Marcus was lying close to Jane in bed, he was watching her. "Darling," he whispered and smiled. Jane was still asleep. "Wake up," he said and pressed a kiss on her cheekbone. His smile only got brighter when she slowly woke up. "Til hamingju með afmælið."
A smile grew on Jane's face, and she opened her eyes. She looked at Marcus, who just showed the most beautiful smile. "Takk," she whispered.
"Did I say it right?" He looked hopeful at her. "Otherwise, I will just say: happy birthday."
She placed her hand on his cheek. "It was perfect."
"Phew. You have no idea how many videos I watched to pronounce it correct," he chuckled.
Jane smirked. "You nailed it, babe. You're amazing." She gave him a long kiss.
"Good," Marcus mumbled and locked their lips again for a few seconds. "You are no longer a teen anymore," he announced.
"Shit," she mumbled and sighed. "I'm closer to the thirties now than I am to the first teen years."
"Oh, no," he dramatically said. "Sad." He gave her a few kisses. "How did you sleep?"
"Pretty fine, I can sleep full nights," she told him and ran her hand through his hair. "But I ate so much last night, my goodness. And Christmas isn't over yet. Oh, Merry Christmas. And how did you sleep?"
Marcus laughed, there were so many topics in three sentences with three different emotions. "Yeah, but it was delicious." Last night, on Christmas Eve, they went to Marcus' family to celebrate Christmas. Jane got to meet the others of his family, she really was part of the family now. "Good food... Good time, good people... And Merry Christmas. And I slept good."
She giggled. "I love you so much," she smiled. Her smile reached her eyes, they started to twinkle.
"I love you more," he said, showing the same smile. His eyes shimmered.
"No."
"I do."
"No. I love you more."
"I love you more more."
"More more more," Marcus smiled and gave Jane kisses. He could feel her smile against his lips. "You're the best," he mumbled. He pulled back and looked at her. "I have a special present for a special girl," Marcus began and grabbed the small bag from his nightstand.
The truth was: he was so excited for it that he almost snitched himself. He asked Paris for help, more for advice. He had a gift in his mind, he knew what he wanted to give Jane, but a second opinion was always helpful.
Jane sat up. "Exciting," she whispered. "We should make this a tradition: celebrating our birthdays in bed."
"Absolutely," he smirked. It was the exact same scene as his birthday. "Happy birthday," he smiled and gave the bag to Jane.
It was a plain brown paper bag, just simple. She grabbed a small box out of it and looked at Marcus, who was looking hopeful at Jane. Jane bit her lip and unpacked the small box. Her face softened when she saw it was. "Wow," she whispered and scanned it. Her eyes filled with tears out of joy. "Marcus..."
"Do you like it?"
"I fucking love it," she said and looked at him. "Excuse my language." She threw her arms around his neck. "Thank you so much."
It was a golden necklace with three small charms; a star, a flower and a dark green heart of jade stone.
The star stood for Iceland since they watched a lot of stars in Iceland and Jane always talked about the stars you could see in Iceland: Jane.
The flower stood for their first date, when Marcus could pick out a bouquet of flowers on Tuesday: Italy.
And the jade stone...jade stone was a popular thing in New Zealand: Marcus.
It had an important meaning to both of them, but it also showed their lives changed since the moment they met each other - in a positive way, of course.
"You're very welcome, my love. Do you get it?"
"Yes. Me, Italy and you."
Marcus pulled back. "Let me help you," he said. Jane handed over the necklace, and he helped her put it around her neck. "Beautiful," he muttered and took the charms between his fingers.
Jane couldn't stop smiling. "It's amazing," she mentioned and hugged him again. "I cannot stop hugging and kissing you."
After a few minutes of laughing, kissing and cuddling, the two decided to get up and start the day. Jane hadn't received a lot of birthday messages, but her family and friends still lived in the 'past', meaning she still wasn't 20 years old over there.
It was Christmas morning, and it was a tradition in the Armstrong family to start the morning with opening the Christmas presents under the tree with a cup of hot chocolate in their pyjama's - well, comfortable clothes, and then have an extensive breakfast/lunch; brunch.
When Marcus and Jane came downstairs, the living room was decorated with birthday garlands, balloons lying on the ground and...and Christmas decorations. Jane looked perplexed around, she didn't expect this. She looked at Marcus and gratefully smiled. Little did she know Marcus and Paris got up earlier to decorate the house for Jane.
"Merry birthday!" Moses happily cheered when the birthday girl arrived.
A laugh rolled over Jane's lips. "Thank you, Mosie."
The parents of Marcus got up from the couch and looked at the girlfriend of their son with a bright smile. "Happy birthday, Jane," his mother said.
"Happy birthday," his dad said. They both gave her a hug, but also wished Marcus happy birthday for his girlfriend.
"Girl, happy birthday!" Paris shouted when she entered the living room. She gave Jane a hug.
Jane couldn't stop smiling. "Thank you," she speechlessly said. "Oh, my god," she whispered, and she looked at Marcus, who was just proudly smiling at her.
They all sat down on the couch.
"How does it feel to have the same birthday as Jesus?" Moses suddenly asked. Laughter filled the living area.
"When I was little, I always used to think all the Christmas decorations were for my birthday. It started at the beginning of December, so getting into the spirit. And I used to think people worldwide were celebrating my birthday. No, they were celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ," Jane told and shook her head. "This is actually so weird... Celebrating Christmas and my birthday in a place where it is summer. It's normally always snowy and cold."
Marcus snorted. "I can imagine."
"See, I'm not the only one. Not to steal the show, but it's my birthday tomorrow, and I always used to think this was for me," Paris shared. "The pre-birthday."
"We thought we were extra special," Jane continued.
The family talked for a bit, sharing some birthday and Christmas stories. The family got Jane a present, it was small, but it meant a lot to Jane they even got her something for her birthday. They gave her a bouquet of flowers and a mug from New Zealand.
And of course, the Christmas presents had to be opened. The family gave each other practical stuff. Moses got accessories for his guitar, Paris asked for hair tools - what she got, Marcus got coffee, and the parents received things like socks or shoes. Santa Claus even left something behind for Jane: a lipstick she had on her wishlist.
Jane brought gifts as well, also a way of thanking the family for everything. She got a typical sheep wool sweater from Iceland for Marcus' dad and a handy tool for Moses for his music career - on advice from her own brother.
"And for your gift..." Jane began and looked at Marcus, Paris and their mum. "I have some instructions to give."
"Oeh, exciting," Marcus said and looked hopefully at her.
"You can unpack it, but don't open it yet," she instructed him while giving the file bag. She also handed it over to Paris and her mother.
Jaws dropped when they all saw what was inside the bag. They all got a reader, all the same. They looked hopeful at Jane.
"Okay, so listen carefully. Because if I do this wrong, I will be dead by the end of this day," she said and giggled, making the others laugh as well. "You all have a copy of the new book of María Victoria in your hands. The book is called: Fourteen. This book is not published yet; in fact, this is the first translated version of the story. My mum, Mrs Santa, is asking you to read it carefully, give her feedback on the story, and please highlight any mistakes. You can write in this reader, draw, highlight..." Jane explained. "Have I said everything?" She mumbled and looked down.
Paris looked at her mother. "I thought María Victoria said she would stop," she whispered. "This is the best present, not gonna lie."
"We are the first to read it," her mum whispered back with round eyes.
Jane cleared her throat. "Right, so, do not share any details of this story with anyone. Of course, it's okay to discuss between yourselves, but seven people know about this, now twelve people. You are the beta readers; your opinion is important, and take this very seriously. So sign this n.d.a. contract thingy, and you're good to go."
Marcus looked perplexed at Jane. "You said this wouldn't be finished until the end of next year?"
"You knew about this?" Paris asked, even more confused.
"When she writes, she writes," Jane smiled and handed over a document with n.d.a papers her mum made up. "With my help, but don't share that," she cheekily said.
"Oh, my goodness. Thank you so much," Paris said gratefully.
"You're welcome, also on behave of my mum and family," Jane smiled warmly. "Merry Christmas."
A smile grew on Marcus' face. "Have you already read it?" Jane nodded. "Good, in case I would spoil anything... Anyway, your mum will get the best feedback, I promise." He looked at the reader. "Oh, babe, you're really the best."