Naughty vs. Nice

May the miracle of Christmas fill your heart with warmth and love.

December 24, 2018

"Ladies and gentleman, we are now beginning our decent into Liverpool."

Eddie's head snapped up as he heard the pilot announce their landing. He lifted the shade that covered the window, letting the bright afternoon light flood in his row.

He turned to his other side, seeing a sleeping Patricia curled into his side. "Yacker, wake up," he whispered nudging her. "Come on, we're landing," he said again, but it was no use, she was such a heavy sleeper.

He quickly gathered their few belongings, just in time for the bumpy landing to wake Patricia up.

"We landed?" Patricia yawned. "Why didn't you wake me?"

Eddie chuckled, "Guess it didn't cross my mind." She just rolled her eyes.

Patricia was not in the mood to have landed at their destination so soon. The last thing she wanted to do was spend Christmas with her parents completely jet-lagged. Sure, she only saw her parents once a year, but to be honest, she even thought that was too often. Her parents never really cared for her too much, leaving her pretty independent for most of her childhood, and even more so when she was sent off to boarding school. She couldn't blame them though, going to Anubis had probably been the best thing they'd done for her. She'd met lifelong friends, battled ancient Egyptian spirits, and met someone who cared for her more than she thought anyone ever could.

"Scared or something, Yacker?" Eddie teased when he noticed she had unconsciously snuggled back into his side.

"No," she huffed, removing herself from their physical contact. "I'm just... tired."

"You're always tired," Eddie pointed out.

Patricia sent him a glare, from which he immediately felt bad. He didn't want to upset her on Christmas, especially because he'd already done so on her birthday.

"Look," she said, softening, "I just don't want to see my parents, okay?"

"Finally you admit it," Eddie joked, but she didn't think it was that funny. He sighed and threw his arm around her shoulder, pulling her back to him. "Hey, it's just one day, we can do this," he reassured her, and she just nodded.

"Besides, you're not the one with something to worry about," Eddie muttered, just soft enough for her not to hear.

If Eddie was to be honest, he was completely shaking in his shoes about the whole proposal thing. Right below them, amongst all the other suitcases and duffel bags, was Eddie's dark green and black duffel bag. There, tucked deep inside his folded clothing, was the ring, covered in all the bubble wrap and tissue paper he could find. He figured having it with him during the flight wasn't the best idea. Patricia would've easily found it, so he took every precaution he could think of when packing it in his bag.

What if it had broken during the flight? He didn't really know if engagement rings broke or anything like that, but he had to be sure it made it there safely. That was the first important thing that he had to make sure didn't go wrong.

The second, of course, was Patricia's father. He was very... opinionated to say the least and well, his opinion of Eddie wasn't really that great. In his eyes, Eddie was the rebellious boyfriend who dragged his daughter on an expensive summer vacation, broke her heart, and then somehow managed to 'woo' her back, and off to America once again. Eddie didn't really understand why he was seen as this, because no matter how many times Patricia told her dad the real story, he never changed his mind.

So if at that exact moment on the plane, Patricia had asked to turn around and fly back home, he probably would have said yes. It was a good thing she didn't though, and he followed her off the plane, because he knew if he didn't get this over with now, he would soon regret it.

2 hours later, Eddie sat on a bench in front of baggage claim, stuck on level 252 of candy crush. He hadn't realized they had been waiting two hours, until he looked up to find the baggage claim, where his luggage was suppose to be, completely empty. Patricia was fast asleep on his shoulder, once again. She had already gotten her black suitcase, so Eddie's duffel bag was the only problem. Except, it was actually a big problem.

He shoved his phone in his pocket, carefully getting up without waking Patricia, and marched over to the airline office. Two hours to wait for luggage? Something wasn't right.

He told the guy at the desk the problem, along with his name and flight number as he watched him type them quickly into the computer. After a few moments of clicking and scrolling, he finally spoke up.

"I'm sorry sir, we have misplaced your luggage."

Eddie let out a groan, which he probably wouldn't have done so rudely if one very important item wasn't stowed away in it.

"If you give us the address of the place you are staying during your trip, we will be more than happy to deliver it to you directly as soon as it is found," the guy added with a fake smile.

Eddie didn't really have any other option, so he wrote down the address to the Williamson's, as well as to his father's, before muttering a 'thank you,' and making his way back to Patricia.

She was awake when he returned, and noticed his sulking. "Thanks for telling me where you were going," she muttered, standing up. "Something go wrong?"

"They lost my luggage."

Patricia just shrugged it off. "Don't be such a wuss, it's just clothes. It's not like you had millions of different outfits anyway."

If only she knew.

"Piper they're absolutely lovely!" Catherine Williamson exclaimed as she held up her new fancy place-mats she just received from the newlywed Reeds.

"Glad you like them!" Piper gushed. "Ben and I figured you could use them tonight at dinner!"

"That's a wonderful idea," Catherine smiled, walking over and hugging both Ben and Piper.

"Alright dad, your turn!"

Marshall Williamson opened his package to reveal a Great Britain Olympic football jersey, signed and framed. Before he could say anything, Ben decided to explain.

"I got my hands on it not too long ago. My old family friend actually used to be a coach, taught me everything I know, and I figured this would go perfect with your collection," Ben boasted. Piper's father used to play football, way back when, and had always been an over-the-top fan ever since, making him and Ben get along just fine.

"Thank you, Ben," he said shaking his hand. "And you too Piper," he smiled. He absolutely loved that Piper had found someone so perfect, and they were even having a child. He had almost lost hope when his other daughter had-

"We're here!" Patricia called with fake enthusiasm as she entered through the front door, followed by Eddie and the only suitcase they currently had. They received intense stares from her parents, also noticing they'd already decided to open presents without them.

"What took you so long?" Catherine questioned.

"They lost my luggage," Eddie explained with a flat smile.

"Which is also where your presents are..." Patricia said, feeling awkward under their watch as she sat down on the couch opposite Ben and Piper, Eddie right next to her.

"Next time you should be more careful with your belongings," Mr. Williamson warned, mostly directing his words at Eddie.

Eddie just nodded, not wanting to get on the wrong foot already by defending himself. It wasn't his fault the luggage was lost. If he had any say in it, it would've been here safe and sound. He had to restrain from throwing a protective arm around Patricia as well, for his sake as much as hers, remembering she hated any displays of affection around her parents. She felt so judged all the time around them, as did Eddie, so he respected her wishes, no matter how much they both needed it.

The awkward conversations continued between the six of them, mostly about Ben, Piper, the wedding, and honeymoon. Patricia had been doing a good job of redirecting any questions regarding them to someone else. It was already bad enough that they had missed presents.

Luckily her parents soon retreated to the kitchen to ready the Christmas Eve dinner, leaving the other four to themselves.

"I'm gonna... take my suitcase upstairs," Patricia muttered, standing up. Eddie stood up too, to follow her up to the room, but she gave him this look, as if to say she needed alone time. He sunk back into the couch, and couldn't help but worry about her as she trudged up the stairs.

"Are you guys alright?" Ben asked, Piper sharing the same look of concern.

"Yeah, she's just tired and I'm upset they lost my luggage-"

"Eddie, it's just luggage," Piper interrupted. "Nothing in there could be that important, right?"

"Actually..." Eddie trailed off, and Ben picked up on exactly what he was talking about.

"It was in your bag?" He asked, and Eddie nodded in shame. He should've had it in his possession.

"What was?" Piper asked, looking quickly between the two of them. "Well?"

"The engagement ring," Ben explained, seeing as Eddie was still staring off into space. "He was going to propose to your sister-"

"Today?!" Piper interrupted, quite loudly, earning a stern shushing from Eddie.

"I'm supposed to ask your dad or something first," he grumbled, "And by the looks of it, things aren't going to go well."

Piper nodded in understanding, before hopping up as quickly as her belly would let her. "Let me help you." Eddie was about to protest, having no idea what Piper was capable of, but it was too late, she had already vanished into the kitchen, seconds later returning with her Father right behind.

"Dad, Eddie has something he needs to ask you," Piper said in her sweetest voice, which, Eddie assumed, worked for her every time.

Mr. Williamson sat down in an arm chair in between the couches Eddie and Ben were on. Ben wasn't there for long though, because Piper soon lead him away, leaving Eddie in the most uncomfortable position he would ever be in.

"Well... sir," Eddie started, wishing he had thought more about this in advance.

"I have a feeling I know where this is going," Marshall said, standing up so he completely towered over Eddie, making things worse. "Let's take this to my office."

"How do you think it's gonna go?" Piper asked, her head turned towards Ben as they both lay there on the bed.

"You're dad's pretty intimidating," Ben admitted, "But, Eddie will be fine, he can do intimidating, especially for Patricia."

Piper nodded in agreement. "Was he intimidating when you asked him?" She questioned, curiosity getting the better of her.

"A little."

Piper nodded again, but she seemed like she wanted to know more.

"You want me to tell you the whole story?"

"Yes!" Piper exclaimed, giggling as Ben grabbed her hand.

"Well, first I told him the story of the day I met the most beautiful girl in the world..."

"What?!" Eddie exclaimed, then realizing he needed to do a better job at holding it together.

"I know, you want to be with Piper instead of Patricia, but it's just not going to work out, she's with Ben, and she'll only ever be with Ben. If I ever found out that you come between them-"

"No, sir," Eddie interrupted. "I would never come between them, and I don't want to marry Piper, I want to marry Patricia. That's what I wanted to ask you."

Eddie was so confused. He had followed the twin's father into his office to receive a lecture on how it was wrong to steal Piper from Ben. It was comical to think of him ever being with Piper, because it would never happen, but it also angered him that Patricia's own father had no regards for her feelings whatsoever.

"Patricia?" He asked, and Eddie nodded. Then he started chuckling. "You want to marry Patricia?! She doesn't even like you!"

Eddie was so taken aback at his bluntness. "What do you mean... sir?"

"I have never seen you two act like a real couple, she's just with you until she finds someone who actually cares for her. Do you see how Ben treats Piper? That's how a man should act."

Eddie was fuming at this point, to say the least. It took everything inside of him not to stand up and shout how Patricia feels to judged to show affection around them, or how much he himself had been through to protect her, or even the fact that Ben hadn't always been a gentlemen. "I can assure you that I care more about Patricia than anyone else in the world," he said after taking a deep breath, "and it is not just one-sided."

Her father shrugged. "Alright, propose to her. If she says yes, you can have her, if not, don't come crying back to me." With that said, he left the room.

Eddie sat there completely bewildered. Marshall's words replayed over and over in his mind. 'You can have her.' What kind of father says that about their daughter? It made Eddie sick to his stomach. He knew the situation with Patricia's dad was bad, but he never knew it was this bad. It hurt him to think that the father of someone he cared so much for could be so horrid.

He marched out of the office to go find Patricia, only to find her standing right there. "Yacker!" He smiled, walking closer to her to give her a hug, but she pushed him away.

"What were you talking to my dad about?"

"Huh?"

"What were you talking to my dad about?"

Eddie swallowed hard. He couldn't just tell her now! Well, maybe he could if he just had that troublesome ring with him. "I... I can't exactly tell you yet... but it's not bad, I promise!"

"So now you're keeping secrets with my dad?" She spat, and Eddie could see the hurt on her face. "I thought you were on my side..."

"I am! Just trust me on this one. Please don't be mad at me, it's Christmas Eve!" He begged, and her expression softened a little bit. He could tell she was tired, from both the jet lag and the on-going war between her and Piper and her parents.

He walked forward, wrapping his arms around her and holding her as close as he could. His kissed the top of her head, and she finally gave in, sighing into his chest.

She couldn't actually be mad at him yet, she didn't even know what was going on. Besides, Eddie was the only one she wanted to talk to at this point, so she figured she could let this one go, for now.

Surprisingly, dinner was pretty uneventful, and the rest if the evening was spent on the couch watching Christmas movies by the brightly lit tree, at Piper's request.

"I just love that movie," Piper yawned, snuggling closer into Ben's chest.

"Should we start another one?" Ben asked her, but she just shook her head.

"I think I'm ready for bed."

"Us to," Mr. and Ms. Williamson agreed, heading upstairs first.

Eddie looked over next to him. He had his arm slung over Patricia's shoulder, as they shared the same chair. However, there was sure a large amount of space between them, considering they were sitting on the same piece of furniture. She was facing the other way though, leaning against the chair's arm, and since she hadn't spoken in a while, Eddie assumed she was asleep.

"Did everything go okay before?" Piper whispered, after her parents had disappeared.

"Well I got permission," Eddie said forcing a smile. They didn't need to know the details.

Ben and Piper both gave him a 'thumbs-up' before walking towards the stairs.

"Oh and Eddie? Merry Christmas!" Piper whisper-yelled, Ben repeating the holiday cheer to his half-brother before helping his wife up the stairs.

Eddie smiled to himself. He was glad he had avoided any more drama. Just as he was about to turn the TV off, Patricia rolled over, placing her head on his chest.

"Oh so you are awake," Eddie smirked, knowing she only moved because everyone had retreated upstairs.

"Shut up," she murmured, sticking her elbow a little into his side.

"Ow, okay, okay," Eddie surrendered, laughing slightly. He placed a kiss on her head, just as the doorbell ring, puzzling them both.

He quickly got to the door, not wanting another doorbell ring to disturb the others who had gone to bed. He opened the door to see his dark green duffel bag in the hands of the guy from the airline desk.

"Sorry it's so late, but I figured you would want this as soon as possible," he said causing Eddie to smile.

"Yes! Thank you!" Eddie cheered, as he signed a piece of paper. "Merry Christmas!" He called one more time to the guy before closing the door on cold winter night and pulling the ring out of the bag. It was in perfect condition.

He had to contain his excitement and nerves as he made his way back to Patricia.

"Who was it?"

"Just the airline company with my luggage," Eddie shrugged, acting as if it were no big deal.

Patricia nodded. "Can we go to bed? It's no use waiting up for Santa, we've been too naughty for presents anyway." She teased, yawning.

Eddie laughed. "Actually, there is one present..." He smirked as he made his way over to the chair she was on. "Stand up."

She furrowed her eyebrows and watched him warily. "No."

Eddie rolled his eyes, there was no use in fighting with her. He quickly dropped to one knee, still under Patricia's gaze, and pulled the box out from behind his back, ready to say what he had practiced for so long.

"Patricia, I know you're going to hate me later for being so cheesy, but I am completely head-over-heels in love with you," he started, smirk radiating from his face. Just as he was about to say his next line, Patricia launched forward, pulling his face to hers, making their lips meet.

His hands quickly flew to her waist, standing them both up straight. She kissed him with so much passion, that it was harder than ever to pull apart, but he finally did.

"You didn't let me finish," he breathed, composing himself once more. She just rolled her eyes playfully and took a step back, signaling for him to continue.

"Actually, I don't even remember the rest," he laughed. "But anyway, Patricia Williamson, I challenge you to marry me."

She smiled widely, before smashing her lips back to his with more passion than before, feeling him kiss back this time. Her hands tangled in his hair and his hands danced around her waist, until they finally gasped for air.

"Well," she smirked, leaning her forehead against his, "I can't say no to a challenge."

Ta-da! They're engaged! And Remeber when I said this was going to be 12 chapters? I lied, it's gonna be 13. The next one will serve sort of like an epilogue :)

Hope you enjoyed that! And since we can now reflect on this story, maybe review/PM with your favorite and/or least favorite chapter? It'll help in the long run! Thank you all!