A Claus For Love

A Magical Meeting

Before she could fully blink, Beverly's eyes widened as she saw a figure slide down her chimney before gracefully landing on the front part of her fireplace, and she felt her breath stick in her throat at the sight of her visitor. With his hair as black as coal and his skin as fair as winter lilies, all while dressed in a snazzy red suit with white fur lining and black pants with matching dark boots (an outfit that defied anything she had seen other Santas in), the young man in her presence was undeniably handsome and entrancing. It was almost like he came straight from a Christmas-themed fairytale, and Beverly was so instantly smitten that she would even call him the most handsome man she had ever seen.

Beverly couldn't believe that such a man worked for Santa, but while she didn't know it at the time, the young man had a magical secret: he was Bobby Kringle, the son of Santa Claus himself. He had gone through rigorous training with his father for years, with tricks ranging from sliding down chimneys to landing on rooftops without falling off, as well as practicing how to handle a sneaky child who wasn't asleep. Such training was necessary for a night like tonight, because when Santa got sick, Bobby (who had never officially joined the elves and helpers before) immediately joined the crew on Santa's sleigh and used the opportunity to put his work to the test.

After looking around the room for anything his father had taught him to find (like a letter or any possible treats for him or the reindeer), Bobby snapped his fingers and pointed at Beverly's stocking before smiling as it filled itself, all while Beverly looked at him in awe. Even though this wasn't the real Santa, this was her chance to witness the magic of a typical Christmas Eve house visit, but things went from normal to unexpected right away. Having filled her stocking, Bobby found Beverly's letter on the mantle and picked it up before reading it with a growing smile, and he chuckled as he was touched by her selflessness and humble requests. As soon as he snapped his fingers twice before pointing at her tree, all of Beverly's gifts were underneath the tree: both the ones on her current list and toys that she had wished for as a kid but never got. Despite being quiet throughout his visit up to that point, Beverly's awe-filled gasp initially startled Bobby before they made eye contact as he stumbled back a little.

"Ah, you're awake!"

Bobby chuckled at the sight of Beverly's wide eyes, and even though he was trained to help get children to sleep if he caught them peeking, there was something different about this lovely occupant. He had heard about Beverly from Nice-List reports back home in the North Pole, but none of the reports mentioned how pretty she looked, especially with nothing but the moonlight and faint Christmas lights illuminating her face. As much as it was a surprise to both parties, they found themselves lost in each other's eyes, with her chocolate-brown eyes meeting and staying focused on his. Being the multitalented man that he is, Bobby managed to secretly pull out his Jingle-Bell phone-like device from his suit's pocket and message one of the other helpers, asking for them to cover his shift since he would be a little busy. With that message out of the way, he put his phone away before stepping closer to Beverly and chuckling, causing her to blink a few times as she broke free from the trance.

"I... I'm sorry for staring, Sir... It's just- um, you..."

"I'm not what you expected, Miss Beverly?" Bobby interrupted with a smile, and Beverly nodded before he chuckled again and leaned against the fireplace. After he briefly informed her about Santa being sick (even though she knew that already, but stayed quiet about it), he smiled as he looked around her house and noticed her simple decorations, taking in the charm of everything. When Beverly asked if she was in trouble for watching him, Bobby laughed and shook his head before sitting by the fireplace, where he explained that she could be an exception to his well-rehearsed routine regarding children who he caught spying on him.

After the fireplace roared back to life with the flick of Bobby's wrist, he took the glass of apple juice from the mantle and set the plate of cookies on the floor, where he sat before looking at Beverly with a mischievous glint in his eyes. With that, Beverly gasped as the juice turned into sparkling cider before he had another glass in his other hand, and he offered it to her as a smile grew on his face. When he asked if they could celebrate her first solo Christmas together, she shyly nodded and climbed out of her easy chair before making her way to the fireplace, and she smiled as she sat with him and took the glass before they clinked their glasses in a toast.