Warnings: Language (courtesy of Lars Ulrich of course, lol)
1991
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"What's got you all nervous?," you heard Lars ask from next to you. You looked around, searching through crowd of people, but Lars seemed to figure out what was going on. "Scared to see James?," he asked, making you turn to see him with an amused look on his face.
"C'mon Lars. Please don't make fun of me right now," you said, finally catching sight of James. He caught your eye, sending you a friendly smile, to which you returned and looked away before he could see you blushing.
"Oh for fucks sake. See, this is why I rigged the fucking Secret Santa thing so you guys could both get each other and finally admit your feelings to each other," he said, in an exasperated tone. Your eyes grew wide at his words as you turned to look at him.
"Lars! What the hell?!," you yelled, punching him in the arm.
"Ow! Well what the hell was I supposed to do, watch my two best friends just be awkward around each other all the time?," he said, as if it was the most rational thing in the world. You groaned, looking down at the neatly wrapped gift in your hands, hoping he would like it. "It'll be fine. Just go give it to him," he said, pushing you in James' direction. You heard him yell out that the gift exchange was starting, which made James stare in your direction. He smiled again, meeting you halfway.
"Hey," he said, putting a hand in his pocket.
"Hi," you let out, looking up into his eyes. Lars was right; there was tension between you two, and one they hadn't really been there in the past. Usually the both of you were bickering like an old married couple, but lately, neither of you could really interact without feeling nervous or seeming awkward. As much as it scared you to do, maybe it was time for you to tell him how you felt.
"James, I-," you started, but he cut you off.
"I like you too...," he said shyly, waiting for you to look up. When you did, he had a sheepish grin on his face. You smiled, looking at him. The both of you had practically grown up together, and you had watched him gradually come out of his shell over the years. Standing there now, you saw the same shy boy with the lion's mane of hair staring back at you, and it made you happy. It was the same shy boy you had fallen in love with all those years ago. Finally, you both had the courage to tell each other how you felt.
You stepped towards him, motioning for him to lean down. You placed a kiss on his cheek this time causing a blush to show up on his cheeks.
"Merry Christmas James," you said, handing him his present. He smiled and thanked you as he handed you yours. Out of the corner of your eye, you caught Lars staring over at the two of you. He smirked, sending you a wink before leaving you and James happily together for the rest of the night.
A/n: I feel like Secret Santa with Metallica would be really fun but crazy, lol. Hope you liked it!
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