Ah, there you are. Looks like we're meeting for a special, short fic of Emison through the late holidays of 2015. I said I was going to do it and here I am.

For those of you who has never read me before, I am your author, Acquired Madness *Bows*

For those who are very familiar with me, yes, I'm back with another one haha!

This fic is a cute, fluffy special for the holiday season. However, instead of jumping right in, I've created this introduction for you. Emily and Alison in this fic aren't exactly the same Emily and Alison on the show. Made some changes here and there about the events that has happened in the past. Yes, that means no A/Charles. Another thing, I wanted them to be older in this fic but in this year frame so of course, if you compare to the show's timeline, it won't make sense. But fear not, I have outlined everything you need to know this chapter I like to call, "Prologue" where you will see who our two peas in our OTP pod are.

So sit back, relax with some hot chocolate by the fireplace (or heater, whatever you got going for ya) and enjoy.

If it's hot where you are, sit next to the air conditioner or put some ice cubes down your pants and breeze this one out.

CHAPTER #1: Prologue

Italics means thoughts, emphasized word or action. Bolded is a flashback. (….) is an indication that time has passed

A cold breeze whisks through the dark streets of a Haverford, Pennsylvania neighborhood as a low murmur of its residents give life to the special day. Making their rounds before the sunset at 5pm, the small children of the residential community were locked and loaded with their guardians on their way back home when the teenagers and the adults came out to have their fun.

"Alright so….Which way are we looking at going?" a boy looking about the age of 17 asked his three other friends that sat on bikes, huddled in a circle underneath a streetlight on a four way road that was particularly clear at that moment.

"We can just keep going straight." his friend responds with a head nod in the said direction, "Attack that area over there and we'll be closer to Christopher's house."

"Nonono." another friend disagrees with a wave of his hand, shooting down the suggestion. With his feet planted on either side of his bike and one hand on his handlebars, he points with his middle finger of his free hand in a different direction, "I say we go right. If we go into that neighbor over there, I guarantee we'll hit jackpot. Christopher lives in those whack apartments. I'm trying to go to the jawns with the green grass, water sprinklers and lawnmowers you drive to keep them shits' green." the boy and his three other friends laugh as they agree with his concept. Banded together in a mixture of two Caucasian, one Latin, and two African-American high school boys, all five of them match in attire as they recreate the famous crew from the 1979 movie, "The Warriors". Not wasting anymore time, everyone takes off, making a right on the intersection to the community of houses that welcome all for a good time of tricking or treating.

…

Getting compliments from the older generation along with their bags getting filled with an assortment of treats, the boys continue biking up a street that contains a row of decent size homes with woods separating them from the next neighborhood. In contrast compared to the city, this community is quiet and serene with nice green lawns as one of the boys commented earlier. Approaching a house at the end of the street all to themselves, they notice that this particular household was into the Halloween spirit with decorations that immediately catches one's eye when passing by.

"Woooooah…" one of the Caucasian boys stand in awe as their eyes trace over every detail on this couple's lawn and house, bringing the small child out of him, "A Walking Dead themed house!" From afar, you could see various kinds of dead bodies lying face down on the driveway path leading up to the house. In the driveway was a beat up, junk 2003 minivan that had a cracked window, blood-stained hood and a dead walker laid against the open passenger side door. With a wire fence placed strategically in the middle of their lawn, walkers were stuck on the outside of the gate, either hanging on by their fingers gripping the wires or stuck in their attempt to get through a hole in the fence. On the house itself, there are wooden panels boarded up against the windows and garbage thrown onto the garden and elsewhere give it a true abandoned look. However, unable to see the true beauty of the art from all the way out in the street, they decide to slowly pedal towards the scene in hopes of getting candy. Upon ditching their bikes on the curb, the young Latino boy pulls his iPhone out of his pocket to take a picture of the house from afar.

"This is amazing." he raises his phone up at eye-level sideways, "This is the kind of shit I'm talking about." Taking a few snaps and proceeding to walk up the driveway to the house, one of the boys trips on something unknown in the dark of the night. Knowing he didn't trip over his own two feet, he does a double take by the foot of the mailbox. He pulls out his phone to illuminate the object leaned against it just to discover it was a full body mannequin of a walker with shredded clothing and a bullet wound to his forehead. The group murmur in awe amongst themselves and even more pictures were taken of the creativity presented so far. A few moments pass and they all walk towards the front of the house, admiring the recreation of the TV show. Hearing the faint laughter of other people trick or treating in the distance, the complete stillness of this house gives it an eerie, forsaken feeling that almost gives off a bad vibe to one of the boys. Yet, since its Halloween, he shakes it off to nothing.

"They all look so life-like, what the hell?" one of the African-American young males remarks as he steps over a bloody and gashed dead walker lying on her back with her red hair dangling over her grey skin and half of her face gnawed off. "Who do you guys think live here?" he calls out to his friends over his shoulder as they examine the scenery on their walk to the door, "Young? Old? White? Black?"

"I say a stereotypical, suburban family." One of the older Caucasian boys replies as he steps over a body as well, tugging on his small left hoop earring that he only wore on his left ear to compliment his outfit, "Probably white in their mid-30's with like three kids and a fucking Chihuahua that wears clothes." His snarky, sardonic response makes his friends laugh, guessing that he's probably right sweing from the area they're in.

"STOP!"

Before they could take another step, the loud voice causes the group of bandits to freeze in their places. Not daring to move from the command that they couldn't pinpoint where it came from as they all look in different directions.

"DON'T YOU TAKE ANOTHER FUCKING STEP." Glancing up towards the sky, the young African-American male elbows his friend on the arm and points to the roof. Making everyone gaze up at the top of the house, they see the silhouette of a man standing front and center, facing the teens with what appears to be a sniper rifle in his hands. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT?!"

"This is just like that scene from the Terminus episode. Holy shit." one of the friends whispered.

"We just came for some candy! That's it!" The Latino boy raises his hands in surrendering mode, showing peace although he knows it's just an act for the Halloween scare. He decided to play along just to make this experience an interesting one. "We don't want any trouble!" The four other boys turn to look at him in judgingly but he nods his head in a silent gesture to express to them to join in with the dramatics.

The unidentified man on the roof whispers something into what seems like a phone, prompting four people to walk out the front door of the house that held dimmed lighting inside. Dressed in similar attire yet a different spin for each of them, the boys stayed silent as they watched the armed people walk halfway through the lawn, bypassing the dead walkers, to come face to face to them. Upon close contact, two of the four people who were males, vigorously patted down the boys in search of whatever they needed.

"Do you have any weapons on you?" one of the guys ask through his rugged voice as they turn their pockets inside out, not even waiting for an answer. In harmony, they all answer no as they silently wonder what the hell is going on. Ultimately done with their examination, they look back at the other two people standing a bit ways behind them so they couldn't be fully seen with the cloak of the night and gave them a silent confirmation nod. Wearing what they all looked to be a mashed up combination of the post-apocalyptic world of Walking Dead and the dystopian future of Mad Max, the men backed up a few steps as the two, now identified females, slowly stroll towards to the group. Pulling back her hood, the young woman with the long, brunette hair wore a complete light beige outfit that made her to look jagged and dirty. Her baggy, hooded long V neck shirt with the drawstrings coming down her chest peeked a sneak at the beige sports bra she had on underneath. Along with light beige finger gloves to match, her baggy and elastic legging trousers and her high top summer boots complimented perfectly the scowl and long scratch she had underneath her left eye. Beside her, the blonde sent for a simple, beige yet still deadly look with her hair in a ponytail, she garments an oversized, ripped, hooded cardigan with the adjustable ropes wrapped around her waist. With her long sleeves rolled up her arm and a left, padded wristband, she finished off her self-made costume with dusty, multi-pocketed and zippered, jeans and matching sand boots. Appearing to be broken and rugged by their clothing, Alison glares at the young boys as they have trespassed her property.

"Who the hell are you guys supposed to be?" her words come out like venom, not showing a merciful bone in her body.

"The Warriors….from the movie." One of the boys speak up as he's held prisoner in Alison's absorbing blue eyes. Blue eyes that popped almost chillingly behind her dark makeup her hard face. Not to mention the hateful glare from Emily who has not uttered not a sound as she let Alison take control and do all of the talking.

The blonde scoffs as she crosses her arms, taking a long gaze at each and every boy individually, "So you came here for some candy, huh?" The teenage boys nod their head collectively, "You think that you can just waltz into my home with your little boy bikes and just take what's mine?" Alison dangerously steps to the Latino boy without warning with a deep hiss, "Is that what you thought you can do? Just feel entitled to something that's not yours, huh?" raising her voice to prove her seriousness, she growls at the boy, making him tense up, not knowing how to react or even respond to the girl who was inches away from his face.

"It's Halloween." the older Caucasian boy taunts Alison on his friend's behalf, taking the theatrics of her, Emily and their friends' with a grain of salt, "We didn't come here for a bedtime story and a warm glass of milk."

Alison slowly turns her face in the teenager's direction with a raised eyebrow. "Looks like we have a smart ass in the group." she takes a step back from his friend and walks up to him, sizing the tall boy up and down, "You think you're funny?"

"As a matter of fact, I do." he smirks with confidence as he stares back at Alison through the ridge of his nose, "I find myself to be hilarious."

"Oh, you do?"

"Yes, I do. Your cute, little ass don't scare me."

Alison gives back a daring smile as she held her ground, "You think you're funny and you think I'm cute."

"The answer would be yes to both." he flicks an eyebrow at Alison with a cocky smile beginning to spread on his face as his friends look at him with a small laugh.

"Hm." Alison hums with her eyes trained and locked on the boy's sea green eyes. Without leaving her stance, she can feel Emily burning a hole in the young boy's face with her glower. Alison knows that is was going to be a fun round. "Alright. You want candy? You can have it." she points to the battered car in the driveway with her eyes drifting off to the rest of the boys who remained still, "It's inside a big bowl inside of that vehicle. Only allowed a handful. If you want it, you can have it." On beat with her last sentence, the sound of weapons being drawn and cocked surprise the boys into a dumbfounded like stupor as they notice not only are the men locked and loaded, the guy on the roof has doubled and they have their guns aimed at them, and Alison and Emily have also pulled out their weapon of choice. Alison a Tanfoglio pistol and Emily, not one but two, Elite Force Sub-Machine Guns for each hand. Not arming themselves with actual firearms, each person holds an airsoft weapon that shoots small beads instead of bullets. However, with the speed and power that the beads go through when the gun is fired, if hit with one, you will feel a temporary sting.

"The fuck…?" one of the boys mutter as they fearfully lock eyes with Emily who holds up both her weapons with no shame.

"That means run, bitches." Alison sinfully smiles.

Taking a running head start towards the vehicle, each boy pushes one another out their way as they stumble over each other, the product of standing so close. Without any kind of warning, some of the dead bodies that were on the ground suddenly arose, giving heart attacks to the boys who were trying to get to the car. The walkers all quickly stumble to their victims, trying to make their candy adventure more difficult by being obstacles. Alison laughs wickedly as stretches her neck from side to side. Pulling up her C02 pistol at aiming level, she starts the barrage of shooting as everyone else joined in as well. Particularly aiming at the older boy with his way with words, Emily pulls the trigger on both sub-machines, hitting all over his back to make him yelp out in pain.

"Fucking….fuck shit!" another boy yells out through his laughter as he tried to avoid the walkers that kept trying to get ahold of him.

"Yippee ki-yay, motherfuckers!" one of the two guys on the roof howl out as they look through the scope of their sniper rifle, aiming and shooting from long range at their moving targets.

His partner laughs as he lets out a torrent amount of pellets down into the driveway, "Run, piggies, run!"

"Fuck this-ah!" one of the young African-American boys clutches the back of his leg in sharp agony in the middle of his exclaim, "Fuck this shit. I'm out! Ain't no candy-ow, fuck!" he yells out again as he was pelted several times in the arm, "No candy is worth this shit!" Taking the easy way out, he runs in the opposite direction, bypassing the walkers with football like footwork, and heads in the direction of his bike. Following the path of his friend, the other three give up as well and make a break for the curb, trying to get out as fast as possible. The last one left behind from the group, the oldest member attempts to stick it out as he tries to open the car door.

"Jeremy, come on! Let's go!"

"No! C'mon, Jeremy!" now knowing his name, Alison mocks him as she adds in another full clip of ammo, "Get the candy! Get it, Jeremy, get it!"

Due to his back being assailed since he was one versus six, he was only able to grab a Twix candy bar before he tried to run away. With such quick movements, he stumbles over his feet and hits the cement ground, looking up at the walkers moaning and lurching slowly towards him. Alison gives a signal for everyone to hold their fire as she watches the boy rise to his feet, wincing in pain.

"You motherfuckers are crazy!" he cries out breathless, holding onto his side.

"We're not a stereotypical, suburban white family," Alison responds to his earlier, ignorant comment with a single shot aimmed at his leg, "we're not in our mid-30's," she lets out another shot, making the boy jump backwards, trying to miss Alison's shooting, "and we don't have three kids and a fucking Chihuahua."

"Plus, I know she's cute, Jeremy, but she's already preoccupied with somebody else." Emily grabs onto Alison's side, pulling her close as Alison giggles, wrapping her arms around Emily's waist with her eyes locked with Jeremy's as if she's proving something to him. He stands there confused like a wounded puppy, not understanding that this whole thing, the scheme, the place belonged to two girls? Are they friends or is she trying to say they're together together? Emily aims one of her guns at the boy's feet, letting go a few rounds to snap him out of his thoughts, "Scatter on now, Jeremy!" The boy flinches at the shots and begins jogging out of the front yard towards his friends with a wilted ego. Laughing at the high-schoolers, everyone jokes among themselves, mocking the boys as they watch them bike away.

"You are so aggressive." Alison chuckles with her big grin as she slides her arms around Emily's neck, swaying faintly side to side.

"I wonder where I get it from." Emily hands over one of her sub-machines for her friend to hold as she gazes down on her girlfriend with a sly smile.

Alison tilts her head to the side, squinting her eyes in uncertainty as she tried to contain the smile that Emily always had a way of stealing from her, "You didn't get it from me."

"Oh, I think I did. I'm preeeetty sure I did." Emily bends down and swoops Alison into her arms in a lift as the blonde lets out a small shriek of happiness, nuzzling her face into Emily's neck. With her legs wrapped tightly around her waist, she places a small kiss on her warm skin as Emily and the two other male friends of theirs begin walking back into their house with the "dead walkers" going back to their jobs as decorations.

...

"Holy shit, that was amazing!" a voice exclaims as everyone walked through the front doors back to the Halloween party Emily and Alison were hosting. "You guys had those guys running like dogs with their tails in-between their legs!"

"Are you guys doing to do that every time?" a female friend ask as she sips on her bottle of beer through her vampire fangs.

"No, that's just a special occasion thing." Alison replies as she hops off of Emily and adjusts her cardigan. She looks at her male friend about to pass by and passes him her pistol to put away until next time, "Normally, we just let the kids roam through the lawn and look at the decorations before they ring the door and we give them candy. But if it looks like we could have some fun with teens that look like them? Cocky and arrogant, mostly in groups? Yeah…that's when we put the show on the road and trick them instead of treating." Alison reaches up to Emily's face and playfully tugs on her cheeks with a proud smile, "Emily was silent bob this time."

"I think I gave a pretty convincing mean-mug." Emily talks through Alison's cheek tugging before she raised her own hand up and interlocked them with Alison's, "Scared them a bit."

"Mean-mug?" another friend of Emily's speaks up through a wry chuckle, "Emily, that's your face all the time. You always look at me like that."

"Yeah, that's because I don't like you." Emily drops her voice to a whisper, ending with a closed lipped smile as Alison walks Emily in the direction of their kitchen, passing through multiple guests and loud music that was just turned back on after everyone came back inside. Graduating from UPenn a little less than two years ago, one with a degree in Sports Medicine and the other in Liberal Arts, the 24/25 year old girls have been working hard making a way for themselves ever since. Emily, who has been creating her own brand since freshman year of college, has continued on with her swimming to new heights. Becoming a competition swimmer, three-time Olympic gold medalist and seven-time world champion, she currently holds the world record in the 200-meter breaststroke, 400 individual medley & both the 50 and 100-meter freestyle. Straight out of college, not only has she signed with WME/IMG, a megastar sports and entertainment agency with global clout, she has snagged a few sponsors and endorsements as well such as Speedo, BMW, and AT&T. From Speedo, Emily gets all the swim gear and clothing she needs; BMW provides her with a car and AT&T offers equipment such as a smartphones. In exchange for those levels of support, Emily must wear their brands at sporting events, appears in commercials and advertising, participate in corporate events, and makes appearances for her sponsors, all while they provide her with steady stream of income. However, being a competitive swimmer, one must maintain their status in order to climb in success not only in the water but in the bank as well. Being announced of her presence for the upcoming 2016 Olympics at Rio, Brazil, Emily must bring her A-game to the maximum to not only uphold the endorsements she has on her side now but to unlock even bigger deals that will pave her way in the future. With all of that pressure that she's constantly reminded of, she has to make sure she's in tip-top shape at all times and away from minor, avoidable things that could add to her stress level.

Then, proudly by her side to make sure everything goes the way it should be is Alison. Walking the hallways of the house is not just one busybody but two. On the opposite side of the swimming pool, Alison took her deep imagination and her love for drama and mystery to the books. For a long time, whether she's writing in her journal, writing stories for herself, or posting stories for online readers, Alison's first major recognition for her talent of story-telling was from Seventeen magazine when she submitted and won their fiction contest at the age of 19. Working relentlessly from draft after draft and story after story, a little over five years of trial and error, Alison went from winning Seventeen magazine's contest to winning this year's readers' pick for the Goodreads Choice Award YA book of the year for her book, "Larcenist's Lullaby". In 2013, she was a total break-out and has been blazing a trail ever since. Fan favorite author of four printed books: The Mermaid in the Midst (2011), Hidden Sins (2013), Freaks and Fiends (2014), and Larcenist's Lullaby (2015), she was only 22 years old when she published her first novel, "The Mermaid in the Midst". She has then publically admitted that her story was inspired by Emily and their relationship ever since they met within the middle of their high school years. However, Emily and Alison haven't always been solid as they are now. Ever since they started dating their senior year of high school, the two girls have been on and off with their relationship. Their first major breakup was during their freshman year of college. With time passing by and the intentions of making amends with each other, they got together again that summer and powered through until junior year where they had yet another fallout just to make up again. From that point on, they've been holding strong with one another like gorilla glue with both of them supporting each other 1000%. By her first novel, Alison was heralded as a young author to watch and she did not disappoint. The novel, "Hidden Sins" was No. 1 on the New York Times Hardcover Fiction Bestseller list for eight weeks. By the end of 2013, "Hidden Sins" had sold over two million copies in print and digital editions, according to the book's publisher. When asked where she got the vision to write her book, Alison explains how "sometimes we find inspiration in the most unlikely places". After the death of her mother during her senior year of high school, her identity and everything she once knew and was shattered. Since then, she's been looking at life through a different set of eyes. Alison found the spark for her second published novel while volunteering at a Halfway house for teens and young adults. She would often talk to and befriend them, learning about their past and on-going experiences and struggles in living in their version of today's world. It was then while writing "Hidden Sins" did she grab inspiration for some of her characters and birthed them into a new world that she illustrated with her words. In 2014, "Hidden Sins" had a follow up novel called, "Freaks and Fiends", which instantly gained public and critical acclaim, ultimately winning the $50,000 2014 Kirkus Prize for fiction. Not stopping her reigns this year, she released a side story named, "Larcenist's Lullaby", a book dedicated to looking into the life of a fan favorite character from the "Hidden Sins" series. With Alison writing into the hearts of millions and Emily being watched by millions, 2015 has also been a successful year in their relationship as this year was the first time they brought a home together outside the city limits of Philadelphia.

Holding onto Alison's hand as she digs through the kitchen for whatever she's trying to look for, Emily hopelessly smiles at her girlfriend in her detailed, kick-ass costume that she basically begged for her to be a part of for the longest. Being surrounded by good friends and her love that she has been through so much with makes holidays as such so much more enjoyable then being alone. And she knows she wouldn't be much of anything anywhere if it wasn't for Alison.

….

Sleeping comfortably on her side of the bed, snuggled underneath the sheets, Alison lays soundlessly asleep after her and Emily's wild Halloween party. With the light of morning, slowly peeling its way into the bedroom, the first day of November shows its excited face for the first time this year. Hearing a loud rumble of bass coming from underneath her, a muffled drum slowly plays its way throughout the house with the sound of Emily's voice accompanying it. Ignoring the noise, Alison tries to keep herself in her dream state.

"I DON'T WANT A LOT FOR CHRISTMAS! THERE IS JUST ONE THING I NEED! AND I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE PRESENTS UNDERNEATH THE CHRISTMAS TREE!"

Alison's eyes shoots open as she hears Emily belts out her singing duet with Mariah Carey. Staring at the wall of the bright and shiny room from the sun's rays, Alison sits herself up with her bed hair and eyes low, still in a sleepy mood.

"I JUST WANT YOU FOR MY OWN! MORE THAN YOU COULD EVER KNOW! MAKE MY WISH COME TRUE! ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU!"

"Are you kidding me, Emily?" Alison groans as she looks over at her nearby night stand. She throws over a lazy hand to grab and check her phone when she sees the large clock on her lock screen. "Are you fucking kidding me, Emily?"

…

Alison wanders herself down the stairs and enter the living room with her sluggish, shuffling house slippers to see Emily with her back to her, gleefully gliding in her socks on top of their hardwood floor ever so gracefully in a red Santa Claus hat and scarf.

"ALL THE LIGHTS ARE SHINING SO BRIGHTLY EVERYWHERE! AND THE SOUND OF CHILDREN'S LAUGHTER FILLS THE AIR!"

"Emily, what the hell…" Alison calls out but her words are drowned out by the music and dancing brunette, "Emily." she calls out a little louder with her tired voice but is still inaudible. "EMILY!"

Emily spins herself around in surprise to face Alison with not only a Santa Claus hat but a long, white beard to go with it. Alison's eyes widen in a mixture of confusion and shock as to what the hell Emily is wearing. Feeling that maybe she's on drugs, the tired blonde rubs both her eyes with the bottom of her palms in hopes that she's fantasizing about Emily in a Santa beard. Some kind of weird and twisted fantasy that is. Opening her eyes with still the music blaring and Emily two-stepping cheerfully in her Christmas accessories, she realizes that this was real life.

"I don't want a lot for Christmas! This is all I'm asking for!" Shimmying off her scarf from around her neck, Emily slides in Alison's direction with a prowl and puts the red scarf around Alison's neck, bringing her closer to feel the holiday spirit, "I just wanna see my baby! Standing right outside my door!"

"It's not even Thanksgiving, yet." Alison grumbles as she's being pulled from side to side by Emily's undeniable Christmas force.

"I just want you for my own! More than you could ever know!" Emily continues on singing loud and mighty as she takes Alison's hand and makes her twirl around in a circle, "Make my wish come true! Baby all I want for Christmas is you!" Emily taps Alison's unamused nose and skips away back to the living room where there were large boxes all over the floor that Alison is almost certain Emily got from the attic. As the song died down and Alison was able to hear her thought-process, she shakes her head with a sigh, not believing her eyes at what Emily decided to do at 8am. "Oh my gosh, I can't believe it's Christmas 1st!" Emily exclaims as she continues to take down their Halloween decorations from last night and putting them in boxes for them to be stored away until next year.

"…You're singing Christmas songs while eating Halloween candy in November."

"So festive!" Emily pulls out yet another accessory from an open box and prances back to Alison standing in the opening of the living room unenthusiastically. She flips one end of the scarf to fit around Alison's neck as she places a reindeer headband on her head. "Festive, festive!" As Emily sauntered yet again into the living room, Alison slothfully turns with her scarf, reindeer antlers and droopy face towards the kitchen with the shuffling of her slippers dragging against the floor.

"I'm going to need some fucking coffee for this. This is too early..."

There you go. Seeing Emison in their natural habitat in the late 2015. How did you like it? Can you feel the festivity? The next chapter will skim the road to Christmas. And I mean skim. Yes, we still have Thanksgiving and everything but nobody has time for that, we're just trying to go to the 25th. And the 25th we shall go.

Review your feelings as you all know who much I am a sucker for thorough and/or fangirl like reviews ;) Want something that you would like to possibly see? Add it to your review and you might just see it!

*Reminder: It is tis' the season and we all have places to go and people to see so my ultimate goal is to release the chapter(s) by the 25th or maybe a few days afterwards if I can't make it then. However, I promise I will deliver :)

*Aggressively plays Mariah Carey in the background* "SO FESTIVE."