I wanted to write some Waige fluff to follow the season two Christmas episode. This is what I came up with. No real plot, just hopefully something to give off some feels over Christmas.


"So do you want your present?"

Walter raised his eyebrows. "Present?"

"Yeah." She tipped her head to the side. "I have a little thing for you. Don't I, Ralph?"

"Yep." The boy grinned.

Walter glanced down the beach. It was only the three of them and Sylvester left. "I'll keep an eye on Ralph," the younger man said. "If you guys take too long, he can give me a soda, or something." Ralph smirked.

"What do you say?" Paige asked, using their still linked hands to swing their arms back and forth. "It's in my car."

"Okay."

She grinned, her lower lip pinned under her teeth. "Come on," she said, her tone playful, and maybe even a little mischievous. She jogged toward the car, tugging on his hand, pulling him along. He resisted at first, power walking, half-heartedly trying to pull her back with him, then grinned, picking up the pace.

"Okay, so you know how last year I said that you uh," she leaned against the car, her fingers adjusting around his hand, "needed a little bit of silly in your life?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Should I be, ah, concerned?"

She let the silence hang in the air for a long moment, a smirk on her face, then she turned, popped the trunk, and pulled out...

"Reindeer antlers?"

"Not just reindeer antlers," Paige said, slinging a few more things over her arm as she walked back over to him. "But here, put these on."

He took the felt antlers from her, feeling the wire underneath that held the shape. He heard Paige clear her throat. "Right." He secured them on his head, and she reached up to straighten them. It wasn't necessary – they were straight enough – but he had noticed that about her lately. She was always making little adjustments to his collar, his tie, his hair. It gave him a pleasant feeling – he didn't like not being self-sufficient, yet he relished the idea that she wanted to do little things to take care of him.

"Now," she said, holding up a finger to silence him even though he wasn't speaking, "let me put this on." She reached around him, fastening something behind his head, then slid the band around until something fit over his nose.

"Please tell me this isn't..." he trailed off when she pressed on the fake nose and it lit up in a bright red.

"Look at you!" She laughed, clasping her hands together.

"This is not in the spirit of the holiday," Walter said, pointing a finger at her. "This is not a present for me. You got these things for your own amusement."

"Oh but wait!" Paige shifted her weight and opened the back door of her car, grabbing a second pair of antlers for her own head.

"No nose for you?"

"A normal black one," she said, fitting it over her nose. "I'm Clarice."

He couldn't see her very well in the dim light, only illuminated by the moon and the lights from the inside of her car. "Clarice, huh? You know..." he shrugged. "Megan had me watch that with her last year and from what I remember...Clarice was the one that always believed in Rudolph. Even when he wasn't at his best, and even when it seemed like everyone else was against him. And she didn't have a..." Walter gestured at his fake nose, "but she was still special. In her own way."

"A less spectacular way."

"Eh," Walter said. "Spectacular is a relative term."

He was smiling, and he saw her expression, which had been serious, ease into a smile as well. "Now enough of this serious talk," she said reaching out and tapping the red nose. "This is supposed to be silly, remember?"

"Silly, huh?" he said. "You know I don't like looking absurd. What about this classifies it as...silly?" He reached for her, his fingers dancing around her ribcage and stomach. She reacted, bending and twisting to the side against the car in an attempt to squirm away. He stepped closer, putting less space between them and she leaned against him, still giggling, her chin resting on his shoulder. It was a strategic move; his hands were caught between their midsections and unable to continue to tickle. After a moment, they slid out from between them and rested on her back. She smiled, lifting her head to rest it against his cheek.

One of her antlers caught in his, and they laughed as they shifted their weight, untangling them. "You know," Walter said, "I don't think Clarice would, technically, have antlers."

She leaned back to look at him, rolling her eyes as she laughed. "Oh, shut up."

He chuckled, looking down. They stood there for a moment not saying anything, then he lifted his eyes to hers again. "Merry Christmas, Paige."

He couldn't see her like he could before. In their brief tickle fight, or when they were untangling the antlers, one of them must have bumped his nose and caused the red light to turn off. Paige reached out and pushed her finger against it. The light came back on, and she grinned. "Merry Christmas, Walter."