56AN: Merry Christmas everyone! It is Christmas Eve (technically) and I hope you enjoy this fluffy Christmas update. They needed a happy Christmas don't you think? I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!
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Chapter 4: Christmas
It was December twelfth, exactly two weeks until Christmas Eve, and I had finally dragged Mello out of the house to go buy our Christmas tree. Now don't get me wrong, I knew Mello wanted a tree…he just didn't seem particularly fond of tromping through a tree lot in the cold to find one.
"We're the only ones here and the tree lot guys are hiding in their car," he complained, arms wrapped around himself in an attempt to stay warm.
"It's okay," I said absentmindedly, looking one of the trees up and down.
"No it's really not," he argued. "Why can't we just get a fake tree? It's less mess and we never have to buy a tree again."
"It's not as Christmassy. There's no pine tree smell! It's not as traditional!"
"We can spray it with Pine-sol," Mello huffed.
"We're buying a real tree. Get over it," I told him, leaving no room for argument. A shiver passed through his frame and I walked over, pulling him into my arms and kissing him quickly. He couldn't help but smile, even though I saw him try not to, and grinning I pulled away, looking at the tree again. "Alright I want this one or the one on the other side of the lot. Carry this one over there so I can compare them side by side."
He stared at me blankly. "You're joking right?" he asked finally.
"Do I look like I'm joking?" I asked, putting my best serious face on for him. Mello was ready to argue to I cut him off quickly. "This is our first Christmas in our home and I want it to be perfect. Please Mels?" I pulled out the puppy dog eyes and he cringed.
"Fine," he conceded. I mentally patted myself on the back as he picked up the tree, groaning and complaining the entire way across the lot.
Once the trees were standing beside each other I examined both. They were both tall but not too tall, and full without being fat, and it was hard to pick between them. "Which one do you like Mello?"
"I have no opinion," he said, rolling his eyes. "Just pick one so we can get back in the car."
"Have a little more Christmas spirit," I told him, making my choice. He breathed out a sigh of release as I gestured toward the workers, who cut the bottom of the tree off and helped us strap it to the car. We got settled and Mello drove us home.
It took both of us a while to get the tree situated in the house but we managed. We stood back together to look at it, proud of our handiwork. "Well since it needs to settle before we can decorate it, we should go decorate the outside."
He glared at me. "Hey no way. Not happening. It's freezing out there. Don't pout at me!" he yelled, looking away. "It won't work, no fucking way. I'm not doing it and nothing you can do will make me!"
He kept ranting as I dodged into his sight, continuing to pout at him and cuddle against his side. "Not a lot Mels," I said when he finally paused for breath. "Nothing tacky, just a couple strands of lights around the window or something. I'll be out there with you the entire time and then we can come in and warm up in whatever way you deem necessary."
He gave in, like I knew he would. I am glad I learned to harness the power of the puppy dog eyes and pout.
/…/…/…/
I was dragging boxes into the living room when Mello came downstairs; still half asleep and not yet dressed or primped. He looked at the boxes blankly, his brilliant mind not fully up to par in the early hours of the morning. "Morning love," I said cheerily, pecking him on the lips before returning to the boxes. He just looked at me before obviously deciding not to ask and stumbling to the kitchen.
He emerged fifteen minutes later, nurturing a cup of coffee and looking more awake. "What are you doing up surrounded by boxes at seven in the morning?" he asked finally.
"Preparing to decorate of course," I told him.
He looked around the room. Nearly a dozen cardboard boxes were taking up a large chunk of space. "And we got all this stuff when?" he asked.
"I got it last week. That hardware store by the grocery store turns half the store into this Christmas thing and it has tons of decorations."
"Ah of course," he said sarcastically. "Can you at least wait a bit? It's too early for this."
"Will you help if I wait?" I asked.
He rolled his eyes. "I planned to help anyway. Now come keep me company while I make breakfast." I followed him into the kitchen obediently. I gave him space when he started but nuzzled into his neck as he started making eggs.
"It is hard to focus while you're all over me," he pointed out.
"I can't help that you're gorgeous," I informed him kissing his cheek. His cheeks reddened slightly and I chuckled, getting us drinks and sitting at the table as he brought the food over.
We ate quickly then began to decorate the tree, first stringing the lights and then moving on to ornaments. Much to Mello's dismay I had bought tinsel, and a lot of it, which I promptly began decorating the house with.
"The tinsel is for the tree Matt!" Mello yelled, trying to get it away from me. I grinned and danced out of his grip, tossing a handful in his face and hair. He shrieked and fell back, trying to untangle it from his hair. I laughed and continued on, tossing tinsel across the furniture until I was tackled to the floor by Mello. "You're cleaning it up," he told me.
"Fine you win," I said, handing it over. He helped me up and instead we began going through the multiple boxes of stuff I had bought. We had tons of new decorations and while neither of us were designers I think we found good spots for most of it, and the house was very festive by the time we were done.
We stood side by side in the doorway to the living room, admiring the tree from afar. "It looks good," Mello approved. I grinned and leaned close, nodding upwards towards the mistletoe above our heads. "Ah, a tradition I can really enjoy," he murmured before our lips met.
So far it was looking to be a very good Christmas.
/…/…/…/
A week later I decided it was time to bake cookies. It was Christmas and it simply had to be done. There were so many holiday cookies out there, but I knew I shouldn't go overboard since we wouldn't eat half of them. Instead Mello and I decided on two recipes, gingerbread men and toffee squares.
We mixed up dough for the gingerbread men first since the dough had to be refrigerated. It would take two hours before we could bake them so instead we mixed up the toffee squares. They didn't take long at all to finish and soon I was rolling out the dough for the gingerbread men.
"They're almost done baking, could you start making the icing?" I asked Mello as I checked on the cookies.
Mello had finished mixing the icing by the time the cookies were done, and we let them cool for a bit before beginning to decorate. Mello was impatient, and I admit it got a bit tiring after a while, but the end result was wonderful.
I left him then to wrap his gifts. I knew he'd probably be annoyed that I had bought him so much, but it was hard not to. I wasn't particularly skilled at wrapping but I liked to think they looked alright. I was surprised to see a small pile of gifts already under the tree when I brought his into the room.
"Why did you get me so much?" I asked him, setting his gifts under the tree.
"You're one to talk," Mello said, looking at his pile. "You bought just as much as me."
"Not the point," I told him, smiling.
We settled down on the couch to watch a Christmas movie, falling asleep curled together halfway through it.
The rest of the week passed quickly and before I knew it, it was Christmas Eve. We had eaten an early dinner and were now sipping eggnog, watching the snow fall outside. It had started off light but it was falling rather moderately now, and a sudden urge to go outside seized me. "Mello, let's go outside."
"It's snowing," he stated rather unnecessarily.
"Yes, that's the point," I told him, pulling myself out of his embrace and walking towards the hall. I had already pulled on my boots and coat by the time he caught up with me.
"It's cold and wet out there, and you'll get sick for Christmas and be miserable and I'll have to take care of your sick ass all day."
"It's about thirty degrees out. Plus we're not going sledding or anything, I just want to see it properly," I said as I pulled on a hat and gloves.
"You can see it through the window," he said, but he too was getting dressed for the wintery elements. I smiled and took his hand, leading him outside.
It was magical. It was dark and silent, nothing surrounding us except the snow. There was only a light wind, so the snow didn't sting upon impact. My smile widened as I pulled him farther into the snow, looking up at the sky.
I turned to look at them, noting the soft smile that had donned his lips. His eyes met mine and they melted me on the spot. To see so much love and care in those eyes on Christmas Eve in this beautiful snowfall…it was perfect. Snow had never been more romantic. We leaned in as one, lips meeting unhurriedly. His arms slid around my waist and mine trailed up his chest then around his neck. He tugged me closer but my foot slipped and I fell against him. The weight threw him off balance and we tumbled into the snow.
Both of us were laughing, and I leaned in for another kiss. I pulled back a few moments later, looking down at my angel, looking even more angelic lying in the freshly fallen snow. "This is so much better than our first Christmas," I told him.
He traced my cheek with his glove, the snow on it making me shiver slightly. "It was my first good Christmas," he said. "I'd never had someone to care about before then. I am glad that we can enjoy the snow now."
I shivered slightly, not from the cold, but from the memories of the street. That night we had escaped from the trailer and Mello had shown me his vulnerability for the first time…it was a frightening memory. It had been so cold and felt so hopeless…but here we were. Alive and well…and happy. I never imagined I could be so happy. "Yes," I agreed finally. "Now the snow is romantic." We continued to lie there a few more minutes before Mello complained of the cold and we went inside, leaving the snow behind. Instead we made hot chocolate and sat in front of the lit tree. We sat in silence for a while, simply sipping our drinks and relaxing.
"I love you," I said quietly some time later, when both our mugs were nearly empty.
He turned to me, a gentle smile playing across his lips as he leaned in to kiss me. His lips were soft and he tasted of chocolate and eggnog and a taste that was so uniquely Mello; and I melted against him. We broke apart and I curled up against his side, laying my head on his shoulder.
"I love you too."
/…/…/…/
"Merry Christmas Mello!"
He mumbled softly, turning away and curling into a ball. I had to admit it was cold, so I scooted closer, pulling him against me, strictly to help keep him warm of course.
"We wish you a Merry Christmas," I sang quietly in his ear. He chuckled and groaned at one time, which was intriguing to say the least, and slowly opened his eyes. He blinked up at me sleepily, pulling the blankets tighter around us.
"It's cold," he said finally.
"It's Christmas," I replied.
"Still cold. Bed warm. Stay here."
"Your ability to form sentences is absolutely pathetic when you've just woken up. Now sit up and let's go, there are presents to open!"
"Aren't we past the excited child stage of life yet?" he asked, but nonetheless he sat up, dragging the blankets with him.
"Obviously not. Now let's go, you need to see the amazing things I got you. I must say I am a wonderful shopper."
He followed me downstairs, where I sorted out the gifts. We took turns opening the gifts, one by one. He'd gotten me several games that had just been released, a couple new shirts and a video camera that I was excited to try out. My favorite gift though was the new pair of leather boots, black with zippers, laces, and chains. They must have cost him a fortune.
He seemed pleased with his new leather gloves and coat, as I knew he would be. The chocolate themed pajama pants made him laugh, which really had been the point all along. I had surprised him with the book, which I had seen him eyeing a few weeks ago when we were in town. Of course his favorite gift was the tin of assorted chocolates (which better last a while since they had cost a fortune).
We had a small breakfast, choosing instead to put on a Christmas movie to watch in the background as we fussed with our gifts. Mello was going through that chocolate much too quickly for my liking so I distracted him by suggesting we read the video camera instruction manual together.
It was nearly one by the time he started dinner, refusing to let me help since I may burn down the house. Instead I started a new game, and had made quite some progress by the time Mello called me in to eat.
The meal was delicious, and after a quick cleanup we spent the rest of the evening relaxing, cuddling on the couch and exchanging kisses. It was almost midnight by the time we retired to our rooms.
"This has been a good Christmas," I murmured sleepily, head nestled against his shoulder. He shifted slightly, placing a chaste kiss on the top of my head before settling against me again.
"It has been. It was a very successful holiday season."
I simply nodded, eyes heavy. I was sad to see the holiday end; it had been the best one I had ever had. The upside was that we could do this again…every year for the rest of our lives.
"Merry Christmas Mello. Love you," I muttered against his shoulder.
I dimly registered his reply of "Love you too, " before falling asleep.
I couldn't wait for next Christmas.