Hello, friends! Another AO3 crosspost just in case there's some D9 fandom hiding over here. As most of my D9 writing isn't 100% wholesome, I can only post little bits of it! So here's a one shot somewhat connected to my story All the Waves in Her Atmosphere (which can't be crossposted because it's too adulty).
I hope you enjoy this Christmas fluff from the prompt 'Christmas Tree'!
She'd taken the train. Not the way her dumb dumb husband preferred, sneaking on and shivering in the wind for hours at a time. But properly, disembarking at the nearest town early in the morning. Though the weather was mild, she'd wrapped a scarf over her head, disappearing among the other passengers. Then it was simply a matter of slipping away and following the tracks, a practice Tania had become familiar with over the past six months.
She thought back to the recent winter. It had been two years then since The Incident for which she had no proper name. Two long and confusing years.
Yet now December, spring flowers were waning, petals falling away like rain, making way for the summer. Mild though it was, when the town was out of sight Tania pulled the scarf from her hair and draped it around her neck.
After about half an hour, hopefully with no sudden rainstorms today, she'd have company for the remainder of the walk. Sometimes as she muddled blindly through a familiar wilderness he'd hide in the grass and scoop her up out of nowhere. And other times…
"I can tell that's not grass," she said, watching too very distinct antennae flow in the wind.
Wikus chirped, still mostly concealed among the weeds and low growing shrubs. "Lies."
"Nice try," she said, pulling him up.
He took her hand, and together they passed under the shade of an acacia grove arms linked together. The district was about half an hour of casual walking away, soon to be visible over a small rise in the land, with a convenient gap in what Tania had come to know of as the Wall. Where they intended to cross (or more accurately crawl through) was nothing more secure than the twisted remains of damaged chain-link, taken down this time innocently by the falling of a tree. Like most of the Wall, little thought was ever given to repairing it. And that suited them perfectly.
For now she was simply content for the closeness and the shared solitude.
Tania watched the sun pour through the leaves, speckling the ground with light, brightening the yellow flower petals beneath their feet. Four more days, and it would be the first Christmas they'd be together again. Though it wouldn't be in a household filled with the aroma of cakes and cookies, it also wouldn't be a household filled by crushing silence. And it broke her heart with happiness.
"Everyone is celebrating the summer solstice," Wikus said while they walked, passing out of the flower filled grove and back into the sprawling fields that surrounded their destination. "It's fun, but you wouldn't like the food."
"Rest in peace, delicious Malva pudding. Raw meat's not my thing."
Wikus shrugged and Tania made a face, dramatically sticking out her tongue.
"Tastes different now," he said. She didn't doubt. She also didn't want it anywhere near her.
"Just keep your tentacles to yourself tonight then."
"Your loss," he teased.
"Hah, if thinking that comforts you."
"If I wanted to seem especially insane to everyone we could cut down a tree."
Tania paused, looking around the somewhat lonely fields, whose primary source of trees were speckled clusters of giants too large for any one person to carry. Besides that, even a sensible tree would be troublesome.
"And have it take up the entire shack."
"A weedy one," Wikus said, demonstrating with his hand like it were a sapling. "Tiny."
"So a branch."
"Well, technically it's a branch because we'd be cutting it down."
"That makes sense how?"
"Branches have no roots, so a cut down tree and a branch are the same," he said joyfully, eyes shut with glee. "So it would be a tree and a branch."
"Let's just go," she said, trying not to giggle.
When they passed over the bluff concealing the district, they were greeted by an explosion of colour stretching over the horizon, of flags and ribbons of bright fabric swaying between shacks, painted roofs and little cairns in front of doorways that were, as far as Tania knew, constructed from scavenged clutter. It was pretty, in a lively and chaotic kind of way.
"Most celestial events are important to poleepkwa," Wikus said. "Try not to trip on anyone's things, they're everywhere."
"I kind of like it. Better than cutting down some poor-"
Suddenly Wikus bounced forward, taking something out of the brush and grass.
"See, it's perfect!" he cried, spinning to face her. "Behold! A Christmas tree!"
And he presented a spindly and naked sprig of acacia wood, complete with vicious thorns.
Pulling it out of his hand, Tania gently tapped him on the head.
"Should I bring decorations next time then?"
Then she screamed, startled and laughing as he lifted her into the air and onto his shoulders.
"No," he said, "you're decorative enough for me."