Chapter Text
It was a quiet night in Spiral Hill Village. Cold. Snowy. For Tangle, it was an idyllic version of a white Christmas, and her excitement could hardly be contained in her slender form as she practically bounced off the walls of Jewel’s apartment. For Whisper it was… different.
Whisper had never had a holiday before. Tangle usually had to remind her to even take days off. She was always alert, always vigilant, always on call and on duty. She scarcely even slept, thanks to the nightmares.
Even Lanolin, of all people, sided with Tangle and insisted that she take a week off for Christmas. Lanolin, their boss, the hard-working sheep who was infamous for working late and sneaking into the office on her days off to do paperwork. So she relented. The past two days had been filled with a lot of new and strange traditions, which Tangle happily rattled off stories about. Sweet hot drinks (much too sweet for Whisper), presents wrapped up in ornate colors that you weren’t allowed to open until a certain time, and something about decorating a tree with flashing lights? It was a lot for her to take in. To be fair, she did have some faint memories of it from when she was very young. But those memories were distant, fleeting. The memory of her father’s voice made her wince, and she pushed it to the back of her mind. Now wasn’t the time to dwell on such things. Tangle wanted to “make new memories together” after all.
Day one, Tangle had forced her out of her combat uniform. Well, it wasn’t much of a uniform anymore. Let’s not think about them right now. Please, just stop. I don’t want to remember that right now.
Whisper tugged at the fabric of the sweater Tangle had given her. It was a little tight. Tangle was definitely a bit thinner than her. It felt warm, and perhaps a bit stuffy, but since it was so cold outside it wasn’t so bad. Whisper didn’t have any clothes outside of her combat gear, and a few fancy dresses she’d bought for infiltration missions in the past. Tangle suggested one of those at first, but then decided it was “too formal” and she ended up in this instead. The sweater had a garish red and green pattern all over it, with small snowflake shapes stitched into it. Whisper was on her 3rd pair of borrowed tights, as she kept ripping them, much to her embarrassment.
The combat clothes were hanging up in the closet. Tangle had wanted to leave them at the Restoration base, but Whisper had insisted strongly. She felt bad for guilt tripping her partner like that, but she really couldn’t feel safe without them. That and her weapon, which was propped up against the wall. Far enough away that she could keep her mind off it for a short while, but close enough that she could grab it at a moment’s notice.
Whisper sighed and sank into the armchair. She really was a wreck. This whole relationship thing.. Was it really going to work out? Who would want to date someone like me?
Tangle bounded around the corner, her tail grabbing onto the banister as a pivot. “Hot chocolate’s ready!!”
Whisper found a mug of it thrust into her hands. The armchair was just big enough for the two of them, and Tangle threw herself into it, snuggling up close to her and making her adorable cooing noises. Whisper braced herself for the sharp sweetness as she raised the cup to her lips, but it didn’t come. “Oh.”
“What’s wrong, babe? Still too sweet?”
“No, it’s perfect.” Whisper felt her hands start to shake. She clasped the mug close to her chest to keep from dropping it, but then realized the heat was uncomfortable, and finally set it down on the coffee table before wiping a tear from her eye. Tangle loved sweets. She made it bitter, just for her.
“Babe, what’s wrong?” Tangle’s hand was warm against her cheek.
“Sorry I just… don’t feel like I deserve to be here.”
“Baby…” Tangle stroked her cheek softly and gently turned Whisper’s head towards her. “The holidays aren’t about deserving anything, it’s just a time to have fun and relax a bit!”
“Mm, you’re right.” Whisper flashed Tangle her best smile. She hoped it was convincing.
Jewel came home a little while later. It was Tangle’s idea to spend Christmas at her place. Whisper felt like she was imposing. She hesitated to make eye contact with the woman as she brought in some kind of supplies. Jewel, like Tangle, was considerably more high-energy than Whisper, but in a very different way. While Tangle was a chaotic bundle of energy who always wanted to have fun, Jewel was a busy woman, always frantically seeing to this or that before pausing to rub her temples or ask Tangle for help with something. Whisper didn’t much mind it. She was used to being the slowest person in the room, at least outside of a fight. She saved her energy for when her life depended on it. She wasn’t above helping out with the supplies, though Tangle and Jewel seemed to run circles around her and finish it all in the time it took her to carry a single bag in. Whisper smiled softly as she watched Tangle bounce around and excitedly talk to Jewel about something. Probably that holiday stuff she’s been going on about. After putting everything away, Whisper found her way back to the living room in time to catch the tail end of their conversation.
“Thanks for getting the groceries, Christmas dinner is gonna be AMAZING!” Tangle said.
“Of course! Though might I ask that you get them to do a little more of the work around here?”
“Hey! Whisper is our guest! I’ll do her part of the work, don’t you worry.”
“You and Whisper are both my guests, Tangle. You haven’t lived here since - “
Whisper had been noticed. To be fair, she wasn’t exactly trying to be stealthy, but it was a habit. She gave an awkward wave. “H’llo.”
“Whisper!” Jewel’s voice immediately changed tunes. “Thanks so much for helping, how are you liking everything so far? I hope Tangle hasn’t given you too much trouble.”
Whisper shook her head. “No trouble, m’am.”
“Wow, so polite! You really know how to pick them, Tangle.”
“Jewel! Stop teasing my girlfriend, that’s my job!”
Whisper noticed Jewel make a face at the word “girlfriend”. Did she not know they were together? She found that hard to believe. If not that, then…Jealousy? Whisper felt a pit in her stomach. She didn’t want to be the cause of an argument. Maybe she was the one who was jealous. She wished she had someone she’d known for so long, someone who could understand all that she’d been through… Well, there was someone like that. But she was long gone.
Whisper excused herself from the kitchen, gathered her things from the living room, and made her way to the guest room that she and Tangle were sharing. Sleeping in such comfortable clothes was a luxury that she was still growing accustomed to. She got herself ready for bed, and while waiting for Tangle she put on her mask and indulged in some videos she’d saved. She didn’t realize she was tearing up seeing Claire’s face, hearing her cute raspy voice until she heard a noise by the door and switched the view to the external camera. It was just Tangle. She removed the mask and looked at her. Tangle’s goofy grin was tinged with a hint of concern. “You ready for bed, my love?”
Whisper nodded. Tangle came to sit by her and gave her a hug. “Thinking about the past again?”
“Little bit,” Whisper admitted.
“I wish I could’ve met them.”
Whisper wasn’t sure why, but she started sobbing. Tangle’s love never stopped surprising and amazing her. “They would’ve loved you,” she finally choked out.
“I know I can never replace them, but… I’ll be around as long as you want me.”
Whisper held Tangle tight, and Tangle wrapped her long fluffy tail around her girlfriend. Whisper never felt safer than when she was with Tangle. Part of her wanted to talk about Claire, but there was still a part of her that was scared.
“Tangle, there’s something I want to tell you.”
“You can tell me anything, babe.”
“Remember Claire? I told you about her.”
“Y-yeah.” Tangle seemed hesitant to say too much.
“Claire was… my partner.”
“Ohh, like you were paired up on missions and stuff?”
“No that’s.. Not what I mean.”
Whisper stared at the wall.
“Was she your girlfriend?” Tangle asked.
Whisper could only nod in response.
“What, did you think I would be mad I wasn’t your first? Pfft.”
“Well, not exactly I just…” Whisper’s face went a little red. “Dunno.”
“It’s okay babe, I know you care about her a lot. It’s okay to tell me these things!”
A nod. “Mm. Thanks, Tangle.”
After a while, they turned off the lights and cuddled up under the covers. Tangle’s tail served as their pillow. She cupped Whisper’s cheek in her hand and grinned. “Tomorrow we’re gonna go SHOPPING!”
“Shopping?”