His palm had curled around your hand, fingers searching for the gaps between yours. As you leaned your head back on his shoulder, an amused chuckle sounded in his cheeks as Kevin outsmarted his assailants yet again. Home Alone, a Christmas favorite, played on the screen in front of you, but your mind was far from poor Kevin’s antics. Liam brushed a kiss to your temple when he noticed your wandering eyes, a grin following his affection. Your eyes smiled back as you hid your face in his shoulder. Your parents, whether they noticed your gentle flirtations or not, continued their own lighthearted laughs as the comedy played out. They, too, had loved having Liam around for Christmas—somehow everything just fit perfectly and it was almost like having a little kid around too, with his childish excitement and exclamations of “Only one more sleep til Santa!” all day Christmas Eve. You’d even set out cookies and milk, as per Liam’s request, and your dad happily obliged in making it look like Santa had indeed come the next morning. On Christmas, instead of his usual morning routine executed in a relatively slow manner with a hushed voice and sleepy eyes, Liam had woken up and rolled over, more excited than your five year old cousin, and exclaimed, “Santa was here, I know it! I heard reindeer on the roof—did you hear them?” It had made you giggle and give a silly groan, his name coming from your lips in a playfully annoyed fashion. “I’m serious!” was his defense, but he knew you’d need more convincing than that. So he’d whisked you out of bed and made you tromp down the stairs with him, searching for signs that the man in the red suit had given your house a visit. With the cookies half eaten and “soot-prints” on the carpet, he’d nearly “convinced” you he was right just when your dad walked in from the woodpile with little trails of dirt following his boots. You knew deep down it was all a ruse, but Liam never broke character and that made it all the more fun. The rest of the day had been just as magical—from a late breakfast by the fire to puzzle building and present exchanging and laughing so hard during charades that your sides hurt to a very, merry Christmas dinner with all the traditions you’d always enjoyed growing up to all snuggling down and watching Christmas movies all night long. One thing you’d always feared was falling in love with someone and having them not fit in so well to your family, but with Liam that fear was long gone. He not only fit in, but he seemed to make the dynamic even better, the holiday brighter, your family cheerier. Perhaps it was seeing you so happy; perhaps it was Liam’s knack for positivity and childish fun (especially for Christmas). Either way, it thrilled your heart and you couldn’t have asked for a better first Christmas together.
And the movie played on, your body made warm by the dozen of blankets thrown all around and Liam’s arm curled around your side and the pages of memories inscribing themselves on your heart. It was a Christmas you wouldn’t soon forget, a Christmas you wished wouldn’t be soon over. Your eyes flickered first to your parents, then back to the screen, and a happiness bubbled up inside of you that you almost couldn’t contain. But, though your eyes had given up their attention on Liam, you were still acutely aware of his feel, his smell, his little giggles, his fingers slowly circling yours, his warmth. And maybe the memory of who had won charades or what exactly you’d eaten for dinner would fade, but you were sure that memory—the memory of that moment—would never be forgotten.
