That's How We Met ('tis the damn season) [Merder]

Christmas Magic

The ride to Carolyn's house was silent, not the uncomfortable kind, though. When their taxi pulled up to her house, they noticed its exterior was a bit changed, decorated with some more Christmas decorations, definitely Amelia's sisters' handiwork.

Meredith found herself growing excited as they approached the house and rang the bell. Carolyn greeted them as warmly as the day before and let them in the house to warm up and get ready for the day's activities.

Almost everyone was already there, including the children, except for Derek, who had emergency at the hospital. Women were making dinner, men were trying to keep the kids entertained and stop them from burning the house down. Meredith offered to help in the kitchen, but Carolyn told her she didn't have to, and Amelia agreed it'd be better if they wouldn't let Meredith near the kitchen, which she got nudged for. She tried to help out with what she could for a while, but when she realized the conversations were getting out of her comfort zone, she excused herself, ignoring Amelia's warning glares to not leave her alone with wolves as she called them before, and got out of the kitchen as fast as she could.

"That was weird, don't you think? There was some tension yesterday when they met, and now she immediately run away when we mentioned him" Nancy said as soon as she left the kitchen.
"It definitely was" Kathleen agreed. They exchanged looks when Amelia shifted uncomfortably and their mother's glare was enough to shut them both up.

Meredith found herself on a balcony in a search for the bathroom, but that could do too, all that mattered was that she was alone, or so she thought...

"Hey" a soft, very familiar male voice broke the silence.
"Shit" she muttered under her breath.
"Shit? Seriously? My feelings are hurt" he pouted.
"Sorry, it's just, you're everywhere" she sounded apologetic. "You took me by surprise yesterday. I definitely didn't expect the guy I slept with to be my best friend's brother."
"You took me by surprise too, but how did you know who I was, I'm The Derek Shepherd, remember?"
"And I'm The Meredith grey, remember?" She fought back.
"Okay, that's fair," they both chuckled "It's just, I've heard so much about you from Amelia, and I... I always was amazed by your strength and your kindness, and to be honest, I always wanted to meet you. This may sound a little corny, but I was excited to finally meet you. And then I met you in a most unexpected way. It's strange how the universe works, isn't it?"
"You're very poetic, has anyone ever told you that?" she said half sarcastically "It really is strange. I always thought you were arrogant and cocky, and you definitely are both of those things. But the guy I met last night, he was different, a little broken if you ask me. You're... different than what I expected."

They looked at each other with deep understanding. Neither of them knew the other one, but they saw something in each other that no one could see. They both were successful and assertive, some people considered them cold, some arrogant, some knew only most parts of them, but barely anyone, if anyone, knew them fully. They only saw the exterior, their poker face, that gave out nothing about who they truly were, but the two of them saw something different in each other, they could feel how broken the other person was, almost like their souls were connected by some invisible string, almost if they were soulmates. If only they believed in soulmates...

Minutes passed and they still stood there, no one talked, no one said a thing, both of them were too deep in their thoughts to say anything, millions of things running through their minds. Both of them felt too comfortable in this silence, like they were saying more with their eyes than ever could be spoken.

They never broke eye contact, not until she noticed his eyes fixed on her lips and she couldn't help but think about the feeling of his lips on hers, but she gave up that thought immediately. She quickly excused herself downstairs as she saw him moving closer to her and joined everyone in the family room.

Christmas was a big holiday in Shepherd's household. The whole family, including children of different ages, gathered in a family room around a Christmas tree, kids anticipating for gifts knowing very well they won't get them till the next morning, family conversations, hot chocolate it and Christmas movies. It was their favorite holiday, and for the first time in years, everyone was present. It was one magical night and Meredith found herself enjoying it much more than she thought she would. She and Derek kept making eye contact throughout the night, which didn't go unnoticed by Carolyn Shepherd. She wholeheartedly smiled every time she saw Amelia throwing glances towards them, not hiding her position about it. It was a magical night, but soon enough everyone was gone to bed. Carolyn insisted on Meredith and Amelia staying at her house, saying it was their Christmas tradition. Meredith went up to her room thinking back to her conversation with Derek and secret eye contacts they made throughout the night, and couldn't help but think what it must've meant. Maybe god had planned some magic for her too, who knows...

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it! ✨
So sorry for taking so long to update! This chapter was written at midnight just because I felt guilty for not updating in so long, so it feels a little bit rushed. I needed to start their story somewhere so this isn't very detailed, but from now on I'll try my best to make it more detailed and update regularly! Promise I won't leave you hanging for too long, I have an idea for the next chapter! 💫
Take care and stay safe! Love y'all! Thanks for all the support! I really appreciate it! ❤️