Beca came home from the radio station completely worn out, having been on the nightshift for the fifth evening in a row. She stumbled through the door, barely able to walk in her exhaustion, and dropped her keys on the counter.
"Babe, I'm home." She called. She stopped and peered into their bedroom, unable to find her wife anywhere. Continuing to the kitchen/living dining area, there were still no signs of her. "Chlo?" She tried again, her voice ringing in the stark silence. Beca was a little puzzled because Chloe had said she'd be home, but she shrugged it off. The redhead was probably off doing another Christmas errand; Beca knew how into it all she was. She totally didn't understand, but she knew that Chloe was a force to be reckoned with, and she secretly found it kind of cute how into the holiday season the older woman got. Traipsing into the kitchen to seek some food, Beca grinned when she got to the table and saw a large plate of freshly baked cookies, complete with neat icing art and a wonderful aroma wafting away from them, enticing Beca's senses and just willing her to try one. She sat down and took a bite of the first one, thinking maybe that Christmas wasn't so bad after all if it tasted as good as this.
Ten minutes later, however, Chloe arrived home, her arms laden with shopping bags, the contents of which she refused to let Beca see. "Hey, beautiful. Sorry I'm late home, I was doing some last minute Christmas shopping." She explained, depositing the bags in her secret hiding spot (which Beca still hadn't found, despite her many efforts). Beca stood up to meet her in a quick kiss, wrapping her arms around the redhead.
"Oh god, you feel so good." Beca murmured, delighting in the fact that this lovely woman was hers. It was a feeling that she still couldn't get used to, too good to believe it was true, even though it was.
"You taste good." Chloe replied, grinning. Beca leaned back a little and winked.
"Someone's a little horny?" She teased, grinning playfully at her wife. "I can help with that." She smirked.
"Wait a minute, you ate my cookies! That's what it is. Beca!" Chloe scolded, narrowing her eyebrows and crossing the room to see how much damage her wife had done. The brunette slowly followed, unsure of what she'd done wrong.
"What's the big deal?" She asked.
"Those were Santa's cookies. You know, the ones you bake and leave in the living room so that he can snack on them when he visits your house on Christmas Eve." Chloe informed her in a matter of fact tone.
"You're secretly an eight year old inside aren't you?" Beca smiled. "My cute little munchkin." She cuddled onto Chloe front behind, resting her chin on the redhead's shoulder.
"How many did you have?" Chloe asked, inspecting the plate. "Maybe if it's not too much, it won't make a difference…" She muttered, talking more to herself than the brunette at this point.
"Only like four or five."
"Four or five?!" Chloe repeated in disbelief.
"I'm sorry, Chlo, you're a really great cook. I couldn't help that what you produce tastes so damn irresistible." Her voice took on a huskier tone and her nuzzled into the part of Chloe's neck that always worked wonders on the redhead. Before she could get too sidetracked, Chloe stepped away from Beca.
"I'm sorry, it's just that I spent a solid four hours on them, making sure they were perfect." Chloe explained as she sighed dejectedly, sitting down on the sofa. Beca sat down beside her, taking her hand.
"Just to be clear, you do know that Santa isn't real, right honey?" Beca asked gently, reaching up to tuck a strand of Chloe's hair behind her ear.
"Beca, I'm twenty five, of course I know." Chloe snapped. "It's just… It's what my mom and I used to do together at Christmas time, and it used to make me so happy, and her too. I just want to hold on to that. To that piece of her." Chloe finished in a small voice, not really wanting to admit it aloud. Beca bit her lip and wrapped her arms around her wife, stroking her back affectionately.
"It's ok. I get it. I'm sorry for eating your cookies. I hope you'll forgive me." She whispered. Chloe nodded as tears leaked out of her eyes, the memories and pain of missing her mom still raw.
"I love you."
"I love you too, Chlo. And your mom did, too. She'd just want you to be happy, ok? She wouldn't want you to be sad without her."
"Ok." Chloe mumbled in a small voice.
"So let's just focus on the fact that it's our first Christmas together as a married, mature couple."
Chloe giggled through her tears. "Mature?" She raised an eyebrow. "I think not."
"Well, maybe not mature. But we are married. You can't argue your way out of that one too easily."
"It's a good thing I don't want too."
"I'm glad."
"Hey, Becs?"
"Yeah?"
"Our Christmas together is really great."
Beca looked around the room, which had been adorned in plenty of various ornaments and decorations, to the fireplace with the stockings pinned on it, to the ridiculously huge Christmas tree that took up at least half the room. She'd claimed to have hated it all in the beginning, but like all things Chloe, they'd grown on her surprisingly quickly, and she didn't mind having all of the corny decorations, in fact quite enjoyed them now. She grinned.
"It definitely is."