Under the Mistletoe (Literature) (Patreon)

It was the night before Christmas, and with all the picturesque  storybook qualities you might expect from that phrase. Snow gently  pattered the window pane and gathered in fluffy rows across the sill.  The soft crackly laughter of the fire blotted out the wind, the distant  caroling and cheering as the night came alive with multicolored lights,  everything but the cheesy Christmas rom-com playing at a medium volume,  but enough so that it felt like the world could melt away. In that  moment, all there was, all there needed to be, was Candice and Mallory,  spending Christmas Eve in their PJs and snuggled under blankets with hot  mugs of cocoa, Candice’s house all to themselves. It was the night  before Christmas, and at that moment, Candice felt like she finally  understood the comfort that phrase was always meant to encapsulate.

Mallory  giggled at some joke made by the helpless romantic of a main character.  Though Candice had been too distracted to hear it, she laughed along  with it into her mug of cocoa. The next time Mallory smiled over at her,  Candice gestured to her with her mug. “Is the cocoa okay?”

Cupping both hands around her mug, Mallory nodded and took a big sip. “It’s really good! What brand is it?”

Candice  grinned and posed up with the mug next to her face. “Candice brand!  Okay, well… not from scratch or anything… But I put my own spin on it! A  little cinnamon, a pinch of vanilla extract, some Christmas cheer…”

Mallory  giggled so hard she nearly spilled her cocoa in setting the mug down!  “It’s really good!” She smiled as she wipe a cocoa-mustache from her  face. “My compliments to the chef!”

Candice beamed wide, then  realized that something to eat *would* be nice! “Snacks?” Candice  offered, to which Mallory eagerly nodded. Exaggeratedly kicking off her  fleecy plaid blanket, Candice rose off the couch and nearly skipped  across the living room to the kitchen. When she reached the pantry,  Candice spent a good few minutes fretting about the shelves. What treat  would make the night perfect? Popcorn? That’s basic… Something sweet?  Candy canes? No, the mint would clash with the cocoa… Gingerbread  cookies? They didn’t have any… Maybe I could make some with Mallory,  Candice thought to herself! Maybe that’d be fun! Or fruitcake! Or figgy  pudding, whatever that was! Agh, Christmas was so full of so many  desserts!

“Candice!” Mallory called over from the other room. “Are you coming back or what?”

“Be  right there!” Candice called back over her shoulder. She decided,  ultimately, to just keep things simple, grabbing the bag of pretzels off  the top shelf and filling a big enough bowl so they could share. She  couldn’t help but want to be carried away… it was the holidays, after  all! And the first Christmas with Mallory! Candice was buzzing with much  excited nervous energy, she felt like she could run ten miles in the  cold! She really wanted the night to go well… “Coming!” Candice called  out as she clipped up the pretzel bag, scooped up the bowl, and merrily  spun her way back into the living room.

“Back with the snack-  BWAH!” Candice jumped back in surprise, fumbling the bowl and sending  pretzels all over the carpet. As she had gone back to the kitchen,  Mallory had stood up on the couch, bent over, and pulled down the back  of her PJ pants! Candice nearly walked face-first into a bright white,  bare ass moon! Mallory craned her neck to look behind herself, giggling  and shaking her doughy backside.

Scoffing, Candice playfully  planted a hand on Mallory’s right cheek and pushed. “That was  surprising!” Mallory laughed harder as she dropped off the couch,  shimmying her pants back up.

Bing bong! The doorbell rang, the  muffled sound of caroling behind the door! Putting the now-half-full  bowl of pretzels down on the coffee table, Candice looked over at  Mallory to see her smirking with an impish charm, her thumbs still  hooked over her waistband. It took Candice a second to realize what  Mallory was silently suggesting… and then she smirked right back.

Mallory  took her position in front of the door, turned around, and bent over,  as Candice carefully gripped the knob of the front door. Swiftly, she  yanked open the door, then darted next to Mallory and pulled down her  own PJ pants. Hearing the door swing open, the carolers glanced up from  their song books, spirited smiles ready and a song on their lips. But  the first note came out as a collective gasp, as they looked up to see  two full moons aimed their way! Candice and Mallory giggled and shook  their bare keisters, sending the carolers running off aghast! Both girls  collapsed to the floor and laughed until tears were in their eyes!

When  the chill brought in by the wind became a bit much, Candice finally  picked herself off the hardwood and went to shut the door. As the wind  hissed along the jamb as the door closed, though, Candice heard  something else: Mallory sighing. She turned around to see Mallory once  again hike her dark-green tree-patterned PJ pants up and over her hiney,  but her expression had plummeted. She almost looked like she was  remembering something sad. The sudden shift in mood worried Candice.

Realizing  she had yet to pull her own pants back up, Candice hastily recovered  her exposed rear and hopped over to her crestfallen friend as she walked  back into the living room. “Everything okay?”

Mallory blinked  like she had been shaken out of a trance. “Hm? Oh, yeah! Yeah,  everything’s great! Really,” she insisted when Candice still looked  skeptical. “This has been a really nice night!”

Candice nodded,  but still wasn’t entirely settled. Something in Mallory’s insistence  felt almost forced. “Well,” she finally said, pretending to take an  interest in readjusting a bough of holly hanging off the wall clock.  “I’m glad! But… y’know… if something’s bothering you…”

Knowing  well enough where this was going, Mallory sighed. “It was just… some  random train of thought.” She nudged the half-empty bowl of pretzels  aside and sat down on the coffee table, wringing her hands. “This  night’s been so nice… it’s just the first time in a while I… that it  felt like Christmas. And that just reminded me…” Mallory’s eyes got  glassier as she trailed off.

Candice crouched around the coffee  table scooping up the pretzels she’d dropped all over the floor. As she  listened, she kept looking up at Mallory, and froze staring at her when  Mallory trailed off. “Did… did something bad happen at Christmas?”

Mallory  was quick to jump up - a print of her backside left in the dust on the  table. “No, nothing like that! It’s just… at some point, Christmas  really stopped being a thing at my house. And so it stopped being  special. Guess I just forgot how it felt… Y’know, the Christmas spirit,  and all that…” It sounded like a good thing to Candice, but Mallory’s  tone was still somber.

Eager to get her friend’s frown back the  other way around, Candice rushed over to the trash bin with what few  pretzels she’d collected off the floor, then back over to grab Mallory’s  hand. “Well… wanna finish the movie? Still pretty early, maybe we can  squeeze in another after! Or we can bake cookies or something!”

Mallory  looked up at Candice with grateful but sad puppy dog eyes before  lightly pulling her hand out of Candice’s. “I… I think I’m gonna turn in  early, if that’s alright. Kinda sleepy.”

“…okay…” Candice  nodded, but she was reluctant to let the night end on a sour note. “Or…  we could… Oh!“ Candice jumped. “The parade’s passing through soon! We  could moon that! Would that be fun?”

Mallory thoughtfully wobbled  her head, but didn’t smile. “I dunno. I’m just gonna go lie down. I’ll…  Merry Christmas, Candice.” She smiled sweetly, then jogged up the  stairs to guest bedroom she’d be staying in for the night.

“Wait!  What about your present?” Candice called after her friend and watched  her go with a twinge of sadness in her belly. She stood for a while at  the bottom of the stairs, and when Mallory didn’t come back, Candice  stomped over to the living room and sullenly plucked the remaining  pretzels off the carpet. Occasionally, she’d glance up at the paused  romcom and its tableau of cheesy, overdone drama, and she’d sigh. The  night had been going so well! Was it not enough? I guess, Candice  thought to herself, there wasn’t too much to make this night much  different from any other night they were hanging out, just more colorful  lights inside and out. Well, I’m not going to give up that easily!  Candice silently, triumphantly stood, accidentally dropping most of the  pretzels she had been picking up. I’m gonna give Mallory all the  Christmas spirit I can! And I know just how to do it…

Candice  fought her giggles as she zipped around the house to put together her  plan. Even though Mallory and she agreed there wouldn’t be any gift  exchange this year, Candice had wrapped up a little something for her  friend: a voucher for Tasty’s Frozen Yogurt from their first (and last)  day working together, the first day they met! The voucher had been one  of the many collateral casualties of the day’s mixup, having been fished  out of the yogurt spill. If you held it up to your nose, you could  smell the Sweet and Tart that had soaked it! Candice thought it made for  a nice souvenir from the day they met, and couldn’t wait to see the  look on Mallory’s face! But the present wasn’t the plan…

Quiet as  a mouse, Candice crept past the guest room and silently rummaged  through her closet until she found it: an old, slightly-raggedy Santa  suit from a part-time job a few years back (and not one Candice fondly  remembered!). Candice balled up the lot of the matted fabric and snuck  her way downstairs, nearly bursting at the seams to stop herself from  giggling! Once back in the living room, Candice cast a glance over her  shoulder, listened to be sure Mallory wasn’t up and shuffling around,  then began worming her arms through the jacket sleeves. Candice wasn’t  going to be the one delivering the gift… it would be Santa! Okay, well,  she was still obviously going to look like Candice, but that wasn’t  important! Candice’s plan was simple: dress up like Santa, drop out of  the chimney, then hand a delighted Mallory her gift! She’d overflow with  Christmas spirit! And most importantly, it’d ensure the night wasn’t a  bust!

The plan hit a minor snag almost immediately. It had been a  few years since Candice last wore the suit, and those years had seen  her develop more… sizable assets. The suit wasn’t actually all that  tight on her, but when she put on the jacket, it was just that little  bit too tight that movement wasn’t exactly comfortable, and with how  fleecy her PJ pants were, the trousers were an even tighter fit! She  wouldn’t be wearing the suit long, but she’d need a greater range of  motion to work with if she wanted to prop herself up in the chimney. Of  course, there was one simple but slightly awkward solution: strip off  her PJs, then don the suit. Which Candice would have done in a  heartbeat… if she had been wearing underwear. The thought of putting her  privates in the cheap, time-worn fabric of a mall-based Santa outfit  grossed her out a bit. But she’d thoroughly washed it since then, and  it’d only be for a bit! So after checking again to ensure not a creature  stirred in the house, Candice cast the costume aside, dropped her  pants, then pulled her penguin-patterned sleep-shirt over her head.  Quickly and quietly, she then balled up her PJs and stowed them behind  the couch, then dressed herself in the Christmas colors. The cheeky side  of her hesitated before donning the costume entirely, wondering if she  shouldn’t just try the plan naked! Definitely would make it a moment to  remember! But this was about the Christmas spirit! And what would be  more festive than Candice Claus coming down the chimney?

Once  properly attired in the clothes of Father Christmas, Candice couldn’t  help but dance around in front of the Christmas tree, ready to put her  plan into action! She stowed Mallory’s present in a little brown satchel  stitched to the back of the Santa jacket, then spun the dial beside the  fireplace to turn off the flames. “Mallory!” Candice called out in a  singsongy voice that was intentionally quite loud to mask the sound of  her sliding the iron fireplace grate out of the hearth. “Can you come  down a sec? I wanna show you something!”

As soon as Candice heard  Mallory’s muffled call back that she’d be right down, Candice giggled  to herself and crouch-walked into the fireplace. She stood up in the  pitch-dark chimney slowly and carefully. Not exactly roomy, but enough  room for Candice to wiggle around a bit! Imagining in glee what  Mallory’s face would look like seeing her drop into the fireplace,  Candice wormed her arms away from her sides and pushed her hands into  the bricks around her, bit by bit climbing enough up the chimney that  her boots could not longer be seen! Suspended in the chimney by her  hands and feet carefully planted against the walls of the chimney,  Candice Claus was in position and ready for action! And she could hear  Mallory pattering down the stairs…

“Candice?” Mallory called out.  “Candice? What’d you want to show me?” Candice could hear Mallory’s  voice echo up the chimney from different angles, getting louder as she  got closer and moving around as she searched for Candice. “Candice?  Where are you?” Candice could hardly keep her giggles in! She felt like  she’d burst! Mallory was right in the room! Patience, Candice told  herself… wait for the right moment…

Candice heard Mallory again,  quieter but MUCH closer than before. “Brr… so cold in here…” A shadow at  the foot of the hearth blocked out some of the tree lights. Mallory was  right in front of the fireplace! Now’s the time! Santa’s coming to  town!

A delighted “Ho Ho Ho!” was on the tippy-tip of Candice’s  tongue when she froze. What was clicking? And why was Mallory still in  front of the fireplace?

FWOOSH! Right beneath Candice, the  fireplace started back up! Oh no, Candice realized! Mallory turned the  fireplace back on! Orange fire snapped just a foot beneath where Candice  was hiding! This was NOT part of the plan!

“Candice? Mallory  called again. Candice could hear the grating of the grate being slid  back in front of the fireplace, then Mallory called out again from  farther away. “Candice?”

“Mallory!” Candice called out, but  either she was too quiet, the fire crackling too loudly, or a bit of  both! This wasn’t good! Mallory wasn’t there anymore, and the heat was  making Candice’s hands all sweaty! She was losing her purchase in the  chimney! She slid and inch down, but fought to get back up! How high  could she climb? There wasn’t any way out at the top! And she was  sweating from the heat… her hands were slipping… She tried to walk her  legs up the wall in front of her and push her back more into the wall to  try and wedge herself in place…

“AAHHH!” Finally, Candice’s  palms got too sweaty, she missed a step on the wall, and she plummeted  the short ways down the chimney! Her legs got stretched up and she slid  down the brick tube in an awkward V shape, meaning the first thing to  touch ground was her signature bubble butt…

“WHOAAAHHHHHHHHH!” Candice squealed as her buns roasted on the hot logs!

Frantically  thrashing and kicking, Candice wormed the rest of her body down the  chimney and kicked the fireplace grate out of the way and into the  coffee table as she tumbled into the living room!  “HOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOT!!!!!!!” Candice swatted at the flames burning her  backside as she scrambled to her feet and shot across the room in a mad  dash to the backyard! She nearly kicked the back door off its hinges  and practically jumped over the deck stairs to get down to the backyard  covered in cold, cold snow! As soon as her boots crunched flakes,  Candice planted her own back door in the snow and immediately felt  relief!

“Ahhhh…” Candice sighed a puff into the freezing night  air, hugging her knees and shimmying her cheeks deeper into the ground  as the snow cooled them off. Candice had thought her ass had felt like  it was on fire before… she had no idea!

Mallory’s present! In an  instant, Candice snapped her head up and reached her hands around  herself to pat at her back and feel for the sewn-on satchel, and  breathed another sigh of relief. The satchel didn’t feel damaged, and  she could hear the wrapping paper crinkle where she patted. Whew… at  least that was okay…

“Candice? Candice?”

Again, Candice  snapped to attention. She craned her neck up and saw a few locks of  Mallory’s purple hair bouncing out from the back doorway. “Candice? Are  you out here? Candice?” But before Candice could so much as consider  whether or not she should call up or not, Mallory shivered and  disappeared from sight, the back door shut, and the tumblers locked.

If  not out of care for the present on her back, Candice would have fallen  down in the snow in defeat. What a bust! All that work for a pair of  singed butt cheeks and Mallory to probably be worried out of her mind!  Candice sighed and saw her breath again as she stood and brushed the  snow off her keister before looking behind herself to check out the  damage: the seat of her Santa pants were scorched all the way off, and  what she could see of her bubble butt cheeks was as red as Christmas  ornaments. Wouldn’t this be a fun one to explain… Butt still stinging,  Candice trekked up the hill to the front yard, no options left but the  front door, trying to think up how she’d do just that to Mallory.  Hopefully she at least wouldn’t make the night any worse for her…

As  Candice crested the hill and could see the street, though, she froze,  and not from the chill. It was Christmas Eve and most everyone in town  was in one way or another preparing for the Christmas parade the town  held. Kids put finishing touches on snow people, competitive neighbors  were stringing up more spools of lights to outshine one another, but one  person on the sidewalk caught Candice’s eye: they wore a long, dark  purple coat, and underneath a pink and white bobble hat, their hair was a  dark red candy color.

“Candice?”

Emma? Why was Emma  there?! She lived on the other side of the county! Why would she be in  Candice’s neighborhood, on the sidewalk right in front of her house?!  Seeing an obviously-haggard Candice jog up, Emma turned and frowned,  confused and a little concerned. “You look like hell. What happened?”

It  took Candice a second to snap back to her senses and sputter out a  coherent reply. “I-… er… E-Emma! What- what are you doing here?! At my  house?!”

Emma’s eyes widened for barely half a second, just  enough for Candice to notice. She slid one of her hands deeper into the  front of her coat. “Just… passing by. Getting ready for the parade.”

The  parade? Why would Emma care about the parade? Candice squinted harder  to make out Emma’s hand in her jacket. She was holding something big…  “Yeah… yeah,” she idly responded as she looked harder to see what it  was. “That… that’s tonight…”

“Yeah… I know…” Candice realized she  was staring at Emma’s chest area for far too long like a weirdo and  snapped upright to attention. Emma was frowning harder, but ultimately  rolled her eyes and started walking away. “Well…” She paused as if  something was on the tip of her tongue, then she just sighed and walked  away. “Merry Christmas.” And so Emma power-walked down the sidewalk,  walking she she was determined to get somewhere…

I should get  back inside, Candice thought to herself. Mallory’s probably worried. But  curiosity kept her in place. Whatever Emma was up to, it couldn’t be  good… Had Candice caught her about to do something to her house? Was  Emma about to ruin her night? What if she was just walking away to come  back later? Better to follow her, Candice resolved. She was done letting  Emma walk all over her! Gotta be sure she’s not going to stick her  bratty nose somewhere it didn’t belong and ruin Christmas! Besides, it’d  give Candice time to come up with a good explanation for when she got  back to Mallory…

A chill reminded Candice that her back door was  still open. She gasped and was quick to throw her hands behind herself,  even though she was facing front towards the street where everyone was.  She couldn’t follow Emma with her butt hanging out! Her solution wasn’t  the greatest, but it kept her rear end covered: Candice took off her  Santa hat and dropped it down the back of what remained of her pants.  Because of the triangle shape, the tops of her butt cheeks weren’t  entirely hidden, and the puff at the hat’s tip made it look like she had  a weird tail, but it’d have to do! Butt covered up, Candice set off  after Emma, to see what the redheaded bully might be up to!

Of  course, it’s difficult to be inconspicuous in a bright red Santa outfit.  Thankfully, Emma’s equally-conspicuous hair color made it easy to keep  track of her from the other end of the block or so that Candice kept  between them. Though Candice was acting all sneaky after her, ducking  when Emma turned corners and crouching behind snowmen built in various  yards, she probably didn’t have to, she realized. People shoveling their  driveways or overseeing their kids playing in the snow would wave at  her with funny looks, and eventually Candice realized she probably could  just walk like a normal human being. To everyone else, she probably  just looked as excited as anyone else for the Christmas parade! And no  one seemed to notice her slapdash patch job covering her butt, but it  weighed on Candice’s mind like a lump of coal! Even when she switched to  a more casual mode of pursuit, she kept her hips turned whichever  direction was away from the eyes of the neighborhood!

Speaking of  the parade, it wasn’t long before Emma was passing through thick of  things, cutting through the stretch of the neighborhood in which the  parade was being set up! Dozens of families and volunteers crowded  around extravagant papier-mâché floats of Santa’s sleigh and the  reindeer to go with it, as the big man himself stroked his beard and  waved down from the biggest float, all the children gathering around  shouting what they really wanted that year. String of Christmas lights  flashed between red and green, and some of the smaller floats with big  candy canes on them were getting leashed up to pairs of horses. It  always seemed like too much to Candice, but seeing everyone in the  neighborhood come together like they were doing was always heartwarming  to her.

However, her heart was very cold right about then. With  the parade about to start, the crowd was getting too thick to navigate  through! “Excuse me!” Candice yelped as she tried to muscle through.  “Trying to get through!” But so many people streaming every which way  buried her voice in the crowd, and no one even batted an eye! “Excuse  me- AH!” Candice was finally pushed back by some big parent that was  apparently tired of the girl shouting in their ear! “Oof!” Candice fell  to the ground hard in a huff. Merry Christmas indeed!

Worried  about how she might get through, Candice went up on her tiptoes. Emma  was getting away! But this crowd was so packed into the street! Still  tippy-toed to her tallest, Candice desperately looked all across the sea  of people for some opening. The only space Candice could spot through  which she could move was through the parade setup. That’d be okay,  right? She was just passing through, she wouldn’t be in the way for  long! Emma was getting further away…

Taking a deep breath,  Candice jogged around the outside of the crowd, past all the people and  all the way around until she could slip in between the floats. “Excuse  me!” Candice grinned and waved as she sidled by all the volunteers in  between the floats and the SUVs lining the block. “Sorry! Just trying to  cross the street! Merry Christmas!” Barely anyone paid her much mind,  but those that did were eager enough to wish her a Merry Christmas right  back! At least some people felt the spirit! Everyone she passed seemed  to get cheerier! She even heard someone whistling Christmas songs!…  Wait… that wasn’t a song… was it a… wolf-whistle?

Aghast, Candice  threw her hands behind herself and her fears were realized. Her hat was  gone! It must have slipped out of her pants when she was running, or  maybe when that jerk pushed her! How many people did Candice just pass  that got an eyeful of her bare ass crack?!

“Ho ho ho!” Gulping,  Candice glanced up and saw Santa himself waving down at her from atop  the sleigh float. “I like your outfit!” he complimented Candice. Hands  glued to her bared backside, Candice could only grin sheepishly up at  the man in red before taking off at a much faster speed, desperate to  make it out of the parade!

A little tent was pitched up ahead!  Candice recognized it from the year she herself volunteered! It’s where  the horses were kept warm until they were brought out to pull the  smaller floats! With the parade nearly ready, there wouldn’t be many  people in there! So Candice made a beeline for the detour, hoping to  pass right through and get away from all the activity before the entire  neighborhood saw her butt!

The warmth greeting Candice as she  passed through the flap was immediately gratifying. To her surprise,  however, she wasn’t alone in the tent: one last pair of horses tilted  their heads up as she came in, a pair of beautiful chestnut-brown  clydesdales! Immediately, one padded over to Candice as she tried to  dart past and began nuzzling her with its snout. “Hey there guy! Hey,  sorry but I gotta…” But the horse kept nuzzling, and Candice couldn’t  help but stop and stroke its snout. “Aww… you are such a sweetie! How’d  you get so sweet?” Candice ran her fingers through the horse’s mane. Did  the horse remember her? She helped with the horses a bit when she  volunteered, had this been one of them? “Hey there,” Candice cooed.  “That’s a good boy.” After a few more scratches, Candice began backing  away, remembering she had a redhead to find! “I’m gonna go now, okay?  Okay…” Candice slowly lifted her hands off the horse’s snout… only to  get shove forward from behind!

“Whoa!” Candice spun around and  saw the other horse lifting and lowering its head again and again,  nickering and pawing the asphalt beneath its hooves. “Easy there! Easy!”  Candice backed up as the horse advanced, clearly not as open to sharing  its space as its twin! “Easy! Easy!” As the horse snorted, Candice  turned to run, only to trip over the curb! Next thing she knew, she was  on her hands and knees, and something was pulling at her! No… pulling at  her *pants*!

“Bad horse! Bad!” Candice shouted as she tried to  crawl away, but the angry horse had lowered its head and clomped its  stupid horse teeth down on her Santa pants! It jerked and jerked and  shook its head like mad, pulling hard so the pants’ waistband dug into  Candice’s hips, more and more fabric being stretched away from her  freezing hiney! Candice could hear stitches popping! “Stop it! Stop it!”  Candice tried so hard to crawl out of the tent, but that only made the  pulling even worse! Her pants were completely off her butt, and only  barely clinging to her thighs! But Candice kept fighting!

Out of  the corner of her eye, then, Candice saw the shape of the second horse  loom over her, but her relief quickly turned into an angry cry of “Not  you too!” Soon enough, the same pulling pressure was tugging at her pant  leg! “Nooo! I hate horses!” Candice cried out as she kicked and  struggled, losing the battle of keeping her pants above her knees!  “Stop! Stop!-“

RIP!

Candice was interrupted by the  stitches finally giving way! Her pants were torn from her body as she  tumbled out of the tent, sliding face-first across the snowy ground.  Immediately, she shot up like a rocket, swatting the snow out of her  jacket! “COLD COLD COLD!” Candice frantically rubbed down the front of  her jacket and shook snow out of her, only to pause when she looked all  the way down and looked up her bare, slender legs, until her eyes landed  on her bare crotch! She was bare-assed pantless outside! “EEK!” Candice  squealed!

Hurriedly, Candice spun around to run back into the  tent and get her pants back, only to freeze upon hearing some stranger’s  gentle voice and seeing their silhouette moving inside the tent.  “Alright you two, last ones out! About time we got this show on the-…  Now what is that you got there? Here, give it… Have you lot been  sneaking around the costume department?”

If the horse wrangler  said anything more, Candice didn’t hear it as she sprinted away from the  tent as fast as her legs could take her, hands behind her over her  exposed bubble butt! She dashed to the first bit of cover her eyes  landed on: a sizable snowman built on a yard behind the parade set-up!  Without a moment’s hesitation, Candice sipped behind the snowman,  crouching down behind his base and peering around his body. No one  seemed to see her… but what was she going to do? Where did Emma go? She  couldn’t see anything through the crowd! And oooooooh was it COLD!  Shivering in place behind the snowman, Candice rubbed her hands up and  down her thighs, every part of her from the waist down ice-cold! Except  her butt cheeks, which were still singed from the fireplace! In fact,  the cold felt pretty good on them… What a Christmas Eve this was turning  out to be! Candice quickly patted the satchel and sighed with relief  feeling Mallory’s present still safely stowed inside!

Mercifully,  she didn’t have long to wait before an ear-splittingly-loud rendition  of ‘Jingle Bells’ blasted out of Santa’s float, and the parade slowly  began moving forward, followed by the cheers of all the families from  around the neighborhood! From there, Candice waited for what felt like  an eternity for the song to get quieter with distance. After long  enough, Candice chanced peeking out again. The crowd was very quickly  thinning, either following the parade or just going back inside. There!  Emma! Way down a few blocks! Admittedly, Candice was hesitant to get  back on the redhead’s trail - what with only a single, ugly Santa jacket  being her only stitch of clothing left - but she had come too far to  just ignore Emma now! She could be up to something, something that could  ruin this night even more-

PFFF!

“Yowch!” Candice jumped  nearly three feet in the air as a snowball burst against her bare butt!  Rubbing the point of impact, Candice spun around to see a pair of young  boys scooping more snow off the ground and packing it into more ammo.

“I hit her butt!” one of the boys jeered. “500 points!”

“Nuh uh!” the other said. “It’s too easy to hit for 500!”

“Hey!”  Candice whined before realizing she needed to get out of there ASAP!  “Don’t look!” she very futilely cried out as she sprinted away, as  snowballs shot past her on both sides! Why did every kid with snowballs  have the same idea when she was around?!

Getting back on Emma’s  trail was a lot harder from that point on! With both hands clasped over  her crotch, her bubble buns freezing out in the elements, Candice ducked  behind bushes, hedges, and lawn decorations, being very careful in  peeking out to keep an eye on where Emma was heading! The Santa jacket  was too small to be pulled down for any sort of coverage, meaning  Candice had only her hands and what she could duck behind to cover her  private parts! Candice had to crouch and wait for long stretches before  she saw no one else around and could make a break for it! But her run  was far from stealthy! Most times she was bent low behind an inflatable  decoration, the owner would see her crouching and scare her off the  lawn! More than once she was racing past a house with its lights on,  only to look over aghast and find one or two of the people living there  leering out at her! Embarrassed as all get-out, there wasn’t much  Candice could do but sheepishly grin and race away, covering as much of  herself as she could! But through it all, she kept on Emma’s trail!  Where was she going? Much longer and Candice thought she might freeze to  death, if embarrassment didn’t do her in first!

On one home’s  lawn, Candice crouched behind a low hedge, slowly rising up to peer over  and locate Emma again, only to see her standing right at the door to  that same house! Stifling her gasp of surprise, Candice dropped to the  ground before very slowly sitting up for another peek. Emma was standing  still in front of the door. Candice could see her breaths billowing out  very calmly. Her hand was still tucked into her jacket, over whatever  she was hiding…

Why here? Candice quickly studied the house.  Kind of an off-yellow paint job… shingle roof… not too big, but two  floors… It seemed weirdly familiar. Emma was still at the door. What was  she waiting for?

Finally, with one hand Emma rang the door bell,  and with the other, she pulled out what she had been hiding in her  coat… It was shiny, but hard to properly make out from Candice’s hiding  spot. A minute passed, then Candice heard the door open. Emma stood up  taller, a hopeful smile on her lips.

“Hi… Hannah! Your mom said you’d be here…”

Hannah?!  What was she doing there?! That wasn’t her house… Wait… That’s her  friend’s house! Claire! That gave Candice a bit of pause. Why wasn’t  Hannah at her own house on Christmas Eve? And why was Emma looking for  her?

Emma’s voice had dropped low, so Candice couldn’t quite hear  what was being said. Curious and worried as she was about what the two  of them might have been discussing, Candice carefully climbed into the  yard and crouched across the snow. There was a window on the first floor  just up ahead, next to a small evergreen! Maybe she could see something  there…

“…about everything,” Candice caught as she crouched up to  the window. Emma’s voice was a bit murmury, but audible enough. Candice  couldn’t see her from her spot at the window, though, just Hannah from  the back. The blonde bully was clad in unflattering grey sweats, with  her hands on her hips in a posture that said she wasn’t in a mood to  take any crap.

“…I took things too far…” Emma continued. “And…  I’m sorry.” A pause. Hannah’s posture didn’t shift. “I… I got you  something! M-Merry Christmas!” Candice leaned closer and saw Hannah  reach her hands up and accept something: a nicely-sized present wrapped  in gold paper with a violet bow tied over the top. Candice watched  intently as Hannah simply held the gift box, standing so still Candice  could have sworn time had stopped.

Then Hannah abruptly spun on  her heel. Gasping, Candice quickly dropped out of sight of the window!  She listened on high alert for any sounds suggesting she’d been caught,  but she didn’t quite hear any. What she did hear was difficult to  identify: a loud hiss and a persistent crackling sound. Then heavy  strikes like stomping feet. Then what was unmistakably a door slamming  shut.

Cautiously, Candice peeked over the window sill. Hannah had  vanished - though Candice could hear her voice muffled somewhere in the  house along with what she assumed was Claire’s - and the front door was  clearly closed. Standing up a bit more, Candice scoured Hannah’s living  room to figure out what had just happened, but all the decorations  seemed to be in place and the furniture untouched. But then she saw the  fireplace, and what had been thrown inside: Emma’s gift, gold paper  peeling off the box in smoking tatters.

SNAP!

“YEEEP!”  Candice jumped straight in the air, hands flying back to her butt!  Something just whipped across her burnt backside, and it stung like  hell! How much rump abuse was she going to take that night?! Her butt  was going to be sore until next Christmas…

She quickly turned  around and saw Emma clapping snow from her mittens, frowning daggers at  Candice. Emma had pulled back a branch from the snow-coated evergreen  Candice was perched beside, then let it whip back across Candice’s  exposed butt! “What are you doing?!” Emma barked at the half-dressed  dork creeping around Hannah’s house.

Candice brushed snow and bristles off her butt and glared at Emma. “W-what are YOU doing?”

“Why are you here?!” Emma asked.

“Why are YOU here?!” Candice countered.

“Where are your *pants*?!”

Perhaps  the most valid question of all. Candice glanced down and remembered how  she was naked from the hips down, her crotch bared to the elements.  Hannah had an inflatable Santa decoration on her lawn, and Candice  hopped behind the “Happy Holidays!” sign he was holding for some cover.  She didn’t realize the Santa was waving the sign, though, meaning her  cover continually went back and forth from covering her private parts,  but she never noticed and neither girl truly cared at that point. “I…  er… I!… well…” Candice had a tough time putting together an explanation  that wouldn’t make her sound like a stalker or a pervert! “You see…”

Emma’s  frown got snarlier as she interrupted, “Seriously, what are you doing  creeping around Hannah’s house… almost completely naked?!”

Literally  nothing Candice could say in defense of herself would sound good, so  she changed the subject. “Well… why are YOU here? I thought Hannah hated  you!”

Emma’s expression abruptly fell, but only for a moment.  “She doesn’t hate me…” Her expression fell a second time, but she  quickly shook it off and lowered her voice. “How much did you hear?”  Then she frowned. “Were you stalking me? You creep! Do you not have  anything better to do?!”

“I’m not a creep!” Candice snipped, only  to remember her state of undress and crouch a bit lower behind the  Santa decoration. “And what about you? Do you not have anything better  to do than to pester people trying to enjoy their Christmas?”

Emma turned solemn very quickly. “I was bringing her a gift-“

“She  doesn’t like you! No one likes you!” Candice shouldn’t be yelling so  loud, she realized, but part of her didn’t care. “Because you’re a  brat!”

Emma’s solemn expression was getting heavier. “You better watch what you say… you dork…”

Candice  just folded her arms, stood up taller, and spoke with more power than  she ever had before. “No! You’re a brat! You stripped my best friend  naked in the middle of broad daylight, and for what? For a laugh? You’re  despicable! No wonder Hannah threw your gift away! No wonder all your  friends abandoned you! No wonder you’re the laughing stock of the  school!”

Emma was scowling so hard her face looked ready to shatter. “Candice, I mean it-“

“You’re  a brat, and you’ve had this coming for a long time! You deserve to lose  your friends!” Fuming, Candice spun on her heels, threw both hands over  her exposed butt, and marched away. Why even bother? Why even come  here? What a joke…

“I’m sorry.”

Candice stopped in her  tracks. Had she heard that right? No way she did… but Candice was frozen  to the spot, and not literally. Slowly, skeptically, she turned back  around to face Emma. Her red hair covered her face like crimson curtains  as her head hung low, her arms folded tight around herself. “I… I’m  sorry,” she quietly croaked a second time.

Candice felt struck dumb. She wouldn’t have expected those words out of Emma’s mouth in a million years. “Um…”

“Look.”  Emma’s voice wasn’t raised out of anger anymore. “What I did to your  friend… I wasn’t…” Emma groaned and began agitatedly kicking at the  snow. “It’s like… one day I was at the top. Next thing I know…” She  lifted her head so an amber eye peered out from between her red locks.  “I’m a bigger loser than you.”

Candice wasn’t sure she believed  any of that, but it still gave her pause. She turned the rest of the way  back to Emma, ready to hear her out.

Emma sighed deeply and  sadly. “I was an idiot. I took a swing at Hannah, for no better reason  than just… I didn’t wanna be second fiddle anymore.” Emma formed fists  and her eyes glistened. “Then everything after that… just kept getting  worse and worse. Constantly being stripped and humiliated in front of  everyone… losing all my friends… probably never even really were my  friends…” she muttered just loud enough for Candice to catch. “So when I  saw your friend,” Emma directed at her, “I thought… ‘here’s a chance.  Here’s someone beneath me.” They both knew how that had turned out.  After stopping a moment with an expression like she was seeing all the  crowds all at once, Emma swallowed and continued. “After that I  realized… I realized what a… horrible bitch I’ve been. I… I didn’t even  know her. And what I did to her… Everything I’ve put you through, it  was… I’m sorry. I mean it. And I know you don’t trust me. None of what  I’m saying probably means anything to you. But…” She swallowed again and  spoke very clearly, putting effort into getting every single word  right. “I hope… I hope I can somehow make it up to you. I wanna be  better. I’m… I’m not gonna bully you anymore. I promise.” And she stared  at Candice with big, full eyes, arms still crossed tight like she  wanted to make herself so small she might disappear.

It took what  felt like ages for the words to seep into Candice’s brain and make  sense. And when they did… she shook her head. “I… I don’t…” Candice just  shook her head again. “You’re right. That doesn’t mean anything to me.  You say whatever you want, I’m not falling for it!” Some nearby noises  prompted Candice to talk louder. “The second I let my guard down, you’re  just gonna humiliate me all over again! It’s not gonna work! So just go  away-“

Candice suddenly realized why she needed to talk so loud.  Sounds were approaching them: engines running, hooves clopping, and  carols being sung. Candice’s body went numb. The- the Christmas parade!  It was turning down the street! And Candice had no pants on! Car  headlights swept over her stock-still body! The parade was coming too  fast for her to hide, and there wasn’t even any place she *could* hide!  Everyone was gonna see her standing there with no pants on, if not  spotting her crotch, then feasting their eyes on her bare bubble butt!  There had to be a hundred people coming her way! Candice was stricken  mortified! She would never live this down!

But then something  unexpected happened: Emma stepped in front of her. By the time Candice  realized what was going on, at least a quarter of the parade had gone  by. Emma stood right in front of Candice, blocking her from the sight of  dozens and dozens of waving neighbors. Again, Candice was stunned. What  was happening? Seeing Emma come at her, a thousand scenarios had raced  through Candice’s mind, scenarios like Emma holding her in place bent  over to show off her ass to the parade, or Emma holding Candice down on  the ground keeping her legs spread apart for the neighborhood to gawk  at! But what Emma did was… help her. She kept her covered… and it was  unreal to Candice!

Emma held her position until the last car  rounded the corner and the clopping of hooves was far, far away. She  then turn around to Candice with a very serious, silently insistent  expression.

Candice would have never believed Emma’s words, but  her actions struck Candice dumb. It took her a long time to put together  enough sense to speak. “…even if you really did mean it… there’s  someone else you need to apologize to.”

Emma frowned, but not angrily. She almost looked… nervous. “She… Your friend would never forgive me.”

Nor  should she, Candice silently replied. But there was something in Emma’s  eyes that softened her anger. Candice couldn’t help her sympathy for  Emma getting so publicly humiliated… and more than a little twinge of  guilt knowing she was personally responsible for some of those  occasions. Maybe she did take things a bit too far… but it wasn’t like  Emma didn’t deserve it! Still… It seemed so impossible a snob like Emma  could feel any guilt, but… if she really meant it… since Candice played a  part in getting to to that point… it only seemed right to help her on  the right path.

And so Candice sighed. “Her name is Mallory. And if you really meant what you said, being better… that’d be a start.”

—

With  the parade gone and past, the way back to Candice’s house didn’t take  very long, but time doesn’t move so fast for a girl with no pants and  ice-cold legs! Thankfully it was late enough that most everyone was back  inside, but even then, Candice was surprised to have Emma help keep her  out of sight! She walked super close in front of Candice to keep those  parts out of sight, while Candice covered her butt with Emma’s bobble  hat! Emma had insisted Candice hang onto it, even though Candice didn’t  really want it or trust the help! But they made their way through the  streets, and no one saw Candice ass-out-streaking… So far Emma was  proving herself, but Candice still wasn’t entirely trustful…

When  they finally rounded the corner onto Candice’s street, they immediately  spotted Mallory on the front porch. The poor, distraught girl was  shivering like mad, huddled up in Candice’s sea-foam bathrobe and  calling out for her missing friend! When Mallory saw Candice and Emma  all bunched up like they were, she didn’t recognize them at first. Upon  realizing it was Candice coming up the walk, Mallory cried out in joy,  “Candice!!”, and darted down the front steps to greet her with a hug! “I  was so worried! Where’d you go? And what are you wearing?” Mallory then  drew back from the embrace a bit and blushed. “…and where are your  pants?” Then she noticed Emma lurking nearby, kicking at the snowdrifts  on the driveway. “Wait, and why are you with her? What’s going on? What  happened?”

Candice quickly reached back out, put her hands on  Mallory’s shoulders, and gently began pushing her back towards the  house. “Hey! I’m sorry if I scared you! But can I explain inside? I’m  FREEZING out here!”

As Candice guided Mallory back into the  house, she cast a glance over her shoulder to see if Emma was following.  At first she wasn’t, just standing on the driveway with her head down  and her arms crossed. When she finally looked up, Candice raised her  eyebrows and nodded towards the front door. With a sigh Candice could  tell she tried to make silent, Emma rigidly followed the others inside.

“Aaaaaaah!”  Candice was practically shuddering when the door shut behind her and  rejuvenating warmth brought life back to her frozen lower body! Stomping  the snow off her feet and rubbing her goose-pimpled thighs, Candice  glanced up to see Emma backed up against the door with the same  head-down-arms-crossed stance from before.

Mallory stood at the  opposite end of the parlor, her own arms folded and a frown across her  face. Flickering fireplace light from down the hall made her eyes look  like a darker blue. “What is she doing here?”

Candice looked over  at Emma, but the redhead was still shyly looking down. It made Candice  hesitate for a second, seeing how genuinely nervous Emma was to do this.  Maybe it really was hard for her… “Well…” Candice inched over and  grabbed Emma’s wrist. “Emma here… She wants to tell you something.”  Candice guided Emma a few steps closer to Mallory, even as Emma looked  at her with wide, terrified eyes. But Candice held firm and pulled her  until she was standing right in front of Mallory - who backed out of  arm’s reach as Emma got closer.

Emma was silent for a long time.  She took deep breaths and swallowed before finally looking up at Malloy.  “…I’m sorry. I’m sorry I… that I made you skateboard through town…  naked… I’m… I’m trying to not… be like that… anymore… Really…” Her  volume got quieter and quieter as she lowered her head. “…sorry…”

As  far as Candice could tell, Mallory’s expression didn’t change, but she  was silent for much longer than Emma had been. Emma kept staring at her,  but Mallory had looked away, impassive but obviously in thought. Then,  she finally answered: “…kiss my ass.”

Even Candice could tell how far Emma’s mood fell. The redhead bit her lip, but nodded. “I get it…”

“No,  no,” Mallory quickly interrupted, realizing how what she said sounded.  “I meant… like…” After fumbling with words for a few more seconds,  Mallory clumsily turned her back on Emma, bent at the hips, and pulled  her PJ pants down to moon her bare butt at Emma. “I mean… prove it.”  Mallory reached back and pointed to her bare booty. “Kiss my ass.”

Emma glanced sidelong at Candice, who just shrugged. Her test was right in front of her. Up to her to take it.

After  a contemplative moment, Emma sighed and stepped closer to the mooning  Mallory. Hands on her knees, Emma hesitated, before finally puckering  her lips and slowly lowering her face to Mallory’s butt, planting a peck  on the right cheek, then the left. Then she pulled back and stood up,  quietly making ‘ech’ noises.

Mallory turned around slowly -  pulling her pants back up - but she didn’t seem satisfied, still  frowning. She folded her arms. “What you did was really mean,” she told  Emma. “I’m not gonna forgive you for it right away.” Candice saw  Mallory’s fists tighten, but her next words came out softer. “You’re  gonna have to do more than that…”

Emma nodded very insistently. “Totally get it. And I mean it. I’m gonna do better.”

Mallory  took another moment to really think it over… before nodding without  smiling. “Okay.” Emma smiled, and after long, Mallory couldn’t resist  turning up the corner of her mouth a little. While the bad blood  wouldn’t go away… for the moment, there was a promise that it eventually  could.

After a long enough silence, Emma fake-coughed into a fist and side-eyed Candice. “So, uh… you gonna put on pants?”

Remembering  her state of total pantslessness, Candice sheepishly covered her  crotch. “Here,” she said as she undid her Santa jacket, meaning to wrap  it around her waist to cover up.

What she had forgotten was that  she hadn’t worn a shirt or anything under the jacket. Candice realized  her lapse in judgment right as she pulled the jacket off, flashing the  others with complete frontal nudity. Both girls’ eyes widened. Candice  blushed.

The jacket fell from Candice’s hands. Her first instinct  was to cover herself with her hands, but she thought about it a second.  “You know what?” Candice put her hands on her hips, breasts bouncing as  she stood taller. “Why don’t I just stay like this all night?” She  nodded at an amused Emma. “If you really mean all that stuff you said,  then you wouldn’t take this opportunity to prank me or anything… right?”

Emma’s  response was the only one Candice could have never anticipated. “I’ll  do you one better.” The redhead reached down and delicately unfastened  her belt, unzipped her zipper, and dropped her jeans around her ankles.  Her panties had little candy canes on them! Emma then gripped the bottom  of her t-shirt and lifted up, up and over her head, no the garment  beneath, her milky boobs flopping freely as she shook out her red locks  and tossed the shirt to the side. Finally - to a stunned audience - Emma  hooked her thumbs over her panties’ waistband and worked them all the  way down her shapely legs and stepped out of them. Emma planted her own  hands on her hips in a weird sense of pride, just as butt naked as  Candice! After standing tall with an almost prideful pomp that made her  breasts bounce, Emma turned her back to Candice and gently bent at the  hips, offering Candice her tight set of bare buns! “Hit me with your  worst,” Emma invited with a shake of her hips. “I owe you that much.”

Candice  stared at Emma’s proffered pale cheeks for a while before hesitantly  raising a hand, though not very high. Maybe it was the surprise, but all  the rage Candice had felt before, the scorching memories and  vindictiveness she felt towards Emma earlier… it was all gone. No more  anger. Candice hovered her hand an inch over Emma’s round butt, before  sighing and letting her arm fall to her side. “How about we watch a  movie instead?”

Emma craned her neck around to look at Candice, face caught between a frown and a smirk. “You sure?”

Candice nodded and pointed past the nude redhead. “I’m sure. Living room’s through there. Wait there for us?”

Emma grinned and nodded before straightening and strutting through the parlor, to the fire-lit living room up ahead.

“Um,  you can put your clothes back…” Candice trailed off as Emma’s pale ass  strut out of sight through the living room entryway, all her clothes  still piled up by the welcome mat. Candice shuddered a bit imagining  Emma planting her naked privates on the expensive living room furniture…  but at the very least, Emma going au natural was pretty convincing  evidence that she meant business, and that was comforting on its own…  though still a little weird…

Mallory very slowly crept up to  Candice, fists balled by her chin, face beet red, eyes averted to the  side. “Was this… your idea?”

Candice shook her head. “Believe it or not…”

Nodding to herself like a thought crossed her mind, Mallory sighed and looked Candice in the eyes. “I don’t think I trust her.”

Candice  nodded. “I don’t know that I do either… but I’ll go with it if you  will. We can always push her outside if she tries anything.”

Mallory  thought about it, then shrugged. “I’m… I’m gonna keep my clothes on, if  that’s alright.” She giggled, and so did Candice, who crossed her arms  over her chest and crossed her ankles, not embarrassed, just cold.

“Oh!”  Snapping to the realization, Candice crouched down and rummaged through  the Santa jacket satchel. “Almost forgot!” She fished the present out  of the backpack and proffered it to Mallory. “I wanted to give this to  you earlier! Before I lost my pants!” Realizing how that sounded,  Candice backpedaled, “Not that I ever *planned* to take off my pants! Or  anything else!…”

Giggling and peeling her eyes off Candice’s  chest, Mallory took her present and opened it. She recognized in a  single glance what it was immediately and gasped. Candice couldn’t help  but beam. Mallory smiled back, heart filling full, a tear brimming in  her eye! It was the most thoughtful gift anyone had ever given her! She  was so lucky to have someone like Candice in her life!

Both girls  hesitated and looked up. They had accidentally positioned themselves  under a bough of mistletoe. How did that get there? When they both met  each other’s eyes again, each girl chuckled awkwardly, blushing and  stepping away from one another. But then… something shifted in both of  them. Something in the quiet wind outside brought them that step closer  again. Their eyes met and stayed locked together, firelight from the  next room putting a twinkle across Candice’s autumn brown eyes and  giving Mallory an aura that made her look…. angelic. Fingers interlaced.  Breath quickened. Though frost yet spread over the windows, a warmth  suffused their bodies. No matter the cold bearing down outside, there is  always a warm place to return to. And so they were brought closer  together by this warmth, as carols rang outside, snowflakes melted in  fractal patterns on the pane, and the spirit of love and goodwill filled  a happy home, and brought them closer to one another. In that moment,  it was only them.

And sometimes that’s all you need to make a night feel like magic.