crimson-11-delight-dustafterrain said:

Ooh, yay! And since you mentioned Christmas…Gold gets Belle a present even though they'd agreed they were just going to do for Bae. Bae helped him pick it out.

endangeredslug said:

Adoption verse prompt: one of Belle's friends get her something lacy and racy for Christmas. Gold nearly pops a blood vessel when she opens it up.

Belle woke up feeling warm and sated as the events of the previous evening came flooding back to her, leaving her flushed. They had actually done it. They had really finally actually done it. And it had felt right, just as right as his arm wrapped around her middle pulling her close, and his body pressed against hers, and his...oh.

He was stirring now, and Belle tried valiantly to stifle a giggle as he pulled her tighter and kissed her shoulder.

"Good morning," he mumbled into her hair.

"Good morning," she replied, and knew he could hear the good humor in her voice instantly.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing," she teased. "It's just that it's been awhile since I woke up to him."

She pressed back into his erection to emphasize her point, and he gave a growling little chuckle, kissing her neck and pinning her to him with his arms.

"I knew you were awake first at that hotel!"

She covered her face with a pillow to cover her giggles as he held her tight against his body and trailed butterfly kisses across her shoulder and neck. Once she thought she couldn't possibly stand how nice it felt to be this close to him with his lips still on her, he loosened his grip just a bit and buried his face against her neck.

"What time is it?" he whispered into her hair and she craned her neck to glance at the alarm clock on the nightstand.

"It's six," she sighed, collapsing back down onto the pillow sadly. She'd really hoped it was a little earlier so they could have risked more time together.

"Oh," he replied, sounding just as dejected as she felt. "I should probably get to my room, then."

"Yeah," she said, turning around in his arms to rest her head on his chest and prolong the night just a few seconds longer. "We can probably spare a few more minutes, though."

He hummed in agreement, pulling her in tighter and stroking her hair idly.

This was stupid. Every second they spent tangled up in each other's arms increased their odds of getting caught substantially. She just couldn't quite bring herself to let go yet. He was warm and he was holding her and she'd never felt this safe or this wanted in her entire life.

She wanted to tell him she loved him. The thought hit her hard and she almost blurted it out. Belle hadn't ever really been in love before, but that had to be what this was, didn't it? This overwhelming urge to not let him go?

The frantic knock on the door jolted her back to the real world. Bae was here and it was Christmas and she had to make this work. Arthur swore under his breath and Belle scrambled out of bed, throwing on a nightgown she'd left tossed on the dresser.

"Hide!" She hissed to Arthur and he ducked behind the side of the bed where he would be out of sight from the door.

A quick glance at herself told her that she was as presentable as she was likely to get.

"Good morning," she said as she opened the door.

"It's Christmas!" Bae exclaimed, practically vibrating with excitement.

"Is it?" Belle replied, faking a yawn. "I guess you're right."

"I'm gonna go get Dad," Bae said cheerfully.

"No," Belle almost shrieked, grabbing her son quickly. "Why don't you go get the mugs ready for cocoa and I'll wake your dad up, okay?"

Bae seemed confused for a second, but didn't argue. He just nodded and walked off towards the stairs.

"Hurry, though!" He called back and Belle nodded as he disappeared.

"Oh my God," she muttered as she closed the door. "That was way too close."

"A bit," Arthur agreed, coming out from his hiding place and pulling on his boxers. "We really should have planned that better."

"Or at all," she said. "Okay, I'm going to go down there before he gets too suspicious. Meet us down when you're ready?"

"Of course," he replied as he pulled his shirt on and buttoned a few of the buttons.

He looked adorably debauched like that, standing in her bedroom with his shirt half done and his boxers on. She couldn't resist the urge to rush over and press a kiss against his lips.

"Don't be too long," she said with a wink as she pulled on a pair of panties and made her way into the hallway. She knocked a few times on the door of the room he should be in to complete the illusion that she'd woken him.

Ironically, it had been a good thing she'd stalled him. She couldn't think of anything worse than Bae finding out they were dating by finding his father sneaking out of her bedroom on Christmas morning.

Bae seemed to have shrugged off whatever suspicions he'd had by the time Belle got downstairs. He'd managed to line up three mugs on the counter and had gotten cocoa powder in all three before Belle managed to make it to the kitchen. He happily relinquished his job to his mother, though, once he spotted her.

"Your dad will be down in a minute," Belle said as she set a pot of milk on the stove and pulled out the cinnamon rolls that would be their post-gift breakfast. "Are you ready for presents?"

"Yeah," he answered. "There's a lot of stuff under the tree this year."

"Well, you know how your dad is," Belle replied with a wink. "Don't forget to thank him, okay?"

"I won't," Bae said as he twirled excitedly in his chair. "Did Dad get you anything?"

"I'm not sure," Belle replied. "We hadn't really discussed it."

She'd gotten him a present, of course, because she had gotten him one for his birthday and because he was her friend and now her lover. It hadn't even occurred to her to wonder if he was going to get her something, she'd just assumed he had. Even if he didn't, he'd given her plenty of things this past year. Every time that she turned around he was trying to buy something or give her something.

Bae had an excited little grin on his face as Belle set the cinnamon rolls on the pan and popped them into the oven. She set the timer on the oven and turned just in time to see Arthur enter the kitchen. Her stomach did a little flip when he smiled at her.

"Merry Christmas," he said to both of them. "Are we ready for presents?"

"Yup," Belle replied. "Just have to finish the cocoa. But I'll meet you two in there."

Bae didn't waste any time in jumping off his chair and dashing into the living room to start picking out the first thing he'd get to open. Arthur, however, came closer. He stayed with her, moving into the space around the stove as she busied herself with the mugs and the cocoa mix.

He stepped back when she went to grab the warmed milk and let his hand rest lightly on the small of her back as she mixed the drinks and handed him a mug. He was still in her space, and Bae could walk in at any moment, but she wanted him there so badly.

By the time they were in the living room, Bae had pulled a box out of the pile and had it sitting in front of him. He was ready, but then he'd been ready for Christmas for the last eleven months. Belle plopped herself down on the floor with him and Arthur sat down on the sofa near where she was sitting. It was a cozy little family morning and she intended to love every minute of it.

Bae tore into his first present like a lion on an antelope. It never ceased to amaze her how easily that kid could demolish a wrapped present. By the time he'd finished his first one, he was allowed to choose a present for one of his parents to open before he was allowed his next one. He chose a present for Arthur first, letting his dad carefully open a "World's Best Dad" mug that Bae had picked out. Belle had suspected it may bring him to tears, and it actually came damn close. Bae hugged him affectionately before returning to the floor and his gifts. Belle gave him an affectionate pat on the thigh before Bae opened a LEGO kit that she really, really hoped would keep him distracted long enough for her to have some more time with Arthur over the holiday.

Belle's first present came from Ruby, and as she untied the ribbons around the package she couldn't help the little bit of nervousness at what could Ruby possibly have bought that would fit in a clothes box. Her fear was well founded when she lifted the lid and caught sight of red lace and ribbons. Belle slammed the box shut as soon as she realized what she was looking at, drawing a curious look from Bae.

"It's a nightgown," she said to her son as calmly as she could. "Your turn! Why don't you open the big one over there?"

The 'big one' in question was a Nerf gun that she knew would distract him for at least a few minutes, anyway. A quick glance behind her at Arthur and the knowing smirk on his face told her that he'd definitely seen the neglige in question when she'd opened the box. Well, at least that ship had already sailed or it could have been really, really awkward.

The rest of the morning went much the same way (aside from the brief period in when she had to excuse herself to get the cinnamon buns) until all the presents were accounted for. Bae had a wide variety of toys and a sugar rush, and Arthur had also received a set of tumblers with some whiskey stones and new cufflinks that she'd spent hours looking for. She'd gotten a beautiful gold and opal necklace (which she couldn't help notice matched her ring spectacularly well), an ereader, and a fuzzy bathrobe that was from her son.

Bae was happily tearing open packages and sorting things into piles she couldn't even begin to comprehend. Arthur had, predictably, gone a little bit overboard. She would have to talk to him about it next year, but there was a part of her that kind of loved that he was so excited to spoil both of them. She was going to have to make him stop someday, but not necessarily today.

"Can you help me in the kitchen?" she asked Arthur while Bae started opening little bags of plastic bricks so he could assemble some sort of Avengers playset his dad had caught him.

Arthur nodded, setting his things on an end table and following her into the other room.

She pounced on him almost as soon as he was out of sight of the living room, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him in for a quick kiss.

"Thank you for the necklace," she whispered softly. "And the ereader."

"You spend too much time reading things on your phone," he replied, hugging her until she squirmed out of his arms and started moving round the kitchen.

"There was something else," he continued, reaching into the pocket of his pajamas and pulling out an envelope he handed to her. "I didn't want to give it to you in front of Bae, in case you didn't like it."

She was torn between nervous and curious as she broke the seal on the envelope and pulled out the piece of paper. It was four boarding passes for a trip to New York and a confirmation for another hotel suite and two tickets to see Beauty & the Beast on Broadway. Belle didn't even want to look at the totals on each of the receipts, but she didn't have to in order to know that he'd just spent a lot of money to take them all back to the city again.

"So Bae can bring a friend," Arthur said with a little shrug. "And we can have a night out."

Belle couldn't contain the little shriek of happiness that escaped her and she practically knocked him over launching herself into his arms for a hug. The noise attracted Bae's attention and he came running into the kitchen.

"What's going on?" Bae asked as he took in the situation.

"Your dad got us another present," Belle replied as she pulled out of the hug. "We're going back to New York for New Years and you get to bring a friend this time."

"For real?" Bae exclaimed, looking between his mother and father excitedly. "We're really going back?"

"We are," Arthur said with the smug little smirk of a father who felt he'd done a good job. "Who do you want to bring?"

"That's so cool!" Bae replied. "I'll have to figure out who to call first."

Arthur got another hug from Bae this time before the boy dashed out and Belle heard him stomping around upstairs (presumably going off to try to call one of his friends).

"I can't believe you did this," Belle said once Bae was out of the room. "This is absolutely amazing!"

"You really like it?" Arthur asked almost nervously. "I wasn't sure if it was too much."

"It's way too much," she replied as she fell back into his arms and tucked her head under his chin. "But it's amazing. I can't wait."

"I've been wanting to do that since we got back from the last time," he admitted, stroking her arms gently. "You had way too much fun at that museum for me not to want to take you back."

"It's perfect," she said. "It's perfect and I love it and Bae is going to have a great time with a friend there. And we'll have at least one night all to ourselves."

Maybe he'd always go a little overboard, but Belle was sure that this was the happiest she'd ever been or could ever want to be.