Chapter Text
An ancient tradition
Chapter 1. Under the mistletoe
When Ian walked into the JOC that morning whistling a Christmas tune, he lost his pace when he found Elise standing on Jubal's desk.
Next to her, Kelly seemed to be keeping an eye out in case she fell as he handed her pieces of duct tape. Elise, on tiptoes, balanced to fix something to the ceiling.
"Good morning. What are you doing?" Ian asked puzzled.
It was Christmas Eve, but it had been several days since, at Elise's initiative, they had already put up all the Christmas decorations.
"Good morning. Just hanging mistletoe," said Elise simply.
Ian raised an eyebrow. "Right above Jubal's desk?" He looked confused at Trevor Hobbs, who was watching his companions with a patient face.
"Haven't you noticed how many times Isobel and Jubal end up together right in this particular spot?" Elise replied.
"It's possible. So what?"
Elise gave him a sly grin over her shoulder, leaving Ian gaping. Kelly let out a giggle.
Trevor rolled his eyes.
"That's not going to happen," he categorically denied. "Do you really think Jubal...? To Isobel? Here at the JOC in front of everyone?"
"There it is" -said Elise, accepting Kelly's hand and jumping down from the table.
The jingle bells ornament pinned to her chest, which read 'Santa's Lil' Helper'," jingled merrily. "It's a harmless ancient tradition."
But her expression was somewhat mischievous. She quickly wiped the desk with a wet wipe.
"No way," Ian supported Trevor. Mistletoe or no mistletoe, she's the boss!"
"Want to bet?" challenged Elise, who was sure that Jubal just needed an excuse.
"Come on, Elise…" said Kelly.
"Hell, yeah," Ian agreed before she could back out, "How about a round of beers?"
"I'm in," Trevor said. "Easiest drinks of my life."
"Done," Elise nodded nonchalantly.
Kelly craned her neck to peek out from behind her. "Watch out! Jubal is coming!" he whispered.
They all went about their business before their ASAC walked through the door.
·~·~·
Jubal summarized the facts of the case and set them all in motion while waving his pencil in the air as if it were a mini conductor's baton.
Elise followed his maneuvering around the JOC room with her eyes. He always tended to move much more than Isobel. When the SAC had arrived, she had handed him a cup of coffee as he passed -receiving a warm 'thank you' and a smile in return- and had stayed away from Jubal's post, closer to the screens. Trevor had given Elise a slight smug gesture, which she had countered with one that said 'this has only just begun'.
The case was not very critical; just some nasty threats the Attorney General's office had received that needed to be investigated. So Elise did her job as efficiently as ever and it wasn't hard for her to keep an eye on either of them.
It was a fascinating thing to watch.
A kind of entertaining dance. Isobel glided gracefully between the table and the screens. Jubal orbited around the JOC, often leaving a slight graze above the elbow on Isobel's sleeve when he passed close to her.
Jubal stimulated the team with his energetic dynamism; he set them in the right direction. For her part, Isobel more subtly channeled their efforts with reflections of habitual sharpness. And the two maintained that nonverbal communication between them. Isobel would motion with her chin toward him; Jubal had only to respond with a nod before relaying her instructions.
On his perambulation, Jubal approached his post, leaning over his computer to consult something, but Isobel had stepped back to throw her empty coffee cup into a wastebasket.
Ian suppressed a smile at the sight of Elise silently cursing to herself.
·~·~·
Towards the end of the morning, Elise had to admit that she felt frustrated. Isobel and Jubal had been dodging each other the whole time as if today they had decided to wear magnets of the same polarity. A while ago, to Elise's further discouragement, Isobel had even gone to her office.
However, soon after, OA and Maggie found out something in the field that allowed Ian to make an interesting new discovery. Jubal texted Isobel, and Elise regained hope.
When the SAC returned, Jubal was waiting for her standing behind his own desk waiting for her. Elise rose to her feet in sheer anticipation and exchanged an exultant look with Kelly. Just before Isobel moved to Jubal's side, however, Jubal stepped aside to signal Ian to put the suspect's file on the main screen. Elise did her best to ignore Trevor's insufferable grin.
Just as Ian sent the image, Jubal bounced back on his heel and returned to his post, standing behind Isobel, slightly to her left with his arms on his hips, backing her up as he always did.
The two were finally exactly under the mistletoe.
-AHA! -exclaimed Elise, triumphantly.
Everyone in the room turned to her with a start. Kelly looked at her with wide eyes; Ian and Trevor had a hard time holding back their laughter. Jubal and Isobel watched her with particularly quizzical frowns.
"Aaam... Eeeh... You're- You're... I mean..." Elise mumbled. She wanted them to look up... but the entire JOC was looking at her. "That's got to be the guy we're looking for, right?" she said, speaking very quickly and pointing her finger at the screen, her cheeks burning.
She took advantage of everyone turning that way to sit down in her seat and hide her face, while she cursed between her teeth the bad timing in which the occasion had finally arisen.
"Yes... we thought so..." said Jubal, somewhat taken aback.
"All right," Isobel replied, putting the incident behind, and made one of those telepathic gestures to Jubal to send Stuart and Tiff to make the arrest.
Behind their back, Ian made to Elise a teasing face. She slyly stuck her tongue out at him.
·~·~·
After a short while, Isobel returned to her office and, in the end, the occasion was not repeated.
In the afternoon, with the investigation underway, Isobel gave everyone permission to leave a little early.
Of course, Ian and Trevor claimed collection of the bet. The four gathered their things to enjoy Elise's grumpy invitation before each leaving to celebrate the holidays with their families.
"Honestly, Elise, I don't know how you could be so sure it was going to happen," Ian prodded as they walked out into the hallway. "At the JOC? Really?"
"It's totally absurd," Trevor said. Yes, they get along. But there's nothing between Isobel and Jubal.
Kelly's expression said he disagreed; he opened his mouth as if to say something, but then thought better of it and decided not to rebut. Meanwhile, Elise just sighed in disappointment. She glanced at the hanging mistletoe. Well, maybe another time, she thought putting on a Santa hat to go out and regaining her good spirits.
·~·~·
With the departure of Elise and the others, the only one left in the JOC was Jubal. Soon after, however, Isobel entered the room and approached with her distinctive distinguished stride.
"You should go, Jubal," she said in a kindly tone. "It's Christmas Eve. Weren't you going to have dinner with your brother's family?"
Jubal turned to her, nodding. "Yeah. Right away, as soon as I save this," he pressed a key combination. "What are you still doing here?"
"My father is going to pick me up."
Isobel gave him a grateful look, wordlessly acknowledging Jubal's part in reconciling with her father. He nodded his head in satisfaction.
"So this…" Isobel asked, pointing with a finger and a casual gesture toward the mistletoe hanging above their heads.
They were both observant people. It was not a detail that could be overlooked.
Amused, Jubal raised his hands defensively. "It wasn't me."
Isobel thought about it for a moment. "Elise, right?"
A chuckle echoed in the back of Jubal's throat as he leaned back against the back of the seat and ran his hand over the back of his neck. "Probably." He looked at her with sparkling eyes, making her smile and then lower her gaze a little self-conscious. He cleared his throat and stood up. "Don't worry. I'll take it off before I go."
Isobel lifted her face to the mistletoe.
"Mmm... It's" she bit her lips briefly, "an ancient tradition," she said, lowering her eyelids in a somewhat bewitching way and beginning to smile.
Jubal smiled back, air caught in his throat. "It is..."
·~·~·
As they reached the elevator, Elise realized that something was missing. "I forgot my gloves," she said to her co-workers. "Go on down. I'll catch up with you."
"Don't even think about ducking out of this, Taylor. Beers are on you," Trevor called to her from the elevator as she walked away down the hallway.
As she approached the JOC, Elise stopped in her tracks, dumbfounded. There in the gloom, standing under the mistletoe, were Isobel and Jubal; he was leaning toward Isobel, she had her face tilted upwards Jubal's… And they were honoring the ancient tradition, joined by their lips.
It seemed to be lasting far longer than was strictly necessary. Then they parted, and Isobel gazed at Jubal.
"Merry Christmas, Isobel," he said in awe, his voice deep and quiet.
"Merry Christmas, Jubal," she replied with soft warmth.
Elise's pleased smile widened on her face. Only she had seen it, so she would still have to pay for the beers.
She did not care, though.
Backing away quietly, she left them there, looking into each other's eyes.
~.~.~.~
I wish you all a very Merry Christmas! 
