Can you still see the heart of me?
All my agony fades away
When you hold me in your embrace
(All I need by Within Temptation)

They were sitting by the fireplace watching the flames battle against themselves. The only light in the entire room besides the glow emitting from the fireplace was from the Christmas Tree that had been placed to the left of them. The tree looked lovely, as it was adorned with a billion different ornaments, little sparkling coloured lights and a gold star on top. They had just finished decorating the entire Salvatore boarding house…well, really it was just the one room. They had decided it would be a waste if they'd done the whole house, so they'd narrowed it down to the living area. It was perfect in her eyes. Nothing had looked better in this house, than a touch of Christmas Spirit. It was beautiful.

She remembered how they had stumbled into the tree farm, a tangle of limbs as he held her from behind. They'd walked in, both smiling like big idiots. A person had greeted them at the entrance, giving them a brief talk on how to go about choosing a tree and then they had began searching for the right one. It was a bunch of, this one's too skinny, this one's too short and this one's too sparse. It's safe to say that they spent a good two hours looking for just the right one. However in the end they managed to find the perfect tree, which now stood proudly in the parlour in all its pine glory.

"You really do make the best hot chocolate." She says as she snuggles closer into his chest and lets out a moan.

"Where's the faith?" he gasps, teasing her. "How could you ever doubt me?"

She rolls her eyes before nudging him with her elbow slightly for his mocking remarks.

"Hey! Watch it. Best hot chocolate in the world, here." he motions to the hand holding the elixir which was almost spilled when she nudged him.

"You should watch it. Soon you're not going to be able to fit through the door with how big your ego is."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. " he says, before they laugh together.

After the laughter dies, they both fall silent and stare at the dancing flames. It's a nice kind of quiet, the peace, the stillness. It's comfortable. Relaxing. There they were, on the floor, their backs against the sofa. His arm placed around her shoulder and she's pulled up against his side.

"Tell me something about you." she says suddenly. "You said this used to be your favourite holiday. Why's that?" she says as she turns her head to look at him. She watches for something but his face is blank of emotion and when he says nothing, she assumes he doesn't want to talk about it. So she lets it slide, and resumes watching the fire and starts to think back to her own memories, her family being the biggest one. She hopes they are together, up there, on the other side, or wherever they are. All of them; her parents, both her biological and adopted, Jenna, Ric and everyone's she's ever lost. She hopes they're happy.

She takes a sip of her hot chocolate and places her head on his shoulder, enjoying how his presence, soothes her. She feels at ease. She couldn't really remember a time where she had felt this way, at least not in the recent couple of years. It felt good. She felt strong. Not physically speaking but emotionally. Even though pain and grief still ensnared her, it no longer felt crippling. She could cope with it and she owed it to the man beside her. She remembered how he'd nudged her back into writing. It had helped her greatly. He had always been good at guessing what she needed, but don't get her wrong, he wasn't perfect or a saint. She knew how much of an idiot he could be at times. Like when he'd tried to break up with her because he didn't think she could handle his past. That was, to this day, the stupidest thing he'd ever done, but they survived. They had worked through it. She didn't back down and instead fought with all she had, so that he could see the errors of his ways. Then she forgave him and he learnt that he couldn't live in a world of fears and insecurities. She had built a solid case reminding him of the tattoo he had gotten a long time ago that rested permanently on the side of his arm. Hic et nunc. Here and now. You had to live in the now, not the past, or the future, but in the present.

He begins to play with her hair, running his fingers through it gently, which breaks her out of her train thought. She sighs softly, choosing to just enjoy his warm embrace. She had been so enamoured with being wrapped in his hold that she jolts lightly, startled, when he starts to speak.

"My mother used to make the most amazing sweets at Christmas. They were these small bite size toffee squares. I still remember how they'd melt in your mouth and how the entire house would smell like the candy for days." He finally speaks, still running his fingers through her hair. "She would bake an entire slab, one week before Christmas and then each night after dinner, we'd all get one piece. Till there was none left. And then we'd have to wait till next year. It was our Christmas tradition…" he trails off sombrely.

Touched that he had opened up to her, she decides to share a story of her own as well.

"My mother loved to make pie. Name a flavour, she probably made ten of them in December. My mother wasn't much for cooking but had you asked her to make pie and she'd ask how many. She used to take them into the shelters and community parties and just share them around. She even had a stall at Mystic Fall's annual Christmas fair. Pie was all the craze back then." she laughs trailing off, silence hitting them again.

"Cherry." he finally states.

"What?" she mumbles against his neck.

"I like Cherry Pie."

"Me too. Yummy" she says succinctly, slightly drained from all their hard work today.

"Yep." he says popping the 'p'. He can feel the night is coming to an end.

"I'm tired" she says as she yawns. The hot chocolate also having its affect on her as well as his soothing touch as he'd been continually running his fingers through her hair. It had been so relaxing that all her muscles had loosened up.

"I can see that." He says, watching as she cuddles in closer to him, her eyes closing slightly. Their cups of hot chocolate, long forgotten after they'd been drained of every last drop. Promptly he lifts her up and starts carrying her up to their room.

"I can walk." she says squirming to be set down.

"It's okay. I got you. Besides isn't it more fun this way?" he smirks lightly

"You're a caveman." she says sleepily, not bothering to hide the small smile blooming across her face, before mumbling against his chest. "My caveman, though."

"That's right, yours. Caveman and all." he says, finally setting her down on the bed. He begins to undo the laces of her shoes and takes them off. She quickly slips off her bra and slides it out from under her thin top before scooting out of her jeans and swiftly sliding under the covers. He joins her in less than ten seconds flat, stripping down to his boxers. His arms wrap around her body and she giggles as his feet tangle with hers.

"Thank you, for today." she utters softly.

"You're welcome." he says genuinely. "Now, get some sleep. You've had a long day."

"I love you." she says, her eyes closing to a wonderful day she will cherish for the rest of her life.

"Love you too 'Lena." he replies in a voiced hush.

And just before she falls asleep, she feels his lips brush upon the top of her head and hears his faint voice whisper two last words.

Merry Christmas.

A/N I don't know what happened. I literally just wrote this up today. It came to me and I just couldn't stop. Hope you liked it. And I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas day and that you will also have an equally if not more awesome New years.

Sorry for any mistakes. Tried to get them all.

Let me know what you think. Bye lovelies! :D