a/n: Here is the promised Christmas story. Have a wonderful holiday season everyone! :) Hope you enjoy!
Annie almost didn't go to the DPD's christmas party; mostly because she had plans to see Danielle and the girls, but partly because spending an evening with many smarmy co-workers (Auggie excluded) was not her idea of holiday cheer.
But then her plans had been post-poned because the girls were going to visit Michael's ailing grand mother in the nursing home, and Auggie had called her, begging her to accompany him to the christmas party so he could have an excuse to stay away from Barbara-from-Human-Resources.
A night at the DPD (Auggie included), in comparison to a bleary night alone in her safe house, seemed like a great way to spend the evening at the time, and Annie had reluctantly agreed, especially since it gave her an excuse to wear the new red dress she'd been saving for a special occasion.
"Having fun yet?" Auggie asked, his deep voice interrupting her train of thoughts.
"Well that all depends on if you brought me my punch." Annie turned around, grinning as Auggie held up a green plastic cup.
"I've got it right here. You know, you are a really demanding date."
Annie's jaw dropped slightly with a gasp, and she yanked the cup away from him, shooting him a glare. "I'm sorry. I seem to remember you promising to wait on me, hand and foot, as long as I protected you from Barbara," she teased, giggling as he narrowed his eyes.
"And that is the only reason why you aren't getting your own punch, Annie Walker."
She laughed again. "Because you're afraid of a woman who I'm beginning to doubt even exists?"
"She definitely exists!"
"Maybe if you could give me an accurate description, instead of just telling me that she smells like coconuts-"
"She does smell like coconuts!"
"I really think that whole story was just a ploy to get me to come as your date. Really, Auggie, I'm flattered, but there were easier ways to get me to come out with you." She patted him on the shoulder, receiving a growl in return. "Hey, what was that for?" she complained.
"Just showing my appreciation for you," he muttered, and she grinned widely, bumping her hip with his.
"Merry Christmas, Auggie," she sang.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Seriously though, isn't this better than moping around your safe-house?"
Annie nodded. "It's funner than I thought it would be. Who knew that the DPD could look so festive?"
Auggie smirked. "You know, funnily enough, I've heard the same thing about you."
"Excuse me?"
"Apparently, you look very good tonight."
"Who said that?" Annie demanded, her cheeks tinging pink.
A slow grin spread over Auggie's face. "You're all that those techies by the punch bowl can talk about. Did you dress up for me, Annie?"
"You wish," she muttered, rolling her eyes.
He sighed. "I knew it. You wore it for Jai, didn't you? Go ahead Annie, break my heart, tell me the truth."
"Auggie!"
He burst out laughing, his dark eyes twinkling as she elbowed him in the gut.
"Shut up and get me a refill," she grumbled.
"No way," he pouted, crossing his arms firmly. "There is no way you finished the cup I gave you already."
"I did."
"Then there is no way you're already thirsty," he said incredulously.
"I am."
"Then you're coming with me."
She smirked at him. "Not unless you want me to let Barbara maul you."
Much to her surprise, Auggie smirked right back. "Go ahead, Annie. I've got some stories about you that will make those techies over there very interested."
Her brows furrowed in confusion. "No you don't."
His grin grew wider. "They don't know that. I could tell them anything, and they'd believe me."
At Annie's shocked silence, he took her arm and began to walk in the direction of the punch bowl.
"I can't believe you," she muttered. "This is blackmail. You offered to cater to my every need tonight."
He chuckled softly. "That doesn't mean you have to let me cater to your every need. That's just rude."
If Annie hadn't been glaring at her best friend, she might have been more aware of her surroundings. However, she did not notice Stu's paling face or Jai's widening grin until it was too late and Jai was giving her a greeting that was strangely enthusiastic.
"Annie!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands delightedly. "Nice dress!"
She gave him a quick smile in thanks, ladling the punch into her cup grudgingly as Auggie stood smugly next to her. As she took a large gulp and turned to leave, Auggie's hand still on her elbow, Jai's voice stopped her.
"Hey, Annie, where are you going?"
She turned around, gesturing towards the desk that she and Auggie had been loitering by. "Just right over there."
"I don't think so."
"What?" With a feeling of unease, Jai's sinister smile registered in her brain, and with a glance at everyone else standing around the bowl, she saw similar looks of amusement or (in Stu's case) something resembling fear. Jai's finger extended, pointing up at the ceiling, and with a rock of dread clenching in her stomach, Annie's eyes drifted up, focusing on a small green plant that confirmed her suspicions.
A hush fell over the bystanders as they saw the sprig of mistletoe and the most talked about duo in the DPD standing under it. Auggie seemed to sense the change in the atmosphere and he raised an eyebrow. "What happened?" he asked.
Annie did not answer him; she continued to glare at Jai's positively gleeful face in contempt.
With a small clearing of his throat, Stu whispered, "Jai, maybe we shouldn't..."
Jai snorted. "We said the next two people who came would have to do it. Don't chicken out just because he's your boss."
Auggie's voice rose over Stu's protests. "What happened?" he asked again, frustration seeping into his tone.
Annie cleared her throat, turning towards him. "It's mistletoe, Auggie."
His eyes widened minutely before cocking an eyebrow. "Oh, well why didn't you just say so, Jai?"
Annie swallowed deeply in surprise. She glanced sideways at Auggie, wondering why he seemed so completely unfased. The thought of kissing Auggie made her palms slightly sweaty, her breath slightly shaky, and her general demeanor very nervous.
She coughed slightly to cover her shock. "Auggie!"
"Yes?"
"Are you-we're not actually going to-"
Jai cut off her fragmented questions. "You have to, it's Christmas Law."
Annie rolled her eyes, suddenly aware of what seemed like every eye in the DPD trained on her and Auggie. Auggie seemed to feel it too. "Well, we can't disappoint everyone, can we Annie?"
Actually, they could. They could very easily disappoint everyone, tell Jai to shove it, and go back to avoiding Barbara from Human Resources. Annie tried to relax; why did she care if it was Christmas Law (which Jai had just invented for his convenience) or if everyone wanted them to, or if she had occasionally and secretly wanted to after one too many drinks at Allen's? Obviously Auggie had no qualms about kissing her, so she needed to take a deep breath and get it over with.
Get it over with?
Oh, who was she kidding? She knew instinctively that she was panicking because she didn't want to just 'get it over with'. She continued to stare at him, scrutinizing his strong jaw, full lips, light shadow of scruff, deep eyes, muss of brown hair, those strong arms, lean hips... Yeah, she could tell just by looking at Auggie that once he started kissing her, she would not want him to stop, and she didn't need that kind of mortification in front of all of her colleagues. And Joan.
Oh, God. Joan.
As soon as that thought crossed her mind, she knew that there was nothing else to do but make a run for it. Unfortunately, as if he was reading her thoughts, Auggie reached out a hand and pulled her arm towards him, preventing her from slipping away and causing her to stumble into his chest, she quickly put her punch on the table before her shaking hands dropped it. The smell of his cologne tickled her nose and her nerves, and she tried desperately to shake herself out of it. She was acting like an eighth grader who had never been kissed before, when she was in fact a confident twenty six year old who had been kissed plenty of times.
"Don't worry," she heard Auggie intone, his words vibrating from his chest into her body. "Even though I'm blind, I'm still a pretty good kisser." She looked up into his surprisingly smoldering brown eyes, and immediately began to panic again, wishing she never would have insisted on the extra glass of punch. She didn't really need it after all, the only purpose it served in the end was filling her bladder and getting her into a compromising situation with her best friend in front of all of her coworkers. She sighed, knowing that someone, somehow would get a picture of this and it would circulate around to all of the people who weren't at the party because they actually had lives and plans and eventually everyone would know about the first moment when her lips had locked with Auggie's.
Which, if she was being completely and brutally honest with herself was something she had always imagined happening in private.
She did not have long to dwell on this thought because Auggie was now leaning in, and Annie was finding it significantly harder to breathe.
"Auggie..." she began again, feeling every eye on her.
He did not answer her, merely slid his hands from her arms up the smooth curve of her neck and until they rested on her jaw, effectively stilling all of her movements and protests. She swallowed roughly; there was no turning back now. His thumbs reached out to brush softly along her lips, and she sharply inhaled, ignoring the knowing glint that appeared in his eye the second the sound registered in his mind.
He leaned in closer, slowly closing the gap between them, until his tantalizing lips were pressing firmly onto hers. As soon as her lips connected with his, her rigid body sagged into his, and his hands moved down to grip her hips, causing shivers to shoot down her spine and filling her with a desperation to press herself as close to Auggie as possible.
She tried to focus on the fact that this was just supposed to be a little mistletoe kiss, but her mantra of: Annie, you do not want to keep kissing Auggie, was puttering out as his lips moved against hers so wonderfully.
Annie's pulse was rapidly increasing, something she figured Auggie would be able to feel somehow, and Auggie's hands tightened around her hips as time dragged on and neither of them pulled away from eachother. For a mistletoe kiss, this was lasting a long time. And was it just her or was he increasing the pressure on her lips? She felt her hands moving of their own volition to wrap around Auggie's tie and pull him closer. One of his hands slid up to tangle in her hair and hold her face firmly against his own and his head tilted slightly, deepening the kiss with a masterful skill. There was no denying it, his tongue was teasing her and her mouth was begging for it and suddenly he was gently biting her lip and invading her mouth.
Immediately, she was filled with a new desire, a fervor so strong there was no way to ignore it. She stepped even closer into him, frantically responding to his kiss. Suddenly her tongue was dueling with his and swiping over his lip and she was the one teasing and nipping and his breath was speeding up as he melded himself against her.
Whistles broke through the air and Auggie and Annie broke apart with a pop, looking wildly around. Annie glanced sideways at Auggie, swallowing deeply and attempting the regain the composure he had stolen from her, taking some pleasure in the fact that he looked just as discombobulated as she felt.
Auggie was able to clear his throat first. "Merry Christmas, Jai," he murmured, and Annie didn't object when his hand found the small of her back and led her firmly away while setting her nerves on fire. She kept her eyes focused on the floor as they walked, scared to look up and see who had witnessed her complete failure to control herself, and slightly nervous to find out which girls would be spitting with jealousy. "That wasn't too bad, was it?" he asked, chuckling lowly into her ear and sending a tornado into her brain. "Just a small little kiss, and I was pretty good."
Annie snorted, still slightly unsteady. "Those are both serious understatements."
He raised an eyebrow at her words, leaning in closer until all of her breath seemed to disappear. "You think so?"
She felt her cheeks prickling, and she knew they were turning the same color as her dress; the only sound that was able to escape her mouth was a meek, "Mm-hmm."
"Well," he murmured, "you were pretty good, too."
She stared at him in uncertainty. "Is that an understatement, too?" she asked quietly.
A smirk arose on his face, but did not detract from the honesty of his words. "Oh, yeah."
She smiled, some of her normal confidence returning at his compliment. "Merry Christmas, Auggie."
He leaned in, causing her heart to dangerously palpitate in an extremely irregular fashion, but much to her disappointment he chose to press a light kiss on her cheek, murmuring a low and very alluring, "Merry Christmas, Annie," into her ear, causing her to bite her lip and relive the kiss of a few moments ago.
It was a very merry Christmas, indeed.
And she might want to think about sending Jai a thank you card.