Matthew Gray Gubler Short Stories - Christmas Edition

Winter Wonderland #3

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"When it snows, ain't it thrillin'

Blow your nose, it's a chillin'.

We'll frolic and play the Eskimo way.

Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland"

Squeals of glee echoed around the house as the two young boys ran away laughing from Y/N. As Christmas was drawing closer and closer she and her boyfriend, Matthew, had offered to babysit his nephews for the weekend so that his sister and her husband could go shopping for the boys' presents in peace and have some time alone. In a bid to keep them entertained they had spent the previous day chasing after them and having spontaneous dance parties and now Y/N was racing them down the stairs to get breakfast. It was still dark outside (they had been woken up at 6 on the dot by two little - but heavy - bodies bouncing up and down on their bed) and the dim lighting from the Christmas tree sat in the corner of their bedroom provided a warm atmosphere – one that Matthew was intent on not moving from at all for the time being. Once the yells of delight had stopped, he snuggled back under the duvet and closed his eyes determined to get at least another couple of hours of sleep given that his nephews were safe in the hands of his girlfriend.

When he emerged some hours later freshly washed and dressed there was a distinct buzz vibrating through the house. He made his way downstairs and was almost taken out by a bundle of ski clothing running towards him.

"Eeeee!" Y/N stopped just before him, a grin planted on her face, "Matthew, it's been snowing!"

He chuckled. "And?"

"We should go outside for some fresh air with the boys."

He pulled a face as he looked out the frost covered windows. "I don't know. It might be too cold for them."

"Laura left their snow clothes and I've already managed to get them into them but if we get out there and they're not keeping them warm then we'll be back in in about 2 seconds flat. I promise."

He thought about it. The idea of going out into the cold did not sound appealing to him. "You can go; I'm going to stay here."

She put a hand on his arm. "Please come out with us."

He shook his head and he could tell that she was disappointed but he really just wanted to stay at home and chill out. "Nah, I'm good. I'm just gonna get some breakfast and then watch some TV."

She pouted at him but she understood. He hadn't had some proper time off in a long time and she knew that he liked to wind down and not do a lot. "OK. I guess we'll see you when we get back then."

She gave him a quick kiss before going to fetch the boys from the living room where they had been playing.

Throughout breakfast, Matthew couldn't concentrate. He could hear the joyous sounds of his nephews laughing and from the window where he was sat he could see them dodging snowballs and trying to dump snow on his girlfriend who seemed to be in a fit of giggles, their faces red from the cold. He was really starting to feel like he was missing out on a good time.

Y/N looked up at the window and waved at him. She couldn't tell whether or not he was OK and sighed when he didn't wave back and instead stood up, walking out of frame. A snowball just missing her knee and smashing into the snow under her shook her from her thoughts and she pulled an exaggerated look of shock at the young boy who was giggling away. She ran after him, attempting to catch him.

A short while later another snowball hit her. This one, though, was far more accurate and was soon followed by a deeper chuckle. Y/N's face lit up and the two boys ran towards Matthew who picked them up, greeting them excitedly. He placed them back down and they ran off to play together.

He smiled at Y/N, taking out a tissue. He had only been outside a minute or so and his nose was already running. He blew it before placing the tissue back in his pocket and clapping his hand together: "Now who wants to build an igloo?"