Author's Note: This is pretty late, but whatever. :3 This is an Eclare, Christmas fic dedicated to Danielle for winning FIRST PRIZE in the Imose Writing Contest! *claps* so pleaseeeeee leave reviews, and lemme know what you think.

Clare's POV

We sat by the toasty fireplace, Jinglebell Rock playing lightly in the background. Eli was sipping some Eggnog from a coffee mug with Santa Clause on it.

"How can you drink that stuff?" I laughed, standing up and walking over to the Christmas tree. He examined the mug and scrunched his face.

"How can you own a mug like this?" He retorted. I giggled sarcastically and grabbed a box of Christmas tree ornaments. I glanced over at Eli who had his feet propped up on the coffee table, flipping through channels.

"Do they have anything else on?" He questioned; Christmas programs on every channel.

"Eli, it's Christmas eve. What do you expect?" I asked, frowning slightly. He looked up at my face and softened up instantly.

"You're right; sorry." he apologized, stopping on Cartoon Network which had a Christmas special of Power Puff Girls showing.

I looked at Eli's feet; his black socks showing no hint of the Christmas spirit. Being the person I am, I was determined to get Eli into the Christmas spirit; atheist or not.

I retrieved a reindeer blanket from a chair off in the far corner of the living room, and walked over, covering Eli's feet and the lower half of his body with the blanket. He stared up at me and smiled.

"Thanks. I was about to die from frostbite." He joked, not even paying attention to the decoration on the blanket.

I plopped down next to him, cuddling into his side. I lifted the blanket so that I was nuzzled under it as well. He stretched out his arm, snaking it around my shoulder.

"You know, my mom knitted this blanket." I stated, running my fingers over one of the white snowflakes.

"How cool." He said replied simply. I cleared my throat and gazed at the TV.

"I just love all of the detail they put into that Christmas tree." I said, trying to start a Christmas related conversation.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool." He responded. I sighed and grabbed the remote, turning off the TV. The song had switched to Rockin' around the Christmas tree.

"Why did you do that, missy?" Eli asked playfully. I looked up at him and pecked his cheek.

"Eli... you know Christmas is my favorite holiday, right?" I asked slowly.

He nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"Well, being that you're atheist and all... does all of this Christmassy stuff bother you?" I asked reluctantly. He shook his head, a grin on his face.

"Not at all. Being Atheist has nothing to with my love of getting presents." he chuckled before capturing my lips in a quick soft kiss.

I pulled away, smiling lightly. "Well, I guess that's good... because I was kind of hoping that you'd help me decorate the tree." I said, resting my head on his shoulder.

Eli looked over at the tree and noticed the small amount of ornaments hung here and there.

"Sure, blue eyes. Sounds...fun." he replied, standing up and lending his hand out. I grabbed it, intertwining my hand with his and walked over to the tree. I bent down, grabbing a red and white ornament and handed it to Eli. He smirked and took hold of it, placing it on the tree.

"Mesmerizing." he said, examining the small ornament. I smiled tenderly and handed him a case of dozens or ornaments as I continued to hang numerous ornaments on my side of the tree. After a while of hanging them, Eli sat his empty case on the table.

He grabbed the bowl of popcorn and started to eat it.

"Eliiii." I whined playfully, snatching it from him.

"Yes?" he asked, his mouth stuffed with popcorn.

"This is for the tree." I said, giggling.

"Well that's not very fair to the delicious popcorn, now is it?" He joked. I took the bowl away from him and sat it down, handing Eli the Christmas angel that was going to go on top of the tree.

"Can my masculine, strong,boyfriend put this wittle angel on the tree for me?" I asked. He nodded, smirking at me.

"You bet he can." he said, grabbing a chair and standing on it. He placed the angel on top of the tree and sighed satisfyingly.

"Isn't that Chrystal." he said to himself, getting down off of the chair.

"So cute, Eli." I laughed, agreeing with him. I walked over to hug him. He smelled of eggnog and popcorn, which made me giggle.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and looked into his green orbs; how they gleamed back at me with sincere softness.

After a minute, he pulled away and began placing more ornaments on the tree.

"When is your mom coming home?" Eli asked. I looked at the small clock on the wall, indicating that it was a little after 9:30 p.m.

"Her flight should have been here by now... I wonder where she is!" I screeched, grabbing my cellphone and dialing her number.

"She probably caught a later flight; don't worry." he said reassuringly. I cleared my throat impatiently as the phone continued to ring. Finally, my mother's flushed voice picked up the phone.

"Hello?" she breathed.

"Mom?" I asked confusedly.

"Oh, Clare... Hi honey... I was just about to call you." she said, her voice weak and unsteady. I grew worried.

"Mom, are you okay? I thought your flight was going to come in at 7:00?" I asked frantically. She laughed softly and swallowed.

"Honey, I'm fine. I'm over a friends house so I won't be home until morning." she replied tiredly. That's when I heard male groan in the background followed by my mothers throaty, muffled moan.I was utterly disgusted.

"Mom? Are you at some guys house?" I asked with a horrid expression. Eli looked over at me with the same look on his face.

"Dear... I'm sorry I couldn't make it home, but I promise to be there bright and early. And tell Eli he can head on home." she said, breathing heavily. I was very anxious to get off of the phone.

"So you can stay at some guys house and have sex all hours of the night but I can't?" I snapped. I looked over at Eli, who's eyes were widened shockingly.

"Clare Edwards, you take that back right now!" she yelled, her voice full of fury. I sighed angrily and switched the phone to my other ear.

"I'll send Eli home." I told her quickly.

"Okay, honey. I love-

I closed my phone quickly and threw it on the couch, folding my arms.

"So I'm just going to take a wild guess and say that your mom isn't coming home tonight...?" Eli asked confusedly. I shook my head slightly and swallowed.

"No, she's not... would you mind staying the night?" I asked hopefully. Eli narrowed his eyes.

"Didn't you tell your mom that you were going to send me home?" he asked. I laughed gently and walked up to him, snaking my arms around his neck.

"I never said when." I chuckled. Eli smirked and kissed me quickly.

"Well in that case, I'd love to stay over." he said, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"I have some cookie dough in the fridge... we could turn the music up and bake some Christmas cookies?" I offered. He nodded in approval and released me, walking over to the stereo and turning up the song It's the most Wonderful time of the Year.

I smiled to myself and walked into the kitchen, pulling out the sugar cookie dough. Eli walked in behind me and his eyes lit up.

"Do you have some sprinkles and frosting?" he asked, looking at the cookie dough.

"Yes, in the cabinet. Pull it out for me?" I asked, setting the bowls and pans on the counter.

He brought the stuff over and popped open the frosting, grabbing a spoon and taking scoops into his mouth. I slapped his hand.

"Don't devour the frosting Eli, we need that!" I snapped; trying my hardest not to laugh. He smirked and put the top back on, still licking the spoon.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't resist it! Here, see for yourself." he said, inching the spoon to my mouth. I licked the back of it and smiled.

"Mmmm." I said softly, staring into his eyes. "It is irresistible."

He smirked lightly and dropped the spoon in the sink. I poured the cookie mix into the bowl and mixed in the eggs, vegetable oil and water with it.

"Ewwww!" Eli joked, peeping over my shoulder. I looked up at him and rolled my eyes.

"You won't be saying that when they come out of the oven." I said, laughing. He dipped his finger in the moist mixture and sucked on it, smirking. I slapped his arm.

"Elijah Goldsworthy, what is wrong with you? Did you even wash your hands?" I asked, my hands shaking, indicating that I was getting mad. He noticed and sighed.

"I'm sorry, Clare. I'll be over there; finish the cookies." he said, walking off into the living room. I looked over at him and something inside of me felt bad for going off on him. I slowly walked in after him and sat down next to him on the couch.

"My favorite song is on. Would you like to accompany me on the dance floor?" I asked, Silent Night playing in the background. He looked over at me with confusion.

"What about those cookies you were so anxious to make?" he asked. I shrugged and grabbed his hand.

"They can wait." I said standing up, my hand still locked with his. "So what do you say about that dance?"

He smiled up at me and stood up, walking me over to the center of the Living Room.

"Think you can keep up?" He asked, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me close, causing me to gasp lightly.

"The question is..." I breathed, placing my hands gently on his shoulders. "Can you?"

He laughed and began to move, swaying our bodies to the beat of the slow lullaby. I rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes; taking in the scent of his shirt. It smelled undeniably irresistible.

The more our bodies swayed, the more my thoughts began to linger. I inched my head slowly off of his shoulder and brushed my lips across his neck, pecking it softly.

I felt him shiver a bit, which oddly made me smile. It made me want to make him shiver from my touch again.

I stood on my tippy toes and pecked his temple, slowly twirling my tongue in circles over his forehead. He groaned and gripped my hips, pulling me away.

"What are you doing?" He asked. I frowned.

"I...I don't know. I was trying to..." I trailed off, biting my lip and looking away.

"Turn me on?" He asked, chuckling a bit. This made my stomach turn uncomfortably.

"What? No of course not-

"Because it was working." he interrupted. My eyes widened and I looked him up and down in shock. I was at complete loss for words. He smirked lightly and pulled me back up against his chest.

He dipped his head down, capturing my lips in soft, unbearable kisses. I grabbed the back of his head, bringing his lips down harder on mine. He responded back to the kiss with as much fervor as I was hoping. Our lips moved in unison over each others; the feeling of his lips over mine making my mind shut down and go foggy.

He grabbed my hips once again, only to bring them closer to him. He trailed his lips away from my lips and made his way to my neck, lightly sucking on it.

This caused me to moan lightly, my eyes fluttering closed. He continued to plant kisses here and there, taking his time to make sure each spot on my neck was pleasured.

"Can we... move over to the couch or something?" I asked, my breathing hitched. He pulled his head away from my neck and walked us over to the couch. I spread myself on the couch as Eli hovered above me.

I looked up at him through lidded eyes, practically begging him to continue. He smirked and slowly closed the gap between our bodies, making sure not to crush me underneath him.

He brought his lips back to mine, immediately darting his tongue in. His fingertips started to trail my sides, causing me to gasp lightly. His fingertips stopped at my waist, where he pressed his thumbs down lightly.

Eli and I have made-out many times before, but never like this. I was both excited and scared at the same time. A part of me wanted Eli to make sweet love to me that night, but another part of me was scared that something could go wrong.
Eli began chewing on my bottom lip as his thumbs continued to make circles on my hips. The throbbing between my legs was beginning to become completely intolerable, so I jerked my hips up repeatedly, hoping to relieve some of the tension.

His hands held my hips down firmly as he poked his head back to look at me. I whined from restraint.

"Clare... maybe we should stop? I don't want to end up doing something that we might regret." he said, his eyes staring down at me with worry. I shook my head and cupped his cheek.

"What if I don't want to stop, Eli? What if I'm ready to..." I breathed, trailing off. It was almost as if I was too embarrassed to say it.

"Ready to have sex? Clare, we don't even have a condom." He retorted. I swallowed the lump in my throat and sat up, grabbing my bag from the floor.

I dug around in it for a while before pulling out a small condom. He looked at me with wide eyes.

"Where did you get that?" he asked, taking it from me and examining it.

"I've had it for a while. It was always there 'just in case' something ever happened. Truthfully, I've wanted to have sex with you for a long time, Eli. I was just so scared... I honestly feel like I'm ready... if you are." I said, my heart beating out my chest.

He looked from me, to the condom, back to me and sighed.

"I love you so much. If this is really what you want, then I'm ready too." he said softly. I smiled and pulled his lips back to mine, kissing him hungrily. I broke the kiss for a second, looking into his eyes.

"Just... be gentle, okay?"

I lay in Eli's arms as my breathing had just began to come back to normal. As my mind fluttered to memories of hours before, I couldn't help but smile to myself.

As Eli snored soundly next to me, I tightened my arms around his waist and cuddled into him more, wanting to feel nothing but him.

Everything was perfect. I had lost my virginity on Christmas eve, to the man whom I've loved for as long as I could remember. Everything was absolutely perfect.

Author's Note: ahhhh! I'm not so sure about this Dx I don't know if it turned out that good, so leave me a review and let me know what you think! There's going to be one more chapter to this, which will be up soon! Pleaseee leave a review :p

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