honeysuckle. (cedric diggory.)

twelve. ( the yule ball. )

VISIONS OF sugarplums, sure enough, danced through Elaine's head as the gentle beat of Cedric's heart pulled her further into the warm folds of sleep. Visions of gumdrops, of candy canes, of snowy lanes lined with gingerbread and pastures of grazing, red-nosed reindeer and Cedric's hand in hers made for sweet dreams, indeed. Dreams so sweet, she awoke in an evergreen cloud to the taste of candy, more sugary than a kiss on her tongue, still curled on the couch in Cedric's arms.

At some point in the night, however, Milo and Blake had gone to bed, and Elaine and Cedric had shifted to lie stretched out on the couch. They had also completely twisted around, and Cedric was now a solid wall of heat at her back, with his arms wrapped around her like he'd never let go, and her hands captured in his big ones. One of his arms was draped lazily over her waist, and the other was beneath her head, like a pillow. His face was pressed into the crook of her neck, with his soft curls tickling her ear and his warm, slow breaths grazing her bare shoulder, where her sweater had slipped slightly down.

Elaine pulled the heavy blankets closer around them, content in their warm cocoon, and twisted slightly to look at Cedric, still fast asleep. Sleepily, she wondered if maybe she was still dreaming.

Her eyes mapped out his constellations of freckles, admiring how they slipped over his sharp cheekbones to dust the smooth planes of his face. Her favorite freckle was a tiny, heart-shaped one on his cheek, just to the right of his nose, and it was like a secret only Elaine knew — as it was small enough that you needed to be quite close to see it. Elaine felt her cheeks grow pink as she noticed just how close they were, with their bodies flush against each other and their breaths mingling and their noses a mere heartbeat apart.

Cedric's eyelids fluttered slightly, and he pulled her into his chest with a sleepy little groan. Suddenly, dove gray irises were all she could see, and Elaine smiled drowsily as she slipped around to face him fully, though his arms remained hooked around her waist, and the space between them, if anything, only grew smaller.

"You were shivering," Cedric murmured, his honeycomb voice thick with sleep. "Your hands were cold. I wanted to keep them warm for you."

"Aren't you just an angel," she whispered with a little laugh. The soft smile at her lips widened as she brushed his curls out of his eyes, her fingers lingering upon his cheek.

Elaine, as enraptured as she was with the human embodiment of light before her, was dimly aware of the impetuous potted ivy ( the one that was so fond of playing with her hair ) hanging above them. It was gently waving a few of its yellow-mittened leaves in an attempt to catch their attention. She twisted her head slightly to look up as Cedric squeezed his eyes shut and yawned widely. Slowly, it reached to receive something from a few of the succulents and tiny shrubs on the windowsill, and Elaine's heart almost stopped beating completely when she noticed what the ivy was trying to hang over them.

Mistletoe.

She looked back at Cedric, his hair mused with sleep, and felt her heart in her throat. She wondered if maybe she should just... kiss him. She could blame it on the mistletoe, if it was awkward and he pulled away; she could say she was just following the very set-in-stone traditions — so in stone they were basically laws — of her favorite holiday! Festivity basically demanded that she kiss him. It was terribly bad luck, not to kiss beneath the mistletoe.

( Elaine really had no idea if that was true, but it was her favorite Christmas philosophy, and one she kept close to her love-filled heart. )

Her fingers, still resting lightly upon his cheek, trembled, and as he felt her shake, Cedric slipped her hand into his and held them against his chest. His calloused palms were warm enough that she felt his touch upon the very strings of her heart, such that they began to strum a tune of her utter adoration and devotion to him. His eyes were heartbreakingly soft as he gently squeezed her chin between his thumb and forefinger with his free hand, a smile spilling across his angelic features.