Kate's POV
"Kate, Kate wake up it's Christmas" I heard my mom say, waking me up from my sleep. I groaned and turned over. "Come on Kate, I already woke Lilly up" she urged. I groaned again and sat up, rubbing the tired out of my eyes. Mom smiled and turned to walk down the stairs. I guess I was up for the day. I stood up and stretched. This was it, my first Christmas with my new family. I smiled at the thought and then slowly made my way over to the bathroom. On the way I passed Lilly who was doing the same as me.
"I think this is their way of getting back at us for waking them up when we were little" Lilly groaned. I giggled and began brushing my teeth as Lilly sat on the toilet to pee. I kept on brushing until satisfied and then spit the toothpaste out into the sink. Me and Lilly then switched places.
"When do you think Humphrey is gonna want us over?" I asked.
"Ill text him" Lilly said as she brushed her teeth. I pulled my pants up and flushed the toilet, making Lilly step to the left side of the sink afterwards so that I could wash my hands. She kept brushing as I did. Once I was finished I splashed some water on my face and then patted her shoulder on the way out. I heard her spit in the sink as I started down the stairs. When i reached the bottom I was greeted by my mom hugging me warmly.
"Merry Christmas sweetie," she said.
"Merry Christmas mom" I said, hugging her back. Me and her then made our way to the living room.
"Is your sister coming?" mom asked.
"Yeah, she's just brushing her teeth," I said. Mom nodded and then sat down next to dad on the couch.
"Merry Christmas Kate" he greeted.
"Merry Christmas dad" I smiled. I then knelt over and started digging through the presents to get theirs out. I placed theirs in a pile and thanks to the gift tags I did the same with Lilly's. Speaking of Lilly she came in and joined me on the floor just as I was finished sorting everything.
"I want to see you guys open your gifts first," mom said.
"Why don't we just take turns?" Lilly suggested.
"You first" I smiled. Lilly giggled and then picked out a present from under the tree. She picked up a square one from the top and ripped the wrapping paper to reveal a manga that she's been wanting to read.
"Yes! I've been dying to read this" Lilly said excitedly.
"I know, that's why I got it, along with others" I said.
"Thanks Kate," Lilly said. I guess it was my turn. I did the same as Lilly and picked a present off the top. It was made easily by the way our parents always sorted the presents. Lilly on the left, and me on the right. And as much as I disliked my parents belittling themselves, they always moved theirs to the back. I ripped open the small present to see that it was a pair of leather gloves.
"To go with your jacket," mom explained.
"Nice" I smiled. I then stood up and handed my parents two of their gifts. "We'll go in a circle, you first dad" I said. Dad smiled and then started to rip open the paper. Inside was a dark brown leather jacket. I thought it would simply look nice on him.
"Thank you sweetie, I guess at least one person in this house knows that I still got it" dad joked.
"Oh please, you act like I dont give you attention" mom smiled. Mom and dad then shared a laugh. It was nice to see them getting long after recent events. Not that it was their fault but I wasn't worried about that, especially not now.
"Go on mom" Lilly urged. Mom then opened up the present to find that I had gotten her a laptop. Not a really expensive one it only cost about four-hundred dollars, plus me and Lilly kind of chipped in. her mouth dropped as she examined the box.
"You really got me a laptop?" she asked.
"You keep saying you need one," I replied. She then looked at me and Lilly.
"Oh my God, thank you so much, I really don't know what to say" mom said. Me and Lilly laughed.
"You said thank you, that's more than enough" I said.
"My turn?" Lilly asked. I nodded and sat back down.
"Your turn" I smiled. Lilly clapped quickly before grabbing her next gift. We continued this for the next fifteen minutes until we were all out. Everyone else's presents such as Rick and Humphrey's sat under the tree still. Rick and Angel could open their presents here, but as for Shaky and Humphrey we would most likely meet them at Humphrey's place and bring the presents there. I was looking forward to it. Before I worried about anything else though I needed some coffee. I joined my mom by the coffee pot as she poured herself a cup.
"Do you think you can help me set up that computer?" she asked.
"Of course, I can help you set up the hard drives and all that too, I just need to wake up a little more first" I explained. Mom nodded and handed me the coffee pot once she was done. I accepted it and started to pour my cup as mom started working on the coffee creamer.
"Is Rick coming over?" mom asked. I finished pouring my coffee and put the pot back in the coffee maker.
"He was going to, is that okay?" I asked. I started pouring coffee creamer in my coffee as mom answered.
"You know I don't care if he comes over," she said.
"His sister is coming too, and after a while, around like six or so we were gonna go over to Humphrey's place because his mom invited us. Is that okay?" I asked.
"Sure, sure we can have our dinner and then that will give me and you dad a little alone time" mom said, I guess they were planning on doing the deed. I hope they enjoy themselves because if not I'll feel really bad about leaving them.
"Alright, thanks" I said as I turned to go back into the living room.
"M-hm '' my mom humed. I sat one the couch and sipped my coffee, fuck that was good. Lilly took her presents upstairs and started putting them away, sorting out her new clothes and books. I took a couple more sips of my coffee and then put it on the table so that I could lay down on the couch. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and began to search for Rick's messages. When I opened our group chat I decided to type a quick
K. merry christmas guys!
R. merry christmas
A. Merry fucking christmas guys 3
H. what she said.
S. merry Christmas
K. so I wanted to say that as well as confirm when we were meeting up, is around six okay Humphrey?
H. Yeah, as long as you guys show up I'm happy.
R. you can count on it
K. So Rick, are you and Angel still coming over?
A. Yeah we are, but we need to know what time works best for you.
K. the sooner the better.
R. well I might snooze for a bit so like ten? Eleven?
K. sounds like a plan.
S. Humphrey I'll probably be over their around two or so, as much as I don't want to I have to at least say hi to everyone
H. You're fine, Shaky, dont worry about it. Just let me know when you're on the way.
S. will do
K. see you guys in a bit
A. Yeah, see you in a bit
R. See you guys soon.
I slipped my phone in my pocket and even though I took a couple sips of my coffee I still felt a bit drowsy, so I closed my eyes to take a nap and didn't wake up until two hours later when mom once again woke me up.
"Kate wake up, Rick and Angel are here" she said as she made her way through the doorway. I opened my eyes to see the pair walking over to me with gifts in their hands.
"Where can we put these?" Rick asked.
"Just put them on the coffee table," mom answered. Rick nodded and then he and Angel put them on the table. Rick then came over to the couch and knelt next to me. I smiled as he smiled back. As he looked down at me our noses were nearly touching.
"Merry Christmas Kate" he said softly. I giggled.
"Merry Christmas Rick" I said. I then lifted my head up to give him a quick smooch.
"Can I get one?" Angel asked jokingly. Rick and I looked at her and I then laughed as I completely sat up. I then reached for her and pulled her into a hug, kissing her on the cheek. She laughed. "I was joking," she said.
"I don't care," I whispered. I then let go of her. As much as she was a jokester I had to say, Angel was a real sweetheart as well.
"Where's Lilly?" Rick asked.
"Last I saw she was upstairs" I answered.
"I'll go get her," Angel said as she began going up the stairs. Rick then sat down next to me and took my hand. It had been so long since we held hands. Not that it was too long ago but before anything got too crazy it was nice to hold his hand. It was always so warm and comforting.
"I can't stay long," Rick said. My ears flattened as I felt a small amount of sadness.
"Why not?" I asked.
"Well my mom and dad are making dinner and all that for christmas, it's just us in the family so there isn't much, we always just spend christmas together so this year is going to be really different for us. I thought I could spend an hour or two here and then meet you at Humphrey's later" Rick explained. My ears stayed flat on my head as I reached up and caressed his cheek.
"Okay" I whispered, giving him another gentle kiss. Just then Lilly and Angel came back into the living room and sat down on the couch.
"So, did you guys want to open your presents now?" Angel asked.
"I kind of wanted you to open your presents" I said, standing up and then walking over to the tree. I pulled Angel and Rick's presents out from the back and then sat down on the floor as Rick and Angel joined me.
"Lilly come sit, we've got plenty for you as well" Rick said. Lilly sat down next to Angel as Rick grabbed my presents and Lilly's presents. Handing them to both of us after multiple times. This was really a lot.
"How much stuff did you get us?" I asked.
"A lot," Angel smiled. I smiled back and then held up a present to read the tag. To Kate from Angel it read. "Go on," she urged.
"By the way I have no idea what she got you so if it's something dumb then I apologize in advance" Rick said. Lilly ripped open a present to reveal another manga, the all in one version of death note. It was definitely a brick. Her and Angel hugged as I tore open my gift. It was a box set of all the nightmare on elm street movies.
"Holy shit, I haven't seen all of these, and no streaming service has them. Thank you Angel" I said.
"I thought you would like them," she smiled. I then reached into Rick's pile and handed him a gift. Lilly did the same with Angel. Rick smiled at me, making me urge him on with my eyes. He tore the gift open to reveal his jacket. His face lit up when he recognized what it was.
"It's cheap of me I know but I got you plenty of other things, I just wanted to see your face when you got this back" I explained.
"Where was it?' Rick asked.
"In my car, it was left back there after everything. I washed it and figured you would want it back" I answered. Rick hugged me, catching me off guard at first but I warmed up to it quickly, hugging him back and nuzzling him lovingly. I opened my eyes to see Angel thanking Lilly for the playstation store gift card. I'm glad that she liked it. Rick then broke the hug.
"I know it looks like I got you a decent amount but I got you something else too, we'll worry about it after though okay?" he said.
"What more did you get?" I asked. He had already brought in a lot.
"Your turn" he smiled, completely ignoring the question. I grabbed another gift as Lilly and Angel did their thing at their own pace. I ripped open the paper to see a nice brown leather jacket. Kind of similar to the one I bought dad. I had wanted one like it but couldn't find a nice one like this. To be honest I was jealous of dad, until now.
"Holy shit, I love it" I smiled.
"Thought You would, you're always wearing the black one, I figured you might want to switch it up every now and then" Rick said.
"What you like brown better?" I asked.
"I like black better, but brown will look really good on you too" RIck answered.
"It's funny, mom just got me leather gloves for my black jacket," I explained. Rick then smiled as he dug through the presents and pulled out a small one and handed it to me. "There's no way," I said.
"There is way, '' Rick joked. I ripped the paper to see a white box, opening it I saw that it was indeed a pair of nice brown leather gloves.
"You're scared sometimes," I said. We shared a laugh as Rick grabbed a smaller present. He opened it to reveal that it was a toothbrush. He started laughing.
"What are you trying to say?" he asked. I gave him a quick kiss.
"It's for here, when you spend the night" I said. Rick seemed to freeze when I said that.
"For here?" he checked. I nodded happily. He then looked back at the toothbrush and smiled again. "Thank you," he said.
"Is that a fucking toothbrush?" Angel asked. Me and Rick both turned our heads to face her and Lilly.
"For here" Rick answered. Angel laughed.
"Uh-huh" she said. We continued opening our gifts and eventually even gave my parents theirs. I'm not sure why but I was surprised to see that Rick and Angel got them something. I know mom was touched by it. She ended up getting a gift card to her favorite restaurant and alexa dot. She was really appreciative of it and felt really guilty that she didn't get them anything.
"It's fine, don't worry about it. Your hospitality is more than enough" Rick smiled. Mom smiled and hugged him in response.
"Rick says he has something for me in the car, so he's gonna show me what it is," I explained. Mom broke the hug and turned to me briefly and then back to Rick.
"You bought more?" she asked,
"I love you guys, '' Rick answered. Mom then smiled and caressed his cheek for a moment. I then took Rick's hand and pulled him away. I was excited to see what this was, mostly because I was thinking that it must be special if he couldn't just bring it in, but then again every gift was special. The fact that Rick and Angel went so far meant so much.
"You're spoiling her Rick '' mom called. He laughed as I giggled. It was true. Me, Rick and Angel stepped outside. Rick took his keys out of his pocket and unlocked the car as he approached it.
"Angel help me out" he requested. Angel accepted as he opened the backdoor.
"Let me help," I said.
"No you stay there" Rick smiled. He then grabbed something and before I knew it he started dragging a huge box from the back of the truck. Once it was out far enough Angel grabbed on and started to lift it once it was fully out.
"Oh my God, what is that?" I asked.
"Shut the door?" Angel asked. I jogged over and shut the truck door as Rick and Angel started walking over to the house. I then ran back and tried to open the front door but before I could mom did it for me. I guess she was watching through the kitchen window.
"Really spoiling her," she added. Rick laughed again as he and Angel squeezed the giant present through the door. I entered and shut the door behind me as Rick and Angel lowered the present by the stairs.
"I hope you like it," Angel said as she wrapped an arm around me for a moment.
"I'm sure she will," Rick said. The three of them watched as I approached the present and then started to open it. As I did it didn't take me long to figure out what it was once I saw the sony logo. I started to giggle in excitement as I ripped the rest away.
"Oh come on Rick" mom said jokingly as I took a step back. I then turned and wrapped my arms around him. I gave him a kiss on the lips and then broke the hug.
"Want to go hook it up?" Rick asked.
"Okay" I said happily. My tail wouldn't stop wagging. We picked up the TV and began to carry it up the stairs. Angel followed us as mom turned to start on our Christmas dinner.
"Thank you" she called. I guess she was just happy that I was happy. Angel ended up going into Lilly's room as me and Rick went into mine. We set the box down and then I sat on the bed. Rick joined me.
"Thank you Rick," I said. Rick simply leaned over and gave my lips a quick peck. I was feeling kind of hungry though. I leaned over and smooched him, slipping my tongue in his mouth and licking around. He smiled briefly and cupped my cheek, making my ears twitch. I loved his touch. I licked at his tongue again and shivered as our salvia mixed warmly. Each long lick giving me another shiver. I started licking faster until I completely closed my mouth and just started sucking. Rick twisted his mouth though to break the kiss. We panted for a moment. "What's wrong?" I asked.
"Your parents are right downstairs," Rick said. I sighed.
"Sorry, I think it's my heat" I said.
"Aww, it's okay" Rick said, giving my tongue another soft lick. He then stood up and walked over to my TV that sat in front of my bed. "Unhook this?" he asked.
"Yeah" I nodded. I then stood up and started helping him unhook everything one by one, starting with the TV itself. Rick ended up putting it to the side and then cut the box open with a pocket knife. I held the large flatscreen as Rick pulled the box back. He then helped me lift it on top of the dresser.
"Wow, perfect fit" I said.
"Yeah, I should have gotten you a wall mount," Rick said.
"You've bought enough" I said, giving him a quick smooch. It then took us thirty minutes to get everything set up. Rick mostly did it while I guided him. We made sure the games, and fire stick were all set up and ready to go afterwards. Rick handed me the remote and let me be the first one to interact with it. I must admit it was weird having such a big TV in my room after having the other one for so long. Not that the other one isnt a decent size. "We'll have to watch thing's up here," I suggested.
" Sounds lovely," Rick replied. I giggled and gave him a kiss. "I should get going," he said.
"Already? You don't want to watch something?" I asked.
"I do but I already stayed an hour too late, tell you what I can come over tomorrow and we'll watch something, sound good?" Rick asked.
"Okay" I said sadly.
"Hey, I'll see you at Humphrey's in a bit okay?" he said. I smiled kindly and nodded. "Okay" he said, giving me another kiss. He then stood up and stepped into the hall. He knocked on Lilly's door and then opened it up. "Angel come on, we should get going," he said. I heard Angel say a quick goodbye to Lilly and then her and Rick walked down the stairs. I stood up and followed them.
"Are you guys leaving?" mom asked.
"Yeah, mom and dad wanted us to have dinner together before we meet up at Humphreys," Rick explained.
"That's a shame, I was hoping you would have dinner with us," dad said. Surprising me, did he really mean that?"
"Another time, thanks for the offer though" Rick said.
"Of course, drive safe okey?" mom said.
"Will do," Rick said.
"Bye," Angel waved. I waved silently as mom actually spoke.
"Bye Angel" she called. I then shut the door as Angel And Rick hopped in the truck.
"So Eve tells me you got a new TV" dad smiled.
"Yeah, he really went all out for me," I said.
"What are you gonna do with the old one?" mom asked.
"I don't know, maybe sell it," I said.
"Just don't throw it out," dad told me. I nodded and then went into the kitchen for a water bottle. "I can't believe they got us stuff too," my dad said.
"I know, we'll have to get them something, I feel so bad," mom said.
"Mom it's fine, Rick really likes you guys" I said.
"I know sweetie," dad said.
"We just want to return the favor is all" my mom added.
"Hey, do you guys want help?" I asked.
"No, it's fine, dinner should be ready in about three hours, we'll call you" mom said. I nodded and then headed upstairs, stopping at Lilly's room along the way. I knocked and peered my head inside.
"Hey" Lilly greeted. She was reading one of her new books.
"Hey, want to watch something?" I asked. Lilly closed her book and sat up.
"Like what?" she asked.
"I got that box set from Angel, want to maybe watch one of those?" I suggested.
"Sure, she told me you got a new TV," Lilly replied. She then stood up and walked over to my room. Once she was inside she started checking it out. "Woah, your lucky Kate. you got a ten, and he gets you gifts like this" she said.
"Humphrey's fine" I defended.
"Kate I was just joking, not that what I said wasn't true" Lilly added. I grabbed the box set and thanks to my nails I was able to open it easily. They were not long at all but just long enough to get rid of the plastic.
"Start with one?" I asked.
"Sure," Lilly said. She then laid down on Rick's side of the bed. I put the DVD in my playstation and then laid down on my side. "This is nice," Lilly complimented. I smiled.
"Ain't it just?" I asked. The next few hours were just me, Lilly and a couple of nightmare on elm street movies on my new TV.
Humphrey's POV
Walking into the kitchen I grabbed a coke can and popped it open, taking a sip. Normally I don't drink soda by itself and I try to keep it to a minimum, but hey, today was christmas. After taking my si; i placed the can on the kitchen island.
"Need any help?" I asked my mom who was working on dinner.
"Yeah actually, can you peel potatoes?" she asked. I nodded and opened the fridge. I grabbed the bag and took them out, placing them on the counter and then grabbing a cutting board.
"Mashed right?" I asked.
"Yeah" mom answered. I got our potato peeler and knife and then started peeling. I talked as I worked.
"Thanks again for everything" I said.
"Thank you for everything," mom replied. I laughed and continued peeling. "So Lyle might come over for dinner" mom said.
"Okay" I said. I still had to talk to her about everything. It was going to be a rough conversation but it was one that had to be done. "Is he going to be okay with everyone coming over?" I asked.
"I don't see why not," mom said. Did it matter? I was looking for an answer like who cares? But that was the answer. I wasn't exactly around whenever these two hung out, it was really none of my business, but if things went down the path that me and everyone else talked about at dinner then it would become my business.
"I didn't get Lyle anything" I admitted suddenly.
"Humphrey I wouldn't expect you to, you've barely met the guy" mom said.
"I just hope that if he shows up that he doesn't get me something, I'll have to return the favor otherwise" I explained.
"Oh Humphrey, no you won't" mom said. I continued peeling in silence for a moment until I couldn't take it anymore. I had to ask something.
"Do you love him mom?" I asked. Mom seemed to freeze at the question. That in itself was an answer.
"Love? I wouldn't use the word love, I like him" she answered. I wanted to push it further but decided against it. Not today… not today… "Why do you ask?" mom questioned, catching me off guard. I stopped peeling and then turned to face her, but just at that moment our doorbell rang. "I'll get it" mom said as she walked away. I continued peeling until I heard a familiar voice behind me.
"Hey Humphrey '' I looked over my shoulder to see it was Shaky and smiled before turning back to my small assignment.
"Hey bro, what are you doing here so early?" I asked.
"Family showed up early, gave me an excuse" Shaky answered as he sat at the kitchen island.
"Dinner won't take long, it's only a matter of heating up corn and mashing the potatoes and then everything is done" mom said as she walked back in the room. She had gotten up early to put the ham in the oven and since then it was almost ready. Looking at the clock on the stove it was only two o'clock.
"Sounds good, Mrs. H," Shaky said.
"Shaky, just call me Myra," mom said.
"Actually Shaky, I don't know if you want to open your gifts now or when the others show up" I said.
"I can wait, what about you two?" Shaky asked.
"You got me something?" mom asked him. I guess Shaky nodded because I didn't hear a response. "Oh how sweet" mom said. By now the potatoes were peeled and it was just a matter of cutting them. I got to work as Shaky and my mom continued to talk.
"You know you guys mean a lot to me," Shaky said.
"Aww, you should really come over more then" mom said.
"I would, but I've been spending a lot of time with my girlfriend when I'm not working," Shaky explained.
"Oh my God, look at you. What's her name?" mom asked.
"Angel, Rick's sister" Shaky answered.
"Angel? I love Angel, she's such a sweetheart" mom said.
"That's why I love her" Shaky stated happily.
"You two must be so cute together," mom said.
"They are," I said, cutting in.
"I'm just glad I got so lucky with her, and the rest of the family," Shaky said.
"Family?" mom asked.
"Oh me Humphrey, Angel, Rick were all like a family, that's a huge part of why we're all meeting up in a group" Shaky explained.
"I didn't know you all meant that much to each other" mom admitted.
"We all love each other," I said. I then put the rest of the cut up potatoes in a pot and put it by the stove and began washing my hands.
"Well welcome to the family" mom said, giving Shaky a kiss on the head. That caught me off guard.
"Need anymore help?" I asked.
"No, it's just a matter of waiting for the ham to finish everything" mom said.
"Okay, just call me if you need something" I instructed.
"Okay" mom said, giving me a kiss on the cheek. I grabbed my coke can and began heading into the living room as Shaky followed.
"I always somehow forget how sweet your mom is" Shaky complimented.
"Yeah, sometimes she's too sweet," I said, taking a seat on the couch.
"So did you want to just chill?" Shaky asked.
"Kind of. You and I are going to have a rematch" I said, referring to the mario kart game from about a couple of weeks ago. Shaky began laughing as I handed him a controller.
"A rematch when the original game was with four people, seems fair," Shaky said.
"Well do you want to play call of duty? We got the xbox hooked up to" I offered.
"For now" Shaky answered.
Kate's POV
Me and Lilly walked down the stairs and took our usual seats at the table. It had been such a long time since it was just us four. There were plates and cups sitting out even though me and Lilly never quite used cups. Mom had just brought out the chicken and set it down. Some found it unusual that we would eat chicken over turkey on such a holiday but we found turkey so bland. The fix was really quite simple. I took a leg, some mashed potatoes, and green beans. Not much more could fit on my plate so I would have to go for other sides after I was done. Those sweet potatoes looked really good.
"Thanks for the food mom," Lilly said.
"You know it" mom said as she sat down. We ate in silence for a bit until the major feeling of hunger had died down to the point where we were not completely focused on stuffing our faces.
"So are you guys leaving after this?" mom asked. Lilly looked over at me to answer.
"Yeah, unless you guys wanted to do something" I said.
"No, it's fine. We know how close you guys are, I think it's sweet that you're going over to Humphrey's" mom explained.
"Just thank Rick again for the gifts" dad asked.
"I will," I laughed.
"Oh, we'll have to put everything in the car," Lilly said.
"We'll get to that," I said.
"So how's the TV? I heard you and Lilly watching it" mom asked.
"It's great, it's HD and takes up almost the entire space on top of the dresser" Lilly answered. I laughed.
"Rick really is a nice boy," dad said. I turned to him to see that he was twiddling with his fork and his ears were lowered. I placed my hand over his, making him look over at me.
"Don't worry about the past," I said. Dad nodded and continued eating. I joined in and we enjoyed the rest of our amazing holiday dinner.
Shaky"s POV
"Dude why are you trying so hard?" Humphrey asked me.
"I'm not" I defended.
"Bro, you are jump shotting every fucking kill" Humphrey complained.
"I did that once, I promise you I'm not try harding" I said.
"Bullshit," Humphrey replied.
"Dude if anything your try harding" I said.
"I'm try harding? How?" Humphrey asked.
"I'm literally laying on the couch, you're sitting up, leaning forward," I answered. Humphrey fixed his posture slowly and then stared at me.
"Shut up," he said. We both then shared a laugh as the doorbell rang.
"I got it" I said, getting up. I walked over to the door and opened it up.
"Shaky!" Angel cried happily jumping into my arms. I caught her and started laughing.
"Hey Angie, hey Rick" I smiled.
"Hey, smells good in here" he complimented.
"I'm sure Myra will love to hear that" I said. I then lowered my head to give Angel a kiss. Just like always her lips tasted so sweet. Rick walked into the living room to say hi to Humphrey. I shut the door and then met them afterward with Angel.
"Hey Humphrey," Angel said.
"Hey Angel," Humphrey greeted.
"Can I just… put these anywhere?" Rick asked, holding up presents.
"Just put them by the tree," Humphrey said. Rick didn't respond, he just did as Humphrey said.
"There's more, but I wanted to say hi first" Angel said.
"Oh I'll help Rick get the rest" Humphrey offered.
"Oh yeah?' Rick asked.
"Yeah" Humphrey said as he walked him out of the house. Me and Angel sat on the couch, holding hands tenderly.
"I missed you" I said.
"Hmm, I missed you," Angel said lovingly. We kissed again, this time with some tongue. We licked slowly, taking in the taste and the love that we were feeling. We continued the soothing kiss until Rick and Humphrey came back inside. We broke it with a smack and wiped our mouths.
"I think that's everything" Rick said as he put the presents with the others. Humphrey stood holding others as Rick took them a few at a time to put with the others.
"Has Kate texted you?" Humphrey asked. Rick placed the rest and placed them and then sat on the couch.
"Yeah, she's on her way," Rick answered.
"Keep an eye on your bed room Humps, I think Kate and Rick want to make some Christmas fuck" Angel warned making us all laugh. At that moment Humphrey's mom came into the room.
"Oh my God, Rick, Angel how are you two?" she asked as she gave Rick a hug. "How are you feeling?" she asked.
"Better," Rick answered. She brushed his cheek and smiled.
"I'm so sorry that bastard didn't get locked up," she said.
"Don't apologize like it's your fault," Angel said.
"I just can't help but feel bad," Myra admitted.
"I guess all that matters is that I'm here, and alive," Rick said.
"Thankfully" I added. Angel brushed my shoulder in response.
"We're glad you're here Rick," Humphrey said.
"We don't know what we would do without ya" I added.
"I love you guys," Rick said. I saw Humphrey pat his back.
"We love you too," Angel said.
"You kids have been through a lot, and yet you're still here, together… I really wish I had a group like you growing up" Myra said. She then stood up and began walking to the kitchen. "Dinner is almost ready, you guys can sit at the table if you want" she offered. We all looked at each other and then stood up.
"Me and Angel already ate but we'll have a bite," Rick said.
"A bite he says" Angel teased as we passed him and Humphrey. We heard the two laugh before they followed us into the dining room.
Kate's POV
"I guess we're parking by the curb" I said as I stopped the car. I put it in park and turned the key. From the looks of it everyone was already there. Me and Lilly stepped out, immediately getting hit with the cold air.
"Holy shit" Lilly said as she hugged herself to warm up.
"Let's hurry up and grab these presents so we can head inside" I said. I then shut the car door and opened the back door. Lilly did the same. We grabbed the presents on each side and shut the door using our legs and then jogged over to the front door of the house. We didn't have the hands to push the doorbell so Lilly used her body to push the presents up against the wall to balance them so that she could free a hand. She rang the doorbell twice and then went back to holding the presents. Humphrey ended up opening the door with the same smile that I loved to see. He took the presents out of Lilly's hands and stepped to the side to let us in.
"Hey guys" he greeted.
"Hey Humphrey, I guess I'll just follow you," I said. Humphrey nodded.
"Lilly get the door?" he asked. Lilly did what was asked of her and then we began moving to the living room which was literally right next to the door. Turning though I saw everyone sitting at the dining room table. I briefly saw Rick before he started coming over to me. I continued moving to the living room though so that I could actually free my hands and hug him. I placed the presents down next to where Humphrey put his pile and the saw that he was almost immediately hugged by Lilly.
"Merry Christmas," she said. He chuckled.
"Merry Christmas Lills" he said. I smiled at the sight and then turned to see that Rick was to my right.
"Hey you" I greeted.
"Hey" he said. He gave my tongue a quick lick and then we smiled at each other as we hugged.
"The TV is great" I said. He chuckled.
"Glad to hear, did you eat?" he asked.
"Yeah, you?" I asked. To my left I saw Lilly and Humphrey walk out of the living room and disappear into the dining room.
"You bet, still we should go sit" he said.
"Not yet" I replied and then pushed my lips into his again. He cupped my soft cheek like he did earlier, making me melt into the kiss. Everytime I felt his touch no matter the context I always felt safe, relaxed. Ever since the hospital when I woke up to the feeling of him holding my hand, the realization of him saving me. He was my light. Everytime we touched I felt this way, everytime we kissed I felt like I was in a different place. It was always so… warm. Our lips parted and then Rick put his head against mine. I exhaled as I felt myself relax. I loved when he did this too.
"I love you Kate," he said. I smiled and then raised my head, finally opening my eyes.
"I love you too" we went to kiss again but were interrupted by the door bell. We broke our embrace and then went to answer it. When I came out of the doorway though I saw Humphrey getting up. I gave him a small signal that I would get it though and he sat back down at the table. I then answered the door to see someone that I had never met before.
"Hello," I greeted.
"Hey, I'm with Myra," he said.
"oh , hey Lyle '' Rick greeted as he turned the corner.
"Hey, have we met?" he asked.
"Not properly," Rick answered.
"Come in, it's cold out there" I said, stepping to the side. Lyle stepped in and took his jacket off and began hanging it on the coat rack. I was still recovering from the outside though so my sweatshirt stayed on, only partly zipped. I shut the door and offered my hand. "Kate," I smiled.
"Lyle," he said, taking my hand. He then stepped to the right and peered into the dining room. "Wow, it's like a daycare in here" he said as he began towards the room. Me and Rick simply just glanced at one another and then went to go inside. We took a seat at the table. Meanwhile Lyle went into the kitchen to greet Humphrey's mom.
"Did you guys eat?" Shaky asked.
"I think everyone here did except for you and Humphrey" Angel pointed out.
"She's right," I said.
"Still might have a bite or two though" Rick said.
"Eat what you want guy's, we're just glad you're here" Humphrey said. Just then his mom and Lyle came out of the kitchen. His mom put the ham on the table and it smelled great, yeah I think I could fit a bite or two. Lyle took a seat as did Humphrey's mom.
"Alright guy's, there's a lot of food here so dig in, eat as much as you can" she said. We all agreed and thanked her before grabbing our portions.
"Oh my God, this is great Myra," Shaky said.
"Thank you sweetie," she replied.
"You know back when I was a kid we called the respective home owners by their last name" Lyle said. I was beginning to see what Rick was talking about.
"I told him to call me Myra," Myra said.
"Um… the food is great" I complimented. It was starting to feel awkward.
"Thank you Kate," Myra said. I know Shaky had just said it but by God the silence was just killing me.
"So Lyle, are you really a cop? What's it like? Because that's what I want to do when I graduate" Angel said.
"You want to be a cop?" Lyle asked.
"I want to work homicide," Angel replied.
"That still surprises me," Shaky commented. Angel hit his arm playfully and smiled.
"Well that is way different than what I do, are you really sure that's what you want to do though? You're small" Lyle said.
"I can handle it," Angel said.
"That's my girl," Shaky said. I smiled at the response Shaky gave.
"Well good luck with that, if you really think that you can do it" Lyle said. Why was he doubting her? It didn't matter, we all separated into our own conversations anyway. It ended up being a nice dinner for the most part. It was just that start that was awkward. We offered to help clean up but Myra said it was just a matter of throwing everything in the dishwasher. We accepted and then went to the living room to open presents. It was all around a good time but the best moment was when Rick said he had another present for everyone.
"Everyone?" I asked. Rick turned to me.
"Everyone, including you," he said. He got me more? Even more? He bent over and handed everyone a present that were all the same exact size. A small box-like shape.
"Rick, please tell me this is the last thing you got me" I said.
"For now" Rick answered. This was all too much. "All right guys open them up" Rick instructed. The group all opened their gifts to see that it was a framed picture of the night at the boardwalk. Our group photo. I felt so touched by this gesture.
"I love it," Lilly said.
"I've wanted this framed for so long," Shaky said.
"Let me see?" Myra asked. Humphrey handed her the picture. She studied it and then smiled. "You guys are all so great together," she said.
"I got one for myself for my night stand, figured you guys would like one" Rick explained.
"I did, I really, really did," I said. I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him. Rick accepted it, wrapping his arms around me as well and returning the warm gesture.
"Guys, I think this was a successful Christmas," Humphrey said.
"Yeah it was," Shaky replied.
"Are you guys coming to the new years party?" I asked.
"You bet," Myra said. She then stood up. "I need a smoke, want to join me Lyle?" she asked.
"Sure" he said before following her to the backyard.
"Thank you, for everything" I said, brushing Rick's cheek.
"Always," Rick replied. I giggled and kissed him.
"Can I spend the night at your place? I'm really horny" I said. Rick laughed.
"Okay" he said. He gave me another kiss afterward.
"Can we leave within the hour?" I asked. Rick nodded.
"If you want," he said. I smiled and then broke the hug.
"Hey Lilly, want to stay over here? I'm gonna go to Rick's place" I said. By now Lilly was sitting on the couch with Humphrey, talking about whatever.
"Sure, I can use a good screw," she joked.
"As for you Angel, my family is still there and I really don't want you to meet them" Shaky said.
"Why? Are you embarrassed?" Angel asked.
"No no actually it's the opposite, their assholes and just… they don't deserve to meet you is all" Shaky explained. Angel sighed and then gave him a kiss.
"Okay" she moaned.
"Do you guys want to watch a Christmas movie and then we'll be on our way?" I suggested.
"Sounds good to me," Humphrey said. We ended up watching home alone again and once it was finished we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. I ended up driving by myself until I got to Rick's house, by this point the sun had gone down and the day was almost over. I texted my mom that I would be staying over Rick's and she said it was okay and to stay safe. I agreed and then went into the house, following Rick and Angel inside. I said a quick hi to his parents and then we went upstairs to his room to finish up this wonderful day with some chess, movies, and loving sex. This was the first holiday with these guys, and honestly I wouldn't want it any other way. I loved them all so much. This was my life, and I was so grateful.