"I'm going out for a bit."
Trish raised an eyebrow at Dante. He had come down from his quarters in a bit of a rush, not even bothering to notice that she had tied her long blond locks into a high ponytail or that she had worn black turtle neck in place of her usual corset.
"Dante, I thought that since its, you know, Christmas….." , she began to say and stopped. She sighed heavily. While it had been fairly new to her, the idea of the celebration thrilled her to no end. The gorgeous lights around the town brightened up the gloomy and beat down apartments that littered their part of the neighborhood.
People were nicer too.
Well, they at least looked her in the eyes now when they spoke to her. Maybe it was just the turtle neck she wore but she liked to believe that it was the Christmas spirit
She had been looking forward to spending time with Dante during the holidays.
Alone. Just the way she wanted.
Lady was off somewhere in Europe training. She had sent a box of handmade chocolates with a postcard from France. Apparently training was going very well.
Lucia was still in her island although she had sent them a basket filled with offerings from the natives. It also contained a postcard with the number of a cellphone she had just gotten and a handmade scarf for Dante.
Trish rolled her eyes; Dante didn't need a scarf having survived the bone freezing might of the three-headed icy guardian of hell.
"You're just mad cause the sweater you tried to knit looks more like a straight-jacket."
She had tried to knit alright; it looked more like a more festive version of the garment used to restrain those of unsound mind.
"Well it pays to think ahead. Once he sees the little elves you knitted on it, they can just haul him right to the funny farm. Maybe he can serve as a decoration when he hangs himself with his shoe laces!"
Trish quickly squashed the voice and took comfort in the fact that Dante wore boots with zippers. Christmas spirit was being a bitch lately. It seemed to counteract whatever snide thoughts she had about anyone lately, and direct them back to her.
It wasn't her fault that she used the Southeastern version of elves. The Philippines had a version of elves that had sharp teeth and red eyes.
"Yeah, instead of the more common guilt feelings, I decided to get in the season. So yes, you can call me Christmas cheer for now."
Trish groaned as the door slammed shut. While she was busy arguing with herself, Dante had escaped.
"Damn it!"
Sighing loudly, Trish tried to busy herself by decorating the office. A few boughs of holly here and there just might take the attention off the collection of demon skulls pinned to the wall.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
Having retrieved a box of old Christmas ornaments from the attic Trish began to decorate.
A Christmas tree over the huge pentagram on the floor.
A few wreathes over the blood seals to ward off demons.
She continued to decorate until one ornament in particular caught her eye. The small white pearls and plastic leaves made for a very convincing replica of mistletoe.
Dante had told her what it meant of course. Last Christmas, she had hung them all over the ceiling and had gotten a kiss on the forehead for her efforts.
On her forehead. Like an old aunt. Or...Trish quickly shook her head of the thoughts.
She had been trying to sort her feelings for him ever since he had taken her in. She had a crush on him that was for sure. All that remained was how to break it to him without scaring him. She had , after all, known him for a little over two years only and also because there were at least two other women out there who shared her feelings for him.
"But both of them take a back seat to the real problem, don't they?"
"Oh God ... please….."
Trish wobbled slightly from the ladder as she hung golden paper stars from the walls.
"Come on! Can't you just imagine it? 'I love you Dante!'
"Shut the fuck up!"
She had taken a hammer and was nailing a huge Advent wreath on the wall.
"'I love you too!' Now can you kiss my boo-boo and make it feel better Mommy?'"
Whap!Whap!Whap!
The hammer drove the nail farther and farther into the wall as Trish glared at it.
"So I look like his mother. So what! I'm not HER!"
Whapwhapwhapwhapwhapwhap!
"Yeah. Your just an exact clone of her made to act, sound and move like she does!"
CRASH!
The wall broke and revealed a few carolers outside gaping at her. Trish swallowed and waved meekly at them.
"Er….I was just trying to….."
The carolers continued to gape. Trish dropped the hammer to distance herself from the evidence. Thinking quickly, she tried to save what little dignity she had.
"Come, they told me, parapapam-pam!"
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
Face glowing brightly, Trish followed the group of carolers to their next destination. As fate would have it, they were missing a member and had actually come by the shop for the very purpose of asking her if she wanted to volunteer for them.
After some initial embarrassment, Trish reluctantly decided to join them as a favor. They had helped her fix the wall after all.
She found, much to her amusement, that singing Christmas carols was very enjoyable. Being new to the tradition, she found them all very catchy.
The carolers put her often in the frontline because despite being a beginner, many people, mostly men, found it irresistible to give them a donation. Again, she liked to think that it was the Christmas spirit and not because the sweater she wore clung quite snugly to her body.
They were on their final stop for the night. An orphanage for those who had lost their parents to tragedy or disease.
According to Dante, the holiday season was very different for an orphan as they are constantly reminded of what they don't have. He had said that the day before.
Trish watched as dozens of children ran out to the front door. Surprisingly they were all smiling and chatting animatedly. The reason for this became apparent immediately.
"HO! HO! HO! What do we have here? A bunch of good people here to sing for you kids!"
Trish felt her heart leap into her throat. She knew who it was! It was unmistakable; the red suit, the deep voice, the jolly eyes, the white hair and huge belly.
It was Santa Claus! Using the excitement of the children and the support of the jolly man as her fuel, she sang louder and smiled brighter than she had all throughout the night.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Trish sipped the warm drink called eggnog which the teachers at the orphanage had made for her and the carolers. She watched as the children opened presents and felt a smile creep up to her face.
Somehow, despite the huge amounts of money they usually received after a job, this was the first time he actually felt like she had been paid back in full.
She walked around the main living room where the carolers and the teachers mingled and shared their plans for the holiday season. A small woman smiled at her as they both watched the children play with their toys.
"We don't know where it all comes from.", she chuckled.
"Excuse me?" Trish said after swallowing a sip of eggnog.
"The presents dear. Every year, someone comes and brings gifts for all the children. We usually don't have enough to buy decent gifts for all of them you know."
"Well it was Santa obviously." Trish said.
"My, how sweet of you to still believe in him after all these years!" The small teacher couldn't believe a 20-something woman would still genuinely believe.
"What do you mean? Why wouldn't I believe in him?", Trish responded a bit hoarsely.
"I-I mean, of course you believe in him dearie!"
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
Things winded down for the night. Trish bid farewell to the orphans and exited the building.
Her breath looked like wisps of smoke in the cold air as the temperature dropped rapidly during the night.
"That was some good singing."
Trish whirled around to find Santa Claus, leaning against a wall with his arms crossed. His voice seemed a lot less deeper and there was something familiar about his posture. The way his eyes crinkled reminded her of someone.
He also lost his belly.
"Wha--?"
"It's me.", The man ripped his long white beard from his face to reveal youthful skin which made his piercing blue eyes a lot more visible.
Trish's jaw dropped as "Santa" walked over to her with his hands in his pockets and smirked at her.
"When you tell people about this, and I know you will, could I be shirtless? It would be a lot more impressive if I was shirtless."
No doubt about it. It was him. Trish walked to him tentatively and tried to think of the first thing to say.
"The presents?"
"Yep. What about you? The caroling?"
"Oh…um….broke the wall. I sang and they helped."
"Little Drummer Boy?"
"Mmmhmm…."
Trish stuck her hands in her pockets and felt something stuffed in them. Thin plastic leaves crumpled in her grasp and she rolled the pearls in her fingers. She swallowed heavily and started thinking again.
"Chicken. You gonna go "Drummer Boy" on him too?"
Before she could retort to the voice in her head, she felt something soft and warm press against her cheek. A prickling sensation indicated the presence of stubble. Though the temperature had dropped well below zero, Trish felt her ears heat up. The warmth soon spread to her face, down to her neck and into her belly.
"He kissed you , dumdum!"
"Yeah, on the cheek too! HAHAHAHA! Not on the forehead, ON THE CHEEK!! YES!!! IN YOUR FACE!!!"
"Actually it was in YOUR face."
"YES! Yes it was!"
"Merry Christmas Trish."
Trish tried to regain normal brain function and opened her mouth to respond. Her face and neck were still tingling from the warmth and her tongue seemed to have a mind of its own.
"Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer, had a very shiny nose….."
END
A/N: Merry Christmas/Hannukkah/Kwanza to all! This is my little Christmas gift to all y'all who have continued to read and support my stories despite the utter lack of actual stories. When I wrote this, Lady and Lucia were actually gonna appear on it too but I thought that took away the warmth of the story. Besides, Trish needs some lovin' and a special honor as the very first DMC girl! So this is a gift to all my readers and to the DMC series in general as well. Thanks so much guys!