Xaviers!

It took a bit of debate, but Basil was capable of convincing Colette that they should go out for Christmas. He argued most of the school would either be going home or visiting with their family and since neither would be true of either of them, they should see about making the most of it.

After considering a number of rooms (including one with complimentary daily pastries and and in room piano), Basil selected a room at Rubens at the Palace that seemed appropriate for their needs without setting off Colette's frugality.

Basil drove, for once. He had to, because he was dragging too much shit around to take the train. Likewise, he'd convinced Colette too that the traffic between Maldon and the city would be an absolute madhouse, and that they should leave early because of that.

With Colette in the passenger seat the two of them indeed made it ahead of any sort of gridlock, but there was still tons of traffic on the motorway, probably more than Colette was used to seeing.

Basil seemed completely at ease with it, which was weird as the young man was rarely completely at ease with anything. He was singing along with the low volume, non-festive music (since he had no Christmas albums).

It was odd. Colette had lived in a city all of her life but she still wasn't used to actually traveling through a city; she'd only taken trains a handful of times in her life, having spent most of her time cooped up in her family's flat in Metz. So a lot of her drive was spent staring out the passenger window at the scenery, at least until they were wedged in gridlock. Then she had a bit of time to think about their outing a little more.

"You know Basil, it is not too late to spend a few days wiz your family instead, if you'd like. I know how much you miss zem."

"If we visited my grandparents, there would be no Christmas. The holiday would be spent eating Indian take aways, trying to find something to watch on the telly that isn't a Christmas telecast interspersed with random interjections about the extravagance of gentiles from bubbe.

Considering you are a gentile, I don't find that particularly fair to you."

"True, but it doesn't sound so bad, I like Indian food." Colette thought about their first real date together and smiled. She thought better about commenting on her own experience in doing without extravagances.

"But you're right, it's probably for the best anyway. I haven't had a chance to learn more kosher cooking, and I zink zat is ze only common interest your bubbe and I share. Well, ozer zan yourself.

"I hope zat I do not sound unappreciative, or zat I am trying to get out of zis Basil. I greatly appreciate all of ze trouble you've gone zrough for me zis week."

"Good.

Because now you're locked in my car and there's no escaping it." He laughed.

Several cars back, a flashy looking sports car was forcing it's way through the moving traffic.

"Oh, you've yet to see how good of an escape artist I am." Colette grinned and gently patted Basil's hand. Adjusting her sun visor she checked her "hair" before turning it to get a better look at some movement she picked up out of the corner of her eye.

"Careful Basil, it looks as if someone is in a hurry."

In the time it took for Colette to respond to Basil, the flashy sports car had managed to force it's way through the crowd.

Behind Basil was a large truck which blocked the Astin's view of his own vehicle. With the way he'd been swerving through cars it was still quite surprising when he decided to cut in front of said truck and attempt to turn length wise right into Basil and Colette. At the speeds the driver was going, there was no way he would have had the response time to pull out of his bad maneuver before he smashed into Basil's Volvo.

Basil however had seen him coming, but how he was going to be forced to respond was not pretty.

It was lucky they were on the outer most lane of the motorway, as he was forced onto the shoulder, pumping his breaks and focusing on control of the car so they didn't slam into the sidewall.

They didn't, but the horrid sound of tires squealing and the violent thrust as Basil forced the vehicle to a safe stop was not exactly the most pleasant experience.

Colette didn't really have the time to realize what was actually happening. There were screeching tires and blaring horns, and the car shook violently from the rougher terrain had her in a brief panic before she lurched forward from the momentum of the sudden stop. And in that moment Colette demonstrated why her wearing a seatbelt was a rather silly and pointless thing as her entire head and much of her upper half splattered against the dash and inside of the windscreen.

Basil felt like he had done an amazing job of keeping them out of harms way.

Until he saw his girlfriend splattered all over his dashboard.

"Oh God! Colette!" He said, reaching out to try to scoop her up.

Colette's lower half was still seated, an ankle twisted at an odd angle but otherwise unharmed. Her mostly-empty clothing was sloppily held against the seat with a pink bridge of good between it and the dashboard. Her "self" wasn't really dripping or anything, but it appeared inert. It wasn't until Basil's hands made contact with her that her mass began to flow back together into a generic teardrop shape, pumping mass back toward her "torso" and slowly filling up her clothing. Her "head" was still on the dashboard, a basic sphere with an elongated neck leading back toward the rest of her body before she spoke, from a mouth as of yet unseen.

"Euhn... Basil. Basil are you alright? What has happened?"

Basil's radio was still playing, him being too in shock at the near accident and his girlfriend painting herself on the dash to turn it off.

"Did he say maybe, or I'm not sure
He'll be a boy for you but you need more- "


"We almost got in a traffic collision....

Are you... okay?"

Colette's head was mostly back on her shoulders, well if you could call it that; it looked more like a tootsie pop, with some more translucent "hair" hanging heavily between her and the dash.

"Me? Oh yes, I'm fine. Are you okay?" She sounded more upset about Basil's potential well-being than her little accident.

"I...think so...

I...

Are you certain you're alright? You're kind of... Everywhere."

Colette's facial features eventually emerged in a process that kind of looked like it was being vacuum formed, the vast majority of her mass having joined her down her coat and atop her neck. She blinked at Basil for a moment and then looked at the dashboard.

"Oh. OH! Oh yes, oh Basil, of course I am alright. I have no bones to break, no flesh to bruise." She reached out and gently ran her fingers over his cheek. "I am fine, and I am sorry if I scared you. Or made too much of a mess."

"I..." Basil didn't seem to be completely with it, but he wasn't visible currently.

".. Let's just... get back on the road, eh?"

Colette adjusted her top, or herself in her top it was hard to say, to get everything straight and in order.

"Perhaps it would be best to find some place to stop and have a rest?" She asked as she rubbed her hand over the dashboard in an attempt to get any stray remnants of herself and not leave the car a mess.

"No no. We'll get behind this and spend Christmas in a Tesco."

Basil replied, trying to shake it off and starting up the vehicle again.

"Let's get going. With the traffic the way it is it shouldn't be too much longer."

"Alright..." Colette tone of voice didn't sound entirely certain. "But Basil, please do not push yourself too hard."

"I'll be fine. Once we get there it'll be nothing but faffing about for several days." Basil managed to get them back into the traffic and back on their course.

What normally took an hours ride took nearly four times as long, but eventually they made it to their destination, passing by Buckinghan Palace on the way, though Colette was only capable of catching brief glimpses through the high walls surrounding it.

When he parked, Basil was immediately greeted by a valet driver who he began giving special instructions to about what was to be done with the contents of 'the boot' and what room to take it to, leaving Colette to take in the sights.

Colette became more active as the drew closer to the hotel, the girl peering out the window excitedly not just at the architecture but even all of the little shops that they passed. France was not without it's own palaces but she'd never seen those either, so she looked a total tourist in her efforts to try and see more from within the car.

The girl didn't wander too far from Basil but she was rather captivated, the hem of her peacoat rising a bit every time she spun to look at something else. When Basil was done giving instructions he'd find her taking some selfies with the hotel exterior as the backdrop.

Basil chuckled as someone took off with his car, which he seemed completely fine with.

"Here, let me take them. That way your mum and dad can see more of the exterior of the building." He said under the assumption they would be sent to her parents, holding out his invisible hand.

"Oh, well why do we not get one togezer? Would zat not be nice?"

Colette was already trying to attract the attention of one of the doormen or valets before Basil could even give an answer.

Well, that would be alright... I guess.

Not much is added by my presence." He stated, but posed with Colette as she requested.

Colette wrapped her arm around Basil's waist and rested her head on his shoulder for the pictures, giving a little wave to the valet who took the picture for them.

"Merci monsieur." Colette took her phone back with a little smile. "Zere, now we have somezing to send to your family too."

Basil decided not to disagree with her about how his family wouldn't care. He suspected people weren't supposed to fight at Christmas.

"Alright, let's go inside and check in, check out our room and grab a bite. Then if you're up for it, we can go on a little adventure if you like."

Colette hooked her arm around Basil's in a very saccharin manner.

"Ooh, as if I were not spoiled rotten already."

" Not even close." He laughed, leading the way.

An hour or so later, They were all checked into their room, a mostly red and white affair with plenty of space for the two of them, though only one bed. Where a writing table should have been, Basil had paid a bit extra for a bare Christmas tree to be placed in the room.

Basil had ordered a full afternoon tea with apricot scones that were served with clotted cream and strawberry jam, passion fruit and mandarin tarts, and something called 'Mini Bunny Chow', hollowed out buns filled with different savory fillings. Basil had chosen smoked salmon and cream cheese. He had Earl Grey tea with orange bitters, and chose a raspberry and honeycomb flavoured milkshake for Colette.

Basil was finishing the last of the bunny chow buns (which is what he seemed to be most interested in out of all the food objects) as he examined the bare tree.

"I think there's supposed to be.... tat and trinkets on there ey?" He commented.

Colette did her best to look refined and mature during the process but her naivety shone through in her occasional wide-eyed open-mouthed staring at various little furnishings and features of the hotel. What may have been considered humble furnishings by Basil's standards were the most decadent luxuries to her. And to the credit of both the hotel staff and Basil's sense of taste the afternoon tea went over splendidly for the little pink gal. She enjoyed every aspect of it with relish, from the silver serving tray and decorative china to the spiral straw in her milkshake. It was the latter that she was enjoying when Basil posed his question.

"Hmm? Oh, yes! I suppose I could look in my luggage for some shiny bobbles."

"I was thinking we could go and get some."

"Oh, that would be lovely! Do you know of a shop nearby?"

"Better.

There's a Christmas market down on the Thames at London Bridge City, a district between London and Tower bridges. It's about a ten minute cab ride away." Basil thought that, since he had read these were also a thing in France but she lived like a shut in, that she might be interested in seeing such a sight.

Colette's eyes sparkled at the suggestion. "Oh Baseel, zat would be wonderful!" It took some restraint not to lean over the table and hug him right then and there.

"Well then, get on your warm things." He replied, seeing about getting the food service trays and the like back out in to the hall before getting ready himself.

A short ride in a cab and they were at their destination. Basil had pretty much let Colette have full run of things once they got there as he had no idea what he was doing at this point. It wasn't really his area of expertise, and anyways it was better she pick them out since she'd be the one to keep them in the long run anyways.

The decorations and anything else that took her fancy.

It didn't take too long for Colette to get her winter duds on, though she spent a bit of time in the ensuite running some water before she was ready to leave. Bundled up as she was it was only her pink face that made her stand out to normal people, the pair a couple of well-dressed oddities.

Colette was far from an expert when it came to markets, and was very much like a child being taken to the fair for the first time. She wanted to run and look at everything but remained somewhat mature in her explorations, even if she did wind up tugging on Basil's arm on occasion. And it was a particularly strong grip on his arm that got his attention when she spied something she found especially captivating.

"Oh, Basil, look! Are zey not simply adorable?" Colette was fawning over an array of needle felted wool birds which varied from quite realistic to more simplified representations. She was especially pleased by the various species of tits, chickadees, and titmice.

"Awwww." Basil replied in a giggle.

"... You like birds?"

"Oh yes, I love ze little songbirds. How zey are able to fit such loud songs into such tiny bodies I do not know. And in ze winter when zey are puffed up into fat little balls of fluff, zey are simply adorable. As a child I would often spend hours staring out ze window and watching zem flit from branch to branch."

Colette turned to look at Basil. "Did you not do somezing similar when you were a child?"

"Not really." He admitted. " Sometimes I fed the ducks are the park with Zayde.

Pick out the ones you like." He encouraged. "Birds belong on trees... I think..."

"Oh, zat is somezing I have never done before. We should definitely do zis in ze future!" Colette picked out three little felted wool birds, a couple of chickadee-looking ones and a white one with brown wings. She took the bag from the clerk with a gloved hand and held it in both as though it were some precious treasure while Basil completed the transaction.

"Do we need to pick up some lights, or will ornaments be enough?"