The past few months had been a constant rollercoaster for the couple. Some amazing ups for their newfound love, some nerve-wrecking downs when it came to getting papers processed, getting Alex to move in with her boyfriend, and helping her find a new job. Things were calming down a bit as the year neared its end. The stallion and tigress had decided to take off the rest of the year together. A few days of just relaxing at home, sitting out the cold weather, wearing nice warm sweaters, and drinking tea and watching series together.

Tashi got his boss to agree to give him those days off quite quickly, he still had some of his annual leave to burn after all. For Alex, it was a different story. She had been working at her new job for only a little over a month, and so her boss was a lot less thrilled about the idea of letting her stay home for a whole week, especially during one of the busiest times of the year. However, things had changed a bit. The tigress had been so charming and such a good waitress, even a penny pincher like her boss knew she would have been hard to replace. Tashi on the other hand had put his hoof down and told her that he would rather support them both than having her go to her job while she was just being abused. So, begrudgingly, her boss gave her that time off rather than losing her for good.

It was a Thursday, the week before Christmas when things changed unexpectedly.

They were just going through their shared board game collection, picking out some games that they wanted to play together. “Hah… we can totally invite some of your friends, Alex! Have a blast, play some of these games. I’ll pick them up in my car, shouldn’t be a problem to get them here!” – “Aww… that would be so nice! I could finally introduce you to them!” – “Hold up a second…” Tashi reached into his pocket and pulled out his vibrating phone. A frown was on his face when he picked up the call and put the phone against his ear. “Gibson – hello. Mr. Mitchem – what’s up?” He turned around to look at Alex as he listened to the caller.

At first, he just seemed worried, put a hand on the box of one of the games and leaned forward. But then it looked more as if an angry mule had just kicked him in the stomach. “And Chris just up and left? Tom isn’t in over Christmas, either?” He brushed his mane back with his free hand, grabbed and pulled on that hair. Alex had a confused expression on her face as she walked around the table to hug her boyfriend. Her tail curling around his leg was the only bit of solace he had in that moment. “Needs to be done until New Year’s Eve, still? F-Fi… okay. I’ll do it. I’ll come in.” He took a deep breath, then snorted “Tomorrow.” He said, his voice becoming more and more quiet. He hung up just in time before he would have started cursing with his boss still on the line. “Shit!” He yelled and stomped his hoof on the ground, making the game boxes shake. Some of the wooden pieces on the table fell over. “One of my coworkers just quit… and we need to get that project done… or the company has to pay a huge fine.” He explained as he looked into the tigress’ eyes. “We didn’t even have time to get a Christmas tree, yet… I wanted to be with you over the holidays so badly…. Now I have to go fly over there and put out this flaming turd.” He sighed and closed his eyes; a tear still made its way out and ran down his cheek until it was soaked up by his fur.

“It’ll be okay! We can spend Christmas together next year. And we didn’t really celebrate it in the bottomless district, Tashi. I won’t be missing much! And we can still call each other every day, right?” The positive energy of his tigress made Tashi smile a little, even though his eyes still showed how sad and disappointed he was. It was comforting that she wouldn’t have so sorely missed him while being apart, but she had told him that she had always wished the holidays were celebrated more where she came from, a wish he wanted to fulfill this year. “We can… if I don’t come home so late that you are already asleep.” – “I’m off work, so bedtime can be bent a little.” The tigress replied, holding up her hand and making a gesture as if she was bending something with her fingers. “Oof… yes… and it will have to be if I want to be back before New Year’s Eve…” Tashi replied, his voice giving away that he was slightly relieved that his girlfriend wasn’t too affected, but he still regretted having to go away in the first place. At least the paid overtime would fill up his savings again after they had to spend some money on new furniture to make their life together more comfortable. These practical thoughts that were spinning in the stallion’s head were the only thing keeping him from wanting to slam his fist into the wall.

Alex smiled at him. She had to stand on the tips of her toes, those soft beans pressing hard into the floor, to reach up to his cheek, to caress him right where that tear had had gotten his fur a little damp. He looked back down into her big bright emerald eyes. She didn’t even need to say another word. Just being with her calmed the tall stallion down. A soft snort came from him and he bent a knee to lower himself until he could rub his nose against Alex’s. “Yes… it will be alright.” He whispered as he put a hand on her cheek as well. Still holding eye contact, they made out, their tongues deep in each other’s mouth. The pain that Tashi felt in his stomach just seconds earlier vanished when Alex grabbed his other hand and held it and her tail curled around his leg. “Let’s make the night count… I can sleep in the plane tomorrow, my little tiger…” Tashi whispered after they broke the kiss.

Their last night together turned into a long one. They binge watched almost a whole season of an old TV show together. Their memories of the last episodes had gotten a little fuzzy since their eyes were not focused on anything near the TV, and their clothes weren’t anywhere near the couch they were spending the rest of the night on. Though the stallion wanted to push the thought of having to fly away for work as far away as possible, he still had the presence of mind to set the alarm on his phone before they drifted off to sleep in a tight loving embrace.

It was the rude beeping and buzzing of his cell phone alarm that ripped them from the calm of their sleep and out of their shared sweet dreams. Tashi could barely open his eyes and he groaned; his back was hurting. Alex was laying on top of him, the couch underneath wasn’t really meant for sleeping on. Still, when his girlfriend kissed his chin and put her arms around his neck, the stallion could only sigh with joy. “I’ll carry you to bed, Alex… you can sleep some more… I’ll go shower. I’ll come say goodbye before I leave, I promise.” He held onto his girlfriend as he got up off the couch so he could carry her along as he walked into the bedroom. Both pairs of eyes were so tiny, so tired as he carried her over to the much bigger, much more comfortable bed. But even though he nearly stumbled over his pants that were still on the ground, the stallion never took his sleepy little orbs of those gorgeous green ones of his girlfriend. She curled her tail around his arm until he set her down on the mattress and kissed her forehead. The purrs coming from his girlfriend behind him, Tashi rushed off into the bathroom to get ready.

Just a few minutes later, he came back into the bedroom. His fur still a little damp, the fresh scent of shampoo and soap coming from him, that aroma of wood and herbs. He was carrying a little suitcase along with him, prepacked with some business clothes for an emergency just like this one. He put it down next to the bed and got on his knees. Alex had drifted off to sleep again and he woke her with a gentle kiss on her nose. As she woke up and yawned, he put his arms around her and they made out once more, not wanting to let go of each other. A few minutes until the stallion’s watch beeped and pulled them back into the reality that would very much suck for the next two weeks until New Year’s Eve. “See you soon, Alex. It’ll be over before we know it!” He said before he grabbed her hand, squeezed it, and held it for a few seconds. “Stay safe, my horsey. I’ll call you. I’ll stay up until you are back in the hotel!” – “Thank you, my little tiger…” Tashi whispered, his voice almost breaking up in the end. He quickly turned around before Alex could see that tear running down his cheek. After that wonderful night, reality had hit the stallion hard, a pain in his throat as if a wild bull had just gored him on one of his horns.

The playlist Alex had made for him saved the stallion’s life. It distracted him as the cab took him away from their apartment and to the airport. So many songs that he couldn’t stop thinking of now, that kept ringing in his ear, that he dreamed of playing himself. As he looked at the buildings the car was driving by, the pain slowly became more bearable and he was able to read through some of the specifications for the project he had to work on. A tough nut to crack was just what he needed right then, a coding puzzle to solve, an architectural challenge to overcome. Something engaging enough to let Alex sink down from his mind into his heart, so he could focus on saving his employer’s ass or at least his bottom line.

In many ways this trip was a business trip like many he had been on before and then again entirely different. Never had there been someone waiting for him at home and missing him. Things weren’t going too well for Alex, either. Her friends were with their families or still busy at work and couldn’t come to visit her. Eventually, all the chores she could do were done. With the last batch of dirty clothes, any trace of the scent of her boyfriend had vanished from the apartment. She had to kill the time at home alone playing games or watching series, it felt like such a waste. But after how much pressure they had put on her boss, she could have hardly gone back to work instead. The advent calendar that Tashi had gotten her, filled with nuts in tasty dark chocolate, had turned into a taunting farce on the wall. Instead of being a countdown to their lovely Christmas Eve together, it just reminded the tigress of the time passing by without her boyfriend.

It was always so very late at night when he could call her. When he finally did, he could barely stay awake, even hearing his love’s voice wasn’t enough incentive for him not to drop the phone as he fell asleep at times. He called her back a few minutes later, but Alex scolded him and told him to go sleep instead. Finally, that fateful day, the 24th came around. To make things worse, instead of being able to call, Tashi just texted her, said that he had a meeting and had to stay late, and sent her to bed.

The foreign branch of his employer didn’t care about Christmas at all. It was not celebrated everywhere in the world, after all. The tigress spent the evening watching the latest episodes of her favorite series, but many of them were Christmas themed or even holiday specials, as if they were trying to mock her specifically. The corner in the room next to the couch that they had cleared out for the Christmas tree was also just taunting her, the empty stand asking to hold a tree that wouldn’t come. With a frustrated sigh she went to bed and slept in late the next day.

Time seemed to pass even slower on Christmas day itself. Tashi only responded to her texts sporadically, which was so unusual for her boyfriend who usually rushed and dropped everything to respond to her messages. Instead of the festive lunch and dinner they had already planned and spoken about for weeks, Alex just prepared herself a simple stir fry with vegetables, chicken and rice. Even listening to her favorite music couldn’t really improve her mood much. She killed time on the afternoon just playing games. Soon the sun was setting, Christmas was nearly over. She was laying on the couch, the festive red blanket they had gotten in the weeks before the only decoration in the room. What would have been the point in putting up the other decorations and little figurines they had bought? Outside the window, she could see the snow falling, just as her eyelids fell shut and she drifted off to sleep.

Loud noises woke her up. She looked around, but couldn’t see the time anywhere, didn’t know how many hours had passed. Her phone had turned off, the battery had run low as she checked it for messages from Tashi so often. “Shit…” she whispered quietly. If there were some burglars trying their luck on Christmas, thinking that the place might be empty, she wouldn’t even have been able to call the police. The apartment door swung open and she could hear some heavy steps in the hallway, hooves clopping on the ground, along with loud, but muffled breathing. The sound of something heavy hitting the floor could be heard, then the light in the hallway was turned on, and the steps went into the direction of the bedroom. Alex hid behind the couch, on the far side of the room. Just a moment later, the bedroom door was closed, and the steps came closer again. A large silhouette appeared in the doorway, a familiar silhouette. The tigress couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw Tashi standing there in the door.

Her boyfriend was so tired, he could barely keep his eyes open. He turned on the light and looked around in the room. “Horsey!” Alex yelled and came out from behind couch and just ran to him, jumped, and hugged him as if they hadn’t seen each other for a lifetime. Even though he usually carried her around effortlessly, she almost made him fall over, and he chuckled tiredly. His familiar, musky scent filled her nostrils as she rubbed her nose against his neck. Tashi put his arms around her and hugged her tightly. “But h-how?” – “I finished the project early…. And Santa brought me along on his sleigh. It’s a Christmas miracle.” The stallion explained, too tired to even laugh about his own stupid joke. “I promised you… I’d show you Christmas being celebrated… promised you I’d be here…” Technically, it was after midnight, and the holiday was over - but he didn’t have to tell her that. “I brought us something…” He said, slightly out of breath, as he set his girlfriend back down.

Unsteady on his hooves, he stumbled back into the hallway, and reappeared carrying a small Christmas tree, no higher than 3 or 4 feet, the branches bent, some broken off. Along with it, he was holding a small wrapped present and a box with a cheap string of LED lights. “You might have to help me with this… Can’t give you a present that hasn’t been under the Christmas tree.” Alex was just standing there, speechless, as Tashi put the Christmas tree in the stand that had been waiting to fulfill its purpose all the days since they got it. He was kneeling next to the tree and nudged Alex to open the box. Finally realizing that she wasn’t dreaming, coming down from the surprise, the joy rising inside of her, she took out the string of lights and put them onto the Christmas tree together with him. Their tree wasn’t much to look at, such a small specimen, no decoration beyond those simple lights, but for the couple, right then, it was the best tree ever. Not even the huge centerpiece of a shopping mall could have competed with it.

Nearing the brink of complete exhaustion, Tashi put the present he had gotten for the tigress underneath the tree. “There you go… your present is waiting for you, my little tiger.” A completely superfluous gesture, but one he had been waiting for all day. Alex quickly picked the package up and carefully unwrapped it in the next moment. Underneath the colorful wrapping paper was a box, Alex opened it carefully, and she was greeted by the friendly face of a little plush horse. It didn’t look too different in color from her boyfriend. It was missing the feathering on its legs, and it walked on four of them. “Aww… it’s so very sweet… it’s little horsey!” She said as she took it out of the box and hugged it against her chest. “Yes… so you will never be alone again. He’ll protect you when I have to go on a trip.” Tashi whispered and kissed her cheek and lips happily. He hugged her tightly, both arms around his tigress, she put one arm around him in turn, the other held her new plushie.

“I missed you so much, Alex…” The stallion whispered after a while. “I missed you, too, horsey.” Alex replied. “Can I… wear your sweater? It smells of you… and I’m a little cold.” – “Of course.” Tashi didn’t even hesitate. No matter how tired he was, he wouldn’t deny such a simple wish. He took off his sweater, leaving his upper body naked, and handed it over to Alex. She quickly took her top off and put on the sweater. As expected, it was much too big for her, hanging off her frame like a dress, her arms seemed so lost in those sleeves. But it was so nice and warm, and the smell of her boyfriend filled her nose with every breath she took. Tashi yawned tiredly. “I love you, Alex… Wouldn’t have let a mountain come between us. I can’t climb it… but I’ll dig a tunnel through it.” – “You’re crazy… but you’re cute, horsey…” She replied and hugged her plushie as she laid down in front of the Christmas tree, looking at the beautiful lights, her face illuminated in different colors. Tashi managed to get up one last time to walk over to the light switch to turn it off. The room was filled with that moody lighting, the string of lights suddenly didn’t feel so cheap anymore. The glow from the snow and the streetlights outside lighted up the room a little, setting a very calm mood.

The tigress seemed so happy as she looked at the Christmas tree. Tashi laid down on the floor next to her and put an arm around her. Now that his job was done, his promise was fulfilled, he felt how tired he really was, how exhausted he had been. There was no time, no reason to tell her about what really happened. About how he worked through the nights. How another colleague joined him to help him, to “send him home to his girl in time”. No word about how he spent his extra pay on that last spot on the plane, the ticket his employer bought him forever unused in his suitcase. Already, he had completely forgotten about the takeout Pad Thai he had bought that was getting cold in the hallway. He barely still felt Alex curling her tail around his arm. The smell of her hair and the silence around them calmed him so much that he fell asleep next to her. “Thank you so much, Tashi…” Alex whispered. “But a stubborn stallion is not a Christmas miracle. He’s just my crazy wonderful boyfriend.” She smiled when she turned around and saw that Tashi was sleeping next to her. She kissed his nose, right between the two large nostrils, and let him sleep. She had the happiest smile on her face as she kept looking at their tree, her wonderful dreamy green eyes shining under the Christmas lights.

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<sub>Art ©

Character(s) ©
Alex:
Tashi: 💗(thank you for the Christmas gift!!!! aaa)

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