AN: So it's been a while since I posted anything – placement and exams have been keeping me rather busy, so apologies for the delay! I wanted to get a little something out for my readers though in time for the holidays, so I hope you enjoy this festive CharLiza-ness!

Special thank you to merderluvr, Ashley, Lindalee159, BenoightLangson, St0ryTeller, Sheila Jindela, Kiwiflea and the guest reviewers for your wonderful comments on my last IMYA update :)

Also, to one of the guest reviewers on this fic - I've never seen Thoroughly Modern Millie so it must be a coincidence :)

As always, I love to hear your thoughts so please drop me a review :) Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

21st December 2019

LIZA

Liza squinted as she precariously trudged along the sidewalk, trying in vein to keep the cascade of fresh falling snow out of her eyes. New York at Christmas time, especially in the snow, was a beautiful sight, but when you were weighed down with shopping bags and thus had no means of holding an umbrella, it wasn't quite so fun. She could have taken an Uber, but with the traffic at this time of day – and year, she'd opted for the subway – a decision she was beginning to regret. Liza sighed in relief as she reached her front door and dropped her bags onto the front step of the brownstone, happily stretching her sore arms. After rooting around in her purse she located her keys, but paused midway to putting them in the lock, a smile pulling at her lips as she pressed the buzzer instead.

Charles answered the door a few moments later and smiled warmly at her. "Did you forget your keys?"

Liza couldn't help but check him out – he was wearing a pair of fitted blue stonewashed jeans and a black button up. She'd only seen him a few hours earlier, but he'd evidently changed since then, and she had to say she was a fan of his outfit choice – he looked hot. To be honest though, he looked hot whatever he wore, and the year they'd spent together had done nothing to dampen her attraction to him – if anything it had just increased. Liza realised he'd asked her a question and snapped herself out of ogling him. "I did not" she replied, smiling as she held up her keys to emphasise her point. She giggled at Charles's confused expression. "Do you know what date it is today?" she added, and Charles smiled in understanding. "A year ago today I came home to find you on my doorstep, ringing the buzzer in the middle of a snowstorm. I thought I'd recreate the moment…just in reverse."

Charles chuckled fondly and stepped out onto the porch, his eyes never leaving hers as he wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her to him. "I remember" he murmured softly. "I also remember doing this too" he added, before leaning down and capturing her lips with his. As it always did, his kiss sent a jolt of electricity down her spine and a heady rush of euphoria to her brain. No matter how many times they kissed, and they'd done it a lot over the past year, the excitement and passion it ignited always made it feel like the first time.

When they broke for air, Charles placed a tender kiss on her temple before taking her hand and leading her inside. He picked up her bags and put them by the stairs, then helped her out of her wet coat. "Did you get everything you need?"

Liza looked up at the man who had come to mean more to her than she'd ever thought possible and smiled, "Yeah, I did."

"You look beautiful."

Liza glanced up and caught sight of Charles in the mirror, leaning against the doorframe of their bedroom and smiling as he watched her smooth out some non-existent wrinkles in her dress. She turned and smiled happily at him, "Thank you. I could say the same to you." He'd added a black jacket to his earlier jeans and shirt ensemble, and he looked like he could have easily just waked off the cover of GQ magazine.

Charles grinned and took her hands in his as she walked over to meet him. "Are you ready to go? I've left Caitlin trying to herd the girls into the car."

Liza giggled at the thought of Caitlin running after two over-excited little girls on sugar highs. It did warm her heart though that her and Charles's respective daughters got on so well. Nicole and Bianca really looked up to Caitlin and loved spending time with her, and Caitlin adored the younger girls. Caitlin had been staying with them for the past week since college finished for the holidays, and it had been great to have all five of them under the same roof.

Tonight they were going to Bob and Julia's annual holiday party, just like they had done the year before. A lot had changed since last year though, and this time they were going together. Nicole and Bianca were also coming too, and as Caitlin had insisted on inviting David, this would be the first time he and Charles would meet. Technically they'd both been in the same room as each other last year, but technically she and Charles weren't yet together, and technically David didn't know about her feelings for Charles then. Now that David was fully aware of their relationship, that introduction was probably unavoidable. Having her past and present in the same vicinity hadn't gone down so well previously – Charles getting punched in the face by Josh was evidence of that, but she was pretty sure David would keep his fists to himself, and she would smile through the awkwardness for Caitlin's sake.

When they arrived at Bob and Julia's, Caitlin took the girls over to meet Rose. Liza smiled at the sight of Nicole beaming up at Caitlin, clearly feeling very happy and grown-up at getting to hang out with her cool 'older sister'. Charles wrapped his arm around her waist as they made their way into the lounge, where they were immediately pounced on by Bob and Julia.

"Oh my gosh, you two look adorable together!" Julia gushed, clapping her hands in delight.

"Charles, Liza - so glad you could come!" Bob greeted warmly, shaking Charles's hand enthusiastically before kissing Liza's cheek.

"I knew you'd be perfect for each other! Didn't I say they'd be perfect for each other Bob?!"

Liza smiled warmly at their infectious enthusiasm, "Thank you so much for inviting us - the house looks amazing!"

Julia beamed with pride at the compliment. "Let me get you both some drinks, and then I want to hear all about your new living arrangements!"

And with that, she and Bob scurried off into the kitchen. Liza smiled fondly at their retreating backs. "They're really flying the flag for us huh?!"

Charles chuckled, "They're good friends, and they've always been big fans of yours. I remember them repeatedly telling me, long before anything happened between us, that they knew a woman who'd be perfect for me. I brushed them off every time because, well, I was hung up on you - little did I know it was actually you they were talking about. Ironic huh!"

"I guess they knew even before we did" Liza replied, as she intertwined her fingers with his and held his hand.

Charles reached up and brushed a strand of hair from her face, "Oh, I knew a long time ago."

Liza smiled, his words touching her heart. A figure approaching them caught her eye though and she groaned. "Okay, you're about to meet someone who's probably not such a big fan of ours."

Charles kept a hold of her hand as he turned and came face-to-face with David. David stopped short and his jaw dropped slightly as he looked up at Charles. His reaction and the notable size difference between the two men was comical, but Liza refrained from laughing. "David, hi. Charles, this is David. David, Charles."

The two men shook hands. "It's nice to meet you" Charles greeted politely.

David looked intimidated but tried for bravado. "So, you're new boyfriend then?" Liza rolled her eyes.

Charles wasn't fazed in the slightest. "Not so new actually - we've been together for a year now" he replied, turning to look at her and giving her an award-winning smile.

David persisted, "A year's still pretty new, I mean if you compare it to how long I was married to her. How many years were we married again Liza?"

"Too many" Liza deadpanned, shooting him an unimpressed look. He promptly shut up.

"I've always believed that quality is more important than quantity" Charles added. 1-0 to Charles, Liza thought humourously.

Nicole then appeared next to Charles, wrapping her arm around his waist as she looked curiously up at David. Another little blonde head caught Liza's eye and she looked down to see Bianca also stood next to her. Bianca smiled up at her and took her hand.

"Are you Liza's ex-husband?" Nicole asked, staring directly at David.

David looked a little surprised at the bluntness of the question. "Erm, yes I am."

"Why did you get divorced?" Nicole added immediately as a follow-up.

Liza had to bite her lip at the 'deer caught in the headlights' expression on David's face. Part of her felt like she should rescue him, but the larger part wanted to high-five Nicole and watch David try and wriggle out of her question.

"Erm…well" he stuttered, looking to Liza for help. When he realised he wasn't going to get any he sighed, fumbling to form an answer, "…Sometimes grown-ups do things that they shouldn't do…"

Nicole narrowed her eyes at him, correctly interpreting his vague reply. "Did you cheat on Liza?"

Liza really had to fight hard to hold in her amusement. Nicole would definitely go far in life.

David coughed, clearly flustered, "erm…"

Nicole cut him off, taking his hesitation as an admission of guilt, and declaring simply, "It's a good thing she met my daddy then, because he would never cheat on her."

That girl would be getting extra Christmas presents.

Caitlin coming over saved David from any further embarrassment or personal questions. She smiled and gave Liza a look that she knew well, one that she'd perfected as a child – she wanted something.

"So Rose and her parents really want us to perform again like last year." And there it was.

"Oh, uh-uh – no way. I'm still not over the embarrassment from last time!"

"Oh come on Mom" Caitlin pleaded, tilting her head and giving her best resolve-breaking look. "You were great last year, and everyone loved it!"

"Yeah come on honey" David chimed in, draping his arm over her shoulder.

Liza felt Charles's grip on her hand tighten. She gave David a dirty look and shrugged his arm off, ignoring him as she turned back to Caitlin. "I know it's our little tradition, but do we have to do it so publicly?"

Caitlin pulled out the big guns and pouted, "Pleeeaase Mom?"

Liza sighed and rolled her eyes, knowing she wasn't going to win this. "Fine! But this is the last public performance!"

Caitlin squealed in excitement and hugged her, "Thanks Mom!"

David grinned, "I'll go and get the accordion from the car!" He smirked at Charles before scurrying off and Liza rolled her eyes at his juvenility, struggling to remember what she ever saw in him.

Liza turned back to Charles and took the scotch from his hand before downing it in one. "I need this more than you do."

Charles chuckled in amusement, "You'll be great, don't worry."

"I can't believe you're going to see me yodel again – it was mortifying enough the first time!"

Charles smiled warmly at her, "I thought it was very endearing. I'm looking forward to a repeat performance."

Liza groaned and dropped her head onto his chest, feeling his arms snake around her waist and hold her to him. "Are you sure I can't convince you to go up there instead of me?"

"I don't think Bob has enough scotch in the house to convince me to do that!"

Liza giggled and kissed him quickly, "Wish me luck!"

'I'm doing this for Caitlin. I'm doing this for Caitlin' Liza repeated in her head as she peered around the door at all the people gathered in the lounge. There seemed to be more than there was last year, and this time she knew that Charles was there. She wasn't quite sure which was more embarrassing: knowing he was there from the beginning, or having the shock of her life and noticing him mid-yodel. To be fair though, after everything they'd shared and done together over the past year, and considering he'd seen every inch of her body, seeing her yodel really was nothing.

Liza plastered on a smile as she followed Caitlin to the front of the room, but looked back towards the door when Caitlin started gesturing someone over. Her eyes widened in surprise when Nicole and Bianca ran over to them, beaming widely. She glanced up at Charles who looked equally as surprised as her.

"Caitlin's been teaching us to yodel all week!" Bianca explained.

Liza smiled at the girls then raised an eyebrow at her daughter, "So this wasn't such a spur of the moment idea after all, huh?!"

Caitlin just smirked, "It's too late to back out now Mom!"

As the accordion started to play, Nicole and Bianca enthusiastically copied Caitlin's moves and Liza smiled fondly at them. Seeing the happiness on all three girls' faces, she forgot about there being over 50 people watching her and just enjoyed the moment. She caught Charles's eye and saw nothing but love and pride shining in his eyes, and any embarrassment she had been feeling evaporated.

When Caitlin handed the girls a cameo yodel midway through, Liza beamed with pride herself. Taking Bianca's hand she threw herself into the rest of the performance, taking an exaggerated bow with the three girls at the end.

"Did you see us Daddy?!" Bianca asked excitedly as the girls ran up to Charles.

"We wanted it to be a surprise!" Nicole added.

Charles smiled affectionately at them, "I did, and I thought you yodelled beautifully."

The girls grinned proudly before running off to play with some of the other kids that were at the party. Charles took Liza's hands and pulled her closer to him, allowing her to feel the heat from his body. "Hey" he murmured softly.

"Hey" she replied, leaning into him.

"You were great." He leaned down so only she could hear him, and his warm breath in her ear sent a tingle down her spine. "Is it weird that I'm kind of turned on by the braids and the dirndl?"

Liza burst out laughing and wrapped her arms around his neck. "It's kinda weird" she told him amusedly.

Charles laughed with her and then his eyes darkened, "What can I say, you do things to me."

Liza swallowed, feeling herself heat up at the look in his eyes. She lowered her voice and held his gaze as she murmured, "Well, when we get home, I plan on doing many things to you."

Charles audibly gasped and Liza loved that she had such an effect on him. He managed to compose himself enough to whisper in her ear, "Only if you let me return the favour."

It was Liza's turn to gasp now. "I'd say that's a perfect way to mark one year since you turned up on my doorstep."

"I couldn't agree more."

Christmas Eve 2019

CHARLES

Charles smiled fondly as Liza handed him a glass of wine and snuggled up next to him on the couch. The fire was roaring, the Christmas lights were twinkling, the snow was falling softly outside the window, and he had the woman he loved in his arms. It was perfect, and he couldn't remember a time when he'd felt happier or more content.

The girls were sleeping soundly upstairs, eagerly awaiting Christmas morning. He and Liza had helped them set out a plate of cookies and carrots for Santa and the reindeer, before settling them down with an enthusiastic reading of 'A Night Before Christmas'. Caitlin had left in the afternoon to spend Christmas with her Dad, as she had spent last year with Liza, but the five of them had gone out for brunch beforehand and he'd affectionately hugged her goodbye. He'd grown very fond of Liza's daughter and could see so much of Liza in her.

"To our first Christmas together" Charles toasted, clinking his glass with Liza's.

"To our first Christmas." Liza smiled affectionately, "Although we did see in the last Christmas together as well, albeit over the phone."

Charles grinned and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "We did. But it's so much better being with you in person" he replied, placing a tender kiss on her forehead.

Liza looked up at him, "It's been a good year." Even after all this time, that look in her eyes - the one that told him that the love he had for her, that he'd only ever dared to dream she would feel for him, was definitely reciprocated. And it never failed to make his heart beat a little faster.

"It's been the best year." His life had changed so much in the past 12 months, but he could honestly say that he'd never been happier. And a large part of that was due to the incredible woman who he'd stumbled upon in his office three years ago, engrossed in 'Look Homeward Angel', who'd come to mean more to him than he ever thought possible, and as she leaned her head on his chest he couldn't imagine his life without her.

Charles smiled as he glanced at the clock and saw that it was a few minutes past midnight. "Merry Christmas Liza" he murmured, softly kissing the top of her head.

Liza sat up and beamed excitedly at him. "Merry Christmas Charles!" She leaned in and kissed him quickly before going over to the Christmas tree and retrieving a neatly wrapped gift, complete with a large navy bow, from underneath it. Her eyes shone, and she smiled widely as she handed it to him. "I wanted to give you this while it was just us, before this place turns into Santa's workshop!"

Charles chuckled, knowing that was an accurate description of what the house would be like when the girls woke up and opened all of their presents. "Thank you" he told her sincerely, taking the gift from her outstretched hand. As he began to undo the bow, he smiled at her and saw her nervously biting her lip as she awaited his reaction.

He carefully removed the lid from the box and as he looked down at what was inside, he had to swallow the ball of emotion that became lodged in his throat. Protectively wrapped in tissue paper was a photo book, and on the front cover was a photo of the two of them in Bryant Park. It was a candid photo he'd taken a few months back - he was holding the phone out in front of them and grinning happily into the camera. What he loved most was that she wasn't looking at the camera, instead she had her hand on his chest as she laughed and smiled up at him, like he was her whole world. He could feel their happiness exuding from the page. When he read the Fitzgerald quote she'd included underneath, he felt his eyes start to mist up: 'I fell in love with you the first time I saw you.'

Opening the cover he found another Fitzgerald quote: 'You've a place in my heart no one else ever could have,' followed by '…to mark the first of hopefully many years together. I love you. Liza X'. His throat was too tight to formulate any words as he looked up and caught her eye.

"I wanted to give you something to remember our first year together, and this is some of the things we've done and places we've been" Liza explained shyly.

"I could never forget the past year with you" Charles replied hoarsely, "But this…I love this."

Liza beamed, happy at his reaction. With every page he turned his smile just got wider as memories washed over him. She'd taken photos of places that were significant to them - there was a night-time photo of the New York Public Library where they'd met for their first date, and one of the Seaglass Carousel, where he'd taken her for said first date. There were photos of Bryant Park, the outside of Maggie's apartment and the Empirical building. There were also many photos of the two of them together, some from dates they'd been on, and others from when they were just relaxing together at home. There were even some he'd never seen before and hadn't realised she'd taken - one in particular caught his eye in which they were lay in bed together: he was asleep with his arm protectively wrapped around her, whilst she smiled at the camera. Even in sleep he was drawn to her. What was common to all of them though was how happy they both looked.

"Do you like it?" Liza asked when they got the last page - a photo from last week showing the two of them, along with Nicole, Bianca and Caitlin, standing in front of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.

Charles didn't trust himself to speak, so instead he tenderly cupped her cheek with his hand and kissed her, trying to show her just how much it meant to him. "I love it. And I love you" he whispered. He coughed, attempting to clear the lump in his throat, "Well I think it's only fair that you get to open your present now."

He retrieved her gift from under the tree, just like she had done earlier for him, and handed it to her. She excitedly took it from him and he watched in nervous anticipation as she unwrapped it. Taking out the two tickets from the gift box, her eyes widened and the happy squeal that escaped her lips was everything he'd hoped for.

"We're going to Paris?!" The excitement in her eyes and in her voice was palpable and he laughed in happiness.

"We are – for New Year."

Liza threw herself into his arms and he fell back against the couch with the force. "Oh my God, we're seriously going to Paris?! I've always wanted to go there!"

Charles smiled warmly at her, loving that he was the reason for her being this happy. "I know you have. And yes, we're seriously going there."

Liza giggled happily and he wrapped his arms around her waist as she excitedly began listing all of the places she wanted them to visit. What she didn't know yet was that her main gift he was going to give her whilst they were there, and it was something he was hoping she would be wearing by the time they came back. All he needed to do was ask her a certain question first – one that he'd been wanting to ask her all year. He smiled – he had a feeling 2020 was going to get off to a very good start.