Disclaimer: I don't own Push and its characters and make no profit from this fan-written fiction.
Author's Note: Inspired by a cuddling meme.

O Tannenbaum: shallowness

Another taxi in another time zone. This time, Cassie's shut herself off in her corner for the whole journey. Nick's just glad their driver hadn't wanted to talk either, and tips him for it.

"We're here, Cass," he rasps, tired too. "Let's get out."

Here is the hotel that the driver chose. There's a biting wind that's out to get them, but Cassie doesn't seem to have the energy to shiver, even. Nick takes both their cases out of the trunk and doesn't bother giving Cassie hers. He hustles towards the entrance, glad there's no revolving door. After the warmth, the decor and the mood music hit him. Nick manages a half-grin at the thought that the driver believed they'd fit in somewhere that pipes in classical music. Maybe the guy felt sorry for Cassie, and at that thought, Nick's grin fades.

"I'll get our rooms," he tells Cassie. She nods.

There's no queue or hold up at the reception desk, and the woman's attitude is perfunctory, which is fine. Nick was expecting raised eyebrows, instead he just gets keys. He turns for Cassie and the cases, except the cases are on their own.

Panic shoots through him. The place seemed quiet, but not quiet in the way that would have triggered his instincts. Cassie would have had a warning. She would have screamed. He heard nothing. He scans the area quickly.

She's standing in front of a Christmas tree tucked in the corner of the lobby.

His heart rate slows as he walks towards her. Long hair, short skirt, taller than when he first met her, taller than the tree she's staring at. He doesn't say anything, just comes to stand beside her, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her to him. Her body curls towards his, but she still stares at the tree like she doesn't believe in it or its gold baubles and tinsel.

"I forgot the date," she says in a small voice.

"No, you didn't. It's still November. They're the ones who got a little ahead of themselves," Nick says, and Cassie wraps her arm around him, letting her face rest on his chest. She's holding on to him tight. He used to not know what to do when she held on to him like that. Now – there have been so many time zones, so many places where they could have lost each other – he holds on to Cassie just as tightly.

Fin.

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