I'm Not Giving Up On You [Tadashi Hamada X OC] [COMPLETED]

Christmas Rebooted

Tadashi's POV

I walk through the high street a few weeks before Christmas, looking at each shop window and imagining Cherry's face reacting to each thing I think about buying for her.

It's our first Christmas as a couple, a proper couple, and the Christmas that I can hopefully make up for after last year when I abandoned her beforehand, showed her the very tight outline of my penis in short shorts, fell on her, accidentally made her feel my boner on her, dumped her with Hiro whilst I attempted to regain any dignity I had left, almost made her talk about her feelings, then to top it all off was too embarrassed to invite her to Christmas dinner two days afterward.

Yeah - I've got to pull everything out of the hat this year.

What would Cherry like? Well, if this past year and a few months is anything to go by: peace, quiet, dignity, respect, and some textbooks and doggie chow.

Looking through each shop window I suddenly spot something and stop, enchanted. I walk towards the large window and press my face up against it.

I don't even check the pricing when I buy it. I just know that it'll make her so damn happy.

(●-●)

Christmas Day! Cherry's agreed to spend the entire day round ours, compete with dog whom Mowchi stays far away from glowering at darkly.

"Okay, whilst the turkey's in the oven, let's get to opening the rest of the presents!" Aunt Cass declares excitedly, and without a second's thought Hiro dives under the tree and brings out the presents we have yet to unwrap. Amongst them is Cherry's present, hidden so it's the last one she opens, and as I watch her get up from the couch and kneel next to the tree expectantly I grin.
"What are you smiling so widely about?" Cass asks, and I shrug nonchalantly and go over to Cherry. She automatically leans her body against my side, and I kiss her temples.

Hiro roots out his present from the gang first and opens it before anyone gets a chance to do anything else, naturally. I already know what it is - a bot repair kit, for when he inevitably comes back home with his beautiful inventions broken.
"Oh wow!" he exclaims with an ecstatic look on his face that reminds me of Christmases past, and immediately begins to open the box.
I stop him, "Hey, hey! That's only for when you need it, and do you need it now?"
He rolls his eyes, but places it on his pile of other presents silently. Aunt Cass coos at her youngest nephew and searches amongst the other presents.

"Well, there's one more each from your great-aunt and -uncle, boys, and a few envelopes that are most likely money, and... ooh! What's this? It's for you, Cherry."

Cherry looks at the present attentively. Aunt Cass offers it to her and she gently takes it, looking at the gift tag and smiling at me.
"You already got me that personalised motorbike stuff, Tadashi. This is just making me sad I couldn't get you more than what I did."
"Oh, I love my patchwork quilt though," I insist, because I really do, "just open it, please!"

She looks at me suspiciously before slowly untying the bow and shelling off the wrapping paper. Once it's all off, she pop the box open and gasps in genuine shock.
I grin until my smile reaches my ears, and she looks to me with almost tears in her eyes.
"Oh, my... Tadashi!" she breathes.

Inside the fairly large box lies an entire set of science-themed jewellery: dangly earrings shaped like microscopes; different shaped rings with each planet and moon studded on them; bangles and bracelets decorated with diagrams of any scientific exploration ever found.
And in the middle of the box, personalised by me, is a necklace that spells out, 'Cherry and Tadashi' in stars in the middle of charms that make up the entire solar system plus nebulas and star systems.

She stares at me, and I shrug with my grin still attached and say, "I wanted you to have something that, when you had any on, would remind you of what I'm so proud of you for doing, and remind you of me. Because I love you."

She gasps again, short of breath as she smiles at me in awe, and I move closer to her to carefully take each item of jewellery out of its setting and put them on her. I can hear her breathe quietly as if she still can't believe it, and feel how hot her cheeks are as I brush them to hook in her earrings.

"How come you knew I had piercings anyway?" she murmurs softly.
I smile and whisper in her ear, "I notice everything about you."
She turns her head to kiss me briefly before taking out the last item, the necklace, and handing it to me. She holds up her tumbling hair and I fasten it around her neck, letting the chain down softly on her breastbone and moving in front of her with Aunt Cass and Hiro to marvel at it all.

Cherry touches the necklace and looks up at us, smiling earnestly.
Aunt Cass puts her hand to her heart. "Oh, you kids - you're so romantic! How much did all of this cost, Tadashi?"
"It doesn't matter," I reply, and Hiro scoffs at me but I don't register it as Cherry and I look into each other's eyes with love and affection I never thought I would feel for someone this passionately.

I shift beside her and she leans on me again and we watch Aunt Cass and Hiro open the rest of the presents. Every so often one gets pushed toward me and we open it together. But mostly we just smile with each other and look at the jewellery I bought her.

Later on we eat the delicious Christmas dinner, with Hiro eating like a pig but Aunt Cass not stopping him for once because it's Christmas. Afterwards we all sit on the couch and watch a film on TV, Cherry sitting on my lap because the couch isn't big enough for the four of us.
I can feel the soft fur of Bella the dog at our feet and I look at Cherry with her head on my shoulder watching the movie, and I sigh in content.

Merry Christmas, my love.