why don't we - imagines & preferences

merry little christmas | zach

"I forgot how big your family is." Zach chuckled as you parked in front of your grandparents house. He was gesturing to the multiple cars in the driveway and lining the block. You smiled and turned off the car, "Yeah, it's gonna be more people than it was at Thanksgiving but you'll be fine." Zach took a deep breath and the two of you headed into the house. This was you and Zach's first Christmas together and this year he was joining you for your family's Christmas Eve. He had met most of your family at Thanksgiving and within the 10 months you'd been dating, but he was still a little nervous. You took his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, opening the front door. You were met with the loud noises of your bustling family all throughout the house and the smells of Christmas dinner wafting in the air. "Y/N's here!" your grandfather said, giving you a hug. "Zach, it's good to see you." he said, shaking Zach's hand. "You too, Mr. Y/L/N. Thank you for having me." You and Zach made your rounds throughout the house, saying hello to all of your relatives and introducing him to family he hadn't met yet. So far, everything was going well.

You ended up in the basement with Zach and all of your younger cousins. They were all running around, coming up to you to show you the toys they had. One of them, your seven year old cousin Caroline, came and sat next to you. "Hi there, munchkin." you smiled. She giggled and leaned into your side, tapping on your leg. You turned to her and she (attempted) to whisper to you. "Who is he?" she said, pointing to Zach. You leaned in whispered back to her, "That's my boyfriend, Zach." She gasped at you, "You have a boyfriend?" You hummed and smiled at her, "Do you wanna say hi?" Caroline nodded and you sat her on your lap, turning to face Zach. "Zach, this is my cousin Caroline." Zach grinned at her, "Hi Caroline, I like your dress." he said, referring to her red Christmas dress. She blushed and started pulling at the end of the dress, quietly thanking him. He laughed at how cute her shyness was, but she eventually warmed up to him. You sat on the couch with your other cousins around your age, watching Zach on the floor playing with all of the little ones. Your heart burst in your chest at Zach with kids, but it made it even better that it was your family. Your cousin nudged your shoulder, "He's a keeper. They all love him." she said, pointing out Zach playing peek-a-boo with one of the babies. You felt your face turn pink and you snapped a few pictures of the precious moment in front of you, "Yeah, yeah he is."

Dinner went really well, your aunts and uncles asking Zach questions about the band and what it's like touring the world. You were nervous that he'd be overwhelmed by their curiosity but he handled the questions with ease. He got along great with your family and they all seemed to love having him there. Some of your relatives were more interested in catching up with Zach than catching up with you. After dinner everyone gathered in the living room to hand out presents, you and Zach helping your great aunt hand out all of the gifts. Once everyone had their presents the room erupted into wrapping paper and loud voices. You found an empty space in the doorway to the living room, sitting down with Zach. You handed him a box and he looked at you confused, "It's your Christmas present dummy, open it." you smiled and he tore at the paper, revealing the pair of shoes he'd been talking about for weeks. "No way. You seriously got them?" he exclaimed and you smirked at him, "Duh. You've been talking about them nonstop." He leaned forward and kissed your cheek before reaching behind him to grab your gift. He handed you a small thin box with a bow on top. "Did you wrap this?" you asked, suspicious of how neatly it was done. He scratched the back of his neck, "I may or may not have had Corbyn do it, but I bought the gift so that's more important." You rolled your eyes jokingly at him and opened the box. It was a silver necklace with a 'Z' charm on it. You looked up at him with your mouth slightly hung open, it was beautiful. "Do you like it?" he asked and you picked it up out of the box. "Are you kidding? I love it! Zach, it's so pretty. Thank you." you gushed and the smile on his face grew wider and wider. "Here, I'll put it on for you." he said. The two of you stood up in the doorway and you turned around, moving your hair so he could put the necklace on you. You turned to face him and held onto the charm, still in adoration of it. "Now even when I'm gone, you'll still have a little reminder of me." he said and you hugged him. "I love you so much." you said into his shoulder and he pulled back, "Merry Christmas, Y/N. I love you more." You wrapped your arm around his back and leaned into his chest, overlooking the room full of your family. "I'm gonna have to text Corbyn and thank him for wrapping it so nicely." you teased and he tickled your sides, causing you to throw your head back laughing. As you looked up, you had an idea. "Hmm." you hummed and he raised an eyebrow at you, "What?" You pointed up above you and Zach followed with his eyes, seeing the mistletoe hung in the top of the doorway. He chuckled at you and put his hands on your cheeks, "I mean, it's only right." he said before kissing you. It was a short but sweet kiss, and the perfect end to your first of many Christmases with Zach.