Christmas chapter because I couldn't fucking help myself lol

Also, this fluff is deserving after the hell I put some of my readers through with my latest "The Music Within Me" chapter. So for all of you that are forced to stay on a cliffhanger for a little while longer, have this as an "I'm sorry" lol

ANYWAY! I hope this chapter gets you into the holiday spirit like I've been for the past solid week or so I've been working on this and I hope you all enjoy!

Much love, mates!

December has always been one of my favorite months.

Maybe it was because of the sudden more cheerful mood of even the grumpiest people in Arcadia Oaks or the fact that I was able to showcase just how much I truly cared for those around me. Maybe it was something else completely. But it didn't truly matter. No matter what, I love the last month of the year more than any other and this year wasn't any different when it came to that.

"Dude. Nightmare Before Christmas is a God damn Halloween movie and I will fight you on that until the day I die." Toby pointed his fork toward the older man beside him.

"The Nightmare Before Christmas is both a Christmas movie and a Halloween film and I will fight you on that until I die, Domzalski."

"Whatever you say, you Tim Burton reject."

"I take that insult with pride, thank you very much." I smiled between my two best friends as they bickered over the idea as their shared piece of apple pie sat between them.

It wasn't often when the three of us could just simply be together when it came to December. A mixture of all our jobs having this be the busiest time of the year as well as trying to spend time with our respective chosen or blood-related families, it was hard to find downtime to breathe let alone hang out with one another.

But when it was possible, it was probably some of my favorite moments to count.

"Christ. I don't even think I could be angry with how good Jim's cooking is." Douxie took a piece of the pie with his fork before raising it toward me like some kind of salute. "Compliments to the chef as always, my friend."

"I agree with that honestly." Toby mimicked Douxie's movements to almost the exact same but seemed to skip the formalities Douxie presented as he looked over toward the tattoo artist. "But you've eaten more of it than you normally do. Stress out about Zoe being home for Christmas?"

"Oh. Totally not. It's not like she'll be home in two days, seven hours, and-." Douxie slipped the piece of pie he hand on his fork into his mouth as he checked his phone that was sitting on the counter. "Twenty-one seconds." He swallowed the food with ease before speaking once more. "It's not like I'm counting down every waking second or anything." He glanced down at his phone once more. "Not like four just passed as I was speaking or anything. I'm not nervous at all." I chuckled at the punk's obvious sarcasm as Toby just rolled his eyes at the response.

"Dude. If anyone here is supposed to be nervous, it's Jim." Toby slipped his own bit of pie that was on his utensil into his mouth as he continued talking. "You know," He swallowed quickly as he trying to crew and speak was making the British man beside him shoot him the nastiest of glares. "With his first-ever Christmas with Claire and all." The redhead scooped up another piece of the pie as he went on. "First ever Christmas with a girlfriend ever, actually."

"How are you holding up with that, mate? Have an idea at all what you're gonna get her?" I shrugged at the questions at first as I placed my hands onto the counter space before me.

"I was a nervous wreck at first, yeah, but I got over it once I realized what I wanted to do for her."

"And what's that?"

"You know how she has a love for marigolds?" Douxie gave a simple nod as I pulled out my phone from my jeans pocket. "I decided to make her something based on that." I opened my phones to present my little project to the tattoo artist.

"Is that-?"

" If you're going to ask if this is a hand-wielded marigold necklace that has taken me about thirty-six hours of work to create as well as seven pieces of scrap pieces from Blinky's shop then you are correct." Douxie looked up toward me in shock as he passed me back my phone.

"Jesus Christ, Jim. You really went all out, didn't you?" I chuckled a little at that as I slipped my phone back into my jeans pocket.

"You don't think I went overboard, do you?" I reached up with my right hand to scratch the back of my neck.

"No. I think she'll be over the moon, honestly. But I can see why you put so much effort into it with how you have that from her first gift to you." I dropped my arm back down to my side as I saw the still fresh tattoo sitting on my forearm.

"You know the rules, right?" I gave Claire a nod as she gently placed a small amount of this jelly stuff onto my forearm that made the amulet tattoo on my skin shine a little as she spoke.

"Don't take off the bandage for twenty-four hours and don't toy with it."

"Good." She leaned forward and gave me a soft kiss on my lips. "Douxie taught you what petroleum jelly does, right?" I gave her a dopey smile as she moved away to grab a bandage from the back counter of her tattoo station.

"Yup. Used to decrease friction but I shouldn't use it if the tattoo gets irritated later." She sat back down beside me.

"Good boy." She opened the bandage and put it in place with such precision she might have been mistaken for doing surgery instead of just bandaging up a tattoo. "If it starts getting irritated or something you let me know, okay?"

"Claire?" She brought her eyes up to me once more.

"Yeah?" I just gave her a small laugh before reaching out to put a hand on top of hers.

"I'm going to be fine. You act like I haven't had this done before."

"I'm just worried." Her statement came out as a gentle whisper as she upturned her hand to interlock our fingers. "Just want it to be perfect for you."

"It's done by you." I leaned forward to place a kiss on her cheek. Giving her hand a small squeeze as I leaned back into the leather tattoo chair. "It's perfect already." Before I could settle back into the chair completely though, she reached out and grabbed me by the collar to pull me close to her once more.

"Keep talking like that, I swear." Her warning was barely above a whisper as she pressed her forehead against mine as a gentle smile showcased itself on her face.

"What? Can't compliment my girlfriend's abilities?" She let go of my shirt collar to cup my face with that hand instead.

"I love it when you say that."

"What specifically? The girlfriend part?" She gave a small hum in content as I rubbed her thumb gently across my left cheek. She leaned forward and pressed a simple kiss to my lips. Both of us smiling into the touch as Douxie could be heard by the front counter.

"Hey! This is a tattoo parlor, not some kind of make-out hideout!" Claire pulled her hand off my cheek to do something toward her dearest friend. "HEY! I'm your boss, little lady! Don't be flipping me off like that!" Claire and I pulled apart just a little so we could share a gentle laugh.

I smiled at the memory as I looked back up toward Douxie.

"Yeah, she gave me some big shoes to fill." Douxie just chuckled at this as he gave me a wide smile.

"Don't worry, mate. Even if you gave her a fucking box of new sketching pencils, I think she would gush about it for weeks. That though, is going to have her probably like a giggling teenager for the next year."

"You think so?" I gave him a nervous smile as he just reached out and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"I know so." He squeezed it slightly before speaking again. "When are you planning on giving it to her? I know you normally celebrate Christmas with your mother and yourself." I shrugged at the idea as I slipped my hands into my jeans pockets.

"Honestly? I have no clue."

"How about the party that Douxie's throwing then? It's the night of Christmas Eve!" I gave Douxie a curious look as memories of the last party we had ran through my head.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Aw, come on, mate! You know how Zoe likes a good party! Even then, we can't let Palchuk ruin our fun. Especially when we're just getting Claire to open back up to the idea of them."

He wasn't wrong.

I let out a soft sigh as the thought lingered.

Claire was starting to come around to things like that again. She was more open to gatherings and the idea of being surrounded by people she didn't know. It was like her trust in the world was starting to flow back to her. It took a lot of work for her to get there, but as she had explained to me, it's because of us that she was able to get to this point. It's because of how we push her that she's able to advance onto this next stage of her recovery.

That and the fact that she said to me that if it wasn't for me, she wouldn't be where she's at right now, but I personally doubt that. She's a strong woman. No doubt about it. I believe she would be able to get to where she's at even if I wasn't in the picture.

So maybe giving her another opportunity to showcase how far she has truly gotten to herself wouldn't be a bad thing.

"So what do you say, bud? If this one goes haywire, we'll hold off on them for a while."

"Promise?" I looked between the two men as they placed their right hands over their hearts.

"We solemnly swear." I smiled at both of them as just shook my head slightly in disbelief.

"Alright. Then I guess we can make it happen." The two men cheered as I just gave them the same smile in return.

But if it goes sideways, I know I'll be there.

I gripped a small box I had hidden away in my pocket. The same necklace I had shown Douxie pictures of within it as I kept the smile on my face.

For better or for worse.

December was a month I always despised ever since I was a kid.

Why you might ask? Well, my parents would always throw parties and charity events that they used as some kind of messed up political scheme. Always wanting to prove that the Nuñez name was better than it truly was. So when other kids thought about Christmas and presents, I was thinking of stiff frilly dresses and wanting to shoot myself as I heard seventy-year-old men make suggestive comments to me since I was thirteen.

But when I was seventeen, Merlin and Douxie started making me see it differently.

Douxie loved the Christmas season. He was always that kind of guy that would beg you right as it turned December first at the struck of midnight to watch one of those Hallmark Christmas movies with him even if it ended up with him deciding to watch The Nightmare Before Christmas instead.

Merlin, who was always someone that was rather distant with affection and human emotion, would become rather soft when December rolled around. Personally, I believed it was because of Douxie's love for it all, but he would always joke that it was because his cold heart somehow melted this time of year. This honestly made no sense to me, but I didn't bother thinking too much about it.

One thing that started making me change my mind the most was how they treated the holiday like an actual family celebration. With the ugly sweaters and everything.

I looked down at the wood I was carving as a smile made its way onto my lips.

But something entirely new was making me change my mind about it all.

"You look happy, Claire Bear. What's on your mind?" I snapped my head up toward my phone where I was Face Timing the girls from as I was working on the little wooden project of mine.

"Just thinking, that's all."

"Thinking about that present you're working on or the person getting it?" I felt my face flush as I looked down at the carving project I was working on. When I was given a tour of Jim's and Toby's home, I noted the number of poetry pages and books that Jim had scattered about within his room. Though they were written chicken-scratch and the papers were fading slightly at the edges, what he had written upon them were beautiful. This memory specifically led to me deciding to make him a journal. But since I saw he had plenty of leather or hard covered ones, I decided to make it out of wood. It was a nice idea at first with how I was able to make it with two pieces of smoothed oak wood pieces and binding the pages with a leather backing and thread, but it suddenly got rather tedious when it came to designing it.

Doesn't help, Claire, that you never fucking carved or did wood burning before when you decided to be a stubborn motherfucker and make this.

"A little of both. The smile is from him, the anger in my eyes coming from this fucking bullshit." I dropped my carving tools to the side before dusting off the top of the journal with a paper towel I had on the side. "Honestly, please tell me why I talked myself into this? I should have just left it alone and kept it the way it was."

"Because you're Claire Too-Stubborn-For-Her-Own-Good Maria and we knew you were going to tell us you had it handled." I gave Mary a soft laugh as I knew all that she was right. "Is it wrong to say that it's actually good seeing you worried so much about this? Like, I've never seen you care so much about something other than theater and the few of us."

"You didn't hear of the stories of Claire gushing like a fool from Toby and Doux then. If it helps lower your worries though, Jim's in the same boat with what he's making you." I glared at the phone as Darci spoke.

"I said I didn't want to know anything about what he's got planned, Darc!"

"Sorry! I shouldn't have let that last part slip out! But seriously, Jim's just as nervous. Even though by what I saw from both of you, you'll both love what the other has planned."

"Doesn't mean I'm still not satisfied," I muttered to myself as I looked down at the journal. "I still don't think I got the feather right."

"Let us be the judge! Right, Mar?"

"Yeah! As you always said, the artist themselves are always their worst critic." I looked back up toward them with a soft smile before taking the journal into my hands.

"Don't laugh, alright?"

"Remember the last time she said that, Darc?"

"Yeah and then she showed some Da Vinci leveled shit. Now come on! Let us see." I turned the book so that the carvings were facing them before I watched both of their faces turned into shocked expression. "C-Bomb, I love you more than anything, but you do not give yourself enough credit."

"You two think he'll like it?"

"Like it? The boy might have a heart attack over it!" Mary let out a soft giggle as I dropped the journal back down onto my desk as I looked over my handiwork. The cover had a feather pen etched into lightly as a giant cursive 'J' was to the left of it in a much deeper carving. In each corner was a small carving of a rose which I learned over time is Jim's favorite flower. I brought my eyes back up toward my friends as I came to a sudden conclusion.

"I guess I should just leave it as it is then, huh?" I gave a small laugh as the two girls yelled back in unison.

"LEAVE IT!" This only made me to laugh louder as I looked over the journal once more. A smile finding its way onto my face as we went back into a simple conversation about whatever classes the two of them were taking now.

I might have grown up hating the holiday season.

I slipped Jim's journal into my desk drawer before closing it with a soft click.

But he's made me change my mind about worse things before.

I was just sketching a new tattoo design for a customer when I received a text I thought I would never get.

Enrique and I would love for you to come over for Christmas Eve.

"What in the fuck?" I felt Jim's confused expression land on me from across the room.

"Is something wrong?"

"My dad just invited me over to spend Christmas Eve with them." I dropped the pencil I was using as I turned my attention over toward his approaching footsteps.

"And that's a bad thing?" He took the spot next to me on the couch as I read over the text once more.

"Not really. I would love to see mi hermano pequeño again, especially since I made that promise to him that I'll be around more, but so suddenly? Hell, I doubt that he even spoke to my mom about it if he texted me about it instead."

"I can tell there's something else on your mind too." I let out a soft sigh as I gave him my attention once more.

"I feel as if there's some kind of ulterior motive in play. They never just celebrated Christmas. There was always some kind of dinner or charity event they would host instead where they used it to boost my mom's political career." I looked back to my phone as I read over the words once more. "I have a feeling that this is the same shit, different year."

"Do you want to go?" I turned my head toward Jim who gave me a soft smile. "Because if you want to then you should. You have a choice now. You don't have to go if you don't want to." I smiled at his words as he draped an arm over my shoulders. "And I'll be right there beside you if you want me to."

"So you don't get a choice?" I smirked at him as he just gave a small laugh in reply.

"My choice is in wanting to make sure you're comfortable and you enjoy your holiday. Blood family Christmas party or not."

"So you would come and deal with my family and possibly a shit ton of old politicians just because I want to?"

"As long as we're at Douxie's before nine, I don't think it would be an issue. So why not?" I leaned over and planted a kiss on his cheek as I slipped my left hand into his.

"Do I say enough that I love you?" Jim just chuckled at this as he pulled me close to his side.

"You can say it a little more often." I giggled in return as I typed a quick reply to my father with my free hand.

Only if I can bring a plus one.

When Claire said that her parents would usually throw stiff parties for the even stiffer politicians of Arcadia, I didn't think she would be that serious.

But as I glanced around the living room of her family home, I realized that it wasn't a hyperbole in the slightest. Everyone around us was in tuxes and sleek dresses, as I felt like a fish out of water in my simple blue blazer, blue slacks, a black button-down, and some dress shoes. Even Claire seemed more in place with her short-sleeved and mid-thigh length black dress. She messed with the hem of the bell-bottom dress while her eyes scanned over the scenery.

"And how did I know this was just another plan of theirs?" I frowned at the distant tone in her voice as I slipped my hand into hers.

"Hey," She turned her head toward me as I intertwined our fingers. "Maybe we can make something out of this, huh? We promised to stay a few hours and you brought something for Enrique, right? We should find the little guy, chill with him for a little bit, and enjoy a little corner of the room to ourselves while we poke fun at any snobby asshole we find." I watched a smile appear on her face as she gave my hand a gentle squeeze.

"You know you're the best boyfriend ever, right?"

"With how many times you've said it, I must be."

"CLAIRE!" We turned our attention toward the sudden voice as the sight of Enrique in a small black suit came running toward us.

"¡Mi hermano!" Claire slipped her hand out of mine before bringing herself closer to the floor so she can take the young boy into her arms. With a swift motion, she swept him off his feet and brought him with her as she stood back up to her full height. "How have you been, little one?"

"I've been good." He beamed a toothy grin toward his sister as she sat him on her hip. "Papá said I've been a good boy so Santa might be gifting me something special tomorrow."

"Oh really now, huh?" The boy turned his head toward me before his smile went up further on his lips. "And what do you think that would be?"

"I'm hoping for that 3D model of Gun-Robot I've been asking for since forever."

"The one with the blaster for an arm?"

"You know it?!" Enrique looked up at me with a set of wide childish eyes.

"Know it? I have one myself."

"Really!? If I get mine, will you help me build it?"

"As long as your parents are okay with it."

"Yes!" He raised his arms up in triumph as he looked up toward Claire. "You'll be there too, right?" She just smiled at her little brother as she responded.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, compañero." She reached up with her left hand and ruffled the boy's blonde hair as he just gave a childish giggle in reply.

"Claire, James. Nice to see you two could make it." We turned our attention to the male voice that approached us. The man standing there was Javier himself. Claire bent down to place Enrique back onto the floor so she could give her father her complete attention.

"Papá." I swallowed dryly as I felt Claire's hand slip into mine and take a rather tight hold onto it. It was obvious she had some resentment against the man for not explaining what exactly he had planned when he invited us here, but not enough for her to ignore the man. So I inturn just squeezed her hand gently in reply which caused her to flash me an apologetic look before loosening her grip on my hand.

"It's nice to see you as well, sir." I tried my best to keep a calm voice even though Claire obviously wasn't to me. "I thought personally that this wouldn't be as," I looked around for a second before bringing my eyes back to the man. "Crowded when Claire asked me to come along."

"Oh, my apologies. I myself was hoping for something a little more family-oriented this year with how the last few months have been." He slipped his hand into his slack's pockets as he gave a small shrug. "But I'm not the one that plans the events. That's Ophelia's doing."

Of course the councilwoman wouldn't even tell her husband about her party plans. Makes sense with how she acted at the hospital.

I felt my jaw stiffen as I gripped Claire's hand a little tighter.

Bullshit, honestly. Her family has been through enough shit the past few months alone. Wouldn't it be nice to talk to them first before thrusting them back into the public light? Especially after her kid being in the hospital a few weeks ago?

"Of course mamá would." She slipped her hand out of mine as she rummaged around in her black purse that sat on her hip. "Anyway," She changed her tone of voice to a more cheerful one as she knelt down to her brother's height. "I've got a little something for you." The blonde looked up toward her with wide eyes as she pulled out a small purple box from her purse and placed it into his hands. "But you remember the rules, right?"

"No opening presents before Christmas or Santa will put me on the naughty list."

"Good boy." She ruffled his hair a little as she let out a soft laugh. "How about you go put that in your stocking, huh? It'll keep your temptations at bay."

"¡Si hermana! ¡Gracias!" With that, the boy ran off to hide the present away until tomorrow. After his presence was gone from view, she looked toward her father directly before taking my hand into hers once more.

"We have another engagement to get to. Sorry for not staying long, but we've made promises that we need to keep." I nodded my head along with her words as the man gave us a sorrowful look while glancing between us.

"Oh." The single word held a lot of emotion for the man as he brought his eyes to the floor. "Don't let me keep you then. You were always one to try to keep her promises, mi hija. I won't let you stop that all because of this." He brought his right hand out of his pocket to gesture around the room. He turned his head back to us as he gave a soft smile before speaking again. "But truly, it is wonderful to see you both. If you ever want to stop by again, you have my full permission to. Even if I'm not home personally. You do remember where the old spare key is, right?" I looked over to Claire who gave her father a wide-eyed look. It was obvious to me that she wasn't expecting such a response from him.

"Of course." She gave him a small smile in return. "Thank you, papá."

"Anytime, hija." Javier gave her a wide smile as he turned his attention toward me. "The same goes to you, James. Especially since you and Claire always seem to be together. I trust both of you." He took a deep breath as the sound of someone calling his name came from behind him. "Have a nice night you two, and a Merry Christmas as well. Now, to be a good host." He turned on his heel toward the man that was calling for his attention as Claire and I just stared after him with a mutually shared shocked look.

"Did that-?"

"Yup. Still want to leave?"

"Before shit hits the fan? Definitely." She pulled me along to the front door without a second thought. But as she pulled me along, I slipped my left hand into my pant's pocket to check if my gift for her was still tucked away in there.

And hopefully this time, it doesn't.

Even though I was raised on black tie events, I felt a lot more comfortable in comparison as I leaned against a wall as Douxie's party raved on within our living room. I felt content holding my half-empty water bottle as the pulsing bass of the music took over the rest of the bodies before me. I uncapped my water bottle and took a small sip as a single thought entered my mind.

So much better than a fucking political party.

I smiled as I screwed the cap onto my bottle once more. I glanced over my change in attire as I noted that as probably another variable in the equation. My loose tank-top and skinny jeans feeling a lot cozier to me than some frilly dress.

"You seem a lot more at ease." I glanced over to Jim who had joined my side with a wide smile gracing his lips.

"You seem to have survived Zoe's interrogations." He chuckled at that before reaching up and scratching the back of his neck with a nervous smile.

"I really don't know why she was so evident on it since I've known her almost as long as I've known Douxie, but I guess she just wanted to make sure I wasn't treating you like shit or something."

"Sorry, you had to deal with something so useless then." I reached out and rubbed his bicep with my right hand as he just gave a small shrug in reply.

"I kinda figured it was going to happen. Was a matter of time, honestly. I'm kind of shocked it wasn't Douxie doing the interrogations when we first started dating."

"Oh, he wanted to. I just talked him out of it." He let out a hearty laugh at the idea before giving me a wide smile.

"Sounds like Doux." A small silence fell upon us as our hands found the other's as if it was second nature to us at this point. Our fingers were interlocking as the music surrounded us and moving bodies flooded the makeshift dance floor. A simple thought ringing through my mind as I rubbed my thumb subconsciously on the back of his hand.

Most definitely better than a fucking political party.

I glanced over toward Jim as I noted the content look that graced his face. My eyes tracing the soft features of his face while a small smile made his scar on his cheek dance across his skin and the blue of his eyes have a joyful shine to them. I felt a smile of my own as I inched close to him so I could place my head onto his shoulder.

To think I would be smiling this much during the time of year I grew up loathing the most. Let alone at a party that I would have been having a panic attack at if I was the same me I was about six months ago.

I felt him lean his head against mine. His chest moving gently as he let out a content sigh.

But that was before I met him.

Yeah, I still struggle at times, but that's normal. I never felt that way before. I always thought I was weak whenever I showcased how much the events of three years ago affected me, but he was always there to say they made me stronger. He was the one that started teaching me that it's okay not to be okay with what I went through. Douxie always taught me the same things, but it never seemed to stick with me.

I opened my eyes to look up at Jim's face as his head nuzzled itself against the top of mine.

But with him, it does and each time I seem to hate something, he shows me a different side to it I never knew before. Each time I feel like I'm worthless, he shows me something I never saw worth in before.

I closed my eyes with a soft smile as I mimicked his motions back to him.

There are days where I'm afraid that he'll see something that will make him leave. There are days where I'm afraid that he might break me with how much I rely on him. Times were I'm afraid that I'll wake up one day and be even more broken than I already am because he's gone.

But he has a knack for proving me wrong.

"I won't be able to see you tomorrow until late, right?"

"Unless you want to meet my uncles, no." Jim chuckled at this as he knew how afraid I was to meet the father figures in his life. Meeting his mom for the first time was fine since we were just friends at the time and even after we told her that we were dating, she didn't treat me any differently. A bit of teasing, sure, but nothing more than that.

When it comes to meeting his uncles though, the two men that he says mean almost as much to him as his mother who he's given up everything for, I'm an anxious mess just thinking about it.

"Yeah. Not yet. Soon, but not yet." He just squeezed my hand gently which was still intertwined with his.

"Whenever you're ready. I won't force you into anything." I felt my heart skip a beat at his words.

He's so goddamn perfect. Patient. Understanding. Caring. How the fuck did he not have a serious relationship before this? Like seriously. Douxie warned me before we started dating that Jim wasn't used to something like this before, but it's shocking to hear after how he's so good at it. How in the hell was this guy not snatched up?

I laughed a little at my own thoughts as I brought my head up from his shoulder.

"Would you care to get your present now then?" He gave me a curious look.

"Are you sure? I can always wait."

"No, I'm sure. I'm kind of dying to see your reaction anyway."

"I guess it's only fair we exchange then." I gave him a curious look in return.

"You brought yours?" He gave a small shrug as a large grin took over his face once more.

"I was just gonna slip it under your tree when I woke up in the morning or something. I even asked Douxie to record your reaction for me."

"You weren't going to stay to see my reaction?"

"I've gotta be at mom's before eight and I know how you like to sleep in till noon at the latest after things like this. Holiday or not. I wasn't going to wake you up around seven something just to see your reaction for myself."

"Again, you're the perfect boyfriend." He gave me a hearty laugh in reply.

"Keep saying that and you might give me an ego." I just rolled my eyes at him as I started pulling him toward the stairs that lead to the second floor of the house.

"Come on. I have it hidden away in my room." I turned my attention toward where we were heading as he let me pull him along as I did earlier.

It didn't take long really for us to reach my room. Luckily for us though, Douxie made it so that our bedroom had a lock a key since he enjoyed throwing parties like these. That way our privacy was kept private when people decided to adventure upstairs. So the fear of a couple or two drunken idiots messing around my room was nothing to me as I unlocked my door.

I felt a little self-conscious having Jim in there with me even if he had seen it before. It was obvious as he took his normal spot at the foot of my bed as I went to my desk to retrieve his gift, but I still couldn't shake the nervousness that was creeping through my being with every move I made. I tried my best to shake it off as I walked toward Jim with his journal hidden behind my back.

"On the count of three?" He just smiled at me as he slipped his hand into his normal blue off-leather jacket's pocket.

"Of course. One."

"Two."

"Three." We spoke the word together as we both presented our gifts to one another. I watched with a smile as Jim's eyes nearly bulged out of his head.

"No fucking way." We exchanged the journal for the small black box he had within his other hand as he looked over the hand-carved book. "Holy shit." I just giggled at his reaction as he looked up to me like a child. "Did you make this?"

"It took a little bit, but yeah."

"Holy shit." I couldn't help but laugh at him as he opened the front cover and looked at the first page. One of which I decided to draw a small sketch of the two of us together. It wasn't the best since the only reference I had was a single photo from when we went up to our favorite spot together, but by how he looked, I could tell that he loved it. "I feel a little embarrassed now. Mine is nothing compared to this." He closed the cover of the journal before looking back up at me.

"I'll be the judge of that." I sat down beside him as I opened the small box with a soft pop. What was within it was a metal marigold that looked hand-welded as well as hand-painted with the vibrant orange and yellow mixing into one another with ease. I pulled the necklace out of its box as my vision began to blur.

"What are the flowers for Abuela?"

"They're to guide your abuelo's spirit back to us."

I slipped the necklace over my head with ease before grasping the metal marigold once more.

"What kind are they?"

"They are marigold, mi querida. The flowers of our people. The flowers of the dead."

"Why are they so pretty if they're for the dead?"

"Because the beauty of them welcomes them home. Just as it will with you one day."

"Do I have to be dead for that to happen, Abuela?"

"Of course not,"

I felt a tear run down my cheek as my grandma's words echoed within my head.

"When someone loves you enough and you are willing, they will lead you home. We all need a way of leaving us home,"

"I didn't mean to make you cry or anything." Jim moved so that he was before me. Leaving his journal on the bed as he reached up and cupped both sides of my face. "I didn't mean to hurt you or anything I just thought since you always seemed to love them and draw them and everything that you would like something like this." I gave him a smile before dropping the necklace onto my chest so I could reach out and place my hands on both sides of his face.

"Dead or alive."

I pulled him close as I placed my lips onto his. Our lips meeting each other in a small rage of desperation while I tried my damnest to pour everything I could into the motion. I wanted him to feel how much I loved him at that moment. Even if it meant feeling as if it was burning from the lack of oxygen that soon occurred. We pulled apart from one another to give each other lovesick smiles. A small chuckle escaping him while he pressed his forehead against mine.

"I guess you like it then?"

"Shut up." He let out a laugh as I pulled him into another kiss. This one being a lot less desperate than the ones before. We pulled apart again after a few seconds. The two of us smiling at one another once more as we pressed our foreheads against one another.

"Merry Christmas, Claire." I smiled at the sincerity within his voice. The tone being more loving than anything I could imagine.

"Merry Christmas, Jim." We pulled each other close into a tight hug as just sat there. The music still pulsing from the floor below us before we made it so we were laying down on the foot of the bed together. His fingers combing through the ends of my hair as I brought my head under his chin.

I may have hated this time of year.

I felt a smile dance across my lips as I felt him place a lazy kiss on the top of my head.

But it was a merry Christmas indeed.