Conner Bailey had spent all year waiting for Christmas.

After around four long years of having low budgets or missing Christmas completely, a proper holiday was the one thing Conner longed for at this point.

And this year, everything had fallen into place. His family was in a much better financial state, he was going to reunite with his sister, and he had the most beautiful girl in the world dragging him along in a shopping mall.

It was a dream come true, to be honest.

Bree put a hand on her beanie to keep it steady as the other one clutched Conner's hand. She was weaving her way through the mounds of people crowding around the new department store that had recently opened up, elbowing through and barely clinging on to her boyfriend's hand.

After they stumbled out of the fray, the two breathed a sigh of relief. "Woo, what a workout," Conner panted, leaning over to put his hands on his knees. He looked up at Bree, who had already recovered and was looking at the stores around them to see if there were any she needed to go in. Her beanie was tilted, so Conner moved to fix it. Bree's attention switched to Conner as soon as he moved. "There," He said.

Bree smiled warmly. "Thanks," She replied.

Conner looked behind them at the hoard of people struggling to fit in to the new store. "I thought you said we had to stop by a department store," He told Bree over his shoulder, watching two women with a large supply of bags try to push past each other and make their way past the sliding doors.

"I said we had to go to a Target," She clarified. "That is not a Target." Bree was standing at the directory now, scanning the screen to plot their next move.

Conner chuckled and went over to her. He draped an arm around her and kissed her cheek from behind. "You do realize that the only person I'm shopping for is you, right?" He said blatantly.

Bree laughed. "Incorrect. The only person I'm shopping for is you. You have to buy gifts for your parents and your sister and your vast army of friends. My family's visiting my Aunt in Vancouver and most of my friends suck," She summarized. "Hey, more money for me."

Conner rolled his eyes jokingly. "What about Red and Jack and all those guys?" He asked her. "Aren't we getting them gifts too?" Conner thought it would've been nice to give them all presents since they were spending Christmas in the Fairytale world anyways.

"Oh, yeah," She muttered. "At least I like them so it won't be a hassle." Bree put her finger on a spot on the directory, looking for ways to get there. After figuring it out, she immediately began to walk in the proper direction, Conner eagerly trailing behind her like a lost puppy.

The plan this year was that Conner, along with his parents, were going to enjoy their Christmas in the Northern Kingdom with Alex and all their friends. Bree wasn't originally going to come, but Conner was so beaten up by the idea of celebrating his favourite holiday without her that he asked her (begged her) to come. Conveniently enough, Bree's family was in another country and on account of Bree's grounding, she was left behind. After Charlotte talked Bree's mother into it (a very, very long conversation that put everyone on edge), she reluctantly agreed to let Bree stay with the Bailey's for Christmas because nobody else could take care of her.

In the end, all worked out well and they only had a few more days before they were leaving. Conner was overjoyed with the news and was so relieved that Bree wouldn't be having her Christmas alone. He wouldn't wish that on anybody.

Conner caught up to Bree and looped his arm through hers. She smiled contentedly and rested her head on Conner's shoulder as they walked. There was so much bustle and noise in the mall, but somehow it was all drowned out when they were so close.

The first store they went into was a clothing store, full of an assortment of styles and garments to choose from. Bree looked at things every once in a while, musing and checking their prices. She occasionally asked Conner to weigh in his opinion on if it would be a good gift. Sometimes she'd see things she liked, and before she said anything about it Conner would tell her that it would look great on her and pestered her to try anything and everything on.

Bree looked amused as a comfy crimson hoodie caught her eye. "What would Red say if I got her a sweatshirt for Christmas?" She asked. The look in her eyes already said that she was imagining the possibilities.

"Probably something condescending." Conner laughed at the image of Red opening up a present and holding the sweater up in confusion, wondering what on earth it was and who on earth would wear it. She'd be absolutely appalled and frankly, Conner thought it wasn't too bad of an idea. "I think you should do it," He egged Bree on.

A mischievous smile grew on Bree's face as she contemplated it. Then finally, she swung the hoodie off the rack. "Only if you buy her matching sweatpants," She gestured to the pants beside the sweater, the same red as the hoodie.

Conner didn't hesitate. "Deal." He took the pants of the rack and high-fived Bree. "Man, she's gonna kill us."

Bree shook her head. "Nah, I think she's secretly going to love it."

They walked around some more, and eventually headed to the checkout to pay. On the way there, something caught Bree's eye.

There was a pale blue dress with white ribbon tied around it hanging on display, waiting for someone to claim it. Bree stared at the dress thoughtfully and put her hand on Conner's arm to stop him from walking. He followed Bree's gaze up to the dress and stared at her expectantly. "What?" He asked.

"That is totally Alex's style," She mused. "I should probably get it for her." Bree went up and felt the fabric of the dress.

Conner raised an eyebrow. "Since when are you shopping for my sister?" He asked quizzically. Conner couldn't really remember times where Alex and Bree interacted.

"Since always," Bree responded plainly. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know, I just thought that you guys weren't that close," He said.

"Exactly, weren't," Bree clarified. "But we've been talking to each other for weeks after that whole cross-dimensional worlds colliding thing," She explained casually. "Why do you think that the other side of your mirror is chipped?" She pointed out.

Conner had recently noticed that the bottom of his mirror had a chunk missing, and it wasn't the one that he had taken years prior. He thought his mother had taken it, but now knowing it was Bree, everything made a lot more sense.

Bree stared at the dress one more time. "I'm gonna buy it!" She declared, taking the dress.

Conner smiled. "She's definitely gonna wear that." He took her hand in his own and they walked to the checkout line.

**************

"Okay, we'll meet back here in forty," Bree said to Conner.

Conner nodded in agreement. "Sounds good," He confirmed.

After around two hours of shopping for other people, the duo thought it was high time to start shopping for each other. They obviously couldn't be together for that, so they decided they'd split up for a while.

They bid their farewells and parted ways, going in opposite directions.

Conner idly glimpsed at the stores around him. He knew there was no point to this, but he had to busy himself somehow. There was nothing in this mall, or in any mall, that would suffice as a gift for Bree. Conner was very sure that whatever he was going to get her would not be found in a generic store where anybody could buy it. He had spent the last two weeks mulling over what to give her, and nothing seemed right. Nothing felt like her.

He wanted to give Bree something unique, something that said how much she meant to him. After years and years of hardships, this was his chance to prove that it was all worth it. It had to be something only he could give to her. Conner had absolutely no idea what to do, but he needed to figure it out soon.

"Maybe Alex can help me," He muttered. His sister had always been good at this mushy romance stuff, so there must be some level of expertise she had that Conner didn't. He just hoped he could figure it out in time.

Bree, on the other side of the store, was having a similar issue.

There was nothing in this world Bree could give to Conner. She had looked in every store, hoping something would pop up. Everything she saw wasn't what she had in mind.

Bree was generally a very well thought-out person, and always planned ahead of time or went with the flow. But for this, she was at a loss. Conner always gave her so much and treated her the best he could, and Bree tried her hardest to do the same. Conner deserved something spectacular, and nothing less. She wanted to get him something that could only be found with her, not something that could be bought in a store. She needed to find something singular.

Believe it or not, the whole experience was a little scary. Bree had to come to terms with herself and her feelings, digging down to find something that spoke to Conner the way she wanted to. So far, she was scraping the bottom of the barrel. She was hesitant to truly pick apart everything she knew to find the core of her emotions, but it had to be done. It was Christmas, after all.

Bree grazed past another store, and then stopped short. Something had caught her eye. Excitement bubbled in her stomach as she hurriedly rushed into the store, hoping that she could get the last one on the shelf. "I know I told myself that I couldn't get something store-bought, but just this once," She said to herself. Bree quickly snagged the item before anyone else could and went to pay.

That small gift gave her an idea.

**************

"So, any luck?" Conner called out to Bree as he spotted her travelling towards their meeting place.

"Like I'm telling you," She laughed. She had made sure to put the gift in another bag so Conner wouldn't see it. "How much time do we have left before we have to leave?" She asked.

Conner put his arms around her waist from behind and rested his chin on her head. "Around ten minutes, I guess," He said sadly. He kissed her head gently.

Bree looked back up at him. "How about we go home and walk a bit?" She suggested. "We're done here, so we've got time to kill."

Conner shrugged. "Sure," He said.

Bree quickly planted a kiss on his lips (which made Conner drop numerous bags) and hugged him tightly. It was quite abrupt, but Conner didn't mind. He held her against him, an unmeasurable smile on his face. A familiar yet incredible warmth filled his heart.

This was why he needed to make this Christmas Bree's best one yet.

**************

hello fellow mammals how are yalls today

look i've gotta say today was not my best day but writing about my parents and seeing all ur comments and stuff help cure me so

if u wouldn't mind

commenting and stuff

you would really be helping a sister out.

AND yes it is christmas aka best time of year aka busiest time of year aka i am working on another chapter for scorchings and this as we speak. i have one more fluffy christmas one shot (i hope to actually finish it before christmas lol) so look forward to thaaaat!

please please comment and vote and share your thoughts and write and stuff because this fandom is forking lit and we need quality cONTENT
-heart

avengers endgame is the reason i'm depressed okay bye