Bit of a different one today. This is an AU where Serena and Bernie have never met but they bump into each other whilst they're both out for a late evening stroll. Call it a meet-cute or whatever.
There was something enchanting about walking through a park in the cold.
Bernie loathed the cold, she had always hated it ever since she was a child. She would take the heat any day over tell the truth, it wasn't really that bad – at least there was no snow on the ground, and the wind had died down to erratic breezes. Still, the cold contained a bite that sank its teeth deep into her flesh, and she couldn't shake the chill out of her limbs.
Still, she would rather be out here than in her warm apartment. She was just as solitary here as she was back there, but here she was free to do what she pleased. For one, ducking from tree to tree in chase of some errant spirit didn't feel as silly as dancing around her apartment bumping into furniture.
There was no one else in this small quaint park. The others – loving couples or happy families – preferred to frequent the larger, cheerier gardens. Those were strung with blinking lights and Christmas trees, and yes, one could literally feel the air pervaded with love and joy. Her friends had invited her for an evening of festivities but she had declined. For some reason, she wanted to spend this night by herself. Perhaps it was the whole end of the year deal, when people usually went into contemplative states, knowing that the year was ending. It was a resolution, a little crossroad in one's life; one that came periodically but still echoed finality nonetheless.
December. A contradicting potpourri of present giving, winter frolicking and tying the ends of one's year together. The holiday was in, but…
Another chapter of one's life closed. Life, after all, was one book that could not be rewritten.
She ducked under the cover of a tall fir tree, the small path lights filtering through its piney leaves in dazzling splinters of gold light. Fir trees were nice; they kept their perpetual coat, unlike the other vegetation, which hung bare and cold in the winter night.
Chuckling softly to herself, she swung out from under the tree, breath materialising in a frigid cloud around her as she set down one fairy lit path. The complete absence of human constraints felt liberating; no fences, no rules, no laws binding her down. Nothing but sheer freedom and the caress of wind on her face.
A sense of seclusion still dwelled within her heart, but she abandoned it all in a flight of freedom. Bernie trotted down the path, slowly gaining speed, unheeding of the scant grip the icy ground afforded her. A wild laughter escaped her in sheer exhilaration; she was in control, she was free…
She almost ran over the small brunette woman bundled up in a long coat coming towards her.
She swerved at last minute and twisted around, killing off enough momentum to bundle to a halt just before she would have smacked into a low hanging tree branch.
"I'm sorry!" she blurted out, reaching out and quickly grabbing one arm to steady the pretty brunette, who stared up at her with half dazed eyes.
"Okay. That was very unexpected." Bernie laughed half breathlessly. "I thought for a moment you were a ghost or something. I don't usually expect someone to appear out of nowhere in front of me." She had to resist very hard to not make a joke about her being angel falling from heaven because in this light that was all she could describe her as, angelic.
"Ah," she said sheepishly, biting down on her lower lip. "I didn't think anyone would be here, so I sort of… ignored the usual modes of propriety."
"That's all right."
"If it's not too impolite of me to ask, what's got you wandering around this deserted park all alone by yourself at this hour?"
Serena's lips quirked up at the sides, her eyebrow rising. "I could ask you the same question."
A small flutter of laughter left Bernie's lips. "Touché."
Serena cast a glance towards the sky, her eyes sparkling in the light. "It's cold here."
"Yeah," Bernie agreed, taking the time that Serena was looking away to take in and appreciate her physical features.
Bernie looked away, glancing around. There was a definite cold chill, the fact that the park was dark and empty besides the two of them gave it an extra eerie feeling.
"Well," her voice echoed slightly in the clearing. "Since we've established that we're both out and alone this wintry night, how about we walk together?" Bernie asked with a pleasant smile, expecting her to make some excuse to leave and not take her up on her offer.
A dark flash swiped through her eyes. "Sure." She said carefully. "I'd like that."
Bernie allowed her to take the lead; she chose a path, and whether by luck or chance, it was one that she was familiar with. It was a path lined with small shrubs with towering fir trees almost forming a canopy over their heads. Footlights dotted the way; little beacons of light in a green ocean.
They walked complacently side by side, indulging in idle chatter that contained none of the slatted politeness or awkwardness that often marked conversation between two strangers. It was strangely pleasing, how they could talk without fumbling for a topic or stewing in silence.
They simply clicked. And in light of such companionship, she began to forget her previous moroseness.
Bernie studied her profile, slightly curious. Liquid dark brown eyes, framed by short brown hair that was cropped just above her shoulders. She could tell they were similar in age, her eyes spotted the slight wrinkles that filtered around her eyes and the dimples that deepened every time she moved her mouth to talk or smile.
"Look!" a sudden breathy exclamation interrupted her reverie. "It's snowing!"
Bernie looked up and saw that the sky was indeed raining soft white flakes. Snow began to drizzle down upon them like thick goose feathers burst free of a down pillow. The woman whose name she still didn't know lifted her gloved hands up to catch the flakes, curling her fingers as if cupping a precious butterfly. A smile lit her lips.
Entrancing. She stared at the spectacle, wondering how something as simple as snow could transform someone into flights of delight. The white flakes were gathering in her hair like little sparkling gems in the velvety sky.
"You've… never seen snow before?" she asked softly, as if her voice would shatter the deep calm that permeated the air.
She shook her head, eyes still pointed at the sky as she watched the snow delicately falling down. "No, not like this. Just the slight mucky snow that barely covers the ground." She paused, her eyes lit up with wonder. "This is magical."
Serena turned towards her, snow swirling in her wake in an aerial dance. A faint dusting of white already coated the ground.
"Isn't it coincidental that it would snow just minutes after I met you? Now everyone who wished for a white Christmas will find their wish granted." Contentment coloured her voice.
"White Christmas or not, it won't stop us from catching our deaths out here in the cold. Let's find some shelter."
The white flakes continued to drift down in powdery clumps, occasional gusts of wind putting them into errant flight. Bernie watched her movements amusedly; she almost skipped through the snow, enjoying the minute crunch of sound as the flakes sank under her boots. She tried to catch some of the icy flakes, and was chasing one fleeting fleck when she came to an abrupt halt.
They had halted at the edge of the garden, a bright, bumbling street just several meters away in their sight. Happy couples gathered there, some young teenagers congregating in little groups. She glanced concernedly at her companion, her head slightly bowed. Worried this was where they might part and never see each other again
Despite only having just met that evening. She already felt strangely attached to her. She seemed like a lovely lady but most of all, she realised, they understood each other in an odd empathetic way.
Her companion's eyes had turned wistful. She drew one hand through her hair in a nervous movement. "I… better get home," she whispered. "Nice to meet you!" She nodded to her in goodbye, her hand falling limply to her side…
… only to be caught in a warm comforting grip.
Her eyes widened slightly. Bernie only smiled, tugging the small hand securely and pulling the woman after her gently.
"You're cold, aren't you?" she called behind one shoulder. "I know this great coffee place where we can get some hot chocolate at this unearthly hour." Bernie whirled to a halt, eliciting a gasp from her companion at the abrupt halt. She pulled off the soft woollen beanie that had been sat atop her head and jammed it atop Serena's head, smothering her laughter at the sight of her shocked eyes and wayward fringe sticking out from underneath the material.
"After all, it's Christmas Eve, and no one should be alone on Christmas Eve!" she proclaimed, and recaptured her hand, guiding her unresistingly out of the park and onto a busier street.
She felt her speed up, speeding up slightly to draw even with her. Glancing sideways, she watched her running, unerringly following her lead, eyes trained on the path before them. The cold had coaxed a faint pink from her cheeks.
As they ran, she felt her fingers curl slightly against her own. Her smile grew wider.
