Sterling

Sterling strode through the festival, a small, squat tree perched on his shoulder. After just purchasing it, he was now carrying it home for Celeste. Celeste chased after him, weaving in and out of the stream of people he left in his wake.

"We're just going to leave?" Celeste panted as she caught up to him.

"I just bought a tree," Sterling said. "Did you think I was just going to carry it around the festival all night?"

"But... But..." Celeste sputtered, trying to keep up with him. He always had been a fast walker, especially if he had somewhere to be. She dropped her voice, "What about Jared?"

Sterling gave a quick scan of the crowd, and a few people around him had to duck to dodge the swinging tree. Even though he couldn't see them, he knew Jared—and his perky little date—was somewhere out there in the swarm of people. And he was sure that if Jared could see them, he would be watching.

The guy was still fixated on Celeste, Sterling was sure of it. Earlier, Jared looked like he wanted to punch him. Sterling chuckled. He would like to see him try.

"He's already seen you," Sterling said, turning forward again. "And sometimes, it's best to leave things to the imagination."

"Imagination?" Celeste echoed as she dashed along beside him.

"Imagine he sees us leaving early," Sterling said. "Imagine he sees us heading back to your place, all alone. Imagine what he'd think we were going to do for the rest of the evening...."

"Oh," Celeste said. Her cheeks turned pink. "Oh."

"Exactly," Sterling said, chuckling at the idea of Jared losing his mind as his imagination got the better of him. "So, let him stew in his imagination for tonight and forget about him. We're going to do something more fun, anyway."

"Like what?" Celeste said, her voice wobbling a little. Her face was still pink.

Sterling grinned. They had now made it through the Festival entrance, where the crowd had thinned out. "You'll see."

🎄

Back in Celeste's apartment, every time Sterling moved, needles from the tree rained down around him. He decided to stay as still as possible to avoid making a mess of Celeste's place.

"Where do you want to put it?" he asked from his spot in the middle of Celeste's living room.

"I was thinking by the mantle," Celeste said, squeezing past him to run over to the corner of the boarded-up fireplace. A window on the other side overlooked the main street, and you could see the big tree from there.

Sterling walked over and set the tree down on its stump. More needles fell. "Here?"

"Yes, perfect," Celeste said, and then her face fell. "Oh, dammit. I just realized—I don't have a stand."

"Stand?" Sterling said.

"The tree stand," Celeste said. She made a shape with her hands he didn't understand. "To hold the tree. You know!"

Sterling shrugged. "I wouldn't."

"What?"

"I haven't exactly had a lot of Christmas trees in my life," Sterling shrugged.

Celeste just looked at him. Her brows tensed over her green eyes as they softened with concern. She opened her mouth like she wanted to say something... His muscles went stiff. He was uncomfortable with this conversation's direction, so he quickly changed the subject.

"But if you don't have a stand, what are you going to do? Just lean it here?" He rested the tree against the mantle, and it slumped at a funny angle.

She gave a little laugh. "I'll find something."

Celeste returned with a well-rinsed mop bucket. It clanged as it hit the floor and then again when Sterling dropped the tree in. It was a bit too big, and once again, the tree leaned to the side. They both laughed at how silly it looked.

"I guess that will have to do for now," Celeste said. She smiled when she looked at him. "Thank you for all this. I was thinking that I wouldn't have a tree this year, and...."

"Someone like you deserves to have a tree," Sterling said. "Consider it an early Christmas present."

"I guess I'll have to get you something, then," Celeste said.

"Please don't," Sterling said, finally shrugging off his coat. After he slung it over the back of the couch, he clapped his hands together. He clapped his hands together. "Now, to decorate it."

"What?" Celeste said, her eyes going wide. "You want to decorate the tree?"

"Isn't that what you do with it?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "I may be a little rusty on Christmas traditions, but I'm pretty sure that's how it works."

"Well, yes," Celeste said. "I just didn't think you'd be... interested."

"Might as well give it a try once in my life."

Celeste's face tensed again, and she looked like she wanted to ask about that. But instead, she just shook her head and let it go, which Sterling was thankful for.

"Well, I'm on board, but there's just a bit of a snag," she said, wincing. "I don't actually have anything to decorate the tree with."

Sterling's eyebrows shot up. "Really?" He looked around the room at the strings of lights that hung across the living room and the folded paper snowflakes that hung overhead. The girl had decorated her place like this, and yet... "Nothing?"

Celeste shook her head. "Nothing. Not even lights." Her eyes went watery, and she blinked a lot to clear them. She looked away, out the window, towards the big tree where the festival was still in full force below. Even from a distance, it felt like she was looking for Jared...

Sterling frowned. Not this again. She had cheered up once he'd gotten her the tree, but she was slipping back into her sadness. He needed to pull her back to him. "Why not?"

"I never needed them before. I usually go home for Christmas, so I never got a tree, and so I was going to buy or make everything when me and Jared—" Her voice caught on his name, and she let out a shuddering sigh.

"Well, then. It's a good thing I decided to get these," he said, digging into his coat pocket. He pulled out a bundle of tissue paper and offered it to her.

Her eyes lit up as she took it. "What's this?"

"Another early Christmas gift," he said.

Celeste carefully unwrapped the tissue paper, revealing two stained glass ornaments—the bear and the fox.

"Oh!" she cried out. "You... You bought them?"

"Yeah. I thought you needed something to... cheer you up."

Celeste beamed at him. Her eyes really sparkled when she smiled like that. Then her smile faltered for a second, and Sterling worried that it hadn't worked. But then she rushed forward and threw her arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug.

"Thank you!" she said, her cheek pressed against his neck. "They're beautiful."

Sterling was stiff in her arms. They'd touched plenty of times, but this was the first time it hadn't been for show. He wasn't sure what to do. Hug her back, he guessed. He wrapped his arms around her waist and squeezed.

"Y-You're welcome," he mumbled.

The hug lasted only for a second, and when Celeste pulled away, his thoughts were reeling. Celeste didn't seem to notice—her gaze was clouded like she was thinking about something... or making a decision.

Her eyes went bright as she decided.

"Here, hold these!" she said, handing the fox and bear back.

Celeste ran to the front windows, where a string of lights was hung across. She pulled the lights down and brought them over to the tree, where she quickly looped them through the branches and finished by plugging them in.

The tree lit up. It was beautiful with the lights alone.

Sterling stared at it. He suddenly understood why people enjoyed them. It wasn't the tree itself that made it special. It was the whole process of getting it, of sharing it, with someone who...

Celeste turned back to him and held out her hand. "Now we can add the ornaments."

Sterling handed over the small tissue paper package, but Celeste only took the fox.

"You should hang the bear," Celeste said, smiling. "This is your tree as much as mine. Someone like you deserves a tree, too."

For a moment, Sterling felt a lump rise in his throat. He shook his head before joining Celeste at the tree's edge.

He picked up the bear—his bear—and looked to Celeste for guidance.

"You should hang it in front of a light," she began, hanging hers so it was illuminated by one of the small bulbs. The red of the fox lit up, turning into the same shining copper shade as her hair. "So the light will shine through."

She grinned at him expectantly, waiting for him to do the same. Sterling couldn't help but feel the light of her smile shining through him. He cleared his throat.

He wasn't sure that the same would be true for his black bear. Surely the light wouldn't glow through its darkness... But he followed her lead anyway, taking his black bear and hanging in front of the light just like she had.

The light did shine through. The dark black of the bear lit up into a soft, chocolatey brown. It made him smile.

Once their ornaments were secure, Celeste grabbed his arm and pulled him back to admire them in their rightful place.

The tree looked a little sparse, but it was still nice. It didn't need a thousand ornaments to be perfect. It was hers—theirs—and that's what mattered.

Next to him, Celeste sighed and leaned against his arm, though he wasn't sure if she was aware she was doing it. "If only I had a star to put on top."

Right. A star. Sterling hadn't decorated a tree in a long, long time, but he'd watched enough TV movies to know there was always something added to the top of the tree.

He glanced around the room. Celeste had already taken some of her other decorations to use for the tree, maybe there was something else they could use, too. His gaze paused as it fell on the sea of paper snowflakes dangling overhead. They weren't the usual kind that was simply folded and cut. These were more elaborate, almost sculptural.

The way their edges looped together, it almost looked like it could slip right over the tree's topmost branch.

He was tall enough that he could just reach them. He plucked one down. He offered it to her. "Will this work?"

Celeste's eyes brightened again. "I think so!"

When she took the snowflake, she let go of his arm, and Sterling almost regretted his idea. His arm felt cold without her warmth.

Celeste took the snowflake and slid the tree's top branch through one of the loops just like Sterling had pictured. A light was also placed there, so it lit the paper from within, making it glow warmly.

She spun around and jumped up and down, her copper curls bouncing as she giggled. She, like the tree, glowed bright with joy.

"It's perfect!" she exclaimed.

Sterling couldn't help but agree.

🎄