(For disclaimer, etc. - see 1.)
15. Tansy and the Tuckers
Characters/Pairings: George/Tansy
'Verse/Timeline: One Step At A Time - post-fic
Date: December 2015
George Tucker always enjoyed a good family Christmas. It was awkward sometimes when he brought Lemon along, but they managed to muddle through somehow. This year, things were different all over again, and George's latest girlfriend seemed no less comfortable in his parents' house than the elder Miss Breeland had been.
"You doin' okay, baby?" he asked Tansy quietly, handing her a drink and stepping in close beside her in the corner of the room where she had half-hidden herself.
"I'm tryin'," she admitted, forcing a smile. "At least your dad kinda likes me, and your brother and his family, but your mom? I don't think she's ever gonna approve."
"She likes you, Tansy," George told her definitely, trying to look shocked when her face showed disbelief. "She does! I mean, she invited you here for Christmas."
"Because you made it so she had to, not because she wanted to," Tansy insisted. "You know, I offered to help with dinner, she practically laughed in my face."
That caused George to smile perhaps a little too much, though he did his best to hide it in his drink.
"No offence, sweetheart, but you don't really know how to cook."
"She doesn't know that," she countered, cocking her head in the general direction of George's mother as she laughed heartily with Harry's wife, "and I can peel potatoes or whatever just like anybody else."
"I know that," George assured her, feeling just awful about his mother's behaviour, which was not exactly a new feeling for him. "Please, don't be mad about this, baby. I want you to be happy, especially today," he insisted, planting a kiss on her cheek. "Come on, it's Christmas and I love you"
"I love you too, you know that," she said with a small smile. "I'm just... I'm not a Tucker, that's all."
"No, but you will be," he reminded her, taking a hold of her left hand and raising it up so she could see the ring there on her third finger. "This means you're gonna be Mrs George Tucker someday soon. By next Christmas, I hope."
Tansy's eyes widened a little as she brought them up to meet George's own.
"You serious?" she checked.
George shrugged. "What are we waitin' for?"
For that, he earned himself a real good, long kiss on the lips, nevermind the fact they were a long ways away from any mistletoe. Unfortunately, that was the moment that Clora chose to come looking for them. George heard the huffing, tutting sounds of derision clear enough to know she had been there, even though he and Tansy saw nothing but her back disappearing into the kitchen again when they finally parted.
"She really doesn't like me." Tansy sighed from the circle of his arms still. "It's not fair, my momma loves you."
"My mom will learn to love you too," George promised her, stealing one last quick kiss, "and if she doesn't, well then, that's her loss."
Tansy smiled widely at that remark. "You are the sweetest man, George Tucker," she told him definitely. "Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas, Tansy," he told her, holding her tight, sure he would never want to let go, not this Christmas or any other, for as long as he lived.