A/N: I know it's after Christmas, but just took a while to write. Enjoy! xo
"Please?," Cameron pleaded again.
Kirsten crossed her arms and titled her head. "Is this really that important to you?," she asked.
A small smirk crept up on his face. "Yes." He knew she was looking for more of an answer, from the side glare she was giving him. "It just reminds me of the only time where I felt like a normal kid. Every year, even after my surgery, my parents would get the biggest tree they could find and we'd spend hours decorating it. I wasn't allowed to go pick out the tree, but they would still let me decorate." She slowly reached for his hand, taking it in hers. "So when I had my own place, I started getting my own tree. Besides, I don't think what you have qualifies as a tree," he teased.
"Alright, fine," she surrendered.
He pulled her into a tight embrace, kissing her forehead. "Thank you!"
She instinctively wrapped her arms around his back. "I still don't see what's wrong with my tree?"
He pulled back, fingers flexing on the bit of bare skin at the bottom of her shirt. "Well it is a fake tree." He gave her the adorable one sided smirk she loved so much.
"That's my point. You don't have to water it, or clean up after it. Set it up and you're done."
"But a real tree just makes it smell like Christmas."
She couldn't really say no to him, not when he just lit up at the possibility of getting a real tree for Christmas. "Alright alright. When are we getting this tree anyway?"
"Now?" He smiled sheepishly. He had already gotten a rental car (well SUV), since he couldn't exactly get a tree home in his usual car. So he was betting that she would say yes. Even if she didn't, he still had to get his own tree.
She rolled her eyes and picked up her bag. "Well, let's go then."
He rushed ahead of her, leading her to the dark gray SUV and opened the door for her. "You already planned this, didn't you?," she asked.
"I was hoping you would come along." He kissed her forehead, then got in the driver's seat. He knew exactly where they were going, since he had spent his college years finding an acceptable tree lot.
...
"How much longer?," she asked.
Cameron nervously glanced at the clock. Sure, he knew 'just outside of LA' was a white lie, at least after factoring in California traffic. But he didn't expect her to call him out on it. "I thought you couldn't tell the passage of time." He was hoping to deflect her question. It didn't work.
"Well, I don't. But I'm hungry, you should have told me to eat something before we left. And I can see," she pointed to the digital clock in his car. "It's been two hours and six minutes, which I don't think qualifies as just outside of LA. Where is this place anyway?"
"Just a little bit farther, I promise." He reached across to take her hand in his, and squeezed gently.
She sighed loudly, but gave him a soft smile. "You better stop for a snack."
He beamed at her, knowing he was already forgiven. "I did one better, Beautiful. Check the glove compartment."
She hesitantly opened the glove compartment, only finding a few papers and a tupperware container. She inspected it carefully, it looked like homemade granola bars with a layer of chocolate on top. She opened it and the scent immediately overtook her senses, the delicious mix of hazelnut and dark chocolate. "Is that Nutella?"
He chuckled lightly. "I'd been wanting to try that recipe for a while. I hope you like it."
She took a big bite of a bar. The Nutella was balanced with a lighter oat mix. The first bar quickly disappeared, followed by a second.
He laughed, as he pulled into the parking lot of the small family owned business. He opened the door for her, while Kirsten was finishing off a third granola bar. "I hope you're not expecting to eat any of these." She clutched the container tightly, before putting it back in the glove compartment.
He held his hands up to surrender. "I wouldn't dare get between you and your Nutella."
Kirsten took in the scenery. She hadn't really paid attention since they got off the highway, and she was rather interested in the granola bars more than looking out the window. There was snow on the ground, and a light breeze in the air. There were larger snow piles on the far end of the lot, and even the driveway still had a light dusting. They must have gotten a substantial amount of snow recently. Just a little bit in the distance was a lake that mirrored the snow covered mountains on the horizon. It was breathtaking. Kirsten had never seen anything so beautiful, and unlike anything you would see back in Los Angeles.
A gust of wind picked up. Kirsten adjusted her scarf tighter to keep warm. Cameron grabbed her free hand and led her straight to the customer service desk. A very enthusiastic man greeted them, clearly having recognized Cameron.
"Hey Jack," Cameron beamed.
"Good to see you," the older man answered. "The usual seven to eight foot, Grand fir?" He was already pointing Cameron in the right direction, even though Cameron probably knew the layout just as well as he did. They liked to keep the layout consistent every year for returning customers, at least as best as they could. It was easy enough- they were split by Douglas or Grand Fir trees, then grouped by sizing.
Cameron nodded quickly. "And something a little more manageable for this one here." He hugged Kirsten close to him.
Jack quickly led them to trees that were about their height, or maybe a little taller. He carefully inspected a few trees, settling on one. "I'd say this one. For a first time tree owner, I'm assuming?" He glanced over at Kirsten, seemingly finding his assessment to be true. "Then I'd go with the Douglas fir. The scent isn't as powerful, which could be a good starting point. You could always try the Grand fir next year. The sizing on this one is pretty average- not too small or too large, and the branches are pretty even throughout."
It seemed like a fine tree to Kirsten, but Cameron didn't look convinced. He had envisioned a tree that towered over them, like the ones he usually picked out. But Kirsten didn't have the high ceilings like he had.
Jack had quietly stepped away, leaving Cameron to decide on a tree.
Kirsten stood and watched his process. He'd go from one tree to the next, mutter something about how Grand firs are better, go across the aisle to the Grand firs and inspect those trees. It was the fourth time Cameron had gone back to the Grand firs from the Douglas firs before Kirsten interrupted. "Just pick one. Go with the one Jack suggested."
He sighed. "I can't just go with any one. There are considerations, like what sizing and fullness. Then... Douglas firs have to be watered more often to keep the tree healthy."
Kirsten placed her hand on her hip and gave Cameron her famous death stare. "You wanted the tree. I'm not cleaning up after it."
Cameron thought carefully. He would just have to check on it more often if they got her the Douglas. He circled back to the original tree that Jack suggested.
"Just go with that one," Kirsten insisted.
Cameron was debating which one to choose, again, while Kirsten quietly slipped away. She met up with Jack, and paid for the tree he had suggested. If she left it up to Cameron, they would be there well past dinner time.
Jack had just finished explaining that if they wanted to wrap the tree, he would be over shortly to help them load it onto their car, after finishing up with the short line of customers.
Kirsten thanked him and walked back over to Cameron.
Cameron had his back turned, again at the tree Jack had suggested. "Alright, this one it is," he muttered to himself. He spun around quickly, intent on paying for this one first, before deciding on his own tree. He was so focused on the task at hand, that he nearly crashed into Kirsten.
Kirsten stopped quickly, lightly placing her hands on his shoulders. "It's about time you picked one," she retorted.
"Yeah, I uh, was just going to pay for it."
"Already done." She held up the rope that Jack gave her. "And please tell me it won't take this long to decide on yours."
"Of course not Princess." He took the rope from her and started wrapping the tree. "Your first Christmas with a real tree should be perfect, and I just wanted to evaluate all the options."
Kirsten just smirked, knowing full well he wasn't talking about just the tree. It was their first Christmas as a couple, after all. "As long as it's with you, it will be a perfect Christmas."
He paused for the briefest of seconds, having finished wrapping the tree. He smiled widely, as she tugged on his hand to go look at his tree.
Kirsten was never very good at emotions. But with the look on Cameron's face, she knew she must have gotten something right.