I know that I haven't updated my other fic yet, but I had this idea for a one-shot and I had to get it down while the idea was still fresh in my mind....

So yeah, more Christmas fluff. Go figure!! And beware the UST. I couldn't resist :P ENJOY!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fringe (but it's on my wish list, lol!)

Holiday Hugs & Kisses

"It's almost midnight! We need a countdown!" Walter roared across the lab. The room responded to his cry with cheers of agreement.

Olivia checked her watch. God, was it that late already? It felt like it had been only an hour or so since the party had started, not four!

Four hours earlier…

"Peter where are we going?" she asked him as he steered her, blindfolded, from the car, not four hours ago.

"You'll see…"

Unbeknownst to Olivia, Peter had driven her to the lab at Harvard, and was skillfully leading her to the lab by means of some unnecessary twists and turns to throw her off the trail. No doubt he knew that her clever mind would figure out where she was being taken if a he went the regular route to the lab, so a detour was in order.

"Are we there yet?" she asked with a small giggle.

"No, be patient, 'Liv," he whispered softly in her ear, his lips brushing against her earlobe and making shivers run up and down her back. She heard a door open and close before Peter untied her blindfold and sarcastically said, "Ok, now you can look!" And the next thing she knew was that a small group of people were smiling and laughing before her in – what she suspected – to be the Harvard lab, but cette lab had been very elaborately decorated so that she could hardly believe it to be the same dingy place it usually was.

"Merry, merry Christmas, Olivia!" Walter cried merrily while Astrid and Charlie were only been able to laugh and smile at her, and at Walter's rather fluffy, slightly askew Santa hat that had been adorned with three green ribbons and one red one….

And so the festivities continued for the next three hours. First, there was a gift exchange, as Walter called it, even though it was more along the lines of Walter giving presents to everyone else. Each person received a pair of exceptionally soft, festive socks. Olivia's were red and green striped with two real bells sewn onto each sock, Astrid's were solid green with snowmen in top hats, and Charlie's were red with snowflakes. As for Peter's socks, they were by far the most exquisite. More like slippers than socks, each sock had a reindeer on the toe – a plush reindeer head complete with antlers and a flashing red nose was attached to the end of each red, white and green polka dotted sock.

"Walter, you really shouldn't have…" Peter said with a forced smile, but not so forced as Olivia would have thought. Later, she saw him smiling fondly at the socks when he thought that no one was looking.

Next came the music. Walter sat down at the piano and began playing "Jingle Bell Rock" and insisted that people begin dancing. Astrid and Charlie immediately began dancing around the room, both caught up in the holiday spirit. Olivia was unsure whether or not she should ask Peter to dance, but she felt Peter come up behind her and placed one hand on her waist, the other into her own hand.

"Shall we dance, Miss Dunham?"

She'd turned her head to glance at him over her shoulder, eyes sparkling. "Sure."

Olivia allowed Peter Bishop to twirl and spin her around for a grand total of six tunes. They finally came to a stop, breathless, and totally unaware that Peter's arm was still wrapped firmly around her waist and their hands were still entwined. Astrid and Charlie were already starting towards the food and drinks when Peter suddenly became aware that he was still holding Olivia to him. Smiling at her in a way that only he could, Peter said softly, so that only she could hear, "I guess you can dance, Gracie Hart."

Olivia tried to hold back her giggles and maintain a serious look. "Don't you mean Gracie Lou Freebush?"

Peter laughed, and his laughter was contagious. Olivia's giggles bubbled up like a happy spring and this time she didn't want to hold them in.

"Peter, Olivia! My heavens, do come and eat from our holiday smorgasbord and stop standing about like two partridges in a pear tree!"

Peter released her quickly, placing his hands on his hips. "Walter, you haven't been drinking too much punch, right?"

"Why of course I have Peter! There really is no such thing as too much punch, you should know that…"

"Especially when there's a bit of alcohol in it," Peter whispered to Olivia before gently prying the plastic cup out of his father's hands.

The group spent the next few hours eating, talking and laughing. Olivia couldn't remember the last time she'd had so much fun, nor the last time she'd felt so open – and so comfortable to be that unguarded, and thanks to the little kick in the fruit punch, uninhibited as well. Charlie had to leave shortly after the dancing had ended, having promised his sister that he would spend some time with her and her family that Christmas Eve. Olivia and Astrid gave him hugs, Peter shook hands with him, and Walter tried to give Charlie a hug, but Charlie just gave the scientist a quick handshake and rolled his eyes at Olivia before leaving hastily.

After Charlie had left, Walter didn't waste a minute of time and began telling the group about some epic experiment that he conducted before he was sent to St. Clare's, but Olivia was beginning to get sleepy and lean back in her chair to listen. It was Walter's cry for a countdown that snapped her out of her trance.

"Ten! Nine, eight, seven, six…" Walter and Astrid chanted, Walter waving his hands frantically to engage Peter and Olivia in the countdown.

"…five, four…" Peter joined in, giving Olivia a look as if to say 'if I'm gonna do this then you better do it to'.

"…three, two…" Olivia chimed in, smiling at Peter.

"…one, ZERO!!!" Walter bellowed, dancing around like a little kid who just found out that the biggest present under the tree was for him. "Merry Christmas, Asterine!" he said enthusiastically, pulling Astrid into a hug and giving her a peck on the cheek.

Hugs and kisses were exchanged back and forth. Olivia got a hug from Astrid and a hug and a hair ruffle from Walter who, despite Peter's best efforts, had obviously not stayed away from the punch. When Olivia had wished a Merry Christmas to everyone but Peter, she approached him, but froze a few inches away from his face. Olivia didn't know why, but for some reason, her limbs suddenly felt like lead, so she couldn't move away from Peter either – she was just stuck; very, very close to Peter. His eyes locked with hers… they were beautiful, as green as the dots all over his socks. She'd never really looked at his eyes, not this close up before….

"Well don't just stand there, boy, give her a hug!" Walter said, giving Peter a clap on the back and watching eagerly as he took yet another gulp of punch.

Peter rolled his eyes at his father and let them come back to rest on Olivia's. Was he going to hug her? Hugging Peter Bishop… Olivia hadn't even thought about how she would bit him goodnight, much less a 'Merry Christmas' with enough sincerity to show that she really meant it, but still… hugging? That was something they'd never done before….

Then without warning, Peter leant forward and quickly embraced her. Olivia finally found her arms and was able to return the hug swiftly before they both dropped their hands and stepped away from each other. Walter shrugged, making a face. Peter sighed and looked apologetically at Olivia, giving her one of his classy, trademark smiles.

She checked her watch again. It was almost ten minutes past the hour, she really ought to be getting home. "I should go now, but thank you for the party, it was wonderful," she added at Walter's slightly downcast expression. But he perked up again and bid her good night calling "A merry Fringemas to all, and to all a Fringe night…!" and then lunged into another carol. Olivia smiled to herself as she caught a glimpse of Peter attempting to hide the bowl of punch while Astrid distracted Walter as he belted out carols as loud as he could.

Olivia left the building and pulled her coat tighter around here to keep out the chill. Snow had begun falling softly; not enough to pile up on the ground, but enough so that the trees, the pavement, and the buildings – the whole world – looked as though it had been glazed with a delicate white icing. Olivia stopped beneath a tree to admire how every branch had it's own white edge. The sight took her breath away.

"Olivia, wait!"

She turned to look back at the building and saw Peter bounding down the steps two at a time.

"What are you doing out here?" she asked casually, trying to suppress the sudden, unexpected urges to move closer to him.

"Well, I feel badly."

"About…?" Olivia questioned him, her curiosity peaked.

"About that hug. It was… lame, to put it lightly," he grinned at her.

Olivia nodded. "Yeah, it was kinda, well, really lame, wasn't it?" She chuckled, as did Peter. When her laughter subsided, Olivia looked up to find that Peter was much closer to her than he had been a moment ago… much closer.

"I came out here because I want to make it up to you, Olivia," he said softly. With that, Peter wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him. Thankfully, this time some unseen force didn't weigh down Olivia and she hugged him back with all her might. His arms created a fortress around her, and a feeling of complete safety flooded Olivia's mind. She buried her face between his neck and the collar of his coat, never ever wanting to let go. "Merry Christmas, 'Livia," Peter murmured into her neck as he held her closer still, and Olivia welcomed it.

"Merry Christmas, Peter," she said softly, her eyes closed. Before tonight, she had never been so intimate with Peter, and it puzzled her as to why they'd never hugged even once in the last several months. They were friends, good friends… but then again, why was she enjoying this so much?

Peter finally pulled away but kept his hands on her shoulders. Alarm and concern was written all over his face. "'Liv, you're crying… what's wrong?" he asked tenderly.

Olivia quickly wiped away the tears that she didn't know existed. "I'm ok, actually, I'm really ok right now," she replied honestly, smiling through her tear-filled eyes.

Peter raised an eyebrow. "Alright then, I'll believe you."

Suddenly, Peter's face was very close to hers – again – and this time she could hardly stand being so close to him, but still so far. Olivia searched his eyes for something, anything, that would tell her what to do next because she was at a total loss. She saw the mischievous glint in his green gaze a nanosecond before he pulled her in close and planted a quick kiss on her lips.

Wow.

Olivia couldn't fathom what had just happened, so she only stood there in shock as Peter smiled at her dumbfounded expression.

"Goodnight, 'Liv," he said, gently grazing her cheek with his fingertips. Still smiling, and he turned and walked back into the building.

"Goodnight…" Olivia whispered in a state of absolute shock, long after his figure had disappeared through the oak double doors.

Did Peter really just kiss me?

Did I just kiss him back?

Yet here, beneath the falling snow and the elegant tree limbs, in the wee hours on Christmas Morning, with butterflies dancing about in her stomach and a case of 'first kiss' giggles that made her whole body shake, things like that suddenly didn't seem too far-fetched to Olivia Dunham.

Don't say I didn't warn you about the UST...

Penny for your thoughts? :)