And so it begins. Wednesdays and Fridays all month. Enjoy!

PS. I know it’s Jay’s birthday but I am sorry to say I just didn’t have time to get a separate fic written, my apologies. Looks like Over Time will be finished in early August, anyway. Happy Birthday Jay!

“This is the first day.”

Jim did not look up from his PADD when Vanik spoke. Jim was sitting in the office area of the apartment he shared with Spock studying for a really important test. He vaguely wondered how Vanik got there. He hadn’t let him in and Spock wasn’t there. He did not need to deal with the pest just then.

“First day of what?” he asked absently.

“Christmas in July.”

Now Jim did look up. “Excuse me?”

“It’s July the first.”

“Right. Uh. Vanik. Wait, how’d you get in?” He shook his head. “Never mind. I don’t want to know. Because then I will be forced to tell Spock.”

“When do the celebrations begin?”

“Celebrations? Look. That’s not really how it works. It’s not really until July the twenty-fourth or so. You know around the real time for Christmas and Christmas Eve five months later. It’s just sort of a wow, it’s only five months until Christmas thing. It’s now less than half a year. It began in a summer camp in 1933. They had fake snow and trees and Santa even.”

Vanik nodded. “Correct. But over the many years since others have expanded on the time to celebrate ‘Christmas in July’. I would like us to be one of them. If you will recall we did something last year.”

“Did we? Well, even if we did, Vanik, I just don’t have time right now. Maybe later in the month, but I have this big test.”

“I am certain you will ace it as usual, Jim.”

“Right. But you know it’s a little hot to be dashing through the snow anyway.”

“Actually, that song originated as a Thanksgiving song.”

Jim rolled his eyes and went back to reading on his PADD. He hoped that would clue Vanik in that he needed to leave.

“Did you know that?”

“Not only is the answer no, I also don’t care.”

“I brought a Santa, a reindeer and a jingle bell.”

Jim looked up at him again. “You what?”

“Cookie cutters. I thought a pleasurable way to begin the month of Christmas in July was for us to engage in Christmas cookie making.”

Jim blinked at the boy, then sighed. He knew defeat when he saw it. So much for not believing in no-win scenarios.

“Tell you what. You go into the living room and sit quietly on the couch for a whole hour and let me study in peace for that time. And when that hour has passed, we’ll make those cookies. Deal?”

Vanik nodded enthusiastically. “Deal.”

Jim looked at him with skepticism. “You think you can be quiet for that long?”

“It will be a challenge but I am up for it. Especially if it means making Christmas cookies with you.”

Jim smiled, patted the boy’s bowl cut, and shooed him away.

It would take a miracle for him to pass this test at this rate.  

  

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