12 Days of Christmas

7 - I'll Be Home For Christmas

Pairing : Ilsa Faust / Ethan Hunt

Fandom: Mission: Impossible 

Rating: PG 

Summary: Ethan finds Ilsa in New York City, and they go skating

Words: 1312

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A/N hi! I'm continuing my Christmas series from years ago, and I haven't been on here in a long time I'm mostly on AO3 (VigilantePond) where I also published this fic there. My style/fandoms have changed but thank you for appreciating everything I've written in the past. 

I'll be home for Christmas
You can plan on me
Please have snow and mistletoe
And presents on the tree

Christmas Eve will find me
Where the lovelight gleams
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams

"You know how to find me." Those were Ilsa's last words to him before departing in London. Ethan had guessed that she would probably be hiding in a remote and secluded place, like a small Swedish village perhaps. He didn't exactly have spare time to set out looking for her, but he kept his eyes peeled wherever he went — just in case. The IMF had just finished a mission in New York City involving a drug ring, but Ethan decided to stay behind for a few days for leisure. Christmas music blasted from inside every shop, with people — both tourists and locals alike — shouting over it while shoving through the crowds.

He followed a group of eager tourists into a shop, wiping off his snow-covered boots on the mat upon entering. As an IMF agent, it was always interesting to be in large crowds like this. Although not on the job, Ethan pretended to look at a pair of brown loafers while intently studying each person. A middle-aged woman slipped a perfume bottle into her purse, thinking nobody noticed, while a teenaged boy attempted to pickpocket an elderly man but eventually failed.

Suddenly, he heard a familiar hearty laugh nearby, unmistakably Ilsa's. I'm going insane, Ethan thought, shaking off the auditory hallucinations. He whipped his head around, and was face to face with the same stormy blue eyes that haunted his dreams at night. Her bow-shaped lips parted but nothing came out; instead, the stilettos that she was holding slipped out of her hand. Ilsa and Ethan instinctively bent down to pick them up, her hands brushing against his frigid fingers.

"Hi," he mumbled.

She greeted him with a nod. "Hi. Didn't expect to see you here." They stood in silence until the lanky blonde girl beside Ilsa interrupted them.

"Anna, aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?" she exclaimed.

"Right. Kara, this is my friend... Ed. Ed, this is Kara, my roommate," Ilsa said.

"Nice to meet you Ed!" Kara beamed. She was one of those people with a permanent dimpled smile on her face. "I'm going to put these back okay? You two catch up." Kara motioned towards the armload of rejected clothes and dashed off.

Once Kara was out of earshot, Ethan asked, "So... Anna. Are you on a job?"

Ilsa nodded. "I can't say much but yes... and it's good to see you. How are you doing?" There was so much that she wanted to say, but her pounding heart made her opt for casual small talk instead.

"The usual. Just finished a job and I wanted to hang around for a few days."

"How are the others?"

"Good, good. We miss you." I miss you, he wanted to say.

They were interrupted again by Kara, who announced that she finally settled on which blazer to buy. "Oh, are you getting those?"

Ethan nearly forgot about the pair of high heels in his hand, which he had been gripping tightly with white knuckles.

"Shoes please," Ilsa quipped, with a glimmer in her eye.

He grinned, remembering that night in Vienna and pushed the shoes into her hand. Luckily the line wasn't too long, and they left the cramped yet warm store for the winter cold again.

"Before I forget; I have two spare VIP Skate tickets for the Rockefeller Center and I was going to go with my boyfriend but there's been a change of plans and I'm going to Queens tonight so... you two should have them. Make good use of them," Kara said, biting her lips together to suppress a devilish grin. Ilsa didn't need a polygraph test to tell that Kara was obviously lying, but she accepted her roommate's generosity nonetheless.

The gigantic Christmas tree at the rink's centrepiece was adorned in vibrant red and green lights, and a shining star perched on top. The rest of the rink was illuminated in cobalt blue, with projected snowflakes on the towering buildings around. Ilsa stepped onto the freshly zamboni-ed ice, which was slippery as glass and gleaming under all the decorations. Immediately, Ilsa tested out the skates and glided around the rink elegantly and effortlessly. She had unwavering balance, and her feet skimmed the ice in quick, delicate flicks.

"Are you coming or not?" she glanced back at Ethan, who was gripping onto the edge as if he were hanging on for dear life.

"It's been a while since I've skated, to be honest," he confessed.

A smile crept up Ilsa's face. "Need a bit of help?" Before he could admit defeat, Ilsa took his hands and slowly guided him across the rink. His legs wobbled beneath him, causing him to tighten his grip on Ilsa's hands. Now he was unsure if his rapid heart rate was because he was desperate to maintain balance, or if it was Ilsa's company.

"Are you sure this is the same Ethan Hunt who scaled the Bhurj Khalifa?" she teased.

"Listen, that's different, I-" he protested, but plummeted onto the hard surface before he could finish, dragging Ilsa down with him. They burst into laughter, and Ilsa pulled him back up to try again. He brushed off the shavings of ice from his knees, although it was pointless because he was bound to fall again. "Is there anything that you're not good at?"

Ilsa pretended to be deep in thought. "You want to know a secret? I'm a terrible cook."

"Oh yeah?" Ethan quivered again, but didn't fall this time.

"You're improving already."

"I'm working on it," he smirked.

1 accidental collision with a child (in which Ethan apologized profusely) and 37 falls (yes, Ilsa counted) later, they finally decided they had enough ice skating for one night.

"Do you want to come around to my place tonight? Kara's in Queens, so we'll have some time alone to catch up. I think we have some wine stowed away...," Ilsa persuaded with a slight head tilt.

Ethan nodded. "Sure, and maybe you can demonstrate how terrible of a cook you really are."

The wind picked up as their boots crunched in the snow, but fortunately the jaunt back to Ilsa and Kara's apartment was not too far. She fished her keys out of her coat pocket, and the door creaked slowly, leading them into a cluttered room with stacks of books astray.

"Excuse the mess, I haven't had time to..." Ilsa trailed off, noticing the string of green leaves with little white berries attached which was hanging from the foyer. "Damn it, Kara..." she muttered under her breath.

"Well I guess we have t-"

Ignoring her own flushing cheeks, she reached for Ethan's face and pulled him towards her. She kissed him gently at first, and then more vigorously with each passing moment. There was something about finally releasing all their bottled up affection that felt like a stone was lifted off her chest. Growing up, she never believed in any of that "Christmas magic" crap, but tonight was different. Running into Ethan in one of the busiest cities in the world and kissing him under the mistletoe was straight out of a fairytale, and yet it was happening. She never stayed in one place for long, and never had a real meaning of "home" but seeing Ethan again felt like coming home - wherever that was. Maybe after all it was a who, not a where. She knew that she was still technically on a mission with plans to execute and people to chase; but tonight she only wanted one person, and everything else would have to wait.