Chapter Fourteen

A Christmas Story

She smiled to herself as she let herself into the apartment, the smell of pine filling her nostrils.

"Explain to me why we didn't take the car?" Logan asked with his hood up holding the front end of the tree as she walked in front with the end.

She smiled thinking about how much that statement just sounded like her, "Because your place is a block away. Not to mention it wasn't raining when we left." It was only a drizzle, but being mid-December it was more than just slightly unpleasant.

"We heard it on the news right before we left," he pointed out the broadcast that she'd scoffed at.

"Oh come on when's he ever right?"

"Today."

She laughed listening to bitter old Logan, who she knew was having fun, he hadn't been able to remember the last time he'd had a Christmas tree and hers had never been more than potted plants or cheesy small fake ones and even those weren't consistent. Since they were spending Christmas together this year he'd agreed with her that a tree didn't sound like such a bad idea, he'd even gone into storage and found ornaments for it. They decorated it once they dried themselves and the tree off.

"Hey," he said turning in his chair as she stood in the doorway of his office, "Cindy get off alright?"

She nodded, Original Cindy after 7 Christmases without her family was going home for a visit thanks to Max once more hanging outside on a tree for entirely too long, "Watched the bus pull away. What are you doing?"

"Dougie's having some issues adjusting to Mexico."

How could anyone have a problem with Mexico

"He keeps falling asleep in the sun; he thinks he's getting skin cancer."

She laughed as Logan closed the box on the screen, he'd figure out what to do with him later and softly smiled remembering Max's outfit…Fishnets…An amazing invention. He was definitely letting Max dress herself for all future jobs.

"I'm gonna go toss this stuff in the room," she said lifting her bag; he nodded his response still slightly lost in the memory.

He stood and made his way into the kitchen to start cooking, but paused, leaning over the counter looking at the tree sparkling with silver ornaments...

"Max hold the stand."

She just looked up at him, then dropped a look down to the floor, then back up at him, "Why exactly do I have to be the one on the floor."

"Because I have longer arms."

Okay absolutely no logic in that, she continued to look at him.

"I can get a better perspective on the tree and still adjust it."

More looking.

"Fine you hold the tree and I'll do the stand." He looked down at his legs.

She let out a short laugh, he was so not going to guilt her into crawling underneath the tree, she couldn't believe he was even trying, "Upper body strength. I probably don't even need to hold the tree."

He just looked at her, two could play that game; he didn't say anything he just looked, genetically enhanced soldier.

It was a standoff, just for the good ol' fun of having a standoff.

"It's your apartment."

"You wanted the tree."

"You're the guy," she finished with a tilt of her head.

"I'm the guy?" He repeated her words just looking at her. "Revved up super girl? Girl's kick ass is using the gender card?"

"You played the legs card?"

"I'm paralyzed."

"And I'm a girl," she nodded with the words.

He briefly wondered if he should just leave the tree in its current position all night as he struggled not to laugh.

In the end he ended up on the floor, getting sap and dirt on his hands as needles fell down around him, he realized too late the argument he should have used, she was smaller because he kept getting whacked in the head by branches. He stood up spitting a needle out of his mouth, shaking the needles out of his hair with a hand and she joined in the brushing them off his back…

He smiled; the tree had turned out well.

"So what's for dinner?" she asked walking over

"Duck with a pomegranate wine sauce."

"It would kill you to make like meatloaf or something wouldn't it."

"It's Christmas."

She looked at him puzzled.

"You never heard of the Christmas goose?"

"We're having duck."

He frowned looking at her, "Duck…Goose" he shook his head, "You get the idea."

"So if that's the normal Christmas meal shouldn't we be having it tomorrow?"

"My aunt hates it. She never serves it."

"Margo's cooking?"

Logan laughed as he went to grab a pan, "The caterers won't be serving it tomorrow."

"So what am I doing?" she asked waiting to be assigned a task as always.

"Mince some garlic?" he said grabbing the bulb and handing it to her.

"All of it?"

With his hand on the fridge door he turned back and looked at her in all seriousness, she was kidding right?

"What?" That had been a good question; he either told her how much or only gave her that amount.

He walked back over and took the bulb out of her hand and handed back to her two cloves.

ooOoo

"So what movie did you get?" she asked during dinner, they'd decided on their Christmas Eve activity when they decided to spend it together, since Max wanted to make damn sure she wasn't spending the entire holiday doing Eyes Only stuff. She'd left the movie picking up to Logan, but she was betting it was one of two movies, 'It's a Wonderful Life' or "A Christmas Carol," she'd seen them both before and they were definitely the moralistic type of story Logan would lean towards. Not to mention a Christmas Carol had a Christmas Goose, how had she forgotten that?

"I was thinking 'A Christmas Story,' I picked up a few though."

"I thought it was a Christmas Carol."

"Different movie."

"Well what's this one about?"

"It's a family at Christmas; I think it's the fifties or sixties."

"That's all you're going to tell me?"

"It's funny, you'll like it."

"We're watching a funny Christmas movie? It doesn't have a moral or something?"

He stopped and thought for a moment trying to remember years back, "It's anti-guns?"

"Are you serious?"

He nodded, "Why what did you have in mind?"

"I dunno 'It's a Wonderful Life?'"

"You know I've never actually seen that all the way through."

Hmm, that explains the gun after Vertes. "Really?"

"I've seen parts, I know the story. I never actually sat down and watched it though."

"A Christmas Carol?"

"Read the book," he saw her give him a dirty look, "And I saw the movie," He added. "I saw the Disney version a bunch of times."

A tilt of her head.

"I was a kid once Max."

"So you keep saying."

"How is that so hard for you to believe?"

She shook her head, "I don't know, hard to imagine you with runny noses…Or…I don't know just being loud." Loud and free… "Not being preoccupied about having the wrong wine with dinner or solving all the world's problems all before bed."

He laughed and shook his head, "You done?" he asked with nod of his head towards her plate.

"Yea," she said with another shake of her head standing with her plate, "but now I keep seeing you with a runny nose." She shuddered slightly.

ooOoo

"What are you making?" she asked leaning around him to peer into the saucepan.

"Hot chocolate."

She looked down into the white liquid before looking around the counters, "Where's the chocolate?"

"It's already in there."

Another look into the pan, followed by a tilt of her head to look up at Logan.

"White chocolate Max, it's peppermint hot chocolate." His eyes traveled over to the crushed candy canes waiting to go in it.

"You know everything doesn't have to be so difficult."

"And not everything has to be easy. Sometimes it's worth the extra effort Max."

The comeback she had been playing was forgotten and she stayed there for a moment longer with her head tilted looking at him.

ooOoo

She couldn't figure out what was more fun, the movie itself or watching Logan watch the movie. He hadn't seen it in years, but it seemed that he remembered every funny scene a split second sooner than it happened. She'd never seen him laugh for that long without moments of seriousness in between. He might not have laughed the hour and a half straight through, but he'd been happy and content throughout. It warmed Max more than the gourmet hot chocolate, which warmed her less than it could have since he'd offered peppermint schnapps for it if she wanted it. She refrained though as he had and had taken it for the simple pleasure it was, just as she had taken this night.

Thanks for reading, I hope you guys enjoyed. If you're wondering about Thanksgiving, I might throw in a few flashbacks in the next scene.