'Tis the season
By MoonSwirl


Part four of my Destiny series

N.B.: The lyrics used in this story aren't mine... the poem is, though. Now, I'm not very good at the whole poem thing, so bear with me, okay? ;)

Part 1

December 13th 2000

"Happy anniversary," said Liz, as she and Kyle knocked their glasses of Coke together, making a soft clinking sound.

"Happy anniversary," said Kyle. The two were sitting on Liz's balcony, looking up into the starry sky, despite the cold weather.

"Hard to believe it's already been six months... still seems like yesterday to me," said Liz as she brought herself closer to him and laid her head on his shoulder. He passes his arm across her back, resting his hand on her shoulder, and smiled.

"Well, I've enjoyed every single day... hour... minute... second..." he trailed off. She laughed.

"That's some fun you've been having," she said.

"Yeah, I know." They enjoyed a short silence, nothing but the low sounds of the city, the cars, the wind...

Liz was loving this moment and she desperately wished it would never end. Sadly she knew that wasn't physically possible. So she carefully absorbed every bit of the moment into her mind.

The last six months had been a complete miracle. To think that in June, really not all that long ago, she was crying herself to sleep... until it finally clicked in her head. She'd listened to that instinct to go take a walk... and it led her to Kyle.

"So who'd you get for 'secret Santa'?" Liz asked innocently. They'd decided that it would be too expensive if they had to buy presents for everyone. So instead, they decided that each would buy presents for their girlfriend or boyfriend, and for one friend whose name they picked from a hat.

"No way, I'm not telling," said Kyle as he shook his head.

"Oh come on!"

"Eleven days. That's all... you can wait eleven days."

"No, I can't," said Liz jokingly.

"Well you're gonna have to." Liz pouted and Kyle attempted to hide the grin that came to him at the sight of it.

"Well at least tell me if it's a guy or a girl," said Liz.

"Alright, fine. But only that."

"Deal." He whispered it into her ear and she smiled. They shared a short kiss as she turned to face him.

Kyle couldn't believe his luck. How had he managed to get a girl like Liz Parker? He'd had her once and then he'd lost her. Once he had her back, he finally realized how much he cared about her. She amazed him more and more each day... the way she did certain things, it made so much sense to him, he wondered why he hadn't thought of it himself.

And of course there was the cookies... even six months later, she still gave him one everyday. And if one day for some reason, they didn't see each other, she'd give it the next day.

"Hey, you wanna come buy a tree with me, tomorrow? You could help me pick it and maybe help me decorate?" Liz asked Kyle.

"Sure," he answered.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yes, really." She smiled.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." They looked up at he stars once more, in total silence.

"Kyle?" Liz said.

"Yeah?"

"You hungry?"

"Kinda. You?"

"Uh-huh. Crashdown?"

"Okay." They got up and entered Liz's room through the window, walked out into the hall, down the stairs. They stopped to drop off their coats by the door and headed into the Crashdown dining room.

It was surprisingly full for this time of the night by they knew that with the cold weather it was normal that people would come in to warm up and fill up. They found Mr. Parker running from table to table.

"Wow..." said Kyle, "Maybe we should... give him a hand."

"We?" she asked, "You're serious?"

"Of course."

"You don't mind?"

"Not at all." They walked up to Mr. Parker. He welcomed the help immediately and the two were soon walking around the room, taking orders, giving the customers their food. Whenever Liz walked past Kyle, she felt herself blush just a bit more redder.

'He's so sweet...' she kept thinking. They continued to work for about an hour, until they closed the restaurant. Before the kitchen was closed, Liz managed to get a meal to go for Kyle. She gave it to him, along with a kiss, and he left. She took her own meal and went back upstairs. She sat by the window and ate happily by herself. She knew the others were celebrating as well, so she didn't want to bother them.

*

"Okay, now... when you said you had something in mind for tonight..." said Alex as he looked up at the big neon sign, "Somehow, that never entered MY mind."

"Oh come on," said Maria with a smile, "How can you say you don't like karaoke bars, if you've never been to one?"

"What can I say, I'm a very impressionable guy... All those movies and TV shows showing disastrous performances have told me to just stay away from karaoke bars." She pouted at him.

"Please?" He smiled.

"Well... for you, I'm willing to give it a shot." She laughed and kissed him.

"Thank you."

"Alright," he sighed as he took her hand, "Let's go." They walked in and found a table. They ordered something to drink (2 Cokes) and Maria began to look for a song while Alex observed the guy on stage. "Okay, so he's either drunk or mentally disturbed," he whispered to Maria. She rolled her eyes and threw him the list.

"Here, pick a song," she instructed.

"Alright," he sighed. He started to look through the songs, laughing a bit at some of the choices.

"It's my turn!" Maria exclaimed a few minutes later. She kissed him quickly and ran up to the stage. She gave a very good performance, singing "Stop! In the name of love." He smiled as she sang, then looking down to the list, he found his song.

After he'd signed up for it, he smiled to Maria, who was at his side again. He got up to the microphone and took a deep breath.

"Hello," he greeted the audience, "I'm Alex, and this song if for my girlfriend Maria. Today is our six month anniversary, so Maria this one's for you." There were some 'aww' sounds and the music started. He knew the song relatively well, so he didn't look at the screen much. He started 'imitating' the original performer.

"'L is for the way you look at me,'" he started,
"'O is for the only one I see.
V is very, very extraordinary,
E is even more than anyone that you adore can...'"

He continued as Maria watched him, blushing a bit. When he finished, everyone applauded and he 'bowed'. He headed back to the table and was welcomed by Maria with a kiss.

"That was beautiful."

"Thank you," he smiled. They sat down.

"So it wasn't that bad, was it?" she grinned.

"It WAS kinda nice... it was for you, so..." She smiled.

"Who'd you get for secret Santa?" she asked him.

"I'm not telling," he shook his head.

"Please! Give me a hint!"

"Well..."

"Human or..." she gave him a look, letting him figure out the rest.

"Or..." he said shortly.

"Guy or girl?"

"And it stops here."

"Come on!" she said excitedly, taking his arm.

"You're gonna have to wait like everyone else."

"Fine," she sighed. He smiled.

"Hey," he said.

"What?"

"Are you game?" he asked, pointing on the list. She broke into a smile.

"You're kidding."

"Completely serious." She nodded with a grin. Finally, they climbed on stage. The music started and both quickly 'went into character' as Sonny & Cher. Once they'd given their performance of "I got you babe," they decided it was time to call it a night as far as the karaoke bar was concerned. They walked together, heading back to Maria's.

"You know, that actually wasn't so bad," said Alex.

"Ah! See? I knew you'd like it."

"I never should have doubted you," said Alex with a smile.

"That's right!" she grinned at him.

"You didn't mind it being kind of short?" he asked her.

"I was with you. That was what mattered, not the time." They kissed for a few seconds, then remained close after parting.

"Can you believe it's been six months already?" he said.

"It's weird... feels like yesterday."

"I hope it never ends."

"I second that motion," she smiled as they walked off, hand in hand.