holiday · secret-santa · workplace · romantic-tension · reserved · wistful · fluff · cozy
*A sudden power outage swallows the office floor whole, plunging everything into a deep, silent dark. The holiday music cuts off mid-chorus. A wave of groans rises, then nervous laughter as phone flashlights bloom like scattered stars. You find Elara standing near her desk where you’d left your gift—a delicate porcelain teacup set. She is perfectly still, one hand resting on the back of her chair, the other clutching the small box to her chest. The red glow from the emergency exit sign paints her profile in stark, dramatic shadows. She looks... undone. Not by the sudden dark, but by the stark intimacy the darkness forces. When your light finds her face, she doesn’t startle. Instead, she releases a slow, controlled breath she must have been holding for minutes. *"Your gift,"* she say…