AN: This is about the first time Evie received a Holiday present.

Timeline-wise: sometime after D2.

Hope you enjoy!

Getting Gifts

It all started when she noticed Auradon Prep decorated with the weirdest color combination Evie ever encountered: red and green. She was on her way back to her shared dorm room with Mal and saw the pillars of the school wrapped in red and green with fake green leaves studded with red lights all over the place.

"Do you know what's going on with the school decorator?" she asked Mal as she entered. She wondered if he was sick, or suddenly colorblind because the school's colors were blue and yellow, not red and green.

Mal sat up from her bed. "Ben told me it's the holidays." She shrugged. "We have a few weeks off classes." That was all she concerned herself with.

She tilted her head to the side. What in Auradon did having a few weeks off school justify the odd decor?

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In the next few days, Evie was suddenly swamped with orders for the "holidays" and she was beginning to think there was more to it than just a few weeks without classes. Unfortunately, after she turned down a girl who wanted a dress made despite Evie's other 25 pending orders, she had no time to investigate.

"Are you sure you want it red and green?" she asked Lonnie as professionally as she could. She was on her desk trying to sketch a draft for her when the girl said she wanted a red and green sundress.

"Yup! For the holidays, you know."

No, I don't know, but Evie kept her mouth shut.

The last time they pointed out the difference between the Isle and Auradon to Lonnie, the girl cried, and Evie thought it was bad business to have a crying customer even if they were friends.

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"Hey, Doug?" Evie asked during dinner after Auradon Prep announced that classes are suspended until after the New Year.

The half-dwarf looked up from his plate.

"What's the holidays?"

He furrowed his brows. "What do you mean?"

"I mean…" she looked around the cafeteria and the blinking lights and the pillars wrapped in red and green. "What is it? What does it have to do with red and green?"

"Umm…" He blinked at her as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "We celebrate it every year," he said carefully. He had to choose his words properly because clearly, this was the first time Evie and the rest of the VKs encountered such a thing. "Red and green have always been the color during this time of year… It's a fun time," he said with a smile.

"Fun?"

"Yes," he chuckled, "it's a time to be with loved ones, to be merry, to dance and sing and eat as much as you can and all that before the New Year happens."

"Oh." She nodded, taking in the information. They definitely didn't have that on the Isle. No one was 'merry' on the Isle.

Doug's lips settled on a thin line. "What do you usually do before the New Year? And even during, and after, the New Year?"

She shrugged. "I suppose I was out with Mal, Jay, and Carlos stirring up trouble on the streets that day, like always."

"Do you want to go to the park with me tomorrow night?" he asked, deliberately shifting the conversation. "They're lighting up this big tree and it's part of the holiday tradition too." He knew she didn't want to be coddled or pitied for her life back on the Isle, so instead, he offered her ways to experience the joys in Auradon to the fullest extent.

She grinned at him and nodded, reaching across the table to hold his hand. Like a date? "I'd love that."

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"Is this okay?" Evie asked when Doug walked inside her room. She gestured to her outfit, the blue leather coat and leggings she wore when they rescued Ben to ward off the cold. It was only getting colder as the days went by and Evie preferred re-wearing her Isle clothes once more to keep warm.

"Yup," Doug nodded, he himself sporting warmer clothing than his usual casual ensembles topped off with a green scarf around his neck.

"You said you 'celebrate' the holidays," she said as she held his arm and they made their way out of the dorms, "but this isn't a party at the park?"

"No, there are lots of parties that happen during this time, though, but the one we're going to is the tree lighting."

"Tree lighting," she echoed, the words sounding funny to her. Why would anyone light a tree unless they intended to burn it?

"The tree sort of symbolizes the holiday season," he explained, guiding her to the center of the park where the large pine tree stood. A crowd was already gathered and excited murmurs filled the air.

"There are families who also have small trees inside their homes and they decorate it with lights and ornaments too."

Evie looked up at the large tree and was awed at its height and size. "It's like magic," she said, never seeing a tree that large yet perfectly shaped before in her life.

"It's manufactured," said Doug, gesturing to the nearest branch. "No one could plant a tree this large every year, so this is in stock for every holiday season. The design changes, though."

Right, thought Evie, the best is yet to come. She placed her hands on top of each other over Doug's shoulder for support. If she was this happy about the unlit tree, she might fall over in joy the moment it is lit.

Music erupted all around the park as people began to cheer and sing along. Evie gasped as lights illuminated the tree row by row, moving upwards until the whole tree glowed, ending with a large star decoration she didn't notice in the darkness shimmering at the very top.

Everyone applauded and she surreptitiously wiped the stray tear that leaked from her eye. "So beautiful," she said, kissing Doug on the cheek. "Thank you for taking me."

He blushed as he took her hand. "No-no problem. There's actually one more 'tradition' I wanted to show you tonight." He led her out of the park, but they took slow steps to enjoy the well-lighted scenery that was the holiday season in Auradon.

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"We're here," announced Evie, when Doug told her the other holiday tradition was left inside her room.

"Thanks, I, uh, asked Mal, Jay, and Carlos for help setting it up." He didn't want her to get the wrong idea that he snuck in her room without permission.

With sparked curiosity, she put her key in the lock and entered. Five different-sized boxes wrapped in green with blue-colored ribbons sat atop Evie and Mal's study table that weren't there earlier this evening.

Evie took a step back at the sight and bumped into Doug, who caught her by the upper arms.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I…" she cleared her throat, her fist on her chest. The only time she's seen a wrapped box was when someone was getting pranked on the Isle, which is why she never wraps anything she gave her friends. "What are they?" she asked.

"Gifts."

Why wrap them? Her brows furrowed. She was sure they were pranks inside. Doug was a playful character, but he wouldn't go so far as to make a bad prank on her, would he?

"What's inside?" she insisted.

He chuckled, gently guiding her deeper into the room to close the door. "Why don't you open them and find out?"

Alarms sounded off loud and clear in her mind and Evie found herself shaking her head. Definitely a prank if I ever heard one. "I'll pass on this tradition. I don't want it." As a sign of good faith, Mal, Carlos, and Jay took her lead and also never wrapped their 'gifts' for her. Covering things wasn't normal unless one intended to conceal the bad intentions inside.

There was even that time Mal placed her love spell cookies in a clear plastic bag to pretend she had good intentions toward Ben prior to his coronation.

"What's wrong?" he asked again.

She wrapped her arms around herself. "Is this a prank?" She spun on her heel, turning to face him fully. "Choose your next words carefully."

He rubbed the back of his neck as he assessed her defensive stance. Her shoulders hung high and her arms were as straight as sticks against her stomach. Her brown eyes shone with determination while she stared him down. "No, they aren't pranks." It was the first time he encountered someone who inquired so much about a present without trying to guess what's inside.

"I'm not sure what to tell you, but this one…" He walked toward the largest gift and patted it. "It's a mannequin head… block… thing? You said you wanted to try designing hats," he mumbled the last part, eyes looking off to the side of the room.

He pushed the still-wrapped box aside and pointed to two similar-sized gifts. "These are books Queen Cinderella swears by when it comes to fashion design." He gestured to the last two remaining gifts, the tiniest of the bunch, "One is a box of pencils and the other is a scissor sharpener."

When he finished revealing each gift, Evie clicked her tongue. Those all sounded like things she wanted and Doug wouldn't lie to her.

He squeezed his toes inside his shoes, deciding not to avoid this particular conversation. "Gifts don't exist on the Isle?" It felt silly to ask.

"They do." She chewed on her bottom lip. "They aren't good."

"If you'd like, I'll help you open them."

She wondered why and how he managed to always be so patient with her. With the way he questioned her earlier, what she just did was definitely not the 'typical' Auradon behavior when seeing a wrapped box. She stood next to him and reached for the smallest box, picking at the ribbon, careful not to break the wrapper.

"Oh, see," his hands covered hers, "the more you rip the wrapper, there's a saying that gifts come back a hundredfold."

"Based on how you rip the paper? Pfft." She covered her lips to prevent saliva from reaching him. What kind of joke was that? "You're so ridi…" Seeing his lips curved in an awkward smile, she paused.

"The holidays have always been the time we stocked up on trash bags because of it." He laughed low too, wordlessly admitting it was indeed ridiculous.

Sighing as she tore the wrapper off the box, wincing at the waste of paper, she peeked inside. True to his word, it was a box of pencils.

Clenching her jaw to stop herself from tearing up at realizing his thoughtful acts, she said, "I have a gift for you too." Pretending to rummage her pockets and pulling something out, her hand then landed on his chest and the other rested on his cheek as she planted her lips on his.

"Thank you," she murmured against his lips.

AN: Last two chapters to go. Woo! 'Til next time!