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 Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 8:46 pm
The Christmas decorations appeared quite suddenly, between one day and the next; Madison had blinked in surprise and checked the calendar, then went around the rest of the day with a bemused expression. Christmas...
Kouki didn't quite understand, of course; the weapon requested numerous explanations of various decorations, the general meaning of the holiday, and kept interjecting with odd stories about field trips and elf attacks. Still, Madison found the impending holiday both comforting and a stark reminder of how she wasn't going home for Christmas. That particular carol hurt a bit every time it came up in her mind.
Still, certain of the decorations gave her an idea - or, rather, gave her courage. Jordan had always been so kind, so sweet... and he deserved to know what that meant for her. The mistletoe provided a handy segue to the topic, she felt - and it just so happened that one of the nearby meeting rooms had been so adorned...
She made the decision to go ahead with it rather abruptly, one afternoon, after a good hour of fiddling with her hair and makeup - but she felt good about the whole thing, confident and courageous. She closed the door to her room behind her and set off down the hall, humming a Christmas carol under her breath before knocking on Jordan's door.
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Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 9:10 pm
Jordan hadn't been expecting anyone; he'd just sat down with a book, fiction this time. At the knock, he looked up, surprised, then slipped a scrap of paper into the book as a bookmark and set it aside. Who is it today?
Open the door and find out.
Thank you for your spectacularly useful advice, Ferros. He did exactly that, and smiled to see Maddie standing in the hall, waiting for him. "Maddie! Hey, hi. How's it going? Something up?"
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Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 9:23 pm
"Just felt like saying hi." Madison smiled. "Nothing serious - sometimes it seems like it's too easy to only do stuff when it's serious, y'know? Want to go for a walk or something? If you're not busy, that is," she added, with a faint frown. Hopefully she'd timed this right.
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Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 9:26 pm
"I know what you mean." Jordan stepped out into the hall, closing the door behind him. "I was reading, but nothing important. It'll wait. A walk sounds good."
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Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 9:30 pm
Score! Madison grinned. "Thanks~ I guess it's with all the decorations, and stuff. Never would've thought anybody here cared about something like that, y'know? Especially since we're technically at war with a holiday... but Kouki seems to think Christmas is a place, too. Weird, huh?"
She started walking down the hall, not outside but towards the stairs.
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Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 9:38 pm
"It's certainly festive," Jordan said. "Kind of nice, really. I wonder who put all the decorations up - seems like they just appeared overnight."
Christmas? Ugh. Elves, Ferros said disdainfully. Elves and ninjas. We're not going there, right?
Uh - not as far as I know? "Ferros agrees. I guess it's not as weird as it seems, considering that we've had firsthand evidence that there's at least one holiday that's become a world of its own." He followed Maddie's lead; evidently they weren't going outside for a walk. Maybe she had something in mind.
Elves and ninjas, Ferros grumbled. Jordan ignored him.
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Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 9:41 pm
"What do you think Christmas is like?" As they reached the stairwell, Madison held up one hand to tap at the ropes of sparkly tinsel that decorated the bannisters and hung down from the higher stairs. "I mean, if it's real."
It IS real!
Yes, yes, I know, Madison thought back, soothingly. "Snow everywhere, gingerbread houses, Santa Claus is the king, who knows..."
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Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 9:44 pm
"Candy cane fences, sleighs for transportation, the full nine yards?" Jordan suggested. "Ferros just said something about elves and ninjas. I'm a little afraid to ask what he means by that."
They're very dangerous.
Okay then. I'll take your word for it.
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Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 9:47 pm
"Wait. Ninjas? How the... what, did I miss the story of like, the ninja at the manger? Santa's ninjas? Wait, is that how he stuffs the stockings?" Madison laughed, heading up the stairs and pushing open the door to the second floor.
"There's a room here with a nice tree," she added, by way of explanation.
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Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 9:52 pm
"I have no idea." Jordan shrugged, laughing himself. "Maybe that's why nobody ever actually sees Santa himself. He's secretly a ninja."
Ferros huffed, and Jordan got the distinct feeling that the weapon had just turned his back to sulk. It made him laugh more. "Now Ferros is getting offended. I must not be taking him seriously enough."
He reached over and held the door for her while she walked through, then followed her. "I like the one by the main door, too," he said. "The one with all the icicle things."
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Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 9:57 pm
"A ninja with reindeer. That makes total sense," Madison said, solemnly, then grinned. "Yeah, but this one's better. Um. You'll see?"
The door was approaching, and her heart pounded a little bit. This was it, pretty much... and oh thank god nobody was having a meeting in there right now. That would've been super awkward if she'd pushed the door open and ended up face to face with Dr. H... eeeeeeeeugh. What a buzzkill...
But that wasn't happening now! The room was empty and the tree was pretty awesome! Somebody had festooned it with old-fashioned cranberry and popcorn garlands along with some retro-kitschy ornaments. "C'mere, see? Just like Nana's tree~" she said, happily, beckoning him over to the doorway.
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Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 10:02 pm
Jordan stepped over to get a look at the tree, and smiled. "Your Nana and my Nan must've gone to the same school of tree-decorating," he said, a little wistfully. "You're right, that is a really nice tree." It did remind him of holidays when he was a little kid, the whole family together and Andy chasing Pop's patient old corgi around the kitchen.
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Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 10:04 pm
"I thought you might like it," Madison said, a little shyly, then took a deep breath. "And, um, hey... look. Mistletoe..."
She pointed up, at the sprig hanging right over their heads. "Um, I... guess I wanted to tell you that I, um... I think you're a really nice guy, Jordan, I mean really really nice, and... I... I like you a lot, and I wouldn't mind... doing what people do under mistletoe. With... with you. But only if you want to, too."
Her face was nearly as red as... well, as Rudolph's nose.
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Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 10:21 pm
Uh oh. It looked like Robert had been right after all. Jordan studied the nervous hope on Maddie's face. If he was going to feel something, it should be for her - a good friend, smart, determined, loyal, beautiful - and he kind of wished he did, because she'd be a really good girlfriend. Because it would be so much easier. Maybe he could try.
He leaned down, just enough, and kissed Maddie gently, a soft, chaste kiss; but there was no spark to it, no need, and he couldn't summon it just by hoping. He drew back after no more than a moment, glancing away. "I'm sorry," he said quietly.
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Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 10:26 pm
When Jordan's lips met her own, Madison's heart leapt; the kiss was gentle, soft, and sweet.
And then his touch was gone; she opened her eyes, questioningly, and the lift of hope plummeted at his words. "I don't... you don't..." She took a deep shaky breath. "I-is there someone else?" she whispered. "You can tell me, I..."
Maybe it would have been easier to run, but she wasn't going to. She was going to stand her ground, even though she felt like she she was going to cry, too.
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