twenty ── christmas
"𝕿his one." Luke held up the envelope towards Eden, who was nodding. It was Christmas Eve, and Eden was teaching Luke one of her favourite traditions in her family, which was that you opened the most special gift that you had gotten for the other on Christmas Eve, so that you were able to enjoy it on Christmas Day.
The woman curled further into the sofa, clutching onto her mug of hot coco as she watched her son open the envelope slowly, dressed in Christmas themed pyjamas with fluffy socks. Bradley was asleep by the fire, and Eden couldn't quite believe that this was truly real, and that Luke was truly her son.
"No way!" Luke was on his feet in an instant, staring between Eden and the tickets in his hands. "Tickets for the New York Rangers, are you serious?"
"Completely." Eden nodded, as Luke launched himself at her. She only had a moment to place her mug down, before catching the twelve year old.
"Thank you so much, ma! This is amazing!" He was laughing, looking at the tickets in awe as Eden ran her hand through his curls, kissing his head gently. "This is so cool!"
"I'm glad. It's in three weeks, so you can get one of your friends to come and I'll take you."
"Really?" Eden nodded, kissing his head as Luke grinned and began to think aloud of who he would bring. The woman giggled, before accepting the gift that Luke gave her. "This one's for you. Alfie helped me pick it out."
"So you two have been plotting and planning behind my back?"
"Yes." Luke nodded quickly, as Eden laughed and opened the gift. It was a framed photo of her and Luke on one of their dog walks, Bradley by their side.
"Oh, Luke, this is beautiful. Thank you, baby. I love it!"
"Alfie took the photo and all that..." Luke blushed, as Eden kissed his head and placed the photo on the mantelpiece so that it could be clearly seen by everyone who entered the living room. "So, what happens tomorrow?"
"Well, we're going to go and see grandma and grandpa." Eden explained. "The rest of the family will be there, we'll eat a lot of food, open more presents, play a family game and then have a walk or something and eat more."
"So, a lot of food?"
"Absolutely!" Eden laughed, before noticing the time. "Alright, off to bed with you. It's half past eleven, and I need to finish decorating the cookies and the trifle for tomorrow."
"I'm going, I'm going." Luke chuckled, as Eden gave him a gentle shove out of the door. He began to laugh as she did, trying to run away from her as Eden laughed and gave chase. The pair careened through the house, before Luke jumped into his bed, still laughing.
"Night, baby. Sleep well." Eden leant and pressed a kiss to his head, before running her hand through his hair. "I'll see you in the morning. Come and wake me up."
"Sure thing, ma." Luke nodded, as Eden squeezed his hand gently, before closing the door and padding back downstairs.
It took her another thirty minutes to finish decorating all the cookies, that she and Luke had made earlier that day, before placing the trifle in the fridge and pulling her box of stocking gifts for Luke and Bradley from the cupboard. Holding it on one hip, she was quick to fill both of their stockings, taking a bite from the biscuits that Luke had left out, drinking the milk and feeding Bradley a bite of the carrot before trying to think of what else she needed to do before she went to bed.
Against her will, her mind drifted to Hermes.
She hadn't heard from him since Thanksgiving, and one part of her was wondering if he was preparing to celebrate Christmas or if the gods even celebrated Christmas. No matter how hard Eden tried to pull her mind away from the matter, she did want to know if Hermes was alright. Despite all of her teasing, they were friends. At least, they were friends as much as a mortal and an immortal could be.
A knock sounded at the door, as Bradley growled softly. Eden patted him, before opening the door. They were on a private estate, with a gate and a fence, so there were only a few people that it could be. But even knowing who those few people were, Eden was still surprised to see that Hermes was the one who was standing there.
"Hi." He grinned.
"What are you doing here?" Eden had meant to say hi, but apparently her brain had thought better of that idea.
"Good to see you too." Hermes chuckled, before holding up the bags in his hand. "I've got gifts, for Luke."
"Do the rest of your kids also get Christmas gifts?"
"Yes, they do, thanks." Hermes took his snow covered shoes off at the door, stepping inside with a grin.
"Your bank account must be hurting."
"How many kids do you think I have?"
"You don't want me to answer that question." Eden grinned, as Hermes rolled his eyes and nudged her. The woman chuckled, leading Hermes into the living room where he set the bags down. "What did you get him?"
"New York Rangers jersey." Hermes placed the parcel under the tree, that was surprisingly well wrapped. "Yes, I did wrap it myself."
"Just checking." Eden held her hands up, as Hermes put a couple more things down. "Do I get to know what else?"
"Ancient Greek myths and legends, Lego set, food and snacks, and a board game for you guys to play."
"That's kind of thoughtful."
"Thanks." Hermes chuckled, before handing her the other bag. She narrowed her eyes, peering in and grinning. "These are traditional Greek Christmas food. Cookies and all that."
"They smell amazing."
"That almost sounds like a compliment."
"You get one a year. That's yours over and done with." Hermes laughed again, as Eden placed it away and lead the god back to the door. "What are you doing for Christmas?"
"Working." Hermes shook his head. "Christmas is busy for me, so I've got a lot of stuff to do and finish before the New Year. My dad's got me on deadline after deadline, which isn't as fun. Gods like things snappy."
"Well, thanks for stopping by here then, for Luke."
"For Luke." Hermes nodded. "I want him to have a good day."
"I'll take pictures, so you can see." Eden grinned. "Are you this attentive with all of your kids?"
"Despite popular opinion, most of mine are safe at camp. Luke's one of the few who isn't."
"For good reason."
"Never said it wasn't for one." He pulled his shoes on, standing on her porch, as she leant in the doorway of her home. "You're gonna have a nice, snowy Christmas, I think."
"You think?"
"Well, I would say I know, but you'd accuse me of being cocky." He turned back, laughing as Eden watched him, with soft eyes, her heart playing an tune that she hadn't felt for a long time. The god, at that moment, actually looked like a god, his skin glowing in the fairy lights that encased the front of her house, blue eyes twinkling gently. "Oh, Eden, hold still."
The woman looked up at him, as he leant forward, a look of concentration on his face as he plucked something off of her face.
"Eyelash. Make a wish." He held his finger in front of her lips, and Eden was quick to blow it away, not even having enough time to make a wish. "Mortal customs are always so funny. They're just..."
He was cackling to himself about it, and Eden couldn't help herself.
Standing on her tiptoes, she pressed her lips to the god's, if only for a moment. But the feeling in itself was like coming home after a long day of work and sinking down by the fire, it felt like coming home and that terrified Eden.
She pulled away, both of them staring at each other in shock, eyes wide, hearts racing, before Eden came to her sense and closed the door in his face. She leant against in shock, clinging to her heart, reminding herself of everything that could go wrong and how she couldn't let this happen, all the while thinking of Hermes' lips on hers.
☾☼☽
"Ma, this one's for you." Eden placed her wine glass down, accepting the gift that Luke handed her. They were surrounded by a large amount of wrapping paper, as the entire family chatted about their presents, a comfortable hum and warmth filling the room.
Eden examined the box, not knowing where it had come from, before opening it gently. Inside was a tiny silver heart locket, emblazoned with the symbol of Hermes. Eden's eyebrows furrowed, before she opened it and her mouth fell open slightly.
Running her thumb across the small photo, she knew who it was already. Hermes had found photos of Luke when he was younger, grinning widely with his front teeth missing, and placed it into a locket for the woman, who could feel tears forming in her eyes despite everything.
She pulled the box towards her, looking at the little note inside of it;
found this and thought of you ~ H.
But all Eden could think was if she had just screwed Hermes' relationship with Luke up, all because she had kissed the god?
☾☼☽
Hiya,
So, Hermes and Eden kissed and then she slammed a door in his face? Also, him getting her the locket with pictures of Luke, and their constant bullying is actually really cute and I love that for them. We'll see what happens tomorrow,
Let me know what you think,
Love Li xx