christmas gift ➳ shaw (mlqc)
➳ PAIRING: reader x shaw (mlqc)
➳ GENRE: a teeny bit of angst, fluff
➳ SYNOPSIS: shaw hates christmas, but for some reason, it’s alright when you’re the one celebrating it with him.
➳ REMARKS: this is my secret santa piece for @cyberfxck! i’m sorry i intended on writing a racer!au but my mind just... left me skbksb i hope that you enjoy this <3 merry christmas!!
“I can’t believe you weren’t even going to celebrate Christmas.”
Fairy lights and coloured baubles strewn on the floor around you, you rummage through the mess for a length of red tinsel and hold it up for inspection. “How about this one? It’s such a festive colour!”
Shaw rubs the back of his neck from where he’s sprawled on the couch, casting a lazy glance in your direction before he closes his eyes again. “It looks ugly.” You gasp, scandalized. “Why do I have to have an entire tree lugged to my studio? It ruins the aesthetic.” He gestures at the fir tree behind you. “Besides, Christmas is stupid.”
“Because my apartment is too small to fit anything but a mini-Christmas tree.” You say, rising to your feet and crossing over to him. His eyes are still firmly shut. There’s a look of annoyance on his face, but you can tell that it’s more for show than anything else. Leaning over, you tug at the fabric of his shirt. “Come on, help me decorate. I even got you a Christmas gift, and I’ll be sad if there’s no tree to put it under.”
Shaw’s golden eyes flicker open instantly upon hearing the word ‘gift’, snapping up to meet yours. “A gift, you say.” Although his words are carefully neutral, you catch the way his fingers drum a rapid rhythm against his thigh - a subconscious habit of his when he’s excited or nervous. You have to stifle your grin, if Shaw knows just how cute you think he looks now, he’ll throw you out of his studio before you can blink. “What gift?”
You shake your head, putting on an expression of faux seriousness. “Christmas gifts are meant to be put under the tree. The very nicely, brightly decorated Christmas tree. So if you won’t help me decorate it, then you’re not getting your gift!”
Shaw stares at you for a few seconds, eyes narrowed, before he lets out a dramatic groan and shifts off the couch. “Fine, fine. Seriously, you’re so persistent.”
Ecstatic at his willingness (?) to finally participate, you tug on his arm gleefully, pulling him to the tree with you. “I already decorated the bottom, so all we have to do is decorate the top half!” You point at the top of the tree with a smile. “You can help me wrap tinsel around the tree.”
With a sigh, Shaw raises an eyebrow as he looks down at the mess of festive colours and shiny things on his floor, before reaching down to pick up a piece of tinsel. Pleased that he’s finally moving, you reach over to open another box of baubles, these ones decorated with Kiro’s handsome face and a Santa hat - a festive collection released by his agency. He’d even given these to you for free!
You hold the baubles up to Shaw with an excited grin. “How about these?” Shaw takes one look at them and instantly gags.
“Fuck no. Toss those ugly things out.”
You gasp, clutching the baubles to your chest. “These have Kiro’s faces on them!”
“That’s exactly why they’re ugly.” Shaw says, totally unrepentant. Before you can strangle him with the string of fairy lights on the ground, he gestures at his handiwork. “How’s this?”
Putting aside your murderous urges for a moment, you take a quick peek at what he’s done with the tinsel and just... stare for a moment. “Shaw, you put the tinsel on the tree vertically.”
“Uh huh.” Shaw turns back to look at the tree, arms crossed over his chest. “Isn’t it supposed to look like that?”
“No.” You move forward to pull the tinsel off the tree, but as you take a step, something catches around your left leg and you pitch forward with a shriek, hands thrown out instinctively to protect yourself. “Ouch!”
You open your eyes to see tinsel tangled all around you - you must have pulled it off the tree while you fell - and both your feet caught in the strings of fairy lights. Suddenly, you hear laughter from your right and turn around to see Shaw laughing madly, one hand slapping his thigh. Annoyance wells up in you in an instant as red rushes to your cheeks in embarrassment. “Shaw, help me!”
Shaw takes a moment to wipe the tears forming at the corners of his eyes. “I must... have been very good this year.” He chortles, and you wave a fist at him in indignation.
“Nope.” But he still squats down next to you, fingers quickly moving to untangle you from the traitorous Christmas decorations. “You have to admit, that was absolutely hilarious. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard during Christmas before.”
You blink at his strange choice of words, too confused to be upset with him. “Have you... never celebrated Christmas before?”
Shaw’s fingers falter for a moment against your ankles, and for the briefest second you see his eyes mist over, as if remembering something from a long, long time ago. “Not for about a decade, give or take. As I said, it’s a stupid holiday. I don’t have time for stupid things.” He says, too casual to be genuine. Before you can ask further, however, he’s already freed you of your trappings. When he proceeds to pull you to your feet, there’s a slight grin dancing on his face. “So, how do I put these furry snakes on the tree?”
You press your lips together, wanting to ask him more, but now that he’s finally smiling, you don’t want to ruin the mood. “They’re called tinsel.” You stress, pushing him lightly towards the tree. “Here, give me one end - you hold on to the other. Because you’re such a big baby and can’t do something so simple on your own, we’ll do it together.”
“Oi.” Shaw reaches over to pinch your cheek with his fingers, but you see something warm flickering in those golden eyes that weren’t there before. “Just you wait. I’m going to be a master decorator and surpass you, Miss Christmas Expert.”
You take a deep breath to calm your stuttering heart and hold up your tinsel with a confident grin. “Oh, bring it on.”
The box of Kiro faced baubles lie forgotten on the ground behind you.
