Twas the night before Christmas,

When all through the house,

Not a creature was stirring,

Not even a—

"Psssssssstt."

Arthur's lids fluttered open as the harsh hissing filled his ears. With a groan he merely passed it off as a winter wind against the window pane and began falling back to sleep.

"PSSSSSST—Arthur."

Obviously this wasn't some weather phantom but was instead the insistent whispers of a certain Amelia Jones. The young woman sat at his bed-side, her eyes and nose the only things visible beyond the edge of his disheveled comforter. In the dim light of the early morning (the VERY early morning mind you), her bright and eager smile had transformed her into a child once again.

Still, however enthusiastic she might have been, Arthur was not a morning person; not even on Christmas morning.

"Ugh…What day is it?"

He muttered under his breath, gazing back at his newest roommate with a groggy expression.

"The day? Why it's Christmas day!" she answered, stifling a laugh as she inched closer to the head of the bed. "You haven't missed it. The ghosts have done it all in one night!"

While Arthur appreciated the reference to the timeless winter tale, he wasn't about to get up from his warm bed. "I believe the ghosts have come a bit too early for scrooge and he needs his beauty sleep if he's to honor Christmas in his heart all year long."

He turned his back on her and pulled the sheets tighter around him.

Amelia was not to be dissuaded so easily. Without so much as a second thought, she yanked the edge of the covers and slipped in next to him, interlacing her arms about his neck.

"You're such a humbug…Don't you want to see what Santa brought?"

Needless to say any qualms Arthur had had before about waking up had instantly vanished, and he found himself in quite a predicament. He blinked, looking back at his girlfriend with a mixture of surprise and curiosity. Her face was pressed against his neck, the sound of her breathing synchronizing with his to the steady rhythm of a song they composed as one. He felt his cheeks grow hot as she nuzzled his ear, allowing her to draw her arms tighter around him.

"This is supposed to make me want to leave…?" he eventually managed, hiding any unsteadiness in his voice beneath the veil of his cozy bedding.

Amelia smiled sweetly, resting her head against his back in contentment.

"I guess that I can let you sleep in for a few more minutes…"

The few minutes turned into an hour or more as the couple slept side-by-side, Arthur eventually turning over to embrace his partner fully. He believed that he could have stayed like this for the rest of his life…had it not been for the sudden appearance of another one of Santa's helpers.

"Joyeux Noël, mon fuzzybrows~ Oh—I hope I am not interrupting anything important."

Much to his chagrin, Francis had shown himself in and was leaning against the door fame with a satisfied smile slapped on that overconfident mug of his.

The spell had been broken, and the cuddly and inviting Amelia had been before had once again been replaced by the overexcited kid.

"Oh! Good morning, Francis! Nope, nothing too important."

Arthur frowned.

"We were just discussing what we thought Father Christmas had brought is—Isn't that what you call him, Artie?"

"Yes, Amelia. Though he really is the same—"

"Anyway, you haven't opened any present without us, have you?"

Francis' vibrant laugh made Arthur cringe as he sat up in his bed, Amelia having sprung from it to greet the interloper as soon as they'd been discovered.

"Non, non, cheri! Of course I haven't. I was waiting for you, just as you instructed."

"Good," Amelia cautioned, putting a hand to her hip, "Because we all need to look at them together. It's Christmas law."

She waved as she scooted out the door, leaving the two men to their own devices while she prepared for the grand event.

Francis and Arthur exchanged glances briefly, a heavy silence hanging in the room. Francis was the first to break it.

"You didn't—"

"Sod off, Frog. It's none of your concern what we did or didn't do."

"Good, because you promised that I—"

"Look, why don't you go and help Amelia? I already promised that I'd allow you to make breakfast for us since you two were so intent on ruining my fun."

"Oh hon-hon. Don't flatter yourself, mon ami. That is the best Christmas gift I could have asked for."

With that, he stood up from the door frame and sauntered after Amelia, reviling in his small triumph.

It wasn't long before Arthur had cleaned himself up and entered the living room. He was accompanied by one small short-haired cat he and Amelia called their own, who was purring loudly as he nearly made his owner topple to the floor. Amelia was busy bustling about, moving chairs here and there so they could all sit together comfortably, turning on the lights of their "dinky-yet-satisfactory" Christmas tree, and preparing the ritualistic tea and coffee the three had shared nearly every morning since her arrival at the flat.

"Merry Christmas, Arthur!"
"Merry Christmas, Amelia—Now don't work yourself too hard. You have another performance tonight."

"I know, I know," Amelia tutted dismissively. "After the fun of opening presents, I promise that I'll relax, okay?"

Arthur smiled, watching while she continued her work, pausing to pick up Christopher Robin, "Robbie" as she called him, and cradle the feline in her arms. He quickly brushed a thought out of his head and made his way towards the kitchen to see the set of three cups having already been placed for them.

"What did you make this morning, Love?" he called, Amelia still in the other room.

"They had a really great Christmas Chai at the shop last week, so I thought I'd 'borrow' some for us to try."

Francis was standing next to the coffee press, finishing doctoring up his own warm beverage for their festivities. He continued to beam as if he'd discovered some incredible secret, which simultaneously intrigued and infuriated Arthur to no end. Still he ignored him, picked up his favorite china blue mug as well as Amelia's orange-tabby shaped one, and returned to the main room.

Soon the three were seated together, Amelia having rationed out the gifts appropriately, using all of her powers of restraint to keep from either opening the packages immediately or spoil what surprises she'd gotten for the others.

"Why don't we go from oldest to youngest?" she suggested both her and Arthur's gaze inching their way to stare at Francis expectantly.

"Mon dieu, you make me feel so ancient." Francis lifted a hand to his head, pleased when he heard a giggle escape Amelia's lips. "I suppose that I should start then."

Amelia wiggled in her seat next to Arthur, watching as the older gentleman carefully removed the paper to reveal an oblong-shaped box decorated with ribbons and bows.

"Ah! Merci beaucoup! I can always use a new wine glass."

The glass was laced with white etchings, the hand-painted letterings of 'The Weather outside is Frightful' on one side and on the other edge, 'But the wine is so delightful'.

"This is truly a glass fitting of my refined tastes."

Arthur couldn't help but roll his eyes to the praise, but was brought out of his annoyance with a sudden jolt from the presence of Amelia's hands on his shoulders.

"It's your turn, grumpy old man." She insisted, the pure delight in her eyes surprisingly endearing.

"Alright, alright. Let me see here…." Arthur unraveled the gift with as much care and precision as he (and Amelia) could stand. Once it had been freed from its colorful casing, he took a few moments to take in what he was seeing.

"Amelia…Where did you?"

"Do you like it? Really? Oh I saw it online and it made me think of you and I just HAD to get it. I'm sorry if it seems cheesy…"

Arthur turned the white teapot over and over delicately in his hands. Emblazoned with the Union Jack and wrapped in the text "I'm brewing for Britain", it was a quality teapot and came with a matching mug baring the same design. He turned his eyes back up to Amelia, who was literally bouncing beside him, and leaned over to kiss her on her cheek.

"Thank you, Poppet. I believe I've found a new rival for my favorite tea mug."

Amelia blushed, pleased with his response, and returned his sign of affection with her own Eskimo kisses. Francis was use to their dotting behavior by now, and meanwhile preoccupied himself with playing with the cat, dangling a bow before the kitten's face.

"And now it's your turn, Love. Francis and I, just for you, decided to put our differences aside and give you something together."

Amelia's attention fell down to the solitary card that sat in her lap. She'd never had exuberant Christmases. Last year with her cousin had been one of the most extravagant holiday she'd ever experienced; the tree piled with gifts that she was certain Mattie had asked for herself but selflessly offered to Amelia instead. The white envelope was undeniable plain, and lacked the weight to suggest any monetary inserts. Yet, as she opened the flap, golden glitter fell like pixie dust into the air and onto the couch. She ventured onwards, encouraged by the expectant look on the boys' faces, to revealed a small red and green card with hand-written print that no doubt had been done by Arthur.

"Read it aloud, will you mon cheri?"

Amelia sat up straighter in her seat, beginning to recite the intricate words.

"Dear Amelia,

We know that you've been through quite a lot this Christmas and we wouldn't have wished any of it on you. You're a wonderful, beautiful, talented person who deserves nothing but happiness in their life for all the joy you bring to others. Though the circumstances by which it happened were not the best, we're both overjoyed that you've come to stay with us for the Holiday. In thanks, we'd like to present this voucher to you for an all-expense paid…" Amelia stopped short, her hand moving to cover her mouth as she fought back tears. Arthur shifted over to her, placing his arm gently across her shoulders and pulling her close to his side.

Amelia cleared her throat, finding new courage to finish the rest.

"An all-expense paid shopping spree for clothes, materials, and items lost in this winter's past events. We hope that this can be a fresh start for you in the coming New Year as a permanent member of our little family. Love, Arthur and Francis."

Amelia, overcome with emotion, hugged the letter to her chest and let the tears flow unhindered. Arthur rubbed her shoulder supportively, paying no mind when Francis came over to where they were on the coach and spanned his arms across the pair, bringing them into a group hug.

"You deserve it, Ami…And Arthur has already graciously volunteered to be your personal pack-mule."

"Oi, I don't remember signing up for that, Frenchy."

"Somehow I feel it is your duty as her boyfriend to do so, mon bed-head."

"Of course I'm 'mon bed-head', I literally woke up roughly an hour ago! Honestly, you need to come up with more inventive insults."

"At least I do not resort to using ones nationality as a slander."

"Why you—"

The argument was quickly halted by Amelia's boisterous laughter, her eyes still watery with tears, she fell deeper into the group hug with a wide smile.

"Thank you—Thank you both so very much. I couldn't ask for anything more than your friendship and love."

The two conceded to let their quarreling pass in honor of the Christmas season and continued with their day as usual. They spent the afternoon sipping tea, reading stories, and as soon as Amelia returned from her play (and after watching the Doctor Who special) sang carols well into the night. As untraditional as it might have seemed, this Christmas was truly one the three of them would always remember.

Hey there, all! MERRY CHRISTMAS! I'm so sorry that this is late, but the site wouldn't let me upload it yesterday. So have a somewhat-overdue-sappy-christmas fic! Thank you all for sticking with me for so long and I hope you enjoy what's to come!