Disclaimer: I do not own Heroes.
25 December, 2009
Claire woke early on Christmas morning and rolled out of bed, carefully extracting herself form Sylar's arms. She was determined to make him smile unrestrainedly. So, Claire had set her phone on vibrate and tucked it beneath her pillow, determined to make their first Christmas together perfect.
Inching her way across the bedroom floor, Claire slipped into the living room and set about perfecting Christmas morning. Retrieving her presents from their hiding places around the suite, Claire settled in front of the darkened tree and began to rearrange the presents, staggering the boxes and packages around the base of the tree.
The sun was still hidden, darkness and snow coating the world outside of the windows. Snuggling into the blanket Claire had dragged from the couch she surveyed her work. There was nothing like the glint of light off of wrapping paper, or the faint smell of pine and cinnamon swirling in the air.
Rising, Claire discarded the blanket on the couch and padded back to the bedroom. With a little sigh, Claire slipped in beside Sylar, draping herself on top of him.
"Where did you go," he murmured sleepily, arms wrapping around Claire.
Burrowing her head against Sylar's chest, Claire shook her head, "Nowhere."
Body shifting, Sylar pulled Claire further against him, blindly stroking her back and arms as if he was calming an animal. Snuggling further into him, Claire let her hand rest against his chest, enjoying the steady thrum of his heart under her hand, the heat that seeped into her body. Claire had never had trouble falling asleep, but when she laid beside Sylar everything slipped away, even the nightmares.
Claire woke before Sylar, and sat up, straddling his waist. Leaning forward, Claire kissed a line up Sylar's stomach before catching his lips and nipping and sucking at them. Hands rose to clutch her hips, trapping her. A soft groan slipped from Sylar as he was roused to wakefulness.
"I am really enjoying this wake up call," Sylar kissed Claire back, one hand latching onto the back of her neck and holding her firmly in place.
Undulating against him, Claire met each surge of the kiss, fighting for dominance. One swift move had Claire flat on her back with Sylar rising over her, his hands trailing all across her body as he took kiss after kiss. Legs trapped around his waist, Claire arched her back, keeping herself bonded to Sylar.
"Merry Christmas," Sylar breathed as he settled them both on the bed, his weight pressing down on her as he pillowed his head on her chest, his hips cradled between her thighs.
Fingers threaded though his hair, Claire enjoying the silky texture against her skin, "Merry Christmas, are you excited?"
A kiss bled through Claire's thin top, "I already have everything I want."
Claire swallowed the reflexive smile; she didn't want to give away how excited she was for him. Biting her lip, Claire sat up, forcing Sylar to rise as well, "Come on, it's Christmas morning, time to open presents."
Claire forced Sylar out of bed, shirtless, and dragged him into the darkened living room. She watched him, the hesitant footsteps halting, and his amused face went slack as he took in the tree. Slowly, Sylar's face brightened, his smile fixing itself a little wider, his eyes unguarded, and his whole body lifting. With a laugh he swept Claire into his arms and spun her around, face crushed against her neck. Each laughing breath was warm against her skin; it made her shiver pleasurably. Curling his arms around Sylar's neck, Claire stroked the nape of his neck.
At last when he set her on her feet, he locked lips with her, "Thank you."
"Merry Christmas," Claire repeated, pulling him to sit in front of the tree with her, "come on, lots of memories to make."
It seemed like Sylar's hands were never empty. Claire handed him present after present, most of them were little things, jokes, knick knacks that didn't cost a thing, but they made him smile. Just the act of unwrapping gifts while someone he loved looked on enjoying his pleasure made his joy twofold. Sylar had returned the favor easily, his presents were more extravagant, but to Claire that didn't matter. What mattered was that he knew her well enough to gift her with things that she wanted. A book she had skimmed the spine of once, a tiny bear pendant she had pointed out in a magazine, a pack of hair bands because she kept fiddling with her growing locks. The thought that Sylar had put into each present only affirmed the choice Claire had made.
Presents set aside and wrapping paper tossed into the fire, Claire pulled Sylar into her as she sat beneath the tree. In a few quick seconds Claire had arranged herself against him, leaning back against his chest, smiling up at him as he looked down at her. For once it wasn't Sylar that was toting the camera. Claire lifted her phone and snapped a picture of them settled beneath the tree, looking as natural as if it was the millionth time they had taken such a photo.
The digital click startled Sylar enough that Claire managed to pull him down for a kiss and snap a second picture. Dropping the phone to the side, Claire kissed him fully. "I think was my best First Christmas," Claire stroked his smooth cheek. "How are we going to top this next year?"
"Next year," the words were a question and a plea.
Head ducking, Claire bit her lip, "I know that I'm risking you throwing my words back in my face, but I've been thinking about what happens next. What happens when I go back to Virginia?"
His face slackened, the fear rising up just a little before he could quell the instinctual urge to lash out at a potential rejection.
"Are you going to come with me," Claire continued, unsettled as much by the topic at hand as by Sylar's silence.
"Claire," her name was a breath of relief, fears nullified for a moment.
"I mean," Claire powered on, "I sort of already arranged to move out of my dorm, my roommate is kind of freaking me out, and I asked the Haitian to erase her memory of me, and I have permission to live off campus…"
Lips curving upward wryly, and a little roguishly Sylar lifted a hand to rest on her neck, rubbing his thumb across her cheek, "Are you asking me to move in with you?"
Claire giggled as she leaned into his touch, "Not really, that would mean I had somewhere to live."
"What does this mean," Sylar asked, hating how he sounded like a terrible chick flick.
Shifting so that she was sitting in Sylar's lap, Claire kissed him tenderly, lips lingering, hands cupping, their breath shared. After a moment Claire pulled away slightly, her forehead pressed against his, "It means I want to see what we can do together, Sylar, I want to come home to you at night and lay in your arms, and I want to do stupid things like go on dates and have family parties, and I want you, because I've never been this content with who I am with anyone else, because you know me better than anyone else, and you make me feel wanted, just as I am."
Sylar reunited their lips, a need present in his kiss that was fueled by her words, by emotions he hadn't felt at liberty to express, "I love you, Claire. Anything you need, I'll give you."
"Good," Claire smiled and pulled away, phone appearing in her hands.
Sylar watched as she flicked through the photos until she came to the picture of them looking into each other's eyes in front of the glow of the Christmas tree. He watched her fingers tap the screen, selecting the photo before rapidly sending it out to a half a dozen people.
"What did you just do," Sylar breathed in mild horror as he skimmed the list of recipients, "Did you just send that to your father, and Peter, and Matt?"
"And a few others," Claire nodded with a smile, "They'll have to find out sometime."
Rattling, hysterical laughter spilled from Sylar. He began to mutter about being hunted down and killed, Claire quickly stopped him by rising up and kissing him, even as her phone began to chime and buzz as harried texts flew in.
"Merry Christmas, Sylar, I look forward to loving you," Claire breathed.
Sylar's hands raced over her back, keeping her tight against him, "I look forward to convincing you that you already do." They laughed even as they began to kiss again, the whole world melting away until it was just them two.
A/N: 25/25. Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you had a lovely day. I certainly enjoyed spending time with my family and finally finishing this up. Thank you for all of the support. I do so enjoy when December rolls around and I write a chapter a day, really stretches my skill. A have a good morrow, and lots of love from yesterday!