A Very.....Merry Christmas

Chapter Name: A Merry Christmas
Pairing: Edward & Jasper



Disclaimer: All things Twilight belongs to S. Meyer. This story is mine. No copyright infringement is intended.



Thank you: OCDJen for pre-reading and Mrs. Agget for her stellar beta services. Thank you to Jen for the prompts.



Rating: PG



This is a slash fic and contains male on male sexual relations. If you are under-age please don't read this.

~ooOoo~

Jingle Bells

Flipping through the radio stations, I can't seem to find one that's not playing some version of Jingle Bells. It's infuriating. Is it too much to ask for a little variety? Sighing, I turn the radio off and lean back against the warm leather seat. Jasper laughs quietly as he covers my hand with his.

"Why so nervous?" he asks.

It's silly, really. It's not like this is the first time he's met my family. Yet, this is different. We're spending Christmas Eve with my family, as a couple. This is a sign of our commitment to each other, and to the life we've begun building together.

"I don't know. Really, it doesn't make any sense. My parents adore you, I adore you, hell, even Alice has realized what a great guy you are. It's just, it's our first Christmas together and I want it to be perfect."

He glances over at me, a small smile on his lips. "Babe, as long as we're together, it will be perfect."


Lights

We turn on to my parents street and Jasper lets out a long whistle.

"Holy crap, that's a lot of lights!" he exclaims.

Laughing, I lean over and kiss his cheek. "I warned you, babe."

My parents live in one of eight houses on a dead-end street. Everyone has lived there for years, and are all very good friends. Many years ago, they decided to work together to decorate their houses at Christmas. The result is a street filled with lights of every color. Trees, bushes, utility poles, homes, tree houses, dog houses, they're all decorated. There are no moving animals, no inflatable globes, none of the kitschy crap. No, they use nothing but lights. Lots and lots of lights.

As we pull in to my parents driveway, we notice one of the local TV stations setting up to do a remote broadcast. It's not unusual, I explain to Jasper. It happens at least once a year.

"Just wait until later," I warn him. "There will be cars driving through for hours."

Jasper looks around in awe as we get out of the car. He pulls me in for a long, slow kiss. "This is amazing. Thank you for sharing it with me, Edward."


Mulled wine

We grab all the gifts and head inside. My mom and dad meet us at the door and take the packages as we divest ourselves of our coats and boots.

Mom bustles us all to the kitchen where she's got the hors d'oeuvres laid out. The air is filled with the spicy scent of mulled wine and cookies. Taking a deep breath, I smile at the memories the scents evoke. This is Christmas... this is home.

My mother hands Jasper and I steaming mugs of wine and settles us at the kitchen table with my dad. We chat about work and the holidays and it's easy and comfortable. Jasper is relaxed and at ease. We sit, leaning against each other, fingers entwined. My father watches us, smiling at our interactions. Raising an eyebrow, I give my father a questioning look.

"You remind me of your mother and I. The way you follow each other's movements and that you're always touching each other," he says.

Jasper smiles as a faint tinge of pink colors his cheeks. My mother giggles as she sits next to my dad, her body coming to rest against his.

"It's true. You do act like us. It's cute."

Rolling my eyes, I send her a mock glare. "Mom...cute? Really?"

She laughs. "Yes, dear. Cute. The two of you are adorable."

Jasper and I blush as my father laughs. Yeah, it's good to be home.


Advent Calendar

Alice shows up a few minutes later, laden down with gifts. She's wearing a Santa hat and has slippers that look like elf shoes, complete with the curly toes and bells. We help her unpack her gifts, adding to the pile under the tree.

"Nice slippers, shorty," I say with a grin.

She laughs, a high tinkling sound that makes us all smile. "Thanks! Aren't they the best?!"

She dances off to help Mom with dinner. Dad has sneaked off to finish wrapping his presents for Mom, leaving Jasper and I alone. We wander around the living room, looking at the Christmas decorations. Jasper is drawn to the antique village that's set up on a table. It's got houses, a church, and a town hall. There are trees and people walking and a horse drawn sleigh. There's even a pond with skaters and a hill with children sledding.

"The whole set is antique," I explain. "My great-grandmother brought it with her when she emigrated from England. Here, let me show you the secret."

Leaning over, I open the doors to the Church. Inside is a small figure, no bigger than a sunflower seed. It's a depiction of the infant Jesus in his manger. Carefully, I pick it up and show it to Jasper. He leans in to study it.

"Wow, that's amazing," he whispers.

"Yeah, the whole thing is an Advent Calendar. Each 'day' is a figure for the manger scene," I say as I point to the manger that's set up in the town common. "Growing up, we always opened this one at midnight. Now, we open it before we start in on the presents."

Jasper smiles. "That's a nice tradition, babe."

We put the figure back and meander back to the kitchen and food and family.



Mistletoe

We stop in the doorway to the kitchen and watch as my parents dance to the soft music coming from Alice's ipod. Alice is sitting at the table, drinking her wine and smiling at them. She spies us and her smile turns in to a huge grin. She points up and claps her hands as she laughs.

"Ohhhh, look who's under the mistletoe! You know what that means," she says.

Jasper and I look up and find that we are, indeed, standing under a large sprig of mistletoe. Turning, I look at him and wink.

"What do you say, babe," I ask. "You ready to give them a show?"

He grins lasciviously at me as he grabs me and pulls me in hard against his body. "Oh yeah," he whispers. "I'm more than ready."

He leans in and captures my lips with his. It's not a hard kiss, nor fierce and dominating. No, instead, it's slow and soft and perfect. His lips are tender against mine, almost reverent in their gentility. We pull apart slowly, not wanting to leave that perfect moment in time.

"I love you, Edward," he whispers as he gazes in my eyes.

Smiling, I reply, "I love you too, Jasper."

Alice is giggling and clapping as she watches us. My dad takes my mother's hand and walks over to the door.

"Out of the way, boys," he says as he pulls us in to the room. "Come on Esme, let's show'em how it's done."

Dad pulls Mom in and kisses her passionately. It's sweet and silly and romantic, until he hooks her leg up over his hip. Then it gets a bit iggy.

"Oh gross, Dad!" Alice shouts. Mom and Dad jump apart, both blushing furiously. This of course sets off a round of laughter among Jasper, Alice, and I. Mom tells us to hush as she bustles back to finish getting dinner ready.



Tree

Dinner is over and we're sitting around the living room with coffee and dessert. The tree is aglow as lights sparkle off the ornaments and presents. It's comfortable and quiet, a peaceful moment shared by all. There's no sense that we need to rush and open gifts, or even talk.

Alice finally breaks the moment when she points to an ornament and giggles. "I can't believe you still have that, Mom."

My mother smiles. "Well of course I still have it. It's the first ornament you made for me. Edward's is up there as well." She gets up and points to a very sad looking ornament, if you can call it that. 'It's a styrofoam ball with glitter and ribbon glued on it. Not very attractive, at all.

Jasper chuckles. "Not very artistic, were you?"

"Hey, I was four! What do you expect?" I reply with mock indignation.

"Well, I love it dear," my mother says.

Jasper pulls me close and says, "I love it too, Edward. Will you make me one for our tree?"

Pulling back, I look in his eyes. "Our tree?" I ask.

He smiles. "Yeah, our tree. The one we're going to decorate together next year."

My heart flutters. It actually flutters in my chest. A voice in my head tells me I should have that looked at while another voice is squealing like a teenage girl. Sitting back a bit further, I blink at him. "The tree we're going to decorate together? Where together?"

He leans in and kisses me quickly. "Wherever you want. It doesn't matter which house we live in, I just want it to be us together. I want it to be 'our' home. What do you say, Edward? You ready to move in together?"

My parents and Alice are sitting silently, watching this moment unfold. My mother is smiling as tears slowly roll down her face. Alice is grinning like a mad woman, her hands clasped together in her lap. Dad, well, he's just holding mom, gently rubbing her arm.

Smiling, I lean in and kiss Jasper. "Yes," I murmur against his lips. "Yes, yes, I want us to move in together."

Mom begins to cry as Alice is laughing and Dad is congratulating us. Jasper and I kiss again as we gaze into each other's eyes. Soon we're enveloped in hugs and kisses as my mother and sister attack us. Dad pulls Jasper up and gives him a huge bear hug.

"Well done, son," he says.

Jasper blushes. "Thank you, Carlisle."

We settle back down and begin opening presents.



Fairy

Our family tradition is to open one gift apiece on Christmas Eve, and the rest are opened Christmas morning. Alice, as usual, plays elf and hands out the presents. Normally it's luck of the draw, and there's no picking or choosing which present you open. Of course, that doesn't apply to Alice, not when she spies a gift to her from Jasper.

Alice has come a long way with Jasper. She no longer doubts his intentions or the feelings he has for me. However, there's still a bit of awkwardness between them. Jasper has felt it and has asked me what he can do to put her at ease.

"Just be yourself," I said. "She's just nervous that you don't like her because of how she acted before. Be yourself and show her that it's okay."

He smirked at me. "Not helpful, Edward."

Now, sitting by the tree, he watches as she carefully opens his gift to her. Curious, I watch as well. He's kept his gift a secret, only saying that it's something special from him to her. A 'thank you' for bringing the two of us together.

Alice carefully removes the wrapping paper from the box and sets it aside. She removes the lid from the box and gently unfolds the tissue paper. Her eyes alight as she gasps in pleasure, a grin spreading across her face. She reaches in and removes her new treasure, holding it up for all to see.

"Jasper, she's beautiful," Alice exclaims as she gazes at the hand blown ornament that dangles from her fingers. A mischievous face and delicate translucent wings give the identity away. It is clearly a fairy. Judging by the wand in her hand, and the hat on her head, she's of the godmother variety.

Alice carefully places her back in the box, then lunges across the room to hug Jasper.

'She's perfect, thank you," Alice mumbles in to Jasper's chest.

He laughs as he hugs her. "Well, I figured it was only fitting since you granted my wish."

Alice leans back and looks up at him. "What wish was that?" she asks.

He looks down at her and says with a smile, "I'd been wishing for my prince charming and then, there he was. Standing in that club, just waiting for me. And it's all because of you. You're the reason we met, so, you granted my wish. Thank you."

Alice reaches up and swipes the tears from her eyes. "Damn, no fair making me cry," she says as she punches him in the arm.

He laughs as he picks her up and carries her back to her chair. He drops her in her chair and plants a quick kiss on her cheek.

"Merry Christmas, Alice."

She smiles up at him. "Merry Christmas, Jasper."

Jasper walks back to me, grinning as he sits down. He tucks in close and wraps me in his arms, murmuring his love for me in my ear. Looking around, I can't help but smile. We're together as a family, sharing this moment, this perfect moment, in front of the tree.