Authors Note : I know in cannon that it's not Christmas time, but that's the beauty of FanFic :) . Set right about now, with more or less everything that is going on just a little Christmas fun for our three favourite ladies :)
Special shout out to loneJaguar and Hbomba for their original fic A Christmas Faeble, that first brought a little Christmas to the Fae world :)
Disclaimers: All original property is owned by Showcase, and we do not infer that any characters, creations or the concept of 'Lost Girl' are our property and the following fan fiction has been written purely for entertainment purposes only.
Characters Bo Lauren Kenzi
Time-Frame: Set after 4:06
Rating: T – fluffy fun for everyone
Summary: Christmas fun for our three favourite ladies :) Part 4
Merry Christmas Everyone
By: The RainbowWriters
"SANTA CAME! SANTA CAME!"
Cutting through the calm of the clubhouse, Kenzi's high pitched tone announced the first moment she found the wrapped box at the bottom of her bed. The next thing either Bo or Lauren would have heard if it wasn't for the fact they were both exhausted, was her feet stomping there way down from her attic room.
The double doors of Bo's room flung open and without any care for the occupants of the large bed, both of which were now at least partially awake, trying to figure out what was the noise they had heard. Seeing their blinking sleep filled eyes, Kenzi just jumped up onto the mattress and moved to drop her body into the space that she urged them to make for her.
"Santa came, Santa came." Kenzi kicked her feet in the air holding her present aloft, her head looking from one side at Bo to the other side at Lauren again and again.
"Kenz, really?" Bo groaned as she reached up to rub her face with her hand.
"It's Christmas Day, you are not allowed to be grumpy, right Christmas Lauren?" Kenzi looked to the blonde, who wasn't being grumpy but who was most certainly trying to find enough blanket to cover her nakedness, even if Kenzi seemed completely oblivious.
"I'm not grumpy just..." Bo gave a laugh and then turned over grabbing Kenzi's face with both hands before she leaned in and kissed her on one cheek then the other. "I'm a naked Succubus, Merry Christmas!" She gave her a smirk.
"Eww, don't you two know the first rule of Christmas morning is that you're supposed to have worn something to bed the night before." Kenzi pushed herself up and sat at the end of the bed, finally tearing into her present. "And as if the fates were underlining this to you..." She pulled out a pair of Christmas pyjamas, that were bright white with strings of multicoloured Christmas lights that wrapped around the pattern over and over. On the string every so often there was elf hanging off, with sunglasses on and a little sign in his hand that said 'Light it Up!'. "These are awesome guys, thanks. I'm going to go put them on. Both of you get dressed and meet me downstairs in five..." She pushed back off the bed. "In five! No canoodling." She pointed at both of them. "Hear me no canoodling!"
As the Kenzi's slender figure disappeared Bo turned to Lauren with a soft somewhat tired smile and leaned in to place a kiss on her lips.
"Merry Christmas Morning." She said softly.
Lauren raised her hand to Bo's cheek, stroking the soft skin for a moment as she closed her eyes and returned the kiss.
"We were told no canoodling." She said somewhat reluctantly opening her eyes and pulling back from the brunette.
"Then you need to put some clothes on, because I cannot be responsible for my actions if you continue to wear just my sheet." Bo grinned brightly and slipped out of the bed moving to the closet to grab something to throw on so they could go downstairs and get Christmas started.
-x-
"You want yule log with carols or just yule log on fire no carols?" Kenzi asked as she leaned over the back of the couch with the converter in her hand to look at Lauren who was making cider.
"I don't mind. I've grown quite partial to your Christmas mix but if you want to go with something more traditional Carols with the Yule Log is fine. Bo?" She glanced at the Succubus who was buttering toast and cutting it into soldiers.
"Traditional when we're opening presents." Bo aired her preference glancing first at Lauren and then at Kenzi who flipped around and found the right station on the TV and cranked the volume so that 'O come all ye Faithful' filled the club house.
"Come on you guys, the wait is killing me here." The young brunette complained.
"You're only getting your stocking now, you know that right." Bo announced as she finally came over carrying a plate full the little strips of toast she had cut and some boiled eggs in Christmas egg cups.
"Whose rule is that? My rule is we go through my stocking like a bull in a china shop and then tear through the presents like a Narc officer searching for drugs." Kenzi stood by the fireplace making movements with her arms to underline her points. "I can't believe I'm waiting long enough for you two to make breakfast, who eats anything other than cookies and junk from their stocking for breakfast on Christmas?"
"Well my rule is we open stockings and have breakfast, then we go delivering gifts." Bo outlined. "That way when we come home if anyone has given us gifts in return we can open everything together at the same time."
"NO! Not a chance, that is barbaric, the people we are going to deliver too don't even celebrate." Kenzi pouted even more. "Christmas Lauren, help me out here?"
"I"m sorry Bo, I have to agree with Kenzi on this one, under the tree presents get opened after stockings." Lauren offered softly. "Did you parents really make you wait until after you'd gone visiting?"
"We got up opened stockings had breakfast, went to church, visited friends had dinner and then opened gifts." Bo said with a nod.
"Oh my poor Bo-Bo." Kenzi rushed over and enveloped her in a big hug. "How did you cope all those years? No wonder you have no patience now unwrapping Lauren." She teased with a wink to the blonde. "Well around here you don't have to wait, you're gonna have your first real Christmas of present pandemonium."
"We're really going to unwrap everything now?" Bo arched her eyebrow as she turned and looked at Lauren who was just serving the cider.
"Yep, how else do we decide which of our new Christmas clothes we're going to wear out visiting?" Lauren smiled at her.
"Damn I knew I should have got you clothes rather than that hunky fireman calendar." Kenzi grinned at Lauren as the blonde put a mug of steamy cider down on the coffee table for her.
"Oh no Kenzi, I love that calendar, I hope July is the usual guy with the perfect pecks and the Marilyn tattoo." Lauren put Bo's down and then eased herself on the end of the couch.
"You're getting better at that Doc." Kenzi grinned at her and moved to go pluck the blonde's stocking off its hook and deliver it to her, before repeating the procedure and bringing Bo hers and then grabbing hers to sit down on the other side of the coffee table with her back to the fire. "Christmas Ziggy, you might be my favourite Ziggy of all." She took the little bear out of the top and hugged him. "Look at you with your Christmas Cracker." She played with his paw.
Bo slid her phone out of the pocket of her robe and snapped a photo of Kenzi winking at her best friend when the noise of it made her look up.
"Hale never sees that picture." Kenzi warned her immediately. "Unless I look adorably cute and then maybe." She stuck her hand in the pink stocking and fished out a wrapped gift, tearing into it stuffing Ziggy between her knees. "Christmas M&M's" She hugged the chocolates briefly. "Mine all mine." She looked at Lauren and Bo. "You know that's what M and M stands for right?"
"Clearly." Lauren agreed with a nod.
"Good." Kenzi put the candy aside and pulled an apple out of her gift sock. "Yeah, I get it, healthy."
"Not everything can be made of chocolate or you will stop appreciating the chocolate." Lauren pointed out with a smile. "Also it's a very old Yule tradition to give..." She started but then stopped herself. "But I promised I wouldn't be boring on Christmas." She gave a soft laugh and pulled out the first thing at the top of her stocking. "Oh." She stopped as began to pull out the edge of the black and red silky negligee that she'd found hidden very badly under a few walnuts. She let the stocking stay in her lap as she held up the very sheer, very sexy gift.
"It's a teddy." Bo explained a soft bush rising to the succubus' cheeks unexpectedly. "You know everyone should have a teddy in their Christmas stocking."
"For the record at Christmases to come, Lauren can get that kind of teddy but I want this kind. I expect you to buy him a sweater next year." Kenzi got great amusement out of her best friend's slightly pink cheeks.
"Thank you Bo, it is lovely." Lauren's smile told the brunette all she needed to know about how appreciated the gift was, both for its beauty and for the thought the word play on teddy had meant she'd put into it. "Your turn." She urged with a certain amount of well hidden nervous anticipation. She hoped that with Bo's continued packing of their stockings the night before, she hadn't pushed what she'd put into it too far down.
"Oh right..." Bo focused on the stocking on her own lap, she had been so caught up in watching the two most important people in her life be so involved in their own gifts she had almost forgotten she had her own to look at. Opening the top a little wider the brunette peered in and removed a couple of nuts. "Always nice." She held up a Brazil nut with a goofy grin. "Especially if you have a nut crac..." The succubus' voice trailed off, her eyes seeing something in the sock shaped bag long before her hand closed around it and pulled it out.
Kenzi's brow tweaked a little in interest as she leaned forward to see what had stopped Bo mid sentence, watching as her best friend pulled out what was obviously a jewelry box of some kind, tied around the centre with a dark ribbon that held a red card to it.
"Well that's not a packet of M&M's." The raven haired girl grinned. "Or a teddy."
Bo's eyes flickered up to Lauren, who was sitting with her hands in her lap, a tiny smile on her face as she gave the succubus the smallest nod of encouragement to open the gift in her hand.
Bo's hand was shaking as she pulled the red envelop free from the box, opening it she unfolded the note inside and silently read the words she already knew were there. What she couldn't stop were the tears that instantly filled her eyes as she read them.
Putting the card aside Bo eased the jewelry case open and pulled out a long platinum chain, hanging from which was the silhouette outline of a bird in flight, the heart of which was filled in with a simple sparkling diamond.
"Wow." Kenzi made the small impressed noise. "That sure as hell ain't no M&M's."
"Lauren this..." Bo blinked her eyes and looked at the blonde closing her hand around the pendant and holding it to her.
"Is yours." Lauren said softly. "It has been for a while." She said with the same gentle smile.
"Canoodle already!" Kenzi urged them holding Ziggy up to clap his little hands. She could only guess that this was 'the necklace' that Bo had been hoping most to get from the blonde and the fact that her best friend was right now sitting there with it, really did feel a little like a Christmas miracle.
Taking just a second to place the necklace safely back in the box Bo skipped the small space between her and Lauren and pulled the blonde into a kiss, both of her hands on soft cheeks as she closed her eyes, letting warm happy tears press out of them.
"I love you too." She breathed in between kisses as she pressed small surprisingly chaste kisses on Lauren's lips. "So, so much."
"I'm glad my message was clear." Lauren whispered back putting her hands up over the ones of Bo's on her cheeks. "Can I put it on you?"
"Of course." Bo eased back and somewhat reluctantly pulled her hands free from her lover's skin. Bringing the small box back with her when she turned back to face Lauren the Succubus was already gathering her hair out of the way with her free hand.
Lauren carefully reclaimed the necklace from the box and with an unexpected tremble in her own hands moved to secure the piece of jewellery around the Succubus' throat.
"More beautiful then I imagined it would be." Lauren admitted in a whisper.
Bo moved her hand to hold onto the small bird for a moment and then looked into brown eyes.
"Thank you." She said her voice full of honest and sincerity.
"You are very welcome Bo." Lauren took a little breath, the whole experience proving to be far more moving than she had expected it to be somehow.
Looking deeply into brown eyes for another long minute Bo leaned forward and caught Lauren up in a tight embrace, crushing their lips together in a sudden and passionate kiss. Kenzi let the kiss go on for a few minutes as she pulled out everything else in her stocking but when she'd reached the large orange in the toe and looked back to see the two of them still alternating between staring into each other eyes or kissing she had to intervene.
"I totally get that was huge but..." Kenzi put as much childish whine in her voice as she could. "Presents!" She pointed to the tree.
Lauren was the one who actually smiled at the younger woman first and moved from beside Bo in an expert sideways slip.
"Here." The blonde said gently. "It's not your 'big' present from me, but..." She held it out to Kenzi. "It's something for you to open while Bo and I catch up with stockings."
"I've said it once, I'll say it again, I love Christmas Lauren." Kenzi took the heavy present and put in into her lap for only a moment of hesitation before she began to tear off the very pretty antique looking holly and ivy wrapping paper. "A book?" The moment of hesitation in her voice was suddenly changed when she saw that on the cover there was the most glamourous shot of a Louis Vitton shoe, with the title of the book being "High Art: The beauty of Heels". "A book about shoes!" Her enthusiasm grew and she started to flip through the heavy high gloss pages, each one adorned with a homage to a particular pair of expensive footwear.
Bo glanced over to her best friend as she relocated on the couch to right next to Lauren, bringing over her stocking with her quietly taking out the candy and fruit that filled it, whilst occasionally glancing at Kenzi ooh and ahhing over beautiful heels and works of art in shoe form and Lauren as she too steadily emptied her stocking. A small smile pulling at the Succubus' lip at the neat pile that the blonde was making out of everything she was taking out of the holiday package.
"So cool, more more." Kenzi eased the book closed and put it carefully on the floor beside her chair and wiggled her fingers at Lauren, who apparently had gotten the job of giving out presents.
"Okay hang on." Bo slipped off the couch and joined Lauren who had sunk down near the tree again. "Look just wiggle your ass over here." She motioned to Kenzi to join them.
Carrying Ziggy with her the youngest member of the group came happily to sit in between them as usual looking at the array of presents that were around the base of the tree.
"So." Kenzi said reaching for the first one she could get her hands on. "Bo-Bo, this is yours from me." She said with a grin holding it out with both hands. "Well it's one of them." She added.
"Thank you." Bo said as she took it, instantly lifting it to the side of her head and shaking it.
"Hey hey, what if it had of been a bomb." Kenzi objected to the treatment of her gift.
"Why would you have bought me a bomb for Christmas?" Bo scrunched up her nose.
"Okay, good point." Kenzi gave a shrug and sat back waiting for her best friend to open the first of many gifts.
-x-
As the gift unwrapping had progressed, it was soon discovered that Kenzi was a tearer, ripper and demolisher; Bo was a ripper but then a careful disposer, and Lauren was a meticulous remover of tape and folder of used Christmas wrap, a combination that was proving to provide almost as much entertainment to the succubus as the actually gift receiving was. Though to see the joy on Kenzi's face with every little thing she got, be it a cartoon character bubble bath ('Just a little joke gift babe, Hale') or a new pair of boots ('Your best friend forever, Bo') made every second of Christmas preparation worth it for the succubus a million times over.
But it wasn't only Kenzi who had seemed to be lost in the moment of gift giving an receiving, Lauren too had all the while looked so relaxed and happy as she opened a teddy bear from Kenzi that was dressed up as a doctor, with a stethoscope and a lab coat, and a t-shirt from Hale that said 'trust me I'm a doctor' on it.
And there were books from Trick for them all, not books like the book Lauren bought Kenzi, but Lauren seemed excited for sure. It also seemed they had all bought each other enough candy to last the rest of the month. Hale had bought Bo a 'Kiss the Cook' apron and a set of measuring cups, that Kenzi explained were as a result of her telling him that Lauren did all the cooking. Kenzi had bought the succubus several little gifts, and like the rest of them, her 'big gift' to her best friend was still under the tree, waiting till the end to be opened.
"Okay so how do we do this." Kenzi asked as she stretched out and pulled the remaining gifts from under the tree closer. She looked at the labels. "We have Lauren, from Bo. Lauren from me. Bo from me, Bo from Lauren, Kenzi from Bo and Kenzi from Lauren."
"I have no idea." Bo admitted looked at the collection. "Everyone open one first, then repeat?"
"Kenzi why don't you open yours first." Lauren encouraged and looked at the large parcel with Kenzi's name on it from her. "I'm afraid it's not exactly..." She paused and frowned slightly. "Personal, but it's something I thought you could..." She paused again. "Well let's just say maybe I suck at buying presents."
"Doc, for the record I doubt it but if we finally found something you sucked at it might be refreshing." Kenzi grinned at her and then began to tear into the paper of the rather large box, the moment she saw the side label her blue eyes went wide and a strange high pitched squeal started coming out of her mouth.
"What did you give her?" Bo kept looking not yet understanding. "Dogs are barking from that noise."
"What did she give me? What did she give me?" Kenzi ripped off the rest of the paper. "A PS-freaking 4! That's what she gave me and I bet its not hot!" She hugged it to her body. "Thank you Christmas Lauren, I love you!" She grinned and internally realized she may have actually now said those words more then Bo ever had.
"You don't suck at presents." Bo smiled at the blonde.
"It's not hot." Lauren shook her head. "I have the receipt, for the games especially if you don't like the ones I picked. I tucked them inside the box, saved wrapping." She rolled her eyes. "Like I said it's not overly personal but I thought you might like."
"There are games? Games too?" Kenzi began to tear into the box. "Assassins Creed: Black Flag, Call of Duty: Ghosts and Kill Zone: Shadow Fall. It's official..." She looked between the two of them. "Christmas Lauren wins Christmas." She proclaimed.
"You can't buy someone a games machine and not buy them games and I didn't know if your old system was an xbox or a playstation so..." Lauren stopped herself and then smile. "Happy Christmas Kenzi."
"Thank you!" Kenzi continued to grin at her. "I think officially I might be the one who sucks at Christmas presents." She bit her lip. "But you might as well open yours." The brunette reached to pass the blonde the flat parcel that had her name on it.
Lauren took the gift and carefully opened it a smile coming to her face the instant she saw what was inside.
"Kenzi, this is..." She looked from the gift across to Kenzi. "Thank you." She beamed at the younger woman. "I can't believe you remembered." She admitted shaking her head slightly as she removed the glass framed piece from the paper completely lifting it to reveal a professionally framed art card of Seven Of Nine with Jeri Ryan's signature in gold pen across it, with a silver label detailing the fact it was a limited edition no: 06/403. A certificate of authenticity was in an envelope attached to the back.
"Like I would forget a fact like that about you." Kenzi snorted.
"Wow, looks like I'm going to be coming out on the bottom of the gift pile this year." Bo laughed softly.
"Like it's a competition." Lauren shook her head.
"Exactly Bo-Bo, but you know if it was..." Kenzi teased with a grin. "As I am on such a winning streak.." She leaned in and grabbed the parcel she had for Bo. "For you." She took a breath and held on to the gift for a moment. "You're the best friend I've ever had, the big sister I never knew I wanted or needed but now couldn't live without, and there isn't a present out there I could get that would tell you all that..." She looked from the gift wrapped present in her arms to the Succubus. "There's isn't anything out there that can sum up how much I love you, how thankful I am for you and ... well there just isn't." She stopped herself, feeling the emotions that she knew would come start to become too much for her. "So .. here." She held out the gift.
"I love you too little Sis." Bo took the gift, which she had to admit at first thought looked like a book but when she opened it she quickly discovered it wasn't. Instead of a book, it was a black hard backed photo album. A brass plate across the front proudly proclaiming 'Bo and Kenzi' in beautifully scripted letters. If this hadn't been enough for the Succubus, which in fact it had been, when she opened it she was surprised to learn that it wasn't a photo album you 'filled' but one that had been printed filled. Each of the pages were separated by a thin sheet of tissue paper and the first picture that greeted her was from the first day they'd met. Well technically the second day, as the 'video' from the night before had been thankfully deleted but the picture was of the two of them in those first few hours of their friendship. "Kenz..." She began to slowly turn pages, seeing memories and moments jump out at her, some she could easily place and some she didn't even know the young woman had taken pictures of. "This is... perfect." She closed it carefully and leaned over to hug her best friend. "We're going to go through each page together." She vowed, wanting to do exactly that whenever the chance first arose. Filter through the good memories of the time they'd been in each others lives, now all captured in a permanent way for them to enjoy for years to come.
Watery blue eyes blinked at the Succubus as Kenzi leaned back from the hug briefly before pressing in again to hold on tightly once more.
"Seems only fair I give you yours then." Bo didn't move far from the hug, only enough to reach for the small gift that had Kenzi's name on it. "All that stuff you just said to me, back at ya." She looked at Kenzi, her brown eyes as watery as the younger woman's. "Happy Christmas Kenzi." She held it out.
"It's small." Kenzi said with a soft laugh as she took the present and tore into it, though honestly she realized there wasn't much to tear. In a few short moments she was holding a ring box in her hand and she quirked an eyebrow. "Are you sure this wasn't for the Doc?" She joked softly and got a firm head shake from her best friend. Very carefully she cracked it open to see a beautiful white gold ring, made of two crossing ribbon strands that were cast with the words 'always & forever' on either sides of the cross over point. "Ah babe, you know it, you know it." She turned and hugged her best friend as tightly as her arms could manage.
Bo closed her eyes and held on just as tightly breathing out softly as eventually Kenzi eased back and instantly took the ring out of the box and slipped it onto the ring finger of her right hand, where it fit perfectly. Bo couldn't help but smile as the young woman looked at it and then at her and hugged her again.
"Wow." Kenzi said, easing back a second time. "That got all mushy really quick. I'm gonna, you know... make drinks, or go look at the snow or something..." She blew up into her bangs and lifted a finger to the bottom of her eye to catch a tear before it dripped onto her cheek. "You two do the thing with the presents. I don't think I can take any more mush."
"Seems we've managed to break Kenzi." Bo watched her best friend move off towards the kitchen with a soft smile, her hand going up to her necklace. "You first." She said gently pushing over the rather heavy box to sit in front of Lauren.
"You mean a lot to her Bo." Lauren said softly, glancing back to where the brunette was stood in the kitchen clearly admiring her friendship ring. "Okay, so..." She smiled and carefully removed the bow, sticking it to shirt with the others before she began to undo the pieces of tape and carefully unfold the wrapping paper. She would have admitted to anyone she hadn't been sure what to expect. After all this Christmas had been so perfect, there could have been just about anything short of a singing electronic fish in the box from Bo and she would have been excited. So when she pulled back the carefully placed sheets of tissue paper to see inside the box, the sculpture that was nestled into more tissue paper made her breath catch in her throat.
With very careful hands, she pulled it out, the smooth white stone that it was carved out of cool to the touch. Like her hands that cradled it, the piece was in the form of a pair of woman's hands, palms to the sky as a white bird flew out of them towards the sky. It captured both the imagined movement of the woman and the bird so perfectly that Lauren couldn't do anything but study it for the longest time. Not even realizing that Bo was just sat there nervously waiting for a reaction.
"Freedom." Lauren said the one word turning to look at the brunette as she carefully placed the statue on the ground. Her eyes were glistening with tears as Bo's had once been, clearly understanding that Bo had finally gotten what she had been trying to tell her for so long.
"It's what I've always wanted for you, wanted to give you..." Bo's voice was a whisper. "What you have." She felt her own throat tighten. "It also just happens to be the name of the piece." She pointed out with a little smile. "It's on the bottom." She pointed rather unnecessarily. "You like?" She checked.
"I love it Bo." Lauren pushed herself forward and hugged onto the brunette, pressing her face into dark hair. "Almost as much as I love you." She whispered pulling back just enough to press their lips together.
"I was worried..." Bo admitted putting their forehead together. "After I bought it that you would think me giving you it meant somehow I was letting you go, you know..." She frowned quickly. "That you would take the symbolism a way I didn't mean..."
"I see it as meaning the same thing as my necklace does." Lauren reached and put a finger on Bo's lips to stop her from continuing. "Not you letting me go, but you giving me wings."
"Yes that. That exactly." Bo nodded closing her eyes. "Oh I love you." The succubus kissed her hard again. "This Christmas has been like... like nothing else."
"Just one present left." Lauren didn't move she just drew the somewhat misshapen and soft present with Bo's name on it over to the Succubus.
"I almost don't want to open it, that way Christmas will never end." Bo admitted smoothing her hand over the green paper.
"We still have dinner and lots of Christmas left." Lauren reached out and fluffed the white bow. "Go on, I want to know what you think." She urged her.
"Okay." Bo finally nodded and tore open the side flap, reaching in to have her hand wrap around soft subtle leather. Pulling the present out she soon discovered it was a dark blue leather jacket, form fitting and short, with shiny silver zippers that gave it an edgy feel typical to the person it was intended for. "Lauren, it's gorgeous." She pulled it up and slipped it on even though she was wearing a cotton night dress. As expected it fit her perfectly, and she smoothed her hands down both of the sleeves admiring the expert craftsmanship. It was clearly not your rack purchased leather coat and she could only assume it came from a speciality store.
"I'm glad you like it." Lauren said with a smile that was really more of a smirk. "But to be honest that's really just more wrapping."
"More wrapping?" Bo's face showed her confusion, after all the coat was gorgeous and had to be the gift right?
"Left pocket." Lauren prompted with a soft nod.
Still looking a bit confused Bo stuck her hand in the left pocket, and it closed around something cold and metal. Her brain began to fill in that it was a key but as she pulled it out she still wasn't sure.
"So you're never locked out, and you always have a place to go Bo." Lauren said looking into brown eyes as they came up to look at the blonde. "Always."
"This is to your new place..." Bo said the words a little like a question but also like a statement, her hand closing around the key even tighter. "Freedom." She repeated the word again, seeing in the brown eyes that looked back at her that Lauren understood why she had said it and she understood why Lauren had given it to her. Even if there were things to talk about, things that needed to be fixed in both their worlds, things that needed to be worked on and worked out, there was nothing that was ever going to separate them completely again like they had been during Bo's time with the Wanderer. "I've said this a few times this Christmas but I love you Lauren, I always will." She leaned forward and in a direct move pressed her lips to the blonde's.
-x-
"I swear that was the best Christmas dinner, ever." Kenzi leaned back from her place and pushed her empty plate back in towards the middle of the table. "I can't believe you had anything to do with it." She looked at Bo who was just finishing her glass of wine.
"Hey." The other brunette balled up her serviette and tossed it at the younger woman. "But she's right..." The succubus continued looking at Lauren who had also leaned back in her chair, cradling her wine glass. "That was delicious and there's so much left." She glanced at the work top in the kitchen which was still filled with food.
"For now." Kenzi grinned.
"Your metabolism is amazing Kenzi." Lauren smiled at the darker haired girl with a smile. "Are you ever not hungry?"
"Right now." Kenzi replied, "But I think I'm moments away from a turkey coma. Which by the way so isn't a bad thing. Bagsie the couch."
"You have to clean up first." Trick made the comment from his place at the table a smile wide on his face. "Though to echo the original statement Lauren, it was indeed an amazing meal." He lifted his glass of wine to her and took a sip.
"Just like science eh Doc?" Hale grinned at the blonde from his place beside Kenzi.
"Cooking and science are remarkably similar." Lauren nodded smiling at the well natured tease.
"How cool is this, all of us here, like it should be." Kenzi grinned, openly taking Hale's hand and resting it on the table in her own. "I kinda wish Tamsin and Bruce were here, Vex too."
"I don't think the turkey was big enough to feed Bruce too." Bo laughed softly taking Lauren's hand and holding it on the table top like Kenzi was with Hale's.
"I vote that the dishes wait till later, like wayyy later." Kenzi groaned as she looked at Hale with a soft smile. "It's curl up and watch Christmas TV time. The most adventurous thing I want to do is make coffee and I'm even sort of hoping that someone comes through for me and you know one just appears."
"Your subtlety that's one of the things I really like about you." Hale leaned over and kissed Kenzi's forehead as he pushed up and moved off towards the kitchen.
"Among other things." Dyson teased his best friend softly as he finished his wine and moved to pick up the bottle, refilling Trick's glass and then Bo and Lauren's in turn. "My thanks to the cook of this feast as well, it was delicious." He gave the blonde a soft nod of his head, his eyes having already appraised the fact that Bo was holding her hand and the general aura of closeness that was around them. "I'll help my partner out in the kitchen." He added not returning to his seat but instead moving to join Hale in the kitchen making the coffee.
"I'm moving to the couch." Kenzi put her hand up in retreat and slunk of in the general direction of comfort as Trick smiled and sipped his refilled glass.
"I"ll go keep her company." Lauren patted Bo's hand before slipping out from her place.
"I have subtle friends." Bo rolled her eyebrows.
"You have good friends." Trick countered with a broad smile.
"I do." Bo agreed with an instant nod. "Thank you for coming, for being a part of my Christmas." The Succubus added her voice full of deep tenderness.
"I wouldn't have missed it for the world." The Blood King shook his head. "There is a lightness about you Ysabeau, it suits you." He added.
"These last few days Trick, I can't explain, they've been..." Bo shook her head and breathed out. "Amazing." She decided on a word but instantly felt it was inadequate. "It's like everything I remember from being young but with this whole different level added to it." She continued to muse with a happy smile plastered onto her face. "Which is why you being here, has been so special." She leaned across the table and grabbed one of her grandfather's hands in both of her own. "You are my family, and I know we don't always see eye to eye but I love you." She blinked large soulful brown eyes at him.
"As I love you Ysabeau." Trick nodded moving his free hand to pat on top of Bo's gently. "This is pretty." He added moving his hand up to lightly cup the pendant hanging around the Succubus' neck. "A Christmas present?" He asked with a knowing smile.
Bo's eyes glanced over on automatic to where Lauren was sat next to Kenzi, the two of them engrossed in the shoe book that Lauren had bought the younger woman, with Kenzi pointing out the ones she would 'sell her soul' to own.
"From Lauren." She said looking back at Trick with a nod.
The Blood King followed his granddaughter's eye line silently for a moment and then looked back at Bo nodding himself.
"Beautiful." He said letting the bird rest back against Bo's skin as he leaned back.
"She is." Bo said her voice distant and dreamy as her eyes drifted back to look towards the couch. With a wider smile Trick went back to drinking his wine.
-x-
"It's a tradition." Bo stood by the door lacing up her boots.
"A tradition I am not going to continue." Kenzi shook her head and leaned her ass against the island, dressed once again in her Christmas lights and elf pyjamas. "You and hot pants can go and freeze your asses off in the snow, I like a sane person am going to stay her."
"But Kenzi." Bo pouted softly finishing with one boot and starting on the other.
"Seriously I really don't want to walk off the calories I took serious time and effort to consume today, and I am already in my pjs." Kenzi pointed out. "And come on, a nice star lit, snow flake encrusted stroll with your honey on Christmas evening, what's more romantic than that?" She winked at her best friend, glancing at the stairs where Lauren had slipped up to get changed into something warmer for the walk.
"I don't want you to not feel welcome or wanted." Bo kept her eyes on her best friend.
"I don't feel either of those things. Come on you and Lauren haven't got any alone time today and I may or may not want to crack open a new game." She winked at Bo with a grin.
"Okay." Bo stood up straight and moved to get her new jacket from the piles of Christmas gifts under the tree. Slipping it on she did a quick twirl. "What do you think."
"Super hot." Kenzi gave a whistle. "We know what part of her brain the Doc was using when she chose that."
"And which part would that be Kenzi." Lauren's voice came from the stairs as the blonde walked down, now wearing her jeans and a sweater. She crossed quickly to slip her boots on.
"The Sexy Centre." Kenzi laughed.
"The Thalamus." Lauren smiled back. "And I have to admit leather does have a stimulating affect on not only me but a lot of people." She tried to keep a neutral tone as she made the reply.
"Well I don't need to see any stimulation." Kenzi laughed and watched as Bo held Lauren's coat ready for her. "Go and freeze some of those hormones." She waved them off.
"We won't be too long." Bo said sliding her hands onto Lauren's shoulders after easing the coat over her arms and body. "Let's go." She reached down and took hold of the blonde's hand.
"Hey no worries, this has been the best Christmas ever." Kenzi shrugged her shoulders and came over to them, kissing first Lauren on the cheek and then Bo before pulling them into a tight group hug. "Go and get snowed on my little Christmas Angels." She backed away slightly still grinning. "There's enough love right here to keep me warm in your absence."
"Best Christmas ever." Bo agreed looking from Kenzi to Lauren. "Until next year." She said with a wink.
-x-
(Bo and Lauren's Christmas continues in the soon to be posted M rated Epilogue)