Today is Christmas Eve and I have much to do. I know that our cousin, Claire Redfield, would not be able to make it in this Christmas, which greatly depressed me. I always looked forward to spending time with her, regardless I wanted everything spick and span for the holidays this year. I changed quickly and went to wake Chris and Piers from their slumber. Needless to say they weren't excited to see me so early in the morning, but I could care less at this moment in time. So much needs to be done to prepare for the next day.
I heated up a few frozen cherry tarts for breakfast since I knew that Chris would not stand to skip a meal if it could be avoided. The men finally lumbered down, sleep lines still crisscrossing their faces. I smiled brightly at both of them, serving them the hot and delicious pastries.
"What is wrong with you?" Chris asked as I whirled about the kitchen, getting ready for the cooking marathon that I would prepare today.
"Nothing is wrong, Chris," I retorted, climbing down off the step-stool and placing the metal mixing bowl on the counter. "Tomorrow is Christmas, we have to be ready!" Chris simply cocked his eyebrow at me, not understanding what I was meaning.
"Piers, after breakfast, I need you to start cleaning the downstairs. I mean, vacuuming, dusting, polishing, etc," I said turning to the other man whom had been silent up until this point. He looked up at me in surprise.
"And Chris, I want you to do the same upstairs," I said, turning back to my brother.
"W-what?" Chris stammered.
"Yes, if you two are to be a part of this household this Christmas, I need your help getting ready! And don't act like you two can't do this. You fight bioterrorism day in and day out, yet you two get cowed by the mere mention of dusting!" I replied, putting my hands on my hips. "How sad!"
The men turned and looked at each other, their eyes wide in shock. The holiday monster had consumed Sierra. They had never even bothered to think of the technicalities that went into the celebrations. All they had ever known was the fun and joy in being around family on Christmas day.
"And what are you going to be doing?" Chris asked, getting his voice back.
"Cooking," I replied simply.
"Do I get to help you?" Chris asked, perking up. I knew he would try to worm his way out of his assigned chores and help me cook which would be much more interesting.
"Nope," I replied with an evil smile.
"Dammit Sierra!" Chris swore. I could only laugh at his pathetic attempts. So I turned my attention back to the last few bites of my waffle.
As soon as Chris and Piers had taken the last bite of their breakfast I shooed the both of them from the kitchen. I needed to hurry and clean up the few dirty dishes before started on creating the magnificent feast for tomorrow. My plan was to cook everything today and simply heat it all back up tomorrow, so I wouldn't have to spend my Christmas day slaving over a hot oven.
For the next few hours I spent running around cooking the honeyed ham, green casserole covered in bacon, rolls and croissants, candied yams, cranberry salad. Whilst all that food was either cooking I prepared the fudge, cheesecake and sweet pomegranate sauce, caramel apple pie, eggnog, and wassal. The kitchen was filled with the aromatic scents of the holiday that I so love.
I passed the time by singing my favorite carols, twirling around the kitchen with my mixing bowls. Back when I had been younger and naïve I had dreamed about becoming an internationally recognized singer. As I grew older I realized this had only been the fantasy of a little girl. I quickly learned the ways of the world and realized that the job that my brother had was much more interesting and honorable than a singer. Yet, I still loved to sing when I had to do chores.
"Damn it smells delicious in here!" Piers swore when he walked into the kitchen to grab a sandwich for lunch, almost three hours later. I smiled up at him, taking a moment's break from cooking.
"Have you taken a single break?" he asked, sitting down at the counter. I shook my head and poured the fudge batter into a pan. I slid the pan into the second oven before turning back to face him, wiping my hands on my shirt.
"Sierra, take a minute and eat something!" Piers pulled out the seat beside him, patting it, but then the timer went off for the rolls. I shot him an apologetic look and scurried to take them out to cool.
"How is the cleaning coming?" I asked, putting the rolls into a woven basket.
"It's alright," Piers replied. "I don't suspect it will be too much longer until I am finished down here."
"Wonderful!" I smiled and sat down for the first time since breakfast.
Finally, after about seven hours of cooking, baking, and mixing, I had finished all the cooking. Chris and Piers joined me on the couch for a respite after their day of intense cleaning. Everything looked beautiful, but something was missing. I quickly figured out that the Christmas tree was still bare. Chris had refused to trim the tree until after celebrating my birthday, there for separating the holiday from my birthday.
"Chris, Piers, we must decorate the tree!" I exclaimed.
"Shit, you're right," Chris muttered. "Here I'll make the popcorn and get cranberries for stringing. Piers, will you get the boxes if Sierra shows you where they are?"
"Of course Captain!" Piers replied, smiling his dazzling smile. I pulled myself off the couch and lead Piers up three flights of stairs into the dark reaches of the attic. I didn't necessarily like being up here, but Piers took care of the large boxes that held the decorations we were looking for. I went to get one, but he stopped me.
"You've done enough, go relax and I'll get these," Piers said. I sighed and walked back down, Piers following me. I opened the box after he set it on the floor in front of the tree. Chris walked in a bowl of popcorn and a bowl of fresh cranberries in each arm.
"Lookie Chris!" I vociferated excitedly. I pulled a homemade ornament out of the large box and held it up for him to see. It looked much like a hardened dog biscuit that was painted green. On one side it had Christopher James Redfieldscrawled in the obvious handwriting of a small child.
"Put it away!" Chris hissed with a scowl as Piers entered the room once more, carrying another large box.
"It's adorable Captain!" Piers said, barely covering his snickers. Chris set down the bowls with a glare. I smirked and hung the small ornament on the tree beside me, the first of many.
"I think I need a drink," Chris retorted.
"Oh no you don't!" Piers replied sternly looking up at Chris. I looked between the two men with curiosity.
"I can handle myself," Chris said.
"You are not going to ruin this Christmas with your addiction," Piers shot back. "You owe it to Sierra."
"What?!" I exclaimed. "Since when did you become an alcoholic?!"
"Misty," Chris said with a sigh. He suddenly sounded tired, like he hadn't rested in many weeks. "I lost my whole squad in Edonia." Chris floundered for a better explanation, but of course he failed.
"It runs in the family," Chris said, trying once more to explain himself again. "Dad, Uncle Henry, and Grandfather were all alcoholics."
"I never saw them drink," I replied.
"That's because dad was never around after you were born. Uncle Henry died of liver failure, caused by his drinking, and Grandfather tried his hardest to hide it from you when he came to visit," Chris said. I sat there on the floor in shock. I felt like my whole life had been a lie. Every male in my life had turned to alcohol.
"It was hard on Chris," Piers said taking up Chris' story. I looked at him, trying to keep my eyes from watering.
"I had a hard time finding him afterwards, and by that time he had already turned to alcohol. But Sierra, he hasn't had any alcohol, save the glasses of wine we have had with dinner," Piers explained gently. I nodded and turned back to the boxes beside me.
An awkward passed between the three of us, but it quickly passed as a log in the fire place popped, causing me to jump. Chris and Piers laughed at my reaction and soon the mood returned to normal. Together we worked together to put the rest of the ornaments on the tree. We laughed at the silly little things we had made as children, wondering what the hell the teachers had been on when we they had asked us to make them. Piers even helped string the lights.
Once all the decorations were up we were almost finished trimming the tree. I brought out the sewing kit which was mainly only used at Christmas for this specific purpose. We sat in front of the TV watching the Christmas specials as we created our popcorn and cranberry strings to drape across the tree. It took Piers a while to get the hang of it, but after about ten tries he finally got it.
I couldn't help but smile as Chris leaned across the bowls and pressed a kernel of popcorn into Piers' mouth. Piers opened his lips to accept the foreign object, much to Chris' obvious delight. His thumb brushed across the stubble that had begun to form on Piers' face, and I saw the younger man shiver slightly at the subtle touch. His electricity sparked under his skin as he stared into the hazel eyes of my brother.
After about an hour or so, we had finished about eight different strands. Chris helped to adorn the tree with the strands on the high portion of the tall tree where neither Piers' nor I could reach by ourselves. The tree was absolutely gorgeous now, all decked out. To finish everything off Chris set the bright, stained glass star at the top of the tree.
I stood back and admired our work, tears burned my eyes. I was so happy. I turned to the two of them and threw my arms around them, hugging them tightly. Chris and Piers seemed taken aback by this sudden show of affection, but wrapped their strong arms around my slender frame. I couldn't have even imagined a better Christmas.
I went to put the remaining tissue paper back into the decoration tubs when I saw something sparkling at the bottom of one. I pulled it out and burst into a fit of giggles. It was a Santa hat my aunt had given me when I was seven. It had a very long tail and was completely covered in red sequins.
"What are you laughing at?" Chris asked from where he now sat, in the wingback chair that faced the fire. His back was to me, light bulb went off in my mind as I got the most wonderful idea. A grin spread across my lips as I stood quietly; using the silent step I had learned during training in the BSAA, I snuck up behind him.
"Sierra?" Chris asked, my silence tipping him off. I pulled the hat down over his head before skipping out of arms reach, giggling manically.
"You make one sexy Santa," Piers smirked. "Tell me; am I on the nice list?"
"I believe Piers Robert Nivens, that you are on the naughty list," Chris replied, his voice low as he replied in a voice I had never heard him use before.
"Mmm, tell me more," Piers purred, climbing on to Chris' lap, straddling the larger man. His hands gripped my brother's hips, pressing his lips against Chris'. Chris wrapped his arms around Piers, allowing his fellow man to explore his mouth. Piers moved closer as his heart rate increased, moving his mouth away from Chris', following the strong jaw-line. Chris felt like he was simply melting, giving way to Piers' demands. If he had not been sitting down already Chris was sure his legs would have given out. He had never felt this sort of fiery passion, filled with only the intense need of more before, and only Piers could satisfy that need.
This outward display of such affection told me that it was time for me to leave. I slipped out of the room, heading up to my room. Now was the perfect time to wrap the presents for the two men, which were currently still hidden in the back of my closet. Even though the scene had taken me by surprise I could only smile, my brother was finally happy with the man of his dreams. It was written all over the way they behaved together.
