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Ensign Bradward Boimler proofread his mission report to Commander Ransom for the third time, more to keep his mind busy than anything else. But he would also admit to admiring his account of himself and Mariner navigating the colony of Deneva. Easily collecting the technical specs for the ultraviolet satellites they used by the Enterprise crew to eliminate a planet-wide swarm of parasites, and flying a shuttle to save a nearby colony going through similar solar blockage. It was uneventful and boring compared to their usual missions, but that’s why he was so happy about it. He even felt lucky and added how he learned to play Kadis-kot from a Nausicaan drifter who needed a ride, he had that little else to add on top of his usual meticulous and detailed reporting.
Both the storage room he had to sit in for the latest of Tendi’s Christmas projects and everything in it had seen better days. There was dust and rust everywhere. The boxes and crates within had been incredibly worn and the labels faded long before he showed up. It was impossible to guess, but the random items lying around made Boimler suspect this room was an anomaly holding room. The newest thing in here was this chair, which he suspected she put in here, despite how spur of the moment she made this idea of her’s.
“I’m almost done, Boimler! Thank you again so much for doing this for me!” He heard Tendi shout from outside the door, at a louder tone than one familiar with the ship’s interior would use. The walls of a California-class support ship weren’t as thick as one would hope.
“Glad I’m making a difference sitting here, I should help more often,” Boimler quipped passively. There wasn’t anything he could do but wait, from what he could hear by the door, it was obvious she wasn’t even listening to him. She hadn’t all throughout the month of December, no point in thinking anything would change that now.
That wasn’t to say he didn’t want to help her with whatever this turned out to be. Tendi was his best friend, and as much as he hated the fact, he was one of the few friends she had on the Cerritos. He wanted to help her out on that front, only to be bluntly told by everyone else that they don’t really have the patience for ‘the weirdo that made The Dog.’ He had to begrudgingly let it go and move on with his life after that.
Now he just wished Tendi told him what exactly this super special Christmas project that only he could help her with was. The suspense was killing him.
Still, it was almost magical seeing her newly discovered love for the Human holiday of Christmas in someone after so long. He’d be the first to admit to finding her spending her, his, Rutherford and Mariner’s off time decorating the hallways, singing carols, watch Christmas movies, making cookies and gingerbread houses, having snowball fights in the holodeck, writing letters to Santa, even unironically eating fruitcake, with a sense of genuine love and wonder he had only seen in children before now. Mariner checked out once Die Hard stopped playing, and Rutherford was surprisingly just going through the motions rather than actually being invested. But Boimler will admit to her love for the holiday making him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It reminded him of growing up in Modesto and how his family and coworkers would celebrate, before they got weird. Uncomfortably weird.
“I know Anya, but could you just walk aroun-thank you!” Oh look, Tendi’s bonding with the other crewmates after all. “Command tracks, I swear it’s a contradiction,” Tendi’s passive aggression threatened to take over.
Boimler could only meekly ask, “Present company excluded?” He felt better with the apologies and explanations she frantically dropped, and laughed a bit when the hammer went with it.
”It’s okay Tendi, I know what you meant,” he guiltily shouted.
“Thank you! Now where’d that hammer go off to…”
“On the ground, base of the ladder. I heard a thud and a tink sound.”
“You’re right, I found it. Thank you,” she said, then quickly added “ah-a-again!”
Growing up and working on a vineyard, Boimler knew when someone was a novice to handiwork. You learn pretty quickly based on how much additional noise they make on top of what's expected. And Tendi, despite her past life as a renowned space pirate and gifted scientific acumen, ticked every box in his mind.
She struggled with the aluminum step ladder that was too big for the ship’s hallways, if the excessive creaking and ”Ah come on, fit damnit!” were anything to go by, not to mention the regular conversations about how it’s blocking everyone’s path. And in his experience, any swearing outside of casual was never a good sign and Tendi was cursing like Mariner after someone confiscated another hidey hole of Romulan Ale.
“Hey Tendi, are you sure you don’t need any help out there?” He raised his voice more than he wanted to, to make sure she heard it.
“Hold on Castro… I'm positive Boimler!” She shouts, “again, it’s really, really, reeeeally important that you stay in that room and don’t leave until I’m done,” she said it like the door was rigged to blow if he went through it.
To tune out the bickering outside, he figured now was as good a time as any to report to Commander Ransom. He thought to amuse himself by typing the buttons really slowly. Meticulously typing out each individual key and adding slow motion sounds was a fun if fleeting distraction.
Despite their bond as close friends, Boimler still didn’t know why he said yes to Tendi’s request rather than prioritizing his job like he always did. He felt like he would’ve said “Sure, after I finish this report!” or something like that.
Maybe it was the pleading look on her face when she asked. All she had to do was get her eyes big enough and her lower lip sticking out just a bit and she could practically get him to do anything.
Maybe it was that nobody else was gonna help her out, regardless of how much they loved Christmas.
Maybe this whole thing grew his heart more sizes than he thought.
Or maybe… just maybe there was something else, speaking of hearts...
“Oh come on you stupid! Stay up there.” Oh damn, there she goes, making him lose his train of thought.
“You don’t want me to hold the ladder at least?”
“Actually… I’m just about… finished! Wait? Oh my god I am! Finally! I-I mean, just one more minute.”
There was a minute of shuffling and ladder tossing, followed by more muttering, then a few seconds before he heard “Bradward, if you would be so kind as to step out the door?”
“Sure, okay,” Boimler says as the door opens, “I’m dying to see what you put together out ther-”
With but a simple whoosh of a door, he stopped dead in his tracks. For he saw something that he never would’ve guessed in million years, a blushing Tendi. She just stood in the middle of the hallway, eyes to the ground and a face more pink than green. She looked like she was trying to summon all of her confidence for this one moment.
Boiler had no idea why the outgoing and sanguine Tendi was acting like a wallflower for only one second. Just a few centimeters from his head dangled something he never would’ve guessed he’d cross paths with in a billion years…
It was a mistletoe
…and not just any measly mistletoe wither, the leaves were light green and to Boimler’s surprise, the berries were colored a deep purple instead of red.
“Oh… Oh wow! Heh heh, us meeting underneath this mistletoe. Suuuuure is a coincidence!” Tendi beams a big and wide smile, trying to push her trepidation down as deep as it can go. It was a simple sentence, but Boimler could tell she rehearsed it. The silence afterwards got to her, as she opened her eyes to a show of Boimler standing like a deer in the headlights.
“Brad…” She dropped everything like a sack of coal, “You… don’t have to. I mean I-I just...”
Boiler didn’t say anything, he couldn’t. He was too busy processing this scene, not the deed, but the reasoning. Why would someone do this for him?
Maybe she was just like that, a caring person who wants everyone to be her friend? Or could he be someone she liked more than that?
He always loved her infectiously bubbly nature, and how inspiring her drive to be a great scientist and doctor was. Plus, she was the nicest person he knew on the ship, always looking out for him. And giving the best hugs and encouragement when he was feeling down. It was the little things like that that he chalked up to her just being nice, being a good friend. But now that he was standing here, looking at her truly, can he see what was in front of him the whole time.
She loves him, and he was starting to feel the same.
Tendi starts shaking her head “No, no this was stupid. I’m sorry. I should’ve asked.” She turns around and starts walking away, wanting to just crawl into her bunk and berate herself for thinking this could work.
“Ten-D’Vana wait,” Brad shouts, she stops dead in her tracks and turns around, “who said I didn’t?”
Both of them had warm smiles as they slowly approached the other. They lean in for a kiss, as is tradition. They move like they are just going to do a quick peck, only for the both to stop at the last second. Neither of them knew the other would follow, but they both wrapped their arms around the other, with Brad’s arms around the top of her back, holding her shoulders, while D’Vana chose the small of his back.
They share a deep kiss, one full of the life and love they thought they would never have shared between each other. As all good things eventually end, they broke the kiss. But instead of letting go of the other, they just stared into each other’s eyes, softly pressing their foreheads together. Enjoying the warmth and the embrace and the moment.
D’Vana rested her head on his shoulder and whispered “Thank you.”
“For what?” Brad asked, leaning his head gently against hers.
She giggled, “For humoring my holiday spirit, silly. Among other things...”
"Anytime," he smiled, "sorry I didn't humor it sooner."
The two just stand there for a few minutes, silently appreciating the other. A ping breaks the flow of the scene. It was Boimler’s PADD, sitting in the middle of the room. Brad uncharacteristically regretted keeping any sound on it, D’Vana wanted to break the damn thing right then and there.
Brad cleared his spoke up, “Probably Ransom, wanting to follow up on my mission report.”
“Five more minutes?” Tendi asked him.
“Sure, ten. Good idea.”
D’Vana and Brad shared a soft laugh and held each other tight.