Danny Cunningham

The thought of being on break for the next week had me practically floating down the aisles of the grocery store when I got there. To think, a whole week of just me and Ashton, because Ashton had sent my mom and dad on a romantic trip. No one to interrupt us at bad moments. No staying at home while Ashton is over and I'm stuck healing. Nothing but him and me in an empty house. God, it sounds like heaven! I had to chuckle at my own thoughts. If anyone could hear what i was thinking, they'd laugh at me for being such a cringy fool in love. Then again, maybe not. People, like my dad and uncle, seem to assume that I'm the more romantic one in the relationship.

If only they knew the truth. I had no concept or idea of how to create romantic moments, yes. There was no denying that. But what others didn't know was how much of a romantic Ashton was. As I sifted through the lettuce—wanting it to make a salad with dinner in the next couple nights—I couldn't help but smile to myself at my memories.

In so many ways, Ashton was one of the sweetest people that I had ever known. The man was way more of a romantic than others realized despite his scary face. I remembered one night, a few days ago, when Ashton had taken off earlier from my house than I had expected even though I had told him to wait for me, leaving while I was gone. I had been curious, but when id asked Sam where Ashton had went, he'd just shrugged and offered me a ride home. When I had gotten home that night, i'd been wonderfully surprised from the instant I walked through the door.

The house had been dimmed again. Not completely dark; a concession to my inability to be in complete darkness. I'd followed the only light source to the dining room, where i had only been able to stand there and gasp. The table had been completely decked out—tablecloth, nice dishes, candles, a delicious smelling meal, wine and water for me. And best of all, Ashton standing beside the table, smiling at him, dressed in the dark black jeans i so loved seeing him in and nothing else. In his hands he'd held just one single flower. A lily of the valley. The standard definition of lily of the valley in the language of flowers was symbolic of 'Sweetness, Humility, You've Made My Life Complete'. The fact that Ashton had taken the time to teach me these meanings, knowing that I would recall them for times like this, had almost melted me.

So began one of the most romantic evenings that I had ever had. When I'd asked Ashton what the special occasion was, i'd completely lost it when the big guy told me that it was the monthly anniversary of the day he'd realized what he felt for me, all that time ago.

A tap against my cart brought me out of me reminiscing and back into the present moment. Embarrassment had my cheeks turning red when I saw a woman trying to get to the lettuce. Quickly i grabbed mine and scurried off. You've really, really got to stop doing that Dan! As taken as you may be with Ashton, you can't just space out like that!

I made sure not to lose myself in my thoughts as I finished picking up the last of the items I needed to make dinner. Once I had grabbed the last thing needed, I headed to the register and paid for the items. My dad had recently gotten a pay raise and wanted me to splurge on food while he was away for Christmas. Then Morgan, Ashton's driver, got it all loaded in the car and before taking off for my home.

After all this time, home sounded wonderful to me now. Home didn't mean the mostly empty place because dad had to work triple shifts to finance us anymore. It wasn't a place I had to worry about my aggressor invading and stealing my stuff anymore. I finally had a safe space for just myself. Home was the house I shared with my dad, who worked less, looked younger, had more money to spend and looked less stressed. And where Ashton would frequently come by to study, to hang out, to eat....to fool around.

Not to mention, another new addition to the family.

Once I got home, he could see that Ashton hadn't quite made it back just yet. So, gathering some of the bags with Morgan's help, I kept one hand open so I could unlock the door and let myself into the house. After tossing the keys in the dish on the entry hall table, I brought the bags into the kitchen, laughing as Leatherface came barreling down the hallway toward me. The St Barnard dog barked excitedly while Morgan put the bags down and circled around me. "Yes, yes, Leatherface. Calm down. You need to go out, don't you buddy? Hm?" Though I wouldn't admit it to the others, I constantly spoke to Leatherface as if he was a person who could answer since Ashton bought him to me from a rescue shelter a few days ago. 

I let the dog out in the backyard and went to help Morgan bring the rest of the bags in. After that, he set about putting things away for me. Once that was done, I gathered the food he'd bought, setting it all out on the table. Ashton would be here soon enough. It was amazing how well our lives had meshed together.

"Aren't you going to spend Christmas with your family, Morgan?" I asked as I began chopping up some vegetables. 

"I don't have any family, sir," Morgan answered quickly.

"Oh, well, anything you want for Christmas?" I asked him.

"No sir, I've already received my Christmas bonus."

"Then take a day off of something. Find a girlfriend or something and enjoy your holiday." I told him.

"I'm not very interested in people." He shot my idea down immediately. "With all due respect, sir, I enjoy working for you and Mr. Belle more than having holidays and I'm not very keen on the concept of family."

He must be the workaholic type. No use in pushing him to do anything he didn't want, I guess. "Ok, but at least join us at the table for Christmas instead of just standing in the background or eating in a different room. It'd be nice for you to join us."

"Yes sir," I felt like he hadn't loosened up at all. Morgan (I don't know his last name) was a man around 40-years old that stood tall and silently, but was alway polite. He stood with confidence and elegance. He was well-built and I could see his muscles under the Armani suit he always wore. I gestured him to sit down at the kitchen table and put a few pieces of fruit in front of him to eat. "I've already eaten."

"Have a snack, Morgan," I sighed before getting back to my meal prep. The sound of a car pulling up outside alerted me that someone had just pulled into the driveway. Unfortunately, it also alerted Leatherface, who came tearing in from the backyard right as I was walking toward the table. Even though I saw it coming, I couldn't move fast enough to stop it. Leatherface raced in the house, catching me right in the legs and sending me toppling to the ground, the box of pasta in my hand flying.

"Fucking dog!" Curses filled the air as i pushed myself up off the ground. Penne was on my head, and all over the floor. I was covered in raw pasta. Dammit, dammit, dammit! Looking over to Leatherface, i glared at him, brushing the scattered pieces off of me. In response, Leatherface walked over and licked right up the side of my face and stared at me with his huge eyes.

"Don't think that gets you out of trouble, ya brat." I grumbled at him. "Dammit, now I'm covered in dinner! Leatherface!" The dog was trying to lick my face more while I was busy trying to get him to back off. The dog just pushed at me, knocking me back down again from the half sitting position i'd managed to get into. The huge dog was now pinning me to the floor and trying to lick the uncooked pasta and veggies off of my face and head. "No, no! Leatherface!" I shouted at him. I brought my hands up, pushing the dog and failing miserably. "Get off of me! Dammit, Leatherface! This was not an invitation for dinner you shit!"

Sudden laughter filled the kitchen. Part of my brain registered that there was more than one laugh—I vaguely wondered who else was there—but then Leatherface was being pulled off of me by Morgan and Ashton's hand was there to help me up. I took the offered hand, glaring at a panting Leatherface and a smirking Ashton and Morgan as I was brought to my feet. Instantly I grumbled. "I swear, Ashton. You need to teach that dog not to get so excited at the sound of the car. He heard you pull in and sent me flying in his effort to get to the door."

Ashton didn't even bother to hide his laughter at my expense. He grabbed a paper towel off the counter and brushed me off with it. "I see he sent dinner flying too."

"Your dog is a menace!" I snapped at him.

That just made him laugh harder. "You know you love him, Lovebug. Let Morgan take over the cooking, let's go sit down in the living room for a bit."

"I'm supposed to be cooking," I argued.

"It's ok, I've got it from here," Morgan said continuing from where I had left off. Motherfucker! Why is he going along with this nonsense? In my home!

Leading me into the living room, I saw Amanda sitting on the couch with a glass of wine in her hand. She smiled appreciatively at us and I could immediately tell that she had been drinking. The dog followed me over to the chair and laid his head in my lap when i sat down.

"How long have you two been dating now?"

"Officially? Oh, around about five months. Ever since we had the dinner with him and his dad." Chuckling to himself, Ashton ran his hand through his hair. "I could probably tell you how long, down to the minute if I look at my phone."

Laughter bubbled up from Amanda. She stared at us for a long moment, a smile curving her lips. It was enough to make me want to squirm. "I'm happy for you, Bubba. Anyone can see he makes you happy. Hell, you're practically glowing." She shrugged and took a drink off her wine again. 

Bubba? Is that Ashton's nickname? "Don't call me that in front of him, mom!"

"Fine," she sighed. "Daniel, I've heard about everything and I must apologize for my overbearing son, he really was taught by my husband. In some ways, I think we might've raised him to be too selfish sometimes. Of course we've always been worried about him, but in doing so, we spoiled him. When he was little, he wound up taking other kids toys and asking for more and more. Chip and I couldn't help but spoil him rotten. 

"I was really concerned he'd end up out of control and in bad company as Ashton has always been a peculiar child. The fact that he didn't laugh with anyone and couldn't make friends until recently was also a great concern to me, I'm so happy to find out just how much he can smile. I'm beyond appreciative that you'll be taking care of him, Daniel. I'll finally be able to stop worrying as much knowing that he has a reliable partner like you."

"Would you like to eat dinner with us, Mrs. Belle?" I could feel my face heating up. Ashton just squeezed my hand gently.

"Please, call me momma," she giggled.

"Let's just enjoy the meal when it comes," Ashton said. "There's no asparagus in the dinner right? I saw some on the counter, I hate asparagus."

"You hate asparagus?" I asked. This was new, but I guess I've seen him push it off to the side a few times before.

"Isn't it old people food? You like it?" Ashton looked astonished then a bit tortured. "I guess I'll try it then..."

"No one is forcing you to!" I flicked his forehead.

"You're even getting him to try stuff he never would before! It's incredible!" Amanda started to wipe under her eyes as if she'd witnessed the second coming of Jesus.

"What kinda crap have you been putting your parents through?" I asked him.

"Don't be ridiculous, baby. I've always been a good boy, I just have a sensitive stomach." 

"You're weird," I huffed.

"When did you pick up on it?" Amanda asked me.

"Oh, lots of things pointed it out." I tried to be relaxed in my seat and tried to keep myself from overreacting to all of this. Things would be ok with Amanda. They would! I just had to believe that. "Well I always thought it was weird that a minority of people didn't like him at school, but then I realized that it was because he's only nice to me. Which I don't exactly think is a helpful skill for the future. Then there's way he can't eat the cheap food that I'm used to, though I can understand why. Then there's his ego that naturally comes out whenever he speaks of acts on something, as if he's a superior. It makes me wonder how he could be so insecure yet so cocky at the same time. It's cute but-" i was cut off abruptly when Ashton leaned over and kissed me, shutting my brain off just as it always did, and making me lose my train if thought.

When Ashton sat back in his chair again, he grinned at his chuckling mother. "Don't listen to him. He tends to ramble a little when you get him going on something. I've found that's the quickest way to cut him off."

"I think I'll leave that method to you." Amanda teased. When she saw my instant blush, her chuckles grew to a full on laugh. "Oh man, I can see why you like him, Ashton. He's just too damn cute." Turning to look at me, she winked. "If you were straight and a bit older, I'd snatch you up in a heartbeat, cutie pie."

What the hell was a person supposed to say to that? I swore my cheeks just kept growing hotter and hotter. It didn't get any better when Ashton grinned at me and winked as well. "He is pretty damn cute, isn't he? Especially when he blushes like that. But you'll have to get your own genius, mom. This one's all mine."

"Aw, Bubba!" Amanda pretended to whine. "Didn't Mom teach you anything about sharing?"

Ashton scoffed at her. "Share this? Hell no. I don't share what's mine, old lady." The instant his words sunk in, I know I blushed hotter than ever. I dropped his head down to look at my socks, trying to ignore the laughter that was now filling the dining room. Sweet God. It's like having two of Ashton in the house. Half the time I barely manage to keep up with him when he teases me back. How the hell am I going to manage with TWO? I'm going to spend this entire visit looking like a tomato. I am so screwed.

Apparently Ashton decided to take pity on me and he cut off his laughter, smothering it down to chuckles before finally stopping. "Why don't we eat something now? It looks like Morgan finished cooking." I suggested kindly. His remark only served to remind me of the earlier incident and I groaned loudly. With that sound, Ashton and his mother were laughing once more. Leatherface came around the coffee table, shoving his head under my arm, trying to get at my face again. I lifted my head to glare at the dog. "Oh no you don't, you brat. This is your fault to begin with! If it wasn't for you, I would've had dinner on the table and been able to greet everyone just fine."

Leatherface whined and nudged me more, trying to get at me to lick my face. With a sigh, I moved my hand and rubbed the dog's head. "There, now go lay down. I'm not trusting you over here while we eat."

As the dog moved away from the me with his head down as Morgan started serving us food. I felt myself relaxing a little as we all dug into our dinners. The conversation didn't stop, but this part I had been prepared for.

"So which house are you two moving into?" Amanda asked.

"One near a college, I guess," Ashton shrugged. 

"What house? You never told me about a house?" I shot a look at him.

"Things were a little—complicated, at first." He said quietly. Was he talking about having to deal with his birth mom? "There were some things i had to take care of before I could worry about anything else. I was eventually going to ask you but I wanted to wait until you were better."

"Oops. Well how about a different question. How do you feel about working part time?" Amanda asked excitedly. "With me and Ashton?"

"That sounds cool," I would like to try as many things as possible since I feel as though my life was really just starting to come together positively. Plus, I couldn't think of better use of my academic skills than to help Ashton out with his business when he needs it? A husband should be an asset after all. "I'd like to start as soon as possible."

"Really?" Amanda gasped excitedly. "My office will be the perfect place in magnifying your appeal to its fullest potential. I'm sure you'll be popular and thrive and build strong lasting connections over time. On top of that, you have such a wonderful personality. If you are Ashton's partner, I don't have a single complaint."

"Baby, it only needs to be me working, but now you're going to lose your freedom too. Don't you want to focus on tattooing?" Ashton asked.

"I can do both, it's only part time, and I'd like to make my own money."

"Why? I can do it for you? I want to-"

"What kind of man would I be if I didn't know how to make money? It's better to be an asset than a black hole, Ashton," I insisted.

"See, you should learn from him Ashton." Amanda backed me up.

"You're too kind," I chuckled glad that at least she could understand that I wanted to work. 

"Well, Danny does have a good strong character although he's super apprehensive when meeting people. But maybe that apprehensiveness will make it easier for him to make connections." Ashton changed his tune. Did this asshole seriously think I would agree to be a housewife?

"You know, I was apprehensive around you at first, and for a damn good reason as well. Maybe my ego isn't as big as-"

"Baby! Don't say that! I just meant that I was planning on spoiling you forever!" Ashton told me anxiously putting his plate of food down and grabbing my shoulder. "It's an ego thing, but it's only because I want to give you all the comforts."

"I'm both moved and sorry. Ashton has always been efficient at work and has an incredible work ethic, but in exchange his personality is in shambles. It's my fault his ego had gotten so big, after all, he's never wanted anything for more than ten minutes and I've given him a position of power since his skills showed themselves. I definitely taught him to be very sure of himself because of status. Despite all this, he becomes this shy selfish child that only listens to you. You have my full respect," Amanda seemed as though she was on the verge of tears.

Ok, maybe I was being to harsh. Ashton has told me multiple times that he wanted to give me the life where I didn't have to lift a finger again. I don't think he really put together that I might not want to have people waiting on me hand and foot or live the life of a stepford wife, as flattered as I was. I guess I should blame myself a bit as well, as I might've hinted that I was interested in that kind of life a few times when I was feeling romanced.

This might also be him trying to prove him love in unnecessary ways again.

"I think working a part time will be a godsend since I'd like a sense of normalcy. And it's about time I made money to fund my own ambitions," I explained.

"You can do that after college!" Ashton tried again.

"No. I'll take the job," I turned away from Ashton's pleading face back to Amanda. "Things have been fairly hectic for a multitude of reasons, so working with you guys might help me alleviate some of the stress for now and the future. Also I think the academic skills I have would work best in an office setting."

"I'm delighted to hear how seriously you're thinking about your future, Dan. Ashton couldn't care less about it, but with you there, he might take it seriously." Amanda sipped more wine until Ashton held up a toasted piece of bread for her to munch on. "I'll get in touch with you after your exams with the details."

"Sounds great," I said. My first job! Sure, it would've been better to wait until after college to work, but I felt like I needed this for myself. I'd feel a lot better with myself being self sufficient or having some type of income that didn't stem from Ashton in someway.

"Make sure he gets some rest tonight," Amanda told me.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure he gets all the TLC he needs," I assured her. 

"Then when will you move in with me?" Ashton shook me so he get my attention back like a child begging for their parents attention. 

"I'll give you an exact date after we graduate high school, Ash. There's no way we can move in together before that, and you told me that there's no rush. I want to move in with you, but we should handle our priorities first so no one can object when the time comes," I told him thinking that I'm being very reasonable. As much as I had faith in his love, the doubt was still there for the long term because we were moving along pretty fast, as natural as the progression was. "Can we do that?"

Ashton lowered his head defiantly but grunted in agreement. "Ok, let's do that."

"It's only so we can have a smoother time as we come together more, Ash. Don't pout," I tapped his chin with my finger. "Didn't I already say that I'll marry you? I don't want any grievances or regret getting in the way of that from you or me."

"Oh, so you want to just avoid your dad complaining!" Ashton misunderstood happily. I was going to explain myself further, but the adorable relieved smile on his face shut me up. He somewhat got what I was saying and that's what matters. As long as he doesn't push it until graduation, I'll be alright.

"Yeah, I want him to be proud of me for something, so don't be anxious. I don't want to break up."

"Ok! I won't argue with you. I'll support you at work too!" He declared. "An office couple! That'll be awesome!"

But I still kind of lied to change your attitude. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize! What you want is the most important thing to me too and I already said I'd support you in anything you wanted to do. You should do everything you want," Ashton perked up. "A workplace romance would be pretty nice either way."

Did he mean that in a dirty way? Because that's exactly how I took it. I bet he was having fantasies of us banging in meeting rooms and bathrooms behind locked doors. Or, to add excitement, somewhere where we could get caught in a compromising position. It really sounds hot.

"I've never seen you this excited about work!" Amanda squealed drunkenly. "I knew this was a good decision!"

By the time dinner was done, the three of us were still laughing together. I had brought my feet up on the couch and had folded my arms over my knees, resting my head on Ashton's chest as he held me on his arm. The warmth from him, the heavy meal and the warm conversation were lulling me down toward sleep and I was quite content to let it take me there.

I couldn't help but thinking this actually wasn't so bad. Maybe his birth mom didn't react so well—I'll have to see if Ashton wants to talk more about that later so I can make sure he's really ok. But Amanda seems to genuinely be pleased with us being together. She's a kind woman, too, and just as warm and funny and sweet as Ashton is as scary as she looks sometimes. She's easy to relax around. Easy to talk to. Plus, she seems perfectly at ease right now. She didn't even blink when Ashton kissed me earlier. That's definitely a good thing, right?

A warm kissed suddenly pressed against my temple. I blinked sleepily, trying to focus my eyes as I wanted to continue speaking with them. When i finally focused, I saw Ashton bent over me a bit, smiling down at me. "Come on, Lovebug. You're going to hurt your back if you sleep on the couch like that."

M'fine." I mumbled at him. I was enjoying himself, sitting here and listening to them. It was nice.

Ashton chuckled and took hold of me, picking me up off the couch in that princess style he liked so much. "Sure you are, baby. But mom and I are also ready for bed and you know I won't go to sleep without you. Morgan is about to drive my mom home now, so let's head to bed."

"You can handle everything, Bubba?" Amanda asked.

"Yeah, just lock up on the way out."

"No problem. Night, Bubba. Night, Danny!"

I managed a little half wave before Ashton carried me out of the living room. I thought that maybe I should protest being manhandled from the couch but I found that I couldn't. Especially when Ashton helped sit me on the edge of the bed. I gave a soft little sigh and started to lie down fully realizing how tired I was. Ashton's hands on my shoulders stopped me, though. "Not yet, Lovebug. Let's get you out of your clothes first or you'll be uncomfortable."

Mostly asleep, I didn't really have to do anything. I just sat there, struggling to keep my eyes open, as Ashton stripped me out of my clothes. Then, just like a child, he helped me the rest of the way onto bed and the blankets were pulled over me properly. A moment later Ashton's warm big muscles joined me in bed. A little satisfied moan slipped past my lips when Ashton put his arm around my waist and pulled him back. There was nothing better than sleeping in the warm curve of Ashton's big body.

I felt a kiss being placed against the side of my neck. "Go to sleep, baby. I love you."

"Love you too, Ash." No matter how tired I was, I didn't want to go to sleep without saying those words ever. Giving a contented sigh, I slid into sleep.

I awoke to the bed bouncing so hard i was almost launched from Ashton's arms. The grip around my waist tightened to hold me in place, anchoring me in the safety of his embrace. That was almost enough to keep the panic back. But my eyes still shot open wide with terror and my whole body locked down in preparation for whatever it was that woke me up. When i saw Amanda and Chip now sitting on the bed, I couldn't do anything but gape at them.

"Mmmmm, stop it mommy," Ashton mumbled against the back of my neck. "Get the hell out of our bed."

Amanda's laugh filled the room and Chip snickered. "Come on, you two! It's already six!" Chip exclaimed in a loud whine. "We want to open presents!"

Now that I knew there was no earthquake, I relaxed my muscles. I deliberately rolled over, presenting them my back as I snuggled up against Ashton's chest. It's way too early and this wasn't a farm. Ashton had been spooning behind me, so his on-the-side position now offered me the perfect shelter to snuggle down and hide in. I felt Ashton chuckle and hug me a little closer, kissing the top of my head. "We aint ready to get up yet." Ashton finally said with a yawn. "Go on somewhere."

"But, but, Ash!" Amanda whined. Her pout was evident in her words. "We can't open presents without you two and we want to open them now!"

Her loud voice had me scowling against Ashton's chest. Luckily he understood what I meant just by feeling it. "Be quiet." He grumbled to the room. "Go 'way. Don't wanna get up."

His grumbles only made the two laugh. His irritation grew worse when he heard Amanda say "Aww. He's so cute when he's sleepy, Chippie! He sounds like a little kid!"

Uncurling one arm from our snuggled position, he lifted his hand just enough for his parents to see it and didn't have to open my eyes to see that it was probably something vulgar. I get it though. Screw being nice. He was tired, I was tired, and we'd been woken up by insane adults jumping on my bed, and now he was being teased and called 'cute' and a 'little kid'. A man could only handle so much first thing in the morning, Christmas or no Christmas.

As Chip started to practically shriek with laughter, Amanda snorted and leaned forward. "Come on, Danny. Mommas got imported teas out there waiting for you. That Christmas blend kind Ashton likes so much. The pot was just finishing when we came back, so it's fresh..."

At her words, Ashton groaned and I lifted my head. We both knew the pair wouldn't leave, just as they knew the promise of good tea would get me out of bed. When we started to sit up, the two cheered happily. I found my hands being grasped by Amanda, who was pulling me to get him out of bed, just as Chip was pulling on Ashton. We weren't even given time to dress and were dragged out in the boxer shorts we'd worn to bed.

When we reached the living room, I finally managed to break my hands free. I looked around the room and, totally ignoring the tree and presents, and tried my best to find the imported tea i'd been promised. When I realized it wasn't there, I felt very annoyed. Amanda caught sight of this and tried to distract me. "Danny! Come see what's in your stocking!"

"You promised him tea. He wants that first," Ashton grumbled.

Morgan suddenly entered the room with a mug on a plate. "Good Morning, sir. I couldn't stop them from waking you two up. I didn't realize what they were doing until I heard them jump on your bed. I hope they didn't startle you too much."

For a second I stared down at my mug, and just nodded taking the tea from him. I saw the color indicating that the right amount of cream and sugar had been added. Picking it up, I took a sip. My eyes closed and I gave a pleasurable little hum as I warmed up. Perfect. A hand patting my cheek made my eyes open. Ashton was standing there, smiling at me. "Merry Christmas, Lovebug."

Riding on impulse, I leaned up and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. "Merry Christmas, Ash."

It only took a minute after I was settled on the couch before a stocking was tossed at my feet by Amanda. "Check out what's in your stocking, Dan." She told me, a candy cane sticking out of the side of her mouth. She sat in the middle of the floor, her own stocking in her lap. Chip was beside her, digging through his, pulling out a nice fedora that had him grinning.

Ashton sat on the other end of the couch, legs curled up like mine, his own stocking sitting against him. He offered me a smile. Shifting, he moved to the middle cushion before stretching over and stealing another morning kiss.

"Mm." I smiled and kissed him again. "Merry Christmas to you too, honey."

About that time was when Morgan bustled into the room, with more coffee mugs hands. The parents took theirs and watched him avidly as he made her way back to the kitchen. As soon as they was comfortable, Chip almost dove for the tree, making me snort into my tea. Ashton's parents were like little kids, they were so excited about the presents. Presents, I saw, that had grown overnight. Someone had added quite a few more underneath the tree. 

Almost instantly Chip tried to start opening a gift. Amanda cleared her throat, making the man grin and duck his head a little. "Fine, fine." Chip grumbled good-naturedly. Then he was back to the pile under the tree. 

I turned curious eyes to Ashton, who smiled back and explained "Mom doesn't let us open anything until they're all passed out."

Again I brought my tea up, this time to hide my little smile. It was fun, to learn these little traditions the Belle family held for Christmas, though I could do without the wake up call. Not having experienced these myself, I loved seeing it now. I loved to watch the way that Amanda almost glowed as her pile grew, or how Chip pretended to grumble because Amanda seemed to be getting all the gifts so far. When the first gift was placed in front of me with Ashton's name written on it, I smiled. When another joined it, my eyebrows shot up, but I said nothing.

Soon every person in the room had a stack of gifts. I couldn't help but stare at mine, not quite sure how to process this. Sure, i had bought gifts for everyone here. One each. But I hadn't expected to end up with the biggest pile of gifts in the room. It was enough to leave me speechless.

Ashton kicked me gently with a foot to nudge me. "Put the tea down and open up, baby." He teased me. Already Ashton was tearing into one of his presents. Eyes scanning the room, I saw that everyone else was opening theirs as well giving me a warmer feeling than the tea. In this moment, I really felt like a part of the Belle family. These people are quite a family. And they've pretty much completely accepted me into this unit. I didn't know how to be a part of this kind of family and feel completely comfortable. My dad and I would exchange a gift or two, but we never sat in front of a tree in our pajamas, happily opening presents. I'd cook, he'd sleep in, we'd exchange gifts and watch movies the rest of the day. My dad never would have worn the reindeer pants Chip is wearing, or the matching red pajama shirt. Hell, he was already admiring the sweater I had made for him. Our Christmases were never like this. But that didn't mean I couldn't enjoy this one. 

I gave everyone a nervous little grin. What i'd gotten for them, I was extremely nervous about. I was never comfortable buying things for people anyways but especially for people I didn't know well enough to know what they'd like. But I had remembered from a conversation with Ashton a while ago that his mom was a quiet opera fan; there was just nobody in the family ever went with her. I still hadn't opened anything as he watched Amanda dig for her gift from me and rip into it. When she opened the box, her mouth dropped open just slightly.

Nervous again, i chewed my lip. "I love La Norte Dame De Paris. I've seen it once before and I was hoping to go to the showing in a couple days. I remember Ashton telling me how much you like opera but they never wanted go with you. So I got two tickets, thinking, if you wanted to go, you know...of course, if there's someone else you want, or if you're not interested anymore..."

"I love it." She cut my ramble off. Her eyes were shining when she looked up at me. "This is one of the greatest gifts! These two never get me tickets. Thank you so much."

Ashton kicked at my leg again and gave me a mock glare. "Quit showing off, baby. Man, you're giving out all sorts of awesome gifts. Looks like you shelled out a pretty penny on things. You rich and not telling me?" he teased.

"Well, tickets were on sale and you bought me that fabric, so I made something for your dad," I said.

"Why not make me one, Lovebug?"

"I've made you several when I was in the hospital!" I snapped at him causing his parents to burst into hysterical laughing fits. 

The laughter carried over for a little longer. Soon everyone was opening their own gifts, exclaiming over the things they received, laughing and talking and having a wonderful time. I opened my gifts slowly, savoring them, enjoying the sensation of being where i was. I gathered a stack of gifts next to me that I absolutely loved. Books, some new clothes, gift cards; a new coffee maker with dual pots that made me grin over at Chip, the one who had given it to me and I saved my gift from Ashton for last.

Inside the large box were three books. I stared at them, speechless. With gentle hands he reverently lifted the first book out. A first edition hardcover copy of The Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales. Next was 1984 by George Orwell. Last was a collection of Southern poetry. All three were books that I had expressed interest in reading again and owning. All of them had been books that i'd enjoyed at the library or stolen by Vincenzo. The fact that Ashton even remembered that, remembered which ones and what edition to get, brought tears to my eyes.

A warm hand on my leg brought his eyes up. I looked at Ashton, who was sitting beside me now, smiling. "I know it hurt you to lose those books. You love your books quite a bit. So I had Morgan help me find those exact ones. Took us a while, but we got them."

"Thank you," I whispered. He leaned in, kissing Ashton with all the love I felt, forgetting entirely about the others. "Thank you so much."

"Anytime, baby."

When we pulled apart, I saw a gift in at Ashton's feet and realized that he had reached the gift from me. He, too, had saved my gift for last. My enjoyment turned once more to nerves. Hopefully Sam was completely right about this being the right gift to give Ashton. "I wonder if it'll be good."

Ashton opened the box and took out the "coupon book" I spent a few days making. The room stayed quiet as he flipped through it at first looking quite happy, then shocked, then twice happy before putting the coupon book down.

"There's no way I can top this," He giggled like a little kid as he eyed me up and down. I relaxed again ignoring him raising his eyebrows at me and feeling like I had finally won the competition he kept insisting that he wasn't having with me.

"So you admit, it was a competition!" I smiled back at him. Ashton turned red but decided not to speak.

After a pause of silence, Amanda shifted over to lean against the couch near where i sat. She reached up, flicking her hand over the stocking still in his lap. "You still haven't dug in your stocking, Daniel." Amanda teased me. With a chuckle, she poked my leg. "Come on, you're being much to mature today. Be a kid and eat some candy for breakfast. Look in your stocking."

"Did you know that no one really knows for sure why stockings are associated with Christmas?" I said absently as i obediently put my cup down and picked the stocking up.

Chip folded his arms on the coffee table and rested his head the sweater I made him, looking up at me. "Really? No one knows why?"

"While there aren't any written records of the origin of the Christmas stocking, there're popular legends that attempt to its history. One such legend says that very long ago, there lived a poor man and his three very beautiful daughters. He had no money to get his daughters married, and he was worried what would happen to them after his death. Saint Nicholas was passing through when he heard the villagers talking about the girls. St. Nicholas wanted to help, but knew that the old man wouldn't accept charity. He decided to help in secret. He waited until it was night and crept through the chimney."

Pulling out a new watch from my stocking, I grinned for a second, not realizing that all eyes were on me, waiting for the rest of the story. Even Morgan had come back in to listen to the tale. After a second i continued to talk. I didn't think it was that interesting.

"He had three bags of gold coins with him, one for each girl. As he was looking for a place to keep those three bags, he noticed stockings of the three girls that were hung over the mantelpiece for drying. He put one bag in each stocking and off he went. When the girls and their father woke up the next morning, they found the bags of gold coins and were of course, overjoyed. The girls were able to get married and live happily ever after."

Amanda sighed softly. "That's a nice story, honey."

Looking at the new watch, which was set to the appropriate time, I realized exactly how much time had passed. Two hours?!

All in all, i decided it was a good first Christmas morning with the Belle family, even if we were jumped on by his parents early on. Despite that, I certainly wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else.