Lauren was sat leaning against Joey's chest, his arms folded over her stomach, the two of them watching the candles flicker in the window in a comfortable silence.
"Lo?" Joey said softly.
"Hm?"
"I got you a present."
"You didn't have to," she started to protest.
"No, but I wanted to," he said, resting his chin on the top of her head. "And I promise I barely spent any money."
She laughed, and he slid out from behind her to grab the gift from the top shelf, where she would never have been able to reach. She carefully tore the paper away, revealing a thin, glossy photo book. Lauren flipped the pages, her heart warming at the sight of photos of her and Joey, spanning almost every year they'd known each other.
On each page, opposite the picture, was a note in Joey's handwriting telling her about his memory of each photo. A picture of the two of them backstage at A Very Potter Sequel, Lauren grinning with her arm resting on Joey's shoulder as he squatted. 'This was right after we all pretended to kiss you, and I knew for sure I was in love with you because all I could think about was how I wanted to kiss you for real.' One of their first New Year as a couple, their arms around each other's waists, just hours after they'd admitted that they were in love with each other. 'All anyone said to us all night was how they knew we were going to get together all along, but I didn't care, because I had you and that was all I wanted.' The last photo was from just a few weeks ago at Friendsgiving, a photo neither of them knew had been taken at the time because they were both fast asleep, curled up together on the couch. 'If I get to spend the rest of my life falling asleep with you in my arms I'll be happy.'
"Eight pictures for eight days of Hanukkah," Joey explained.
"Joey-" Lauren said, speechless.
"You don't like it?" he asked worriedly.
She shook her head with an incredulous laugh. "I love it," she reassured him, pulling him into a tight hug.
As she pulled away, Joey could see her dark brown eyes shining in the candlelight. He cupped her face in his hand, leaning forward to kiss her softly.
"Happy Hanukkah, Lauren," he said as she settled back against his chest, still poring over the photo book.
"Happy Hanukkah," she murmured, twisting her head to press a slow kiss to his lips.
A/N tillytytroyesivan you know I gotta dedicate this one to you 😉
