Friday, December 25th. Christmas Day.
Christmas morning, Jasmine woke up alone. Well, not technically alone; the servants were there, getting ready for he party. But, her dad wasn't home. He left her a note letting her know he had to run to the office to get some last minute work done. Jasmine took her time taking a shower and getting dressed. When she went down to the living room, the Christmas tree wasn't even lit. There were no Christmas presents under the tree; just an envelope sitting on one of the branches, with her name written on it. She opened it. Her dad had gotten her an all- expenses paid trip for two to Paris. It was what she wanted; she had been dropping hints about Paris for the last few weeks. Odette has been wanting to go to Paris since she was a little girl and Jasmine always takes Odette on the trip her dad gives her for Christmas.
Jasmine stuck the envelope in her purse, then grabbed her coat and the cupcakes she baked yesterday and drove over to Anya's house. Aladdin told her she didn't have to knock and could just let herself in, so she did. She found everybody in the front room, sitting on the floor around the tree.
"Merry Christmas, everyone!" Jasmine greeted.
They all wished her a merry Christmas, as well. Aladdin got to his feet and greeted her with a hug.
Marie walked over to Jasmine. "I'll take your coat, dear."
Jasmine held out the two boxes of cupcakes. "These are for you. Thank you for letting me come to your Christmas."
"We're happy to have you."
Jasmine took off her coat and Marie took it.
"I have a present for you," Aladdin told her. "Come with me."
He took her hand and led her upstairs. They stopped outside a closed door.
"Close your eyes," Aladdin instructed.
Jasmine closed her eyes. She heard Aladdin open the door, then he took both of her hands and led her inside. He let go of her hands and closed the door. She heard him walk around the room, then felt him approach her again.
"Okay. Open your eyes."
Jasmine opened her eyes and saw Aladdin holding a cat carrier. She looked inside and saw Rajah.
"You're the one who adopted him?"
Aladdin nodded. "I adopted him for you."
Tears filled Jasmine's eyes and she couldn't stop them. She was crying as she opened the cat carrier. She reached inside. Rajah swatted at her, but she took him out anyway. Rajah sniffed her, then nuzzled against her neck.
"I can't believe you did this for me," Jasmine said. "And I didn't get you anything."
Aladdin smiled at her. "You didn't have to. Rajah needs a good home and the best place for him is with you."
Jasmine was still crying. "Thank you." She leaned forward and kissed Aladdin.
Rajah hissed, breaking them apart. They both laughed. Aladdin wiped the tears off of Jasmine's cheeks.
"I hope those are happy tears," he said.
Jasmine nodded. "You have no idea how happy you've made me."
OOOOO
Proteus and Vanessa showed up at Anya's shortly after Jasmine. Meg told them they could just let themselves in, but they knocked anyway. Meg opened the door.
"Merry Christmas!" Proteus said.
"Merry Christmas," Meg replied. "Come in, you guys."
Proteus and Vanessa came into the house. Vanessa looked awkward.
Marie met them at the door. "Hello."
"Marie, this is my older brother, Proteus; and my younger sister, Vanessa," Meg introduced.
"Welcome and merry Christmas," Marie said. "I'll take your coats."
"Thank you," Proteus told her.
Marie walked away with their coats and the three of the were left alone by the front door.
"I'm glad you guys made it," Meg said.
"I'm glad you invited us," Vanessa told her.
Proteus nodded in agreement. "It's nice to all be together on Christmas again."
Meg brought them into the front room and made all of the introductions.
Proteus and Vanessa fit in surprisingly well with Meg's friends. They all spent the morning and afternoon hanging out, singing carols, and playing different Christmas games. There was a lot of laughing and celebration; exactly the type of Christmas the three of them always wanted when they were kids.
Proteus and Vanessa left after helping cleaning up after dinner. Proteus was going to Jasmine's Christmas party with Odette and needed to get home to get ready. And Vanessa was going over to Gaston's.
Jasmine had left right after lunch to go over to Odette's for Christmas. Now it was just Meg, Aladdin, Anya, and Marie. Flynn never showed up. They all thought even though he said he was skipping Christmas, he'd still come.
Meg wanted to see him, though. She packed up some leftovers from dinner, wished everyone a merry Christmas, then headed to Flynn's apartment. She walked up to his complex and buzzed him.
Flynn's voice came over the speaker, "Who is it?"
"Santa Claus."
Flynn buzzed her in. She walked up to his apartment and knocked on his door. He answered right away.
Meg held up the leftovers. "I brought food."
Flynn let her in. "What are you doing here? You're missing Christmas."
"No, you are," Meg told him. "We all missed you today."
"I'm sorry. It's just... with what happened last year and my dad not being home for Christmas this year, I'm not really in the mood."
"Fair enough. But, it's still Christmas and I'm not letting you spend the whole day alone."
"Really, I'm fine."
"So, you don't want me here?"
"No, I definitely want you here. I just don't want to do anything Christmassy."
"Nothing Christmassy, huh? Well, then, I guess I can just throw this away." Meg reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a sprig of mistletoe she swiped from Marie's house.
Flynn smirked at her. "That we can keep."
Meg shook her head. "No, you said you didn't want to do anything Christmassy, and I'm going to respect your wishes."
Flynn laughed. "Get over here." He wrapped his arm around Meg's waist and pulled her close to him. He then snatched the mistletoe from her hand and held it above her head.
Meg gripped the front of Flynn's shirt and pulled him into a kiss.
After the kiss, they moved into the kitchen.
"All right." Meg said. "How about we heat up these leftovers and watch a movie that has absolutely nothing to do with Christmas?"
"I can't think of a better way to spend tonight."
OOOOO
Christmas evening, Odette and Jasmine left Odette's mom's house and picked up Proteus on their way to Jasmine's for the party.
Jasmine's house was packed with people. It was mostly her relatives from her dad's side of the family, but also some of her dad's colleagues and friends. Even though Aladdin didn't end up going to the party, Jasmine was still plenty busy. She managed to sneak the cat Aladdin got her up to her room without anyone noticing, then she disappeared among the people and Odette didn't see her again.
"This party is really something," Proteus said.
Odette nodded and looked around. Everywhere you looked, there were people gathered together; talking and laughing and kids running around.
"Enjoy the merriment now, while it lasts," Odette told him. "Later tonight, Jasmine's grandpa will decide we should all sing Christmas carols and huge fight will break out because no one will agree on a song and it will escalate to insults and name calling."
"How do you know that?"
Odette laughed. "It happens every year."
"I've never heard of families having brawls every year over Christmas songs. But, I guess Christmas is nothing without its traditions."
"At least their tradition isn't a twenty-year-old fruitcake. Which I received this year, by the way."
Proteus laughed. "And now you have to keep it until next year?"
Odette had told him about the fruitcake tradition at the ball last night.
"Yup. That thing is gonna be taking up space in my freezer for a year."
"Who are you gonna give it to next year?"
"Definitely Aurora." Odette laughed.
"I can't wait to see her open it."
Odette looked up at him. "Oh yeah? Are you planning on staying with me until next Christmas?"
"I plan on staying with you much longer than that."
Odette smiled up at him. "That is the best Christmas present ever." She kissed him. "Better than a fruitcake, anyway."
OOOOO
Eric spent all day at Leah's house with John; the two of them were the last to leave. When it got late, they said good night to Leah and Stefan and left with a final "merry Christmas."
They stopped at the Swan Rose so Eric could get the rest of his stuff and check out, then they went to John's house. Eric was going to stay with John until Ariel left his house.
Eric got the box of peppermint bark from John's kitchen and settled in on John's couch. John turned on his one strand of Christmas lights, then lit a fire in his fireplace and put on a Christmas record. John then joined Eric on the couch. Eric snuggled up to him while he snacked on the peppermint bark. John put his arm around Eric. They sat like that for a while; just watching the fire and listening to the music.
"I never thought I'd be spending Christmas like this, with you," John said quietly.
"Me neither," Eric said. "But, I absolutely could not be happier."
John kissed him. They had been doing that a lot over the course the day; like neither of them could really believe this was all happening and they were actually together.
"You taste like chocolate and peppermint," John told him, smiling. "I don't think I've ever tasted anything better."
Eric kissed him again. He leaned against John, forcing him lie back. When the kiss ended, John kept his arms around Eric and Eric smiled down at him.
"I have one more present for you," Eric said.
"That's not necessary. You're all I wanted."
"I think you'll want this, too," Eric told him. "I re-booked our trip to Colorado for next week."
"Really?"
Eric nodded. "That is, if you want to spend New Year's Eve with me."
John smiled at him. "Kissing you at midnight was my Christmas wish."
"As it turns out: it was mine, too." Eric kissed him. "Merry Christmas."
A/N: I want to wish you a very merry holiday and I hope next year brings you happiness.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.