A belated Christmas oneshot for Desmond fans out there! This is my first romance, and I was originally going to have my Federico oneshot be my first, but then Christmas came up and I found myself writing this. Sorry if it gets confusing at all. I suck at this ^_^; There's another one for Shaun, and that's all there is. I will write more for other characters, but they'll have to wait for next year. =\ Anyways, hope you all enjoy, and merry belated Christmas!
Together For Christmas
ReaderxDesmond
December 24th, 2012
You were humming a Christmas carol as you walked down one of New York's many sidewalks, a bright smile on your face. It was nighttime, and it was snowing, so you chose to wear your warm coat and scarf before you went out. You watched as the white flakes of snow descended from the sky, some even landing on your face, and you shivered at the coldness, but continued on your way nonetheless.
You were carrying a small box, which was bundled up in colorful wrapping paper, with a red bow tied at the top. Your excitement began to grow as you thought about what his reaction would be, causing you to increase your pace slightly, eager to reach your destination. You checked your wristwatch, and your eyes widened. It was almost closing time. You began to run, hoping you would get to him before he goes home. You ignored the stares from passerby as you practically zoomed down the sidewalk, not even noticing the ice up ahead.
Your feet suddenly flew up from underneath you, and you yelped as you spun in the air. You felt weightless for a moment, before you fell back to the ground, landing on your stomach, your face making contact with the frozen ground. You nearly cried out at the pain, but you shook it off, and tried to stand up. After maintaining your balance on the iced ground, you gasped when you spotted your gift on the sidewalk, and you picked it up. You lifted the lid, and sighed in relief when you saw that your gift was unharmed. You smiled in approval, and closed the box.
Your face was red from falling onto the ice, and you moved to cover it with your scarf, but you shook your head, thinking that you should get going. You continued your run, careful not to slip on anymore ice.
You finally reached the building, its neon sign flickering through its light veil of snow. You stopped before the entrance, panting, your breaths coming out in small visible clouds of air. You held your present behind your back with one hand, while you used the other to open the door. You walked in, spotting the man you wanted to see.
He was behind the bar's counter, cleaning things up and getting ready to leave. He spotted you, and his eyes widened.
"(Your Name)?" he muttered, his eyebrows arching in surprise. You grinned sheepishly, nodding as you waved a hand.
"Hi Desmond," you replied. You met Desmond when you first visited the bar he worked at. You only had small conversations at first, but after some more visits to the bar, you became friends somewhat. You weren't that close though, and you were hoping to change that.
The brunette walked around the counter, and his eyes widened as he sauntered over to you. "Hey, what happened?" he asked, his hands grasping your shoulders as he looked at your face. "You're bleeding. Did you hit your face on something?" You were grateful for his concern, but you blinked in confusion. Raising your hand to touch your face, you felt something wet. You pulled your hand away to find some red on your fingers, and you chuckled with a smile. You guessed you must have gotten some nasty cuts from your fall.
"Yeah. I was running on my way here, and I kinda slipped on some ice." You shook your head at your clumsiness. "Landed face-first." After taking another glance at your friend, you laughed. "I guess I was so focused on getting here that I didn't notice the blood." He frowned, and took your hand, pulling you over to the bar. You wondered about how you managed to keep the present hidden for so long.
"You should be more careful," Desmond said, seating you on one of the stools. "It's Christmas Eve, after all. " He walked behind the counter, and bent over to search the bottom shelves. You watched him, and after a few seconds, he stood up, with a first aid kit in his hands. The brunette placed the kit on the table, and zipped it open. He got a white cloth, soaked it under the nearby sink, and faced you again. He leaned towards you, his upper body hovering over the counter, as he began to clean your injuries.
As he continued this, he asked, "So, what brought you here?"
You grinned at the question, and responded happily, "I have something for you." The brunette paused, blinking. Before he even had the chance to ask, you pulled out the present from behind your back, and placed it on the counter. "Merry Christmas, Desmond." He stared at the box, his eyes wide with surprise. His gaze remained on the gift as he lowered his hand from your face.
"You ran all the way here, got hurt, to give me a present?" You nodded, and he sighed. "You...You didn't have to do that," he mumbled. "I haven't even gotten you anything." He sounded guilty, and you shook your head, a warm smile played on your lips.
"That's okay. I just want to make sure you're happy." Desmond looked up, his mouth open as he stared at you. Slowly, he smiled.
"Thanks, (Your Name)." You nodded, and as Desmond moved to open the present, you swiftly slapped his hand. "Ow!" He pulled his hand back, holding it as he looked at you with wide eyes. "What'd you do that for?" he asked accusingly, and, dare you say it, in a somewhat childish manner.
You crossed your arms, smirking. "No opening presents until Christmas, Desmond."
He arched an eyebrow. "I never took you as someone who would wait until Christmas to open presents." You laughed, shaking your head, and Desmond smiled.
"Anyways," he began, returning his attention back to the first aid kit. He washed your face a bit more, before depositing the red-stained cloth. "Let's fix up your face, then we can both go home." As he started to apply antibiotic cream to the cuts on your face, you stared over his shoulder at the shelves of wine and beer, deep in thought and in your own little world.
After he was done with the antibiotic cream, he was about to get the band-aids when you muttered, "Desmond?" He paused, looking at you. You hesitated slightly, before you asked, "Do you have any family to spend Christmas with?" Desmond tensed somewhat, and you were going to apologize for asking, regretting that you had even thought of that question, but he had cut you off.
"Nah, I ran away from my family a long time ago." He placed a band-aid on one of your cuts. "I've been alone ever since then." You nodded in understanding as he continued applying band-aids to your face, and when he was done, you hopped off the stool, turning to face him.
"Tell you what," you said, placing your hands on your hips. Desmond put the first aid kit away, and glanced up at you. "Come with me to my place, and we can celebrate Christmas together." You smiled, and your friend stared at you in surprise.
"Don't you have a family to celebrate with?" he asked, stepping around the counter.
"They left yesterday to stay at a relative's home for Christmas," you replied. "I didn't go with them though." This made Desmond stop in his steps, staring at you in surprise.
"Why?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. You blushed lightly, shuffling your feet shyly, thankful that your face was still red from the cold.
"I stayed because...I don't want you to be alone, Desmond." Your eyes softened. "No one should be alone during Christmas, especially you." You watched as Desmond stood beside the counter, gazing at you with wide eyes, and you smiled. "So, you coming?" Desmond blinked, recovering from his shock, and he nodded, grinning.
"Yeah, I'm coming." He picked up the gift you have given him, and told you he had to close the bar first. He walked over to the front entrance and locked it, and led you to the backdoor.
After Desmond turned off the lights, you both exited the building and you waited as the brunette locked the backdoor. The two of you then walked out of the alley and onto the sidewalk. You both walked side by side down the path, listening as Christmas songs played nearby, and you felt Desmond slowly take your hand, enclosing it in his. You smiled to yourself, moving closer to the tall brunette so you would be snug against his side. You felt him lean his head on yours, and you could feel his warm breath rushing against your ear, his lips forming a smile as he whispered,
"Merry Christmas, (Your Name)."