It was that time of the year again. The air was crisp, the cups were red, and everywhere she went she heard the jingle jangle of some jolly tune. Most importantly, it was almost time for Cryptogen's non denominational holiday party. A night of sanctioned drinking and debauchery which fed the stream of office gossip for the next few weeks.

Aubrey had managed to avoid the dreaded event since joining the company, having flown home for Christmas right before it happened. This year, however, her parents had decided to make a trip to the Caribbean, meaning Aubrey would not be able to avoid it.

She had tried. She was ready to lie, take days off even if she wasn't going anywhere, she had even called her sister and asked if she could spend the holidays with her and her family, but all had failed. Her best friend knew she was going to be in town and since she was part of the organizing committee, there was no getting out of it. The only concession she got from Chloe was being the designated driver, which meant that she would at least have an excuse to avoid the heavily spiked punch, the downfall of many and the cause of at least a couple of broken legs and one pregnancy.

The fact that she'd never been at the office this close to the event meant that she was unprepared for the scene that greeted her as soon as she exited the elevator that morning. A huge tree had been erected in the middle of the foyer, right in front of the elevators and before the open floor plan space where most of the cubicles were situated. Red and green streamers were being hung from the ceiling and in between desks, and she tripped over a line of menorahs waiting to be placed as she made her way to her office.

She closed the door, thankful to have escaped the madness outside her corner office. She hadn't expected the entire floor to be converted into the Grinch's cave after he stole Christmas. Hopefully, she'd get some peace to work before the party started later.

The door opened just as she was sitting behind her desk, shattering her hopes of peace and quiet when Chloe entered holding a huge box of decorations and dropped it on the table by the door.

She turned, her eyes widening when she spotted Aubrey. "You're early!"

"I just got here." Aubrey nodded at the box. "What's that?"

"I was gonna surprise you!" She pulled out one of the streamers and held it up for Aubrey to see. "Did you see the tree?"

"It's hard to miss."

"I stayed up late yesterday to decorate," Chloe said as she started to scatter ornaments around the office. "I'm gonna finish the rest of the decorations on the main floor this morning so I can start setting up for the party after lunch."

"There's more to set up?"

"Oh yeah," Chloe nodded. "I have to make room near the east wall for the dance floor and karaoke, set up the bar and the table for the DJ."

"Karaoke?" Aubrey whispered scrunching up her nose.

"It's gonna be the best!" Chloe squealed, taking Aubrey's coffee mug from her hand and slipping it in a Christmas cozy with a grin. She handed it back to Aubrey and raked her eyes up and down her body. "You're not wearing that, are you?"

"I wasn't really planning to go home." Aubrey looked down self consciously at her disapproving tone. She thought she had mastered her work look by now, looking stylish yet professional. "What's wrong with this?"

"Nothing's wrong with it, you just look like you always do." Chloe shrugged. "And this is your chance for some people to see a different side of you. See that you're fun and you can let your hair down."

Aubrey rolled her eyes. She constantly regretted having told Chloe about her office crush. "I'm fine with what I'm wearing."

Chloe completely ignored her, waving her hand dismissively and leaned on Aubrey's desk. "Tonight would be the perfect occasion to tell her how you feel."

"I don't feel anything." Aubrey sighed exasperated and pushed Chloe towards the door. "I thought you had things to do somewhere else."

Chloe chuckled, waving as she walked out. "See you tonight!"

Aubrey rolled her eyes and refocused on her computer, committing to getting something done today despite the distractions. She could hear people outside her door talking, soft Christmas music coming from someone's computer speakers, and Chloe's voice directing someone who was helping her with the decorations.

She managed to tune the noise out and get through a few of the items on her to-do list, when she was interrupted again by a knock on her door. This time the sight that greeted her was way more appealing. "Hey, Stace."

The brunette smiled, something that always managed to make Aubrey feel better. "Hey, Bree." She took a tentative step into the office. "Chloe said she left a box of Christmas stuff here?"

"Oh," Aubrey stood and walked to the table where Chloe had put down her stuff earlier. "Here."

Aubrey picked up the box, turning to find Stacie had walked to her. "Thanks." Stacie grabbed the box but Aubrey didn't let go immediately. "You're coming tonight, right?"

Aubrey nodded and chuckled. "Chloe wouldn't let me miss it."

"Good, I always miss you on these."

Aubrey bit her lip to keep her smile from getting out of control. "You do?"

Stacie blushed and looked down at the box, shrugging nonchalantly. Aubrey was suddenly glad the box in between them was there to keep her from doing something impulsive.

Stacie spotted something in the box and reached inside, chuckling when she took out a small bundle of leaves tied together.

"Is that-" Aubrey asked.

"Chloe's mistletoe." Stacie nodded. "She goes around holding it over people and making them kiss."

"Oh god." Aubrey shook her head, finally letting go of the box and taking a few steps back. "Do people sign release forms before this party?"

Stacie laughed. "Shouldn't you know that, Miss Head of Legal?"

"Touché."

There was a loud crash outside followed by someone yelling they were fine. Stacie frowned at the noise and pointed outside. "I should go back to Chloe, last time I left her alone with the glue gun she glued her skirt to the wall." She stopped just short of the door and turned back to Aubrey, tossing the sprig of mistletoe with a wink. "If she asks about it, I'll say it wasn't in here."

Aubrey stared at Stacie's retreating form and then at the semi-closed door for a while, until she realized she'd been holding her breath and been hugging the mistletoe to her chest. She threw it to the couch and shook her head.

She couldn't really fault Chloe for teasing her about her crush on Stacie. She'd had it since Stacie had joined the company a couple of years back, and had persisted despite Aubrey's belief that it would eventually fade.

They had a good relationship, some would even say they were friends, but there had always been a tense undercurrent to their interactions which neither of them had ever acted on; Aubrey because she didn't want to complicate things by dating someone she worked with and she'd always suspected Stacie was a little intimidated by her because she was the head of the legal department. The legal department which was in fact just a couple of people fresh out of law school and a few assistants checking contracts and licensing for the company. The truth was, Stacie was way more important for the company. She was part of the software development group, the innovators, and even though Aubrey didn't really understand the minutiae of what exactly Stacie did, she knew she was one of the best at it.

Stacie was gorgeous and smart and apparently liked Aubrey back, which had been a source of endless frustration for Chloe ever since she noticed they were both weird around each other and Aubrey finally confessed to her crush. Given Chloe's meddling nature, she'd tried everything to get them together short of locking them in a closet. She constantly found excuses for them to spend time together, which neither of them ever complained about, and had left Stacie in charge of checking in on Aubrey whenever she went on vacation, which Aubrey still didn't get why it was necessary; but the fact that Stacie had dutifully popped up in Aubrey's office once a day whenever Chloe was out, asking if she'd had lunch or if she needed something, always made her smile.

The evidence suggested that Chloe had something planned for tonight, something involving Stacie. Part of her was a little excited about the prospect of hanging out with Stacie later, but even though it got harder each time, she was still firm in her conviction that dating someone she worked with would be a bad idea. She just hoped tonight wasn't the day Chloe snapped and locked them in a closet.

Thankfully, Chloe was too busy with the preparations for the party to interrupt her again and she managed to get her work done early. She decided to go home and change, not for Stacie, but she figured that if she was doing this, she might as well put some effort into it.

The party was well underway when she arrived, and she was surprised by the transformation of the space. The desks had been removed from a corner of the building, leaving a wide open space where people were dancing and a few tables of food and drinks had been set up. The view from the wide floor to ceiling windows had been left unobstructed and the people who weren't dancing were clustered close to the window.

Aubrey didn't know what they'd done to people's desks, or how they'd worked that day, they probably hadn't, but she had to hand it to Chloe, it really looked great. There was even a corner of the room where a mic had been set up and people where singing, although, judging by the lack of sobriety of the people currently there, Aubrey was glad the music from the dance floor was loud enough to drown them out from this side of the room.

Aubrey crossed to the drinks table, making a point to avoid the fruit punch and grabbing a can of soda before making her way towards the window. She'd been standing there for a few minutes when she noticed someone in red step up next to her.

"Chloe's gonna be very disappointed if she finds you just standing here."

Aubrey smiled at the sound of Stacie's voice. "What do you suggest?"

She turned to look at her, her throat suddenly dry at the sight in front of her. Stacie was wearing a red santa suit, the skirt just barely reaching the top thighs, and the bottom covered by knee high black boots. The top was tight around her chest, the fuzzy white trim framing a generous cleavage. Even the hat on top of her head looked way hotter than it should.

"There's still time to make the naughty list." Stacie winked.

All rational thought seemed to have escaped Aubrey, and she suddenly started feeling very hot. She was glad the lights were low and Stacie couldn't tell how bad she was blushing right now because she was sure she was, there was no way her face wasn't bright red considering the thoughts that were currently coursing through her brain at lightning speed. Thoughts that would definitely make her end up right at the top of the naughty list.

Aubrey needed space to breathe, to think about something other than jumping Stacie right then and there. She couldn't just stand there gaping like a brainless fish, she probably looked ridiculous and stupid.

"I…" She pointed somewhere behind her and started walking away from Stacie. "Bye."

She turned, walking towards the safety of her office and dropping down onto her couch without turning the light on. She hid her face in her hands with a loud groan, feeling how warm her cheeks were.

She felt ridiculous and embarrassed and Stacie probably thought she was insane for leaving like that. That is if she hadn't noticed how she'd been practically drooling over her and had been completely creeped out.

"Bree, I'm sorry." Aubrey dropped her hands and looked up just as Stacie turned on the light and walked in. "I shouldn't have said that, I'm just tipsy and dumb and I was wearing the Santa suit so I figured it would sound cute, not creepy and pervy like it did."

Stacie fell on the couch next to her, staring at the ceiling and avoiding looking at Aubrey.

Aubrey smiled when she realized Stacie was just as embarrassed as her. She allowed herself a second to admire the outfit in the brighter light of her office for a second before scooting closer and taking Stacie's hand. "It was cute." Stacie turned and raised a skeptical eyebrow at her, making Aubrey chuckle. "Fine, and a tiny bit pervy."

Stacie groaned and looked away again much to Aubrey's amusement. Aubrey's eyes roamed over her face, her hand still inside Stacie's, and made a choice. She didn't know if seeing Stacie dressed like that had broken something in her brain, but she didn't feel like questioning it.

"Are you drunk?"

Stacie frowned. "Not really, I just had enough to drink to make me say something stupid."

"Good."

Stacie's frown deepened and she turned to look at Aubrey. "Good?"

"I want you to be sober enough to remember this." She bit her lip. "And to know that I'm not taking advantage of you."

Stacie grinned. "I'm a willing participant in whatever you're thinking."

Aubrey smiled back, turning to look for the mistletoe she'd tossed onto the couch earlier. Stacie grinned when she held it over them and Aubrey leaned forward slowly, her lips finally covering Stacie's in a soft kiss. She felt Stacie respond, her lips pressing against hers and her body tilting towards her. She let go of the mistletoe and cupped Stacie's cheek, pulling back slowly and looking into Stacie's eyes.

"So you liked the suit?"

Aubrey laughed, tracing Stacie's cheekbone with her thumb. "I liked the suit."

Stacie pecked her lips and grinned widely. "Wanna sit on my lap and tell me what you want for Christmas?" Aubrey arched an eyebrow. "Pervy?"

"Pervy." Aubrey agreed as she climbed onto her lap and kissed her again.

Stacie broke the kiss, tilting Aubrey's head and kissing down her neck. "You know what Chloe gave me for Christmas?"

Aubrey frowned, she didn't want to think about Chloe, or anyone else, right now. "What?"

"A filled out consensual relationship agreement form." She pulled back and looked at Aubrey shyly. "I already signed it."

Aubrey felt her heart close to bursting and she responded by kissing Stacie deeply, vaguely aware of the music and laughter wafting in from the party outside. And though she had really only been at the party for a few minutes, she was sure Chloe wouldn't be mad at her for bailing this time.