Title: A Better Kind of Christmas
Fandom: Big Time Rush
Pairing: Kelly/Gustavo
Rating: Teen, I guess. Nothing explicit.
Summary: Post-Christmas episode. How they ended up staying home and arriving at the Palmwoods on Christmas morning. Together. In pajamas.
0o0
Gustavo runs gleefully to the limo that Kelly - at heart an optimist - has had waiting for since their last celebrity guest 'arrived' on the scene. He doesn't seem to feel his injuries anymore, which is good, as Kelly was a bit more worried than she'd let on.
All right, a lot more worried, but he seems fine. Why this should matter to her she can't fathom, but he motions her to get in the car beside him and she does, even though she isn't going to Fiji. She has her own holiday plans - dinner with her sister and five screaming children and there's nothing wrong with that, really. It's a nice change, certainly, than Gustavo's insane musical emergencies.
Not that she'd trade those for anything in the world, but ...
"Cancel my flight," he says, nodding at her, smiling.
Her grin fades. She reaches out to feel his forehead. "Are you okay?"
He nods, smiling still. Now she's scared. "Perfectly fine. I just realized that I don't want to go to Fiji."
Kelly sighs and slumps in her seat. "You've been planning this trip for months. Years, even. I've been hearing about Fiji since ... since ... forever. Why aren't you going?"
He looks at her imperiously from over the yellow lenses of his glasses. "Because I said so. So cancel my flight and tell the driver to hit the mansion."
"Fine," she growls back. She stabs at the speed dial for the travel agent and yells to the driver to head straight to Chez Rocque, even though she's pretty sure he's heard him already. Gustavo's voice is rather like that ... it carries. Far.
Gustavo is making a few calls of his own, which she ignores, waiting for the travel agency to pick up. And so she waits ... and waits ... and rides ... and they finally end up at the mansion where, to her surprise, deliveries are being made.
A very large pine tree and wreath are carried inside, followed by men hauling boxes of lights. There are red velvet ribbons, big enough to adorn a stadium and someone has already started wrapping the columns in front of Gustavo's house in red stripes, making them look like candy canes.
"What's going on here?" Kelly asks, tensely, waiting for yet another shoe to drop.
"Christmas is what's going on here!" Gustavo booms. "Come inside, my dear, and let us feast on more cocoa and marshmallows before the roaring fire." He glares at one of the delivery people meaningfully. "Which had better be roaring, right now."
"It is, sir," the man hurriedly replies and gets back to nailing endless strings of lights to the mansion's vast porch.
Kelly's mouth drops open in surprise. She follows him inside where the Christmas tree is just being set up, surrounded by boxes of delicate ornaments. Gustavo orders the lights to be put on, but nothing else and she sees there are already plates of cookies put out, as well as a large thermos full of what smells like very, very good hot chocolate.
She grins. This looks okay. This looks better than okay and she beams at Gustavo fondly. He grins back and offers his hand for her to take. She acquiesces with a delighted squeak and they end up on the white sofa before the fire, curled up with a cup of cocoa each.
"Allow me," he says and she laughs outright when he dumps a giant pawful of marshmallows in her cup. "Ahh, this is much better than a twelve-hour flight to some beach by myself."
She splutters a little in her drink. "It is?"
"Sure. It's nice for a day or two, but then, it's boring all by myself. This way," he says, leaning back and wrapping an arm around her slim shoulders. "I can relax and have some company. Not to mention a real Christmas. It's kinda of not the same in ninety-degree weather with palms trees everywhere."
She shrugs, then curls in closer, not caring why he's decided to stay, just that he has. He smells nice, she thinks, like fabric softener and only a little bit like the engine oil that leaked from Snoop's car when it crashed into him. The cookies are tempting her, all white frosting with red and green sugar, shaped like trees and elves so she snags the entire plate to balance on their laps.
Gustavo nods his approval and they snack away, unconcerned about the crumbs that start to mar his precious designer sofa. Eventually, the decorators leave, a job well-done, and the house is blessedly quiet, with a crackling fire and finally ... peace.
Kelly finds herself getting a little sleepy, wrapped in the crook of Gustavo's huge arm. She moves just enough to put down the cocoa and cookies, taking Gustavo's cup for good measure because he's starting to nod off as well.
She curls back up against him, dragging a blanket off a nearby chair to cover them with. Gustavo makes a pleased noise and they snuggle together, as somewhere one of his timed remotes goes off and soft Christmas music fills the air. Pretty melodies, not a Yard Squirrel voice in sight and it feels so natural and right to be there, the two of them together, enjoying Christmas.
0o0
She has no idea for how long they've slept, but from the looks of the rising sun outside, it's been quite a while. Her mouth drops and she nudges Gustavo happily. "Merry Christmas," she whispers.
He blinks owlishly at her, his glasses having fallen off sometime during the night. "Merry Christmas," he says softly and leans over to kiss her forehead. Somehow he does this as she tilts her head up to offer a kiss of her own to his cheek and their lips meet in the middle.
Like a bright spark of holiday light, the kiss surprises them both with its heat and beauty. Kelly's breath catches in her throat and Gustavo's eyes are as huge with shock, but that doesn't stop them from doing it again.
And again and ... again. A moment later there's frantic, passionate scrambling and a bit of wreckage, as cookie trays clatter off the table and cold cocoa somehow lands on them as they tumble down to the floor. Gustavo doesn't seem to care all that much about his precious carpet and Kelly knows she doesn't care, except that she's with Gustavo and it's wonderful.
And oddly comfortable, even later, as they huddle together in hastily purloined pajamas - the set the boys gave him and another set that some thoughtless executive had sent to Gustavo years before that was, of course, five sizes too small. They drink flavored coffee and Gustavo proves he can cook, at least scrambled eggs and toast.
They turn on the television for background noise as Kelly gets to work decorating the tree. She places ornaments as Gustavo barks orders where to put each one and she's laughing so hard at some points - between yelling back at him - that it's a wonder the tree gets done at all.
But it does and it's beautiful. Christmas is beautiful and like all newly happy people, Kelly suggests sharing their happiness with the boys, as the television has informed them that Minnesota is closed to air traffic for the foreseeable future.
Gustavo only thinks for a second before nodding his agreement. "Santa has his reindeer and I have my Dogs. It's only right. But let's not show up empty-handed. How about ordering a feast to bring with us? A giant turkey and all the fixings. What do you say?"
"You got it, Scroogie," she grins and starts calling around for a caterer that's open and willing to bring over a Christmas dinner for a dozen. She accomplishes this without too much difficulty and then it's only a matter of changing ...
"I'm not changing," Gustavo says in that voice that she knows it's useless to argue against. He runs his fingers across the red silk of his new pjs. He ambles over and pulls her to him, his hands warm over the soft cotton of her own nightclothes. "It'll be easier to take off later," he whispers, waggling his eyebrows at her like a naughty kid, making her laugh and melt all at once. "What do you say?"
She can't stop giggling, so she nods instead.
"Good," he says briskly, letting her go. He goes to his desk and pulls out a long, slim box, tossing it to her. "I didn't wrap it, hope you understand."
She catches it easily as years of practice catching what Gustavo tosses her way pays off yet again. It's probably another pen, which is fine, as the last one is running out of ink. She flips open the top, expecting to see nothing more than the words "Mont Blanc" staring back at her.
She certainly doesn't expect the glitter of a string of brilliant emeralds to dazzle her. She really, truly doesn't expect Gustavo to pluck it out of the box and fasten it around her wrist, examining it critically once he's done. "Green looks good on you, just as I thought," he says as she gapes breathlessly at him. He shrugs at her. "It's Christmassy!"
"Right," she gasps, hardly daring to look at her gift, but look she does once they are back in the limo, staring at the shining bracelet when she thinks he's not looking. But he's always looking at her and smiling, taking her by the hand once they reach the Palmwoods Hotel.
The caterers have arrived as well. She and Gustavo stroll in casually, their pajamas dragging a little as they walk and they arrive to the lobby to find the entire crew there as well as the manager who looks like he's found his own brand of happiness that day.
Kelly knows how he feels. She feels like she's floating and once the table is set up, she sits down next to Gustavo, reaching out to take his hand beneath the table. He squeezes her fingers before snagging the stuffing and piling her plate high with it. "Eat," he admonishes and leans over to kiss her cheek.
Only the little girl, Katie, notices this sea change between them. Her round eyes widen, but she says nothing. She only grins at Kelly who grins back and Christmas goes on for the rest of the day, spent in pajamas and enjoying life.
Together.
0o0
end
Kelly/Gustavo 'shippers represent! :D Thanks for reading./lj-cut