-1-

Christmas morning had been rather eventful for the two of them. Andy had told everyone he knew that they were free to drop by and visit whenever they pleased, and it seemed that everyone had decided to do just that. Quanisha- an old friend who I'm sure you all may remember- could stop by for a moment or two; she and Brett had other plans of their own for the day. Krista came soon after, bringing along Ellen and Howard. She brought presents of her own, and Andy returned the favor, having bought each of them at least something for the holidays.

"Andy, I've never seen your house!" Krista exclaimed, and Andy laughed.

"Mom said the same thing," said he, shrugging. "I guess it's because we were so busy fixing it up for a while."

Ellen and Howard brought more than presents, however. Howard had gotten the courage to bend on one knee and ask for her hand, and she of course, said yes. She was very excited to show off her ring to the two boys; Andy showed rapt interest while Chucky very grouchily admitted it did look rather nice.

Karen had stopped by again, though only for a short while, and she'd brought Mike along. He'd been busy at work, and they didn't have much time, but she'd wanted to drop by again, as all mothers do.

I came around about seven-thirty, even though I'd said I had planned on being there around four. What can I say, things come about and keep me from doing as I please, you know.

"Well, I'm here!" I announced. "And I've brought all sorts of Christmas cheer!"

Andy grinned and gave me a tight embrace. "Please, bring it here," he said, giving Chucky a horrid glance. "He's been the worst at doing any of that."

Chucky looked up with a snarl. "Well, can I help it if I don't feel cheery?" he asked.

I gave a smile then. "Oh dear, is our little Grinch in need of some Christmas magic?" I asked, leaning over and pinching his cheeks.

He was furious, to say the least, slapping my hands away almost immediately.

Something about him was very tense, but I couldn't quite place my finger on it. Even as we had settled, I would notice that his mind would be far off. He wasn't quite as excitable as usual and, as much as I love to prod and tease, it caught my attention and concern. It wasn't as if I hadn't seen him gaze wandering towards a certain handsome young man. And certainly, I'd caught that young man committing the same crime.

It was just that I had noticed that these gazes had grown to become rather fond, and there was an apparent affection in the doll's eyes that replaced the bit they usually held.

It was quite fetching on him, but I daresay, he'd have my tongue for saying such things, and so I tucked away this knowledge to myself.

I am not all very good at picking up hints. I'm no detective- Mike could tell you this with a laugh. I am the worst at discovering secrets, and any subliminal message absolutely must be decoded for me. So believe me, when I tell you that is was obvious that these two needed a push, I mean it was painfully apparent. The tenseness on this subject between the two of them made even me want to scream. Friends- yes, they had seemed to become comfortable with that idea well enough. That next step seemed to be something they were content to tip-toe about.

Well, I, Margaret Peterson, had had quite enough of this ridiculous tip-toing, and thought it was about time for a bit of dancing. A fiery tango, preferably.

It seemed to me that our beloved Charles was getting a bit impatient about the tip-toing bit as well. And the boys don't call me Aunt Maggie for nothing.

"You'll thank me later," I told Chucky as I was hugging them good-bye. He just scowled at me

"For what?" asked he.

"You'll see," I told him with a wink.

I bundled myself up snugly underneath all my layers. "I think you'll want to sit on by the window sometime tonight," I began, whilst poking each finger into its sleeve in my gloves. "There's supposed to be a gorgeous full moon out."

Chucky began to argue, the little incompetent fellow, but I gave him a harsh stare to hush him before continuing.

"Oh, please, do take pictures for me!"

I was appealing to Andy this then, taking his hands and offering up the most dramatic plea I could. "I want at least one perfect photograph of a winter moon! I'll say it's a bonus Christmas present from you to me!"

Andy laughed and rubbed the back of his head, and I could practically see the doll melting. "Of course we will, Aunt Maggie," he assured me. "We'll take a good one, scout's honor."

Sighing contentedly, I buttoned up my coat. "Well," I said, trying to send a sort of mental message to the old grouch. "I guess I'll leave you two alone, then. I'm sure you'll want to rest. I'm off!"

"Good riddance!" called Chucky.

"Chucky, don't be rude. Good-bye, Auntie!" Andy waved affectionately.

Andy held true to his word, and attempted to set up the camera out in a good position on the window bench. He was oblivious as usual.

Chucky, however, was finally proving his intelligence, and noticed his opportunity straightaway.

"You do realize that Aunt Maggie has no fucking clue what she's talking about, right?" he questioned, waiting nervously to see Andy's response. He could feel the apprehension making his hands prickle with sweat. The foulness of being human.

"What're you talking about, baby-doll?" Andy asked, absentmindedly. He was still toying with the camera stand, and Chucky knew that he wasn't all there, but the sudden affectionate pet-name and the situation they were in gave him a minor heart palpitation.

Chucky growled and crawled up onto the bench. He pulled Andy's hands away from the photographing equipment. "Look," he said pointedly, glancing upwards. "There's not full moon out."

"Oh, you know, you're right," Andy mumbled, looking out of the sky. He chuckled breathlessly. "There isn't, is there? Huh."

He sat back on his haunches, but as he moved to do so his head brushed against decorations above him. "Oh," he said, flushing a bit. "Aunt Maggie, you are wicked."

He pointed upwards, as if Chucky hadn't already noticed the blatantly obvious placed mistletoe. "Well, I know you know the tradition about mistletoe," he started.

He leaned in close to kiss Chucky- only he went for his cheek, and I'll tell you right now, that was the absolute worst for the doll.

"Andy, you are such a dumbass!"

Andy was entirely confused and began to laugh out all sorts of questions until Chucky politely told him to shut the fuck up, then proceeded to take the man by surprise by holding his face and pulling them close against the couch pillows, kissing him quite fully on the lips.

It was not the most romantic kiss ever. It was hurried and sloppy, with much raw passion, but not a whole lot of skill- at least not on Andy's part. It was hungry, it was definitely overdue, and I'm sure the desperation could be felt so thickly that it could have been cut.

But it was their first kiss, and I'm sure that it was, if not anything else, terribly memorable for the both of them. And what is Christmas but to make memories?

A/N: Did you see the pattern? I hope you did! If you think you did, let me know! If not, you can always read again, or you can ask me and I'll tell you 3 I hope you enjoyed this, and Merry Christmas, my dears!