"I just want you for my own, more than you could ever know. Make my wish come true, all I want for Christmas is you."
~ Mariah Carey, All I Want for Christmas
Christmas morning, they woke to the countless pitter patter of feet stampeding down the stairs.
Sophie's eyes peeled open and she was greeted by a broad chest. More irritated with herself than embarrassed this time, she sluggishly rolled off of him. "Sorry again." She mumbled, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "You're like a magnet or something."
Or something was right. He chuckled at her groggy mumbling as he stretched his arms out, his chest drawing up sharply with a yawn. "My fault." He joked.
"All your fault." She confirmed with a sleepy smirk, crawling out of bed. "So, you don't have to do this, but..." she drawled and fished a box out of the closet. "It's tradition for my family to all wear matching pajamas for Christmas. My mom got you a pair, but it's up to you if you want to wear them."
She stood at his bedside and handed him the box. He sat up against the headboard and opened it to reveal red and black plaid pajama pants, with a patch across the butt that said in bold letters, "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" The shirt was a simple black shirt, with a red Christmas tree in the middle, with the same words across the chest.
He couldn't help but chuckle at the ridiculous clothes, but readily agreed. "I'll wear them."
"Really? You don't have to if you don't want to."
His head lolled to gaze at her, a lazy smile on his lips. She couldn't help but notice he's been smiling more.
"I want to." He reassured her.
He wants to wear the pajamas. He wants to be included. To be part of a family. To be matching with his wife and her family.
He got dressed in the bathroom while she changed in the bedroom. Like the gentleman he was, he knocked before entering the bedroom again. At her okay, he strolled out of the bathroom and she couldn't help but bust out laughing. Her laughter brought out a chuckle from him, proud he was able to make her laugh- even if it was partially at his expense.
"Oh, no." She chuckled and shuffled over to him to closer examine his outfit. The big size her mom chose was unfortunately still too small for him, the ends of his pants ending at the tops of his ankles, his shirt snug but not overly tight.
"You can wear something more comfortable, I'm sorry-"
"I don't mind." He shrugged and she was surprised the fabric didn't rip.
She shot him a deadpan look. He shot one back.
"You look so uncomfortable." She conveyed.
He shook his head and confessed, "I want to match." I want to be apart of the family, is what he really wanted.
Sensing this, Sophie backed off. "Alrighty, if you say so. You ready to head downstairs?"
He smiled. "Can't wait."
Almost everyone was awake, all gathered in the living room. The youngest were sat on the floor by the tree, eager to see what Santa brought them.
Sophie and Cillian decided to take a seat on the edge of the fireplace, Sophie wrapped in a blanket she stole off a couch. It was common for her, he noticed. She always had a blanket, even if she wasn't cold. She always wanted something to hold or to cover her.
She felt his gaze on her and offered part of her blanket. He didn't need it, the fire behind him keeping him plenty warm. Even still, he found himself accepting her offer, sharing the blanket.
Her mom, as usual, was going around, taking pictures with her unnecessarily large iPad. "Awe, you two look adorable! Smile!"
With an affectionate roll of her eyes, she leaned her head against his shoulder, both of them smiling for the camera.
Her mom held the iPad about two inches from her face, not able to see properly without her glasses. "Got it!" She peeked at the picture. "Cute! Alex, grab your sister. I want a picture of you in your pajamas. Don't whine, go stand next to her and pretend you love her for three seconds."
The pair shook their head, amused by her antics. "There will be plenty more pictures, I'm just warning you now." Sophie told him through a smile.
"I don't mind." He responded with a matching grin.
Sophie peeked up and felt her stocking, her jaw dropping in mock surprise. "Looks like I was good this year!" She said as she took her stocking off the hook. "Wanna go through yours?"
He mimicked her actions, shocked how full it was. He peeked inside to find it stuffed to the brim with multiple different chocolates.
"I wanna open presents already!" Chris complained, far too old to think Santa was real, but still played along for the younger cousins.
"Be patient, Christopher." Mary scolded, lightly.
"Geez, not my government name."
"C'mon, everyone! Find a seat so we can start opening presents."
The pair watched as they munched on their stocking stuffers as kids all opened their gifts from Santa first, all at once. Then one by one, everyone took turns opening what they got for each other.
Eventually, it was their turn.
"For the newlyweds." Angela said with a smile, handing them a small box. The box was so light, it felt as if there was nothing in it, but her mom wasn't one for pranks.
"Awe, thanks mom." Sophie spoke and placed the box in Cillian's lap.
She thought he probably hasn't opened a gift in God only knew how long and let him do the majority of the tearing. Once all the paper was ripped off, they opened the lid and pulled out the single piece of paper on it.
With furrowed brows, Sophie pulled it out and read it aloud. "An all exclusive romantic getaway for three nights in a five star hotel!? Mom, dad!" She exclaimed in slight panic but tried to make it sound like excitement.
"Your mom and I talked and we thought you two deserve a honeymoon." Her dad explained, sincerely, his daughter's jaw still dropped.
Angela chimed in and excitedly exclaimed, "It's up in the mountains not too far from here. It'll be a romantic winter wonderland honeymoon!"
"Thank you." Cillian interjected, since it hadn't been said yet.
"Yeah, thank you." Sophie exasperated, staring at the paper in disbelief.
"Maybe you can save the baby making for then and not the guest bedroom." Mary chimed in with a snicker.
Sophie, who was currently taking a sip of her drink, immediately started choking. Everyone turned to look at her as she choked on her hot chocolate for a long time, no one but Cillian making any attempt to help her so she just sat there choking for an uncomfortably long period of time, her husband awkwardly patting her back. Everyone stayed silent as she coughed, turned red, and clapped on her chest. When she was finally done, tears were running down her very bright red face.
"What?" She croaked out, hoarsely.
"I was kidding." Her aunt deadpanned.
She burped, giving her some relief. "Uh huh."
"For newlyweds, you two sure are shy about sex-"
"Let's just- let's just stop talking about that. Okay? Thank you. Merry Christmas." Sophie rambled out, wiping any of her drink she might have spilt.
Thankfully, the subject was quickly changed, and it was the next person's turn to open a gift. Soon enough, the gift opening came to an end. Happily munching on the chocolate he got from his stocking, the pair watched as the kids played with their new toys and the adults chit chatted amongst each other.
As the kids were busy doing that, Sophie pulled out a gift from behind her. "I got you something."
Cillian's eyes widened in surprise and he took the box, carefully tearing the paper off. He opened the box to find, "a phone?"
"I got you an iPhone!" She told him, excitedly. "And I thought I'd let you know that the money I got is our money. If there's anything you wanna spend it on, just let me know."
He was shocked to say the least. He didn't deserve her generosity, especially not from her- but she seemed eager to give these gifts to him.
Before he could say anything, she continued, "I already have it set up for you with my contact in there and stuff. It's the same kind of phone as mine." She told him, showing her own phone to him.
Briefly, he saw her own lock screen- a picture of some pretty scenery she took. He pointed at it and asked, "I can change the picture?"
"You can!" She said. "It can be whatever you want."
That was exactly what he wanted to hear. He passed his phone to one of the cousins and asked him, "Will you take a picture of us?"
"Course!" She agreed. "Let's go somewhere with better lighting." Little did they realize, it was all a trap.
She guided them to a doorway of all places. Cillian wrapped an arm around Sophie and with a blush, she wrapped her arms around his torso, a hand on his chest.
After a couple pictures, another voice piped up. "Uh oh, you know the rules!" One of Sophie's older cousins teased, a smile on her lips.
Sophie's eyebrows knit together and turned her gaze up to find what she was referring to.
Oh no. Mistletoe.
Cillian conveniently snuck a piece of chocolate in his mouth.
In that moment, everyone seemed to quiet down and turned their attention towards the "newlyweds." This was awkward regardless if they were a real couple or not.
"Ouch!" Cillian exclaimed, cupping the right side of his face.
"What's wrong?" She was quick to ask, concerned.
"Bit my cheek." He winced.
"Is it bad? Do you need something?"
He grimaced and started to tug her along with him to the kitchen. "I think some water to rinse it out. I'm not sure if it's bleeding."
The rest of her family watched as the couple left, concerned for Cillian and completely forgetting about the mistletoe. Out of the sight from the others, Sophie got a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water.
Handing it to him, she asked, "do you want me to look at it?"
He rubbed the left side of his face. "No, I think it's okay now. Thank you."
Her eyes narrowed. "Wasn't it your other cheek?"
He innocently shrugged and took a sip of the water.
"Well aren't you being cheeky." She teased with a chuckle, proud of her pun.
Her smile slowly faded until a frown formed. Why did he lie? That was the perfect opportunity for him to kiss her. That's all he wanted, wasn't it? For her to give in a little more everyday into the bond? Wouldn't a kiss do that?
"Why did you lie?" She couldn't help but ask.
He set the glass down and faced her. "I know that's not what you wanted."
Was it? "Is it what you wanted?"
His gaze fell, his fingers playing with the stem of the glass. "You've asked this before... what I want from you."
Remembering, she recalled. "You said anything I was willing." She took a step towards him, toe to toe with him.
His eyes danced across her face, as if he were admiring each and every feature of her, because he was. He was studying every freckle, the bits of green that flickered in her gray eyes, her two perfectly placed dimples, her soft pink lips, everything.
"And you weren't. That's okay." He reassured her with a sad smile. "You asked me to wait and I will."
Why wasn't she willing? Out of all the men she's had in and out of her life, Cillian was by far the most gentle hearted, kind, and respectful one. Despite pushing him away, he was nothing but respectful towards her. He fought every instinct he had to make her feel safe and respect her wishes, even if it hurt him.
If they met under different circumstances, maybe... maybe she would be willing. Maybe she was fighting her willingness now out of spite. Fear. Not out of fear of him, but where he's from. From the unknown. From the future.
Another step and they were nearly pressed together. Her hands raised and rested on the tops of his shoulders, his posture relaxing telling her that the touch was welcomed. Her fingers trailed further until they cupped his face, his head ducking so she could reach, completely melted into her touch.
"If I was?" She asked.
A broad smile adorned his face with a dreamy glint in his eyes. "I would kiss you."
He noticed whenever he made her bashful or shy, she'd hide her face in her hands- or maybe rather hide the blush he caused that he adored so much. "Why do you always hide from me?" He teased and gently tugged her hands from her face and guided them back to cup his own face instead.
Just as he was puddy in her hands, she was immediately a puddle at his bold statement and endearing actions. Braver then usual, her fingertips delicately trailed from his brow bone, the sides of his face, down to his jaw. Her thumbs affectionately traced his jaw bone, her lower lip caught between her teeth in thought.
Finally, she brought him closer and planted a kiss on the corner of his lips. She pulled away just enough to whisper, "I'll give you a real one later when all my family isn't around."
He wasn't sure when later was, but he couldn't wait.
â¢â¢â¢
Please don't forget to comment, follow, and vote!!
Thank you for 6,000 reads! Remember, the more comments I get, the sooner I update!
Question of the chapter: what do y'all think about the clues for the next chapter?? I'm so excited! ;)
Clues for next chapter: ðð«§ð