Lauren heard the opening notes of 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' playing from the kitchen, and sighed. She had to admit, Joey had held out after she'd made him promise no Christmas songs until after Hanukkah, but she should have known it wouldn't last long.
She heard the sound of him singing under his breath, muffled behind the closed door, and couldn't help smiling to herself, glad that Joey wasn't there to see it or else she'd never hear the end of it.
As the verse started his voice suddenly got louder, and she turned over her shoulder to see that he had opened the door, the dinner preparations forgotten. He came around to the front of the couch, taking her hands and pulling her up.
"I don't want a lot for Christmas, there is just one thing I need," he sang, crouched down to her level. She pulled against him, trying to sit back down, but he kept hold of her hands, forcing her to dance with him.
"Lauren!" he said, laughing, as she tried to keep her arms as still as possible. Changing tack, Joey pulled her into his arms and started swaying them from side to side instead. Lauren rested her forehead against his chest, trying to hide her grin as Joey sang in her ear.
"All I want for Christmas is you, baby," he sang off key, and Lauren tipped her head back laughing, Joey grinning sappily down at her.
"You've already got me," she said after a moment, her laughter fading away. She braced her hands against his chest as she pushed herself up on tiptoes to kiss him, the music now just background noise as Joey focused all his attention on the girl in his arms. He circled his arms around her waist, his fingers finding the gap underneath her t-shirt and brushing over the smooth skin.
They broke apart just in time to simultaneously butcher the high note, both ending up bent double and clutching their sides, tears streaming down Lauren's face as she cried with laughter. As they stood upright again, Joey grabbed Lauren's waist and picked her up, swinging her round before descending to kiss her as soon as he put her back on her feet.
"JoJo?" she said softly as he pulled away minutely.
"Yeah," he asked, his hand smoothing down her hair.
"I love you."
He smiled softly at her.
"Lo?"
"Yeah?" she asked, her fingers playing with the hair at the base of his neck.
"I love you too."
