Cole was the first to arrive, and Tali ran across the room when she saw him in the doorway, leaping onto his arms and kissing his neck and face, screaming “Mistletoe!” as he stared at her in alarm.

Okay. So she’d hit the wine a little hard while she was cooking. She was nervous. Even with Cass here, this was going to be weird.

“Gross, Tali,” Ella muttered from the couch. “There are children present. Merry Christmas, Cole.”

“Thanks, darlin’,” he said. “Got a present for you here. Luckily, I don’t think it’s fragile or your insane aunt would have shattered it.” He leaned down to pick up the bag he’d dropped, reached in, and tossed her. She caught it deftly and immediately started ripping off the wrapping paper.

“Yes!” she screamed as she pulled out a video game that looked post-apocalyptic and violent. “You’re the man, Cole.”

“That’s a lot more enthusiasm than I got for any of mine,” Tali grumbled.

“Your presents were great too, Tali,” Ella said. “But like.... They only shipped five copies of this to our shit town and I did not get one of them. This is pretty legit.”

“You hear that? You’re legit,” Tali said, taking Cole by the hand. “Come meet Cass!”

“Oh,” he said, a little startled. “Yeah, okay.” She pulled him into the kitchen, where Cass had been “helping” her get dinner ready. Or more accurately, sitting on the counter, keeping her company and drinking wine, because Tali was a control freak in the kitchen and Cass could not handle it.

“Cass, this is Cole,” she said brightly.

“Hey!” Cass said warmly, coming forward and giving Cole a hug. Tali saw his shoulders stiffen. “Merry Christmas!”

“You too,” Cole said, looking relieved as she pulled away.

“I wish I knew Tali had a gorgeous pilot boyfriend before I booked my flight from Nome,” Cass said, winking. “I went for the first name that came up, like an idiot. Sorry, Cole.”

“Oh,” Cole muttered. “I...I mean, don’t worry about it.”

Tali grinned at her beautiful, awkward hunk of man, throwing an arm around his shoulder and kissing his cheek.

She had hoped, perhaps, that the fact that Cass was not from the town and was crazy outgoing might draw him out a little, but he was still a little shy, even after she handed him a glass of wine. He stood by her though, letting her fondle him absently as she chatted with Cass, and that was nice.

She loved him, and she loved Cass, and she loved Christmas, and she loved wine, and this day was going to be amazing.

Then the doorbell rang, and she remembered why maybe it wouldn’t be.

Hudson.

Oh boy.

“I’ll get that,” she said, giving Cass a pointed look that conveyed “Oh shit.” “Babe,” she said to Cole. “Stir that sauce for me, would you? I trust you way more than Cass with this task.”

She went to the door and flung it open, smiling warmly at Hudson. “Merry Christmas,” she said, throwing her arms around him. And then, without thinking, she pressed a quick kiss to his cheek.

He looked surprised. “Mistletoe,” she muttered a bit sheepishly. And wine. A lot of wine. “Come in! It’s freezing! Where’s Koda? I thought I said to bring him! Did I forget to tell you that?”

“Oh,” Hudson said, laughing a little bit at her boisterousness. “Well, I’d heard you had your cat here now, and I didn’t want him freaking it out.”

“Aww,” Tali said. “That’s sweet. But Sushi is currently being a jerk and hiding upstairs anyway. Maybe you can go grab him later. Poor thing shouldn’t be alone on Christmas. Hey, meet Cass! She’s amazing, and she came up here out of nowhere, because she’s amazing!”

She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him inside, shutting the door behind him.

“Hi,” Cass said, eyes dancing.

“Hey,” he said, walking in and extending a hand to her. “Nice to meet you. I can assume you’re responsible for getting Ms. Tuesday wasted before 3 p.m.?”

“Hey!” Tali shouted indignantly. “I’m not wasted…”

Cass laughed. “She’s a grown-ass woman. Who loves Christmas way too much. You try stopping her.” She shrugged.

“I wouldn’t dare,” Hudson joked. “Welcome to Alaska, Cass. I’m Hudson. Which your not-wasted friend neglected to mention. How was your trip up?”

“Long,” Cass said “And a little terrifying. Those tiny-ass planes are about as much fun as a root canal.”

“Tell me about it,” Hudson said. “First time I rode one was the closest I ever came as an adult to wetting myself.”

“I think I did, a little,” Cass grinned.

“No judgment,” Hudson said.

Tali smiled, watching the easy conversation flow between them.

Okay. This was going to be okay. Cass could entertain Hudson, while she made sure Cole got enough attention and was made to feel at ease. Ella would either ignore them all for her video games, or be equally nice to all of them.

It would be okay.

And it was. Mostly.

They even shook hands and said a very, very stiff, “Merry Christmas” at the same time.

Beyond that, they didn’t exactly talk to each other, and it was painfully obvious to all involved that they purposely weren’t, but everyone put up a good facade of pretending the whole affair wasn’t ridiculously awkward.

Tali and Cass carried most of the conversation at dinner, though Hudson and Ella contributed as well, asking Cass lots of questions about LA, what she did for a living, what Tali was like in her early twenties. Ella had been particularly interested to hear that Cass was into photography, as she’d been developing an interest in it lately herself. Tali couldn’t follow the technical aspects of their conversation at all, but them talking helped distract from the tension that lingered in the air between the boys.

“Are you going to be shooting anything while you’re up here?” Ella asked.

“I’d like to, for sure. As scary as that plane ride was, it’s definitely beautiful up here. I mostly do fashion and cityscapes at home, but I’ve always wanted to get more into nature photography. Closest I’ve come was taking some shots of the raccoons that constantly raid the trash cans outside our apartment.”

“Not sure how much time you’ve got here, or what your plans are,” Hudson said, “but if you want I can take you out on the boat one of the days you’re here. There’s some really nice glacial caves not far, and the seals are still bopping around in the harbor most days.”

“That would be awesome!” Cass said brightly.

Tali listened happily, holding Cole’s hand under the table, giving it a squeeze.

“Ooh, can I come? Cass, can you teach me some stuff? We have a photography teacher at the school, but I think he’s kind of a fraud. He’s definitely never had any of his stuff in a gallery in LA.”

“Of course, sweetheart. Sounds fun!”

A little while later, they’d migrated to the living room. Ella had suckered Cole into playing the video game he’d bought her, and they were currently both yelling angrily at the television as aliens were blasted into smithereens.

She, Cass, and Hudson sat around drinking wine and chatting.

“So Tali,” Hudson smirked, scratching her cat near the base of one of his ears. Sushi was draped across his lap, loving every minute of it. “Haven’t you not seen this creature in three months? One would think it would be your lap he’d find his way to…”

“You’re in dangerous territory there, Quinlan,” she growled. “Think very carefully about whether you want this conversation to continue in this vein. Unless you want your eggnog poisoned.”

“I’m just saying. He seems to like me a lot. That’s gotta hurt, a little…”

“Cass, I think you should take this traitor back home with you,” Tali grumbled. “Or maybe just chuck him out of the plane as you go over some mountains.”

Hudson looked affronted, and immediately clapped his hands over Sushi’s ears. “She doesn’t mean that, little guy. She’s just jealous. And sensitive.” He looked up, shaking his head at her. “I know you think we’re just a bunch of hicks up here, but we take cruelty to animals seriously. It’s not his fault I’ve got so much raw animal magnetism.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Gross,” she said. “Anyway, speaking of animals. Koda. I’ve got a lamb bone with his name on it. Go get the poor thing and bring him over here, would you?”

“If you think that having him over here will help your bruised ego, you’ve got it all wrong,” Hudson said, getting to his feet. “He’s all about the shiny and new, that dog. Trust me, he’ll be all over Cass. You’re old hat though, Tuesday. You’ll see.”

“Ugh. You’re the worst. Get out of here,” Tali teased playfully, giving him the finger. Then she reached over and slapped Cass on the thigh. “Come on, babe, let’s go make that eggnog.”

She stood up and pulled Cass to her feet as Hudson walked out the door. The two of them headed for the kitchen.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Cass gripped her shoulder hard and said, “Whoa!”

“What’s the matter?” Tali asked. “You too drunk? I promise, I will not make this year’s eggnog as strong as last years.”

“Nah, babe,” Cass muttered. “That is not it.”

“What’s wrong then?” Tali asked, puzzled.

Cass looked at her through wide eyes and gestured wildly toward the door they just walked through. “That. That whole thing. You and Hudson. Whoa.”

Tali froze for a moment and forced herself to look as neutral as possible as she blinked. “What? What about it?”

Cass gave her the most withering “Bitch please” expression Tali had ever seen.

“Are you seriously going to stand there and tell me I did not just witness that crazy electric chemistry?” Cass whispered, looking super intrigued.

Tali’s face went hot. “Cass, you’re drunk. And hallucinating. That’s...we were just talking. About nonsense. Our pets. It was stupid.”

“Stupid hot,” Cass murmured. “You’ve got a thing for him. I mean, how could you not have a thing for him?”

Tali frowned, annoyed now. “Cass, please stop. You’re being ridiculous. Seeing something that’s not there. I’m with Cole and I love him. Like, a crazy amount. You know I don’t say that lightly. You know I’ve never felt anything like that for any guy, ever, in the entirety of the four years that I’ve known you. And maybe you’re...you’re projecting, because you like Hudson more, and because he’s friendlier, and Cole’s been kind of closed off. He can’t help it. I wish you could see the real him, because he’s so amazing...”

“Babe,” Cass said, reaching out and taking her hand, squeezing it. “Slow down. I’m sorry.”

Tali had tears in her eyes. Why the...? It was the booze. It had to be the booze. Fuck eggnog. She didn’t need any more tonight.

“I... it’s fine,” Tali muttered. “You’re just wrong, okay? Maybe it’s because the last time I talked about him to you, I totally hated his guts. It has you reading into it. And look, I definitely don’t hate him anymore. Far from it. He’s great. He’s obviously great. But that’s as far as it goes.”

“Okay,” Cass said. “I’m sorry. I get it. You love Cole. And I can see why. He’s just as gorgeous, and he clearly adores you, and he seems great with Ella. I’ll try harder to get past his walls and see more of what you see in him.”

“Good. Thank you. He’s really amazing, Cass. He’s just...had a hard life. It takes him a while.”

“I get that,” Cass nodded. “But uh, can I just say one more thing?”

“I have a feeling I’ll regret this, but yeah. Go ahead.”

“You may not, at this moment in time, have a thing for Hudson. But he absolutely one hundred percent has a thing for you. Okay, bye!” Cass said in a rush, turning around and bounding back into the living room before Tali could muster an outraged response.

No, Tali thought. No he doesn’t. We’re friends. We’re just friends.

Shaken, she walked back into the living room to see Cass leaping over the couch between Cole and Ella.

“Is this Call of Duty, brahs? I am like, way into Call of Duty,” she said in her best—and surprisingly good—surfer dude voice.

“No. It most definitely not Call of Duty,” Ella laughed. “Wanna play?”

“Absolutely, I do,” Cass said cheerfully. “Let me show those robots who’s boss.”

She heard Cole laugh softly. “They’re not robots. They’re aliens.”

“My bad. But we want them to die, right?” Cass asked.

“Yeah. Yeah we do,” Cole said, passing her his controller. She watched him explain, kindly, if somewhat stiltedly, what each of the buttons did. It ought to have brought her a sense of relief, but somehow it didn’t. Not entirely.

She turned around and headed back into the kitchen, where she furiously scrubbed clean every single dish they’d used.