Christmas at the Caulfield's
"Jingle bells, Mad Max smells, Chloe rocks her socks!" Chloe sang, loudly and out of tune, roughly tearing Max from the peaceful sleep she had been unconsciously enjoying.
Max's eyes flew open. She immediately noticed Chloe, who was careening around Max's bedroom, rocking a manic smile. Even though it was first thing in the morning, Chloe had already managed to put on a glittery Santa hat to go with her elf-themed pyjama shirt and shorts.
Tossing a wink at her newly awoken Max, Chloe launched into the second part of the verse.
"We're Blackwell ninjas, shut down whingers, kick you in the cuuuUUUN-MPHH!"
Chloe's expletive was cut short by Max hurriedly leaping onto her back and covering her mouth.
"Chloe!" She whisper-shouted "You can't yell that in the house! What if my parents hear?"
"Hear what?" Came a jovial, male voice.
Max looked up, to find her dad stood in the door way, a cheesy grin plastered all over his face.
"Max, stop riding Chloe." He said without a trace of irony, causing Chloe to snort into Max's hand. "She's not a horse." He finished.
"Oh I'mma get you to ride me later, and not like a horse either." Chloe whispered into Max's ear.
Max turned beet red, and a hot flush travelled the entire way down her body. Fortunately, her dad seemed not to notice. She hopped off of Chloe's back and walked over to greet him.
"Morning, Dad." She said, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his shoulder. "Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas kiddo." He returned the hug.
"Hugs? I wanna get in on this!" Chloe protested. A second later, she had weaseled her way into hug, grinning broadly. "Is it time for presents yet?" She whispered, eyes wide and ever so slightly manic.
Max looked from Chloe to her dad, and raised her eyebrows in a well-what-do-you-say fashion.
Ryan shrugged. "I don't see why not." He said, unfortunately ignorant of what those words would unleash.
Chloe was out of the door and careening down the stairs in less than a second, screaming "PRESENTS!" At the top of her lungs.
She left a perplexed Ryan and a world-weary Max standing in the room.
"Is – is she always like that?" Ryan asked his daughter.
Max nodded solemnly. "Yup."
When Max and Ryan descended the stairs and entered into a living room that had been utterly covered in festive decorations, they found Chloe sat cross-legged at the foot of the large, bauble and light-encrusted tree.
She was almost visibly vibrating in excitement, and sporting all the enthusiasm of a six year old who had strong suspicions they were about to receive a shiny new bicycle.
Max and Ryan looked at the excitable Chloe, then at each other, and then burst out laughing.
"Chlo, you are such a dork." Max teased between giggles.
"Yeah, but I'm a Christmas-loving dork." Chloe countered. She swept her gaze over the pile of presents resting under the tree. "So which one's mine?" She asked.
"The one right next to your foot." Max nodded towards a slender, rectangular package wrapped in reindeer themed wrapping paper. "Hey Chlo, you wanna know how I knew which one it was?"
Chloe paused, fingertips inches away from the present. "You better not be doing what I think you're doing."
Max extended a hand, and waved it back and forth in the fashion of a Jedi. She grinned. "I knew, because I have felt your presents."
Chloe groaned, loudly. "Oh my god that was awful." She said.
"It really was." Ryan agreed, looking ecstatic. He looped an arm around Max's shoulder and kissed the top of her head. "I'm so proud of you."
Chloe ignored the both of them and promptly tore into her present, shredding the wrapping paper in a matter of seconds. She threw the detritus aside, to reveal a book of tattoo designs, containing several hundred examples.
"Holy crap, this is amazing, Max!" Chloe beamed at Max, who sat down opposite her. "How'd you know I wanted this?"
Max reached out and patted her on the head. "Dude, you are like the least subtle person when it comes to dropping hints. You've been walking round for weeks complaining about how you want a new tat."
Chloe looked down. "I thought I was being sneaky..."
Max leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "Leave the sneaking for the actual Blackwell Ninja." She said.
Before Chloe could respond, the door to the kitchen opened, and in walked Vanessa Caulfield, bearing a large plate laden with half a foot of delicious smelling pancakes, dripping in butter and accompanied by a pile of bacon rashers.
Upon seeing that Chloe had already begun to open presents, Vanessa raised a coquettish eyebrow. "You know, I presumed Max would have been the excitable one to insist on opening presents before breakfast, but I see I got that slightly wrong."
Chloe at least had the grace to look sheepish. She looked down, her mouth quirked to the side in a way that Max knew was her way of expressing remorse.
At the sight of her, Vanessa chuckled softly. "Oh honey, I'm just teasing you." She set the plate of pancakes and bacon down on the coffee table. "Now dig in, you hear. And yes, we can all open presents while we eat."
The next few minutes were a blur of food and wrapping paper. Aside from the book, Max had also gotten Chloe a few tubes of her favourite blue hair dye, enough to last for a couple of months.
Chloe had gotten Max some more film, naturally, including two packs of black and white that Max couldn't wait to try out. Never one to pass up an opportunity, Max's precious camera was soon put to use documenting the occasion. However, her camera failed to capture the delighted shriek Max made, when she opened her next gift from Chloe to find two tickets to Syd Matters' upcoming tour ("Its hipster bullshit, but I'm still coming with you." Chloe said).
Ryan received a beard trimming kit, something he was happy with, judging from the interested little noises he made while examining each accessory. A set of beard oils from Chloe rounded out the picture.
For Vanessa, Ryan and Max had clubbed together and bought her a couple of boxsets of her two favourite crime procedurals: NCIS and Criminal Minds.
As Vanessa cooed over her presents, Ryan stood and began to clear away the now-empty plates, and the discarded wrapping paper. "Right." He said. "I've got a sumptuous Christmas dinner to prepare, and no one is allowed in the kitchen until it's done. So for now, I bid you all adieu."
"Oh and Max?" He added. "Don't fill up on cookies. I know what you're like, young lady."
"Yeah, Max." Chloe teased. "No eating any of these delicious, mouth-watering, double chocolate chip cookies." She said, stuffing an entire cookie into her mouth.
"Chloe, don't be mean." Vanessa said. "Stop trying to get Max to eat your cookie."
Chloe tried to laugh and, in the process, began to choke.
Max sighed, and buried her head in her hands. "Oh my God, Mom no..."
"What? What did I say?" Vanessa said, utterly bewildered.
"You made it sound like Chloe wanted me to- you know what, I'm not finishing that sentence."
Vanessa still looked confused, but then a look of comprehension dawned, sweeping across her face. "Oh. OH!"
"Yeah..." Said Max, looking embarrassed.
"Sorry sweetie. If I'd known it was a euphemism for cunnilingus I wouldn't have said anything."
"MOM NO."
Three hours, and on Vanessa's insistence, several episodes of NCIS later, Ryan emerged from the kitchen, sporting an exceedingly large Santa hat and a kiss-the-cook apron. In his arms he held a baking tray, laden with a turkey that eight people would have found a challenge, let alone four.
"Holy crap!" Max exclaimed. "Did Godzilla mate with that thing's mom or something? It's fricking huge!"
"All I can say is: challenge hella accepted." Said Chloe, a ravenous gleam in her eye.
Ryan set the turkey down onto the table and produced his carving knives. "You sure about that? I wouldn't underestimate this turkey if I were you."
Chloe grinned. "Bring it."
"I bet you anything you're gonna regret that." Max said. "There's way too much turkey there."
"O ye of little faith." Chloe retorted. She took up her knife and fork.
An hour later, Chloe was, inevitably, regretting her words.
"Maaaax, help me. That was such a bad idea. I regret this so much." She complained. She was slumped back in her chair, plate strewn with the carnage of a challenge foolishly taken. Chloe looked physically exhausted. She was panting, sweating, and her stomach was visibly curved from the medically unhealthy amount of meat she had eaten.
"You're an idiot. Come on, you can lie on the couch." Max took a small amount of pity on her.
She helped Chloe over to the couch, lay her down as gently as possible, and sat down with her. She propped up Chloe's head on a cushion, which she rested on her lap.
"What did we learn?" Max said.
Chloe groaned. "That turkey is evil?"
"No, we learned that you have fricking terrible impulse control. Again."
Chloe just moaned.
Max sighed. "Alright, your show of gluttony was vaguely impressive." She said. She began to stroke Chloe's hair.
"Yeah?" Chloe responded. She nuzzled into Max's hand and closed her eyes.
"Sure. In a disgusting kind of way." Max said, fully expecting Chloe to protest. She was met with silence. "Chlo?"
Chloe had fallen asleep, a self-satisfied smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
Max shook her head lightly, breaking into a smile of her own. "Never change." She whispered.
The sun had long since set when Chloe snored loudly, and woke herself up with a start. She sat up. The first thing she noticed was that the room was dark, illuminated solely by the fairy lights on the Christmas tree. The second was that everyone was gone. Surely they hadn't left her on her own? She got up off the couch, tottering a little on unsteady legs, making for the stairs.
"Max?" She called up them when she reached the bottom. "You there?"
"Yeah!" Came the response. "I'll be down in a minute, just hang on!"
Chloe shrugged, and went back to reclining on the couch. Some moments later, Max came down the stairs, clutching a blanket tightly around herself.
Chloe smirked. "Cold?"
Max tilted her head. "Something like that."
She stopped in front of Chloe, but didn't join her on the couch.
Chloe looked round, as if Max's parents were going to spring from the shadows and surprise them. "So where are your folks, anyway? They ditching us?"
"They said something about a riverside drive. They asked if I wanted to go, but I didn't wanna leave you here on your own."
Chloe grinned at her. "Well ain't you a sweetheart." She said in her best Southern Belle.
"Oh you have no idea how sweet I can be." Max said.
She dropped the blanket.
Chloe dropped her jaw.
Max was nude. Or, as near to nude as she could be without directly being so. A multitude of crimson red ribbons looped around her body, strategically covering her most intimate parts, while displaying as much skin as possible in a very enticing way. As a finishing touch, a neatly tied bow nestled between her breasts, just begging to be untied.
"You have no idea how long it took to wrap myself up like this." Max joked.
Chloe didn't respond. She couldn't, her mind was nothing but a sea of lust.
"What's the matter?" Max teased, her voice barely above a whisper. "Cat got your tongue?"
She took a step forward, and pushed Chloe back against the cushions. Chloe's breathing quickened as Max swung one leg over her hips, and then the other, straddling her. Max leaned forward, letting her breath brush Chloe's ear.
Chloe shuddered.
She shuddered again when Max rocked her hips against her own.
"Hey look, you were right." Max said. "I did end up riding you." She leaned back, giving Chloe a good view of her body. She rolled her hips against Chloe's again.
"Well?" She whispered. "You gonna unwrap your present?" She took one of Chloe's hands, and let it trail over a ribbon-clad breast.
Chloe didn't need to be asked twice. She took a loose end of the bow, and gave it a firm tug. The knot gracefully fell apart, leaving the ribbons kept up only by Max's body. Chloe pushed them aside gently, and they fluttered to the ground. Chloe sat back, and took in Max's now entirely nude form. She was lit by the multitude of coloured lights on the tree, lending a softness to her as the light played over her skin.
Max smiled. "So, how do you like your present?"
Once again, Chloe didn't answer. Instead, she grabbed Max and pulled her close. She twisted, and let their momentum take them down onto the couch, with Chloe landing on top of Max. She came to rest between Max's legs, and immediately latched onto Max's neck, sucking and licking her way down.
Max moaned softly. "I... unhh... guess that means you... mmm like it..."
Chloe looked up from between Max's breasts. "Hella fucking yes I do." She said.
She continued her way down Max's stomach, kissing and nibbling at the taut, heated flesh. Just below her belly button, Chloe paused, and gazed up at Max with a salacious grin.
"Hey Max." She said.
Max eyed her with suspicion. "What?"
"You could say Christmas..."
Chloe paused for effect.
"... Is gonna come twice this year."
Author's Note: AND THEN THEY FUCKED.
So yeah, this was obviously meant to come out at Christmas. Which it didn't. Because I am terrible. No but seriously, this fucking chapter was weirdly hard to write. The premise was "Chloe stays with Max for Christmas, fluffy shenanigans occur". You'd think that would be easy, right? NOPE. I've rewritten this thing about three times, and I'm still not entirely happy with it. Suffice to say, I don't think I'll be doing another festive-themed chapter anytime soon.
The next chapter will be a couple of weeks at minimum, as I'm trying to stagger this with my other ongoing series, Path of the Jedi, which you should totally go read if you enjoy LiS and Star Wars at the same time (subtle plug fuck yeah nailed it). See you all next time, and happy new year!