Work Text:
"Come on," Spellbook told Stickman, "We're gonna be late!"
Before he could even say anything, she grabbed his hand and dragged them through the snow, almost having him trip over.
"Spellbook, slow down, I'm gonna fall!" Stickman tried to maneuver his other arm to have both his arms hold onto Spellbook, but the attempt to do so made him fall backwards. Thankfully the strong Tape Measure caught him from behind.
Stickman got himself into quite an awkward situation, before anything could even really happen. "Don't go falling over on your teammates now don't ya?" She patted him on the back. "I'll see you two at the party." Stickman looked back to Spellbook, obviously confused. Since when was there even a party?!
Turns out it was Spellbook's idea, but it's super ironic that Spellbook will be late to her own party. By now, everyone was probably already there. "We're almost there!" She said, skipping forward, and almost leaving Stickman behind. He's not really one to party, but if everyone else is into something, it might as well be a nice thing to come along with.
There was a huge Christmas tree in the dead center of the white plains, decorated with beautiful lights and ornaments. Stickman looked up to see the dazzling plant before him, how had they planned such a thing so meticulously?
The girl in blue could tell how mesmerized he was. Not to her surprise at all. "The tree was my idea!" She put her hands on his shoulders, making him flinch a little, but replied with a small smile. Spellbook never expected such huge emotions from anyone, essentially even the smallest happiness is her happiness.
However her joy was almost contagious, he couldn't help but smile even bigger. "You did good, Spellbook." Before she could even issue a "Thank you," suddenly rustling came from the tree before them.
A prosthetic arm came out- Ah, nevermind. It's just Potato Battery. What the hell is he doing in the trees?!
He stuck his head out and peeked down below. He was probably trying to wave, but it's difficult when you're high up in a tree. “Oh, hello, Potato Battery!” Spellbook said, waving to them cheerfully. “I don't think the Christmas Surprise is ready yet, and you don't have to be in a tree!”
“Well I wanna be in here!” He shifted himself back into the roots. How does that not hurt? Stickman just sighed, I guess it isn't too bad, but it isn't out of character for Potato Battery to just be a hermit in a tree for hours. But it's better than him wanting to destroy things.
Watermelon's voice slowly became more clear as she and Emily made their way to the tree. “Alright Emily, you think everyone else is ready for cookies?” She was balancing a tray of gingerbread cookies they made for the party on her head.
“I wonder if Mr. Claus will want one! Save one for him!” Emily stood on her tippy toes and took a cookie off the tray, placing it in a plastic bag. The choice might've been highly specific, as it was one of the cookies she decorated herself. “Oh, that one looks delicious,” Watermelon said happily, “I'm sure Santa will love this and leave you an extra present!”
“Ah, it must be Watermelon and Emily,” Spellbook pointed out, “They made the cookies!”... As if that weren't obvious enough. “Yeah, all this seems fun and all,” Stickman interrupted, “But.. I think it's kinda rude of me that I didn't do anything..”
Spellbook shook her head, and held Stickman's hands, “That's okay, Stickbuddy! In fact, I don't even remember Billboard doing anything either." This news made Stickman grow more concerned than relieved. Could something have happened to him? Because of his growing worry, he impulsively asked, “Where is he right now?”
To his disappointment, Spellbook just shrugged. “Sorry, I haven't seen him since we started planning, and that was a while ago!”
“Well, where did you last see him?” He was starting to get a little frustrated, but he had no business being angry. Not near Christmas. She thought about her response for a short moment, maybe it has been a while. Until, she acted like she had a light bulb over her head. “I remember now! Somewhere near Birthday Cake's office! Maybe those two were having a talk?”
“Thank you,” replied Stickman, and so he went on his way, away from the festivities and on the route to hopefully find Billboard.
Opening the door ever so slightly, he peeked inside to try to make himself less noticeable to whoever was inside. Unfortunately, not to anyone outside, because his shrimp posture made him look pretty stupid. Stupid enough for someone else to see it.
“..Stickman?” Asked a deep voice behind him. He nearly shrieked and would've fallen over, possibly breaking the door if he were not careful. Alas, it was just the host of the show, Bean. He was carrying a stack of boxes, some marked “DECORATIONS” while others “GIFTS.” looked like Spellbooks handwriting.
Stickman sighed in relief, holding his chest, but standing so awkwardly that it made Bean a little skeptical as to what exactly he was being so sneaky for during the busy Christmas decorating times. “Bean!!... You.. scared me there.”
Bean just sighed, “Y'know, I'm not going to ask. But I'm just saying, you don't need to be peeking on an unlocked door. Who or whatever’s behind has nothing to hide if not protected.” He probably has a point. “Merry Christmas, Stickman.” Bean was too busy to make small talk with Stickman, so he walked away with the boxes.
Stickman decided to stop spying on whoever was there and opened the door. Bean was right, there was literally nothing there. But this also meant no luck in finding Billboard. Before could make his way back, they heard somebody bump their head underneath Birthday Cake's desk.
He turned back towards the source of the sound, to see if anyone would peek up from below. To his surprise, Potato Battery was underneath.
“I thought you were hiding in a tree, what are you doing under a desk?” Asked Stickman. Potato Battery looked to the side, “Well, you see, hiding in a tree isn't that all surprising, and since I'm in charge of the ‘Christmas Surprise,’ I have to think of something extra surprising!... which involved Birthday Cake's office.”
“Just saying a desk is too obvious, especially one that's so out in the open like… this one.” Stickman made a circle with his hand to elaborate on the fact that he was talking about the whole office. “You should do a place and an action nobody would suspect. Maybe like an explosion in a.. casual tree for example?” Stickman hadn't really surprised anyone like how Potato Battery wants to.
“Hey! You've got pretty good trickery ideas!” Potato Battery exclaimed. This made Stickman realize what exactly he had said. “Wait a minute, why am I even helping you? I wasn't given a job, I was here to find Billboard!” He covered his face with one hand, embarassed. “My god, I got sidetracked..”
Potato Battery learned a frustrated groan from Stickman, and wanted to return the favor. “Now that you mention it, I have seen him earlier!” Stickman's face lit up, and he rushed over to Potato Battery. Putting his hands on the desk, he leaned over to see his face under the table. “Where did you last see him?”
“Over by the tree?” explained Potato Battery, “No, not the Christmas tree, but the one next to it. The abnormally large regular tree. I saw him before I got to this office, so he might still be there.” Finally giving Stickman an idea on where he could be, he got a little too excited..
...You know how he was leaning over the desk?
Yeah, he fell over.
Laying down on his back, he gave Potato Battery a thumbs-up. Both of them stood up from under the desk, taking Stickman a bit of struggle to break out of his position. He stretched his back out, creating a very noticeable popping sound. For the first time in ages, Potato Battery showed a feeling of genuine concern.
“You seriously have to improve your posture, Stickman. You're gonna break at least 20 bones with the way you casually stand. But don't worry, I'll be your chiropractor!”
Immediately after that sentence, Stickman was gone. That was likely a good decision, Potato Battery would break more of Stickman's bones than he would have predicted.
On his way to the tree, Stickman finally saw Billboard in the distance. It didn't look like he was too busy, so it was the perfect time to go talk to him. After all, Spellbook did say he wasn't really contributing to the Christmas plans.
Billboard, feeling a sense that he was being watched, peeked behind the tree to examine his surroundings. He met face to face with Stickman, who was watching him. Again, Stickman is not a very sneaky person.
Feeling awkward, he waved his hand at Billboard. In return, he stepped out from behind the tree and made a small wave back to him. Looking around again, he beckoned for Stickman to come closer. And so, he did. With that, there were two people under the tree except for one.
Stickman chuckled, “Hey, Billboard!.. I was.. looking for you.” He cleared his throat and covered his mouth, looking flushed in embarrassment.
“I've… just been here. Under a tree..” Billboard didn't have much to say either. “Nice party you guys are working on..!”
Stickman shook his head, “No, I didn't really work on it. Mostly the work of the others… No clue about Tape Measure, though.”
Scratching behind his head, Billboard replied to him, “I… didn't really help either. Spellbook told me to do something, but I kinda got sidetracked.”
“Happens to the best of us,” Stickman commented.
Billboard felt a little bit better about his lack of contribution. “That reminds me,” he added, “I have something for you.” He reached up to one of the branches of the tree, to reveal a carefully wrapped present. “Here. You can open it early.”
Stickman unwrapped the present in his hands, and inside was a little crocheted Stickman.
“I was actually in charge of giving the presents out to everybody.. that was supposed to be a secret until Christmas day, but I figured I might tell you early.” Billboard felt very guilty for revealing the truth.
But in reality, Stickman didn't mind at all. “It's a mini-me! I like it, thanks Billboard.”
“Spellbook made it,” corrected Billboard, “But I did make a little hat for it!..” reaching inside, he took out a miniature-sized Santa hat. “Although, it was my first time trying this kind of thing, so.. I think it's a little… too small.” The hat was so small, it barely covered any ground on the palm of his hand.
Stickman took the hat, and tried to put it on the crocheted doll’s head, but there was no luck. “Aw, it's terribly small, isn't it? I knew I shouldn't have tried something I have no experience in doing!.. and I also lied to you?! I'm giving you a terrible Christmas before it even starts!!” He almost started tearing up out of a wave of shame.
Stickman put his hands on Billboard's shoulders, indirectly making him calm down. “Don't worry about it at all, Billboard! I'm not angry at you, I have no reason to be!”
Billboard broke eye contact, appearing flushed. He pulled his sweater over his face to try to cover it.
“Look, it's Christmas! It doesn't matter the quality of the gift, I already love and appreciate the kindness you took into making it.” The two smiled at each other, one being calmed down, the other, satisfied with his act of care.
Billboard pulled Stickman into a comfortable hug. “Thank you,” he said, his voice breaking as if he was trying to hold back tears. “You're a nice guy.”
Stickman laughed, “I try to be..!” The two pulled away from their hug and just looked at each other. Sometimes silence is the biggest comfort of all.
Then, something small fell from the leaves of the tree, and was submerged by the snow. The two were caught off guard by a sudden mysterious fallen object. Stickman reached into the snow, pinching what was underneath. Billboard backed away just a little.
He pulled out the object to reveal a mistletoe, wrapped with a red bow on the top, and possessed a tied string that would make it hang to something.
Stickman turned his head a little, “Huh, didn't expect that to be there.” He hung the mistletoe on the branch above both their heads.
Billboard's face grew red all over. “Well..! I- Wow, Uh… Does this mean- We have to.. you know..”
“Well, only if you want to,” Stickman replied. He really didn't mind either way. “As long as you're comfortable.”
Billboard gulped cartoonishly, and then asked, making too many hand gestures: “Can I.. kiss you, Stickman..?” He forced his eyes closed sheepishly.
“I was kinda hoping you'd ask me that.” Stickman lifted his hand and gently pulled Billboard's face closer to his, unsure what To do next. “Ah, well, I- uh..” They both moved their hands to try to make a proper kissing position. In reality, none of them have really kissed anyone before. Finally they just allowed themselves the freedom to kiss in an unorganized way.
Their lips met, warming up both of their bodies inside battling the wave of the cold. Intended to just be a short kiss, they became overwhelmed by the feeling they both gave each other. Stickman cupped his hand on Billboard's face. It felt soft.
It didn't last very long, but they finally pulled away from the kiss. Billboard looked dizzier than someone just getting off a carousel, his mind racing with thoughts about Stickman's kiss.
For Stickman was in a daze, too, he had not remembered the last time he felt so close to a person. Both their faces were flushed in a burst of blush infecting their faces. “You're a good kisser, Billboard.”
Billboard fiddled with his hands, “That was the.. only kiss I've ever had,” he said, “Er... not bad for my first..?”
Before Stickman could respond, the tree's leaves began to rustle, and the two backed up to brace for impact, Whoever it was, fell face flat into a floor of snow.
“Potato Battery?! What the- what have you been doing spying on us like that?!” Stickman was more embarrassed than angry.
Potato Battery lifted his head from the ground, and wiped the snow off his face. “Now, this may sound weird, buuuuuut…. The mistletoe was my idea. I sorta dropped it though,” he said, leaning on the tree.
Billboard covered his face with his hands and Stickman looked anywhere but Potato Battery. “I- you- What?!”
Potato Battery started waving his hands in defense, “I know it sounds weird! Let me explain!.. This was the whole Christmas Surprise Spellbook and I had planned!" The pair before him looked even more confused than they already were.
He sighed, “Do you remember when Spellbook was talking to me about the Surprise? You weren't paying attention, but she winked at me. It was her idea to have Billboard wait at the tree for you. I pretended the surprise was in Birthday Cake's office to cover up the real one. You leaving so fast gave me enough time to maneuver through the secret passageway and climb into the tree before anyone could notice. Nobody suspected a thing!”
A moment of silence spread through the trio. “Wow… You guys did all this for us? This was the entire surprise?” Asked Stickman, appearing quite clueless.
“Abso-freaking-lutely!” said Potato Battery, standing very proud of himself. “A little mischief never hurt anybody!”
“Huh.” Stickman looked towards Billboard, “Well, I guess things worked out in the end. There's still a little bit of time before the party, so we might as well-”
Click! A flashing light came from a bush from beyond. Two individuals revealed themselves, Miniature Portrait and Glasses. Glasses snorted in laughter, “Ha! We got you lovebirds on video!” Miniature Portrait pointed to his camera, “We'll see you two looooovebirds when we share the photo at the party!”
“Gah! How long have you been hiding there?!” Stickman said, more angry than embarrassed this time. “Are there more people spying that we don't know about?!”
Ironically, there weren't. It was really just the two of them in the bush, and Potato Battery in the trees.
The duo high-fived and ran off with the camera, only to be stopped by the host, Bean.
“Sorry to rain on your parade, but the camera needs ink for the actual event, not your unnecessary pranks.” He snatched the camera out of their grasp and kept the photo in his pocket. “I'll be seeing you two at the party.” He turned around composedly, and began to walk away.
“Hey! We were only gonna take one photo!” Yelled Glasses. Miniature Portrait ran up to Bean from behind and tried to take it back, but Bean had caught his hand tightly from behind. It was as if Bean had some sort of “I-know-youre-creeping-up-on-me” sense.. or Miniature Portrait made himself too obvious.
Bean turned around behind him, striking Miniature Portrait with an intimidating aura. Then all of it faded when he cheerfully told him, “Merry Christmas, Miniature Portrait!” He let go of his hand, and continued to walk away with the camera.
Glasses and Miniature Portrait were appalled. “Who does bro think he is,” Glasses said. “He's not scaring anybody with that, he's in auradebt!”
“Well that was… eventful, wasn't it?” Stickman asked, turning his attention back from the strange barge-in and onto Billboard.
“Yeah.. I guess so,” he said in return. “I'll see you at the party, won't I?”
Stickman smirked, “Absolutely.”
“Yes,” Potato Battery whispered, lowering a fist in success.
And so the newfound couple walked together, on their way to the center tree, where more Christmas festivities would take place. You can thank Spellbook for this as well.