Just a Soldier

Chapter 70 - Christmas Day

Y/n's POV:

"Mummy! It's Christmas!" Ava whisper shouts in my ear. I turn over, releasing my grip on Scarlett, who is out for the count, to be greeted by my 7 year old grinning at me. "Merry Christmas bug!" I reply, keeping my voice low to not wake the sleeping beauty next to me. "What time is it?" I ask and she looks at me sheepishly. "Ava?" I ask lowly. "3am." She replies, her eyes dropping. "Bug, I know you're excited but its so early." I tell her and she nods. "I know, I just got excited for our first Christmas all together!" She explains and I instantly lose any feelings of annoyance.

I open up my arms for her and she snuggles into me. "Me too bug. I can't wait to spend it with everyone. But how about you try and get a bit more sleep with us and then we can get up and see everyone?" I suggest. I laugh to myself when she tries to hide a yawn that creeps up on her and she nods in defeat. I adjust our bodies so that she's sandwiched between Scarlett and me. Ava wraps her little arms around me and buries her head in my neck. Sensing another presence in the room, Scarlett subconsciously turns over in her sleeps and throws an arm over the two of us and pulls us close. I hear Ava let out a content sigh and within a couple of minutes we're both back asleep.

The next time I wake up, I feel a set of eyes on me, but I refuse to open mine right now as I'm so comfy. I pull my snuggle buddy closer to me and hear a quiet chuckle. I open one eye to be met by Scarlett, who seems very awake. "Merry Christmas angel." I mumble. "Merry Christmas babe." She replies, running her hand through my hair, which is doing nothing to wake me. The slow movements almost lulling me back to sleep.

"When did she join us?" Scarlett asks and I look down and see Ava completely passed out. "She came in at 3am because she was excited. Thankfully she was also still tired, so I was able to convince her to join us and go back to sleep." I tell her and she smiles, giving the child love eyes. "Well, we shouldn't keep her waiting any longer. It's already 8." Scarlett informs. I sleepily nod my head and adjust so Scarlett can wake her.

I expect Scarlett to quietly start to wake Ava in her usual sweet way. But not today. She has a mischievous glint in her eye as she jumps on her knees, making the bed bounce. "IT'S CHRISTMAS!" Scarlett shouts, like the start of Slade's Merry Christmas. I look at her shocked as Ava groans and rolls into me. "Wake up Ava! Merry Christmas!" Scarlett continues to shout, eventually getting Ava to wake up and register what's going on. "That was mean." Ava pouts and Scarlett picks her up. "It's pay back for my birthday." She smiles

"Also, I'm excited for Christmas!" Scarlett tells her excitedly which seems to help Ava register that it's the day she's been waiting for. "Yay! Christmas!" Ava jumps up. "I got you both a present." Scarlett tells us, getting out of bed and rummaging through her bag. She hands over two wrapped presents to Ava and I and waits patiently for us to open them. Ava wastes no time in ripping the paper off, so I follow suit. I smile when I see a Christmas onesie. "I thought we could all match this morning." Scarlett explains, grabbing one for herself from the bag.

Ava is stripping down with no care and rushing to get into hers, so I follow suit. In no time the three of us are in our matching onesies and we look good! "Thank you Scarly! We look so cool!" Ava says gratefully, giving Scarlett a big hug. "Thank you, angel. Finally gave in to family onesies." I tease, remember when she refused the dinosaur ones. "It's Christmas! Besides, I know how good the there of us are going to look." She replies, leaning into me.

I wrap my arms around her and hold her close, enjoying this moment together. "We do look good." I say and she looks up at me with the movie star smile. I lean in and give her a quick kiss. "Don't forget about me!" Ava says, bouncing on her feet next to us. So, I bend down and pick her up. "How could we ever forget about you?!" I ask and start peppering her face with kisses. Scarlett joins in and Ava's giggles ring out. "Come on. Let's go show our new outfits off to everyone." Scarlett instructs, taking my hand in hers and leading us downstairs.