A/N — I ate too many cream puffs last night and am in a food coma. But having written that, I think I might go eat another. xoxo — kals
A/N2 — I just realized that this one ran long and is over my 500 word limit. So...sorry? Hopefully it's worth the read. xoxo — kals
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Name: Holly
Setting: AU; around season 3
Prompt: there wasn't one, really, although this came from a conversation with SRP2017, Scousedancer and Aspect.
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"Mistletoe! Mistletoe for sale!" Tex called from the patio entrance to the official Nafy holiday party.
Mike gave Andrea a sideways glance. "I thought you said there would be no mistletoe tonight."
"I specifically told Tex that the hat was not to appear, that he was not to bring any mistletoe into the party, and he was not allowed to ask anyone to kiss him," Andrea replied, lips pressing into a firm line.
Tom chuckled. "He is apparently complying with the letter of the law." When Mike and Andrea both turned to look at him, incredulous, Tom added. "He's selling the mistletoe and letting other people bring it inside. And it appears that he has a lot of buyers."
As they watched, Danny appeared behind Kara, dangling a sprig of mistletoe above her head until she noticed it, pausing her conversation long enough to lean up and give him a kiss on the cheek. A kiss that was not satisfactory to her husband, if the way he spun her into a dip, giving her a much more thorough kiss was any indication.
Andrea looked at Mike and Tom. "Are either of you going to say anything? They are in uniform."
"Not it," Mike replied without hesitation.
Tom shrugged. "Did you see something? Because I didn't."
Just then Sasha appeared, smiling at Tom as she passed him a steaming cup of coffee. "I thought you might need a pick-me-up. The party seems to be just getting started."
Mike snorted, quickly adding. "I need to go check on Russ." He then disappeared into the crowd.
Andrea was about to follow when Tex appeared before her. "Commodore! Want any mistletoe? I saved the very last bunch just for you."
"What...oh no!" Sasha yelped, stepping backwards so quickly that she caught a heel. Tom turned to catch her, but dropped his cup of coffee, and all four of them jumped back to avoid the splash zone. Sasha lifted a hand to cover her mouth and nose, eyes pinned on the light green leaves in Tex's hand. "I'm allergic to mistletoe."
Glancing around, Tom gestured towards the backdoor. "Let's get you outside."
As they disappeared, Andrea turned back to Tex. She crossed her arms over her chest, knowing that her toe was tapping. "If Sasha ends up in the hospital you have only yourself to blame."
"Red, Red, Red, ye of little faith." Tex shook his head. "As if I would bring a poisonous plant to a party after you specifically told me no mistletoe."
Andrea's eyes narrowed. "Then what are you holding?"
"Holly," Tex replied promptly, smirking. "It's an evergreen. The berries are toxic but, as you can see, no berries here. The leaves are scratchy as hell so you aren't going to want to sleep with it but other than that, it's not going to do much."
"If it's not mistletoe, why is everyone kissing?" Andrea pressed although, truth be told, the corner of her mouth was twitching. Trust Tex to find a way around the rules.
Tex leaned closer. "If they don't know their botany, that's not on me."
Giving up, Andrea stepped closer, wrapping her arm around Tex's waist and leaning up to press a kiss to his cheek. "One of these days, you're going to go too far. But, for now, let's just enjoy the party."