my best friend's brother is the one for me

a first christmas

Semi-sequel spinoff, featuring, uh...another pairing in addition to the main one.

-

It's been two years since the two of them started their affair, which inevitably lead to a relationship. Two years since Gloria's first try at the gym challenge, where she made it all the way until the very end, but she did not claim the title of champion that day. Neither of them went easy on the other, and it was close, perhaps the closest match that Leon has ever had, but he managed to defend his title a little bit longer.

Though she was disappointed, Leon helped take her mind off it as soon as he could get her alone, and she's spent a fair amount of time training since then. While Hop, a bit discouraged after losing to her in the semi-finals, has chosen a new direction in life and taken a job as Sonia's assistant, Gloria has spent her time training, and each year, Leon has asked her if she's preparing to take on the gym challenge again. They both know that once she does, things are going to get serious again, and that she has an even stronger chance of defeating him this time.

Every time that she tells him she isn't ready yet, he groans and says he's getting impatient and that he really, really wants to battle her again, but she can usually distract him with other things until he drops the topic entirely. The two of them have kept up their relationship in secret, with only a few friends knowing about it, and with Hop being the only one from either family that knows about them. It gets harder and harder to sneak around to see each other, but Gloria doesn't mind, happy just to be able to see him.

But things are going to change soon. It's nearly Christmas, with the gym challenge far from either of their minds, but still she decides to tell him, "Next year, I'm going to be ready again."

"You really mean it?" asks Leon. "You're not going to change your mind?"

"Not a chance," she replies, and neither of them mention that she's a bit older now, that she's at an age where a relationship between the two of them wouldn't raise nearly as many brows. Still a few, considering the circumstances under which they met and that it's common knowledge he's known her for a while, but considerably less than before.

"Is that right? Well, then, I guess it was a good thing I was considering asking this either way," he says. "How about this Christmas, we spend it together?"

Typically, they take some time together around Christmas, but on the actual day, that time is spent on their respective families. Since only Hop knows about her, she hasn't been able to visit their family as his girlfriend, and she has spent the past few Christmases with her family pretending to be single. The fact that he's suggesting they spend Christmas together can only mean thing.

Leon is ready to tell their families about this.

~X~

Gloria agrees to this and they make their plans with their families, both deciding not to tell anyone who they're bringing, just that they've met someone and will be bringing a date to Christmas. It would probably be better to prepare them ahead of time, but they both agree that it's more fun this way, and Leon tells Hop to continue keeping it to himself, to which Hop replies that he's done fine with that so far, so they really don't have anything to worry about.

Christmas Eve, they fall asleep together, and wake up together on Christmas morning, with plans to visit Leon's family for lunch and presents, and then Gloria's family for dinner and presents. Both families say that they wish they knew what to get the mystery date, but Leon and Gloria both tell their families that their date won't mind not getting a present from them, and isn't expecting anything.