A/N: You're probably thinking, WHAT, I thought this chick died fifty zillion months ago. So what in the world is she doing coming back with...Christmas specials!? The answer to your questions lie in...the snowbank nearest you! ;D
But seriously, I love the joy of Christmas, which is strange because I never do anything over-the-top, nor do I get millions of gifts. I'm just going with the flow and being happy 'cuz, you know, it's supposed to be happy. So I'm throwing together a collection of Christmasy oneshots; they may not all be from Magical Melody, but, like, who knows. Hopefully this story will stay with me until the end of the holidays; I've been playing "30 Days" on repeat for the last two hours. (Credits to that cute song for the title.) Anyway, do not laugh at some of my totally dorky, totally adorable titles that my friends have helped me come up with; not every oneshot in this collection will be all fluff and hugs, anyway. But now, on with....
But All That Came Out was "Happy Holidays"
One.
Cocoa is Warm and So Are Hugs.
Magical Melody, Blue & Ann.
Genre: Romance, humour.
Warning: Cheesy cliché fluff-ness.
The Christmas essence was present that day in Flowerbud Village. Light flakes of snow fell from the sky and onto the sugarcoated ground, which looked like a smooth fleece blanket from afar. Faint jingle bells could be heard in the mild, new winter air; Hank, the owner of the Blue Sky Ranch down the road, had given Meryl and Tim a pair of bells to ring in the Christmas spirit to their neighbours.
However, a certain rancher was having trouble soaking in the Christmas atmosphere, what with all this spirit running around -- (and a certain girl in mind, but he'd never admit to that).
"Come on, Blue, you can do it! Just go!" a jovial Ellen boosted her cousin, who was leaning uncertainly against the counter, twisting his baseball cap in his hands. He was still wet from the early morning shift he'd insisted on not skipping, and with that pensive, daydreaming look on his face, she'd easily read his intentions.
"Ellen, you have no idea what you're talking about…" he began artlessly.
Her words tumbled through his. "'Course I do, silly! You wanna go see a girl!" she announced amicably, making the rancher cringe.
Of course he was excellent with animals and terrible with human beings. How very fair. He pretended to ignore his sweet, polar-opposite cousin, but the charade could no longer be enabled as she capered playfully to his side.
"Stop being so shy! You have nothing to be afraid of! I say you go for it! …And, you know, you look way more…approachable, without that hat on," she added as an afterthought.
Blue gave her an affronted scowl and threw his beloved hat behind the counter juvenilely. "Leave me alone," he muttered coldly.
"Uh-uh-uh." Ellen waggled her finger stubbornly, grinning as the rancher's scowl deepened. "I'm going to get you out of this house, and over to hers, no matter what it takes. Carl's going to be here any minute now, and I doubt you want to be here while he is…"
Blue grimaced and looked down to stare down at his empty, hatless hands. He opened his mouth to say something when an urgent, sharp knock on the door interrupted him. It sounded odd hearing a knock on this door; customers usually walked in on normal days. But today wasn't a normal day: it was Christmas.
Blue pressed his side deeper into the wooden counter as Ellen flitted excitedly to the door; she was right about one thing: he definitely didn't want to be around while Carl was. The guy was alright, kind of quirky, but he was Blue's complete opposite, not meant to clash. They were both civil to each other, but…
"Oh!"
Blue shut his eyes, annoyed, as Ellen's high-pitched squeal rang through his numb-from-cold ears. It was probably Carl with another one of his too-sweet, cavity-inducing gifts. He pondered crudely what it could be this time; chocolate cake? Apple pie? Maybe brownies with a stupid-looking red bow on top?
Instead of hearing the expected "Thank you so much, Carl!" or the muffled "Mmph" of the poor baker as his cousin throttled him in a super-powered hug, or the subsequences, which he'd rather not use his imagination on, there was the abnormally civil sound of the wooden door shutting, and then gentle footfalls of his cousin backing up.
"I didn't expect to see you here, Ann! Come, make yourself at home!" Ellen trilled in a shock-resilient, super friendly voice.
The nerves swimming around in Blue's head froze in place, like that one time when Ellen dared him to lick a pole many winters ago. He looked up slowly, his heart ticking like staccato sixteenth notes on a keyboard, as his eyes locked onto a familiar pair of sparkling cerulean. He ran his tongue dryly against the roof of his mouth; hopefully it wouldn't be stuck like it was with the pole.
"Hi," he unstuck from his lips.
Ann smiled back at him, the tug of her lips accentuating the bright red of her cheeks -- from the cold, Blue's esteem insisted. "Hey, Blue," she responded heartily. There was something a bit odd about her -- her hair looked the same, up in a high citrus ponytail; her clothes were nothing out of the ordinary, hidden beneath a worn brown jacket. Was it her voice? She sounded less…confident and excitable than usual.
"Uh, um." His eyes met his cousin's in the shortest spark of an instant, trying to send a subliminal message for help. However, she simply winked, giggled soundlessly, and tiptoed out of the room past notice. He made sure to remember to imperceptibly change the TV to some gory horror movie while the she and Carl were busy watching another one of their stupid chick flicks later.
The silence slipped past him as Ann began to talk, her words more slippery and off than usual. "So I was, well, taking a walk and I thought I'd drop by. I, um, brought you some…stuff," she informed him eloquently. He only then noticed she'd been holding a basket to her side in a tight fist.
"Brought some cookies for Grandma, Miss Red?" he joked boldly, the words covered in paste as they left his throat. He managed to force a grin that shouldn't have felt so desperate, but he got what he wanted: a laugh.
"…Oh, that's a good one. You're so damn funny, Blue." The basket rocked as she burst into boisterous laughter. "No, actually, I got you -- oh, woah."
Blue inclined his chin upwards when he caught her staring at something suspended in the air. All he saw was ceiling. "What?"
"You…your hair. You're not wearing a hat," she proclaimed, awed.
Blue felt his cheeks furl. "Yeah, so?" he retorted defensively, not knowing why he was getting defensive in the first place.
"You look so…so different." He didn't pretend not to notice as she inched closer to him. He froze in place as he wondered what she could possibly be doing; the movement proved deliberate as she suddenly swept up to him, closing the few-feet distance. "I've never seen you without a hat on before. Woah," she said again, tilting her head.
Blue tried not to realize that if he moved a single finger, he'd be placing his hand right on hers. "U-uh," he stuttered after a few eventless moments, and immediately wished he could take it back.
"Yeah…" He could feel his spine tingle as he met Ann's gaze, which was intense and lasered into his. He blinked and automatically looked away, the movement awkward and strange.
"Sorry." Ann flew back as if she'd ignited a small fire instantaneously. She looked down, grave and skittish. "Pretend that never happened. Sorry."
Blue didn't know what to say. It felt like his tongue was, well, stuck to a pole. He thought back all those years, to when Ellen was at his side, half-laughing and half-freaking out as Blue struggled, horrified, to break free from the silver obstruction. He couldn't speak, or move his feet from place. All he could do was flail inside, wonder if he would ever find an easy way out, and most of all, panic.
Ann seemed to misinterpret his lack of speech. "I'm sorry. I -- I should get going now. I should go -- I'm so stupid," she hissed in an undertone, her throat audibly thick. She turned for the door.
Blue felt something kick his heart. He wouldn't let this be another tongue-and-pole experience. "Ann, wait." He wouldn't panic and freak this time. "Wait."
And while he didn't have the nerves to engage her in a passionate kiss, or scoop her up in his strong rancher's arms, he did let go of all those damn nerves to grab her in a clumsy embrace, making the delicate little basket of hers fall to the ground with a firm plop. He closed his eyes just in time to breathe in the scent of her shampoo, hearing the contents of the basket puddle to the floor.
Ann complied to the lopsided hug with ease. She wrapped her arms around his neck and tugged him down to meet her height; that was probably his cue. Just bend down, tilt her face and kiss her…do it, do it, do it! Ellen chanted in Blue's head.
He threw the voice out of his head. "Merry Christmas, Ann," he whispered into her ear. And then he reached out and manoeuvred her chin (too roughly), pulled her closer (too tightly), leaned down (too closely), and kissed her.
Of course he'd missed and only just lightly touched the corner of her lips, and of course he'd pulled away much too quickly, scared that she wouldn't respond, but the kiss tasted as good as hot chocolate after a four-hour shift. Then again, he'd experienced both, and in comparison, this was much, much better.
"Merry Christmas, Mr. Wolf," he heard in the lightest of voices, and then a soft jingling of bells in the distance.
...Hehe. Reviewers get hugs. (: