Disclaimer: Not mine

Notes: True story: while I was writing this, the power went out for a split second. And I hadn't saved. At all. But when the power came back on, not only were all my programs still up, but so was my unsaved work. It's a Christmas miracle! Also-- post series, spoilers apply.

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Max was never going into a retail store ever again.

Finally allowing himself to give into exhaustion, Max collapsed with his purchases that still need to be wrapped sometime that day. It hadn't been his idea to get up at five in the freaking morning and drive to a mall jam-packed with shoppers every bit as cranky and sleep-deprived as he was. But no, Danny had kept going on about how it was their first Christmas together and now that the Princess was gone they needed to keep their connection, and since everyone was going to have time off for the holidays a big party was the best way to do that...

Max gave the Christmas tree (which was way too big for their apartment, but Danny had insisted) a forlorn glance. According to the text message he'd gotten while trying to find something for Taylor, Danny was shopping for his sisters, and wouldn't be home until that evening at the earliest.

What was that about spending the holidays together, Danny?

It wasn't that bad though, he reminded himself as he started to sort through his bags. Even with the early mornings and long shopping trips, it was still a lot better than the Christmases he'd 'celebrated' as a kid-- and the less he thought about those, the better. This year, he was with the person he cared about more than anything (even if said person kept ducking out for Christmas shopping). That alone made it Max's best Christmas ever.

And hey, I'm almost done with my half of the shopping at least. He still needed to get something for Taylor and Cole, but aside from that he was done. He'd even picked up some billiard balls for Merrick in case the wind brought him back to Turtle Cove.

The knock on the door snapped Max out of his thoughts. Quickly hiding his shopping bags under a spare blanket just in case it turned out to be Danny (the gardening tools he'd gotten him were in there), he made a dash for the door.

"Alyssa!" Max found himself on the receiving end of a quick, but heartfelt hug. "What're you doing here at six am?"

"Because it's a school day and my class starts in an hour," Alyssa replied breathlessly. "Since this is the closest thing I have to free time, I thought I'd give you and Danny your gifts now." She handed him a couple of expertly wrapped packages. "Hey, you know you're not supposed to open them until Christmas morning," she told him sternly.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." First Danny, now her-- why was everyone thinking he was trying to find out what he'd gotten for Christmas? He'd only tried peeking once, for goodness sake.

"This, however, is for both of you-- and you can open it now." Alyssa gave him a huge grin and she gave him one last package. This one was a lot smaller than the other two, but it was every bit as neatly wrapped. She smiled again as she knotted the scarf that had been hanging loosely around her shoulders. "See you at the party!"

After putting the larger two gifts under the tree (and giving them a shake, which did not count as peeking as far as Max was concerned), Max began to unwrap the small present. What had Alyssa...

A twig of mistletoe fell into Max's palm. He was still sort of new to a traditional Christmas, but he was very aware about how you got a kiss if you stood under it...

He smiled to himself as he put the mistletoe in his pocket. Once Danny came home, Max was going to make sure that he stayed home for a very, very long time.

Alyssa had the best taste in gifts ever.