Christmas List 2025
day 2: dancing in the snow. —
"C'mon, yeh can't go in there!"
From your spot in the threshold of the ride's operating booth, you glance back at Pluto. His shoulders are hunched around his ears, nose tipped red from the cold. "Since when do you care so much about the rules?"
He scoffs. "Yer gonna get me in trouble."
"With who!" You toss your arms open wide as if to encompass all of Blackpool's Promenade; the expanse of the ocean, the well-walked piers, the rides and the lights. And the very Ferris wheel that Pluto is being trained to operate when the park finally reopens next season.
A harsh winter breeze nearly takes you off your feet. Pluto's hand closes around your wrist before you can topple over. The pier is empty— the sky is overcast, windchill bitter, all signs pointing to snow. When you'd asked him to lead you around the empty Promenade, Pluto had expected something... a bit more intimate, maybe, than being crowded together in a raggedy ride booth.
"—okay, say yeh've got a point." The wind shoves again, Pluto taking a few stumbling steps before he's able to close the door behind him. "Nobody's around t'get me fired. But," he dips his hands into his pockets to turn them out, "I still don't have th' ride keys."
At that, you sigh dramatically and drape yourself over the control panel. One of the levels digs into your shoulder blades. "Oh noooo," you whine. "What are we supposed to do with our alone time now?"
Before Pluto can decide if he wants to be snarky or scandalous, you've jolted back upright, neck craned to peer out the booth's frosted glass. "—it's snowing!"
The booth is small, so it only takes a few steps before Pluto is at your side, the warmth of his breath fogging the window as he leans over your shoulder. "Well wouldja lookit that," he huffs, "it's snowin' just like I warned ya, and yeh didn't bother with gloves—"
Your cold fingers close around Pluto's hands— which really aren't much warmer— and you drag him back outside, both shuddering at the blast of cold when the door reopens. That does nothing to slow you down; you dart into the new flurries, only dropping Pluto's hands so you can freely twirl amidst the drifts.
"Yer excited." Pluto's sharp gaze follows as you twirl back and forth, pausing to catch snowflakes on your tongue. "It's just snow. We get plenty of it."
"And I like snow, no matter how many times I see it." Your spins finally come to a halt and your eyes cross as the world tilts around you. Shaking off the dizziness, you jut your arms back out, petulantly motioning for Pluto to come closer. "Dance with me."
"Hum something, then!" You snatch him by the lapels of his coat and drag him into a fumbling, swaying waltz, no sense of rhythm in sight.
