"I love that our first winter vacation as newlyweds is going to happen at a cabin that you rented," Sidney commented as she and Billy approached the cozy log structure, their bags for the week in tow. She was practically buzzing with happiness.
Billy smiled at his wife's excitement. "I wanted to make it special," he said. "Which is why there's a surprise in there for you."
Sidney perked up. "Surprise?" She asked, staring at him with her big, beautiful, brown eyes that were glinting with curiosity.
Smile still painted on his face, Billy used the key that came with the cabin rental and silently opened the door.
When Sidney stepped through the threshold, her eyes landed on his "surprise" and a loud squeal of happiness fell from her lips.
"There's a fireplace!"
Pushing her bag against her husband's chest, Sidney ran fully into the cabin, making a beeline for the beautiful piece of wood standing against the wall right beside the window.
Billy chuckled and closed the door behind him before setting their luggage down before it. "I know how much you love fireplaces," he began, his dark eyes soft as he watched his wife gush. "So I made sure that the cabin I rented had a nice big one that you could sit in front of as much as you wanted on our trip."
"Oh, Billy!" She cried, turning on her heel and practically launching herself into her husband's arms, who caught her with ease and laughed.
"Thank you so much!" She pulled away and gave him a brilliant smile that lit up her entire face and eyes. "We haven't been here for even a minute and this is my favorite part of the vacation so far!"
Billy rose an eyebrow. "I hope it won't still be your favorite since you're spending seven glorious days with your loving and incredibly handsome husband," he said playfully.
Sidney rolled her eyes and gently smacked his chest. "Of course not, oh loving and incredibly handsome husband," she teased. "That's why I said so far. Keep up."
With that last joking comment, she turned around so she was facing the fireplace once again.
It really was beautiful. It was a sizable one—not too big and not too small. It was made of bricks; those bricks were a dark red that appeared black in some places, although in some areas the color was lighter due to the way that the light cast off of the grayish white shade of the cement used to stick the bricks together. The only parts of the fireplace that didn't use the brick design were the top of the fireplace, a wooden shelf that a wreath, several pictures of the countryside, and a few Christmas figurines rested upon, and the glass case in the center that could be opened and closed and which currently had a small fire gently crackling from within, filling the cabin with light and warmth and giving it a homely aura. To make the picture even more wholesome, five little pine cones hung from the wooden top, hooked onto little red ribbons. It was very sweet and Sidney loved it.
She didn't know why exactly she loved fireplaces so much, but it was something that manifested when she was a little girl that only intensified as she aged. Maybe it had to do with the cozy feeling it gave her or the memories of fireplaces being present whenever she and her parents would go on vacations together and their room would have a fireplace. She couldn't count how many times she cuddled with them in front of the fire, wrapped in her mother's loving embrace while her father brought them all mugs of complimentary hot chocolate and just bask in the comfort that the fireplace provided.
Sidney's smile faltered a bit when she remembered her mother. Her mother who had been brutally murdered when she was sixteen. Her mother who she discovered the ugly truth about a year later. Her mother who she still loved and missed terribly despite all of the lies and skeletons in her closet.
Billy wrapped his arms around his wife's waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. "I know that you're thinking about her again," he murmured.
Sidney's smile turned melancholic. "I can't help it…she and Dad and I would often have fireplaces in our room when we went on vacation; Dad would always request it whenever possible because he knew how fond of them she was. I guess that's where I get it from," she mused, her hands coming down to lie on his.
"That's a good thing, Sid," Billy told her. "I know there were bad parts of her that you'd rather forget, but there were good parts that are worth remembering, too."
"I know," she sighed, leaning her head back a bit so it rested on his shoulder.
A comfortable silence passed between them before Sidney asked softly: "Could we curl up in front of the fireplace and sleep there tonight? We can use the bed the rest of the time, but I just really want to be in front of the fireplace like my parents and I used to when I was a child."
Billy pressed a soft, loving kiss to the side of her neck. "Of course we can, baby. Whatever makes you happy," he said.
After unpacking and changing into their pajamas, the couple sat curled in each other's arms, mugs of hot chocolate with little marshmallows in their hands and a shared comforter wrapped around their bodies. Sidney's back was pressed against Billy's chest and his legs were stretched out in front of him on either side of her thighs.
"This is nice," she sighed happily.
"Yes, it is," he agreed, taking a sip from his mug.
"I wish we could stay here forever."
"Well, we could become recluses and just live here in the woods amongst the snow."
A laugh from her. Then: "Don't tempt me."
For a while they said nothing and stared into the fire as peace washed over them. From parents' divorces to rumors to the masked psycho known as Ghostface who had targeted them, Billy and Sidney had gone through a lot, so much that it might have broken other couples, but not them. They fought, of course, and they always would because arguments were just part of life, but their love for each other was genuine and infinitely stronger than any annoyance. Being able to sit here, in a cabin in front of a fireplace, enjoying their first vacation together as a married couple made all of their past hardships worth it.
"You know," Billy started, taking both of their mugs and setting them on the coffee table behind them. "I've heard that making love in front of a fireplace can be a very enjoyable activity." His fingertips lightly ran up and down her arms.
Sidney shivered at the contact. Arousal bloomed in her stomach. "Is that a fact?" She asked throatily.
Billy's lips began moving down the side of her neck. "Mhm," he murmured, sucking lightly on her collarbone.
"Well, then, we wouldn't want to leave anything enjoyable out," she said, turning in his arms and wrapping her arms around his neck as their lips met.
From that point forward, the newly appointed Mr. and Mrs. Loomis began their vacation rather amorously, only feeling the heat of the fireplace behind them and the heat of the love between them.