Sorry that this took a little longer than I thought, y'all! was doin some weird stuff yesterday for me :) Anyways, I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and/or holiday season! And now, here's a little something from me to you 3

The cold from outdoors seemed to seep into the house despite how well-insulated it was. The heater seemed to be on full blast all the time, and I found myself thankful for James' paycheck. Snow, no longer crisp and white, remained outdoors, unmelted and icy. A cold front had hit our area and left its mark. Just in time for our first Christmas together. I'd asked James to try to make room in his schedule for Christmas Eve and Day-I wanted something just for us and our bizarre little family, and nobody else. Even my everlasting grudge towards him could be melted with a little Christmas cheer.

I'd set him to task with a bundle of Christmas lights and a ladder. I had no idea how far he'd gotten, but I hoped that he made it around at least the first story. We were a little late in comparison to the rest of the neighborhood, but I wasn't sure whether I could bully James or not into doing some decorating. I think somewhere, deep down inside, he felt that he owed me. Or maybe he just secretly really enjoyed Christmas, and his heart was growing three sizes today. Either way, the decorations were going up, and he wasn't acting the Grinch that I thought he'd be.

The back door slammed shut, and I felt a quick and unwanted breeze through the kitchen. "How was it?" I called out. "Are they all up?"

Even with his winter boots, I couldn't hear him sneak up on me. Cold arms wrapped around my middle, and I leaned into his chest after a quick temperature protest from my body. "They are," he confirmed. "If we do this again, we should put them up earlier."

"If we do this again, you shouldn't take a trip to Japan for a week and a half before Christmas."

He rolled his eyes and released me from his arms to take off his coat. "You know I can't control what others do."

My brows furrowed. "That doesn't seem right. I think you certainly control what others do."

"That's what I thought until I met you. Who would have thought that a Shakespeare scholar could be so feisty?"

"I just know what I'm worth is all," I smiled. "Now come on, start rolling this dough into balls. We have a quota to meet." He came over, grumbling under his breath and washed his hands. I kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you for putting up the lights. I'm sure they look beautiful." I could see little bits of light peeking through the window pane. I couldn't wait to see them from the outside, to see us as everybody else sees us.

"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled. He pushed up his sleeves and began rolling the dough. "So what's your plan for all of these cookies? I haven't seen you bake in quite some time."

My arms prickled, and I took a breath and ignored the feeling. "We're going to give these out to our neighbors. We haven't even met them yet. I think Christmas Eve is a good time to reach out, so long as we do it before dinner time."

"We?"

"We. If you're worried about people seeing your face, just smile a lot. You look good when you smile. And, your criminal empire isn't going to crumble just because people are looking at you. In fact, being neighborly and kind will make people think that there isn't anything weird going on behind the scenes."

"My criminal empire?" He hummed. "Is that what you call it?"

I opened the oven door and exchanged one tray of cookies for the other. "Help me package these up."

"Yes ma'am. Y'know, it'd do well for you to take command more often."

"I thought you liked taking control more often than not." I raised my eyebrows and began twist tying bags of cookies.

"I don't mind losing it every once in a while." He wiped off his hands and brushed a lock of hair behind my ear. He stared into my eyes and a little smile rested upon his face. "Maybe tonight?"

The cookies still had eight more minutes in the oven, we still had to bag them and distribute them, and I had to get started on dinner. There was so much to do in order to start a tradition for the rest of however long we're together. I wanted everything to be as perfect as possible, especially when I'd been far away from my family for the past few years. There was just too much holiday cheer that I needed to make up for. And so we were stuck decorating and baking and cooking in one day. Not that I minded, but it was certainly a lot when all I truly wanted to do was bundle up and watch Christmas movies while James probably texted some connections. Maybe next year, though, when we were more settled. But we would have to wait and see where the months would take us. It was simply amazing that we could get this far.

Maybe we could go further.

I laughed. "Maybe after dinner. Now come on, help me finish these cookies."

The sun had set, and I'd forced James into an ugly Christmas sweater that matched my own. Our meal was warming up in the oven and I was finishing up the gravy on the stove. James hummed and wrapped his arms around me, and I melted into his embrace. It'd been far too long since we'd been together like this—the theatre was awfully busy and his business seemed to be booming the closer we got to Christmas, which I had to admit was rather disconcerting. Nobody wanted anything to go wrong during the holiday season, and here he was, making sure that the right thing went wrong for the right price. It unsettled my stomach and made my arms hurt.

But I wasn't going to think about that today. Not when he was all mine.

The doorbell rang.

James' eyebrows furrowed. "Who could that possibly be?"

I pranced towards the front door, glad that he came instead of having second thoughts. "Sebastian, obviously." I smoothed out the wrinkles in my sweater and did a quick once-over, making sure the house looked as cheery as it could possibly be.

"You invited Sebastian over?"

"Well, yeah, I told you that I was going to invite him over two weeks ago. Besides, why do you think I set out three dining mats?" My heart sank. Sherlock would have been able to figure it out.

He crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows. "Was I working in my office when you told me this?"

I paused, remembering how I'd perfectly planned to ask him in the middle of his research so that he'd just say yes and wave me off. "…yes. Well, anyways, he's here now, and as a guest, not a coworker or an assassin, okay? Strictly friends tonight, okay? Now turn on some music, please."

I opened the door and threw up my arms. "Sebastian! I'm so glad you made it!" And then I wrapped him up in a warm hug, kissed his cheek, and led him indoors. "Here, let me take your jacket. Hopefully the drive wasn't too treacherous?"

Sebastian shrugged. "I've seen worse in Romania." He glanced around as a Christmas playlist came on the speakers. "How've you been holding up with the boss?"

I placed his jacket in the side closet. "Now, Sebastian, nobody's anybody's boss tonight. We're just friends here, having a lovely dinner, okay? I don't want to chide you again," I laughed.

James finally came out, done fiddling with the music. Sebastian stuck out his hand and gave him a once over, making a face at his ridiculous sweater. "Jim."

A soft laugh poured from James' mouth as he noticed Sebastian's own terrible sweater. "You too?" He returned the handshake and steered him towards the dining room table. "What can I get you to drink?"

"Whiskey, please."

"A solid choice," James confirmed, opening up a new bottle. "Now, please, sit, drink, be merry."

Our dishes were in the washer, Sebastian was on his way back home (I made him promise me that he'd text me when he made it to wherever he was going), and the lights were turned down low. The television was on, and our Christmas tree shone in the corner. I sat down next to James on the couch and curled up next to him. "Thanks for putting up with tonight. It means a lot. I never really had these kinds of traditions as a kid, so…"

He looked over to me and wrapped his arm around me. "It was no problem. You're much easier to please than my clients."

"What do I owe you, then? For this wonderful night?"

He put on a pretend thinking face, as though he didn't already know what he wanted. "Watch this movie with me. Sleep in my bed. Wake up with me tomorrow morning."

"Oh no," I joked. "What a terrible trade-off." James shifted so that we were lying horizontal on the couch, and I was resting on his chest. It made me dizzy for the briefest of moments, having consumed my own good portion of whiskey along with the boys. I looked up at him, his face illuminated by the glow of the lights and the television. He was beautiful like this, in an ugly Christmas sweater and half-drunk and tired. It was so unlike him to look and be as vulnerable as this. Something swelled inside me, as though it was my own heart that grew three sizes. I grabbed his hand and squeezed it. I was so glad that he was here and with me tonight, instead of out there, wreaking havoc in the world. Even if only for tonight, he was all mine.

James looked down at me. "Hmm?"

I shook my head. "I'm just happy, James."

The tiniest of smiles appeared on his face as he stroked my hair. "Yeah. Me too."

Okay ahh! I've never really done any fluff before, but I wanted to try something new for y'all. Besides, practice makes perfect right? I'd love to hear your thoughts, as always!

I hope your New Years will be absolutely swell 3