his holiday gift

[Seraphina Hope]

Mika had been born in the evening of December 5th. Afterwhich, time itself seemed to have slowed down when people were among him and his mother. For two weeks, he was inseparable from his mother, and alleged father, Tristan. Things in that department, or anything at all relating to Mika was complicated, especially the new forming relationship between his 'parents'.

On the 20th of December, Seraphina had agreed to be away from her very small baby boy for the evening. While nurses from the hospital wing cooed at him and kept him safe, Seraphina had dressed herself in a nice pair of black pants and black polo top. There was nothing too fancy about her clothing, and she certainly hadn't had the money to purchase a ballroom gown like on Halloween night. Her hair however, was formed into large curls that hung down over her shoulders, and she had put on a bit of makeup ; a bit of lip gloss, some eyeliner and cover up to even out the color of her face.

Tristan had arrived much earlier to welcome the guests, where as she was arriving an hour late, but she had been busy with Mika. Nearly everyone had heard about the birth of their son. Whispers and rumours were spread very quickly among this company, so there was no surprise when a few heads turned to glance over at her. Many people were dressed a little more professional than she was, but she didn't seem to mind it.

She took a glance around the room, finally landing her eyes on Tristan at the opposite end of the room that this party was taking place in. She knew he hadn't been too happy about hosting the party, as he had mentioned he did every year, which was partially a reason to her agreement to stop by and get out of the apartment.

She tucked a curl behind her ear, and slowly began to make her way across the room to him. She noticed him dressed neat and clean in his suit, and almost felt tempted to step back and dissapear. She was underdressed, but looked fabulous none the less. She made the decision to take a few more steps, and came to stand next to him. Things were complicated yes, but they became just a little more clear as she wrapped her arm around his, and cupped her fingers within his hand as he shared his thoughts in a conversation.

[Tristan Cole]

The only thing in the world that Tristan hated more than going to a big party was hosting one. Unfortunately, the heads of operations had all agreed to host one holiday party a year, and he had drawn the short stick with the Christmas party. Nevertheless, the bash was bound to be spectacular.

The Paris branch, though mostly a research facility, had a large ballroom that was used only for special occasions. This party was one such occasion. The room had been decorated perfectly, in shades of red, green, gold, and silver. A huge decorated tree stood in the middle of the room.

People were milling about, exchanging pleasantries, dancing, talking business. Tristan had made his rounds through the room, talking to everyone he needed to. He put on a smile and faked his way through it, wishing he was back upstairs with his son and Seraphina. He had barely been away from them since Mika had been born.

He had found the other heads, and was standing around talking to them when Sera came down the stairs to join them. One of them had asked what he planned to do about her. He was sure they all would assume that the only thing he'd cared about was the child, identifying it's abilities, running tests. But there was more to it than that.

"I don't know," he said. His forehead creased in thought, which was interrupted as Sera joined him. He glanced over at her, the corner of his mouth pulling up in a half smile. He was trying not to show too much just yet. Especially in front of the other heads. They might think him weak, try to oust him from his position just because maybe he actually had feelings for the mother of his child.