Aubrey didn't really mind spending Christmas by herself. She had chosen not to go spend it with her parents, not that she would've had the time to make the trip anyway, but the whole ordeal stressed her out. She'd have to help her mom with dinner while enduring her endless criticisms, and then share the meal with a bunch of people she hadn't seen in years and didn't care about anything about her except when she was gonna find a nice man to settle down with.

One year, she'd been so fed up by the fourth degree that she'd dared to mention maybe she'd find a nice woman to settle down with. The silence that followed had made her so uncomfortable she'd laughed as if she was joking. And while her parents knew she also dated women, they said their extended family didn't need to know about her personal business, which Aubrey thought was ironic since all they asked about was her personal business.

She'd refused to go through that again, and had planned on spending a quiet Christmas at home. Except Chloe had found out about it and insisted she spend it with her and her girlfriend; apparently her girlfriend's roommate was cooking and inviting a few friends. She figured that spending Christmas with Chloe, her girlfriend, and a bunch of strangers wouldn't be as bad as being with her family so she agreed.

That was until Chloe told her there was going to be a gift exchange.

"Why do I have to participate? I don't know anyone." Aubrey grumbled, stretching her legs and bumping Chloe's thigh with her sock clad feet.

"You know Beca! Besides, the draw already happened so you can't get out of it anymore." She tossed Aubrey her phone and poked her calf. "It's gonna be fun! Check your email, you should have the name of the person in your inbox."

Aubrey groaned, opening up her email. "It's not one of those ridiculous joke gift exchanges, right?"

"No, you can add anything to your wishlist that's within the price range, and people get it for you. No jokes."

"Then what's the point? I can just spend that on something I know I'm gonna like and save myself the trouble," Aubrey said.

"You're the worst." Chloe pushed Aubrey's feet off the couch and scooted closer to Aubrey. "Can you just check who you got?"

Aubrey's finger hovered over her phone, but before she clicked the email open, she pressed her phone to her chest. "What if I got you?"

"Then you better get me something that's well beyond the price range." Chloe shook Aubrey's arm. "Just open it!"

Chloe sighed and clicked on the email, frowning when she read the name. "Who's Stacie?"

"Beca's roommate. She went to my Halloween party, you know her," Chloe said. "Tall, brunette, super hot. She was wearing a devil costume."

The brunette pushed Aubrey against the wall without breaking the kiss, one of her hands pinning her wrist over her head, and the other one slipping down her side to her thigh. She tugged on her lower lip with her teeth, smiling when Aubrey moaned, then let go to trace a path of kisses to her neck, sucking on her pulse point until Aubrey was squirming against her.

"I don't think I met her," Aubrey mumbled.

"Sure you did! I saw you talking to her right before we left," Chloe insisted.

Aubrey tangled the fingers of her free hand in her hair, pressing her closer as her teeth raked down her neck and letting out a little gasp when she felt her bite down on her clavicle. The brunette hoisted Aubrey's leg up and the hand on her wrist shifted up, lacing their fingers together as she pressed her body flush against hers.

"Bree, did you find your coat?" Aubrey pushed the brunette back at the sound of Chloe's voice, turning towards the bed where all the coats were thrown just as the door opened. "What's taking so long?"

Aubrey turned to look at the brunette. "We were just talking and I got distracted."

"Yup," the brunette confirmed with a grin.

Chloe rolled her eyes and pulled her jacket from the bottom of the pile. "Here they are." She grabbed Aubrey's hand and pulled her out of the room. "Bye, Stace."

"I don't really remember her."

Chloe arched an eyebrow at her but didn't push. "Well, she should be pretty easy to shop for."

Chloe had been wrong. While Aubrey had been very specific on her wishlist, Stacie had written she wanted to be surprised. She told Chloe to ask Beca about it and found out that Stacie thought it was stupid to have a gift exchange if she already knew what she was getting. Beca told Chloe a few stuff she would like but Aubrey was still not sure about what to get. She was going to stick to the price range, she didn't want to seem overeager, or like she was expecting something more from Stacie, and she didn't want to make her uncomfortable by making the gift too personal.

The fact that she actually liked Stacie complicated things more. They had been talking on and off at the Halloween party, and she'd been looking for her jacket when Aubrey came in to the room looking for hers. There'd been something in the way she looked at her that made her close the door, and Stacie had walked up to her as she did, stopping close enough for Aubrey to just lean forward and connect their lips.

They hadn't actually exchanged names at any point, and their conversation before they made out started out with them criticising someone else's awful costume, and continued with Stacie blatantly flirting with her. She was funny and had the greatest smile Aubrey had ever seen. Besides, the memory of their kiss had popped into Aubrey's head more times than she cared to admit. She had thought about asking Chloe about her but, just like now, she wasn't too sure that Stacie would want to see her again.

Except now she couldn't really avoid seeing her, so she needed a gift that didn't say much, while still being awesome enough in case she did have a chance, which wasn't simple. She had to send Chloe to gather more information, and finally settled on a brass desk telescope. It was small and, even though it actually worked, it was mostly decorative. It was within the price range, and though it was a bit personal, it wasn't over the top.

Aubrey showed up at Beca and Stacie's on Christmas day with her wrapped gift and a bottle of wine, her mouth forced into a smile so her nerves didn't show. Thankfully, Chloe was the one to open the door, and quickly pulled Aubrey inside and into a hug.

"You're here!" She pulled back and chuckled. "I mean, of course I know you're here, I was just worried you were gonna bail."

"I told you I was coming," Aubrey said and took her coat off. Chloe grabbed it with the gift and started down the hall. "Where are you taking my gift?"

"To the tree." Chloe replied, leading Aubrey to the living room. "Guys, you've met Aubrey."

Chloe proceeded to list everyone's name but Aubrey didn't pay much attention. She'd met some of Beca's friends at Chloe's Halloween party and she'd liked most of them, still she hoped Chloe didn't expect her to hang out with them more often. Besides, she was distracted trying to find Stacie.

"Dinner's almost ready, we're just waiting for a couple more people." Chloe led her to the makeshift bar and handed her cup. "You're good here? I'm gonna go check on Stacie and Beca."

Aubrey nodded, her stomach flipping at the mention of Stacie. She poured herself a drink, feeling the alcohol slide down her throat and somewhat soothing her nerves. She tried not to drink too fast but by the time dinner was ready and the rest of the guests arrived, she was already on her second drink.

She was on her way to the large table they'd set up, when Chloe pulled her to the other side so she'd sit next to her. She ended up on the opposite side of the table as Stacie, the only sign that she'd even seen her was a small confused smile when their eyes met when she came into the room.

Aubrey tried to avoid looking in her direction, she didn't want to seem like a creeper and she had to turn and lean forward to actually see her, which would have made it pretty obvious. The meal itself wasn't bad, and she'd actually enjoyed dinner even though her mind was almost entirely focused on the brunette on the other side.

"Hey." Aubrey almost dropped her spoon at the sound. People had drifted to various parts of the living room, gathering around the tree when dessert was served, and Aubrey had taken her pudding to the couch.

She hadn't noticed Stacie approach her, and she hadn't had a chance to take a good look at her before. She was wearing a Santa costume, complete with a hat and a red skirt that ended just above her knees.

"Hey." Aubrey smiled and flicked the pompon of her hat. "Are you supposed to be Santa?"

"Why don't you sit on my lap and find out?"

Aubrey rolled her eyes with a smile. "You're ridiculous."

"That's what you said the last time."

Aubrey looked up, biting her lip at the mention of their last encounter, and took a deep breath. "And it's still true."

Stacie chuckled, turning away when Beca called her name and nodded at the tree. "I gotta go give out the gifts."

Stacie grabbed the red bag Beca handed her and went around the room, giving everyone their gift, winking at Aubrey when she handed her a small red box. Aubrey waited until everyone had their gifts, watching Stacie as she took the last box and sat down to open her own, her brow furrowed adorably as she ripped the wrapping off. She opened the box slowly, her mouth forming an 'O' as she took the telescope out.

She took the card out from the bottom of the box, smiling up at Aubrey when she read it was from her, but when she made a move towards her, Chloe sat next to Aubrey, demanding that she open her present.

Stacie helped Beca gather the trash from all the gifts and then disappeared into the kitchen. Aubrey didn't know what to think about Stacie's absence. She could attribute it to her freaking out about her gift or because she actually had something to do somewhere else. She couldn't help dwelling on it, leaning towards the former, so as soon as she thought it was socially acceptable, Aubrey decided to go get her coat and say goodbye.

"This seems familiar." Aubrey spun around, finding Stacie standing by the door watching her. She closed the door, stepping inside, and walked up to Aubrey. "You're leaving already?"

"I have to work tomorrow." Aubrey shrugged.

Stacie stepped closer and looked down at her. "I really liked the gift."

Aubrey couldn't help smiling at that. "I'm glad."

"But-" Aubrey frowned slightly. "I was hoping it would come with your number."

"My number?" Aubrey asked with a smirk.

Stacie nodded. "So I can call you. Maybe ask you out?"

Aubrey tilted her head to the side. "That sounds good."

Stacie smiled widely and it made Aubrey's chest feel lighter. She grabbed Aubrey's hand and tugged her forward a few steps before looking up at the ceiling. "Look, mistletoe."