lydiascreams | [023. I'm just gonna keep on waiting underneath the mistletoe]

[023. I'm just gonna keep on waiting underneath the mistletoe]

[Closed Spam - Stiles]
[After seeing Allison's message, after replying to it, Lydia made almost a beeline to Stiles' cabin. She knocked, but let herself in only to find him in bed, staring up at the ceiling. She didn't think twice before sliding in next to him and wrapping her arms around him without a word. There wasn't anything to say, they were both heartbroken and they wanted it all to go away. So they just laid there until they both fell asleep. Her before him, as usual.

Now, as she wakes up, she doesn't even know what time it is. Stiles seems to be out still, so she gets up off the bed slowly and steps into his bathroom to wash her face and take a second to thank the mix of waxes that make her mascara waterproof so she doesn't look like a racoon despite everything. Not that Stiles would care. But she does.

As she makes her way back into the bedroom as quietly as possible she spots the pink, ugly Christmas sweater her eight year old self left there when she went to get her coat, neatly folded over Stiles' desk. Lydia steps over to it and places a hand over it. Although it's ugly, she suddenly feels the urge to pull it on. It looks warm and comfortable. So she does. It instantly makes her feel lighter, comforted, warm.

And then she spots Stiles' Christmas sweater right next to where hers was. And a smile appears on her face.

Lydia sits down by the edge of his bed slowly not to scare him and gently places the sweater over his chest as she lifts a hand to brush at his hair.]

Stiles? Wake up.

[Open Video]
[It's a few hours later and Lydia looks a lot more festive already. On top of her pink sweater, she has a red headband on, her make up and curls have been redone and she looks perfectly put together.

Behind her is her room, already all decorated with silver, purple and pink decorations. Along with a small, white Christmas tree in the corner, with ornaments in the same color scheme.]

Hello Barge!

The Holidays are coming up as you must have noticed and me and my helpful elves -- that is Stiles, Scott and Jackson -- have been going around the cabins to help everyone get a little more festive!

We're knocking on everyone's doors on the next few days and decorating for you! If you have a specific color schemes you'd like to see in your room, let us know and we'll help you!

Happy Holidays! [And with a bright grin, she waves at the camera, and hangs up.]

[Open Spam]
[Lydia's been very busy lately. On top of everything with Stiles and the decorating, she's been working on something else. Not alone, of course. Barbara, well Babs, did most of it. And Allison helped. But now it's done and she needs to hand them out.

It's late at night, past eleven, when she can be seen dropping boxes off by the following cabins: Bucky's, Steve's, Peter's, Isaac's, Kira's, Jackson's, Scott's, Allison's and finally, Stiles'. For those finding the packages, it'll include a note: Happy early Christmas, Pack! ♥ Lydia.

Alternatively, all during the day she can be found going up and down the hallways with a box of decorations and a determined smile on her face, or knocking right at your door with an offer to decorate.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He's dreaming of home. Of his dad, of his mom, too. He and Scott are kids in the dream, and Melissa is sitting in the living room, on the sofa with Stiles' parents, and they're talking quietly and smiling, taking pictures of him and of Scott as they tear through wrapping paper because the boys have insisted on sharing Christmas morning because they're brothers. It's a nice dream, soft and warm and safe and when he opens his eyes he sees Lydia sitting beside him, gazing down at him with a smile and he smiles back sleepily.]

Morning.

[She smiles more when he does because normally he wakes up a lot more alert than that, asking what's wrong, what's happening. But right now, he looks peaceful and she's almost sorry she woke him up.]

Hi. Where you having a good dream? [Her voice is just as soft as before, she doesn't want him to worry, she wants him to keep looking like that.]

Yeah. Yeah, it was Christmas.

[He cocks his head, blinking a few times to try and clear away his blurry vision before he gives up and lifts a hand to his face, rubbing at his eyes with the back of his hand.]

What are you wearing?

[There's a hint of amusement in his voice.]

Christmas? [Well, that's perfectly fitting, so her face brightens at that.

She looks down at her sweater when he comments on it then smirks.]

What? You don't think I can pull it off? You should wear yours too. [Lydia shifts on the bed and unfolds his sweater over his chest, smoothing it down with her hands.]

And then we should get supplies and decorate your cabin. Since you're literally dreaming about Christmas.

Yeah. From when I was little. Me and Scott and my parents and Melissa. [His smile is wistful.

But his eyebrows arch at her question. And when he answers, his tone is entirely sincere.]

Lydia, I'm pretty sure you could pull off a paper bag and make it look good. [He starts a little as she runs her hands over the sweater she drapes over his chest and his breathing hitches for a second.]

Uh oh. Someone got bitten by the bug overnight.

With all the little versions of us around recently, it's not hard to imagine why you'd dream about that. It sounds nice. [Her own Christmases were more big holiday parties at country clubs and business deals for her dad than actual family gatherings.]

That's the perfect answer, Stiles. [Especially because he does sound so sincere.

Lydia sits up and holds her hand out to him.]

Now you just need to agree to come with me. I'll even let you pick the colors.

Yeah, I guess not.

[He smiles faintly, gazing up at her without lifting his head from the pillow. He reached up and caught her hand, keeping it close against his heart. He's not normally bold when it comes to this stuff, but the cozy sleepy feeling is still present and maybe he's only about half aware of what he's doing.]

Pick the colors?

[She is pretty aware of what he's doing and it makes her smile. It also makes her pretty tempted to lay back down next to him, but they need to decorate. So she just leans over his stomach instead and nods.]

The colors for the decorations we're gonna use for your room. Maybe silver and blue. Or red and white, since your walls are already blue.

[For a moment, when she leans in, he thinks she's going to kiss him and his eyes dilate, gaze locking on her mouth for a second as he holds his breath.]

Red, white and blue like Captain America, huh?

[When she notices his reaction, she leans down a little more and cocks her head. And then she lifts her other hand to his hair again, but doesn't lean in to kiss him. She just wants to see what he'll do.]

Red and white are Christmas colors. But I don't think Steve would object.

[He moves his thumb over the back of her hand that's resting on his chest and smiles softly as she touches his hair. He leans into it, taking a deep breath, and letting his eyes close again for a moment, feeling like he's in that peaceful state between waking and dreaming.]

No, probably not.

[With a roll of her eyes but still smiling, Lydia shakes her head as she leans closer to him. He's not supposed to go back to sleep. They have things to do.

So the presses a very soft kiss to the corner of his lips then pulls back just a little.]

Wake up, Stiles. We have to decorate.

[The kiss is definitely enough to make him open his eyes again, and he wonders if she felt the way his heart jumped. He takes a breath and sits up, bring her hand to his mouth and kissing her knuckles lightly.]

All right. All right, I'm up. I just need coffee.

[She definitely felt it. And watching him she can't help but wonder what's stopping him. Because she knows he didn't want to kiss her knuckles.

But she's got other things on her mind right now, so she pulls back so he can get up.]

Wear your sweater, we'll get you coffee, I'll have some tea and we'll decorate.

[He grimaces a little, even as he looks at the sweater. Granted, it has Darth Vader on it, and that makes it at least semi-cool alone. But he's definitely not a sweater wearing kind of guy.]

Okay how about we get you tea and me coffee, and I just wear some regular clothes instead?

[She sits up, doesn't say anything, just looks at him. But then her eyes get big and a pout appears on her lips. Yes, she could use several other weapons but she wants to see if this will work.]

What's so wrong about wanting to be appropriately dressed for the holidays? They're warm and comfortable.

Just try it, if you hate it you don't have to wear it.

[Oh that is not even fair. Not even a little bit. He sighs, because he knows he's gonna be wearing the sweater for the duration of decorating the Barge whether he wants to wear it or not. Yep. He is indeed a sucker.]

Fine, fine. I'll wear the sweater. [He gives her a look and shakes his head, picking the sweater up and leaning in to kiss her cheek before he rises to his feet.]

[As a reward, that earns him an actual laugh from her. She's not sure when was the last time she actually laughed.

And then she gives him a proud smile, because she knows she won.]

Just hurry up.

[Of course she'd won. There wasn't really any doubt that she would. He smiles softly at the sound of her laugh, though.]

Yeah, yeah.

[Of course it ends up taking her longer to redo her her updo than for him to get ready. And then when they go get their drinks from the cafeteria, she insists they both should have breakfast because obviously it's almost as important as decorating.

A little while later they finally make their way back to the common room to pick up the decorations.]

Have you decided on the colors yet?

[He's felt much more cheerful this morning than he has in a very long time. He literally can't remember the last time he felt this upbeat and positive.]

I think you were right. Red and white. Good Christmas colors, plus it will solidify my alliance with Steve. [He grins. It's mostly a joke, cause it's not like his friendship with Steve is dependent on what colors he decorates his room for Christmas with.]

What about yours? I mean, we gotta do yours next, right? What colors are you going with?

[With a bright smile, she lets go of his hand and starts going through the boxes of decorations the Admiral left for them. Picking up what they can use and separating into one box.]

Steve is pack, I don't think you need to solidify your alliance, Stiles. [She throws him a smile, though. She likes Steve a lot.]

Silver and pink will be mine. With some purple in there.

[He watches her for a moment before reaching for one of the other boxes, a soft smile tugging at his mouth as they work side by side, sorting through decorations.]

Silver and pink and purple, huh? [He's not surprised, considering her room, really.] You know those aren't really traditional Christmas colors, right? [His voice is teasing.]

I think you're going traditional enough for the two of us.

[Lydia grins over at him. Then picks up a couple of red and white tinsel garlands and drapes them over his shoulders.]

And it's more important that it matches my room, anyway. I couldn't possibly stand to go in there with red or green decorations on those walls.

[He turns to face her when she drapes the garland around his shoulder, amusement dancing in his eyes.]

Well, I don't know. I think that could work out okay, ultimately.