Our Troubles Will Be Miles Away

“Bernard, would you puh-lease chill!! If you keep stressing like this, you’ll be taking years off of your life expectancy!” Avery said, grabbing her best friend by the shoulders and shaking him.
“Ave! We both know that Christmas is in less than 2 DAYS! We have to make sure that every little boy and girl all through out the world gets the toys that they want and that they are made well!” Bernard, the North Pole’s head elf cried, throwing his hands up in the air.
“Bernard, sweetheart! Everything is going along perfectly! The elves have been working so very hard, and are even ahead of schedule right now!” Avery pointed out.
Bernard sighed, knowing that Avery was right. “But if I lighten up even just a smidge, who knows what could happen!”
“I know what! You’ll live a whole century longer! I swear Bernard, nobody, not even Mother Nature combined with Santa, Father Time, Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy, worry as much as you! You deserve the ‘The World’s Biggest Worrier Award’!” Avery exclaimed. She released Bernard’s shoulders and linked arms with him, letting out a sigh. Arguing with Bernard this close to Christmas will most likely leave the both of them with combusted brains.
Avery led the pair inside the kitchen doors that they had been standing in front of, and took Bernard over to the Cocoa machine and made them both a nice, steaming cup of hot chocolate in order to help calm her best friend down a little.
“Thanks” Bernard mumbled, taking the cup containing the sweet liquid that all elves adored.
“C’mon, let’s go see the reindeer- I want to see how Chet is doing!” Avery said, dropping the topic for the time being, dragging her friend to the stables

“Hey Ivy! Where’s Chet?” Avery asked the elf in charge of the stables.
“Hey Avery, Chet is right over there in his stable,” Ivy responded, pointing over to where Chet was peeking out from his stable.
Quickly saying thank you to the elf, Avery jogged over to Chet, Bernard trailing after the elf.
“Hey Chet! How are you?” Avery asked the young reindeer, scratching him behind his ear. Chet smiled at her in his reindeer-like way, and said something that
only she heard and could understand.
“That’s fantastic Chet! You’re improving each and every time I come and visit you!” the she-elf smiled at the grinning reindeer. The young reindeer then said something that Bernard had no hopes of hearing, but he wished he could have, for his best friend’s face turned as red as a tomato.
“No I have not told him yet, Chet! He is my best friend in the whole wide world, and he is always so busy that dating is totally out of the question!” the girl whispered quickly, looking over at the Arch-elf to confirm that he had not heard what the reindeer had said, which he hadn’t. Avery sighed in relief and turned back to the inexperienced reindeer.
“I’ll tell him later, Chet, but for now, I am quite satisfied with just being friends with Bernard,” she informed him.
“Whatever you say, Ave. But do it soon! I hate living in suspense!” Chet told the girl.
“We’ll see, Chet, we’ll see! And for now, I bid you an adieu!” She smiled, patting the top of the reindeer’s head before walking back over to her best friend.
“What did Chet say?” Bernard inquired, taking a sip of his hot cocoa as Avery linked her arm to his once again.
“That is for me and Chet to know, and you to sometime soon find out” she replied, grinning.
Bernard sighed and rolled his head before handing off his now empty cocoa cup to one of the kitchen elves who was returning to the kitchen after running a quick errand.
“Avery, just wondering, but why the snowflake are you out here with me? Shouldn’t you be in music room watching over your elves?” Bernard asked, just realizing where his female friend should be.
Avery shrugged “I could be, but I decided to let them all have a break because we were all a day ahead of schedule!” She smiled, “and this little tidbit of important information is just striking you?”
Bernard waved the comment off with a flick of his hand, “I have a lot to be thinking about right now, and the thought had just occurred to me, so sue me.”
Avery laughed “Well, at least you have seemed to have relaxed a bit since I had found you. I’m going to head back to the music room, I’ll see after work!” She gave her best friend a hug and a kiss on the cheek before skipping away to where she worked in the toy factory.
In her dust, she left an elf whose face became dusted with a light pink color, holding his cheek where she had kissed him, and wondering why he suddenly felt so different towards his friend after so many centuries of knowing her.

“From now on, our troubles will be out of sight” Avery sang softly to herself.
She was on her way to Bernard’s apartment so that they could walk together to the factory like they did every morning.
“Good Morning Bernard!” Avery greeted her friend upon reaching his apartment.
“Morning!” Bernard smiled, locked his door and linked arms with his companion.
“Can you believe that it’s already Christmas Eve? It feels like just yesterday was the beginning of the Christmas season!” Avery said cheerfully, lightly humming the chorus of some Christmas song.
“Yeah, but there is so much to get done today, everything has to be ready and perfect!” Bernard said, nodding his head while unable to hide the smile that appeared on his face from his best friend’s energy and excitement.
Avery stopped humming and turned her head to look at Bernard “Hey, promise me that you won’t worry too much today, okay? I know that today is Christmas Eve and everything, but just take deep breaths. Can you do that much for me?”
Bernard sighed, a small smile playing on his lips “I can try, but I make no guarantees!”
The she-elf nodded “I suppose I can accept that answer.” She gave him a soft smile and turned back to look at the path in front of them.
“Here were are as in olden days,
Happy golden days of yore
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us, once more
Through the years we all will be together
If the fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough
And have yourself a merry little Christmas now.”
Avery sang softly, so only the pair of them could hear. Bernard was lost in listening to her voice when his thoughts were broken by her laughing.
“I just noticed that the lines ‘Faithful friends who are dear to us, gather near to us, once more’ suit us very well! In fact, that entire song is perfect for the two of us!” she said in response to the questioning look that she had received from him.
“Ohh! Your right!” Bernard exclaimed after thinking through the lyrics of the song. The two elves look at each other and smiled.
Looking ahead of themselves again, they realized that they had already arrived at the workshop.
Avery sighed and unhooked her arm from Bernard’s “I’m heading over to the Music Room, and if I don’t see you before then, my plan is to catch up with you to watch Santa take off.”
“Mmhmm, alright, but make sure that everything gets done perfectly and efficiently!” Bernard reminded his best friend, receiving an energetic nod in reply. He smiled, turned her to face the way to the Music Room and gave her a light push to start her on her way. She looked over her shoulder and gave him a quick wink before starting on her way to her work room.
It’s a good thing she didn’t look back, Bernard thought, otherwise she would have seen his once again, pink-tinted face.

On her way to the Music Room, Avery made a quick detour to the Stables to see Chet.
“Morning Santa!” Avery greeted the legendary figure as she entered the stables.
“Good morning Avery! What are you doing here? Is everything alright in the Music Room?” Santa greeted the girl, curious as to why she came into the stables.
“No worries Santa! I have not been in to my work room yet, but I can pretty much assure you that when I do arrive there, everything will be up and running smoothly!” she let out a laugh “no, I just wanted to stop by and see Chet!”
Santa let out a chuckle, “I see! Say, Avery, the Mrs. and I were talking, and we began to wonder- what to think about Bernard? How do you feel about him?”
The two Christmas related figures stopped at Chet’s stall and saw that he was eating his breakfast.
“Morning Chet!” she greeted the young reindeer before turning to look at Santa with a confused look “Bernard is my best friend in the whole universe, and I love him to bits! Why to ask?”
Santa let out a chuckle “Carol and I agree that we both think you two would make an adorable couple, and we see the looks you give the other when you know their not looking. We’ve asked some of the other elves, and they say that when you’re around Bernard, he lightens up and it seems as if his troubles are mostly miles away.”
The elf let out a laugh, “oh snowflakes! There it is again!” She grinned at the father of Christmas. “This morning, I had realized and pointed it out to Bernard that the song Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas is like our song! It dictates our lives quite nicely!”
Chet looked at the elf and laughed in his reindeer like way. Avery smiled at her favorite reindeer and began to pet him, a comfortable silence settling over the Christmas figures.
“Wait!” Avery said suddenly, a thought clicking in her head. Santa turned to look back the she-elf. “You said ‘we see the looks you give the other when know their not looking.’ That implies that Bernard likes me too!”
“Aha! So you do like him!” Santa said excitedly, a special twinkle in his eye. Avery realized her slip up, and blushed profusely, the color resembling holly berry juice.
She stuck her tongue out her boss, causing him to let out a loud, merry laugh. “Okay yeah, so I like Bernard, but back to what you had implied. Have you asked Bernard if he likes me?” she said, returning Kris Kringle’s thoughts to what she wanted to know.
“No, but Carol is on that task. The two of us know that he likes you, but were not sure if he has realized it yet” Santa informed her. She nodded and looked at Chet “I should be on my way. If I don’t get a chance to see you later, I wish you both a very merry Christmas and safe travels!” She gave the reindeer a kiss on the forehead and gave Santa a quick hug before turning away and heading on her way to the Music Room.
“Good luck, Avery!” Santa called after her retreating, receiving a quick wave over her shoulder. He chuckled and turned to look at his reindeer in training “Thanks for helping Chet!”
Chet replied with his baby noises.

“So, Bernard, how are you?” Carol asked Bernard. The two had figuratively ran into each other just after Bernard had entered the work shop.
“I’m not bad, how about you?” Bernard replied, looking below from the top of the stairs to see how everything was doing out on the floor.
“I’m doing very well, but there was something that I wanted to ask you,” Carol said.
“Fire away” Bernard said, signifying that he would answer pretty much any question she asked him.
“Well, Santa and I have been talking, and wondering… How to feel about Avery? What do you think of her?” Carol asked lightly, watching the Arch-elf’s profile for any sign of what he was thinking.
Bernard sighed, knowing that he could trust the Mrs. Claus with pretty much anything. He started to walk to the kitchen to get his morning cup of cocoa, Carol following after him. He looked at her briefly and sighed again before averting his eyes back to the path in front of him. “Avery is my very best friend, and I trust her like no other. But as of late, I’ve been feeling differently around her…” he trailed off.
“Different how?” Carol inquired, trying to extract as many details from the head elf as she could.
“Different as in butterflies in my stomach when I around her. Different as in, when ever she gives me a friendly kiss on the cheek or wink, my face turns red.” Bernard admitted, looking at the elves around him to make sure that none of them had heard what he had said.
Carol nodded, glad that Bernard trusted her enough to share with her his innermost and secret feelings. “Bernard, you’re in with Avery, honey” Carol paused a moment to look at Bernard, who was nodding his head “and I think you need to go tell her so.”
Bernard shook his head “I’m not sure if I can do that Carol… are you positive that she likes me back?” The elf just couldn’t seem to wrap his head around the fact that his best friend and the girl he secretly loved loved him back.
“I assure you Bernard, she loves you too!” Carol confirmed. “I promise you Bernard, she really does love you,” Carol said, reassuring the elf. “I need to go talk to Santa about something, but I really think you should tell her, and soon.”
Carol gave the elf an encouraging look and left him to his thoughts.

“Bernard!!” Avery called the Arch-elf out, throwing her arms around his waist and resting her chin on his shoulder “How goes it Peppermint-Lips?”
Bernard let out a laugh, “Only you would come up with that kind of nickname!” Avery smiled; glad to make her friend happy. “I’m doing pretty well, tired though, but that’s to be expected, seeing as it was a very busy day.”
Avery giggled and released Bernard, only to grab his hand “C’mon! Santa is about to leave! We have maybe 4 minutes to get there!”
Bernard smiled at her and the pair ran off hand in hand toward the stables where the sleigh would be.
Moments later, the duo had reached the stables, and just in time too; Santa had was just finishing up his adieus to his wife.
“Travel safely, Santa!” Avery grinned up at Christmas’s legendary figure.
“See in awhile,” Bernard said, nodding at his boss.
Santa and Carol both smiled, noticing that the two elves were holding hands, but neither said anything. “Thank you Avery, Bernard!” The big man replied, then turned ahead in his sleigh and began his roll call, and dashed off into the sky to deliver toys to children throughout the world.
“So, Bernard, I congratulate you on a job well done” Avery said, turning to look at the elf with a soft smile gracing her features.
“Likewise” he said, returning the smile. “Say, Avery, would you like to go on a walk with me? There is something I would like to tell you.”
Avery gave her companion a surprised look “You mean right now? What about clean up?”
Bernard shrugged “It’ll still be here after our walk, there is something kind of important that I want to tell you.” Avery grinned and nodded, and the two walked out of the stables into the open air, heading towards the outskirts of the little village.
“Okay Bernard, what is it that you wanted to tell me?” Avery asked, breaking the comfortable silence they had been walking in, as soon as they reached the final café in town. Bernard glanced around to make sure that they were alone and sighed.
“Earlier today, Mrs. Claus and I were talking and she helped me realize something very important,” Bernard took a moment to collect his thoughts, and the she-elf gave him an encouraging smile “Avery, whenever I’m around you, I get butterflies in my tummy; whenever I’m without you, I feel incomplete, and worry about you. Mrs. Claus helped me realize Avery that I’m in love with you, and that I never want to be with out you. You make all my troubles disappear, they go miles away from me, and all I think about is you; about how kind and helpful you are, how you’re always upbeat and how you’re always full of brilliant ideas.”
Bernard paused a for a quick moment to regain his breath, his face turning pink for the umpteenth time this week, and continued “Avery, I love you.”
“Remind me to thank Chet later” she said with a huge grin on her face, receiving a confused look from Bernard.
“What? Why?”
“He has been telling me to this for such a very long time.” Avery smile and gently placed her lips against Bernard’s. The Arch-elf didn’t need a second to even consider what was happening before he kissed her back. They kissed for what seemed to be an eternity, but also just seconds; they placed all of their feelings into it. It was sweet, innocent and chaste, yet full of passion, feeling, and love.
They soon had to pull away for air, for as much as they could live for centuries, they needed oxygen to survive. Avery wrapped her arms around the he-elf’s neck and gave him a quick kiss before resting her head on his chest, contented with the day’s turnout. Boy, did they have the Mr. and Mrs. Claus to thank, and Chet too.
“Merry Christmas Bernard,” Avery whispered.
“Merry Christmas Avery,” Bernard replied, kissing the top of her head before resting his chin on it.

“Through the years we all will be together
If the fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough
And have yourself a merry little Christmas now.”