(Disclaimer: I don't own anything at all. So don't sue me. Please.)

A Note from the Author: I'm in a nice holiday-ish mood, but since Easter really didn't fit into my timeline, the next best thing was Chrismukkah! And okay. Somehow I wrote a lot again. Ah crap. I'm becoming long-winded now! Btw, I realize it's weird how it's suddenly December. So Ryan/Summer hooked up on the first day of school, like mid-September, which means that they've been going for about two months and a bit already (so Summer's mom died in mid-December), which would also explain how couple-like they are without even trying. Okay? Onwards… (Also, anyone notice something different? Hmm? I finally gave up trying to oppose my spellchecker, the dictionary, and common sense, and have decided to spell 'poolhouse' as 'pool house' now. So I went through all my chapters, finally bolded all of the chapter titles – which was irking me too – and you have a revamped story! Yay!)

Chapter Twenty

Everybody who knew him wouldn't call him a ladies' man, a man's man, or a man about town. It would be hard to picture him as a carpenter, a firefighter, or a lumberjack. In short, Seth Cohen didn't exactly exude an air of masculinity.

He was working on that.

But right now, Seth couldn't help but squeal girlishly at the sight before him: the tree was decorated, the stockings hung, the menorah lit, and the presents present. It. Was. Finally. Chrismukkah! And he'd be damned if this moment was wasted on yet another attempt at Calm, Collected Manly Seth. Around him was Kirsten bustling around to make the house full of decorated holiday spirit, stopping occasionally to slap Sandy's hand from picking at dinner. His 'brother' Ryan had shut himself in the pool house, and Seth was sure (really sure!) it was giftwrap that he had seen spread on the floor.

Tonight the Cohen family had decided on a nice evening together without the pressures of a big holiday party, and now and then visitors showed up to drop off gifts and/or pinch his cheeks and marvel at how much he'd grown. When the doorbell rang, Seth bounded over with a big grin on his face. Yes! More presents! It was truly the magic of Chrismukkah, that he should be so blessed. He flung the door open widely, unable to control his excitement.

And then he realized that the person standing in front of him was Summer.

"Uh, hi." His attempt at any further conversation faltered.

"Hey, Cohen," she brightly replied, and handed him something. "Came here to give you a present."

He turned the package over, admiring the conscientious way she had wrapped half of the box in Star of David and half in Santa Clause paper. "For me? A present?" he asked disbelievingly.

"Well, duh. It is Chrismukkah."

Seth felt uplifted. This felt so normal, just like they had been together before, her frankness and subtle mockery. Except that they weren't together anymore. And they hadn't talked to each other for weeks. And although Seth was so preoccupied with the holidays… It was then that Seth noticed that Summer was fidgeting nervously. "Um… come in."

"Thanks!" Summer stepped around him and into the house, still a bit unsure of how to interact with him. "I should say 'hi' to your parents and Ryan, so…"

"Oh, okay! Uh… I'll get your present from upstairs." When he saw her start towards the kitchen, he sprinted up the stairs. Jesus/Moses, it was a good thing he had a present for her. A more awkward moment was averted (which proved just how awesome the Higher Powers were!) He had been shopping only for the family when he had spotted something that just screamed 'Summer' and bought it out of impulse. After he had wrapped it with the other presents, he had promptly buried it under the mess of clothes and other stuff accumulating in a large pile in the middle of his room, and now he had to dig it out again. He hadn't expected her to show up like that. And he hadn't expected to even have something for her available. He was probably just too swept up in the spirit of Chrismukkah. Yeah. That was it.

As Summer passed through the kitchen to get to the pool house, she uneasily greeted the Cohen parents. Ryan had told her about their reaction, and she wasn't sure how to face them either. They probably thought that she was the type to just latch on to any guy that she met or something, with the way she had acted.

Surprisingly, it wasn't that bad. They paused momentarily to greet her warmly and inquire about her family before Kirsten interrupted with, "Sandy! Get your hands off the biscuits!"

As they busied themselves with familial squabbling, Ryan entered the kitchen and spotted Summer. Motioning for her to follow him, they slipped outside and into the pool house, finally at ease with their surroundings. Summer let out a breath that she didn't know she had been holding.

"Stressed?" he commented.

"Yeah, it's just… they looked so comfortable with me, and everyone was just so friendly. It was weird."

"What'd you expect, the Spanish Inquisition?"

"No-o, but… I'm not really used to it, I guess."

Ryan gave a nod of acknowledgement. "I know. I'm still trying to get used to it, fighting when you don't actually mean it, and all that hugging and kissing. Gah."

They both sat down on the edge of his bed.

"You don't seem to have a problem hugging and kissing me, Chino," she huffed.

He rolled his eyes. "You've got to be kidding me. You're comparing yourself to Kirsten and Sandy. That's just… that's so wrong."

She took his arm and draped it over his shoulder. "You're the one that's wrong. I'm always right. Deal with it, or else this relationship is, like, totally over."

As much as Ryan enjoyed being teased by Summer, it was time to get down to business. "Summer."

"Hm?" She shifted her head so it was resting comfortably on his shoulder.

"Why are you here? I mean, I could've gone over to your house later and then you wouldn't have had to go through all of that stress."

The mood abruptly shifted. She buried her face into his sweater. "Because. Um. I couldn't wait?"

"Summer." And then he gave her a 'look', even though she wasn't exactly looking at him.

"Okay! Okay." Her words were muffled, and it didn't help that she was now mumbling. "Iwaslonely."

"What?"

"I was feeling lonely, and my parents weren't home and the heater was broken, so… yeah."

Ryan suspected that she was lying. The heater was fine. But it wasn't the time to call her on her bluff. It would have been the time five minutes ago, when they were still bantering, but now the atmosphere was different. Tentative. Vulnerable. Pretty much what they felt every time they were together.

"And Marissa?" he ventured hesitatingly.

"She's in L.A. Her and her dad are off trying to find some psychiatrist friend of his. He's just really worried about her, I don't know." Summer shrugged. She had decided against telling him that her best friend had stopped speaking to her after the Crazy Marissa incident. "And – oh, hey! I forgot to give you your present."

Ryan grinned cheekily. "You mean, you're not my present?"

She didn't know whether to scoff at or slap him for his cheesy attempt at a pickup line. "No, jackass! Here." She handed him a wrapped rectangular-shaped item, daring him to crack another joke about how she wasn't wrapped or something. He didn't.

When he opened it, he ran his hands over the cover of the leather-bound notebook. "It's nice. I like it," he commented.

Summer sighed. "You know, there are times when you need to be not-Chino and say more than ten words. This is one of those times." She was beginning to feel a little insecure. Maybe she should've bought him that really nice leather wrist cuff, you know, to go with his two old ones. Or she should've bought that cologne set, why didn't she get that for him? Why the hell did her dad have to cut back her allowance?  "Look, I just saw that you really liked to write non-school-related stuff in all of your notebooks, and I figure that you needed one to get all your thoughts and stuff down. And like, I know you like your English class a lot so – you need to stop me when I'm rambling."

"No, I really like it. I can write… stuff… in it. Thanks," he reassured. Only Ryan could sound this genuine using eleven words.

"Okay," she said meekly. "So where's my present?" she asked, visibly brightening up.

"Give it to you later."

"How later?"

"After…" He leaned in closer, and Summer understood what he meant. Oh. Later.

Then Seth strode in. "Hey, Summer, heard you were in here, and –"

The two broke apart. Summer stood up quickly and glanced from Seth to Ryan. "So, Ryan, hope you like your present. Uh, you're right, your sweater really is coming apart at the seams. Had to look really close to spot that."

Ryan caught the hint. "Yeah, yeah, thanks for checking. Hey, Seth, man, what's up?"

Seth looked suspiciously at the two. "Nothing, just giving Summer her present." He handed it to her before hearing Kirsten call him. "Ah. Mother has summoned me. See you two later."

He exited the pool house as hastily as he had entered, leaving Summer and Ryan standing there awkwardly.

"Shit."