A/N: The reviews that have been submitted have been so incredibly wonderful. You guys are a really really fantastic group, and I'm so happy and lucky to be part of this fandom. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and ideas with me! I hope you enjoy this little bit of sweet fluff for today.
She almost didn't notice it. She had been kind of avoiding Ranger's office today, despite knowing how ridiculous she was being. She had put today's gift in his stocking while he was on a phone call with the door closed, probably around 8 am. Ever since then she didn't want to go see him in case the tree wasn't out. Or in case it was. She wasn't entirely sure. It was all very confusing for her.
She put her head down on her desk and groaned. Had she not thought this through at all? For some reason, in her head, none of this was going to wreak havoc on her emotions. She could make it through the 25 days until Christmas, giving Ranger personal gifts that she was emotionally invested in, and she thought that it would be fine.
She was an idiot.
It was only day 6 and she was already having some sort of breakdown. She couldn't decide if she wanted him to like the gifts, or to what degree to like the gifts and – oh, it was all just so confusing!
She knew she must have looked crazy, doing searches with the occasional mutter to herself. She was so worked up that she didn't even turn around when Tank dropped more searches into her inbox, and the man being as smart as he was, didn't even try to ask. He knew when it was a lost cause.
Around 11, she took another search out of her inbox, eager to keep her mind busy lest it keep revolving around Ranger and a plastic Christmas tree (boy, was that a sentence she never thought would exist) when she noticed it.
The search was from Ranger, which wasn't surprising given that Tank had dropped it off. Most of the searches that came from Tank were for the larger projects that both he and Ranger were involved in. Ranger's scrawl at the bottom told her that this was needed by tomorrow – not so urgent , the Post-It in the middle of the page told her that he wanted to do lunch with her, and the Batman paperclip at the top of the page told her that he received today's gift, and if nothing else, thought it was pragmatic.
It was the traditional Batman symbol, with the body of the bat going behind the pages, and the wings staying on the front. They were silver (she knew Ranger didn't enjoy the colored paperclips, not only because of their failure to bow to his monochromatic ways, but because they "felt" wrong) and sturdy, holding together a stack of at least ten pages.
He liked them.
She sent him a quick e-mail, asking if 12:30 was okay (still not willing to go to the lion's den and risk seeing…something? nothing?), and felt a little bit of the worry creep out of her. He might not have liked yesterday's present – and she knew she was jumping to absurd conclusions with that – but he liked today's. Liked it enough to use it. And liked it enough for Tank to see it first, too.
She thought for a minute that maybe Tank didn't notice, but then she remembered what Connie said. She was in a building of professionals, trained to notice everything. She wasn't getting away with anything.
For some reason, that made her even happier when she thought of him using the paperclips.
"Ella made beef stew and bread, Babe. That okay?"
The first really cold snap had hit today and she felt it all the way to her bones. She needed something warm and rich to get her back to normal, and that, combined with Ella? She felt her soul moan in appreciation.
"Didn't realize you were in the habit of asking stupid questions, Ranger," she teased, still feeling the high of endorphins from him using the paperclips that morning. Ridiculous? Yes.
"Babe."
She just grinned at him and continued to set up bowls at the breakfast bar for them. After they had finally settled in, she was surprised when Ranger broke the silence.
"How's the reindeer?"
It took her a moment before she realized what he was talking about and beamed at him.
"Great, actually. People love it. I think people don't want to see it explode, which is something new and different for me."
"If it doesn't blow up this month, it will be a Christmas miracle."
Stephanie grasped her heart, feigning shock. "Did you just make a joke, Ranger? I mean, if that's not a Christmas miracle, I don't know what is!"
"I'm a funny guy, Babe." The corners of his mouth barely lifted.
"See, I think you're funny. No one believes me when I tell them you're funny."
He took a deep breath. This was part of his plan. If he didn't like it when Lester told her stories, he was going to have to step up his game.
"One time, overseas, I even got one over on Lester."
"You did?" Stephanie couldn't see Ranger actually playing a practical joke on someone, let alone Lester, the master of revenge.
"To be fair, we weren't in hostile territory and it was his own damn fault." He let out a little chuckle in remembrance.
"Can you…tell me the story? I mean, if it's not classified or something?"
"Babe, I wouldn't bring up a story I couldn't share." He had to dredge the memory up from his brain and actually work on not laughing. "We were overseas, pretty close to a nearby embassy, and Lester thought he was being a badass, sneaking away and hooking up with a delegate."
Stephanie flushed a bit thinking of Lester in that type of situation, but it quickly receded. She wasn't surprised in the least.
"We were camped out in the desert and he brought her back with him one time, which was not only distracting, but…disruptive." He saw her blush more and knew he understood what he was getting at. "She slipped out in the morning, not waking him, and she told us that we should clear out too, since some journalists and reporters used that route and were going to be recording."
"No…" She had an idea where this was going.
"We gathered all our stuff, packed up the Humvee and parked it out of reach. I shouted that we were about to come under enemy fire, and Lester woke up screaming like a little girl. He made it out of his sleeping bag to grab his pistol, and Tank…" He put his head down in his hand, trying to fight his smile. It was so ridiculous to him, even after all these years. "Tank shoved a grenade in his sleeping bag and threw it as far as he could. Lester starts running buck naked, following Bobby, with only his M9. Bobby led him right to a caravan of reporters, who were all filming the sunrise anyways."
"M9? Isn't that the Beretta you have downstairs?" He nodded. "That's not that big!" She gasped.
"Oh, it was big enough. The desert isn't always hot, Babe, and it was a cold, cold night."
Stephanie threw her head back, laughing hysterically, spurring on Ranger's slight laugh. It really was a sight to see, and it helped to take Lester down a few pegs.
"Did anyone see? Like, was it recorded by any big news?"
"It was just amateur reporters and journalists, but it spread fast. Made it on that segment that Anderson Cooper does, I think, about ridiculous things."
"The RidicuList?!" He nodded almost imperceptibly. "Tell me you have it somewhere on tape!" She put her hands on Ranger's thigh, almost begging. He could feel her heat through his jeans and he swallowed thickly, his eyes drawn to her fingers. "I mean, so long as it's blurred out or something. But that is so great!"
She didn't seem to notice his minor lapse in cognitive function and removed her hands, allowing him to breathe once more. "I can't even believe you did that!" She crowed as she dug back in to her stew. "You're a genius."
The last of his laughter melted away, and he impulsively snaked an arm around Steph's shoulders, pulled her close and planted a kiss on her temple, before removing it and continuing with lunch. She didn't acknowledge it verbally, but he saw the tips of her ears turn red. That, coupled with the smile she sent him made him vow to tell her a dumb story every day for the rest of her life if she wanted, just to see that smile and hear her laugh.
He walked her down to her cubicle, both still feeling the lightness of the lunch. She turned around once she put her purse on her chair and got closer to him, standing maybe an inch away.
"I don't know how I'm going to look at Lester from now on," she whispered, causing Ranger to lean in even closer to hear her. Another giggle bubbled up and she ducked down into his chest, trying to hide it, resting her forehead against his sternum.
"If you really want to have some fun," he murmured next to her ear, sending warmth to all the right places, "call him Lieutenant Libido."
He shouldn't have told her that (was there no sense of brotherhood anymore? He could hear Lester's wounded voice in his head) but when she giggles more and pushes further into him, he can't bring himself to regret it. She pulled back, but remained so close still. He felt his arm rise of its own volition and stroke a piece of hair off her face. He cupped her cheek and their eyes met and somehow that felt more intimate than any other situation that had gotten themselves into in the last year.
Her own hand grasped his wrist, holding his hand to her face. He knew that she felt the same intensity that he did and he took comfort in that, if only for a minute.
"Later, Babe," he said softly, not wanting to interrupt the moment, yet not wanting the rest of the floor to be privy to it either.
"Bye."
Their hands remained connected as he brought them down between them. She gave one last look (was that longing he saw in her eyes?) to their joined hands before disentangling them, relinquishing her hold, however brief it was.
He went straight to his office and pulled out the tiny black tree.
