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nowis-scales · 4 months

Text

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences

General Warnings: Drunken Behaviour (but only the silly kind)

Fandoms: Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

Relationships: Faye/Rinea, Berkut/Rinea (past), Faye & Gray

Additional Tags: Christmas Party, Hanukah Party also, Fluff, Drunken Flirting, Childhood Friends, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Post Berkut/Rinea Break-Up, Secret Crush, Gray is inadvertently Faye's wingman

Chapter Word Count: 7,607 words

Story Summary:

Faye shouldn’t confess… but that doesn’t mean she can’t flirt with Rinea a little, right? Possibly by asking her to join their holiday party?Oh Mila. What is he thinking? Or, rather, what is he getting himself into? He never was able to resist a damsel in distress, even if he was very adamant that that damsel should be dating his friend instead of him.

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In which Gray's spiking of the eggnog at the Ram Village kids' Christmas party has... unforeseen consequences when Faye's crush on Rinea comes into the equation.

[Read it on AO3.]

None of them knew that Gray spiked the eggnog.

That was just the problem, wasn’t it? The fact that Gray spiked the eggnog. If they had lucidity to ask why, they all knew what he would probably say.

“You guys are all so reserved. Celica’s too much of a lady, and Alm won’t do anything that Celica won’t do. And if Celica and Alm won’t do something, then Faye definitely won’t do that thing. Tobin’s always getting on my case for not being responsible enough, so he’d never agree, and honestly these days it just seems like Kliff hates fun overall. This is supposed to be a holiday party, so let’s make it a holiday party!”

Gray spiked the eggnog, and that was just the problem – that is just the problem. Gray spiked the eggnog, and now all his friends are drunk, and they are starting to decide that some very bad ideas are, instead, very good ones.

Being the only one who knew about the unique addition to the concoction, this is also what made him the most sober. Being the most sober also made him the designated group babysitter.

It probably wouldn’t have been a problem if the eggnog hadn’t been so damn good. Gray wouldn’t even say that he liked eggnog most of the time, but Faye’s nana had made this batch, and it was the best he’d ever tasted. The gods of cloves and cinnamon must have blessed Faye’s nana with some magnificent sense, because everything about her eggnog was just perfect. It was rich, creamy, and cool, and the balance of spices just made the beverage sing. He could have thrown back more than a few mugfuls, and that’s as someone who isn’t even a fan. His friends, on the other hand, could easily fill their bellies to the brim just happily drinking away. And, much to his shock, that’s exactly what he did.

The brandy didn’t seem to affect them at first. The first couple of cups, it was no big deal. Kliff commented that the flavour was a little different than usual. Tobin agreed, but said that the new one wasn’t bad. Faye said she’d ask her nana what spices she used to make it this year, when she returned from her outing. Celica could only say that it was lovely. She’d never had eggnog before. Alm had agreed.

They just kept throwing the mugs back. It may not have been that much, in the end, but because Gray knew what had been done, he couldn’t stop thinking about every passing of the liquid between their lips. He started to get nervous around the time Tobin started to slur his words, and that pit in his stomach starts to grow when Alm can’t stop muttering to Celica about how pretty she is. He felt himself begin to sweat when Faye started to find everything funny, and knew all was lost when Kliff started to get emotional about how much he loved everyone there.

His friends were definitely drunk. He had made them, completely and totally, drunk – and that brought them to where they were now.

“I'm giving you everything, all that joy can bring, this I swear, and all that I want from you, is a promise you will be there. I'm giving you everything.”

As Celica and Faye’s voices draw to a close, backed up by Alm and Tobin on needless acapella, Kliff erupts into applause. Gray, overwhelmed by a situation of his own creation, can only clap a little before he’s reminded of just what monster he’s applauding – a monster of his own creation. How horrifying it is to think that Spice Girls karaoke is overwhelming him, when there are so many more ideas that could come to fruition from their state – and it’s his fault.

“You guys sounded great!” cheers Kliff uncharacteristically. After all of his years of being a bit of a grump, it’s starting to make Gray uncomfortable to see him be so… emotive. He turns to elbow Gray. “Didn’t they sound great?”

Gray pushes a false smile and nods. “Y-Yep, they were… really something! Especially that high note, Faye, wow…”

He’s lying. Faye thought it would be fun to try and hit a whistle tone. Faye does not have a voice that can hit a whistle tone. She sounded like a parakeet on fire. If he tells her that, though, she may cry – and as much as Gray doesn’t want to deal with regular drunk Faye, a crying drunk Faye would be that much worse.

“Thanks, Gray!” she chirps happily, completely oblivious to his insincerity, taking a deep bow. “Although I think the bulk of the song was handled by Celica.”

She leans into rest her head on Celica’s shoulder, only to stumble over the moment she moves slightly. She’s able to catch herself by grabbing onto the other girl’s arm, and then promptly erupts into laughter. Celica, though she was just a moment ago half-oblivious to what was happening, seems to burst out laughing as well.

It’s a really good thing they’re for the most part jovial. If they were cranky or weepy, Gray isn’t sure he would be able to take it. He knows now that he has made a very severe mistake.

“Which one of you two is up next?” Alm slurs from behind the girls, gracelessly waggling the microphone at Kliff and Gray. “I wanna see- hic – oooooone of you guys up there.”

“Hey, I already sang ‘Wannabe’ with you and the boys earlier. I’m done,” Gray chuckles, folding his arms across his chest. “Kliff can take a turn.”

“Hey!” Faye protests. “He sang just as much as you did.”

“Yes,” Gray corrects, “But I was Baby Spice. It was a much more demanding role.”

Faye rolls her eyes, still swaying a bit as she leans on Celica. “You weren’t even that good of a Baby Spice.”

Gray shoots an accusatory finger at her. “You take that back, Brisbois.”

A smirk snakes across Faye’s lips, and she pokes her tongue out at him from between her lips. “C’m’over here and make meeeeee!”

For a moment he actually considers whether it would be worth it, to go over there and noogie Faye until she squealed just like the good old days, but he thinks better of it. Once again, she might cry, and a crying drunk Faye would be that much worse.

She’s always been the emotional drunk among them, breaking down into tears with a snap of his fingers as soon as she’s had a little too much. He would rather not tempt fate. The other drunks would surely turn on him if he were to reduce her to tears. He loves his friends and he knows they love him, but the last time they all got drunk and Tobin made him cry, they were ready to crucify the man. He was crying laughing, but the other Rammies saw tears and that was all they needed to jump to the defence of one of their own.

They’re not the most reasonable drunks he’s ever met.

“Those are fightin’ words for someone within noogie distance,” he decides to snicker instead, sticks his tongue out in return. Faye takes this in stride, laughing her way right back to the couch, plunking herself down beside him. Celica, Tobin, and Alm follow suit. The cushy loveseat sinks with the new weight.

“This truly is the best party I’ve been to in a long time.” Celica giggles, snuggling into Alm’s shoulder as she settles on the couch. “I’m so glad we’re all here together.”

Murmurs of agreement rumble among the group, each of them having something to say about this perfect little loop they seem to all have themselves in. The only person he seems to notice doing anything different is… Faye. For a brief moment, alarm sinks into him, wondering if maybe he was off-kilter with his noogie comment. However, the more time he takes to really study her face, the more it dawns on him that Faye’s mind actually might just be somewhere else. She seems to be nibbling her lip, not noticing Tobin knocking into her shoulder playfully.

“Hey, Faye, why the long face?” Gray asks, reaching over to pat her knee. “You were all smiles a minute ago.”

He tries to ask it softly, maybe in a more off-to-the-side manner, in hopes of giving the conversation some privacy. Unfortunately, their friends for whatever reason seem to have the hearing power of dogs. It’s like he snapped his fingers or something, the way all of them immediately tune in.

“Is something bothering you?”

“Are you alright?”

“Is it something we can help with?”

“Did we say something wrong?”

Faye doesn’t appear shaken by all of these various questions. If it were Gray in her shoes, he knows he would feel a bit overwhelmed, but she takes it well. Her eyes flick up from her lap to look at them, brows furrowed. She doesn’t look comfortable necessarily, but she doesn’t strike him as being caught off-guard, either.

“Sorry, I’m just… I’m thinking about Rinea.”

Rinea?

Oof. Gray kicks himself for not thinking of this. On the list of things that would be on a drunk Faye’s mind, “Rinea” would probably be hovering around number two.

Rinea is the fiancée – er, recent ex-fiancée – of Alm’s cousin Berkut. Nobody knows for sure what happened, but rumour has it that the two of them had a massive falling out about a month before the holidays. Gray heard it was about Berkut’s career choices. Berkut told Alm a slightly different story. Now, as far as cousins go, Alm and Berkut were the opposite of close, but what he conveyed was that the break-up stemmed from personal values that just happened to be related to his career choices. The resulting fallout is apparently about as messy as a nuclear warzone, and though most of the Rammies have tried to stay out of it (given they didn’t really need to give Berkut another reason to dislike them), Faye has been trying to console the girl ever since. If it were any of them but Faye, her thoughts might have been an unusual occurrence… The only reason why he isn’t completely floored is because it is Faye, and everybody knows that she’s had a not-so-secret crush on the girl since the moment they locked eyes.

Well, everybody but Rinea, obviously.

“Rinea?” Celica echoes, raising her eyebrows in curiosity. “What about Rinea?”

If she’s thinking about Rinea, Gray thinks to himself, Then you know it’s got to be something about a crush.

Great. I’ve gone and reminded a drunk girl that she’s got a crush. Because that’s a scenario that’s never, ever gone poorly before.

Gray briefly remembers his drunken confession to Clair during their first year of university and cringes. She shut him down. Hard. Told him that she’s not entirely sure that he even knows what love is, and that he should do his best to use his brain before toying with someone else’s heart.

Rinea is too mild-mannered to do something like that to Faye, but the possibility of rejection is still there. That means the possibility of tears is still there, and needing to console her… and Faye has made a lot of progress in therapy, dealing with her attachment issues and fear of rejections. If she goes out there and gets her heart broken all because he inadvertently meddled, well… Gray’s not sure he would ever be able to forgive himself.

Tobin smiles at Faye, nudging her arm again. “Are you thinking you’ve missed your opportunity to get her under the mistletoe?” he snickers. “There’s still time, you know.”

Faye attempts to return his grin. “It’s not that…” she pauses, gripping at the hem of her skirt. “I was just thinking that it’s so nice that all of us are here together, and that I don’t know what I’d do without all of you. I mean, if I were alone for a special holiday like Christmas or Hannukah, I’d be so sad. And then I guess I just got to thinking about how that’s… what Rinea’s going through right now.”

Alm blinks. “What do you mean? I thought she usually goes to her family’s place for the holidays.”

“Well, she used to, but you know how crazy they were about her and her engagement to Berkut. I guess this year, they told her not to come home unless it was with good news about the two of them getting back together…”

Holy shit. Gray thinks. He knew Rinea’s parents were strict, but to outright disown their daughter for not marrying the man they wanted? What kind of parents cared so little about their child that they’d disown them over something as small as that? At that rate, if he were Rinea, he wouldn’t have wanted to go home for the holidays anyway, if that was how her parents were going to act. But if she didn’t, that would also mean… that she was spending the holidays all alone.

Faye shouldn’t confess… but that doesn’t mean she can’t flirt with Rinea a little, right? Possibly by asking her to join their holiday party?

Oh Mila. What is he thinking? Or, rather, what is he getting himself into?

He never was able to resist a damsel in distress, even if he was very adamant that that damsel should be dating his friend instead of him.

Gray folds his arms across his chest. “Jeez, Faye! How come you didn’t say anything sooner? You could have invited her. We wouldn’t have minded.”

Heat rises in her cheeks, turning her face carnation-pink. Her gaze darts away, desperately doing its best not to meet any other pairs of eyes. “I-It’s not like I didn’t want to!” she objects. “It’s just… I thought maybe she wouldn’t want to. I didn’t want to overstep.”

Oh, Faye. She never had gotten over her anxiety surrounding overstepping after she and Alm had had that big blow out in high school. He had long since forgiven her for her obsessive tendencies surrounding her old crush, and they had hoped that maybe they would be able to put the whole thing behind them. She had made considerable progress, but there were still times where she would overcompensate for all of her perceived wrongdoings. Rinea, unfortunately, seemed to be a victim of one of those times.

That is, unless Gray could help it. Against his better judgment, he can feel the conviction stirring in the depths of his chest.

“I doubt Rinea would consider it overstepping,” Celica consoles her gently, “I’m sure she’d have been happy to come over.”

Faye’s lower lip sticks out into a pout, and she heaves the heaviest of sighs. It reminds him of the one his childhood dog used to do, even when nothing was happening. Just a big, tired exhalation of air. “Well, I guess we won’t know now that I messed that up…”

Her shoulders slump, prepared to admit defeat, but it is at this moment that fully sparks determination in Gray’s head. Rinea should still be at her sorority house, all on her own. Who’s to say that they can’t just bring the party to her? If they can just help Faye work up the courage to flirting with her, maybe they could make it into something even better. After all, what girl wouldn’t swoon over a band of drunken college students ready to bring Christmas cheer back into her life?

Okay, maybe that last part wouldn’t be everyone’s favourite, but… with a little work, he could do it. If not for his own sake, then for Rinea’s and Faye’s.

“Is there anything stoppin’ us from heading over there right now?” Gray blurts out before he can finish thinking. He’s sure his eyes must have lit up the moment he suggested the idea, because now the others are watching him with the utmost interest. Even Faye, who just a couple minutes ago was drooping like a wilting flower, is now lit up like a set of Christmas lights. “I mean, if we didn’t invite Rinea, why don’t we just surprise her by bringing the party to her? We can say it was Faye’s idea. Maybe that’ll even earn her a couple of kisses.”

He winks at Faye, who squeaks and hides her face in her hands. “I don’t think Rinea would do that,” she mumbles, “And besides, w-we… we can’t get over there. I’m… so tipsy I can barely see straight.”

As if to punctuate this, Kliff hiccups. She has a point there, especially with how late it’s getting. The effect of showing up on Rinea’s doorstep like this would be even worse the later it gets, and without a car. What if one of them collapses on her front porch or barfs or something? Then she’d be stuck having to clean it up. For a moment, this makes Gray start to reconsider. Maybe a holiday with Rinea just isn’t meant to be, at least not this year. After all, with their current plan, they have just as much of a chance of ruining Christmas as they do of saving it… But goddammit, they have to try! There is a damsel in distress out there, and if he can do nothing else to corral his friends in their drunken state, then he wants to corral them towards chasing their dreams!

“We’ll just have to walk then. Bundle up for the cold and get going!” He hops to his feet, striking a super hero pose. “Kliff, bottle up some hot chocolate. Celica, gather up some of the homemade pastries. Alm, bring the karaoke machine and the movies. Tobin, grab those board games and your dreidel. And Faye?”

“Yes?”

“Put some lip gloss on those lips and get some mistletoe! We’re getting you Rinea’s heart for Christmas!”

Faye salutes like an army soldier, nearly hitting herself in the eye rather than the forehead. “Aye, sir!”

At any other time, Gray’s friends might have rolled their eyes at his antics, maybe even called him names… but drunk they were as agreeable as ever, and right now, they all agree on one thing: they needed to make sure that even with her family gone, Rinea would still know just how loved she was during the holidays. And that’s what they are going to do.

______________________________________________________________

His friends all but tell Rinea they are coming with the way they are scream-singing through the neighbourhood.

You would think after the Spice Girls marathon, they might have worn their voices raw with their pitchy vocalizations – no. Apparently, there is more where that came from. And Gray can’t even pretend that he doesn’t know them. There is only one way to Rinea’s sorority house, and he’s not comfortable leaving a group of significantly-more-drunk-than-he-is university students alone to make it there. He doesn’t need to worry about Kliff stumbling into a river and getting hypothermia, thank you. Even if they are doing the worst rendition of Ner Li in only the sloppiest of Hebrew. The others, he might expect this from, but he has heard Tobin sound much better.

God, he wonders if Rinea will be able to hear them coming at some point. What an announcement that will be. If he were in Faye’s shoes, he would’ve been more worried about how they were showing up, but she seems blissfully unaware of it. She’s drunk, mind you, but she still seemed to have a sense of embarrassment when they discussed going over there in the first place. He can’t help but wonder what Faye’s plan is for the eventual approach. This thought in mind, he finds himself nudging towards her, dragging her out of her part in the song.

“Are you nervous, Faye?”

Just a moment ago, she wore the easiest of smiles on her face, but as soon as the words leave his mouth, that smile just melts away. He knows he hasn’t done anything wrong, but man, it sure makes him feel like an asshole. “Me? Nervous?”

“Well, yeah. We’re on our way to talk to the girl you like and save her Christmas or whatever. Do you know what you’re gonna say?”

Faye releases an um sound that goes on for just a bit too long. The longer it goes, he notices, the more her cheeks redden.

Oh, you poor, poor girl. Gray can’t help but think. All that love in your heart and no idea how to share it. He’ll have to help her with this one, perhaps even more than he thought. She may not have experience as a master flirting artist, but he does… Even if Clair usually just ignored him.

“Okay, how about you let ol’ Gray give you some advice then, alright?”

Faye nods obediently, straightening her posture. Looking like that, she almost reminds him of a student, all too eager to learn from the master. He likes it. Maybe he should offer flirting advice as a side hustle to the awkward and socially challenged.

“The most important thing when approaching anyone you’re interested in is confidence. People like someone who is confident – not arrogant, of course, but sure of themself. If you want Rinea to know how cool you are, you have to show her that. Be smooth and charming.”

Faye frowns, folding her arms across her chest. He realizes that it’s not entirely fair, what he’s just said. He basically just told Faye to be the opposite of herself. Confidence has never been her strong suit. “You say that like it’s easy. How do you even become charming?”

“Well, it helps to have a cute face, which we all know you already have.” He boops her nose. “You’ve been the cutest among us since preschool.”

Faye only half-grins at the compliment, seeming to struggle to continue to look at Gray’s face. She’s just not that sure of herself. He’d at least hoped maybe that would cheer her up, but… he’ll have to figure out how to work around that before they get to Rinea. It’s a good thing he’s here to help – and maybe a good thing that she’s had some spiked eggnog, too. They don’t call booze “liquid courage” for nothing.

“Another thing you can think about is asking her questions. People are thinking about themselves more often than not, so just ask her. It will make her more comfortable, and you’ll get to know each other better. And when the time comes, you can share stuff about you, too.”

She pauses to let this information sink in, then nods. “What else?”

“Body language and eye contact are big things.”

Faye groans audibly. Social cues are number one on the list of “things Faye dislikes”, and it’s majorly because she doesn’t understand them. It makes her sweet as a cookie iced and decorated by one of Tobin’s little sisters most of the time – her inability to notice Celica’s reservation when she first arrived in Ram actually made them fast friends, back in the day – but he knows it’s something that bothers her. He can kind of understand that. A set of unspoken rules that everyone just needs to follow? The thought does sound kind of overwhelming. Still, for her sake, he tries to laugh it off. It won’t be simple, but he can probably give her a few pointers here and there.

He takes the time to explain it to her, the right angles to stand at and how much eye contact is too much. Count to ten in your head if you have to when it comes to looking at her eyes. Touch her arm when she makes you laugh. Brush your hands while you’re walking together. Do that thing that girls do where they’re extra cuddly with their female friends, but insist they aren’t in love. Faye soaks it all in like a sponge. He swears he even sees her start to take notes on her notes app as they’re walking along. She will need to know this if she wants to woo Rinea.

“Do you think you’ll be able to do that once we get in there, Faye?”

She frowns. “I… don’t know. I kind of lose my cool around Rinea, she’s… she’s just so pretty.”

Gray places a hand on her shoulder and nods understandingly. He may not be into Rinea the way Faye is, but he’s got eyes. He can see that she’s a beauty who was served with an extra helping of grace.

“But remember that she’s really nice, too!” Alm chimes in, seemingly out of nowhere. He’s smiling wide and friendly, all top happy to have broken out of the song. “Even if you mess up or say something stupid, she’ll forgive you. Just be yourself, Faye! It’s your most powerful weapon.”

It’s no surprise to Gray that the singing dies off not long after Alm speaks. As much influence as he might like to think he has over the group, everyone knows that Alm has always kind of been their ring leader.

“Weapon?” Kliff echoes from beside him, quirking a brow. “She’s trying to win Rinea’s heart, not break it.”

“What else was I supposed to say?” Alm whines, and as the others begin to chime in with their own mockeries of Alm, it becomes clear that Gray has once again lost control of the conversation.

Sighing, he leans over to whisper to Faye. “If you need anything while you’re in there, just call me, alright?” He spares a wink for her. “I’ll be like your flirting coach.”

She nods thoughtfully and smiles. “T-Thanks Gray… I’m going to need it, I think.”

“I’m sure you’ll do better than you think.”

“Y-Yeah, maybe I’ll even be able to get Clair someday,” she chuckles.

“Whoa-hoh, hey… know your limits.”

She snickers again.

______________________________________________________________

Rinea was not expecting much to come of her Christmas Eve apart from emotional pain.

It certainly sounds dramatic, when you put it like that. She didn’t mean to suggest that it would be some deep-seated agony from which she would never recover. She just meant that Christmas wasn’t going to be the same this year… and there is a growing feeling inside her that it might not be the same ever again.

If it is not with a husband on your arm, don’t come home.

Her parents’ instructions were clear as glass. Even the unspoken part – the fact that that husband had to be Berkut. They were the ones who set up their engagement, after all. Affluence belonged with affluence as far as they thought. Though Rinea told them many times that her split from Berkut had been more of a question of compatibility than anything else, they were insistent that she had probably found someone else. Someone less regal, with less money, and less connections that would get her on the path to the future they wanted for their little girl. And for that, they cut her off. If she didn’t care about all of the opportunities that they tried to provide for her, then why should they bother caring about her at all?

Just thinking about it again makes her heart ache, and she finds herself blinking back tears as she stands by the sorority house’s front window. It looks like a perfect Christmas outside. Snow is floating gently down from a cornflower-coloured sky, each of the flakes nestling snuggly on the evergreens just outside. In the distance, she can see the sparkling holiday lights lining the rooves of houses, and the silhouettes of other people spending time together on Christmas Eve… the girls across the way engaging in a game of charades. They must not have had families to go home too, either. For a moment, Rinea almost wonders if she should go over and introduce herself, let them know that she understands, but she quickly dismisses the thought. No, it is best if she remains here alone, blinking back tears as she watches the world move.

She wonders what Faye and the rest of the Ram Village kids are doing right now. To be honest, she’s not too familiar with most of them – she and Celica get along, and Alm is Berkut’s cousin, so the two of them are a bit more familiar… but there’s not that same connection yet. Well, perhaps it’s disingenuous to say that there’s not connection. She knows she’s neglecting a very important part of her heart when she says that about the clingiest among them, Faye.

Berkut was the love of her life once. She believed that dearly and truly. However, as their relationship grew sour, the feelings she had toward Faye somehow seemed to grow sweeter. By all means, she is winsome girl. More than once in their conversations, Faye has alluded to thinking herself as having a plain appearance, but her wispy curls and deep brown eyes caught Rinea’s attention the moment they met. She has one of those faces that looks like she was designed to smile, and a tendency to do it without a second thought. In terms of demeanour, Rinea is no stranger to how awkward she can be, but she finds it oddly charming at the same time. You can always tell that her heart is in the right place, even if she doesn’t get to say exactly what she means the first time. She’ll usually get there eventually. It’s almost like she can’t help being genuine.

That’s something Rinea loves about her most, she thinks. It is one way she is vastly different from Berkut. There is no lying or hiding with Faye. She just… is. On a Christmas Eve like this one, that is the thing she needs the most. The reality of the situation is that it is deeply upsetting to be without her parents, to be alone on Christmas for the first time ever, and she could just use someone who is going to treat her like… like she’s still a person. With everything turned upside down, she needs someone who will make her sure she is still appreciated.

Sighing, she turns away from the window, sinking down onto the nearby loveseat. She promised herself that when the other girls left, she would try and make an evening for herself. She intended to settle down, make some hot chocolate, and read the book she’d been neglecting over the past couple weeks. Looking at it now, she found she just didn’t have the heart. Who would want to read a romance novel in this state? She offers a mental apology to the book. It’s not its fault that everything sucks right now.

I’ll read you soon, she promises. I just need to be in the right state of mind to give you the reading you deserve. I’m sorry, little book.

She likes to imagine the book forgives her. It’s the only comfort she has as she slides down on the couch, letting her eyes flutter shut. Maybe she can put on a holiday film in a few minutes – she always did like An American Tail. She’ll probably appreciate a re-watch now as an adult who can understand a little better what the film is actually about. It is a bit late in the year for a Hannukah film, but she doesn’t mind. She could use the comfort. Yes, perhaps that is what she will do.

She lays still for a moment, like sleeping beauty waiting for her kiss, and in the moment has no intention of getting up. What need is there, really? She will lay like this for as long as she needs. There is no reason to do otherwise…

Apart from the approaching sound of drunken laughter and song.

Rinea’s eyes snap open. Who would be intoxicated in public on Christmas Eve? She lifts her head from the couch, searching for the source of the sound. Through the window she can just begin to make out the figures of a group of university students approaching, four boys and two girls, each of them seeming to ooze joy from every pore. It would almost infect her with jealousy, if it didn’t seem like the seven of them were wandering right up to her door.

Carollers? No. She blinks and squints her eyes.

Faye!

Her heart leaps with joy. Just taking one look at the girl, Rinea is sure that she’s grinning from ear to ear. And bless their hearts, it’s not just Faye who’s come. The entire Ram gang seems to be here. Alm, Celica, Kliff, Tobin, Gray… they’re all here. But… why? As the seven of them find their way to her doorstep, gloved hands enthusiastically rapping on her door, she finds herself scrambling to ask the question herself. She swings the door open to greet them with a smile, only finding that her heart beats even faster when she sees what’s in their hands.

Containers of gingerbread cookies and sufganiyot, a thermos of what she presumes is a warm beverage (hot chocolate? Eggnog? She doesn’t care, she likes them both), a stack of board games, a karaoke machine, and some movies. The sight is unreal. She can barely keep her eyes from bouncing between them as it dawns on her exactly what is happening here. They… wanted to bring their holiday party to her? It almost brings tears to her eyes. Nobody has ever done anything this kind for her before.

“Heyyyyyy,” Faye slurs happily, clearly just as tipsy as she appeared on the walk up to the house, “We heard that – hic! – someone was having a pretty bad Christmas!”

Rinea swears she hears a small murmur from Celica somewhere about ‘you’re doing great, Faye’. It makes it hard not to blush, considering what she’s insinuating. Any day of the week, this just seems like a thing that Faye would do, but… The way Celica talks about it, it almost seems like…

“Nobody deserves to be alone during the holidays, especially not a girl as great as you.” Faye grabs her hands without warning, but she doesn’t mind. She can feel the warmth of them even through her hand-knit mittens. “So we thought-”

Gray clears his throat somewhere behind her. “Faye thought-”

“Faye thought-” she corrects, seemingly unaware of having referred to herself in the third person, “That we should come and bring our holiday party to you. So what do you say, Rinea? Do you want to come experience a Ram Village Hannukah-Christmas celebration?”

Rinea can’t help but giggle sweetly. Of course they would come all this way for her. Of course Faye would come all this way for her. Too sweet and genuine for her own good – something that Rinea would always love about her. “I’d be honoured.”

What follows is… well, what Rinea can only describe as a holiday party for the ages. The Ram Village kids are already a bit to handle when they’re sober, but drunk? They’re a whirlwind. A very entertaining and very fun whirlwind, but a whirlwind nonetheless.

Their drunkenness does not impede them from showing her a good time. If anything, it might only make the experience better. They’ve barely been through her door for five minutes when Tobin starts pulling card and board games out of his bag, encouraging her to settle on the couch while Celica gets her some pastries. Celica doesn’t even know where the plates in the kitchen are, but she rushes off, with Kliff trailing after with his comically tall thermos. She almost wants to just sit them down and ask questions, why and how they even thought of her, but almost all of them are preparing as soon as they step through the door. Alm is setting up the karaoke machine on the TV, and Gray is laying out the movies, and Faye is smiling and babbling with glee about how glad she is that they all came over. Rinea learns not to ask questions right then. As far as Faye has told her, they are here to save her Christmas, and for that much she is grateful. That’s all she needs to get herself into the swing of things. So she settles down for what will be one of many rounds of Uno with an unlimited pick-up rule, not really noticing at first just how much the others push her to play with Faye. It seems quite natural that they should both team up on Gray, after all — it’s funny to watch him have to take a stack of sixteen blue cards.

By the time they get to karaoke — and judging by the sound of Alm’s cracking voice, not their first round of karaoke — Rinea allows herself to let her hair down. What Kliff brought was, thankfully, not whatever they’d inebriated themselves on, so with a couple of swigs of hot chocolate, she’s prepared herself to get through a few rounds of songs. First comes a couple of classic pop songs, most of which she shared with Gray or Faye, but after somewhere about song four, she found herself in the midst of a very spirited rendition of Gloria Glaynor’s “I Will Survive”. The warmth that spread through her heart as Gray pulled Faye from her seat to dance, encouraging her to twirl her around and do power poses together… That alone could have made Rinea’s holiday.

Things settle down by the time they hit the movie phase of the night. The gang settles in on her initial choice from earlier, An American Tail. Having known each other for years, the Ram Village kids don’t hesitate to snuggle up together. At first she thinks that they’re giving her space when nobody hops up to be her buddy, but when Gray loudly reminds her that Faye has nobody to partner up with… she starts to wonder a little bit. Nonetheless, she cannot object to how comforting it is to be sitting under a blanket with Faye, the smaller girl’s head leaning into her shoulder. She keeps her warm, and doesn’t mind when she tears up at the movie. The part with Fievel being separated from his family always gets her, but it’s so much worse this year. When a few stray tears start to slip down her cheeks, Faye blots at them with the corner of the blanket. Rinea finds herself smiling gratefully, her heart swelling with reassurance as Faye links their fingers on her free hand. It’s nice.It’s only been a month, but she and Berkut stopped such shows of affection long before their break-up. It’s almost like she had forgotten what it felt like to hold another’s hand. She tries not to think about how much Faye’s is nicer than Berkut’s.

However, it seemed that no sooner had the film drawn to a close, had Rinea realized that the rest of the group had fallen into a deep sleep. She couldn’t blame them, with them having finally lost the steam that came from the alcohol, but it did leave her alone with Faye. For a moment, she doesn’t know what to make of it. She just lets herself settle in, wonders if maybe she should let Faye drift off as well instead of trying to make conversation. After all, she must be sleepy herself. She clearly had the same as whatever the rest of them did. She certainly looks a little sleepy, her eyelids droopy and her face dusted with a pleasant rose. Even her cheek is snuggled into Rinea’s shoulder, and her breathing is so steady, she could just as easily fall asleep. She might actually do that, she thinks, right as Faye decides to contradict her and poke at her face.

Heh. The touch is inelegant, quite literally a straight poke rather than a smoother movement like the tilting of her head, but it’s so distinctly Faye that Rinea can’t help smiling. She looks down at the girl on her shoulder, surprised to find her gaze full of affection. She wants to question the look, but Faye’s hand moves to touch her arm, squeezing it softly. She even returns the smile.

“Did you have a good Christmas Eve, Rinea?” Faye whispers, her voice as soft and sweet as a kitten’s fur. “I hope you had a good Christmas Eve. I’m sorry your parents wouldn’t let you come home.”

Faye is still too intoxicated to worry about what she’s saying. At any other time, she might cringe and kick herself for bringing up something painful. Now, she’s too lost in the moment to care. She’s strangely… confident. Liquid courage, as they say.

“I did, thank you. It’s not often that I have such… enthusiastic guests.”

Faye giggles. “Yeah, we were pretty wild tonight. I’m just glad nobody threw up on your nice couch.”

Rinea winces. She’d quite forgotten that that was something that could happen, but the possibility dawns on her now. She really hopes that’s not the case. The girls in her sorority don’t host any parties other than lavish dinner parties, so they would be furious if they found out Rinea brought over a bunch of drunks to ruin their loveseat.

“Yes, um… very wild.” She pauses, letting the thought fade. No, I mustn’t let worries ruin my night, she decides. “To speak with the utmost candor, nobody has ever done something like this for me. Ever.”

Faye’s eyebrows knit together. “Is that good or bad?” Her expression almost seems to twist, but only for a second. In a blink, she perks right up again with a smirk that… doesn’t look too real, if Rinea’s being honest. “I mean, I would think it would be good. We’re pretty cool.”

Ah. Rinea sees where this is coming from now. She fights off a snicker. Faye is just so see-through.

“That you are. I greatly enjoyed having you here. You are welcome to come again next year, if you like.”

Faye’s face visibly brightens. “R-Really? I… I mean, after tonight, I think you’re definitely invited to our next party. You were a lot of fun.”

Rinea quirks a brow. “Am I not usually?”

“No, no! You are!” Faye sits up straighter. “It’s just that we kind of got to see a different side of you tonight. Without Berkut around, you seem freer. More yourself.”

Hm. She hasn’t really thought about it that way, but she supposes Faye might have a point. When she and Berkut were together, she always felt that she had a responsibility to act a certain way and be a certain person. When Berkut was sharp, she would have to smooth over his words. When he lost his temper, she would be the one who would have to apologize or draw him back from the edge. She had to control who she was, what she did, to ensure that the relationship would survive. Now that it was gone, reduced to ash in a blast so fiery it had cost her Christmas Eve with her parents, she didn’t have to answer to anyone anymore. She could just be Rinea.

How funny.

“Well,” she grins at Faye. “I had a rather skilled teacher. Someone who taught me that genuine and sincere is the way to be.”

Even in the dim moonlight pouring through the window, Rinea can make out the blush that rises in Faye’s cheeks. It only makes her want to laugh more, so taken with the girl that’s leaning against her. Her heart is not healed from what she lost, nor does she feel she is ready to love again, but… at the very least, with someone like Faye around, she feels comforted by the possibility. And for now, that might just be enough.

“You’re really great, Rinea.” Faye leans into her shoulder once more. “Thanks for having us over.”

“Thank you for coming. You are all always welcome here.” Her voice lowers to a softer register, as soft as she can manage in a room now composed only of whispers. “You most of all.”

Faye giggles shyly. “You’re always most welcome with me, too.”

The phrase doesn’t make much sense, but Rinea chooses to take it in the spirit that it was intended. She likes the thought behind it. If tonight has proven anything, it is that she has a place in Faye’s heart… and Faye a place in hers.

As Faye snuggles in, her eyes finally flutter closed, and Rinea takes this as her cue to try to relax herself. Come Christmas morning, she knows that the others will probably need to run back to their families, but for now, she will relish the moment she has with them. Maybe she won’t have a Christmas Day filled with the fancy presents and family pictures, but as the eve melted into day, she gained the precious memories of a girl and her friends who would do just about anything to make her smile. When times were tough and she felt all alone, Faye and the Ram Village kids were there.

Somehow, they were always there.

As Rinea’s eyelids start to grow heavy, she watches the faces of Faye and her friends, drifting off to a comfortable sleep. Faye is cuddled up to her like a koala bear. Celica and Alm are a mess of tangled limbs and snoring faces. Kliff and Tobin are sprawled out together on the floor, just barely touching, and Gray lays beside them, turned away. Only his face is still visible to Rinea. Ordinarily, she would think nothing of it, but she swears that one of his eyes flutters as the conversation between her and Faye dies. Then, a smile curves on his lips.

Cheeky thing, Rinea thinks. You were never sleeping at all.

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