No mistletoe, but it's still corny and cute and fluffy. Also not 100% Christmas focused.

Christmas

Julie missed her mom most at Christmas, even more so than at Thanksgiving. But she was also extremely thankful for the family, blood and chosen, that she still had, and she wanted to make the holidays extra-special for all of them. Particularly since the boys didn't really have family to celebrate with, she knew she had to do something for them.

With her dad and Carlos, it was easy. She made a big batch of Carlos's favorite Christmas ginger cookies that would last him the whole holiday season. For her Dad, she got up extra early on Christmas morning and made a big Christmas breakfast of eggs, bacon, and toast for them before he even woke up so she could bring it to him in bed and the three of them ate it together in the parents' bedroom. Then they all scrambled down the stairs (Carlos and her dad raced to the tree and Carlos won) and opened gifts. Julie got some great new equipment for recording music, which she was excited to use for the band.

By early afternoon they were all exhausted and her dad was already taking a nap, so she had an opportunity to put her plan for the boys into action. She grabbed several bags full of things to bring to the studio and slipped out the back door.

"Merry Christmas guys!" she called softly when she came in the door.

"Merry Christmas Julie!" they chorused back and ran to her for a big band hug.

"We were hoping you'd come see us," Alex mumbled, scuffing his shoe against the floor.

"Of course! I had to spend time with my dad and Carlos first but I would never forget you guys. You're my family, too," she explained. Luke, Reggie and Alex smiled at her. "I have surprises for you guys," she said, grinning.

Reggie jumped up and down clapping his hands excitedly.

First Julie pulled out three little stockings from the bags she had brought. The red one had Reggie's name in glitter glue on it, the blue one had Luke's name, and the pink one had Alex's name. They all had a few small gifts in them, but she wouldn't let them open them yet. "We have to put them up first!" she reprimanded them as Luke reached for his.

They hung the stockings from the piano, and then Julie turned to Reggie. "I know you don't celebrate Christmas usually so I also got you a menorah. I don't really know what's involved with Hannukah, but can you show us?"

Reggie just stared at Julie for a moment, then crushed her in a hug. "Thanks for remembering, Julie," he whispered in her ear.

Together, Reggie showed the boys about lighting the menorah and they played with the dreidel that Julie also pulled out. She piled a couple little gifts next to the menorah, too, so they could properly celebrate both holidays.

Then she pulled out a tiny Christmas tree that was only about a foot tall and some extra garland and put the boys to work decorating the studio. Before long the whole place sparkled with lights and garland. Then Julie hung a bunch of music-related ornaments on the little tree.

Luke's eyes were glowing as he looked around at the studio. "Julie… I… we… this is amazing. You're amazing. Thank you." He and Alex both turned away and Julie could see that they were trying to hide the fact that they were tearing up.

Julie started to tear up, too, and they all hugged for a while before she stepped back and said, "Okay, present time!"

She had gotten the boys small gifts, but all of them were so happy. She gave Reggie a bunch of country music CDs, Alex got a new fanny pack, and Luke got several rock band tanks from a nearby thrift store. The boys all looked at each other and then Luke got up to bring her a package they had managed to wrap.

She looked up at them, surprised. "Guys, you didn't have to!" They just smiled and Luke nodded at her to open the package. She unwrapped it and found a framed photo of their first performance together, at her school.

"I found that somebody had posted this pic online and we used your dad's computer while he was out to print it," Alex explained.

"We know you've got pictures of all your family in your room and, well, we wanted to give you this because, like you said, we're family now, Julie," Luke added on.

This time Julie actually cried and the guys hugged her again.

They spent another hour playing rock versions of holiday tunes and laughing together. Finally, it was getting close to dinner time and Julie knew her dad would be awake soon. She gave them all one last hug for the day and whispered, "Merry Christmas, guys," to all of them, and left the studio.

Dinner was delicious and they watched a Christmas movie after dinner, but they were all still pretty tired so her dad and Carlos went to bed and Julie went to her room. When she walked in, she found Luke sitting on the end of her bed, holding a small wrapped gift.

"Hey, I just… I wanted to give you something just from me," Luke said quietly, unable to hold eye contact with her.

"That's really sweet, Luke," she said, sitting down next to him. He paused for a beat, as if he was uncertain, and then handed it over.

She unwrapped a box and found a few sheets of paper inside. When she unfolded it, she realized it was a fully arranged song, a duet in fact, designed for piano and guitar. The title on the first sheet of paper read, "Christmas with You."

"Would you sing it with me?" Luke asked softly.

Her eyes glowed as she looked up at him and nodded. She pulled out her portable keyboard and started playing the melody line. Luke jumped in with the first lyrics and she soon followed.

It was beautiful, and thoughtful and at the end they both sat in silence for a moment, until Julie reached over and took Luke's hand. "First of all, that was beautiful. Second of all, that's exactly what I want Christmas to be like next year, if you're up for that."

Instead of answering directly, Luke slowly leaned towards her and brought his hand up to her face. She smiled and closed the rest of the gap between them, bringing their lips together for a sweet kiss. Even though they were alone in her room, they did nothing more than kiss gently for several minutes, enjoying the innocence and emotions playing out between them.

Luke eventually leaned back, his hands still on her arms and his eyes full of joy. "I should go, shouldn't I?" he said. Julie frowned but nodded. "One more, though," he whispered before pulling her against him and kissing her quickly but passionately. Julie was blushing when he pulled away and he was grinning. "Merry Christmas, Julie. Thanks for making this the best Christmas ever," he said before poofing out of the room. Julie lay back on her bed, grinning from ear to ear.

I don't think Reggie is canonically Jewish, but I a) wanted to not make this totally Christmas-centric for any readers who don't celebrate Christmas, and b) felt like Julie would be so open and inclusive for her friends that I wanted to showcase that in the holiday season. Anyway, happy holidays to all my readers! I hope you have a great end of 2020 no matter what holidays you celebrate. The best gift from you all would be a review! They've all been really sweet so far and make my day. I'll probably write another chapter before January. I guess New Year's feels like a good holiday to write a kiss chapter about, after all...