"Don't fall." Lydia said for the fifth time as she stood in the yard with her arms crossed over her chest, trying to keep some warmth in.
"I won't." Stiles snapped. He fidgeted with the string of lights again, trying to get them off of their hooks, all while doing his best not to go tumbling off the ladder. "Remember what I said earlier?"
"About how gathering up and throwing away all the wrapping paper on Christmas was the worst part?"
"Yeah, I lied. This is it." He huffed in frustration as he tugged on the lights again.
"Would you rather leave the lights up all year?" Lydia asked as she walked towards him so she could coil up the already freed string of Christmas lights on the ground.
"No, that'd be stupid. I wish we didn't hang them at all."
She pursed her lips. Stiles wasn't one to get excited for holidays. In fact, she came to realize he had an underlying dread for them. She knew all his constant holiday bellyaching came from the painful hole his mother left, and it made Lydia feel sad for him. She wished he could just relax and maybe, just maybe, truly enjoy the the special days at the end of each year. "You know Christmas was only three days ago, right? You don't have to take them down just yet."
"I want them down as soon as possible."
She sighed and raised an eyebrow, while watching him some more. Despite being drenched in obvious frustration, she thought he looked cute with his hair poking out from under a black beanie accompanied by the flustered cheeks and a pink tipped nose. "Why don't you just wait for your dad to get home so he can help you?"
Stiles huffed again as he got down from the ladder to move it over a few feet. "No, I want it to be all done when he gets home from work tonight."
"Well then let me help you."
Stiles just shot her a look like she was absolutely nuts before climbing the ladder again, not even bothering to answer her.
"Fine." Lydia shrugged and dropped the lights in her hand. "I'll be inside." Just to spite him though, she tramped to the middle of the yard and yanked the white, wooden 'Noel' sign out of the grass and put it in his garage before heading back inside the house.
While waiting for Stiles, Lydia took the liberty of making some hot chocolate and looking for anything to clean. She wasn't as crazy about cleaning at her own house, but she had a constant need to straighten up the Stililnski home, even when it didn't need it; trying to give it the missing "woman's touch". About ten minutes later, Stiles came in through the garage and plucked the beanie right off his head, tossing it onto the table and taking a seat.
"For you," Lydia said as she set a mug of hot chocolate in front of him and took a seat across the table.
"Thanks," A smiled twitched on his lips as his hands reached across the table for hers. She laced her fingers around his in an attempt to warm them up.
"All done out there?"
"Yeah," He nodded.
"Great," She joked. "Now you can come to my house and take ours down."
"I was going to do that tomorrow." He said, unflinching, as he put the mug to his lips.
Lydia's eyebrows furrowed for just a moment. She had been kidding, but she knew she couldn't fight him on it. He'd probably already be there when she woke up, on the ladder and cursing to himself again. "So, if you're taking suggestions as to what to do tonight, I say we go ice skating."
Stiles' drumming fingers against the mug stopped as he looked up at her. "So I just came in from the cold, and you want me to go back in the cold tonight, and pay for it?"
Lydia smirked and leaned slightly across the table. "Don't complain, Stiles. I'll just have to warm you up afterwards. Does that sound so horrible?"
Stiles did his best not to smile like an idiot by hiding most of his face as he tipped the mug back again. "No, not really."
"That's what I thought." She nodded twice and sat back down. "So you're sure your dad likes the gift I gave him for Christmas?"
He looked at her again like she was insane. "Lydia, you gave him a Kindle. He's in love with it. I'm not entirely sure if he knows how to totally work it yet, but he just sits on the couch and plays around with it all the time."
"And you like yours?" She was referring to the brand new Nike sneakers and pricey sweater she gave him.
Again, confusion was plastered on his face. "Of course I do." He said as he took her hands again. "Why have you felt the need to ask so many times?"
Lydia looked around the room for a moment and sighed lightly, letting her lips curve in on themselves before speaking. "Because I know you're not a big fan of Christmas, which is a shame, and I really wanted to get you stuff that you would love. I know gifts aren't the main part of Christmas, but I was hoping I could as least make that part good."
He stared at her with smiling eyes and a jutted bottom lip. "You're so adorable." He said as he shook his head and leaned forward with a grin, kissing her forehead, then he breathed in slowly and stood up. "Speaking of gifts, follow me."
Lydia took his hand and followed him towards the stairs. "You already gave me gifts." He'd given her a special edition box set of Friends with all ten seasons, and a massive microfiber throw blanket from Ikea that he'd seen her eyeing out every time she dragged him there so she could pretend to look around. (Although he didn't take it as pretending so much, he swore she had already mentally designed the whole interior of her future house.)
"Would you just shut up and let me show you something?" He said, smiling and rolling his eyes.
Lydia followed him into his room and sat down on his bed. He sat down beside her and still held her hand, gently stroking it with his thumb. His knee bounced nervously, making his foot rhythmically tap the carpet. "I wanted to give you this on Christmas, but I was still wrestling with the idea then. It was stupid of me, but whatever, you can have it now because I can't wait for Valentine's Day."
Lydia nodded. "You didn't pay a lot of money for it, did you?"
"I didn't pay for it at all." He shrugged.
"You stole it?"
Stiles pressed his lips together and narrowed his eyes in a flickering annoyance. "Just close your eyes."
Lydia nodded and closed her eyes, exhaling as she heard Stiles shuffle around the drawer of his bedside table. He then placed something in her free hand, closing her fingers around it.
"Open them."
Lydia's eyes slid open as she then peered down at the palm sized, black velvet jewelry box in her hand. She opened the box and gasped, revealing a simply striking necklace inside. It was thin, intricate silver vines wrapped tightly around a gorgeous emerald gem pendant, all strung up on a pretty silver chain and sitting on white satin cushioning. She was speechless. Lydia's brain whirred through the shock as it desperately searched for words to say. "Oh my God, Stiles, this is beautiful."
"You like it?"
Her eyes shot up to him. "I love it."
"Good, it was my mom's."
Lydia felt her body freeze up. "This, this was your mother's?"
He bit his bottom lip and looked down at it, nodding.
"Stiles, I can't take this."
"Yes you can."
She shook her head and looked back down at her gift, touching the chain with the tips of her fingers. "No-"
"No, listen. When she was getting to be really sick, she gave it to me. At first I didn't really know why, but she told me to give it to someone special, someone I love. You."
Lydia didn't know what to say again. Any potential words she could have said were sitting sticky in her throat. She blinked a few times quickly, making sure nothing was spilling over in her eyes. "Thank you, so much." She was able to muster up a weak whisper.
"Here, let me put it on you." He said as he took the box from her hand. Lydia gathered up her hair in her hands so he could gently lay the chain on her neck. Once it was clasped on, she touched the pendant that now sat on her chest.
"It looks perfect." Stiles said softly. His eyes looked reminiscent, like he remembered seeing it on someone else special before.
"Thank you," Lydia said again as she kissed him and then threw her arms around him, giving him a tight hug.
He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her up closer into his lap. His nose found itself nestled against the side of her neck. "You're welcome. I love you."
Lydia closed her eyes and nodded, letting her fingers run slowly through his dark hair. "I love you, too."