Disclaimer: All hail Angela, owner of all seen within.
Rating: K
A/N: This was originally going to be a much longer story, but it just wasn't working out. It's fitting as is, I think.
In the Name of Christmas
"Just pick one already. Our flight leaves tomorrow."
Lucy Diamond strode purposefully down the whitening New York street, her right hand man by her side nearly jogging to keep up. Her hands were stuffed deep in her fur pockets, her bangs hanging in front of her face that no amount of foggy breath could blow to the side.
Each step brought her closer to the Evil Lair she promised she wouldn't return to until her objective was complete. She let out a steamy sigh and curled her fingers tighter in the soft, protective fur. "It's not that simple, Scud."
Her near brother, caught somewhere between lanky and stocky, twisted her around with a hand on her shoulder. Now face-to-face, she had no option but to look him in the eye. "Last time I checked, it wasn't that hard to walk up to someone, smile, and say hello." He offered a smile of his own and received a huff in response.
"Yeah, well, last time I checked, you aren't so hot at this yourself."
Scud released the hand he still had on her shoulder and pulled away with a soft scowl. "Yeah, well, at least I try."
A grimace shadowed over her features before a distinct contriteness settled in. "Sorry. Guess I'm thinking more about last month than what I'm saying."
"Yeah, I get it." They continued their walk, Scud's arm slung around her shoulders again. "And you know you don't have to show up with someone, right?"
Lucy's eyes lowered to the sidewalk tiles as she blew out another breath. Right. The head of the Diamond Syndicate arrive alone to the annual Christmas get together of the biggest of the big in the underground crime rings. The same head of the largest American syndicate that everyone in the biggest of the big down under knew had a girlfriend of over a year that was supposed to be coming.
"She only recently broke it off too," Scud nudged the thought out there. "Are you sure you're ready to try something like this anyway?"
Emotional pain equivalent to a red-hot fire poker seized her heart before she threw a glare in Scud's direction.
"Right. Sorry. Back to the plotting." He removed his arm from her shoulders to point across the street. "How about her?"
Lucy afforded the girl a cursory glance, noticing a sloppy dye job and an abundance of unnecessary makeup. "Wrong personality."
"You haven't even met her!" Scud protested, his gestures as wild as usual.
"I don't need to, nor do I want to," Lucy responded evenly. "She's got a boyfriend and is on the lookout for a better one. Like I said, wrong personality."
Their trek home was once again impeded as Scud stopped short. "How can you possibly know that?"
The wind picked up a little, but Lucy braved it to lift an ungloved hand out of her warm pocket to point further down the road. "See that café? Her boytoy's sitting right there nursing a hot chocolate next to the table with the brunette. She left him not two minutes ago with a chaste kiss and a view of her backside as she dashed out the door. Any girl that's already got the guy they're looking for shouldn't be trying this hard to attract other guys' attention. She gestured back to the girl, proving her case in mere moments as the blonde performed a turn and stare when a dimpled man in a business suit passed by.
"That… could be her brother." Scud was grasping at straws and he knew it.
Going back to their little game, Lucy offered, "Last time I checked, brothers don't get pecks on the lips."
Knowing that continuing meant a further loss on his part and the blonde was already out anyway, Scud opted for a different route. "How about the brunette he's sitting next to then?"
"Married," she deadpanned as if the woman in question had been killed by the Ebola virus. "Seriously, Scud, are you even looking anymore?"
"Okay, so maybe a ring should be the first thing I look for, but let's see you do better."
"With pleasure." Dark eyes partially hidden by an even darker fringe scanned their surroundings, the hustle and bustle of the approaching holiday apparent in the many gift-laden arms. An annoying amount of smiles and laughs could be seen and heard everywhere. About to admit she would never choose anyone this cheery about a nonexistent bearded man, her eyes landed on another blonde, this one naturally so, staring out of a bookstore's window at the falling snow, a half-read book on the small table before her. Something about the woman's mesmerized stare made the criminal melt a little despite the frigid air. Eyes hypothermia itself couldn't turn bluer caught hers, catalyzing the slow spread of a smile upon the blonde's devastating lips and Lucy's own weak return. Smile still in place, the blonde went back to watching the snow fall.
After taking in another moment's glance of sun-kissed hair, Lucy turned to regard the snow herself. The small flakes twirled and twisted in the air, dancing to imaginary music as they made their slow descent. Pulling her hand out from its haven, Lucy caught a few in her palm and smiled despite the chilly breeze. Winter had never been her favorite time of the year, but winter was too vague a generalization. There were moments of her past set in the snow she'd rather forget, but condemning the entire season, she now knew, was too harsh a consequence. The wind whispered its forgiveness with each snowflake's erratic dance.
She looked back to the blonde on the other side of the street, a conspiratorial grin already on her features, only to find her gone, the open book lying forlornly, awaiting her return, and breathy fog still lingering on the chilled window.
Damn.
"Scud!" The man in question just about fell flat on his face from the abrupt shout. "Did you see where she went?"
Having only barely recovered his balance, understanding of the situation was still miles away. "She? Who she?"
Well on her way to crossing the street, Lucy threw over her shoulder, "That was her, Scud."
He jogged to keep up. "What? Who was her?"
"The blonde. Bookstore. Beautiful, God, so beautiful…"
As soon as they were safely on the sidewalk, Scud turned her with a hand on her shoulder and steadied her in front of him. "Sentences, Lucy. Sentences are our friends."
Long, swirling tunnels of steam marked each deep breath necessary to calm down enough to speak. "The blonde in the bookstore. She was sitting just there." An entire hand motioned to the store, table, and book before she headed in its general direction again, searching every direction for the blonde curls and blue eyes imprinted in her mind.
"Oh, that blonde."
Lucy wheeled around to face Scud once more. "You saw her?"
"Well, yeah. I thought it was odd she was drawing on the window. I thought only kids did that."
"Drawing on the…" Lucy's sentence trailed off in proportion to the trail her footsteps made in the snow toward the bookstore. In mere seconds, she breathed out a few newfound nerves, clasped the ornate door handle and stepped inside.
Heat rushed to the tips of each finger, only some of which was contributed by the heater overhead. Melting chocolate eyes briefly scanned the store, and upon finishing said scan without a trace of the golden beauty, landed on the vacated seat and the paperback book near the seemingly streak-free window.
Never one to pass up this good an opportunity, she narrowed in on the window, paused from a vague sense of foolishness, and revealed the blonde's message with a few warm breaths.
She grinned, caught herself, but grinned wider despite Scud standing not two feet from her. So what if toothy grins weren't badass? She had a certifiable blonde goddess meeting her at the café down the street in… a glance at her watch… three hours.
Having memorized them, she smudged the words off the window and turned back to Scud with the grin still eating away at her cheeks.
"So much for smiling and saying hello," he grumbled.