A/N: So the papaya is back with another fanfic. This one is a short christmasy AU, cos I know if I try writing anything based on 'Malice' I'll run over till after the finale. Ahhhhhh! The finale. I'm so sad and happy at the same time! Anyway, I hope you enjoy reacing about Lyra and Will as normal people. As always, please tell me what you think about the story. Papaya out... :)

Disclaimer: I don't own HDM. (At this point I've just given up trying to make disclaimers interesting.)


Ma Costa was famously known for her Christmas shortbread. Of course she could whip up many other delicious treats, but nothing could compare to her rich buttery shortbread.
So Lyra and Will had both volunteered to help her whip up a particularly big batch for the wholesale company she sold it to. It would be perfect. Stealing bites of shortbread and getting 'work experience' at the same time.
But unfortunately, Ma Costa wasn't so lenient about her shortbread. After working tirelessly to clean her equipment (this is an exaggeration) she would allow neither Lyra nor Will to get a single bite of the shortbread.
"I've got the batter done. Now when I come back in an hour I'm expecting all of my baked shortbread in perfect condition. That means no snacking on the shortbread, and no snacking on any of the other baked goods either. I'm trusting both of you with my kitchen. Do not ruin that trust." And with that lengthy speech, Ma Costa left.
Leaving a very mischievous Lyra, and an easily swayed Will, on their own.
"So, we've got to waste forty minutes. As soon as the shortbread and minced pies come out, we'll snack on them, but until then-"
"Didn't she specifically tell us not to eat anything?" Interrupted Will.
"Well we'll just say I wasn't listening. And plus, she's Ma Costa. She'll forgive me."
"Another time and I'd let you have free reign. But this is work experience. It'll go on out CVs!" Will said urgently.
"So are you suggesting that I will be denied a job in the future just because I snacked on a Christmas treat?" Lyra asked matter-of-factly.
"No. But-"
"So? You see there's nothing to worry about."
She pranced around the table, stopping so that she was next to him.
"You know you can't argue with me anyway." Lyra said.
"Only too well." Will sighed exasperated. "But kidding aside could you possibly be a bit more serious? It'd be harder for you or me to get a job in the future if Ma Costa said we had a reputation for being irresponsible."
"God! Sometimes you act as if you're my guardian. Can you stop trying to grow up already? You've still got a few more years to be young and party. Twenty is four whole years away."
"Three years away for me." Will retorted.
"Sometimes I wish you were Roger instead." Lyra said back.
Lyra could see Will's demeanor immediately change. His stance became slightly aloof and his face was creased in annoyance. "Why do you keep on bringing him up?"
"Cos he's my other best friend. Why, you got a problem with that?"
"N-no." Will stammered. "It's just that you keep on talking about him." He hesitated slightly, looking away from Lyra. "Is- is he your boyfriend?" He looked at her doubtfully.
Lyra could have burst out laughing on the spot. "M-my boyfriend?" She asked incredulously. But Lyra held her amusement in. She was curious to see Will's reaction. "Yes, he is."
Will's face fell almost instantly. She could see he was trying to hide some form of pain but he wasn't doing a very good job at it. The expression on his face almost broke her heart. But why it was there she had no idea. Unless...
div dir="auto" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: inherit; font-family: 'Segoe UI', 'Segoe UI Web (West European)', 'Segoe UI', -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #201f1e;""Hang on a second." She said. "Are you jealous?"
"Wh-wh-what! No!" He shouted with a bit too much feeling. "Listen, I'm really happy for you-"
She put a finger gently to his lips that could do nothing but stop him from blabbering on embarrassedly. "Will, he's not my boyfriend, I was just curious to see your reaction."
"He's not your boyfriend?" Will repeated dumbly.
"No." She said, feeling guilty for provoking him. "But what made you feel so down about that? Are you jealous?"
"No." Will said quickly. But seeing Lyra's raised eyebrows he corrected himself. "Y-yes," he sighed, "I'm just a bit possessive when it comes to people I like. As in platonic like, not you know... Like, like. I mean not that I'm surprised if someone did like you that way, you're pretty cool... But I don't feel that way, so you don't have to worry about that. I mean-"
"Will, it's good. I was just joking around. I know you don't like me in that way." A voice whispered in her head that he did, and she felt her cheeks heat up. Truth be told, Lyra had always privately thought of Will as more than a friend, but she had never voiced her thoughts, she had been scared that it would mess up their friendship. More than once, Will had very slightly betrayed that he felt the same way, but Lyra was as oblivious to this as she was oblivious to the fact that the she and Will happened to consequentially standing under some mistletoe.
"Y-yeah." Will said. But being Lyra's best friend, he could easily read her face. She was lying. About not knowing about how he felt. "Actually no. I know, and you probably also know on a subconscious level..." He faltered, fidgeting with his hands. His eyes caught sight of the mistletoe above them. Lyra looked up to see what he was looking at. Both immediately blushed and made eye contact.
"We're under the mistletoe." Lyra whispered.
"Yeah." Will said. "Do you wanna move away or-"
He was cut off because Lyra had grabbed his shirt and pulled his lips to hers. His mind went absolutely blank. Two years of pent up frustration were poured into that kiss. Lyra was holding fistfuls of shirt and kissing him in a way that confused both of them. But Will didn't care. He placed a final soft peck on her lips and pulled away.
"That was..." Will started.
"The most weird and enjoyable sensation in the world." Lyra finished of for him. "But the enjoyable trumped the weird so I wouldn't mind doing it again." She added cheekily.
Will chuckled. "So, about stealing that shortbread, I think it's ready to come out of the oven."
"Well..." She said, "maybe not the best idea considering our CVs."
"So now you say that!"
She smiled. "Sorry... But anyway, I think there's something I need to tell you, that I think the kiss already told you, but I'd like to repeat it." Lyra felt her knees go weak. What if after everything it still weirded him out? But Will had already started speaking.
"I know Lyra, I love you too." The smile on his face was so cute that Lyra felt her heartbeat pick up by ten times. He leaned down and kissed her lips again, this one a bit longer. When they broke apart they both had goofy grins on their face. The entire atmosphere had changed. Both were too shy to break the blissful yet scary silence.
So they just filled it up kissing each other again and again.


Ma Costa knew as soon as she was within five metres of the kitchen that something was wrong. She could smell the unpleasant whiff of burnt food immediately. Maybe she shouldn't have trusted the two teens with her kitchen. She felt annoyed and frustrated. She wasn't going to forgive Lyra easily for this one.
But as soon as she opened the door, her annoyance turned to shock, which quickly melted into a smile.
Lyra and Will were talking together hand in hand, their foreheads touching. She said something that made him laugh, and then he bent down to peck her lips.
Ma Costa had been waiting for this since she had first met Will. She had instantly noticed the change in Lyra's demeanor as soon as she'd started talking about him. And now they'd finally realised that they were meant for each other.
It was a good thing Tony had forced her to buy some mistletoe.
They really were the most sickeningly sweet couple she'd ever had the pleasure of knowing.
"Am I interrupting something?" Ma Costa asked out loud, clearing her throat.
Lyra's head immediately whipped to her face and the couple quickly separated. Will was looking at the floor with a very noticeable blush. But the one thing that Ma Costa couldn't help but realise was that they were still holding hands.
"M-ma Costa..." Lyra stammered.
"Have you burnt the shortbread? Because the kitchen happens to smell rather unusual."
"Burnt the shortbread! Oh we're so sorry Ma Costa, I didn't realise. We forgot." Will embarrassedly apologized.
"Hmmm... Forgot. Well young boy, you don't seem the type to forget. Tell me. What on earth could have preoccupied you?"
The amount of secret worried glances that passed between them made the corners of Ma Costa's lips twitch up.
"Well don't worry, I'm not going to put this on your CVs. But you both owe me three more hours of work."
"Yes Ma Costa." They chorused.
Ma Costa walked up to the table and dumped a bag of flour on it. She looked at the couple from the corner of her eye. She hated to make them more awkward then they already were, but she couldn't resist a final comment.
"Ooh, that's funny. I forgot Tony put the mistletoe there. Sorry about that."
The effect on Lyra and Will were immediate. Ma Costa had to bite her lip very hard not to laugh.
"Well, I'll leave you to it. Just don't set my kitchen on fire."
And with that, she walked out.
"As soon as Ma Costa was out of the room, Lyra turned to Will.
""Do you think she realised?" She hissed.
"That we were under the mistletoe? Most definitely."
-THE END-