A/N: Just some light and fluffy DL Christmas fun. A departure from my most recent angsty, heavy fics. We could all use some fluff. Will be about 5 chapters when complete.
Disclaimer: Danny and Lindsay aren't mine, the ideas are, not beta'd, may contain peanuts, hazardous to humans and domesticated animals.
Rating: K+
The Christmas List
Prologue
Lindsay squeezed her way past hordes of people in the department store: grouchy husbands, strollers with screaming kids, grandmothers racing towards every "clearance" sign, as intent as a quarterback headed for the touchdown. The Christmas carols blasting over the loudspeaker weren't the soft, old-fashioned classics she remembered from childhood, but instead were techno, pop-infused remakes that made her feel anything but jolly.
Her goal had been to find something for Danny for Christmas – or, at least, an idea of what to get. What to buy for a boyfriend of less than two months? Everything she found seemed either too personal (cologne or boxer shorts) or too impersonal (pen sets and gloves).
She had opted to work Thanksgiving this year – Danny had plans with his family, and while she didn't want to spend the day alone, she also didn't want him to feel pressured to drag her along. Signing up to work, she figured, would make it easier for both of them. So she spent the day analyzing trace samples, then dined on the leftover turkey and pie Danny brought to her apartment that evening. Today he was working, leaving her to wander about the New York streets on Black Friday. She thought of the irony if he were called to a scene, only to find his girlfriend the victim – trampled by shoppers dashing towards a sale.
Last Christmas she had learned that the variety available in New York was almost a curse. In Montana, buying gifts meant hitting up the local Wal-Mart. Here, her choices were Barney's or Sak's or Macy's, among others, each with hundreds of possible gifts. She simply couldn't make up her mind. Now, as she surveyed the dancing snowman figurines and ribbon-garnished tins of nuts, she experienced the same overwhelming feeling. The last straw was a teddy bear with a purple t-shirt that read, "You're My Snuggle Bear". Fighting a wave of nausea, Lindsay turned to the store's exit. I'll order something online, she thought, heading for the subway.
Danny would be home from work now, hopefully making them a nice dinner. The trip to his place was growing familiar, a feeling she quite liked. She liked knowing which train to take, the name of the newspaper stand next to his building, the number of steps to his apartment. It brought her a sense of security. She had been going through a rough time lately; dealing with old emotions and memories that were invading her new life. She was determined not to let it affect her first holiday with Danny, but the morose tone was settling over her anyway.
Finally outside Danny's door, she knocked, then waited for the muffled "Come in!" that always followed. Inside, she slipped off her coat, noticing a marvelous smell emanating from the kitchen.
"Why do you still bother to knock, anyway?" Danny called, as he prodded something in the oven.
Lindsay shrugged. "We learn these things called 'manners' growing up in the country," she tried to joke, but was unable to keep the scowl from her face. Danny was approaching her, and in an instant she dropped the façade. "It's official – I'm not celebrating Christmas this year."
He caught her up a in bear-hug, one so tight she thought she might crack in two… but didn't mind. "Nah, you don't mean that," he said, pressing a soft kiss to her temple.
"Yes, I do." The combination of his soft lips and bristly stubble made her smile in spite of her mood. Sometimes she felt the need to pinch herself, because she was finally experiencing all the things she had dreamed about doing with Danny. The spine-tingling, toe-curling pleasure of it all was simply unreal.
"Why are you such a grinch?" he asked. "I take it shopping was a bust?"
"It was a nightmare," she muttered as she rested her head on his shoulder, enjoying another sense of blissful familiarity.
"Did you find anything for me?" he taunted, his eyes twinkling mischievously.
Lindsay made a sour face. "No luck at all. Can't you give me some ideas?"
Danny looked down at her, his face softening. "Nah, I'm good, I already got what I wanted. You agreeing to give me a chance was my present."
She grinned sheepishly. "Just a 'chance'? It's not like you're on a probation period or something."
"So you're awarding me tenure already, huh?" he cracked. "Anyway, what's been the matter with you lately?"
"I'm just not in the Christmas spirit." Lindsay extracted herself from his embrace, moving towards the kitchen and the bottle of white wine Danny now kept around specifically for her.
"Why not?" he pressed, following closely behind her. "Don't tell me that a few crowded stores is the only reason you're down in the dumps."
"It's just… stuff weighing on me. And Christmas, it's just not what it used to be. It's not like when you're a kid." She sighed wistfully, taking a swig directly from the bottle before pouring a glass. "You know what it's like to be a child at Christmas – everything's magic. It's like… all the Christmas carols come to life."
"What? Like chestnuts roasting on an open fire and all that crap?" Danny asked.
"Yes, all that crap. I like that crap. That cheesy, sentimental… crap."
Danny was quiet for a moment. "So let's do it!" he announced triumphantly.
"Do what?"
"All that stuff. All that ridiculously corny stuff you do at Christmas time. Make our own traditions, for our first Christmas together."
Lindsay felt her heart lift at the word 'together'. They were together, and that in itself would make it a Christmas that far surpassed any other.
"I know you've been gloomy," Danny went on. "I'm happier than I've ever been, now that I have you, so I want to return the favor. I want to make you as happy as you've made me." He grabbed a pen and pad of paper from his table. "All that stuff from Christmases when you were a kid? Make a list."
A smile crept across Lindsay's face. "Will we do them all?"
"Every one."
And so she wrote.
First Up: Gingerbread, coming soon!