Candy Canes and Mistletoe Bunkd Fanfiction

Mistletoe

Ravi frowned as stepped out into the hallway of his apartment building early Friday morning. There was a heavy feeling in his chest as he pressed the keypad to lock his door. Normally, he enjoyed his short stroll to the elevator because it meant he would pass by his neighbor Lou's door. It had been their coincidental routine for the last seven months to walk down the hall together on their way to their respective jobs, but on Monday he was informed by his favorite neighbor that she would be moving out this Friday. And Ravi was certain that he would never see Lou again.

"Curse my over dramatics," he murmured to himself as he adjusted the strap of his bag on his shoulder.

Ravi had been smitten with Lou the moment she moved into his apartment building less than a year ago and presented him with a homemade lemon pound cake. She had introduced herself and let him know that if he needed anything that she was only a few doors away. She had also apologized in advance for any trouble her roommate, Hazel, may cause in the future.

And since we no place to go

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Holiday music played loudly on the other side of his elderly neighbor's door as he walked down the hallway. Mr. Tim stubbornly blasted Christmas music from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. no matter how many times Hazel reported him to the property manager. But Ravi didn't mind the music. Mostly because Lou would hum along and smile at him on their way to the elevator each morning. He would miss her cheerful holiday spirit and the way she could chat about anything.

"Mornin' neighbor," Lou greeted Ravi brightly as she stepped out into the hallway with a stack of boxes in her arms. She dropped them with a huff and they landed still stacked beside the doorway. She shut the door and then quickly turned to him. "That should be the last of it!"

"Wonderful," Ravi replied with a nod. He hoped that she couldn't detect the disappointment in his voice. "Do you need help carrying these boxes? I could help."

He leaned forward to pick up a box, but Lou held up her hand and shook her head. "Nah, Hazel will get this stuff."

"Oh." Ravi leaned back and awkwardly tucked his hands in the pockets of his winter jacket. He cleared his throat and said, "So, uh, work?"

Lou tucked her hair behind her ear. She was wearing jeans and a thick, flannel hoodie. Not her usual work attire. She was an elementary school teacher whose wardrobe consisted of a lot of blouses with farm animals printed on them and plain dress pants.

"Yeah," Lou drawled, "I took the day off cause of the move." She lifted her shoulders to her ears and added sweetly, "But I figured I could still walk you out."

The heavy feeling in Ravi's chest lightened. He smiled and nodded, "Yeah."

Lou returned his smile. She hummed along to Mr. Tim's Christmas music as they walked nearly shoulder to shoulder down the hallway.

If it had been any other day, they would be chatting about something odd that Lou saw on the bus on the way to work or something gossipy Ravi had overheard at the coffee shop beside the engineering firm where he worked. But today all Ravi wanted to do in the short amount of time he had with her was enjoy her presence and lament the fact that he had been too chicken to ask her out on a date before now.

Lou nudged Ravi's shoulder with her elbow and grinned as they stopped in front of the elevator. She said, "You're awfully quiet today. Everything alright?"

"Sure," Ravi said shakily as the elevator doors opened. "Just thinking about... work. Things get so busy the Friday before the holidays."

Lou followed him into the elevator and hit the button for the ground floor. "I totally get it. I should be baking all weekend but instead I'll be moving boxes. And I really wanted to get my great gran's gingerbread cookie recipe right this year."