A/N: So, after the popularity of the Advent Calendar fics I've written for the Gilmore Girls fandom in the last three years, I decided to give it a shot in the Hart of Dixie fandom too! Hope y'all will join me for the duration :) (Further explanation as to what the heck this is all about in a second A/Nafter today's ficlet!)

Disclaimer: All recognisable characters and any recognisable dialogue from Hart of Dixie belong to Leila Gerstein and other folks who aren't me. Any other characters belong to me!

1. A Christmas Invitation

Characters/Pairings: Zoe & Wade

'Verse/Timeline: canon - Season 1, post-Episode 10 'Hairdos & Holidays'

Date: December 2011

"Knock, knock?" Zoe called as she let herself in through the back door. "Lavon?"

Looking around, she spotted a note bearing her name propped on the counter and went to read it. Lavon's message told her he was gone to the carol service in town, but he would be back real soon, in time for the festive movie marathon he had promised to share with her. She should make herself at home until he returned.

Moving around the kitchen, Zoe checked the cabinets and then went to the fridge to see what snacks she could find. It didn't bother her much not to have a traditional family Christmas. She hadn't had that since she was very young and her parents were still together. She was fine just relaxing at home in the morning, with a plan to eat chocolate and watch movies with her best friend all afternoon.

"Oh, hey there, doc."

Zoe almost hit her head when someone spoke, spinning around to see Wade there.

"Hi," she said, swallowing the food in her mouth very fast. "Um, Merry Christmas."

"Uh, yeah, to you too," he said, looking decidedly awkward as he scratched the back of his head. "Well, I didn't mean to disturb you or catch you out or anythin'. I just came to see if Lavon wanted some company..."

"He's in town right now. Church thing," she explained, shivering terribly before realising she was still stood in front of the open refrigerator.

Closing the door, she moved away, she and Wade standing across from each other with the kitchen counter between them. They didn't used to be so awkward talking to each other, but since he asked her out for a drink the other night and she gave him a rain check, things just felt different. Besides, Wade didn't seem quite himself the last couple of days, not quite so happy and carefree as he usually was. It was weird.

"So, me and Lavon are going to watch some movies. You wanna join us?"

"I don't wanna intrude on anythin'." Wade shook his head.

"Are you kidding?" Zoe asked, wide-eyed with surprise. "You love to intrude. Intruding is practically your middle name," she said, smiling widely at her own joke, glad to see she actually got a small grin out of Wade too. "Come on, you know you're absolutely welcome. You live here too, and in the absence of family, what could be better than good friends, good movies, and a huge amount of chocolate?"

Zoe was waiting for some kind of reply to that question, even though it would usually be considered rhetorical. Wade always had a smartass comeback for anything she said, or at the very least a dirty remark. Today? Not so much.

"What is the matter with you today? Where is the real Wade Kinsella?" she asked in earnest. "Geez, did the Christmas fairy magic away your tongue or something?"

A terrible smirk came to Wade's lips as she passed by him then.

"You wanna know where my tongue is at, Zoe Hart, I will happily show you."

"There he is," she said, laughing even as she rolled her eyes and headed for the couch. "Come on, if you help me figure out where Lavon hid the Holiday movies on the DVR, I might even let you have first pick."

"You're counting Die Hard as a Holiday movie, right?" Wade checked as he joined her, picking up the remote from the table as Zoe stared at him wide-eyed.

"Seriously? Who doesn't?"

"Beats me, doc." Wade laughed. "And thank you, you know, for invitin' me."

"No problem," she assured him, more glad than she expected that he had shown up.

A/N2: Just a little explanation regarding the different stories that are going to feature in the Advent Calendar. They are all completely independent of each other - a collection of mini one-shots. Every fic will have info at the top, under the title, regarding what 'verse the story takes place in, be it canon, connected to a story, set in a world I created, etc. and also what year we're in, which ought to help you get your bearings. Every fic will also be tagged with a code on the title, so in the drop down for each 'chapter' they'll be easily identifiable too. (I'll probably put the name of the main character/pairing in brackets after the title too, if there's space for that.)

Tags are as follows: AUC = Alternate Universe-Canon Divergence; AUM = Alternate Universe Meeting; CAN = canon; GUK - Growing Up Kinsella Style; THK – Long Live The Hart-Kinsellas series; OST - One Step at a Time; SiB - Summers in Bluebell

And that gives you some clue as to the kind of stories coming up later too ;)