She smiled. "I'm glad you had a good time."
A playful look filled his eyes as an idea came to mind. "Beth, do you have a favorite Christmas memory?"
She chuckled at him as it came to mind. "Yes. Do you?"
He smiled. "Yeah. One year, it snowed on Christmas Eve. We made a perfect snowman out in the front yard. It had everything: a scarf, a hat, even down to the carrot nose.
When I woke up the next morning, after I opened all my presents, I went outside to play in the snow. When I walked over to the snowman, there were hoof prints all around it, and his carrot nose was gone! I was convinced that Santa had come during the night, and his reindeer had eaten the carrot! My parents played along, and I got to brag all about it to my friends for the next few weeks."
Beth laughed at the thought of it. "That is so cute."
"It's one of my favorite childhood memories." He chuckled at the story, and Beth joined him. She had curled up on the couch next to him, feeling perfectly comfortable with their proximity.
"Now, you said you had a favorite story too. Let's hear it."
Beth grinned and tilted her head to meet his curious eyes. She felt so happy to have him with her for Christmas. "Well, when I was about seven or eight, my teacher in school read us 'The Polar Express'. At the end, when I heard that the little boy had gotten a bell from Santa's sleigh, I knew that I wanted one too. So, on my list to Santa that year, I made sure that I told him I wanted a bell from his sleigh.
Christmas morning came and I opened all my presents, but I didn't get my bell. I was disappointed, but the rest of my presents sort of made up for it. After all, I was a little kid. Well, later in the day, when my mom was cleaning up the pine needles that had fallen on the floor from the tree, she found a little red box buried in the tree skirt. It had my name on it, so she brought me back to the tree and told me that Santa had hidden this gift because it was extra special. When I opened it, there was a little silver bell on a red ribbon, and a note from Santa saying that I'd been such a good girl this year that he wanted me to have this bell from his sleigh. I was so excited. I think I may still actually have that bell somewhere."
Mick watched as her lovely smile lit up her whole face, her eyes wandering back to that Christmas morning.
He sighed with a smile and glanced out the window, admiring how the setting sun had turned the sky shades of pink, yellow, and orange. When he turned his head back to face Beth once again, he found that they had somehow become merely inches apart. He gave her a mischievous grin as he commented, "Well, this is cozy."
She smiled innocently. "What do you mean?"
Matching her playful aura, he leaned in until their noses were touching. "This." His breath tickled her cheeks, and she was momentarily shocked into silence before he broke the intense moment with a chuckle and pulled away. "Wait."
He glanced at her with a curious look. "What is it Beth?"
She leaned in once again as she whispered, "You didn't give me a chance to do this." And, leaving a confused Mick glancing at her, she took his face in her hands and slowly brought her lips to his.
Their eyes both fluttered closed as their lips lightly brushed together. It took only a few seconds for the shock to wear off before Mick opened his lips slightly, welcoming her hesitant kiss. He fought to keep the smile from his lips as he allowed himself to succumb to the kiss they were both so interested in.
But she pulled away soon, much too soon for Mick. He tried to hide the disappointed look in his eyes as he met hers once again. "Satisfied?"
She smirked, chuckling at her own joke as an answer to his question. "Just one more thing…" She reached across the armrest of the couch and opened the drawer of the table next to it. She removed a few green leaves tied together with a red ribbon as she shut the drawer, and a smile once again filled Mick's lips. "How traditional."
Beth turned back to him and waved the plant teasingly. "What would Christmas be without a kiss under the mistletoe?"
Approaching him once again, she held the mistletoe above their heads as their lips met once again. There was no hesitance in this second kiss, as they both parted their lips in welcome of the other's.
When they parted for air, Beth still held the mistletoe above them. Mick smiled the gorgeous smile that melted Beth's heart every time she saw it. "You know Beth, I think I have a new favorite Christmas memory."
She laughed as she stoked his cheek with her fingertips. "Me too Mick, me too."
-End-
Hope you all enjoyed my little ficlet here. :) I'm planning a Moonlight New Year's fic now (key word: planning), so I'll try to post when once it's finished. Thanks for reading and reviewing!