Disclaimer: I don't own ANYTHING mentioned. Including Winter Solstice.
Warning: Snoggers. Drunk people. X-massy feelings! Spoilers if you haven't read up to book 16, as several past events are mentioned.
Dedication: This is dedicated to Harbinger Loki. You were the writer of the first Thatchel I ever read, and I owe so much to you. You were the one who started my insane Thatchel kick, and the one who first notified me of this wonderful pairing. Thank you SO much, as you really deserve it. I hope you have a -very- merry Christmas.
A/N: I got this idea a long time ago. Last year, I think. It was given to me by a story somewhere on From what I can remember of it, it was a script style humor fic. Possibly one in which characters were playing truth or dare, but I can't be sure. I am about 90 positive that this idea is taken directly from that story(But, knowing me and my wild imagination, I might have just made up reading that other story...), and would like to divert some of the claim I have to this story to whomever it was that wrote that other one that inspired me. I would also like to give some credit to Kat for introducing me to "Closing Time" and "This Kiss"(You see, we were on aim, semi-brainstorming for F&F, and... Long story.), the former which I currently have on repeat. All this said, PLEASE do not yell at me. Especially if it was your story I got this idea from. This idea was just mentioned in passing, and was lodged in my brain(Many rpings owe much to your story.). I fell in love with the idea, and, although I am the first to admit it is highly unlikely, pretend that it really happened. Thank you.
Merry (belated, eep! I wasn't able to get on again!!)Thatchel Christmas, everyone!!
:n:
It was cold.
It was the sort of cold that bit through your clothing and boots, freezing your skin and sending you scrambling for the warmth of an inside room, one that was glowing with the light of a lit fire.
The sort of cold that one associated with snowstorms and blizzards and swirling gusts of heavy white flakes that pushed you off your feet and shoved you backwards into thick drifts of snow.
And even though it was the sort of cold that caused one to expect to see a multitude of deadly white angels pouring down from the heavens with their sharp and biting blades of ice and glinting silver...
Not a single flake of snow fell.
:n:
Outside, in the cold winter streets of Draqueen, the wind blew down one cobblestone road after the other, chasing ratty bits of tinsel and cloth. The dark gray sky loomed menacingly overhead, although it did little to dampen the festive mood that had settled like a fine layer of dust over the citizens of Dragoon's capital.
Bright lights shown in every window, candles flickering and small gas lamps glowing warmly, as music filtered out of the buildings and joined the comfortable sound of many voices talking over one another.
Pine branches were hung above many a doorway, and red and green ribbons adorned many more. A few homes sported whole evergreen trees, although this practice was considered wasteful by most, speckled with small golden orbs or long strings of colorful beads.
A burst of freezing air tore down the street again, it's chill and the garishly decorated city giving away the reason for the celebration.
After all, as one merrymaker pointed out to his friend, Midwinter only comes around once a year.
:n:
Small tarnished brass bells jingled as the wooden doors to Lemures, one of the largest and best reputed bars in town, opened, letting a rush of winter air and three young men into the crowded dining area.
"I know it only comes around once a year, but, Thats, why couldn't we spend it somewhere nice?"
This was said by a slightly feminine looking blonde, one who appeared same age as his two companions, but who at the same time held a far greater regality than either of them.
"What's wrong with Lemure's?" the second, Thats, asked, "It's nice here! I like it!"
"Yes, it's fine," the first said in a voice that clearly showed that he didn't actually think so, "But wouldn't you rather be spending Midwinter in, say, the castle?"
Thats winced, motioning quickly for the other to be quiet.
"Shut up, Rune. You seriously want to get mugged?"
"I thought you said you could take any one of these guys with a missing hand and two pints of something strong in you?" the third asked, shrugging out of his long white coat and folding it neatly over his arm.
"I can," Thats said, "But I'm not going to watch out for you two. Besides, Rune, half of the men in here have drunk much more than they can hold. Do you really want to give them another reason to put their hands down your pants?"
This comment earned him a glare from the most outspoken of his companions, but one that was cut short as he glanced around the room, letting his clear blue eyes fall upon various suspicious looking red faced and hairy men.
"Come on," Thats started to make his way through the densely packed crowd of partygoers, "I want to say hello to Master. And try not to do anything too stupid," he added in to the two following him.
Behind the counter at the back of the room stood a white haired middle-aged man, pouring a refill of a disputable looking liquid into a very large glass mug.
His ears picked up a familiar voice in the noisy chatter, and he looked up from his job, just in time to see a familiar brown head squeeze out of the thick throng of people and sidle up to the counter, closely followed by two friends, both of whom he had seen many years ago.
"Thats!" he handed the quart to a waiting customer, "I thought I might see you before the night was over. Have a seat."
He waved towards three newly emptied stools, and listened as the young man he had once known as a little boy began to talk.
"Happy Solstice, Master! You remember Rath and Rune, right?" as the bartender nodded, snatching up three empty mugs, he continued, "Well, Rath and I were bored with the thought of spending the day in the castle, so we decided to come out here! Rune just got dragged along," Thats added, grinning.
"And I still do not understand why we had to--"
The ex-con waved a hand, cutting him off.
"Don't mind him. He's just upset because we were teasing him about his girlfriend."
Rune glared, but held his tongue.
Rath, however, spoke up.
"Hey, you were the one teasing him. I didn't say anything."
"Yeah, yeah," Thats reached for the full mug that was placed before him by an amused bartender, "'Cause now that you've got Cesia, you have your own lover bunny."
Rath ignored him and picked up his own glass, only the barest hint of rose giving away this casual act. He took a sip of the liquid, then made a disgusted face.
"Water?"
Master gave a teasing grin, something unusual to spot on a subject's face as he spoke to one of the highest ranking members of the Dragon Tribe.
"Your reputation for having an extremely low tolerance proceeds you, Lord Rath."
Seeing the indignant expression on his friend's face, Thats laughed.
"I told you, bartenders know everything!"
As a newcomer approached the bar counter, Master moved towards him, fresh glass in hand, and spoke over his shoulder to his old friend.
"I'll leave you three to yourselves for a while, Thats. I'll be back when the crowds die down later."
The brown haired youth nodded and waved, taking a long swig of his drink as he did so, then turned back to his friends.
He grinned, eyes sweeping over the inside of the building, "This place is great. So many old faces."
Thats nodded to a passing black haired young man who gave him a startled look before realization set in, and smiled back, mouthing "Happy Solstice" over the hubbub of celebrating voices.
"Damn, I love it here. My fav'rite place."
The Knight turned his green gaze back to his friends. He took another gulp from his mug as he did so, settling back in his element, tossing off the confining speech and prose of palace life in favor of the memory of his old haunts and gigs.
Rune shifted, slightly uncomfortable.
"I prefer the castle."
"I know you do," Thats laughed, "You always have. But Rath and I prefer to get out, right?"
When his comrade did not answer, instead taking a slow sip of his drink, Thats rolled his eyes, still in a good mood.
"Okay, okay. You used to like to get out. Remember that time we snuck out to find treasure?" Green eyes lit up at the past memory. "Good times. We ended up working right here."
"And almost getting eaten by the Salem King," Rune pointed out.
"It was fun," the ex-thief countered.
"It was childish."
Thats waved it off, shaking his head.
"Or how about that detour through Mirette's Cave we took back when we were taking Nadil's head to the castle?"
"I remember that," Rath said, suddenly finding a new interest in the conversation, "No demons, though. And our tickets got stolen by Kitchel."
Rune grimaced at the memory, "She took our map home, too."
"Yeah," Thats laughed lightly at the faded images, "That was great."
The Demon turned Dragon smirked, an evil light shining upon him.
"Remember when we got Rune to go in drag as that princess?"
The brown-haired boy began to immediately shake with laughter, spilling the meager remains of his drink on the dusty floor as the blonde turned a stunning shade of red, jumping slightly.
"I thought we'd all forgotten about that!"
Thats came to his rescue, directing their attention to another event between snickers.
"What about when Sabel stole Water?"
The elf frowned.
"That wasn't a pleasant memory either, Thats."
He shrugged, running his finger along the edge of his empty glass.
"Better than the drag stories."
Rune reluctantly agreed as Rath hit upon another adventure.
"There were those demons that we had to ask for directions to Nadil's Castle. The really stupid ones?"
"Which ones? The semi-humanoid ones, or the crows?"
Thats laughed again, and even Rune had to crack a smile at the memory.
"'We are the Dragon Knights, scrounge of Demonkind! And, uh, we're kinda lost.'" Rath mimicked, stirring up memories of a time, literally a world away, when they were bound by camaraderie in a way that they hadn't been previously, and had never quite been able to emulate since.
It was a time that had, on the whole, been dark and difficult to deal with, but that still held gleams of light, little moments that made the journey worthwhile. It had been a warm morning, just at the beginning cusp of autumn, and all three had been younger, if only by a relatively short period of time.
Their mission?
To reach Nadil's castle and rescue Cesia, trapped far behind it's walls. A deadly challenge at the time, but a doable one.
After all, they had been younger. Their burdens had been lighter. None of them had been as... Immersed in the snow that was threatening to fall around them as they were expected to be now.
"'We're kinda lost...'" Rath repeated, voice starting to quiver with barely suppressed mirth.
The blonde began to laugh at this, and for a few minutes the three young men attracted a fair amount of attention in the crowded bar with their laughter. Every time one of they was calming down, he would make eye contact with one of his two friends, setting them both off again.
It wasn't until Rune, flushed bright red, had his head cradled securely in his arms so that he could not look at either of the other two Knights; Thats had slipped off the edge of his bar stool and was propping himself up on the counter; and Rath looked and felt like he was either going to break his ribcage or pass out very soon that they finally were able to get themselves under control.
As the joke, seemingly simple, of poor quality even, to all other patrons of Lemures lost it's almost magical grip upon them, Thats straightened.
"That's it!"
"What's it?" Rune asked, already wary although still fighting the urge to collapse into schoolgirl giggles once again.
"An adventure!" Thats straightened, grinning broadly at his friends.
"Come on, it'll be great! Just like the old days!" he looked back and forth between them, emerald eyes shining with anticipation. "It'll be fun, you know it will. We can go off, wherever we please, slaying demons, hunting down treasure," he struck a pose, placing one foot on the bottom rung of the stool , one arm outstretched before him, "Fame, glory, and money! What do you say?"
The light around him seemed to glow brighter, shine warmer. It was a beam of August sunlight, reincarnated, and dangerously out of place.
There was an awkward silence, almost masked by the hubbub of talk and laughter in the crowded inn.
Realization and reality set in.
"Thats..." Rune began.
The Dragon Knight of Earth seemed almost frozen, then slowly resumed a normal stance, light hearted face trying to hide his disappointment.
"Forget it."
"Thats..."
He shook his head, repeating the prior conversation.
"Forget it."
There was an uncomfortable lull in the chatter as all three boys were seated, simultaneously lifting their glasses up to their mouths.
Thats' was still empty.
The Earth Dragon Knight glanced up at the ceiling, ran a tanned hand through his hair, slightly too long and in need of a trim, then let both it and his gaze fall back down. His loosely made fist hit the wooden countertop solidly.
Tentatively, he spoke.
"We could--"
"No."
He looked, slightly started at Rune. The elf was staring back at him, meeting his gaze with firm blue eyes.
"No, we couldn't. Not anymore, Thats."
He sighed, looking so contrastingly young and old as only an elf, practically immortal in a slowly aging body can.
Thats spoke.
"We did before."
Rune gave a rueful and acknowledging grin.
"That is true. We did. But, as you said, that was before. Thats," Rune's tone took on a note of urgency, "We can't just run off on a... On an adventure anymore. Things have changed. We've changed," he said with added emphasis. "We were younger then. We had responsibilities, yes. But not as many as we do now. I wouldn't be able to just leave home for an undetermined length of time without a very good reason."
"You never were able to," The other scoffed.
He frowned slightly.
"That's not true. I never liked it, I'll give you that. But now... Now," he shook his head, sending long blonde hair, loosely tied back at the nape of his neck, flying. "It's not that. It's not that I don't like being away for so long. It's that I just can't be away for so long."
"Yeah," Thats examined the dry inside of his glass, "Can't leave Tintlett."
Hurt flickered in his friend's light eyes.
"Thats, I..."
The Knight of Earth paused, realizing that he perhaps pushed too far. About to apologize, the urge to do so was suddenly halted by another voice, this time of his other friend.
"You're just stuck in the past."
He bristled, "What?"
Rath looked decidedly at him, dark eyes unnaturally serious for the normally joyous holiday. His voice was cold, condemning.
"You're stuck. You're the only one left, and you know it. You're too scared to move forward, and too stubborn to admit your mistakes."
Undaunted by the flash of lightning in the narrowed green eyes drilling into his own, he continued, drawing forth the first image to come to mind.
"It's like the sky in summer, where all is covered by thick gray thunderclouds, and static is in the air, and you can just feel the unspilled water turning the parched land into one thick and humid jungle..." his voice rose in volume, each individual word forming separately.
"But the rain never does come."
The bar seemed strangely quiet.
Rath spoke again, softer, gentler.
"It's winter, Thats."
There was no mistaking it. An eerie silence had indeed fallen over the horde of people.
"Midwinter."
Thats was shaking, quivering hand clenched tightly around the handle of his empty mug.
"Rath..."
"Rath," Rune cut in, beating Thats to it.
"We should go."
He stood quickly, grabbing both their coats.
"Come on."
He spoke smoothly, calmly. But there was a waver in his voice that the well-trained listener might catch. He was worried, but not about any of the reasons he had been implying earlier.
It didn't take long for the two young men to disappear into the dense crowd, but it was several minutes before their third friend moved.
His grip relaxed, that was the first change in his form: his eyes had long since glazed over. His hand released it's death-hold and sank to the table. Then, almost dreamlike, his entire body collapsed, sinking back down onto the stool.
He raised his mug to his lips, but it was still dry.
Green orbs flickered across the mob of people, now back to their own lives, paused, and lit upon a large window, overlooking the chilly cobblestone street outside.
A rueful half smile twitched up the corner of his mouth.
"What's up with this weather, huh?"
His empty glass hit the countertop.
"'S not snowing."
:n:
Early morning found Lemure's almost empty, a few stray partygoers of various states of consciousness still hanging about, but most long gone.
A middle aged man who was passed out in a corner booth; a couple of raucously laughing teenagers; a small gang of young women chatting by the door; and one Dragon Knight of Earth.
Thats was still seated on his stool, almost empty mug in front of him; one that had obviously been refilled many times. His light brown hair was disheveled and messy, falling in long tangled strands into his face. His arms were crossed over the bar counter before him, head resting on the warm skin.
A rough laugh escaped from his dry throat.
"God..."
The barkeep stood on the other side of the counter, directly in front of him, polishing a clean glass 'til it gleamed in the approved style of bartenders everywhere.
A concerned and secretly knowing look danced over his face.
"Where'd your friends go?"
Thats looked up, bloodshot eyes matching the flush that was spread over his face from drinking more than the not insignificant amount that he could easily handle.
"Home," he waved a hand lazily in the air, "Castle. They said their beds were there and, of course," he attempted to smile, but his lips curved into an awkward grimace instead, "Cesia. And Tintlett."
"Oh, I see," Master nodded, placing down the glass and picking up another one, "why didn't you join them?"
At this query, Thats laughed again, the normally rich sound dried up by long hours of talk and banter.
"What's the point? It's solstice; everyone's gonna be off with their significant other," he raised one hand in the air, making quotes around the last two words, "and I don't got. Never got. Never will get."
The white haired man calmly shook his head, walking the cleaned and polished items back to their proper positions on neatly packed shelves.
"Calm down. I told you not to have that last order. You always did get moody when drunk." He caught himself, and amended, "well, when overly drunk."
Reaching forward, he snatched up the mug, unceremoniously dumping the remainder of it's contents in the sink before him.
"I'm closing up, Thats. You should go home."
The young man shook his head, ignoring the headache that was starting to pinch his temples, and sat up straighter, pushing his unruly hair out of his face.
"Master?"
The older man looked up from his task of rinsing out the other's glass.
"What is it?"
Thats paused, forming his question in his mind, then asked another, similar one instead.
"Midwinter's over?"
The bartender looked startled, and ran those words through his mind, searching for their meaning.
"Is it over? No, not quite."
Thats cracked a smile.
"Oh well."
His head sunk back down into his hands, and another dry laugh ripped itself from his throat.
"This is insane. I'm acting crazy."
"I wouldn't argue with that," Master commented wryly.
"You aren't acting like your normal self. What happened? What did they say before they left?"
Red-laced Peridot eyes shot up to look at him questioningly before relaxing.
"Heh. Bartenders do know everything," he half laughed.
"Okay. They-- He said," he started to grope for his drink, then remembered it had been cleared, "That I'm... Stuck."
His vision trained itself upon the intently listening face of the bar master.
"Rath said that," he drew in a deep, almost shaky breath, "I'm being an idiot. That they're leaving me behind. That I'm leaving myself behind."
He shook his head suddenly, seeming to clear his mind of all such thoughts, bouncing back to his normal mood, resilient as always.
"Anyway. I should be going, huh? It's been a long night."
The Knight stood, stretching his long arms and started to head in the direction of the door.
"Thats."
He froze in his tracks, slowly turning around to face the man who had practically raised him.
"Yes?"
"What they said... Do you agree?"
He opened his mouth, no words forming upon his tongue. Flickers of tainted emotion shown through his tinted eyes, as he wrestled with pride, lies, and reality.
Then slowly, he spoke, carefully crafting his prose like a sculptor with an block of marble, never before touched by tools or human hands.
"Yes," he admitted, not meeting the other's gaze, instead glancing out the window behind him, "I do." The thief let those words sink into his own consciousness, then expanded shortly. "It's winter."
Apparently satisfied with this brief answer, the bartender nodded, turning back to putting away the few remaining glasses and plates, taking his attention off his old friend. The bar was silent, save for the gentle swish of dampened rag over dulled surfaces as Master continued his nightly chore of cleaning his work area. Then the older man looked up, light eyes smiling as the deep gray sky outside brightened minutely.
The morning sun was beginning to rise.
"But it's not snowing."
Thats looked startled as his widened forest eyes pierced into the wise orbs of his mentor.
"That's what Rath said."
A smile spread on Master's face.
"I know."
He sent an unnoticed glance over the other's brown-clad shoulder, then continued talking.
"But, you know, Thats... It's a new beginning from here on out. Midwinter's here, true. The celebrated shortest night of the year. The days are going to be lengthening. The season is changing. But," and here his smile broadened slightly, eyes laughing, "It is still December. And if you're looking for a chance to bask in the first snow of the season," he put down his polishing cloth, leaning over the counter and beckoning the treasure hunter forward, "Now is as good a time as any."
Confused, Thats allowed the older man to grasp his shoulders, slowly spinning him around to face the entrance to the bar.
His eyes widened slightly.
"K... Kit--...?"
Master smiled.
"Midwinter, Thats."
In the doorway of the bar, a young woman stood, facing away from him, eyes curiously watching the gray heavens.
Waiting for the first, albeit extremely late, snow of the season.
Her lithe body was covered by a long white coat, drawn warmly over her skin, but left open, allowing the chill of the pre-morning air to rush over her skin. Her hair was pulled back for once, out of her face, save for a few, always unruly, cinnamon strands. Long supple pants shielded her legs, their ends tucked neatly into calf-high boots.
She slowly turned around, normally mischievous gaze deeper, bolder.
And it was in this still darkened world, lit only by the dimmed lamps inside Lemures, that Kitchel spun into Thats' vision.
She smiled at him in response to his questioning gaze, eyes shining amber flecked green, illuminated by the warmth of the orange sun, fluttering uncertainly along the crisp edge of autumn.
"Now's the time for new beginnings, for putting the past aside. For life, celebration, luck. For love."
The words rang in his ears as they slid almost silently from their speaker's lips, whistling around his head.
Then he found the sun rising, and himself standing a mere foot in front of his lifelong friend and rival.
Thats swallowed.
"Hey."
:n:
And outside, first one crystal, then another, drifted down from the sky.
:n:
This was started: Saturday, July 24, at 2:05 AM
This was finished: Friday, December 24, at 4:03 PM
Please review.
Merry Christmas.