Disclaimer: I do not own Ugly Betty . I'm just a fan and I write for fun.
Authors Notes: My first Ugly Betty Christmas fic and it's about Henry and Betty's first Christmas together (of course!) But I also have some interesting Suarez family interaction as they get their first taste of Hanukkah. This story in response to a lovely little challenge over on the best Henry/Betty fansite on the web: InstantConnection. I'm not part of that board but I know some of the girls there and decided to enter their contest anyway. (Like crashing a prom but for fanfic writers!)
The items I had to include were (at least three of the following): Strings of popcorn, an elf, holiday-themed underwear, nutcracker, Santa's Secret Village, a dreidel, latkes, a life-size snowglobe, Red-Rider BB Gun, and Santa.
It also had to have at least one of the following phrases: "Ho, Ho, Ho", "Chrismukkah", "Bah Humbug", "Sevivon Sov Sov Sov" ("Hanukka Top, Spin and Spin"), "Naughty or Nice".
And yes, I will be including all of them. That's just the kind of writer I am. (Plus I like extra brownie points!)
Christmas Firsts
"So, what are you gonna get him? Something naughty or nice?"
"Hilda," Betty said in an exasperated tone.
The two sisters were currently doing some last minute shopping. Betty was getting nervous about spending her very first (and possibly only) Christmas with Henry. She had to make sure it was unforgettable, and amazing, and perfect. Starting with the gift.
It was too bad she had put off getting him a gift until two days before Christmas. When she called her sister for ideas, she grabbed her and the two headed to the Queens Mall. The bright lights and bustling people distracted her even more and as they were making the rounds of Macys for the third time, she found herself wondering if it would be so bad to just get him a gift card.
"I feel so awful. Why did I have to wait so long to get him a present?"
"Well you did have all that crazy stuff going on at Mode."
Betty still looked upset.
"Come on. Don't blame yourself. With everything you've been through, I'm sure you could be forgiven for forgetting to buy some presents."
"But I got you all something. I even got Daniel and Christina something…"
"Wow. That's pretty thoughtless."
Betty glared at her older sister.
"Sorry, I'm just sayin'… I mean, you managed to make time to get gifts for your friend and even your boss but the one person who you might not even see next Christmas, that's the guy you don't take time out for-"
"Why did I even ask you to come with me?"
"'Bah humbug', why don't you, Betty."
She quickly left her older sister, not caring where she was going. As a result she found herself a bit lost. Somewhere past the children's shoes and the overly-perky perfume sales women, she found herself in the undergarments section. Specifically the men's section.
As she slowly walked past the muted briefs and the brightly colored boxer shorts, she spotted a small display case with some holiday-themed underwear.
'Who in their right mind would buy that?'
"So you decided something naughty."
"Hilda!"
Her older sister seemingly popped out of nowhere, sporting a grin, "I cannot believe you're gonna get this for Henry."
"I'm not! And how did you find me?"
"I didn't. And this would be a kick ass gift. It's spontaneous and fun. It's memorable… I'd buy it."
"You would," Betty mumbled before giving the display case a second look.
"Unless you've got another idea in mind," Hilda said pointedly.
Betty resigned herself to the fact that she did not, in fact, have any other idea so quickly grabbing a particularly cute Rudolph print, she made her way to the cashier, a nosey young guy, of course, and paid for her purchase.
Just because she bought it, didn't mean she would give it to him. But it could be plan B. Or plan C. There were other places to get him a good gift, Betty was sure of it…
""""""""
…Then again, maybe there wasn't. Online shopping didn't bring her much solace.
"A nutcracker? No. 101 recipes for latkes? Nope. A life-size snow globe? Who even buys…? A Red-Rider BB Gun…"
She plunked her head down on the desk a heaved a huge sigh, "Thanks a lot, internet."
What really got to her was that the problem was all her fault. She was the one who procrastinated in getting him the perfect gift. What's more, now that she had the resources of the internet she felt like she didn't know what would make the perfect. Something that screamed "Henry", which made her think that she didn't know her boyfriend as well as she thought she did.
That thought was even worse than leaving to get his gift at the last minute.
On the day before Christmas, she was supposed to go over to his apartment. They were going to spend Christmas alone, something she had to beg her family to do, reasoning this would be their first and only holiday together. Her father had consented and Justin was quick to fill his aunt's empty seat.
"You're inviting someone to our Christmas Eve dinner?" Hilda was incredulous.
"Doesn't she have a family to spend the holidays with?" the elderly Suarez male said.
"She lives with her grandmother and she doesn't really have anything planned today. Plus she gave me an autographed picture of Michael Crawford!" At his mother's and grandfather's blank stares he clarified, "The original Phantom of the Opera both in Her Majesty's Theatre in England and here in Braodway!"
"Oh," they both said.
"It was the least I could do for her. Please?"
"Alright, since Betty won't be eating with us today, I guess your little friend can come."
"Thanks mom! Let me go tell her."
He rushed upstairs happily while the adults simply smiled and shook their heads. The older man then excused himself, a mysterious smile on his face.
""""""""
Betty had since made herself comfortable in Henry's apartment, she looked at her boyfriend affectionately as he steadied a small tree on the coffee table. It was their compromise from an earlier disagreement. She brought some craft supplies and the two settled down to make little ornaments for their tree.
"Your angel looks like a lopsided bird," Betty laughed.
"Oh really?" he smiled, "Well I think your snowman looks like he's melting."
"…It's an elf."
He paused before he laughed out loud. Betty soon joined him as she tossed her little paper figure onto the table. She didn't expect to knock over their glitter, nearly half of it ending up in a pile on the floor.
"Oh no!"
"That's one way to make the floor more festive," Henry grabbed a handful of it and put it into the canister. As he reached for another handful, he got an evil gleam in his eye.
"You could use a little more sparkle yourself, Betty."
"What?"
He sprinkled some glitter into her hair much to her surprise, "Henry!"
"It's not that much."
"Glitter is hard to wash out of hair. Trust me. A few years ago, Justin got into it some green glitter and he looked like a shiny haired leprechaun until New Years."
"Fine, fine. I won't do it again." he smiled.
"Good. Doesn't mean I won't," she grabbed a handful and flung it onto him, coating his head and sweater.
"Hey!"
"Now you look dazzling, dah-ling!"
"I think you know what this means…" he grabbed a handful of the glitter in front of him while she backed away with the canister of the remaining glitter.
"Glitter fight!"
The two had no mercy as sparkly ammunition was traded between both sides. It went flying everywhere. The economy size tub of glitter was fully used up in half an hour. The two eventually agreed to a "truce" when they ran out and soon surveyed the damage.
"This is gonna be a pain to clean up, huh?"
"It gives your apartment character. But I'll help you clean up tomorrow," she grinned at him, her braces sparkling along with the rest of her. He smiled and grabbed her for a kiss.
"Deal," he said.
""""""""
"Ho, Ho, Ho," came the loud jovial voice of a specific bearded man.
"Dad, what are you wearing?" Hilda gaped at him as he entered the room wearing a red jacket and pants with a red Santa hat.
"Like it? I found it in a flea market a few weeks ago. Just cost me two dollars."
"Are you gonna be dressed like a… dime store Santa when Justin's little friend comes over?"
"I just put it on and you want me to put it away?"
"It's okay mom," Justin finally emerged from his room. "My friend, Rebecca, she'd get a kick out of this. I wanted to give her a real Christmas dinner."
"Why? Doesn't she celebrate Christmas?"
"Nope. She's Jewish. And she'll be here in ten minutes."
"Wait, she's what?" Hilda looked concerned.
"That's not a problem is it?"
"No, I mean, well… I don't want to say the wrong thing around her. She already celebrated… that holiday with the eight candles, right? And do we have to check if our food is kosher or something?"
"The holiday you're referring is Hanukkah, which is over, and don't worry. She doesn't mind much if the food is kosher or not."
Hilda looked over to her father to see what he thought about it. He simply shrugged and went to grab some presents to put under the tree.
About an hour into the meal, with Ignacio and Justin doing much of the talking, Hilda found herself taking a liking to the young, fair-haired Rebecca. The kid was polite and cheerful when she talked to them. She marveled over their pink Christmas tree, with the strings of popcorn and the silver tinsel.
"Your house is so… Christmasy! It's like Santa's Secret Village or something."
"Thanks, we try," Justin said, "Though next time, we're not going to go for the pink tree."
"I didn't even know they made pink trees," she laughed before turning to Justin's grandfather, "Sir, your turkey was wonderful!"
"Well we have some extra if you want to take some home with you," he smiled.
"Really? That would be great."
He left Hilda and the two youngsters alone, and just as quickly there was silence. Hilda didn't know what to talk about and the two kids just sat at the table looking from her to each other.
"So… you're Jewish."
"Yes. I've always wanted to see what a true Christmas dinner was like. Me and my gran, um, my grandma, barely celebrate Hanukkah. I mean, we used to but now, in her old age, I'm the one who lights the candles in the menorah every night and she gives me money to buy my own presents."
"Oh wow. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry…"
"It's okay. Actually, if dinner is over, I wanted to show you guys something. Well, I sort of got it for Justin but it can be for everyone."
"Becca, that picture was more than enough," Justin tried to decline.
"It's nothing big," she got up and grabbed a small box from her jacket pocket that was hanging on a coat rack. She watched as he unwrapped it.
"Oh cool. A little top made of clay."
"Yeah, a dreidel."
"Right. We learned about that in class last week," he recalled.
"I can teach you how to play the dreidel game. See, first we need our "gelt". Our coins. They don't have to be real coins though, we can use these chocolates," she grabbed a handful of chocolates from the candy dish in the living room before taking a seat. Then she divided them evenly between her and Justin. "We each put one of our chocolates in the middle of the table. That will be our 'pot'…"
She went on about the markings on each side of the four-sided top, and how, like dice, if it landed on a certain marking, there was a consequence: a player must either put something into the 'pot', take half of the 'pot', skip a turn or take everything in the 'pot'. Hilda was even more intrigued than Justin.
"Sevivon Sov Sov Sov," the girl said almost to herself.
Hilda couldn't help but ask out loud, "What?"
"Hanukka Top, Spin and Spin," she looked up and translated, "It's a song. About the dreidel."
"Oh. I didn't know that. It's... pretty interesting."
Ignacio finally came out with the food and watched two teens playing with a top while the boy's mother watched intently. He couldn't help but chuckle fondly.
""""""""
"That was a delicious stuffed goose. I didn't even know I liked goose," Betty smiled as she helped him wash the dishes.
"I'm glad you liked it. And wait until you try the gingerbread cookies."
"You made gingerbread cookies?"
"Actually, you're going to help me make them. It'll be fun."
"Okay. Sure."
"First," he dried off the last dish and reached for a paper towel, "I want to give you your Christmas present. I hope you don't mind."
"What?" her smile froze. She had her plan B present with her and she was a bit embarrassed to give it to him.
"It's just, I can't wait to give it to you, and I wanted to make sure you liked it."
"I'm sure I'll love it," she reassured Henry as she followed him to the living room. He pulled out a small box from under the couch.
"Had to make sure you wouldn't find it," he explained as he gave it to her with a hopeful smile.
"And after this, we'll make the cookies, then watch Rudolph. You know, because we never got a chance to watch it last year…"
"Right," she carefully opened the wrapping paper, not wanting to destroy the lovely snowflake print wrapping. As soon as she opened it she let out a soft gasp.
"Henry… I can't believe you got me this…"
"Check out what's inside. Your father helped me pick out a picture."
The delicate gold necklace in itself was breath taking but a soon as she opened the heart shaped locket she felt tears in her eyes. A black and white picture of her mother lay inside. It was all overwhelming.
"You like it?"
"Henry, I love it," she cried out as she jumped into his arms. "This is the most wonderful gift I've ever gotten. Thank you so much."
"I noticed the green and red present in your purse. Is that mine? Can I open it?"
She pulled back her face red and her mouth dry. He had gotten her a gift that he obviously put much thought and effort into; she had gotten him some underwear.
"Yes…" she found herself saying.
She wouldn't turn around as he grabbed the gift and also took his time in undoing the wrapping paper. Only when she was sure he got it open, when she heard him say "Wow", did she turn around.
"Henry…"
He had the boxers up in front of him, a look of amusement on his face, "Reindeer boxers? I guess I'll really be in the holiday spirit with these." he joked.
When she didn't laugh, he looked up and put the underwear beside him on the couch, but not before folding it.
"Betty, what's wrong?"
She said nothing as she rushed to his bedroom and closed the door.
""""""""
By the end of the night Hilda joined her son and his friend in playing with the top. Her knowledge of dice and card games made the initial confusion disappear quickly. Besides, the game was much more interesting with three players, and actual money.
"Alright, so we're currently at 3 dollars in change and, like, twenty chocolates. I think I feel a 'Gimel' comin' on," Hilda said giddily.
"You've lost almost all you chips and had nothing but 'Nun', the last five times, mom."
"But that means the odds of me getting lucky and finally taking the whole pot is even better for me, right?"
Rebecca smiled and leaned over to Justin, "Your mom does know that's not how odds work, right?"
Justin simply laughed before a loud beep caught their attention. The young girl looked down at her watch. It was 9:00 pm.
"My alarm. I promised my gran I would be leaving at 9."
"Oh, how are you gonna…?"
"She said she would send a cab for me to this address and…" she got up to look out the window, "There it is. Right on cue."
"Aww, well thanks for the dreidel, Becca."
"You're welcome. And thanks for inviting me to dinner. I'm sure my gran will love this turkey as much as I did," she grabbed the small, wrapped plate of leftovers.
"You sure you can get home okay?" Hilda grabbed the chocolates and the money from the 'pot' and returned what belonged to her.
"Yeah, I'm sure. I have enough money for the cab. Like I said, my gran gives me a lot for Hanukkah. I like to save it."
"Okay, sweetie," Hilda replied before wishing the girl a happy holiday.
"Happy Chrismukkah, Rebecca." Justin said warmly as he walked the girl to the door.
"Chrisma-what?" Hilda was headed towards the couch when she turned to ask.
"It's from The O.C. Christmas plus Hanukkah."
"My favorite show," the girl agreed before turning to Justin, "Happy Chrismukkah, Justin." She seemed to hesitate before finally leaning in quickly and planting a brief kiss on his cheek. The young boy didn't expect it and he watched with wide eyes as she rushed to her taxi and left. He shut the door slowly and turned to his mother.
"Now, I know why she wanted to come over," Hilda said with a teasing smile.
Justin just shook his head and smiled back, "She must've really liked the turkey."
""""""""
Henry quietly knocked on his bedroom door before opening it. He saw her sitting silently in his bed, looking down at his locket.
"I'm the most thoughtless girlfriend in the world."
"Betty…"
"No. You got me this beautiful locket with a picture of my mother in it and all I got you was some stupid underwear! You know me so well and I don't think I know you nearly as well."
Henry frowned as he walked over and sat next to her. He wrapped an am around her and placed his other hand on top of hers, "You don't really think that."
"Well, what else could it be? Why else did I have such a hard time picking out a gift for you? I was so confused, that I waited until two days before Christmas to get you something, and all I knew was that I wanted it to be something special. Something you'll never forget. Something like what you gave me… Especially since this is going to be our only real Christmas together…"
Her eyes widened, and a light bulb went off in her head. She turned to him, her eyes misty, "I put off getting your gift because I didn't want to think about it. About how it would be the only Christmas gift I'd ever give you. Henry, I know we try not to talk about it and I don't want to face it but… I guess the holidays sort of brought it back. This isn't permanent."
"Betty," he sighed softly and pulled her close to him, planting a kiss in her hair and letting her rest her head on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make our first Christmas so sad…" she whispered.
"It's okay. I understand."
She pulled back slightly and looked up at him, "I know it's stupid and childish but… I'd give anything for you to stay with me. Everyday I kept hoping and praying for some kind of Christmas miracle. Something that would keep you from leaving New York. Leaving me." she gave him something close to a half smile, "I almost sent Santa a letter."
He laughed despite himself, "It's not stupid. I think about it too. How much I'll miss you when I leave. How much I wish things were different. But then I think that if I do leave, we'll always have e-mail. And letters. I'd visit you here. Betty, I wouldn't forget you just because I'm a few thousand miles away. I love you,"
"I love you too, Henry."
She leaned in and kissed him, wrapping her arms around him and held him tight. The pair wouldn't be able to catch Rudolph on TV or start on Henry's gingerbread cookies that night. But it didn't matter; they had all they wanted for Christmas – each other.
---
I originally wanted it to be some funny, fluffy piece (especially with that holiday underwear prompt.) But this is what came out. Some H/B angst near the end but you know I can't leave it like that (had to tack on that sappy ending!) Plus I learned quite a few things about Hanukkah with this challenge. Cool!
Anyway, I want to wish every one of you a Happy Holiday, and a wonderful New Year.
Thanks for reading.