For The Love of Christmas

Summary: Juliet knows that Christmas is Shawn's favorite holiday, and she's intrigued by this information. Christmas fluff, Shawn/Juliet established relationship and an unusually nice Henry. Three chapters, no spoilers for any episodes.

A/N: This was written because I was in desperate need of some Christmas fluff, and because I really think Shawn seems even happier than usual in Christmas episodes..

It's December third and he's helping her decorate the tree in her apartment. Christmas music is playing on the radio and he's somehow managed to get a strand of tinsel in his hair. He looks ridiculous and adorable, and she has to stifle a laugh.

She leaves him by the tree and goes to the kitchen to retrieve the hot chocolate. She pours the boiling water into two powdered-filled mugs, adds miniature marshmallows (not the kind in the hot chocolate packets, because those don't count, as Shawn had so rightly asserted), and carries them out.

"Santa Claus is comin' to town..."

He's singing softly under his breath to the music as he tries to untangle a string of Christmas lights.

She pauses just to watch him in this moment, so that she can remember this image of him forever – this image in which he has the tinsel in his hair and his hands in the lights and the song on his lips.

She loves seeing Shawn around this time of year. Every holiday season, without fail, he becomes even more exuberant than usual. There's a brightness in his eyes, and even something in the way he carries himself...he seems so childishly happy, so excited. He glows with it.

And she finally, finally, gets an insider's view.

Because this is their first Christmas as a couple.

She sighs and steps inside the living room. She sets the mugs down on the coffee table and he turns to smile at her. "Your lights are being very disagreeable." he says, lifting up the tangled ball of lights for her to see.

Juliet smiles at him. "Yeah, well, that's my fault. It always seems like I'm rushing when it comes time to put all of it away. Every year..."

"Don't blame yourself, Jules. The same thing happens with my lights. And my ornaments always seem to break when they're already in the boxes...I'm eighty-seven percent sure it's a conspiracy orchestrated by Wal-mart."

"Only eighty-seven?"

"I have to give myself some leeway to be wrong; it does happen, on occasion. Plus, eighty-seven just seemed like a nice number, don't you think?"

"I'm partial to ninety-two, to be perfectly honest."

"To each his own." he says with an irresistible grin.

And she can't, can't, stay away. She makes her way over to him, puts her arms around his neck, and pulls him in for a kiss.

He returns it quite willingly, and when they pull away, he's dazed and grinning even more.

She's smiling back at him too, and he must realize how very much in love with him she is at this moment, because he asks, "What did I do? I need to know the secret...it could get me out of trouble someday."

Juliet shrugs. "You're just...even better at Christmas. I mean, I can tell you really love it. But why do you love it so much?"

"Why wouldn't I?" he counters easily. "You love it just as much as I do..."

"I know. But you don't seem like Christmas would be your favorite holiday. You seem more like a Halloween kind of guy. Or an April Fool's Day kind of guy. Or a my-birthday-is-so-a-holiday-and-an-awesome-one-at-that kind of guy."

"Well, Halloween and April Fool's Day are great...I'll bet you a thousand dollars that Lassie ends up shooting me next year." he says with a wicked little smirk. "And of course, my birthday should in all honesty be a world-wide celebration..."

"But Christmas is your favorite."

"Christmas is my favorite." he agrees, and he leans his forehead against hers.

"Why?" she asks softly.

He tilts his head as if he's going to kiss her again. Instead, he whispers, "I'll tell you on Christmas Day." And then he pulls away from her and out of her arms.

"What? No fair, Shawn! Why would you make me wait?"

"Because, Jules, I am one hundred percent sure that you can figure it out by yourself on Christmas Day. You're a detective. And if you can't for some reason, I'll tell you."

"That's weeks away...you can't give me a hint now?"

"I could. But I don't really want to. There's no fun in it."

She sighs and reaches out to him, her fingers automatically settling in his hair. She pulls out the tinsel strand and smirks. "Fine. If that's the way you want to play it."

"That is the way I want to play it. Now come on and sit with me on the couch. Our hot chocolate is getting cold. And cold chocolate...well, it's not all that great. It's okay in a solid, delicious in ice cream, but not in a drink. Fairly horrible in a drink, actually."

Juliet rolls her eyes, but she lets him grab her hand and lead her to the couch anyway.

A/N: Reviews greatly appreciated; the second and third chapters will be up soon.