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Ok, well hopefully @inkoutsidethelines doesn’t mind me borrowing her oc Star again. I was just in the Christmas spirit and want to write some oc crossovers. :)
Christmas was always a busy time. There were tests to grade, excited students to keep in line, and shopping to fit in before the break. Sutton saw the restless foot tapping and darting eyes of her class. She felt it too. The students weren’t the only ones ready for the time off.
Sutton rapped a stack of papers on her desk and cleared her throat, making sure the students were paying attention before bothering to speak.
“Alright, I know we’re at the end of our day. My gift to you is you’re free to go early if you want. Have a good holiday everyone.”
The room cleared in record time with little more than a few scattered pieces of paper as evidence that kids had been there. Sutton sighed in relief as the freedom of break settled in.
Glorious.
Shoving some curriculum notes into her bag, she hurried to head out before the other staff could disappear without saying goodbye. She had a separate tote purely for all the last minute gifts she was determined to hand out and she didn’t want it full on her way home.
Tony was first on her list purely because he practically sprinted to the doors while pushing through students to get to the holiday break first. He’d also been mentioning having a gift for Pepper Potts, so he was probably doubly determined.
Sutton half jogged down the hall and more students were flooding out and heading in the opposite direction. As she predicted, Tony already had his laptop slung over one shoulder and shades halfway on when she reached him.
“Wait, Tony!”
Falling in step beside him, she dug through her tote for his gift.
“Hey, Sutton. Merry Christmas. “Yeah, Merry Christmas.”
Finally, she saw the red and gold wrapped boxes and yanked them out with a triumphant cry.
“I wanted to catch you and give you this before you left.”
“Aw man, you didn’t have to do that.”
Sutton shrugged and grinned as she passed the box over.
“It’s fine, I like doing it. It’s not for the entire school anyway; you’re in an elite club.”
“Well I’m honored.” He grinned and shook one box. “Any cookies in here?” “You know there are.” Tony’s grin widened.
They walked down the hall together and chatted about holiday plans as they made their way to the front of the school. Tony ripped open the inedible portion of his gift before even reaching the parking lot because his patience was just that threadbare. She’d gotten him a small bluetooth speaker that he could use when he was working on cars or in his garage. He at least appeared to like it, and Tony wasn’t one to sugarcoat too many things, so she trusted that she’d picked well.
Both of them were laughing as they reached the front doors and idled. Tony had the grand plan of wooing Pepper with a velveteen rabbit, given it was supposedly a favorite childhood story of hers, and then perhaps dinner if that gift was well received. The image of him standing and cradling a stuffed bunny while Pepper stared at him with that flustered look she had was too priceless.
“This plan may just work,” Sutton encouraged him. “It’s the holidays, right? It’s supposed to be a magical time of year.” Tony huffed and mussed up her hair.
“You’re a pretty mediocre wingman, you know?”
“Tony.”
Two heads of blond hair caught her attention, and Sutton instantly diverted. She gave Tony a quick wave and moved down the hall to intercept the pair.
“I’ll see you, Tony. Have a great holiday!” “You too.”
He watched her leave with a half smile on his face. Steve looked a bit stiff when there was no reason for it. Their eyes met and he gave him a wink and a grin, eyes drifting back to Sutton for a moment. Steve’s expression hardly flickered.
“Yeesh,” Tony lamented under his breath. “Half Pint has her work cut out for her. Aw well.” He clapped his hands together. “It’s Pepper time.”
[]
Sutton and Tony were laughing together again and Steve felt something inside him prickle with unease. Not that he really cared, of course. It wasn’t his business. They looked like they enjoyed each other’s company and that was a good thing. Tony was a good friend and Sutton was a sweet woman. They’d probably work well together. He stamped down on any unnecessary twinge that thought caused.
Her smile grew as she neared them and Steve couldn’t help mimicking it slightly. An elbow jabbed his ribs.
“She gave Uncle Tony a present,” Star whispered. Steve cut his eyes down to his daughter and his smiled tightened.
“I can see that.”
Sutton reached them before Star could say anything else. He still wasn’t sure what had gotten into his daughter lately, but she seemed a bit better behaved when Sutton came by. Whether it was due to an audience or because she wanted her teacher to like her, he didn’t know.
“Hey, Merry Christmas guys.” Sutton tucked a curl behind her ear and straightened out her tote bag with a small wave. “I’m glad I caught you before you left, I had a couple things for you.”
“Oh, you didn’t have to-”
“It’s fine,” she interrupted cheerfully. “Like I told Tony, I don’t do this for the entire staff. Just a select few.”
“Really?” Star tried to peer into Sutton’s tote and see the gifts inside.
“Ok, you can’t the other students I’m playing favorites.”
She pulled out three wrapped gifts and offered them up. Steve blinked and rubbed at his neck before accepting them.
“You really didn’t have to,” he insisted. The tags labeled the gifts for him and both his kids. That prickle inside him tightened to a pinch and he took a deep breath. “Thank you,” he rephrased. “This was very thoughtful.”
“You got me and JJ something!” Star’s tone was lilting and her eyes shining. The season was always a bit difficult without their mother, but Star had a persistent spirit and she was more than eager to dive into traditions and decorating. And stockpiling gifts under the tree.
Star moved in for a hug and Sutton returned the affection with an ease and care that many teachers never showed. Steve knew Star was close to Sutton as her teacher, of course, but it hadn’t quite occurred to him just how much. It didn’t seem like Sutton was faking affection either.
“It’s not a lot,” Sutton explained, one arm still around Star’s shoulder. “I just saw a couple small things that reminded me of all of you. Careful with JJ’s, I’ve almost ripped it a couple times now.”
The package was slightly larger than a football, and whatever was inside was obviously soft by the way the paper crinkled and shifted when gripped.
“I couldn’t find a box for it,” she confessed.
“If he doesn’t rip it open before Christmas, it’ll be a miracle,” Steve said with a smile. His gaze drifted down and his smile faltered slightly. “I didn’t know you were going to do this or I would-”
“We got you something too,” Star cut in. She was still hugging Sutton, but pulled away to reach into her backpack and pull out a gift of her own. It was wrapped with careful precision, sporting sharp corners, but was tapped within an inch of its life. Star cast a look up at him before passing the package over.
“It’s not much either,” she said. “But I- er- we hope you like it.”
Steve almost insisted that he had no previous knowledge of the gift and therefore couldn’t take credit, but Star shot him another look and he decided against it. He was doing what he could to not set her off unnecessarily and it wasn’t worth another argument right before Christmas.
Besides, Sutton looked so delighted to have received something from them in return, he couldn’t quite make himself admit it.
“Thank you! I’m sure I’m going to love it.”
“You can open it now, if you want.”
Sutton looked up to Steve, as if asking if he agreed, and Steve nodded.
“I don’t mind.”
“Well, alright.”
The paper was ripped away to reveal a picture frame underneath. It was a cheap, black frame, and he actually remembered Star buying it the week before with some allowance money when they went shopping for JJ. He couldn’t see what was in the frame since Sutton was studying whatever it was.
Her face softened, the expression of joy tampered down from something a bit showy to an expression more quietly sincere. Star peered over Sutton’s shoulder to look at the frame herself, smile wide. Steve was curious to see what it was.
“Do you like it?”
“Star, I love it. I’ll hang this up the minute I can actually find a hammer. Aw, look at you. You look so pretty.”
“I think everyone looks pretty good,” Star said, an odd inflection to her voice. Sutton’s eyes trailed over what was obviously a photograph and she paused. The pause was momentary, then Sutton cleared her throat and the cheerful smile was back full force.
“I agree.”
Finally, she flipped the frame around and looked at Steve.
“Thank you. This is so sweet. I love collecting little memories like this.”
It was a picture from Halloween. Star had insisted they get a group shot, and a neighbor had been kind enough to take a few for them. They were all huddled together in this picture. He’d crouched down with JJ to a bit to be closer to Sutton and Star’s height, and JJ was in the middle of reaching for one of Sutton’s antenna while she gave Star bunny ears.
He wasn’t entirely sure when Star had been able to print off the picture, but he still tried to play it off.
“You’re welcome. Glad you like it.”
The hall was starting to thin out as classes were released and students fled for home. It reminded Steve that he’d been trying to leave early for once to get JJ and run some last minute errands. Sutton beat him to the punch.
“I better let you guys get out of here. I’m sure JJ is excited to get some full days with yo u both.” She gestured to her tote. “And I have a couple more people to catch before they escape. I hope you guys have a very merry Christmas, though! And thank you again.”
She gave Star another hug and then turned to Steve and faltered. He stiffened as well, the pinch inside him ever more present as the seconds ticked by.
Colleagues, friends, could hug, right? Was that pushing boundaries too far?
By the time he’d convinced himself to just do it, Sutton was already stepping backwards. She gave him a small wave instead.
“I’ll see you guys after the break.”
“Merry Christmas,” called Star. “If you’re bored or anything you can-”
Steve shuffled the gifts under one arm and prodded Star towards the doors.
“Merry Christmas,” he called. Star just gave him another of her looks and took JJ’s gift from the pile so it wouldn’t topple over.
“You’re welcome,” she said, voice flat. Star looked rather proud of herself as she gently tried squishing the present.
“That was very nice of you. Did you get all your teachers gifts?” Star remained silent a moment, distracted by inspecting the wrapping.
“No.” Steve hummed. “Is Uncle Tony coming over for Christmas dinner?”
The question came out of nowhere, and Steve was pulled out of his train of thought.
“What? Oh, yeah. Of course he is. Unless something comes up, I suppose. Why?”
Star shrugged.
“Just making sure.”
Steve wasn’t convinced that was it, but wasn’t about to pry at the moment. Instead he pulled his keys from his pocket and unlocked the car.
“Come on, don’t mess with it too much. You’re going to rip it.”
“I think this part ‘s a fin.” Star pinched the top of the wrapping between her fingers, and a triangular shape pressed through. “I bet I know what it is.”
Steve cocked a brow and carefully placed the other gifts in the back of the car, as far from JJ’s car seat as he could.
“We’ll find out on Christmas, won’t we? Now come on. I still have to pick up a ham before every store is sold out. We can even get stuff to make cookies with.”
Star’s expression brightened at that and Steve smiled.
He honestly couldn’t wait to spend the holiday with his kids.
#friends oc#oc: star#high school teachers au#christmas fluff#this didn't exactly go the way I planned#but ah well
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