earlier. It's mine now."
"Well, that's perfect then. Because my first task was going to be getting you a tree but now we can skip straight to the decorating which is always way more fun in my opinion."
Eddie watches the blonde in front of him as she peels open the box and begins digging through it. "You really like decorating for Christmas, don't you?"
She looks up at him and nods, a bright smile on her lips. "Mm-hm. Christmas is my favorite holiday. All the snow and the lights, and the hot chocolate and cider, getting to spend time with those you love, and opening presents. And watching Christmas movies and staying up late when you're a kid trying to see Santa…it's the best."
Eddie chuckles. "Well, I admit that I've never been the most enthusiastic about Christmas, but I can definitely understand the appeal behind it."
Chrissy's smile falters. "You don't like Christmas. Oh gosh. You already said you don't and here I am practically forcing you to decorate. I am…wow. I am so sorry." She starts putting everything back into the box, completely avoiding eye contact. "I shouldn't have just thrown all of this at you. I'm sorry. I'll just take it and leave, and you can probably take that tree back down to storage, and I—"
"Whoa, Chrissy, hey," he says, stepping closer and holding his hands up. "Hey, what are you talking about? I never said I wanted you to leave."
She stares up at him wide-eyed. "You didn't?"
He shakes his head, a quiet chuckle escaping. "No, I didn't. And I'd be an absolute idiot if I asked someone like you to leave."
The faintest of blushes creeps up her cheeks and she ducks her head. She looks back up at him after a moment. "Really?"
Eddie nods. "One hundred percent." He takes a deep breath and steps over to the half-packed box of decorations. "Now come on, I don't think I can put up all of this by myself. I definitely need a Christmas decorating expert to help me, so I know where everything should go."
Chrissy beams. "It's a good thing I'm here then."
Eddie smiles as he watches Chrissy dig through the box again, pulling out different items and setting them aside. "Yeah," he says quietly when she bounces over to the tree with a few different styles of ornaments in her hands, buzzing with excitement as she decides which to put up, "it's a very good thing."