Present
Lannan waited at the airport, holding a cardboard sign that said Cara.
He had never actually met Rose's sister in the two years they had been dating.
Without her parents being alive, Cara was the next one in line for him to meet and be approved by.
He was slightly nervous, knowing that Rose had run to her when she left him six months ago.
His eyes widened as a slightly older version of the love of his life walked out of security, holding a small child's hand and scanning the crowd until her eyes landed on Lannan's sign.
It was like looking in a time machine at the future he wanted.
He could see it now, Rose and their daughter coming out of the airport from visiting Cara, their baby girl running to him, yelling "Daddy! Daddy!"
He was torn out of his imagination by Cara's lilting voice, "Are you Lannan?"
He nodded, "And you must be Cara!" He kneeled down to the little one's level, "And who might this be?"
"I'm Grace!!!" The little girl launched herself on to Lannan and he leaned back before steadying himself.
"Well, hello there, Miss Grace!" He straightened up, putting her on his hip and reaching for Cara's suitcase with his other hand. "I think my nephew's booster seat will be perfect for you!"
Cara handed over the suitcase and followed Lannan to his car.
He swooped Grace into his nephew's booster seat and buckled her in, "Have you ever seen a kangaroo in real life?"
"No!!!!! Can I??"
Cara chuckled, "Maybe if you ask nicely, Uncle Lannan might take you to see one!"
He smiled to himself. Cara calling him Uncle Lannan was a really good sign.
"Unkwle Yennon?" Grace tried hard to pronounce his name and he snickered under his breath. "HEY I HEARD THAT!"
Cara shushed her gently, "So, Lannan, we're staying at your house?"
"Yes, unless you think you might be more comfortable in a hotel?"
"Oh, no, we'll be just fine in a guest room together!"
Past
The first person to ever sleep in Rose and Lannan's guest room was his sister Tannar.
Tannar had just started to take her Youtube channel seriously and Lannan wanted to help his sister out in any way he could.
And that meant letting her stay in his house rent free as long as she wanted.
Rose loved having Tannar around. They were thick as thieves and the mischief flowed freely when they were together.
Currently, they were in the process of painting one of the living room walls a pale pink against Lannan's wishes.
"Y'know, Tannar, I don't charge you rent but that doesn't mean you can do whatever to my house." He shook his head from his supervising position on the couch.
"Your house, hmm?" Rose turned around to give him a teasing look.
"Our house." He corrected himself.
"So if it's yours and Rose's house and Rose wants to paint this wall pink, then technically I'm doing whatever Rose wants in her house." Tannar smirked at her brother.
Defeated, Lannan leaned back against the couch, "I can't argue with sound logic like that, now can I?"
Rose smirked at him, dipping her paint brush in the can of paint. "At least we had the foresight to cover the wood floor."
"We both know Tannar doesn't have the foresight to do anything." Lannan teased his sister.
"Lannan, that's so meeeeeaaaan." She whined at him.
"Says the one living in m-our house." He winked at Rose, who giggled.
The day was pretty uneventful after that, if you didn't count Rose knocking over the can of paint and Willeh running through it, getting pink paw prints all through the house.
Present
Grace squealed as she bounced up the front steps, "Is this where Auntie Rose lives!?"
Cara smiled sweetly at her, "And Uncle Lannan!"
Lannan chuckled, unlocking the door, "Sweetheart, I'm home!!"
Cara shushed Grace and stepped into the small coat closet by the door.
Rose rounded the corner, jumping on Lannan. "Hi, Lan, I made Christmas cookies!!!"
Despite Cara trying to keep Grace quiet, the mention of cookies was too much for the 4 year old, "COOKIES?"
Rose froze, "Did you hear that?"
Lannan avoided her eyes, "Hear what?"
"The creepy child's voice?"
"IM NOT CWEEPY!!!!!" Grace burst out of the closet. "I AM GRACE!"
Rose got off of Lannan, "Grace?"
"HI AUNTIE WOSE!"
Rose scooped her up, "What are you doing here, sweetheart?"
Cara stepped out of the closet too as Lannan half heartedly went, "Surprise!!!!!"
"Oh my God!" Rose lit up, "You did this for me?" She wrapped her arms around her sister.
"He flew us out for Christmas," Cara gave Rose a kiss on the cheek.
Rose stepped back from her sister and captured Lannan's lips in a tender kiss. "Thank you so much, Lan."
"UNCLE YANNON IS GONNA LET ME SEE A KANGAROO!!!"
Rose smiled down at her angelic niece, "Is that so?"
"Yes!!!!!!"
Past
Lannan smiled at Rose as she showed him pictures of his niece on her phone. "She's only two years old and she's a precious angel from heaven."
"She's adorable! I bet she'd get along with my nephew Bodhi great!"
Rose's eyes lit up, "We have to get them to meet!"
"Yeah, someday," Lannan grinned at her. "Maybe I'll fly her out someday."
"Just her? What about her mom?" Rose locked their fingers together.
"Maybe someday, baby."
"I really hope so," She kissed the back of his hand.
"I love you, Rose."
"I love you too, Lan."
Present
Rose and Grace were hanging ornaments on the tree together, Willeh napping on the couch nearby.
Cara and Tannar were mixing a batch of margaritas because every Christmas decorating party needed a few good one.
Lannan was upstairs, wrapping a few presents for Rose and the others.
It was pouring rain outside, adding a cozy feeling to an oddly chilly summer day.
Rose held Grace up to put the star on the top of the tree.
"Auntie Rose?"
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"How is Santa going to find me here?"
"Well, I wrote to Santa and let him know you'd be visiting here for Christmas," She booped her nose and Grace giggled.
"You promise?"
"Yes, honey, I promise. Santa is good at finding exactly where to bring presents to the best little girls on the nice list."
a/n keep an eye for a special christmas chapter in the next couple of days
love you all and happy holidays!!!
