vegas | H.S.

b o n u s c h a p t e r # 3

As he opened the hinged lid, Vegas' heart danced under her nightgown's material, thumping and slamming. Her throat deserted itself of moisture, drying and insisting that she swallow a thousand times to dampen the interior. The sparkling, diamond necklace twinkled in her pupil, jaw dropping with such admiration and excitement.

"I love you, Vegas. I love you more and more everyday, and I do not think I will ever stop loving someone as strong, breathtaking, caring, and magnificent as you," Harry smiled, "Rule England with me forever. Stay by my side forever, and never love another because I could never love anyone beside you."

His confession poured like poetry, wooing her like he had done twelve years ago. She couldn't help but weep, tears dripping to her lap. "I love you so much!" She sobbed against his shoulder as she hugged in tight and applied pressure until they tumbled to the floor. "I will never love anyone like I love you, and we will get old and gray and still be together. Forever!"

Harry's cheeks were sore from smiling as wide as they could could extend, with his arms wrapped around her body. His feelings and anxiety were reassured, and when they detached from one another, he latched the necklace around her bare, ebony neck. His lips pecked her soft, brown skin that he loved entirely too much, and cuddled her from behind. "I'm so glad you gave me another chance, Vegas. I don't know where I would be without you. I really don't."

His nose nuzzled between the crease of her neck, inhaling the sweet scent of lavender. She was soaking earlier in the bathtub after a stressful morning filled with aching muscles from her age pulling close to forty. Harry watched her from the cracked door, gawking at her gorgeous physique. He had never seen someone so fantastic in his life.

"Well, don't go and do something stupid like that again." Vegas continued to tape the present together, securing the final flap with a piece of decorative tape. "I don't think I can live without you anyway."

Although he couldn't see, her cheeks were burning and her throat constricting repeatedly from saying something like that. Harry hummed, chuckling to her shoulder. "I won't, and I won't dare to. Not after that anyway."

"Good. I'm all done," She sung, lifting the box that she labeled with Sasha's name. "We can go sleep, because I'm so...so...tired."

"Me too. Let's go upstairs."

They arranged the presents around the tree, as they were flowing over with different stacks and sizes. Once they were done, the couple galloped up the steps to flop onto their mattress and doze off in each other's arms.

+

His small, sepia brown feet pattered against the granite floor, his arms clutching a cushioned teddy bear that Vegas gave to him last week. He had wandered out of his bedroom, and went to gather his siblings for the Christmas morning surprise. He pushed open his eldest sisters' door, tugging at their blankets to wake them up.

"Hey, Riley and Ryan," He whispered, between the two beds. He couldn't sleep much that night, and really wanted to see what Christmas morning brought for his family.

The twins tousled around in their sheets, until they realized what the hour was. Ryan spotted her younger brother first, dangling her bare feet off the edge to gain her balance. "Oliver, Merry Christmas," She said, grinning and giving her brother a kiss to his cheek. "Riley, let's go already! We have to wake up mummy and daddy!"