AN: This is it! Hoping you love it! More at the bottom. Enjoy!
"Hi," Lucas said softly, lowering his gloved hand after Riley stood in shocked silence for a few moments too long for his liking.
"Hi," Riley breathed back, still wondering if the sight in front of her was real.
"Hi," Lucas said again, sounding a bit nervous. Riley hadn't moved from the doorway, and she was just staring at him, shock written all over her face.
"Surprised?" he asked, and Riley nodded, not saying a word. He took a hesitant step toward her, but when she took a small step back, he stopped, afraid she would bolt.
"Riley, can you please come sit with me so we can talk?" he asked, gesturing to the bench, but she shook her head, still unsure about staying up there with him.
She didn't want to forgive Lucas, and she knew if she sat there and looked at his eyes and that smile, she would. Maybe she was wrong, maybe he didn't want to get back together, maybe he was just trying to salvage their friendship. So, she closed the door, taking a small step out on the roof but coming no closer than that.
"Okay..." he said, putting his hands in his pockets. "I guess we can talk like this. Did you like my surprise downstairs? I know you can't be bought with gifts, but I figured the thoughtfulness would mean something to you."
Riley nodded in understanding but still didn't speak. "I'm so sorry, Riley. I have done so many things wrong these last few months, but especially the last few days. We always said we could talk to each, and I ran away without telling you. You have every right to hate me forever."
"I don't hate you," Riley mumbled, unable to let that comment slide.
Lucas sighed in relief at her words and her voice. "Well, you should. I acted like such a jerk, and I don't even have a good reason for doing it. I didn't want to disappoint you, and I had this whole plan for coming back on New Year's and giving you this magical night to make up for it..."
He took a step toward her and this time she let him. "But it's unfair of me to just assume you'd be here waiting. You've waited on me enough this past year. I should have told you I was leaving. I should have told you a lot of things. I'm so sorry, Riles."
Riley nodded, looking down as tears threatened to spill from her eyes. When she wasn't looking, he rushed to her side, one gloved hand coming under her chin to force her to look at him as the other went to her cheek to wipe away her tears.
"I screwed up. Please, Riley. I don't want to end the year this away. We have worked so hard and come so far-"
"Then why did you throw it all away, Lucas? Why were you so careless with my feelings? With my heart?" Riley asked, turning so she could break away from the hold he had on her.
"Because I'm an idiot. Because I can't stand to see you cry. Because my feelings for you terrify me," he offered, pleading with her as he came up behind her.
She turned around with fire in her eyes. "And don't you think I'm scared, too?"
She shook her head, holding her hands up to keep him from touching her. "I can't keep doing this, Lucas. I can't keep falling for you and not being caught."
Lucas grabbed her shoulders. "I'll catch you. I promise. You can count on me now."
"How can I know that?"
Lucas looked down, reaching into his pocket. "Because I lost you 10 hours ago and they have been the worst 10 hours of my life. I don't want to go another minute without you in it."
He pulled out his gift to her. "Merry Christmas."
She took the box, opening it and gasping at the locket as she read the inscription on the back. "The beginning?"
"Please say we have more than a beginning, Riley. I want more. I need more."
She turned the locket over, examining each charm and thinking about their friendship, the past 2 years, and every moment they had ever shared. The subway car was easy to spot- where they first met, where they first kissed. A book to represent the library, where they first connected. The princess crown was a reminder that she would always be a princess to him.
She laughed at the sight of the bucket, thinking back to a time when she threw one on his head and questioned his worth. A window, which symbolized her whole life and every important bay window conversation she had ever had. The leaf she gave him and the purple jelly bean he gave her. She understood the teddy bear, remembering the conversation they had when she lost Barry.
She stared at the purple heart and the bright blue ball, not a hundred percent sure what they meant and the inscription around the edge that read 'Love is Patient, Love is Kind.'
Her brows furrowed, attempting to decipher what he was trying to say. what the locket meant.
"The ball and the heart?" she asked.
He laughed, grabbing the locket and running his fingers over it. "That ball is supposed to represent Pluto. I know we talk about what we believe all the time, but when you told me you believed in Pluto, I started believing in you, Riley, and that heart? It's mine. I'm giving it to you because you've had it from the moment you walked down to meet me in the subway station in that purple dress on our very first date."
"Love is patient, love is kind," he read, taking the antique key she still held in one hand and sliding it onto the chain. "That key represents the key to your heart, and when you're ready, I want you to give it back to me. I promise I won't be so careless this time."
He turned her around and put the locket around her neck. "The chain is long so you can always keep my heart close to yours, where it belongs. When you're ready, I'll do the same."
He reached under his collar and pulled out the empty chain he was wearing around his neck. "I want to cherish and protect your heart... Riley, you are patient and kind, and I... I love you. I'm in love with you. I don't want scare you off-"
He stopped talking as he watched her take off the locket, disappointment clouding his features. He pushed too hard. He was too late. He turned away, staring out over the city that he only loved because she was in it, unable to watch her walk away from him.
When her deep green gloved hand touched his arm, he looked down at it with tears glistening in his eyes. She tried to get him to turn around, but he didn't want to. He couldn't handle it if she gave him the locket back.
"Lucas..." she said gently.
"Riley, I-" he started as he finally faced her. He stopped talking when he saw that she had the locket back on. His mouth stood open in awed surprise as he noticed her tiny hand, holding the key out to him.
"You should have this back," she said, giving him a hopeful smile. "It belongs to you."
She reached up around his neck, unclasping his chain and sliding the key on it before clasping it back, letting the key fall with a thud onto his coat. His arms automatically slid around her waist like they belonged there. She kept her hands around his neck, playing with the hair at the nape shyly.
She looked up into his eyes, taking in his shock and amazement. She glanced down at the key, biting her lip. Slowly, hesitantly, she said, "I love you, too, Lucas. I'm in love with you."
She finished with a whisper, "Please take care of my heart."
He leaned in, capturing her lips with his. They had kissed a few times, mostly to say good night after a date, but this kiss was entirely different. It wasn't chaste, and it certainly wasn't a goodbye. It was slow and sweet and full of the promise of a million more kisses. It was the kind of kiss that felt like coming home, like a summer's rain and a blazing fire all rolled up into one.
Riley didn't know how long they kissed, but when they pulled away both were smiling.
"I take it this means you forgive me?" Lucas asked.
"Oh no! Definitely not, Cowboy. You need to do a lot of groveling! Some serious apology groveling," she teased.
"Riley!" Lucas groaned, placing his head where neck met her shoulder. "I can't stand it! The thought of you being mad, of you not being mine, of you not kissing me!"
Riley grabbed his chin, giving him a short kiss. "Who said we couldn't kiss? Or that I wasn't yours?"
He smiled. "But you are still mad?"
"I'm still mad," she confirmed. "But I still love you, and I still want to be your girlfriend, that is if you still-"
"Oh, I still! I very still! I will always choose you, Riley. Always."
He grabbed her hand and began to lead her back into the apartment when the snow started to gently fall in the sky. She stopped, pulling him back into her arms.
"Let's stay out here just for a little while longer. I love watching the snow fall."
Lucas nodded, kissing her once more. "Merry Christmas, Riley."
"Merry Christmas, Lucas."
AN: So that's it. My Christmas story wrapped up in a neat little bow. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. If it seems too easy for Riley to forgive, that's because it is. She is a good person and her heart would be full at Christmastime. Tell me what you think!
I'm hoping to update Tipping the Scales sometime this weekend, but I will be very busy the next few days, for obvious reasons. Enjoy your time with your families and loved ones, and if this time of year is hard for you, I pray you find comfort and peace.
Merry Christmas Eve Eve!