What are your plans for today?
Anna was making a cup of tea when Valentin's text popped up on the screen of her phone. Instead of her usual Earl Grey, she was trying a holiday blend, a black tea spiced with cinnamon, cloves, orange, and a hint of almond. She set down her spoon and quickly texted him back.
I was thinking of putting the Christmas tree up today. Would you and Charlotte like to help?
Anna took a few approving sips of her new tea while she waited for his response.
Charlotte is going to a friend's house for the day, but I'd love to help you. Where are we going?
Anna stared at her phone in confusion before responding.
Going? The basement. That's where I keep it.
Almost immediately, Anna's phone insistently started buzzing and Valentin's picture popped up on the screen. Why on earth was he calling her when they were already texting?
"Hello?"
"You have a fake tree?" Valentin's voice oozed disdain.
"Well, yes... It's very convenient."
"You can't have Christmas with a fake tree!"
"I have for years, and believe it or not, Christmas still happens."
"Let me pick you up and take you to pick out a real one." Valentin insisted.
"You're going to strap a tree to the roof of your Bentley?" Anna asked with amusement.
"Of course not. I'll borrow Yuri's car."
"All right... If you insist." Anna held back a laugh.
"I'll be there in twenty minutes, darling."
"Is buying one off the lot okay? We don't have to go into the woods and chop one down or anything?" Anna asked with a little shiver.
They'd driven an hour out into the country to a family-owned tree farm that offered pre-cut trees and cut-your-own trees. Holiday music played softly in the background, coming from a kitschy stand that sold hot cocoa. Light flurries swirled through the air, sticking to the hair that peeked out under the bottom of Anna's hat.
Valentin took her gloved hands in between his much larger ones and rubbed them briskly to warm her. "I'm not a Griswold. This will be perfect."
"I have to say that I'm surprised you are so... Opinionated... About Christmas trees."
"I didn't have Christmases growing up." Valentin said quietly, blowing hot air onto Anna's hands and continuing to rub them.
Anna frowned, though she wasn't surprised. "I'm sorry."
"I didn't care about Christmas at all until I had Charlotte. I went all out for her first Christmas. A huge, gorgeous real tree, decorated from top to bottom with glittering purple and gold ornaments, ribbons, and beaded trim. Soft white lights, a glowing star on top. She was only an infant, so she didn't know... But I did."
"That's really beautiful." Anna slipped her arm through his, snuggling into him affectionately as they began to walk through the rows of evergreens.
"So every year, even when we lived in Wyndemere and had half a dozen trees, I've always have one real tree decorated the same way I did that one."
"I love that." Anna said, squeezing his arm.
"You're still freezing, aren't you?"
"Umm, just a little."
"I'll buy you some cocoa." Valentin fished in his pocket for his wallet while Anna looked on laughing. "What?"
"Nothing, it's just that today you're being so... Whimsical!"
"Why shouldn't I be with the most amazing woman in the world by my side?" Valentin asked, pressing his lips to the top of Anna's head.
"I'm glad to see it..." Anna looked at him seriously. "Things have been so difficult for you lately."
Valentin exhaled slowly. "They have, but you have been the constant in my life, and I don't think I can ever thank you enough for that."
Anna touched the side of his face lightly. "Well, the cocoa is a start."
Valentin bought two hot cocoas from the stand, and they continued their stroll through the dozens of Christmas trees as they sipped them.
"So what are we looking for in a good tree?"
"A fresh smell, needles that don't come off easily, symmetry..." Valentin tugged lightly on the needles of a nearby tree to demonstrate. "I like Fraser firs."
"That one is pretty." Anna pointed to one a few trees over. "Let's check it out."
Valentin and Anna walked hand in hand over to the tree. While Anna held his cocoa and watched him with amusement, Valentin carefully checked the needles, pounced the tree on the ground, and shook it.
"There's one more thing we need to do."
"Which is?"
"Twirl it."
"How?"
Valentin took their cocoas from her and set them on a nearby bench. He took Anna's hand in his and twirled her in a little circle. Anna laughed and flushed girlishly at the gesture.
"Kind of like that." Valentin winked.
"Hey, you're not bad at that." Anna pointed out. "We should dance sometime."
"Oh, no... I have two left feet."
"I'm a good leader." Anna smiled. "I can drag you around the floor for a bit."
"Kind of like I'm going to do to this tree." Valentin said, spinning the tree carefully around in a circle. "Checking to see if it has any holes. It looks like a good solid tree to me. Is this the one?"
"I think it is. Are you going to strap it to the roof yourself?"
"No, but I'm a very good tipper." Valentin smirked. "Let's go."
The seven-foot Fraser Fir fit perfectly in Anna's living room, off to the side of the fireplace. Valentin built a fire and lugged up worn boxes of Christmas ornaments while Anna made them a pot of the holiday tea.
Each box they opened revealed a glimpse into Anna's past. There were trinkets that Robin, Emma, and Noah had made at school from pipe cleaners, pom poms, and sequins. Some ornaments were old and delicate, others shiny and new. It wasn't going to be the perfectly coordinated tree that Valentin was used to. It featured memories instead of style.
Valentin watched as Anna hung a picture of a baby encircled in a silver frame at a high spot on the tree. "Is that Robin as a baby?"
"No..." Anna slowly pulled her hand away from the ornament. "That's... Leora."
I'm sorry." Valentin said softly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I remember you told me about her."
"You don't need to be sorry..." Anna exhaled slowly and gave him a sad smile. "I want to remember her. That's why I have the ornament."
Valentin looked back at the ornament. "She was beautiful."
"Yes... She really was." Anna's eyes were glossed with tears. "Wow. She'd be 18."
Valentin pulled Anna into a hug, cradling her head against his chest. Anna let her tears fall and stain Valentin's blue shirt.
"The pain of losing a child... It gets somewhat easier..." Anna pulled back to look up at him. "But it never goes away."
"A loss like yours is unfathomable." Valentin wiped the tears from Anna's eyes gently with his thumbs and kissed her forehead.
"Your loss and your feelings are still valid, too, even though our losses are different." Anna pointed out, wiping at her eyes. "You'll always carry a piece of Bailey with you."
"I couldn't have said goodbye to her the other day without you. You gave me so much strength that I needed in that moment. That's why I didn't want you to leave the room."
Anna wrapped her arms around Valentin's torso. "I'll be here for you whenever you need me, but don't forget you have your own strength, too."
Valentin put his own arms around Anna, enjoying how perfectly they fit together when he suddenly noticed a glass ornament of a shirtless Santa who was half centaur hanging on the tree.
"Umm, Anna? What the hell is that?" Valentin laughed, pointing at the tree.
Anna looked over her shoulder to where he pointed. "Oh, that's just my Santaur."
"Pardon?"
"A Santa centaur.
"I get the portmanteau, but... Why?"
"An old WSB friend and I decided to trade ridiculous ornaments one year, and this is the one she sent me." Anna explained.
"It is ridiculous."
"It made you smile."
"No, you make me smile." Valentin squeezed her more tightly, picking her up a few inches off the ground as she laughed.
"You're such a charmer... But that won't get you out of work." Anna gestured to the box of ornaments still waiting to be hung on the tree.
"Any mistletoe in there?" Valentin smirked.
Anna kissed his lips softly. "I don't know, but finish this tree, and there might be more kisses waiting for you..."
"Right away, darling."
"It looks nice." Valentin said, wrapping an arm around Anna's shoulders as they sat on the floor, their legs stretched out in front of them as they admired the tree that stood tall above them.
The warm glow of the fire added a sweet rosiness to Anna's cheeks. "It smells wonderful. Maybe you were onto something with having a real tree."
"So... What do you want for Christmas? I remember you said you needed some socks?" Valentin asked with a smirk.
Anna turned to look back at him, a glint in her eye. "I prefer to go sockless."
Valentin swallowed hard. "Is that so?"
"Mmhm." She trailed a finger down the side of his face. "Is it cliché if I say all I want for Christmas is you?"
"It definitely is, but I'll still take it." Valentin said, bringing her finger to his lips for a kiss. "Have you been a good girl?"
Anna leaned in close to his ear. "Does it matter?"
Valentin shivered slightly. "Well, I'm already under your tree. What do you want with me?"
Her fingers tickled the skin below the hem of his shirt. "I want to unwrap you..."
"Oh?" He could feel his heart thundering harder in his chest.
"And I want you to make love to me for the first time... If you're up for it."
Valentin felt Anna's words tingle all the way down his spine. This was it. He smiled, stroking a stray strand of hair away from her face and behind her ear. With his hand on the back of her head, he pulled her in for a kiss, immediately parting her lips with his tongue. Anna leaned into the kiss, eagerly allowing her tongue to dance with his.
Valentin's trembling hands began to fumble nervously with the buttons of Anna's blouse. She put her hands gently over his to still them and finished unbuttoning the blouse herself, shrugging it off to leave herself in a black lace bra. Anna broke their kiss to help Valentin pull his shirt over his head and tossed it carelessly aside. Their bottoms quickly joined their shirts on the floor. Anna unhooked her bra from behind and dropped it on the floor, making Valentin inhale sharply.
Valentin took a moment just to stare at her. He'd waited almost his whole life for that moment, and everything felt surreal.
"You are stunning, Anna Devane." Valentin whispered.
Anna answered him with another kiss. She ran her hands down and over his backside, taking his underwear with them. Anna seemed even more eager than he was to separate them from the clothing barriers they wore because she pulled her own off next, leaving them kneeling on the floor together and staring at each other's nude bodies for the first time.
"S-Stunning..." Valentin repeated with a slight stammer. His desire for her was growing quickly, though his nerves were getting the better of him. "I..."
Valentin had known that consummating their relationship was an approaching step for them, but he had never expected Anna to be the aggressor and for him to loose his usually strong self-assurance when it happened.
"Shh..." Anna murmured, running her hands up and down his thighs. "It's us."
Us. They'd been so many things to each other - friends, enemies, partners, adversaries - now, lovers would be added to that list.
Anna cradled his face in her hands and kissed his lips, then took his hands in hers and placed them on her bare breasts. Her reassuring hands over his helped soothe his frazzled nerves.
He cupped her breasts in his hands and put his lips to one, sucking and nibbling at her until a peak formed in his mouth, then he switched to the other to do the same. Anna ran her hands through his hair with a contented sigh.
With his confidence increasing, Valentin laid Anna down on the floor, his hand running up her leg to find the apex of her legs. She opened for him and let out a small moan as his fingers gently rubbed over her most sensitive nerves. He covered her mouth with his and kissed her deeply as his fingers worked between them.
Anna wrapped her own hand around his length, and he gasped as she pumped it up and down. He was already painfully hard, and her motions only made him want her more.
"I need to feel you inside of me." Anna breathed, guiding him toward her entrance. "Please."
Valentin obeyed, moving his hips forward slowly to sink into her warmth. They both groaned as their bodies adjusted to each other.
"You okay?"
"Yes, I'm more than okay." Anna half laughed.
His slow, deep thrusts were quickly met by the rolls of Anna's hips as they found a rhythm together. As with their hands, their kisses, and their embraces, they also fit perfectly for love making. Valentin's lips were everywhere, wanting to savor every bit of their encounter.
The floor was hardly the most comfortable place for love making, but Valentin couldn't have cared less as he moved above her. He'd been with many women in his life, but the feeling of being inside Anna was incomparable. They were both getting close to the edge. Anna's breaths were becoming quicker, her eyes were clamped closed, and he could feel her tightening around him.
"Open your eyes, Anna."
Anna's dark eyes fluttered open and they watched the pleasure on each other's faces as they climaxed together. The only sounds were the passionate sighs of their release and the crackling of the logs in the fire.
Valentin collapsed next to Anna on the floor, pulling a blanket from the back of her couch with him on the way down. He threw the blanket over them, and they tangled their limbs together under its softness. Anna rested her head in the center of Valentin's chest, and he stroked her hair as he tried to catch his breath.
"That was a hell of a present." Anna laughed.
"There's more where that came from." Valentin kissed the top of her head.
Anna turned and rested her chin on his chest to look at him. "You were so nervous at first. I was surprised because you're normally so..."
"Cocky? Arrogant?"
"You said it; I didn't." Anna smirked.
Valentin ran his hand up and down her back. "Well, when you finally have what you've always dreamed of in your arms... It's a little nerve-racking."
"Are your nerves intact for another round?" Anna asked with a grin.
"That depends... Do you have a bedroom?!" Valentin laughed. "My knees are a little old for your hardwood floors."
"What are you talking about? Of course I have a bedroom. Why don't I show it to you?" Anna stood and extended a hand to Valentin.
"Hey." Valentin tugged on her hand as he admired her body in the firelight.
"Yeah?"
"Merry early Christmas." Valentin said softly.
"Merry Christmas, darling."