Christmas tiiiiime is heeeeeeere

[hebeimmortalized]

Dec 25, 2016

The apartment is beautiful, Jillie thinks. She hasn't had a proper Christmas in a few years, and seeing it like this makes her feel warm, and somehow happy and sad at once. It also makes her panic, a little. She has no idea what to buy or make for presents for Dee, or for Poison. Jack is easy. Jack's present takes form without even trying, as a new puzzle and a portrait of the two of them. She has more than just a green marker, now, so it looks better, comes out cleaner, than anything she worked on in the hospital.

She wraps them with cardboard cut from leftover cereal boxes, so they don't bend. It's not much, but it's something.

She cuddles into a cozy, plush bathrobe and sits nearby, but sort of out of the way.

She'd found some embroidery floss and dyed hemp cord at the Zen Center when she'd visited it with Jack, and braided it into a bracelet for Dee. It's a unique braid, too, not the basic three-plait bullshit. She uses bright colored thread and adds some charms that she'd found on an ugly bracelet at a thrift shop. They look a lot better on Dee's present, she thinks.

She folds up some leftover cardboard from the cereal boxes into an origami gift box, and wraps it in that.

For Poison, she'd written only a letter. It details how happy she is that Poison and Jack have met, eloquently stating everything she'd been unable to say when they'd first met. It essentially gives Poison her blessing and wishes them well. And maybe that's silly, but she does it anyway, because she isn't positive that they got off on the right foot, and she at least wants to make sure that Poison doesn't think she hates him, or something.

That, she decorates in the margins with pretty colors in a sort of tribal theme, and wraps it the same way she'd wrapped Jack's. (There are bags of cereal sagging box-less in their cupboard, now.)

Comments

[rockabillyboy]

"Pretty good, yeah," says Jack, turning his head to drop a kiss onto her forehead. "What about you, kiddo? You're up early."

[hebeimmortalized]

"It's Christmas," she says. "I can't sleep on Christmas." She shifts to lean into him instead of into the arm of the couch. "Think Santa liked Poison's decorations?"

[rockabillyboy]

"You could never sleep on Christmas," says Jack, combing his fingers through her dark hair. "How could Santa not like his decorations? Did you see how freaking excited he was last night?"

[hebeimmortalized]

"Like a little kid," she says with a small smile. "It's nice. He's from the same place as Dee? So he probably hasn't has a Christmas, either."

[rockabillyboy]

"Yeah, but I think it's kind of worse for him," he says. "Because he's old enough to remember what the world was like before everything went to shit. So he remembers Christmas from before. But this is his first one in Darrow." He sets a little wrapped box on her knee. "Happy Christmas, Jillian."

[hebeimmortalized]

Jillie stares at the present, then sets her cup aside so she can stand. She grabs Jack's present from under the tree and hands it over. "Merry Christmas, Jackson," she answers, holding the small present close. She's almost afraid to open it.

[rockabillyboy]

Grinning, Jack takes a moment to open his gift, sliding it out of the paper, setting it aside so he can examine the contents. "Oh, man, Jillie, these are amazing," he says, looking up, genuinely pleased. "Thank you so much."

[hebeimmortalized]

Jillie ducks her head, but she's grinning. "You're welcome," she mumbles. She clears her throat and pulls her little gift closer. She picks at the tape, almost nervously. Then she pulls it open.

[rockabillyboy]

Jack examines the drawings and the puzzles that Jillie's made for him while she opens her present.

"There's something else," he says, flashing a crooked smile at her. "But that's the only thing that I got you to open."

[hebeimmortalized]

She fiddles with the box as if she's afraid to see what's inside. Then she takes a deep breath and pulls the lid open.

The wings on the drop pendant are delicate, but strong, and Jillie feels her stomach jump a little to see them.

"Jack . . ."

[rockabillyboy]

"I thought you could wear it and then it would remind you that I'm with you, even when you can't see me?" He tilts his head, trying to look her in the eye. "Good present?"

[hebeimmortalized]

Jillie sniffles a little, and reaches up to push a tear away from her eye. "Best present," she mumbles shyly. She isn't used to getting many presents, and this one hits her right in the belly. She curls up and immediately puts the pendant on, fingers shaking a little.

[rockabillyboy]

Jack nudges the pendant straightening it against her chest. "Oh, that's a good length!" he says. "And then there's this." He digs his phone out of his pocket and shows her a photo of gold graffiti, LOVE on the mailbox to Somewhere Else, not far from where he wrote 'ANCHOR' for Poison. "I did this for you too."

[hebeimmortalized]

She smiles a little shyly and pulls the phone close so she can look at the picture. She reaches up to idly fiddle with the necklace. She's not nervous. She's not anxious. She feels . . . good. Steady.