December 25th

“Babe?” Holly called out into the adjoining room as she finished slipping on her heel.
There was no answer. Puzzled, she called out once more, this time choosing to step out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. To her astonishment, it was empty.

Where is he? She thought, drawing her meticulous eyebrows together. She glanced around the room, hoping to find some clue on her boyfriend’s whereabouts. There was none. Her surprise quickly turned into worry when her eyes landed on the alarm clock. 12:15 pm. They were going to be late.

Sighing, she snatched her purse, cellphone and shawl, and hurriedly scurried out of the room, her mind racing. She had just about reached the top of the staircase when a familiar piano lullaby greeted her ears. She smiled softly and allowed herself to get lost in the beauty of the piece. Allowing just a handful of minutes to bask in this serendipitous moment.

All too abruptly, the music stopped and a loud banging of keys shook her from her reverie. She blinked. Curious, she rushed down the hallway, her heels click-clacking against the hardwood floor and halted in front of the slightly ajar door. She placed her left hand firmly on the door, the other around the door knob and gently started pushing the door open.

“Brian?” she gently knocked on the door to his studio, pushing it open at the same time.

Upon hearing her voice, the man in questioned jumped up in surprise. Frantically, he fumbled with something in his hands, trying to hide whatever it was from Holly. Once he was sure it was out of sight, he gazed up at the woman before him.

“Y-yeah?” He breathed and shot her a nervous smile. His left leg had furiously started shaking, he inhaled and tried to steady it, his mind returning to the piano lullaby.

“Everything okay?” Holly let go of the door knob and stepped into the room, her burgundy dress fluttering around her. Brian gulped at the sight of her. He had always thought she looked beautiful, but today, there was something otherworldly about her.

“Y-yes, why?” he cleared his throat, and tugged at the collar of his shirt, suddenly feeling hot.
Holly crossed her arms, not believing him for a second.

“I swear babe, I’m good,” he shot her one of his signature smirks, miserably failing to convince her. But right now, convincing her was the last thing on his mind.

She shrugged. As much as she loved Brian, right now they didn't have time to argue. So instead, she simply sighed.

“If you say so,” She shook her head, an all-knowing grin playing on her lips. He exhaled, unaware that he had been holding his breath.

“Come on babe, we have to get going. We promised my parents we’d be there for one,” said Holly. She walked up to the piano bench on which Brian was sitting and gently tugged at his suit jacket.

“Okay, okay,” laughed he, the corners of his eyes crinkled as a genuine smile spread across his face. Knowing she would get mad if he wasted another minute, he hoped off the piano bench and stood up.

As he stood up, a small, delicately wrapped box fell from the bench. Brian paled and hurriedly snatched the box off the ground, desperately praying to God that Holly had not seen it. It was a useless attempt.

“Brian, what was that?” Her eyebrows shot up into her hairline, almost disappearing into the mahogany waves. “Please tell me you haven't been stealing Christmas presents again.”

“I don't know what you're talking about,” his eyes glimmered with a mischievous glint as the memories of last Christmas sprung to mind. At the back of his mind, however, he desperately hoped that she would drop the subject.

She rolled her eyes, feigning disgruntlement only for an amused smile to creep up across her lips. “I swear, sometimes Haner I-”

His arms snaked around her waist, pulling her towards him and planted his lips onto hers, cutting her off. On instinct, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back, their lips moulding together perfectly.

“What was that for?” breathless, she gazed up into his eyes – eyes she had fallen in love with. Eyes whose very colour reminded her of cold winter mornings with scalding hot chocolate. She could get lost in the swirls of brown and gold flecks.

“What are you staring at?” his signature smirk adorned his lips.

She blinked and returned his smirk. “You.”

He chuckled and leaned down to peck the tip of her nose. God, he loved this woman. He squeezed her tightly to him and sighed contently, he could honestly spend an eternity in her embrace. A lifetime.

“Aren’t we going to be late?” Brian pulled back, stepping out of the hug but refused to let her hand go. He would never admit it, but Holly’s touch calmed him, soothed his soul and right now, he desperately needed it.

“Yes!” Holly squeaked and bolted out the room, Brian in tow. Dragging him behind her, she flew down the hallway and hurriedly descended the grand staircase, her heels clicking in her wake. Once they had reached downstairs, Brian abruptly stopped and without saying a word, he let go of Holly’s hand.

“Brian?” Holly gazed over her shoulder, her mahogany hair gently caressing her arm and drew her eyebrows together. She was beginning to worry, something was off with Brian and she couldn’t place a finger on it.

“We can’t leave without the presents,” he chuckled at her, misreading her worry for confusion. Holly simply smiled, a sign Brian interpreted and acted upon with haste. He lazily jogged into the living area, weary of the furniture that had been expertly rearranged to make space for the towering Christmas tree and its sea of presents – well, what was left of them. He shook his head at the aforementioned tree, an amused smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he thought back to the day Holly had surprised him with it. She had insisted on a ‘larger-than-life’ tree, one whose very bristles were of the deepest green he had ever seen. One whose sheer height was quite possibly taller than Jimmy – not that they checked or anything. He wasn’t going to lie, the tree was breath-taking to look at, especially with the sophistically-applied Christmas lights and garlands, but the sheer size of it was a bit overwhelming.

“What are you doing in there?” Holly peeked her head around the wall, mockingly-glaring at the man. Brian shook himself out of his thoughts and quickly snatched up the designated presents from under the tree. Smirking, he jogged back to the foyer, shrugged on his coat and accompanied the love of his life outside.

Forty-five minutes later, Holly and Brian found themselves happily conversing with Holly’s family, all the while desperately trying to ignore the hunger pangs that gnawed at their stomachs and the Stench of Uncle Joey’s fowl breath as he rapidly droned on about the latest football game. Utterly bored, Brian found himself lost in his thoughts, his hand absentmindedly caressing his girlfriend’s back, when a cool hand gripped his wrist. Dazed, he whipped his head over his shoulder to find a petite, middle-aged woman with the same whiskey-coloured eyes as Holly.
“Brian, sweetie, won’t you come help me with something?” A soft, motherly voice filled the air around him and he happily obliged.

He gently pressed a kiss to Holly’s temple before following Holly’s mother into the kitchen, his curiosity peeking. As soon as he set foot into the kitchen, he was met with the delicious aroma of pork meat, his mouth instantly salivating but before he could utter a single syllable, Holly’s mom spun around on her heels and instantly bombarded Brian with questions.

“So, have you done it yet?” Holly’s mother, Carmen, swarmed around Brian, excitement warmed the whiskey-colour of her eyes.

“N-no,” Brian dropped his eyes, shoving his hands into his pockets and awkwardly stood in the middle of the homey kitchen.

Carmen furrowed her brows, slightly disappointed with the young man in front of her. “What are you waiting for?”

“I-I don’t know,” he swallowed. “The perfect moment?”

Carmen’s expression softened as she gazed at him. “There’s no such thing as the perfect moment, Brian. The moment you ask her, that will be the perfect moment.”

He nodded, trying to register the words Carmen had just spoken. If truth be told, Brian was terrified. His heart was furiously pounding against his chest and a light sheen of sweat matted the back of his neck and palms.

“Take a deep breath,” Carmen’s warm, honey-like voice pierced through his fear, half-heartedly drowning out his fears. “She loves you, you know? No reason to be scared.”

He gulped and timidly nodded his head. Of course, he knew Holly loved him. He knew he loved her – more than anything actually - but that still wasn’t enough to bury his fears.

“What are you two plotting over here?” Holly appeared in the doorway, and lazily lounged on the door frame, her arms crossed over her chest. A look of pure terror crossed Brian’s face but was quickly replaced with a smirk.

“Nothing sweetie,” Carmen smiled all too brightly at her daughter.

“Mmmhmm,” Holly narrowed her eyes, not believing them. They were up to something and she knew it.

“Why don’t you go gather everyone up, mmm?” Carmen instructed her daughter as she walked over to the oven and removed the roasted pork meat. “Tell them lunch is served?”

With narrowed eyes, Holly retraced her steps, leaving the two behind. Brian sighed in relief, up until then he hadn’t been aware that his hands were trembling.

“Relax sweetheart.” A mitten-clad hand gently gripped his shoulder, squeezing it slightly.

Brian nodded.

“Come on, let’s go eat, you can ask her later.”

Carmen placed a tray in his hands and shooed him out the kitchen. She soon followed, carrying out the rest of their lunch. Her excitement, expertly concealed.

Laughter and warm, heart-felt compliments filled the dining room as Holly’s family all sat down to eat what had come to be known as the Tercott-family traditional Christmas meal, a tradition that Brian had been happily welcomed into – which had surprised him, considering the fact that Holly’s father had taken a slight disliking to him in the beginning. Now, however, he had been welcomed into the family as if he was one of them.

The traditional Tercott-family Christmas meal went on without a hitch, to the relief of Carmen. Usually, on any other given Christmas day, by the time it was time for lunch, Uncle Joey would have been well past his twelfth eggnog, a feat that often left him too inebriated to sit on a chair, yet not enough to prevent him from singing his off-key, sexual-innuendo-packed Christmas carols. Along with Uncle Joey’s drunken renditions, Chrislea – Holly’s eccentric sister – would’ve come up with some ingenious plan of informing the family of her latest sexual exploits, usually involving her on-and-off boyfriend Andrew and some sort of illegal substance. But today, Carmen had made sure none of that would happen; no-eggnog for Uncle Joey and a stern warning for Chrislea.

All in all, for the very first time in a long time, Christmas lunch was rather pleasant, something which shocked Holly. Soon, Holly and Brian found themselves lounging on one of the many frayed couches, a mug of scalding hot chocolate – another Tercott family tradition – in hands.

From her seat, Carmen caught Brian’s eye and encouragingly smiled. Meeting her eyes, Brian gulped and nodded curtly. He sighed and turned to the woman of his dreams.

“Hey,” he bit his cheek, his fingers fidgeting with the mug in his hand. Delicately, he set it down on the coffee table. “Can I, uh, can I talk to you for a second?”

Without waiting for her to reply, Brian stood up and scurried out through the sliding door, stepping out onto the wooden deck that was neatly tucked away at the back of the house. Holly frowned, taken off guard. Quietly excusing herself, she stood up from her seat and followed him outside, stepping into the cool Californian winter.

“Brian?”

The man in question whirled around, a tiny box in hand. He smiled weakly at her before hesitantly giving her the box, muttering something that resembled ‘Merry Christmas’. Curious, Holly took the gift from his hand and flipped it over in her hand, turning it around and around, carefully examining it. What was it? She frowned.

“Just open it,” he nudged her softly, sensing her curiosity.

She glanced up at him, shrugged and expertly began to unwrap her present. The sound of wrapping paper tearing filled the nervous silence between them. Brian closed his eyes and deeply inhaled.
She gasped.

Opening his eyes, Brian found her frozen in place, her eyes wide and doe-like, mouth slightly agape staring at the contents of the box. It was now or never.
He gulped and gracefully dropped to his knee, awkwardly grabbing her free hand in his. She blinked, her mind oddly silenced. Tears were beginning to form. She shook her head, willing herself to snap out of her state. She blinked once more and gazed down at the man she loved. Her hand that held the box trembled.

“Holly Leanne Tercott,” He began, the back of his neck slightly matted with sweat, his heartbeat furiously pounding in his ears. “I knew the instant I first met you, the moment our eyes met that I would do anything, and I meant anything to have you, to make you mine. Even when you thought I was, fuck, what were the words you used-”

“An arrogant, self-assured turd only a mother could love,” she reminded him, giggling. Her thoughts raced back to the day they had met, remembering how much she had wanted to punch that smirk off his face, but knew Bianca would’ve been livid if she had ruined her friend’s wedding day.

He smirked, seemingly more at ease. “Yeah that, but look at you now.”

He winked at her, a deep-set blush flushed her face. She looked lovelier than ever, he thought. Brian swallowed and continued. “I know we’ve had some rough times, especially over the last couple of months. I know I haven’t been the best boyfriend and I know you always say it doesn’t matter, but Babe, it does. You deserve so much more.”

Silent tears were dribbling down Holly’s cheeks, dragging her mascara with them but she didn’t care. She didn’t care about anything except the man before her. The man she had dreamed of spending the rest of life with.

“I know I’m difficult to love and I know in the beginning it wasn’t easy, but in the end, all it took was your love to make my heart come alive and to look in your eyes to know I had found my future, my home. Holly, you are my life, my home, my heart and I love you, with every fibre of being. You’re all I have ever wanted; all I ever need. Will you marry me?”

She collapsed into his arms and furiously collided her lips with his, her cheeks wet. Brian enveloped her into his arms and kissed her back.

“Yes,” Holly smiled at him, choking back her tears. “Hell, fucking yes!”

Brian sighed, a grin evident on his face. Hurriedly he snatched up the delicate, white-gold ring from the box and slipped it onto her finger. She gawked at it, her tears still stubbornly trailing down her jawline. Once the ring was securely fastened around her finger, Brian kissed her, sweet at first but passion suddenly burned through his kiss and Holly found herself gasping for air.

“Welcome to the family!” Carmen’s joyous laughter was lost over the cacophony of cheers and congratulations.

The young couple pulled apart, their eyes twinkling with joy. There had always been something magical about Christmas, something Brian had not understood until now. But now, staring into the eyes of the woman of he dreams, Brian finally understood what was meant by a Christmas miracle.

Notes

So I have to say, I am incredibly excited to share these little oneshot stories that its almost killing me inside to wait to post them - I just want the 28th to hurry up so I can post my favourite one of them!

But anyway, here is the next little story dedicated to the lovely Hollie whose comments and constant support brightens my day! Thank you!

Merry Crisis and Happy Festivities!
C.H. Sullivan

Title Cred: Avenged sevenfold - Welcome to the Family