25 Days of Christmas
Introduction: It's December which means Christmas time! So I shall be writing Christmas themed drabbles for the next 25 days. Woo! I'll try to do all the pairings that were requested during All Ships Month that I didn't get to because the month ran out. And as always, general warnings for homosexual relationships, violence, foul language, self harm, abuse, suicide, death, angst, and other dark topics. Although, since these are Christmas themed, I hope I don't hit too many of those dark themes.
Overall Disclaimer: Danny Phantom is a product of Nickelodeon. All character in this story are imaginary.
Summary: Everyone is enjoying the Christmas holiday except for one ghost.
Pairings: Box Ghost x Lunch Lady
Written: December 2013
Mistletoe
He floated at the edge of the crowd, watching as everyone enjoyed the festivities. Christmas was usually a calm period of time in the Ghost Zone as the truce came into effect and plans for the party got underway. Even the half ghosts were welcomed warmly by the other ghosts to enjoy the annual merriment. The Box Ghost frowned as everyone around him feasted and drank. The noise of their celebration was quite loud, but those that didn't bother to attend weren't going to make any complaints against the noise. Ember brought her band to jam out some Christmas songs, and some other ghosts joined in, singing along to the familiar tunes. Everyone was having a good time.
Meanwhile, the Box Ghost was feeling like the Christmas Grinch, sulking in his little corner of the room. While it was a time when every ghost got along, putting fights aside, the Box Ghost never really felt welcomed among them. He still felt like an outcast, and every time someone laughed, he had that miserable sinking feeling that they were laughing at him. Laughing at what a failure of ghost he was. Laughing about how he couldn't even last a minute in a fight against a half ghost. Laughing at how pathetically not scary he was.
He doubted any of them had even really noticed that he gave up over the last year. He was tired of trying to be scary and get recognized as a spooky menace. He realized that he simply wasn't made for scaring. It just wasn't in him like it was with other ghosts. He overheard them all the time, talking about their various ventures into the real world and the chaos they caused when they scared some humans. He had no stories like that. He only had stories of his failures. Failures in life. Failures in death. With a sigh, he floated over to one of the tables to set down his glass before leaving. Maybe next year he would skip the whole Christmas Truce party. He doubted any of the ghosts would notice if he didn't turn up. He could fade away until the name the Box Ghost was no longer remembered in anyone's mind.
"Oh, sorry!" said the ghost that he accidentally bumped into when he turned to leave the party. The Box Ghost remembered her from past parties. She still dressed in her pink lunch lady outfit with the white apron hanging over it. But her usual hairnet was replaced with a Santa hat. She held a large silver platter in her hands with the Christmas turkey fresh out of the oven and smelling wonderfully delicious.
The Box Ghost shook his head and floated out of the way so that she could place the turkey down on the table. It was a much larger turkey than last year, probably because they were having more and more ghosts turn up at the party. "My fault," he mumbled with his gaze cast downward. "I shouldn't have gotten in the way." He resisted the urge to smack himself in the face. That was the story of his life: always in the way."
"It's fine. Now," the Lunch Lady grinned as she slapped a hand on his shoulder, "I hope you have a healthy appetite because I might have misjudged and cooked too much." She sighed. "I'm gonna have a lot of leftovers to pack up."
The Box Ghost shrugged. "Well, if you need help packing them up," he mumbled, holding his hands out before him as a small box made out of bluish white energy formed between them.
"That's sweet of you!" The Lunch Lady leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek that turned a darker shade of blue as a strange feeling twisted about inside him.
"That's not how you do it!"
They both turned their heads to see Kitty standing near them. Kitty had changed her outfit for something more fitting for Christmas. She still wore a short red skirt, but now it was part of a strapless dress with fluffy white trim around the top and bottom. Her neon green hair was pulled back into a ponytail and tied off with a red ribbon.
"You're standing under the mistletoe!" Kitty explained at their confused looks. "You have to give him a real kiss. On the lips. It's tradition."
The Box Ghost glanced toward the Lunch Lady. "You don't have-" But the Lunch Lady cut him off by sealing their mouths together in a kiss that made the Box Ghost happy he hadn't skipped out on the party earlier. His cheeks flushed darker when he heard a few whistles and catcalls from the guests at the party that had stopped to watch the kiss. Maybe things weren't as bad as he thought.