Author's Note: Happy holidays! This is my second BF5 Christmas story. This one features AJ and Tezz. Enjoy!
Memories of Yesterday
Tezz leaned against the wall, sipping tea as the others chatted away on the couches, chairs, and floor, each spread out and surrounded by presents and torn wrapping paper. It had been an interesting morning, to be sure. Presents had been exchanged, carols had been sung, and kisses had been had under the mistletoe. Tezz had rolled his eyes at how eager Stanford had been to get Agura under the mistletoe, but he thought that might have been the point, based on Agura's own eyeroll before she'd kissed him.
Curious, to be sure.
No matter, though, as everyone seemed to find the gesture characteristic of the two. Tezz simply thought that the two were being… what was the English word? Theatrical. Yes, that was it. They were being theatrical. Putting on a show despite there being no reason to do so.
Then again, maybe that was simply how their romantic relationship worked. Tezz didn't claim to understand romantic entanglements, despite having seen two incredibly different relationships during his time with the Battle Force 5. They were too varied to study closely and compare, and the one constant the two seem to have was a genuine, selfless caring toward one another that defined explanation or quantification.
Not ideal for a scientist.
Tezz watched the six members of the Battle Force 5 and sighed softly to himself before shifting off the wall to leave the room. He'd socialized enough with the group for the day. Besides, they were all distracted. They wouldn't notice he was gone.
Instead of heading to his room or to the kitchen, where others might have gone, Tezz took the lift down to the underground base and said hello to Sage. She smiled in return, bidding him a 'good morning, Tezz' before floating off to do something no doubt incredibly important.
Tezz settled in at the holographic monitors, flipping through footage from battle zones in order to ensure that the team would be prepared for the next attack against the Red Sentients. If the last battle zone had been any indication, Krytus was planning to use high frequency noises to disrupt the team's communicators. If he hit the right frequency, which was likely, he also had a high probability of disrupting the team's mental capacity.
Or, and equally likely, he would make them vomit.
Neither outcome was particularly appealing.
Tezz let himself become absorbed in his work, focusing on the numbers and patterns that had always made so much more sense to him than people and spoken word. There were no metaphors in code. No cyphers needed to decrypt sentences filled with hyperbole and unwieldy meanings he couldn't parse out by himself.
Just data. All of it beautiful and all of it perfectly legible.
It was some time later, while Tezz was studying seismic activity in one of their monitored battle zones – natural, not constructed, nothing to worry about – when the lift activated again and someone else came down into the base.
Tezz looked over his shoulder and saw AJ on the lift, wearing a ridiculous looking red Christmas sweater with a light-up reindeer on it, as well as a Santa hat on his head. He was carrying two mugs, most likely cocoa, by the smell, and another Santa hat.
"Hey, Tezz," said AJ.
Tezz eyed the hat. "No."
AJ huffed. "Fine, no cocoa for you." Then, with a smile, he said, "Ah, I'm just teasing. Here." He held out the cocoa to Tezz, who took it and sipped at it. It was warm and milky, just the way he liked it. He wondered how AJ had known that, or if that was simply how he made it normally.
"Thank you," murmured Tezz. He glanced at the displays and frowned, eyes narrowed as he studied them closely.
"Are you really working today? C'mon, Tezz, it's Christmas, eh? Gotta take a break," said AJ. He clapped Tezz on the shoulder and stood next to him, grinning up at him. Tezz didn't bother to shrug off the hand. For most people, he would have, but AJ was different. Tezz didn't mind his proximity. Even if he didn't quite understand why.
"Mm," said Tezz, voice carefully absent. He kept frowning at the displays. AJ stepped past him and waved his hand, saving the display before minimizing it.
"C'mon, you're supposed to spend today with family, dude," said AJ. He grinned at Tezz, but there was confusion in his eyes. "Don't you wanna spend today with us?"
Tezz hesitated, wondering if he had the words to explain what he was feeling. It had haunted him since he'd woken up in the morning. No, even before then. In fact, he thought this lethargy, this 'Scrooge-ness' as Spinner had put it, had started almost two weeks ago, when the Battle Force 5 had begun preparations for Christmas.
But how to explain that? How to put to words this strange feeling in his chest?
"The last Christmas I spent with family," said Tezz, very slowly, "was approximately ten years ago, when I was ten years old."
AJ blinked. "Oh," he said, his voice very small. He looked at the Santa hat on his elbow and frowned. "Did you, uh, get along with your family?"
"Yes," said Tezz, "as well as I could, for being the, what's the term, black sheep of the family?" AJ nodded. "I was never like the rest of my family. I was… intelligent in ways they were not," said Tezz, slowly. "That is not to say they were stupid. They simply excelled in other fields."
"I get you," said AJ. He leaned against the Reverb, the closest car, and gestured for Tezz to continue.
Tezz sipped his cocoa before he continued on. "We got along, but they never knew how to handle me. Our last Christmas, I was given a free day at the scrap yard. My mother thought the gift was inappropriate for a child of ten, but I thought it was perfect. I used those scraps to build the car that took me to the Red Sentient moon and then, here." He gestured to the Splitwire. "It was… much more primitive when I first built it."
"Yeah, I got an upgrade too," said AJ. "Sage is good at what she does, eh?"
Tezz couldn't help the soft laugh that slipped from his lips. "Indeed," he agreed.
AJ grinned at him. "Did you just laugh?" Tezz shrugged. "So, tell me if I'm stepping too far, but…" AJ hesitated. "Have you ever thought about calling them? Finding out where they are?"
Tezz frowned and stared into his mug. He sipped the hot cocoa, letting the warmth spread through his body and leave him slightly tingly. "I have… thought about it," said Tezz, slowly.
"But?" prompted AJ.
Tezz sighed. "It is not possible," he said. "They moved at some point, and I no longer have any idea where they could be."
"Sage could probably track them," said AJ.
Tezz shrugged again, grateful for the vagueness of the gesture. "Perhaps someday," he said, "when the war is over."
"I'm gonna hold you to that," said AJ, stabbing a finger at him. "When this is over, I'm gonna help you find them and we're gonna make sure you guys get introduced. Sound good?"
Tezz nodded. "All right," he said. "I will do that – we will do that."
AJ grinned, stepped forward, and slung an arm around his shoulders. Tezz jumped at the sudden contact, then smiled in return, his much smaller and milder than AJ's own bright grin.
"Can I meet your mom and dad too?" asked AJ, cocking his head to one side.
Tezz's lips twitched. "Majka and Otac," he said. At AJ's confused frown, he added, "That is why I call them, in Serbia. They are… farmers." He hesitated on the word, realization dawning at how pathetic his family, his old life, must seem to a man who lived on a mountain and did extreme sports for a living before this.
"They sound awesome," said AJ. He stepped away from Tezz and held out the Santa hat. "You should wear it, eh? Get into the holiday spirit."
Tezz eyed the hat, then AJ, then shrugged, took the hat, and placed it on his head. "Acceptable?"
AJ grinned. "You look cute," he said.
Tezz felt himself flush – his ears and cheeks burning hot at the comment. With a clearing of his throat, he stepped passed AJ and back toward the lift. "We should head back upstairs," he said.
"Yeah," said AJ. Tezz may not have been very well versed in parsing out other's emotions, but he could have sworn AJ sounded disappointed.
But, when AJ stepped up next to him on the lift, he was smiling like he always was, so Tezz thought he must have been mistaken. When it came to emotions, it was easier for him to be mistaken, and thus easier for him to admit to such mistakes.
Unlike with numbers, where he rarely was wrong, no matter what Sherman and Vert said.
As the lift stopped, AJ hopped off and grinned at Tezz, gesturing for him to follow with an overexaggerated wave of his arm. Tezz raised an eyebrow and followed after him, following up the stairs to the strange not-apartment that was the second floor of Vert's – their – renovated garage home.
The noises of the others grew louder as the two walked side by side back to the main living area. Tezz watched AJ out of the corner of his eye, half listening to his chatter about snow in the Yukon and the difference between a desert Christmas and a tundra Christmas. Tezz, silently, agreed with many of his points.
Christmas was strange without snow. Winter was strange without snow.
"Maybe next year, we can do Christmas at my place!" said AJ, his cheerful voice dragging Tezz from his thoughts. Tezz paused in the doorway, eyes wide as he stared down at AJ, who also stood in the doorway. Next year? Would the war really last so long?
Did AJ mind that the war may last that long?
Tezz did not. He didn't really have anywhere to go once this was over. Except to a home he may no longer have. And, even then, he did not know how welcome he would be.
"Hey guys! Look up!" called Zoom from where he sat on the couch, half sprawled across Vert, who was grinning at Zoom with more affection that Tezz thought was strictly necessary.
In almost perfect unison, both Tezz and AJ looked up.
"Mistletoe," murmured Tezz, seeing the plant dangling from the doorway. He looked to AJ, who was quickly turning red. His eyes were wide and his mouth was parted. Tezz suspected that meant surprise, but he didn't know why AJ looked… worried? Yes, that was a good summary of his current facial expression.
"It's tradition," sang Stanford, stealing a mug from Agura. She gave him a flat look and stole it back. Tezz watched the interaction from the corner of his eye, still half focused on AJ's expression.
"Uh, he doesn't know American traditions, guys," said AJ, rubbing the back of his neck. "Or, you know, Western ones." His cheeks were turning even redder and he looked away from Tezz. "Let's let him off the hook this time, eh?"
Tezz tilted his head to one side, trying to remember the traditions surrounding the little plant. If he recalled correctly, which he almost always did…
"It is a kiss, is it not?" asked Tezz, turning his head toward Stanford. The man looked amused, if Tezz could place a word to the look. "When two stand under the mistletoe, it is tradition for a kiss to be shared, yes?"
Stanford grinned. "Yup. Gotta keep up with our traditions, right, love?"
Tezz looked back to AJ, who stared up at him with wide eyes.
"You don't have to keep it up, it's just a stupid tradition," said AJ, his words fast and stumbling. "It's only really used for jokes or people who are dating or…" Tezz leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to AJ's cheek, abruptly cutting off his words. AJ stared up at him, gapping, perfectly silent.
In the living room, the team cheered and whooped, with Stanford giving something like a cat call.
"Is that acceptable?" asked Tezz, turning back toward the team. They nodded. "Excellent," said Tezz. He stepped into the room and sat down on the smaller of the two couches, raising an eyebrow when AJ continued to stare at the doorway where he had been a moment ago.
"AJ?" asked Tezz. "Are you coming?"
AJ gave a jerky nod and sat down next to Tezz, still staring at him. Tezz looked around at the others, who all looked amused in ways he couldn't decipher. He shrugged it off and went back to listening to AJ as he resumed talking about extreme sports in the Yukon. Something about base jumping, Tezz didn't know all the English words for what he was talking about, but he put enough of it together to understand.
As AJ spoke, Tezz shifted and rested his head on AJ's shoulder, closing his eyes. There was a moment where AJ paused, then his arm slid around Tezz's shoulders and he resumed chatting in Tezz's ear, this time in a lower voice. He thought he heard Stanford whisper something, but a quick 'ow' and it was over.
It was… different. Having a proper Christmas again. Knowing when Christmas was, even. There was no snow on the ground and it was above freezing outside, just sweater weather. But despite the change, it was nice.
He'd traded loneliness for a new family, and he was glad to be able to share this holiday, once so dear to him, with a new family. Perhaps, someday, he'd share it with his own family again.
But for now, Tezz was content to rest on this couch and listen to AJ. He'd sort out everything else later.