Christmas Drabbles

[Sage]

As promised here is the first of my festive drabbles.
The rompt list courtesy of ’25 Christmas fics’ (neat idea, but not my fandom), though I’m altering the order to suit myself. I’ll do my best to post one a day; it’ll be like one of those chocolate advent calendars, just as sweet but less fattening.

Christmas carol

He’d managed to put them off until now.
Though they’d begged since Thanksgiving, Halloween even.
“It’s too early.” he’d insisted “One celebration at a time”
They’d called him Scrooge, but held to the deal.
Then December first rolled around, and no way could it be fought for even an hour longer.
Scarlet gave a defeated sigh, but not minding really.
“Oh go on then” he said
The other captains beamed
He watched as they led a procession across the room, half solemn half childishly excitable
The music player kicked into life
And the officers’ lounge was filled with Jingle Bells.

[Sage]

Snow

He sat riveted to the radio, anticipation mounting.
Deerborne high
Ochre punched the air
“Yes! School’s cancelled!”
“Rick,” Melody explained gently “you’re thirty five years old; you don’t go to school any more.”
“So?” Ochre’s expression was of utter bafflement.
Then he sighed, pitying the poor girl, it probably never snowed in Georgia.
It did in New York though.
“Hey Pat, it’s a snow day.”
Magenta grinned. “Awesome, we should celebrate. When we had snow days Mam made us cocoa with marshmallows.”
“Umm I think there’s some hot chocolate and mallow fluff in the cupboard.”
“Yeah, that’d do it.”

[Marion]

Sage, can we all play?
Here's one:
“Press your finger here.”
“You say the most romantic things.”
“Adam, I need help. You’re the only person here.”
“What’re you doing?” He obligingly applied pressure.
“Mom sent it as a surprise for Colonel White.” Symphony taped the paper. “It’s for under the Christmas tree. Only the paper’s got ripped, so I’m re-wrapping it.” She looked doubtfully at him. “She knitted it herself. It’s a sweater, in a Spectrum logo design.”
“Jeez, he’ll hate it!”
She grinned. “Yeah; but I bet he’ll wear it. Greater love has no man than to make himself look silly just to please his sweetie-pie.”

[Sage]

Ooh yes, more the merrier
Awww that's so sweet. can totally imagine that colonel would wear it.

[Sage]

Advent calendar

“Bijou, you know I’m not a priest.”
“Yes, but you’re the only other Catholic here, please Patrick.”
“Go on then, confess away.”
Destiny took a deep breath
“I ate all the chocolates in my advent calendar.”
Magenta laughed
“It’s not funny,” Destiny insisted “gluttony one of the seven deadly sins.”
“So’s lust, but that didn’t bother you this morning.”
“That’s different. It won’t make me fat for a start.”
Magenta conceded defeat
“Alright then; do ten Hail Marys.”
Destiny went through the ritual, tossed the now empty calendar into the bin,
And vowed to have more will power next year.

[Sage]

Crackers

“What the hell is that?” Ochre poked the garishly wrapped cardboard tube
“You mean they don’t have these in America?” Rhapsody replied, incredulous
“Not in my neck of the woods.”
“It’s a Christmas cracker” she replied simply
Then grasped one end of the cracker, and offered the other to Ochre
“Pull it”
Tension through the paper, then a deft pop.
“Neat”
“You got the bigger half so you get the prize.” Rhapsody explained.
Grinning Ochre emptied the tube and surveyed the content
“Do they all have terrible jokes inside?”
“Unfortunately yes.”
He crowned her with orange paper.
“Suits you, Di.”

[Marion]

“It’s a kind of parasite, you know – Mistletoe,” Blue said nonchalantly.
“No, I didn’t, but thank you for sharing that, Adam.” Rhapsody glanced sympathetically at him and hung the mistletoe.
“Why would anyone kiss beneath a parasite?” Symphony said huffily. It was the first thing she’d said to him all day.
“In Scandinavia it’s a plant of peace; people used to kiss and make up beneath it after a quarrel. It represented the fertility of the woodland spirits, apparently.”
Rhapsody saw the wistful glint in Symphony’s eyes and smiled. “I guess I’ll leave you two to make up – Scandinavian style…”

[Sage]

Oh yes, trust Blue to say the wrong thing but redeem himself.

By coincidence your drabbles have fitted two of my other prompts. Shall I send you the rest of the list then we could do it as a shared project?

[Marion]

Well, if you like - I'll see what I can do - but I can't promise I'll have the time or the inspiration to write many...

[Sage]

Marion wrote this one

Stocking

“I always used a pillowcase hung at the end of the bed; too dangerous to hang it by the fire,” Scarlet pontificated. “You get much less in a stocking.”
“Do you?” Rhapsody asked. “I’d dispute that, Paul.”
“Stands to reason,” Scarlet argued. He looked at Blue. “What about you?”
“I’m a stocking man – every time,” Blue replied, his eyes sparkling.
Symphony sniggered; their intimate double dinner-date was turning out to be great fun.
“Pillowcases make much better sacks…”
Rhapsody rose from the dinner-table and provocatively displayed her shapely, stocking’d leg.
“But stockings make for much better sex,” she said, smiling.

[Sage]

One of mine this time, think I'll probably keep alternating

Decorations

“I’m sure this contravenes all manner of health and safety regulations.”
“Blue, you worry too much,” Magenta stated, hoisting the paper chain above his head. “For an ex test pilot anyway.”
“Yes, but there’s a world of difference between a potentially hazardous job and just being stupidly reckless,” Blue glanced up “and you are currently in the latter category.”
Magenta felt the swivel chair wobble beneath his feet, but his conviction held strong.
“Oh come on Ads, you’re not going to let some pen pushers run our lives.”
The chair lurched
“Umm yeah, maybe I should stand on a table.”

[Sage]

By Marion

Christmas Dinner

When Harmony Angel glanced at Captain Ochre’s dinner plate, she shuddered delicately.
“Are you going to eat all that?” she asked.
Ochre looked surprised. “Sure. You should try it, Chan, its good food.”
“What is it?”
“A traditional Christmas dinner: roast turkey, roast and mashed potatoes, chipolatas, Brussel sprouts, gravy…”
“And those? Are they traditional? I don’t see them on anyone else’s plate.”
“Sure are – in the Fraser household.” Ochre winked.
“Don’t fight it, Harmony; we’ve tried to talk him out of it already,” Captain Magenta explained.
“But you just can’t have a proper dinner without baked beans,” Ochre protested.

[Sage]

Santa

“Have you been a good girl this year?”
“No, Santa,” The pretty Lieutenant fluttered her lashes “I’ve been very naughty.”
“Umm, well, in that case …”
Scarlet burst into Magenta’s office
“Ochre what on earth are you doing?” Scarlet demanded.
“Just spreading a little Christmas cheer.” Ochre winked, adjusting his Santa hat.
“I’ll umm be getting back to work, sir.” The Lieutenant exited, blushing

“Scarlet busted it.” Ochre said sourly, in response to Magenta’s inevitable question.
“Did you tell him we were raising money for the Spectrum orphans’ fund?”
“Never got chance.”
“Well guess who’ll be getting coal this year.”

[Sage]

By Marion

Ice skating

“Whose bloody brilliant idea was this?” Scarlet complained.
Ochre swooshed past him and executed a neat double-Salchow.
“I thought you said you could skate?” Blue said, grabbing in vain at Scarlet as he slithered onto the ice once more.
“I can,” Scarlet moaned, “with rollers, on dry land...”
Ochre halted beside Blue and they heaved Scarlet back to his feet. “What’s up with the Brit?”
“He wants to skate on dry land.”
“He can’t sail, he can’t skate… it’s a pretty poor show.”
“Yeah,”” Blue agreed.
Laughing, they both slid away, gathering speed.
Left unsupported Scarlet wobbled and fell – again.

[Sage]

Snowman

“Made in Taiwan,” Rhapsody read the box “do they even have Christmas there?”
Symphony simply shrugged, and flicked the switch.
The animatronic snowman burst into life; performing a little dance and ‘singing’ something akin to ‘frosty the snowman’ in a synthetic voice.
The general consensus was that it was adorable.

Two days and countless renditions later, Blue was utterly sick of Frosty.
The motion sensor kicked in yet again, as did Blue’s murderous thoughts.
With stealth he got to the table without anyone noticing.
Just in time to witness Melody take out the batteries
“I won’t tell if you don’t.”

===

Colonel Chris has suggested that I open the challenge to everyone, so I shall as a group project sounds fun.

So here are the remaining prompts ...
Bauble
Tinsel
Christmas pudding
Reindeer
Christmas tree
Party
Ribbon
Sleigh/sledge
Holly
Candy cane
Christmas Eve
Christmas day

If inspiration strikes then feel free to post them in the thread, when all the prompts are written for the drabbles will posted as a story on the main site (with relevant author credits)