Chloe knocked gently on the stained glass front door and stepped back. She let out a nervous sigh, her breath showing in the cold air around her. As she waited for one of the Ambers to answer the door, Chloe looked down at the wrapped gift in her hands. It was a small box, wrapped in red and gold wrapping paper that Chloe spent almost an hour taping up to make sure it was perfect. Chloe had spent a couple of hours making the gift itself and had cost Chloe most of what little cash she had to finish it, but she didn't care. There was no gift too expensive or too time consuming for who Chloe had declared the best girlfriend in the world. Still, her nerves got the best of her and worries began to flood into her head. What if Rachel didn't like it? What if someone gave Rachel a gift just like her's? With it being their first Christmas together, Chloe really didn't wanna mess things up with Rachel.
Chloe's train of thought was broken as she heard the click of a lock and the front door opened with Rachel's mother standing in the doorway.
"Chloe!" Rose exclaimed, stepping aside. "Come on in! Merry Christmas!"
"Yeah, Merry Christmas" Chloe responded, walking into the brightly lit and warm house. Upon entering, Chloe saw that the Ambers really decorated their house for the season. James was reading the newspaper in the Amber's living room where a large decorated Christmas tree stood in the corner, the multicolored lights shining brightly and reflecting in the TV. Green colored garland twirled around the banister leading to upstairs and the smell of freshly baked cookies emanated from the kitchen. There were definitely more decorations here than in Chloe's house.
"Make yourself at home" Rose said, making her way towards the kitchen. Chloe hung her coat on the nearby coat rack and kicked her shoes off, placing them on the welcome mat next to Rachel's.
"I just finished baking if you're hungry" Rose said, moving the cookies from the tray onto a plate. Chloe contemplated taking one of the frosting covered cookies, but thought against it. Her number one priority was giving Rachel her gift, and besides, her nervousness wasn't going to allow her to eat anything until her mission was complete.
"No thanks, I'm not really hungry" Chloe replied, turning the gift over in her hands. "Is Rachel home?"
"Yes, she's upstairs"
"Thanks, Mrs. Amber"
James wished Chloe a Merry Christmas and gave her a polite nod as she passed by him. After wishing him a Merry Christmas, Chloe walked upstairs, making sure to not disrupt the garland on the banister. She neared Rachel's bedroom and looked in to see Rachel sitting on her bed, browsing through her phone. Chloe smiled. Even in an ugly Christmas sweater Rachel looked amazing.
Chloe knocked and leaned in the doorway, smiling. "Merry Christmas"
Rachel looked up from her phone and upon seeing Chloe, her face lit up. She put her phone down and got up.
"Merry Christmas!" she said cheerfully, bringing Chloe in for a hug.
"Nice sweater" Chloe teased, nodding at Rachel's top.
"What, you don't like the amazingly cute reindeer on it?"
"The person wearing it is cuter"
Chloe was pretty sure she saw Rachel's cheeks turn a tinge of red.
"I got you something" the bluenette said, holding up the present.
"One sec" Rachel said as she went over to her desk. She opened the top drawer and produced a wrapped gift from it. It was much like Chloe's, only the wrapping paper was green and red.
"Gift swap?" Chloe said as the two girls sat down on Rachel's bed.
They exchanged gifts and Chloe tentatively picked at the tape before looking up at Rachel.
"I'm already nervous as it is, just open it" Rachel teased. Chloe smiled and tore the paper off the present, revealing a small black box.
"You're not proposing, are you?"
Rachel let out a sigh and playfully hit Chloe's arm. "Ugh, shut up"
They shared a laugh and Chloe opened the lid to the black box and her eyes went wide. When they had begun 'officially' dating a couple of months ago after the play, they spent an entire day walking around Arcadia Bay. Upon looking into the window of a jewelry shop they passed by, Chloe noticed an emerald ring. She remembered telling Rachel it looked exactly like the one her dad, her real dad had given her. The one her dad had given her was costume jewelry, but it still reminded her of him .But the ring in that window was real and way too expensive for either of them, so they continued on their walk. Now, that same ring sat on a cushion of velvet in the box she was holding. Chloe would be lying if she said her eyes weren't watering a little.
"I know it meant a lot to you" Rachel said, wringing her hands nervously. "Do you like it?"
Chloe took the ring out of the box and slipped it onto the ring finger of her right hand. Everytime she looked at her finger, she now had something a little more concrete to remember her dad by.
She smiled and wrapped her arms around Rachel. "I love it"
After a few moments of blissful silence between them, Chloe pulled away gently and pointed towards her gift on the bed, the emerald ring glinting in the light of Rachel's lamp.
"Alright, my turn to cringe at my gift" the bluenette said, feeling her nerves come back. She nervously rubbed the back of her neck as Rachel removed the gold and red wrapping paper of her present.
"It's okay if, you know, you don't like it" Chloe stammered. "It's a bit of a dorky present"
"Anything from you is Priceless"
Chloe smiled and sighed at Rachel's joke, appreciating that she was trying to lighten her nerves.
The blonde continued to unwrap the gift and opened the flat, square box inside. Opening the box revealed a purple and yellow handmade bracelet. A small, metal 'R' charm hung from the bottom of the bracelet.
Chloe's nerves reached an all time high before Rachel slipped the yellow and purple bracelet onto her wrist, next to the one her biological mother had given her. Most of the gifts Rachel received were material things. But Chloe's bracelet had actual thought and time in it. Actual care for her.
A shy smile came upon Rachel's face as she took Chloe's hand in her's and laced their fingers together. "You mean a lot to me"
Chloe leaned in and captured Rachel's lips in her own. This kiss brought with it the same spark as the first one they shared under a lamppost back in September. She could smell the same strawberry perfume Rachel liked to wear. The world could've ended around them in that moment, but the only thing that mattered to Chloe was Rachel.
Eventually, Rachel gently pulled back and leaned her forehead against Chloe's.
"Just in case I wasn't painfully obvious about it," she said, smiling. "I love you, Chloe"
Chloe felt her heart skip a beat. There had always been a connection between them, but they had never actually said it before.
"I love you, too"
"This is the best Christmas I've had in a while" Rachel admitted. "Especially after the whole thing with my dad, I expected this year to suck. But it didn't. Because of you"
"I'll always be here for you"
Rachel took a glance down at the new bracelet and back up to the blue haired punk she loved. "Merry Christmas, Chloe"
"Merry Christmas" she replied before leaning in to steal another kiss.