Christmas day; the most magical time of year, celebrated differently accordingly to each culture. It is a period filled with cheer and joy, where you commonly are embraced by love and joy, as well as, surrounded by the most wonderful people around.
It's only at this time of year that people usually decorate a fresh pine tree with lights and colorful ornaments of their choice, surround themselves by the fireplace, letting its warmth feeling enwrap them like a huge fluffy blanket, and receive presents from their family members that come to visit them on this holiday. It's prudent not to spoil it to the children, as they still believe in Santa Claus.
And, there are a lot of various, fun customs like; whoever stands under the mistletoe, is bound to kiss the person next to them or the 'obligation' to leave a plate with cookies and a glass of fresh milk as a house welcoming to 'Santa', the North Pole guy who descends the chimneys of each house with a bag of gifts to put under the tree, or the custom to leave shocks hanging by the fireplace for the small presents.
It is such a fun holiday! However, that's not all that matters, the religious reason behind it is equally important.
If the holidays can be filled with lots of joy but also full of drama, now imagine that while involving demons.
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The five Incubi boys, who had come into Sarah's life at the beginning of the school year, managed to stay with her throughout a whole year, following her ups and downs in high school. Despite her constant changes of humor and mental breakdowns, they remained supportive and surprisingly eager to stick around.
Unfortunately, they were still freshly known to her family and friends, thus she had to make some very painful sacrifices, so to speak. Sarah's family had insisted on her returning to their home for the holidays. Adding to that them collectively wanting to spend the holidays together, at the time, it seemed a good idea to bring the incubi along since she already considered them as part of her family, however, it would not be suited very well. After all, her parents still believed that they were the house servants. Bringing even one of them home for the holidays would have been... an interesting story.
With that in mind, she decided she would stay home with the boys on the 24th and invite Suzu and Naomi over, and visit my parents on the 25th. Sarah's feelings were quite divided; a major side of her felt remarkably excited since it was the first she'd spend Christmas Eve away from her parents' protective wing, and yet the other party felt a bit anxious and like slapping herself because she was actually forcing a part of her family to be alone on this once-in-the-year holiday. Still, she was feeling thrilled, it was a much-needed time for her parents.
In all honesty, it was rather hilarious to see the Incubi prepare Christmas Eve dinner. Her gaze landed on the dining room, which looked much like that of a fancy restaurant.
"For crying out loud-- Sam! Get out of the Kitchen!" Mathew yelled, beyond frustrated. It was the fifth time that Sam would sneak in and steal another treat; and all of that just before the supper.
"Shaddap ya, little runt! I'm hungry!" Said Sam with his mouth full and his stomach growling still.
"You have to wait for dinner then! It's almost done! Go sit at the table!" Mathew shouted a response, impossibly to raise his voice any further.
"Don't yell! I'm right next to ya!" Sam whined, covering his ears at the close proximity to which they stand to one another.
"SAM--! Didn't you hear your brother?!" Apparently, James was grabbing Sam by the ear as he was grunting continuously due to the pain enforced by his brother's fingers vigorously twisting his earlobe, "You are in the way! Out, now!"
"Gahh!" Sam finally found the strength to push James, "Fine, fine! Sheesh..." He rubbed his ear in an attempt to ward off the aching. "Now it's hot and bright red. Thank's a lot, James..."
"What was that?" James voiced dangerously, making sure that Sam knew that he would bring hell on earth if he didn't stop complaining.
"N-Nothing--!" And, he rushed through the double door and quickly sat down at the table.
"We told you not to go in there again," Erik gave him a 'told him so' look.
"That's what you get for stealing food ahead of time, Sam." Damien enhanced the idea.
"I swear to God I'll hurt both of you," Sam growled between clenched teeth.
"That's not really the way of treating your brothers, or is it? Do you want to end up in Santa's mischievous boys' list'?" Erik teased, trying to lighten the mood.
Sam's eyebrow twitched in irritation as he stood up and started to roll up the sleeves of his green woolly blouse.
Suzu shouted thrilled, nearly jumping like a little fan-girl at her first concert. "These boys are so much fun to watch! I already like the brute one~" And, promptly rushed to Sam's side to support and encourage the brotherly fight.
Sarah sighed in exasperation and raked a hand through her hair. Suzu and Sam were already so troublesome alone, if they were to end up getting together it would turn out to be an explosive mixture. She was naive if she thought she could prevent the evening to end in a fight; realizing she hadn't exactly thought that through, she crossed her fingers and hoped that it would not come to much.
Naomi bent over with a concerned expression at the scene displayed and whispered in her ear. "Err, Sarah? They are not going to fight, right?"
She shook her head in response. "Everything is under control, don't worry Naomi." and promptly dismissed her justified concern and went to take her seat at the table instead; Naomi was not far behind.
"Princess," Erik called tenderly, walking over to her seat. Sarah jolted from her spot in a startle; she stood very still and waited. He reached out for her hand and gently took it to his lips, planting a soft kiss over her knuckles while not breaking eye contact with her. "Merry Christmas, love," said Erik with a merry sparkle in his eyes.
Once again, an intense blush spread across her cheeks at the gesture, as usual. "Err... ah... I-I... T-Thank you, Erik! T-To you t-too!" I babbled unnerved.
"Eww--! Bo-ooh!" Both Suzu and Sam snapped seeing us being so lovey-dovey.
"I could almost throw up!" Said Suzu, mimicking the gesture with her finger to the side.
"Me too!" Accompanied Sam, doing the same.
"You guys are so lame!" Suzu uttered loudly and Sam quickly agreed. "Now, where's the food? What's the delay?! I want to eat!" Both of them, like two little mischievous kids, started slamming their hands on the table and repeating over and over, 'I want to eat'.
The others giggled at the situation. They were right to feel impatient. James and Mathew had assigned themselves to make the Christmas Eve dinner and had pulled out every recipe book in the library just to make sure they had the perfect menu. The aromas that wafted from the kitchen were intoxicating and almost heavenly. Sarah felt her mouth water just from the scent. It didn't help that the kitchen had pretty much become a locked-down territory. Unless you wanted an earful from James and Mathew combined, then it was the best that you stayed out of their work-space.
Erik pulled the chair back and gently guided Sarah by the hand around it, pushing it back at the end, like a perfect gentleman. "T-Thank you, Erik." she expressed her appreciation at the thought.
Erik kissed her cheek in acknowledgment of her 'thanks'. Then, he did the same with Naomi. "Miss Patterson."
"Thank you, Erik. So nice of you." Naomi smiled and also thanked him for the hospitality.
"There's a proper way of treating a lady," Erik said, keeping a kind smile plastered over his lips. "We man should treat your woman at every opportunity," then explained in a soft tone of voice, taking a brief glance at his princess all across the room.
She felt a blush working its way up her neck again, understanding completely what he meant. More teasing. Great. The boys were so mellow to this type of thing that they totally missed the point of only opening the presents at midnight. So, Erik had already given her his Christmas present earlier in the afternoon.
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~ Flashback ~
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"E-Erik...!" Sarah was taken completely by surprise when he showed up at her room with a gift box wrapped in golden paper and fixed together with red lacing. A colossal bow stood perfectly at the center of it. "You do know that the presents are to be given and open at midnight, right?"
Erik shrugged a shoulder and scratched the back of his neck, "Well-- of course I do."
"Liar! Now, there's no turning back," She smirked, already undoing the lace and ripping the paper off. "I'm curious! What is it?!"
"To be honest, this isn't the kind of present you should be opening near the Christmas tree..." His expression confessed that such gift didn't quite scream 'appropriate' to pry eyes.
Those words concerned her but, she decided to just ignore them and proceeded with caution. Still, she wary of what that box might hold. "Victoria's secret..." Her fingers pressed gently onto the red carton cover and felt her mouth gap open at what she read. "N-No way!" She quickly pushed the lid aside to look at its content.
"Do you like it?" Erik asked, biting his lower lip in anticipation.
"I-I..." She was left speechless; inside was a cute christmas outfit with its own sexy lingerie to go with. The outfit was from a very simplistic design, consisting of a heart-shaped short dress with red half-thigh socks. As for the lingerie that came with the setting, a strapless corset having garters attached to it and loin-cloth lace panties, commonly know as 'Merrywidows'.
Erik moved forward and whispered into Sarah's ear. "For tonight... It's a Small, hope you fit in~"
She tried to suppress her own embarrassment as much as she could but, the extreme blush searing through her cheeks made her into a cat trying to hide but forgot his tale out.
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~ End of the flashback ~
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Her own private thoughts made her blush so, she averted her gaze down and started fidgeting with her fingers. Her heart caught in her chest; it was wildly racing at the thought of using that anytime soon.
Damien, a bit flustered himself, cleared his throat and tried to change the subject. "They're almost done, so we won't be waiting long."
"Hm~! Whatever it is they're cooking, it smells amazing." Naomi sang as she realized she would feast in a real banquet tonight.
"That's good. They've been working all day on the food." Erik praised.
"Man, they need to hurry the hell up!" Sam's stomach grumbled loudly again.
"Quit being impatient Sam!" Scolded James from the kitchen entrance.
Sam opened his mouth to fight back but instantly shut it, most likely thinking the better of it, and growled under his breath as he turned to sit again.
"You've gone soft..." Said Suzu with a disappointed tone.
"Shut up and sit too!" Sam placed a hand on her shoulder and pushed her down so she would sit too, who groaned as her bum met the seat.
Soon enough, James and Mathew began to carry larges plates to the dining room, setting them methodically around the table so everyone had the chance to get what they wanted regardless of where they sat.
Sarah was stunned once more by the sheer amount of food prepared, topped only by the intense aroma that melted almost perfectly in the air. It was like they were trying to take the record of how much food can be placed on the table from when they had arrived. Finally, the table was set, and are all seated, ready to dig in.
"I gotta admit, you and James did good, Matthew." Sam gave the food and the work diligently poured into it a sincere compliment.
"Heh, thank's Sam." Matthew's expression looked so proud of it.
"Sam and Mathew not fighting? It's a Christmas miracle!" Erik snickered at the unintentional pun and Sam frowned, his gaze an unspoken surprise.
"H-Hey! I'm not a complete asshole to him!" he shouted, stomping a fist onto his chest.
"Only sometimes!" Matthew's laugh was cute.
"Heh, well it is Christmas eve so it's a good way to get the habit of being nice started." Stated James.
"Very true." Erik nodded, agreeing.
Damien chuckled and, Sarah willed herself not to laugh at their exchange of words, but it was hard enough already. Both girls accompanied them in laughter.
They all ate dinner and talked about several topics, trying to include Suzu and Naomi at maximum. The dinner took at least an hour, but an enjoyable hour. James and Matthew started to lift the table. Despite James kindly refusing Naomi's help, he wasn't able to change her mind. So, the girl got up from her seat and went to help them in the kitchen. Erik as well disappeared from the dining room with the excuse of go lit the fireplace. At the end, who remained at the table were Sarah, Suzu, Sam, and Damien.
"Hey! Since those four will be occupied for the next hour, I have an idea to pass time!" shouted Suzu, rather enthusiastically.
Sam, with a hand supporting his chiseled chin, gazed at Suzu; he wore an intrigued expression on his face. "Say it already, Italian girl! What's the big idea?"
Suzu slammed her hand on the table. "So, here's the idea. Let's play that game called 'Never Have I Ever'." and thus, suggested a drinking game.
Damien and Sam stared back at Suzu, obviously not knowing in which the game consisted.
"Ugh--! Don't tell me you don't know the game!" Suzu sighed in exasperation. "Then let me enlighten you, innocent souls. The 'Never Have I Ever' game is a simple game that can provide entertainment for large groups. Each one of us as to come up with something ridiculous, or not, and say 'I Never Have I Ever...' and next add that thing."
Damien raised his hand questioningly.
"Yes...? Is he a little kid?" She whispered at last to Sam, who shrugged his shoulders dismissively.
"Can you give us an example?" inquired Damien.
"Hm... Ah! For example, one person says 'I never have I ever been in handcuffs' and the rest of us has to answer affirmatively or not depending on if it happened or not." Suzu briefly explained.
"Sounds fun!" cheered Damien, up to dive into the game blindly.
"Lameeee~!" Sam immediately boo-ohed Suzu's festive plan to keep them occupied.
"Wait on a minute! You still haven't heard the fun part!" Suzu rubbed her hands against each other mischievously. "The person who says 'I have' has to go... bottoms-up!"
"Now, we're speaking the same language!" Instantly Sam's playful mood was back.
A devilish glint sparkled suddenly in Suzu's eyes, "Let's begin then."
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~ In the kitchen ~
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While those four were still in the dining room jerking off, James and Naomi remained in the kitchen washing up the dishes.
"Looks like they are having fun," Naomi mentioned out loud.
"Looks like it, miss Patterson," James chuckled a response and glanced back at the others through the open window, "Very good observation."
Glancing up in the same direction as James, Naomi smiled, feeling a sudden need for levity. "I'm glad. Hope those two won't be too hard on that cinnamon roll~"
"Cinnamon roll... miss Patterson?" For a moment James looked confused in his speech, and then, he turned his gaze towards the blond girl beside him, inquiringly.
Naomi just giggled softly, "The ginger-haired guy... Damien, I think? He seems to be the quiet type, always in his bubble of solitude." and resumed her focus. "I'm sure Suzu will behave herself and won't be such a bad influence."
"Oh? So, you were talking about him... yes, I do hope the same." James wished, hoping that trouble wouldn't come to follow afterward.