Atonement
By Seniya
X-mas
I'll have a Blue Christmas without you
I'll be so blue thinking about you
Decorations of red on a green Christmas tree
Won't be the same dear, if you're not here with me
And the when those blue snowflakes start fallin'
That's when those blue memories start callin'
You'll be doin' all right, with your Christmas of white
But I'll have a blue, blue, blue, blue Christmas
Blue Christmas By Elvis Presley
Christmas wasn't a Meridian tradition – it could never be. It collided to the day with the Festival of the Sun, which was still, in Caleb's mind a far more interesting holiday.
Christmas from what he understood of it, involved gift giving and over eating – quite similar in fact to most Earth holidays – although this one seemed to be given a great deal more attention.
It truly made very little sense to him exactly why Will should be so excited about it – and truly, she was, even though he did his best to dampen her joyful mood.
"But you've always had Christmas, can't we for once go to the sun festival?" None too fond of men made of gingerbread or tinsel, Caleb had truly been anticipating this year's winter solely for the fact that it was his turn.
Yes turn, for they'd been alternating.
One year for Christmas, and the next for the Sun Festival. However, it had dawned on Caleb, sometime in November that since they'd been married he'd never gotten his chance, despite all of his best efforts.
He couldn't even remember how that had happened—
Never mind that now though, this year would be different, he attempted to explain it all to Will, who was currently draping cotton balls over a large Pine tree, "We are going to the Sun Festival. I'm the man of this house…and that accounts for something Woman!"
She for the most part, ignored him; it was only when he began to tug at the strings of popcorn that she had just placed above the doorway that she began to take offence. "Tell me Caleb, what is the point of having a sun festival in the dead of winter?"
"Oh, so now I see your true feelings! You've never liked the Sun Festival – you don't even let me have my turn!" Aware of just how childish this entire conversation sounded, Caleb grew silent, returning his attention instead to the evil decorations that were defacing their house.
"It's not that I don't let you have your turn Caleb. It's simply that every year you always tell me that you want to celebrate Christmas instead." She was in front of him now, attempting to pry her garlands away from his fist.
"That's ridiculous." He had no real recollection of that – although – all right fine, perhaps the year before he had allowed her to have her Christmas after she'd sauntered into his bedroom clad in the most delectable pair of undergarments that he'd ever laid his eyes on – and all right, last year too, when she'd slipped into his bath wearing nothing but a smile with her long hair dripping wet and – wait, was he noticing a pattern here?
"You," he stared at her with new eyes, "you've been…you've been…" He checked out of the corner of his eye to ensure that Juliana, now a precious two years, was still distracted with one of her puppets on the floor before he continued, "seducing me to get your wicked holiday."
She nearly laughed, but he did catch the slight blush that stained her cheeks. "That's silly Caleb, how could I possibly do something like that?"
"You could…and you have been!" She'd managed to wrestle her strings away from his stubborn fingers, and so she rolled her eyes because he no longer had any sort of leverage against her.
"Well, if I have, it's your fault isn't it? Really, allow me to take advantage of you."
His fault? As if! The woman knew that he had no control where she was concerned. "And besides," she threw him a knowing look from beneath the shadows of her winged russet brows, "Juliana loves Christmas. She's looking forward to Santa. You would be sadistic to take that away from her."
"That's because you keep putting it in her head!" Come to think of it, all this talk of Juliana brought to his mind the winter time, three years ago when Will had – Oh Gods yes – been covered in caramel from her baking and allowed him to…well, you understand – oh yes, there was definitely a pattern here.
Well, it ended tonight! "Juliana is two, her favourite word is sheep! She doesn't understand Christmas."
"And so what? You want to take her to the Sun Festival because she'll understand that?"
"You don't even know what they do at the Sun Festival."
"I know that they don't celebrate love and peace and goodwill to all men."
"It…" It was true; the majority of the Sun Festival concerned the celebration of crops and farmers – and of course, everyone's favourite, wild boar wrestling. No, he wouldn't miss it this year! "Fair's fair Wilma. And we are going to the Sun Festival this year. End of discussion."
Will stared at him blankly for a while, and he half expected her to continue on with the argument, but instead she shrugged her shoulders and muttered a soft "all right" before walking over to Juliana's resting place and scooping her up in her arms. "I'm taking her upstairs for her bath."
Well that was downright suspicious, Caleb decided, and having been left to his thoughts for a good ten minutes, he imagined that she was planning something with her little Christmas loving self.
Yes, that had to be it.
Well, of course he wouldn't be totally opposed to her donning that lovely set of red lacy things that she'd worn that one time – and if she wanted to cover herself in syrup again for his delight, then so be it. Only this time, he'd keep his mouth shut. She'd never get him to promise anything like that again!
He waited for her to finish giving Juliana her bath and then for her to take her own before venturing upstairs. There he took his own shower, and darted off to Juliana's nursery to wish his daughter good night.
He entered his own room with a great deal more caution, half expecting her to jump him right then and there – he'd be disappointed however. She was sitting at her vanity, quietly, too quietly, brushing the tangles from her marvellous crimson hair.
He watched her for a while, waiting for it : the bait – which of course didn't come. She just kept tugging at her hair, which was, after ten minutes of non-stop grooming, perfectly tame, but still, she went on.
If she thought that this would work – well, she was right. Gods, how he loved her hair, and as it glistened now in the slight glow from the candles, all he could do was to imagine his fingers lost in the sweet, silky tendrils.
When she was finally finished, he was already seated on their bed, dressed in his own bedclothes, watching her as she stretched her limbs languidly. She seemed to have only now noticed him – right.
"It's cold tonight isn't it?"
Ah, here it was. He smiled to himself, folding his arms across his chest and watching her as she walked nearer, well he'd play along. "I suppose so. Will, Love, now you aren't upset with me, are you?"
"Of course not love." She slipped into the bed so that she was straddling him, then she dipped her head so that her long curtain of hair surrounded them. "It's like you said," he felt the soft brush of her lips against his nose, coupled with the feather light touch of her fingers on his naked chest, "fair's fair."
Damn – the woman was good at this. He was never one to complain at the surprising change his little, quiet, shy Will would undertake once alone with him, the way that she moved her lips and her hands and her teeth, to kiss and taunt every burning inch of his face, neck and chest – well it was no wonder that he'd succumb the last three times.
But the time that she'd started on her own shirt, he was helping her against all better judgment, pulling at the snap of her pants, and running his arms over the graceful curve of her –
"Is this what you want Caleb?" He heard her hot whisper against his cheek even as she slipped out of her nightshirt.
"You know that it is." The pants had vanished now, and she met his lips with hers, sipping her tongue within to explore and of course, to tempt him further. "Are you going to give me what I want then?" She breathed, and for the first time he smiled openly at her, feeling remarkably proud of his accomplishment as he did, "Now Angel, that wouldn't be fair now would it?"
"No…" He felt the warmth of her tongue over the shell of his ear, the teasing kisses of her fingertips as they fluttered about the knot of his pants. "…I should be fair to you." And then she clamoured off of him.
It took him a full half-minute to realize that she'd gone. Walked away the same way that she'd come, only this time, she was moving stark naked, exaggerating each careful swing of her wonderful body.
She slipped under the covers on her side of the bed without another word. And it slowly dawned on him that she was perhaps waiting for him to say something.
"What?" His heart was still racing, surprisingly; he'd thought that all the blood in his body had fled to certain other places. "What…y-you're…you're going to sleep?"
He noticed the careless movement of her shoulders even though she had turned on her side, backing him. "I'm tired."
"Y-You're tired?" He sputtered. This had to be a joke.
"Yes. I'll have to conserve my energy for the rigors of the Sun Festival." She turned on her back to yawn exaggeratedly, arching her back and curling her toes in the most provocative manner imaginable. "I might be tired until after New Years. Who can tell?"
Yes, his wife was cunning, and by heaven, he loved her all the more for it.
He'd pulled her on top of him within the next few seconds, distinctly avoiding her smug grin as he whispered against her neck, "All right, you win. We'll have Christmas this year."
Author: You know, this might be the first one of these that I really actually liked. It was so much fun to do. And it's actually based on an idea that one of my Zutara people gave me for a plot. So thanks for that.
Well, of course I'm not alone darlings. It'll be a sad cold day when there are no WillxCaleb fans left.
Thanks for the support so far, three more chapters left and so it should be completed by Sunday if I'm not messed up. One other one has mentions of smex (which by the way just means sex between a really hot cartoon character and some girl of your choosing) and after that I'll leave with some fluff and According To Plan.
Reviews always make me happy.