This is just a quick Christmas bonus I typed up for you guys! It's Maxon and America's second Christmas together with Christian.
He groaned and sank down further beneath their down comforter. "Two more minutes," he mumbled, practically incoherent.
"Maxon, we have a son eagerly awaiting his presents," she reminded him.
With that he sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Merry Christmas." He kissed her gently, one of his hands twisting up behind her head and into her hair. Then it got stuck in some knots and she pulled away uncomfortably.
"It still amazes me that you insist upon me keeping my hair down when we sleep. It just turns into a mess of curls by morning and it is rather uncomfortable for your hand to get tangled in. One of these days it may not come back out." He laughed so she kept talking. "You'd have to walk around for the rest of your live stuck to me."
He stopped laughing abruptly and smiled, closing the distance between them and pushing her on to her back to kiss her more passionately. "Well I wouldn't be complaining; it'd give me an excuse to never leave your side. Of course, we could shave off all of your hair."
"You can pretend all you want that the thought of me bald doesn't petrify you but I am not fooled. I know how much you love my hair." She pushed him away and took her robe from the end of the bed, wrapping it around herself as she walked to the bathroom.
Maxon followed her and they both cleaned themselves up, leaving their robes and pajamas on. Hand-in-hand, they went to the nursery to collect their son. Christian was smiling from ear-to-ear when they entered and immediately ran up to Maxon, hugging one of his legs. "Presents today, Daddy?" he babbled in his toddler language.
"Yes, you can finally have your presents today," Maxon laughed, scooping his son up to sit on his shoulders. America beamed at both of them as they walked to the Women's Room where they would be opening presents.
Amberly was already seated in one of the armchairs fully dressed for the day with her maids distributing her presents for her. Maxon and America took a seat on the loveseat with Christian playing on the floor in front of them, already tearing into the wrapping paper of his presents.
They happily watched their son open his presents as they gradually opened their own. There was not much that America had asked for but she was not surprised when Maxon gave her everything that was on her list: a hand-carved violin bow from 1887, a fresh perfume she had recently discovered, a lamp for the piano in the music room, and an ornament for the Christmas tree that had to do with music.
Her husband didn't ask for anything, which made her job quite difficult. Finally she settled on getting him several different lenses for his cameras, cufflinks that cost thousands of dollars, and a self-portrait painted by America to go on his desk.
He surprised her, after Christian had opened his presents, by pulling out a much smaller box. She knew immediately that it was jewelry but she was not sure what it would be. "I was hoping you could wear this tonight at the ball," he said, passing her the box. He had that sentimental look in his eyes that conveyed such clear, burning passion.
She held her breath as she lifted the lid, wondering what on earth kind of jewelry she did not have. Inside the box lay a necklace that was a small silver pendant dangling from a chain with several gems with her first initial inscribed in the silver. She immediately recognized the style the 'A' was written in. "Did you carve this yourself?" she asked.
He nodded, taking the necklace out and looping it around her neck and doing the clasp easily, not even having to look to see what he was doing. He had become very practiced in putting necklaces on her over the year or so they'd been married. "I wanted you to always have a piece of me with you. Could you wear it tonight?"
"It goes perfectly with my dress. Speaking of which, we need to start getting ready for it," she said, standing up and cuing for her maids to collect her presents for her.
Maxon laughed. "You need all day?"
"I need to be dressed early so I can be the perfect hostess. Thank you so much for my presents; they were perfect." She leaned down to kiss him slowly and they enjoyed the kiss for a minute before she stepped back and got dressed for the Christmas ball.
As princess, it was her duty to welcome all of the guests so it was well into the ball when she finally got to speak to her husband. "You look ravishing," he complimented as he led her to the dance floor.
She smiled coyly and sighed, letting him guide in the dance. "Not too ravishing I hope. I wouldn't want to attract too much attention from Lord Archibald." She nodded to the noble in question and they both laughed as he wiped whipped cream away from his bushy mustache. "I love my necklace."
"It does suit you. Now, what do you say we go keep up our Christmas tradition?" he asked, smiling deviously.
"Maxon, it's only our second Christmas together," she reminded him.
He took her hand and led her out to the foyer for her fur pelisse anyway. "So we must start," he told her, leading her out into the gardens. The gardeners had done their magic and made the gardens beautiful despite the bitter cold winter they'd been having. Every plant that wasn't alive or was frozen was festooned with lights, lighting the way to their bench. Maxon sat her down on the bench and pulled out a bottle of whiskey. "To stay warm," he explained as he poured them both a glass.
She looked up at the night sky, all of the stars as bright as ever in the winter night. "I'll never get tired of spending my nights out here with you," she mused, aware that he wasn't looking at the stars but at her. She suddenly looked back at him. "I know that the road ahead is dark and tumultuous but promise me that you'll never give up on me. I care about this country and I'll stop at nothing to protect it, like you. No matter what I do, promise me that you'll understand and still love me."
"Why do you always insist on making these moments about dark futures?" he asked, smiling at her.
She laughed and shook her head. "I don't know. I guess it's just moments like these that make me realize that our lives won't always be like this. Our lives are a series of moments but they're not all like this."
He took her hand in his, warming it quickly. "Nothing you do will ever make me stop loving you," he whispered to her fondly. He kissed her lightly and there was a sudden flash. "They've found us," he mumbled against her lips.
She smiled and looked up at the photographers standing in front of them, capturing the moment forever. They both stood and assumed a more regal pose but they kept it casual still. In that moment, America felt she could conquer anything and that the future ahead may actually hold some hope.