Okay, so SHOOT ME. But I was listening to Tick, Tick… Boom! And then I was thinking, OH MY GOD It's like Collins is singing to Angel in this one song! So I had to use it. So then I had to change the plot-ish-ness to fit the song in. And I like it, so feh to you if you don't. -is cool- Bonus points to anyone who can guess which song it is before they get to that part- tell me if you did in your review (and be honest)!

Disclaimer: I don't own RENT or Tick, Tick... Boom! Haha I own NOTHING.

--Christmas--

-Angel's POV-

Merry Christmas, loves! Good morning, good morning, hello to you! It's 5 AM and I'm feeling a little hyper. I can't sleep, so might as well bug Collins for a while. I sneak down the hall into his room. He's sleeping so soundly, I almost don't want to wake him. Almost.

"Tom… wake up…" I whisper, shaking him gently. "Psst! Wake up it's Christmas!" He grumbles and opens his eyes slowly, gazing up at me.

"Ang what the hell are you doing? What time is it?"

"5:04 AM. I couldn't sleep. Scoot over and let me lie down." He moves away from the edge of the bed, letting me get under the blankets and snuggle next to him. "Happy now? I'll let you sleep more if you want."

"Nah." He yawns. "I'm awake now. And you're here. So I think I'll just stay awake." He yawns again, and I can't help but laugh.

"You're tired. So sleep. I'll still be here when you wake up." I kiss his forehead gently, and he closes his eyes. Within minutes his breathing is deep and even, and he's sound asleep again. He's so cute when he sleeps… he's peaceful and calm. "I'll still be here…" I whisper to no one in particular.

"You better be." He mumbles in his sleep. That's so adorable, words can't even describe it. I put my arms around him and slowly start to drift off to sleep.

When I wake up, the sun is shining brightly through the window. I groan and look over at the clock. Oh no- we slept in!

"Collins wake up!" I sit up and stretch as he wakes up. "We both fell asleep and now it's almost 10!"

"So?" He asks, completely unconcerned. "I'm kinda glad you got some extra sleep for once."

"But we need to have breakfast and open Christmas presents and say hello to your parents and then we have to help them with dinner later and-" he silences me with a kiss, just hard enough to make me stop talking. He pulls away and smiles at me. "That's cheating."

"No it's not. Let's go downstairs."

We both trudge down the stairs in our pajamas to find his parents sitting in the kitchen, enjoying cups of coffee. I shrug and sit down at the table. Collins sits next to me and smiles as he greets his parents.

"Good morning."

"Good morning, Tom. Good morning, Angel. Would you two like anything? Coffee?" His mom asks. I nod, but Collins declines. "You two are up later than usual." She says as she goes to get another mug.

"Yeah. Angel actually slept in today! It was nice."

"I heard someone moving around at 5 this morning though." My dad grumbles. "Was that you, Angel?"

I blush a little and nod my head. "Yeah. I couldn't get back to sleep so I went in Tom's room for a while… Then I fell asleep."

After breakfast there's the traditional family gathering to open Christmas presents. Collins loves the book I got him, and he tells me so- with a not-so-appropriate kiss for in front of his parents. But they just laugh and smile at us. I carefully unwrap the box he hands to me… Oh my gosh, I love this… it's a music box. Ah! I love that song! My favorite things.

"Aw, honey that's so sweet. But you know what one of my favorite things is?"

"What?"

"You." We stay in the living room for a while, having real family-time, and then we clean up wrapping paper and ribbons while Collins' mom and dad go into the kitchen. It's almost noon. I flop down onto the couch, and Collins sits on the armrest next to me.

"Do you… miss your family?" He asks quietly.

"Sometimes. I don't miss my dad though. But my mom and Miguel? Yeah… Don't worry, I'm not going back." I mean it. I'm not even considering it. We sit in silence for a few minutes, and I hold his hand. It's a comfortable silence… Suddenly the phone starts ringing. "What the fuck?" I say, not caring that his parents might hear me.

"Um… that would be a phone, Ang. It rings when someone is trying to contact you." He rolls his eyes and walks over to answer it. "Hello, Collins residence- this is Tom speaking…" His eyes go wide and he looks over at me. "Um… hold on I'll get her." He holds his hand over the phone and shouts into the kitchen. "Mom! Pick up the phone!"

"Who was it?" I ask as he walks back across the room. He sits down next to me and sighs. "What? Who was that?"

"Guess. I mean, who else would it be?" I groan. No, he would not do that.

"My dad?"

"Yeah. He wants you to come home for Christmas dinner." I pause for a moment, thinking.

"Can I go?" I see the look of shock on his face. "I mean, we could all go. You and your parents too. Would that be okay?" He shrugs.

"I guess. I'll ask my mom."

Ten minutes later our plans are set- Collins and his parents and I are all going to have dinner with my family. I'm looking forward to seeing my mom again, and Miguel. I should change my clothes before we go- pajamas might not be the best choice. I leave Collins downstairs when he isn't paying attention and go to my room, shutting the door. I've already picked out my outfit, so there's nothing to worry about yet. I pull the baggy t-shirt off over my head (a shirt I borrowed from Collins because it was so comfortable) and get the dress I picked out of the closet. When I finish dressing I do a spin and turn back towards the door. The door… which is now open a few inches. I sigh and roll my eyes.

"Collins." I say, trying not to laugh. He appears a second later, opening the door a bit more.

"Um… Hi?" He says, grinning at me and blushing. "I uh… didn't know where you went."

"Well you found me. Happy?" I twirl around again, laughing. "I still have to do my makeup. Out of the way, please." I walk past him to the bathroom, pulling my makeup kit out of a drawer. Most of it is still the things Maureen gave me… It seems like such a long time ago. Collins walks in and sits down on the floor. "Are you going to watch me?" I ask him.

"If you don't want me to… I'll go…"

"No, you can stay if you want. Just don't distract me too much… hmmm maybe just you being here is distracting enough." I abandon the supplies on the counter and sit on the floor next to him. "You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. I was thinking you'd be a little more nervous, though. I mean, won't it be weird for you being around your dad all afternoon?"

"I don't know. It's not like he can do anything while your parents are there." I lean against his shoulder and sigh. "Okay, I'm a little nervous. I'm just trying not to show it."

"It's okay." He leans down to kiss me. "Hey, you should finish getting ready. Me too, probably." We laugh and he stands and leaves the bathroom. I get up and go back to doing my makeup, thinking about what's going to happen later…

-Collins' POV-

The short drive to Angel's house is awkwardly silent. My parents aren't exactly excited, but they get how important it is to Angel that we go with her. The first few moments in the house are filled with joyous squeals and lots of hugs between Angel and Miguel and their mom.

"Angel, we missed you!" Miguel says. "Can you come visit more often?"

"We'll see." Angel answered, smiling at her little brother who was now hugging her waist happily. We all sat around the living room chatting, and Angel's father was nowhere to be seen. Angel looked just a little nervous, but comfortable enough to ask about him. "Where's dad? I thought he wanted me to come home."

"Well… We decided it might be best if he wasn't around except during dinner. To avoid any problems." Her mom said, shaking her head. "Ah, I wish our family could just be happy again."

After a few more minutes Angel and her mom go into the kitchen to finish dinner. She shouts to us in that we should sit down at the table. Miguel and I run into the kitchen to help, but Angel smacks me lightly and tells me not to worry. Oh well.

Dinner goes smoothly for a while, even with Angel's dad present. He seems to be trying hard, and that redeems him slightly in my mind. He seems okay with my parents too, but I'm not going to be really happy until we get out of here.

"I'm so glad to be here. I really missed you guys." Angel says, smiling.

"Why did you leave if you wanted to fucking stay?" Her dad says quietly. Everyone hears him, but Angel is the only one who says anything.

"Because you hit me. And I didn't want it to happen again." She tries to stay calm, despite the evil glare she is getting from her dad.

"It wouldn't have happened if you weren't a damn queer!" He shouts. Angel winces and I see tears form in her eyes. I put my arm around her, trying to provide some comfort.

"Ang, it's okay… Don't cry baby. I'm here." I whisper to her, kissing her cheek gently.

"You! Don't you touch my son, fucking fag! Get out! I don't want any of you here anymore!" I stand up and am about to say something when Angel jumps up and runs out of the room.

"I'm going after her." I say to my parents who nod in my direction. "You guys can go ahead and go home. I have a feeling Angel's going to walk there anyway." I leave the house and start down the street hoping to catch up with Angel before she gets home. I don't see her, so I go to find the spare key. It's not there. She must've beat me home. I try the door and it's unlocked.

Angel is not downstairs, so I go up the stairs two at a time. Heading straight to her room, I find it empty. I try my own room next, and find her lying on my bed crying. I don't know how long she's been here, but obviously she ran here because she's already in her pajamas.

"Angel? Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not okay! I just don't get why my dad can't love me. Why can't he just let me be myself?" I sit down on the bed next to her and put my arms around her.

"It's okay. You know I'm here for you, and I'll always love you."

"I know. But… it hurts. And I'm tired… but I don't know if I'll be able to sleep."

"Do you want me to sing for you? That used to help me. My mom would sing any song, and it would always calm me down…"

"Okay. Sure."

I cough a little bit, and try to pick a song. I suddenly remember the perfect song, and start to sing softly.

It's not you, she says

It's just that life's so hard

We all get through, I say

Hang on tight

I'll be your bodyguard

Something's breakin' my baby's heart
Something's breakin' my baby's heart
Something's breakin' my baby's heart
Oh, oh, I just wanna see her smile

I feel her start to relax as I keep singing.

It's such a drag, she says
When the world's so mean
It's just a red flag, I say
Gotta look for the green

Oh, oh, oh
Something's breakin' my baby's heart
Something's breakin' my baby's heart
Something's breakin' my baby's heart
Oh, oh, I just wanna see her smile

Are heartbeats always so loud, so synchronized? Ours are beating together- I can feel it as we lie so close together and she closes her eyes.

Cynical town can be tough on an angel
Clip her wings baby, one, two, three
I'm her clown cause I laugh at
Angels richer than kings
Oh, baby, don't you see?
Baby, don't you agree?

I feel her tense up slightly, but her breathing remains calm and she lies still after a few seconds.

Wish I knew why, she says
But on a sunny day, I find the rain
Let's give it a try, I say
We can dance on through the pain

Something's breakin' my baby's heart
Something's breakin' my baby's heart
Something's breakin' my baby's heart

Oh, oh
Oh, oh
Oh, oh
Ooooh, oh, oh
I just wanna see her smile
I just wanna see her smile
I just wanna see her smile
I just wanna see her
Just wanna see her...smile

I look down at her as I finish the song, and she's sound asleep. So adorable when she's asleep… I close my eyes and hear the song running through my head. I slowly feel myself falling into a deep sleep, content to be alone with my Angel.

Bonus points to anyone who could guess that it was See Her Smile! Truthfully, how many of you saw that coming? Haha. Review please, and tell me how much you loved the nice long chapter… because I spent HOURS of writers-block on this, struggling most of the time. Oh, but I'm in a good mood so it doesn't matter. And blame the weird formatting for the first part of the song on the stupid document page thing. --