Promises, Promises (or All I Want For Christmas) - A White Collar Holiday story
Title: Promises, Promises
Author: bandearg_rois
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/Characters: Neal/Kate
Summary: Pre-Episode 1. It's Christmas Eve, and all Neal wants is to give Kate the Christmas she deserves. Unfortunately, life doesn't always bend to his will.
A/N: written for belladonnamccoy who prompted: Neal gets some kind of happy holiday? kate or alex or ofc? That boy needs some kind of nonangsty, nonplaya time. Cause we all know he's a romantic at heart. I chose Kate, and hopefully this lives up to your/my expectations of my fills thus far lol.
He'd managed to get the Boone's Farm and a gift, which took up all of his half of their money, something he usually wouldn't have done, since they needed it, but it was Christmas, damn it, and he was determined to make this one memorable for Kate, for his girl who hadn't had a good Christmas in more years than he really cared to count, even when they were both with Moz. He heard the radio as he opened the door, tinny Christmas tunes streaming through their drafty one-room apartment, accompanied by her slightly out-of-tune humming, and not for the first time, felt that he was coming home.
"I'm back," he said unnecessarily, and she poked her head out of the kitchen area, all big, brilliant blue eyes and an equally brilliant smile, the rest of her following as she took the wine from him with a happy kiss, hugging him tightly. He stood there for a moment, nose buried in her hair, just breathing her in, and it was perfect, just like every day with Kate, no matter what they're doing, though he'd never told her and he doubts she really knows his thoughts.
"Hi, baby. I've got the pizza in the fridge," she finally said, taking the wine to put in the bottle, the one that's an unspoken promise from him to her, one she understood might never come true, but she believed in - they believed in - all the same. He went and turned on their crappy tv, turning it to an old holiday black & white, something they both secretly enjoy. Her humming changed to match the music on the movie and he started pulling the blankets and pillows off the bed, piling them on the floor where a couch was supposed to be, where one had been, until they'd sold it for electricity and heat.
Kate brought out the bottle, full now of cheap-ass wine, along with the box from the Italian place around the corner, whose pizza tasted just as good cold as hot, and joined him on their little pallet. They toasted and ate, looking at each other more than the tv, until they were plunged into darkness and cold as the electricity went out, finally pulled by a careless landlord. He heard her sharp breath; Kate had never liked the dark, even less so after what had happened over the summer, so he hurried to get up and get the candles, which he always kept in a drawer of their dresser, and lit 3, handing her one and putting the other two into the holders he'd made during one of his stints as a ceramics teacher at the community center.
"We're okay, Kate," he said softly, soothingly, as he lit more, placed them all over until the room was filled with light again, the only shadows their own, and drew the blankets up around them, cuddling close and transferring his heat to her. She shivered against him, not physically cold, but still reacting to the suddenness of their changing circumstances. he handed her her glass, which she drank gratefully, and sat looking at all of the pretty candles, some they'd made together, mish-mashing melted candles and cotton wicking, others stolen from various places. He was pretty sure one of them had been stolen from the high-end furniture store they walked past every day, but Kate had never said one way or the other, and plausible deniability was always the best thing.
"I know we are," she said, finally calming down, and grabbed his wrist to look at the time. 12:01 AM, December 25. "Merry Christmas," she murmured, curling up against him further, and he kissed the top of her head before pulling the box from his pocket, handing it to her under the blanket and then reaching out to bring a candle closer. Kate looked up at him, eyes sparkling in the way he wanted them to do always, as she unwrapped the small package and opened the box. Inside was a pair of chandelier earrings, the color of her brilliant blue eyes, and also the color of the only dress she owned, perfect for the restaurant he'd picked for Boxing Day, and probably the reason the lights had all gone out.
"... Do you like it?" he finally asked, as tears formed in her eyes, her fingers running over the aquamarine jewels in her hand.
"I love it. But Neal... we needed the electricity more..."
"Did we really?" he asked, and suddenly the lights came back on, the landlord apparently not as much of a dick as he'd been painted. The tv wasn't playing the movie anymore, it was now playing a bunch of Christmas carols. Kate looked to the tv, and then back up at him, and began singing, much more on-key than her humming.
"I just want you for for my own
More than you could ever know
Make my wish come true
All I want for Christmas is you."
As he kissed her, all he could think was that he might just have done okay in giving her her perfect Christmas after all.
-FIN-
This was also my first serious White Collar fic, and my first het in nearly four years... at least my first Canon-het (girl!Kirk and girl!Bones just don't count). It went a little RENT-y there when the lights went out, but I think it turned out okay. Hope y'all like it!
Author: bandearg_rois
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/Characters: Neal/Kate
Summary: Pre-Episode 1. It's Christmas Eve, and all Neal wants is to give Kate the Christmas she deserves. Unfortunately, life doesn't always bend to his will.
A/N: written for belladonnamccoy who prompted: Neal gets some kind of happy holiday? kate or alex or ofc? That boy needs some kind of nonangsty, nonplaya time. Cause we all know he's a romantic at heart. I chose Kate, and hopefully this lives up to your/my expectations of my fills thus far lol.
He'd managed to get the Boone's Farm and a gift, which took up all of his half of their money, something he usually wouldn't have done, since they needed it, but it was Christmas, damn it, and he was determined to make this one memorable for Kate, for his girl who hadn't had a good Christmas in more years than he really cared to count, even when they were both with Moz. He heard the radio as he opened the door, tinny Christmas tunes streaming through their drafty one-room apartment, accompanied by her slightly out-of-tune humming, and not for the first time, felt that he was coming home.
"I'm back," he said unnecessarily, and she poked her head out of the kitchen area, all big, brilliant blue eyes and an equally brilliant smile, the rest of her following as she took the wine from him with a happy kiss, hugging him tightly. He stood there for a moment, nose buried in her hair, just breathing her in, and it was perfect, just like every day with Kate, no matter what they're doing, though he'd never told her and he doubts she really knows his thoughts.
"Hi, baby. I've got the pizza in the fridge," she finally said, taking the wine to put in the bottle, the one that's an unspoken promise from him to her, one she understood might never come true, but she believed in - they believed in - all the same. He went and turned on their crappy tv, turning it to an old holiday black & white, something they both secretly enjoy. Her humming changed to match the music on the movie and he started pulling the blankets and pillows off the bed, piling them on the floor where a couch was supposed to be, where one had been, until they'd sold it for electricity and heat.
Kate brought out the bottle, full now of cheap-ass wine, along with the box from the Italian place around the corner, whose pizza tasted just as good cold as hot, and joined him on their little pallet. They toasted and ate, looking at each other more than the tv, until they were plunged into darkness and cold as the electricity went out, finally pulled by a careless landlord. He heard her sharp breath; Kate had never liked the dark, even less so after what had happened over the summer, so he hurried to get up and get the candles, which he always kept in a drawer of their dresser, and lit 3, handing her one and putting the other two into the holders he'd made during one of his stints as a ceramics teacher at the community center.
"We're okay, Kate," he said softly, soothingly, as he lit more, placed them all over until the room was filled with light again, the only shadows their own, and drew the blankets up around them, cuddling close and transferring his heat to her. She shivered against him, not physically cold, but still reacting to the suddenness of their changing circumstances. he handed her her glass, which she drank gratefully, and sat looking at all of the pretty candles, some they'd made together, mish-mashing melted candles and cotton wicking, others stolen from various places. He was pretty sure one of them had been stolen from the high-end furniture store they walked past every day, but Kate had never said one way or the other, and plausible deniability was always the best thing.
"I know we are," she said, finally calming down, and grabbed his wrist to look at the time. 12:01 AM, December 25. "Merry Christmas," she murmured, curling up against him further, and he kissed the top of her head before pulling the box from his pocket, handing it to her under the blanket and then reaching out to bring a candle closer. Kate looked up at him, eyes sparkling in the way he wanted them to do always, as she unwrapped the small package and opened the box. Inside was a pair of chandelier earrings, the color of her brilliant blue eyes, and also the color of the only dress she owned, perfect for the restaurant he'd picked for Boxing Day, and probably the reason the lights had all gone out.
"... Do you like it?" he finally asked, as tears formed in her eyes, her fingers running over the aquamarine jewels in her hand.
"I love it. But Neal... we needed the electricity more..."
"Did we really?" he asked, and suddenly the lights came back on, the landlord apparently not as much of a dick as he'd been painted. The tv wasn't playing the movie anymore, it was now playing a bunch of Christmas carols. Kate looked to the tv, and then back up at him, and began singing, much more on-key than her humming.
"I just want you for for my own
More than you could ever know
Make my wish come true
All I want for Christmas is you."
As he kissed her, all he could think was that he might just have done okay in giving her her perfect Christmas after all.
-FIN-
This was also my first serious White Collar fic, and my first het in nearly four years... at least my first Canon-het (girl!Kirk and girl!Bones just don't count). It went a little RENT-y there when the lights went out, but I think it turned out okay. Hope y'all like it!