Disclaimer: Only thing I own is Nik and her boat, everything else belongs to the respective owners. No money is made from this, and I'll always be broke, lol.
Christmas Eve had finally rolled around, which was a happy time of the year, but it also meant that Opilio season would begin soon. Sig had been planning the holiday out for a few weeks now, but he was still nervous about how Nikolina would react. Glancing at his watch, he finished getting dressed after his morning shower. After he was dressed, he combed his hair out and then picked up his jacket and put it on, heading out of his stateroom. It was before dawn and everything was still dark as he came out onto the deck of the Northwestern, pausing to enjoy the peaceful morning.
Going over to the rail, he climbed over and hopped down onto the dock, starting to walk toward where the Aleutian Starfire was docked. Everything was dark and quiet, which meant that Nik was still fast asleep below deck, the thought making him smile. Lifting himself up, he climbed over the rail and went through the door leading below deck. The dim lighting helped illuminate his path to her stateroom, pausing at the door with a smile as he watched her sleep.
Stepping into the room, he walked over to the bed and sat down beside her, reaching out to gently brush the hair away from her face. Nik's eyes fluttered open, taking a minute for her to adjust to the lighting before she saw him clearly. A sleepy smile crossed her lips and she yawned while sitting up, leaning over and pulling him into a hug. Sig laughed softly and hugged her back, playing with her long hair that was loose for once. "Not that I mind seeing you when I wake up, but what time is it, Sig?" She asked as she rested in his arms, her eyes closed again, but still being awake.
He laughed and placed a kiss on her forehead, "Its five in the morning, and there's something I want to show you, if you think you can wake up a little more." Nik opened her eyes enough to look up at him, clearly debating on whether or not she wanted to strangle him for his timing. "Ok, Mr. Northwestern, I'm awake at this ungodly hour on one of my days off. What is this something you want to show me?" Shaking his head with a smile, he stood up and handed her a pair of her boots, "Might want to put those on, its pretty cold this morning."
Following his instruction, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and pulled her boots on, tying them and then standing up. Sig reached out and took her hand, leading her out of the room and through the hallway to the door leading onto the deck. She let him lead her through the hallway and out onto the deck, the frigid morning air making her shiver. He led her to the bow and then unbuttoned his jacket, pulling her into his arms and wrapping the jacket around her.
Nik smiled softly and slid her arms around his waist beneath the jacket, resting her head on his shoulder. "Now that I'm fully awake and out in the cold, mind telling me why we're out here so early?" He held her gently, resting his head against hers; "We're out here to watch the sun rise over the harbor on Christmas Eve." She lifted her head to look at him, a grin forming on her face, "So the rough Captain Sig has a romantic side to him, and its sneaking out to play."
Looking down at her eyes shining with amusement and still a bit of sleepiness, he laughed and leaned in, touching his nose to hers. Nik hugged him gently and tilted her head up, brushing a soft kiss over his lips. He responded to her kiss with one of his own, sliding one of his hands up into her soft, silky hair, his heart rate increasing. Freeing her arms from the jacket, she wrapped them around his shoulders, combing her fingers through his hair.
Using his other hand, he reached into the pocket of his jeans while he slowly broke the kiss with her. She opened her eyes and looked up into his; still holding onto him and letting her fingers play with his long hair. Pulling something from his pocket, Sig took her right arm and moved it down, watching her eyes as he slid a ring onto her right ring finger. Blinking a bit, Nik let go of him and looked down at her right hand, her eyes going wide as she covered her mouth with her left hand.
Sitting on her finger in a setting of white gold was an emerald in the shape of a heart, surrounded by tiny diamonds. Tears filled her eyes, her hands shaking as she looked up at him, "Its beautiful Sig, but I don't understand what this is for." He reached up and gently wiped her tears away, a soft smile on his face as he watched her. "It's a promise ring, and it reminds me of your eyes." She smiled up at him, leaning up to kiss him again, "So tell me, what does this promise ring of yours mean?"
"The season will start soon, and this ring is to remind you that I'll always be with you no matter what happens out there. Any time you need me, you only have to say my name, and I'll be there." Her eyes started to tear up again and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders in a tight hug. "Sig Hansen, what am I going to do with you? The next thing I know, you'll be telling me that you're whisking me away for the weekend." Laughing at her words, he nuzzled against her neck, "Actually, my next question was if you wanted to come with me for the weekend and spend Christmas together."
Nik's eyes went wide and she moved back enough to look up at him, "Do you really mean it, Sig? Just me and you for Christmas?" He nodded and slid a hand through her hair, "Of course, if you don't want to come with me, I can just give your presents to Edgar." She gasped and playfully smacked his shoulder, "Of course I'm going to go with you! Its not the presents I want anyway, I just want to spend time with you." Sig laughed and pressed soft kisses to her forehead, "Go get packed up and then meet me at the diner for breakfast, we'll leave after that."
Grinning happily, Nik turned to run toward the door leading below deck, but she stopped and looked back at him. Running back to him, she all but launched herself into his arms, wrapping her own around his shoulders. Sig barely caught her as he started laughing, finally feeling completely alive to see her so happy, because of him. Leaning down, she pressed her lips to his while he held her in his arms, raking a hand through his hair.
It was to the point where Nik was nearly overflowing with joy and happiness that was caused by this man. She let her emotions flow into their kiss, saying something from her heart that her voice couldn't do just yet. Her heart knew her true feelings, she'd fallen head over heels in love with him, something she hadn't thought would be completely possible. But here she was, on the deck of her boat, wrapped up in his arms, her heart screaming her love for him.
Sig was much in the same condition, he couldn't have lied to himself or anyone else even if he'd wanted to. He felt like a completely different person since he'd fallen in love with her, she was the sunshine in his days and nights. Putting her down on her feet, he slowly let go of her and smiled as their eyes met, his heart nearly flying. "I'll meet you at the diner for breakfast." She smiled and slid a hand through his hair with a light nod, turning to walk below deck. "Oh, and Nik?" Turning, she looked back at him, "Yes, Sig?" Smiling over at her, he started toward the rail, "Don't make me wait too long, you know I'll leave you." He said jokingly before going over the rail and hopping down to the dock to start toward the diner.
A/N: This was shorter than I would have liked, and I'm in a bit of a writing block on chapter 9, which aggravates me to no end. I've got work tomorrow, so I'm not sure when my next update will be, so please bare with me while I take care of working, college and writing this. Thanks for your reviews and support, all of you are terrific!