Yet another Christmas Eve was around the corner… And that was exactly how it felt to Helen Magnus. Yet another one. She had seen so many and she had experienced so many completely alone it failed to excite her anymore. Not to mention, each holiday after Ashley's death was just another bitter reminder. It was more of the actions of her employees that excited her a little bit, though she would never admit it. She thought it was sweet how Kate fussed over Christmas decorations like a child who'd first tasted candy. Kate had taken it to be her responsibility that mistletoes were in place as was the tree. As it was, mistletoes were around every corner of Sanctuary and the tree in all of it's glory could barely hold the weight of all the decorations. And Henry.. He was absolutely obsessed with the electric side of Christmas; the lights. So, all though Helen herself did not much fancy the coming event over any other day, she still thought it was sweet the way others did. She smiled a little to herself, tapping the pen thoughtlessly against the files.
Only one who didn't appear to be as fussed as Kate and Henry or even Biggie, was Will. Taken the recent events, it didn't quite surprise her. After all, he had left Abby only a month ago. Why he had done so Helen had no idea of, and when she had gently tried to ask about it, Will had dodged like her words were a bullet searching for opening. Then again, taken the events of past months wholly, it was no surprise he hadn't opened up. Staring at the round clock on the wall, she let out a deep sigh and put out the files she had been working on. 02.02am. It was officially Christmas Eve.
The day had gone by with everyday duties of Sanctuary, that Helen had insisted upon. She'd promised Kate that they could have a Christmas dinner and celebration, but only after the day's work was properly done. That was just how things were; celebrations were secondary in their lives. Maybe it was because of it that her employees seemed to have put even more effort into the dinner. The table was full of food; from ham to persimmon pudding. All though Helen suspected some of the foods had come from restaurants, she had to admit everything looked appealing.
"Kate, you have exceeded yourself", she said fondly as she sat down, trying to ignore the fact the room still felt a little empty without Ashley.
Once the feast was finally over with, it was time to open the presents. Will's attention was on Magnus. How she smiled after opening the bulky package from Henry. Yet another stunner. This one, though, Henry kept insisting, was better than the previous ones because it loaded faster, was more stable and lighter to carry around. Will didn't think it looked any lighter, but he kept his thoughts to himself seeing how his friend was so obviously proud of his creation. Kate had given her a gift card to a massage, earning herself a very pleased 'thank you' from her. She'd looked so beautiful like that; features all relaxed and soft. In fact, she looked gorgeous this evening; hair in loose curls, resting upon her cleavage. Knee length black dress with thin, red belt.. That hugged her waist just perfectly. Will stared down to his plate, trying to chase those thoughts away. He failed miserably. Way to go bud, way to go.. He couldn't help but to feel a little bugged. It wasn't like he'd asked of anyone to cast those thoughts upon him. Those thoughts that stubbornly kept reoccurring.
Only two gifts were left, one for Will and one for Magnus. Will quickly started unwrapping the pastel blue out of his one. His gift to her wasn't that special anyway.. The other gift he would give later though.. His thoughts were interrupted and utterly surprised he lifted his eyes on his boss when the content of the package revealed itself. It was a personal gift, that's what was his first thought. Soft, deep blue pair of cotton trousers. Obviously pj's. He locked his gaze on Magnus again and she lifted her left brow at him in a way that only she could do.
"I thought that would be improvement to the old superman ones you have."
The room burst in laughter and Will noticed Kate nearly choking on her apple pie. Yeah, ha ha ha! He chuckled a little as well, though he wasn't too sure of why her boss had thought something was wrong with his old pj's. No, he just wasn't sure of why his boss had thought of his in pj's to begin with. Stop it! He told himself, trying to convince himself he was thinking too deep.
"Yeah… Er.. Thank you Magnus", he muttered, looking down at his plate, trying to hide how pleased he actually was. He had given him a personal gift, maybe not knowingly, but she had.
"Hey Magnus, aren't you going to open that one?" Henry's question broke the silence.
And he got to watch her unwrap his gift carefully, slowly, not breaking even an inch of the paper wrap. Once she read the label on that bottle of wine he'd given her, she let out a laughter and that laughter was the best sound he'd heard that evening.
"Drink tonight, it says. Will, you cheeky monkey!"
"So.. Boss.. does that mean we're allowed to have a little merry go around, too?"
"Sure Kate.. Go ahead", she responded, laughter still echoing in her voice.
"You know Magnus, tonight isn't going to last too long anymore." He stood at the doorway, watching his boss furrow her brows at the paperwork on the old wooden desk and then avert her eyes on him.
"It's not even bad wine.. I just had the label switched…"
She stood up, picking up the bottle.
"Well, then it better serve two, don't you agree?"
Will nodded.
"Library, shall we?"
He nodded again. It wasn't like he could say no to her anyway.
The wine indeed was not bad and the taste of it caressed her taste buns in a pleasant way. She was confounded at the fact she had filled her third glass. Usually she stuck to one or two perhaps, on special occasions.
"So, Will, is there a specific reason you wish me to reach an oblivious state of mind?" She asked, raising her glass of red wine at him.
His response shook her insides; taking away and setting aside her glass, he wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight.
"Yes, this. Lately you've looked like you need a hug."
And she allowed herself the pleasure of being held close, relaxing against him. True it was, she hadn't been held in such way in a long, long time. She quite enjoyed the feeling that his body cast on hers. The warmth in the simplicity of the gesture, how good it felt. Surprising herself, Helen bent even closer, lingering in the moment.
"Merry Christmas, Helen", his whisper near her ear sent pleasant shivers down her spine.
"Thank you Will," her words were spoken softly, relaxed as she stilled her pace for a moment. Will was pleased with himself; he'd succeeded in his mission to have his boss let loose for once, for Christmas. God only knew, she needed it. He'd also felt like a winner when she hadn't shaken herself out of the hug right away. Now, as they were walking at the corridors towards their rooms, he felt a little sorry the evening was going to end. Her company always, always made him feel better, even when he felt like crap the same time.. And that occasionally happened, too. He shrugged, looking up. Will blinked once. He blinked twice. Mistletoes.
So maybe it was the awful wine he'd agreed to drink with her that prompted him into action. Either way, they were standing under mistletoes, so he bent forward and kissed her quickly. That earned him a puzzled look from his boss. Will grinned, a little smugly
"Because the mistletoes told me so?" He was still grinning.
"You cheeky monkey!" But she was smiling, and that was enough to tell Will she wasn't too bothered of what he'd done. Also, now that he thought of it… Those luscious lips had tasted so damn good. The taste of her, persimmons, combined with her scent of violets. It was almost hypnotizing.
What Magnus did next left Will completely stunned. SHE KISSED HIM. SHE. KISSED. HIM.
"I need no excuses", her eyes were sparkling like stars, lips forming a half smile.
"No, you definitely don't."
And he kissed her again, this time with no excuses.