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PAST
"Sorry Kaveh couldn't come," you apologize. "Mom said his stomach wasn't feeling good."
"It's okay," Alhaitham's mom smiles.
It was currently summer. The three of you had plans to spend the day together, but with Kaveh not feeling well, he had to stay home. You, Alhaitham, and his mom were now walking to your destination.
"We're still going to the park right?" Alhaitham asks. His mom nods.
"Yes."
Once the three of you arrived at the park, a smile erupted onto your face. Every person in Sumeru was familiar with this park, as it was built around Irminsul, the large tree in the very center of the city. The smell of freshly watered grass filled the air as people and pets ran in the open field. Nearby was a playground with a few benches and a picnic area. To top it all off, an ice cream truck was parked nearby, selling ice cream to the parkgoers.
"Do you guys want some ice cream?" Alhaitham's mom offers.
"Yes please!" you excitedly squeal. Alhaitham nods his head in agreement.
"Come on then," she replies. With you two in tow, Alhaitham's mom lines up to get ice cream. Once she's at the front, she orders Alhaitham a plain vanilla scoop and your favorite flavor.
"Thank you!" you beam.
"Of course," she smiles. "Wait, before I turn you two loose, I want to take a picture for your mom."
"Okay," you shrug.
Alhaitham's mom leads you to an empty bench, shaded by Irminsul's canopy. You sat together with Alhaitham, each of you clutching your ice creams. "Now smile," Alhaitham's mom instructs as she held out her phone. You flash a bright grin as you lean your head on your friend's shoulder. The silver-haired boy's lips curve upwards as he looks in the direction of the camera. Alhaitham's mom happily snaps the picture, capturing the moment in time.
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PRESENT
As promised, your two families would spend the holidays together. Currently, it was Christmas Eve. Your mom insisted on everyone spending the holiday at her house then New Years at Alhaitham's.
"Oh, Y/N, can you set the table?" your mom asks as she and your dad put the finishing touches on tonight's dinner.
"Yeah, sure." You got up from the couch and went to the kitchen. After gathering the plates, you set them on the table. You do the same with the silverware and glasses.
Once you were finished, you take a quick glance at your family's Christmas tree, specifically Alhaitham's present. The sleek grey box decorated with an emerald green ribbon stood out to you from all the other wrapped boxes. Anxiety nipped away at you, hoping he would like the gift.
Sure, Kaveh did say Alhaitham would like whatever you got him, but you felt so much more pressure to get him a good gift this year. After all, most people make such a huge deal about the first Christmas with their partner.
The ringing of the doorbell broke you out of your thoughts. "I'll get it," you call. Once you opened the door, your eyes widened slightly. Alhaitham and his mom stood together with bundles of presents in their arms. You greet them with a warm smile and move to the side to let them in. "Here let me help you," you say as you take the presents from Alhaitham's mom.
"Thank you," she says.
Alhaitham follows you to the Christmas tree with the remaining presents in his arms. Together, you two organize the gifts to fit under the tree. While doing so, you let yourself steal a glance at the silver-haired man.
Like everyone else, you two were dressed up for the occasion. A maroon dress clung to your figure with minimal accessories. Alhaitham wore a black button down and matching dress pants. A festive green tie adorned his neck.
"You look amazing," you whisper.
"So do you, love."
Once the two of you were done, you sat on the couch together. Your hand found its way to Alhaitham's, fingers immediately intertwining. He gently stroked your hand while you laid your head on his shoulder. The two of you sat in silence, enjoying each other's company. After some time, your brother's booming voice could be heard as he went down the stairs.
"I"m ready for dinner!" he announces.
"Come on!" your dad calls. "We've been waiting for hours," he exaggerates.
Both you and Alhaitham stand up from the couch. As you did this, you felt Alhaitham squeeze your hand three times.
'I love you.'
In response, you squeezed his back four times.
'I love you too.'
The silver-haired male's eyes flicker towards you. Awe was etched on his expression. You only gave him a sheepish smile in return.
"Alhaitham, is everything alright?" The sound of your mom's voice snaps him out of his shock.
"Yes," he quickly replies.
"Okay, let's eat then!" your dad suggests.
The six of you pick seats around your dinner table. You were sandwiched between Kaveh and Alhaitham while your parents and Alhaitham's mom sat across from you three. During the meal, lively conversation filled the air. From plans to next semester, campus gossip, and everything in between, no topic was left undiscussed, especially since your parents were eager to hear what you'd want to do next. Sooner than you expected, empty plates and used cutlery were scattered across the table.
Now, you planned to partake in one of your favorite family traditions. Your family had the Christmas Eve tradition of watching holiday movies together in the living room until everyone fell asleep. This year, you were eager to have Alhaitham and his mom join in on the festivities. Excitedly, you were about to bolt to your room to change into your comfiest pajamas for the movie marathon, but before you could, a voice called out to you.
"Y/N," your dad calls.
"Yes?"
"We're going to do things a little differently this year," he says. "We're going to watch the movies, but you and Alhaitham are going out."
"Go where, Dad?" you ask confused. "It's Christmas Eve."
"Alhaitham has a little surprise for you."
'Oh," you respond as heat rushes to your cheeks. "I'll, uh, grab a jacket then."
"And bring his present," your dad adds. With a nod, you quickly pick out a jacket that matches your outfit. After making sure you have your phone, you head downstairs to retrieve Alhaitham's gift from under the tree. The man in question was standing by your front door with your gift in hand.
"Are you ready, love?" he asks with an outstretched hand.
"Yeah," you nod before lacing your fingers with his. "Where are we going?" you whisper.
"It's a surprise."
He leads you out the front door and across the street to his house. The man's car was parked in his driveway. With his free hand, Alhaitham fishes his car keys from his pocket to unlock it. Just like last time, he opens the door for you and makes sure you're comfortable before taking to the driver's seat.
"Can I at least have a hint to where we're going?" you ask. Alhaitham lets out a deep chuckle.
"No. It would ruin the surprise." You huff at his reply, but let it slide.
While he drives, you take a chance to steal a few glances at him. Alhaitham's sharp viridian eyes narrowed in focus as he navigated the roads. The driver's side window was cracked open slightly, letting the winter air into the car. A few strands of silver hair were blown out of their usual place. Absent-mindedly, Alhaitham brought up a hand to smoothen his hair.
'How is he make that look so effortless?' you thought to yourself as your cheeks blossomed a bright red. You feel the car slow down underneath you as he comes to a stop.
"The park?" you ask, spotting Irminsul. The usually busy park was silent – no children were being chased by their parents and no one was loitering.
"Yeah," he replies as he gets out of the car. You follow his actions with his present in hand. Before he locks the car, he grabs a small gift bag out from the backseat. "Are you ready?" Alhaitham asks. Wordlessly, you nod. Hand in hand, the two of you walk towards an empty bench near the base of Irminsul. The two of you got comfortable, positioning yourselves in a way that you could face the other person.
"I've never seen the park so peaceful," you said.
"Neither have I, but I'm happy to be here with you. It took a lot of convincing to steal you away like this."
"My dad?" you question, earning a nod from him.
"He said as long as nothing too bad happens, we could stay together as long as we want," he sighed. "This is for you," Alhaitham said as he handed you the gift bag.
"This is yours." You held out his present, which he gladly took. "Open them together?"
"Sure," he smiles.
"One," you count.
"Two."
"Three."
On three, Alhaitham undid his present's ribbon while you peeked into the gift bag. Inside, you spotted a small box among the gift paper. Carefully, you removed it from the bag and gave the box a little shake. A rattling sound could be heard from inside. With a shrug, you pulled off the lid. As you did, a gasp left your mouth. Inside, the box was a charm bracelet, which you removed from its box.
"Each one represents something important," he comments.
A flower charm catches your attention first. "We met in spring," you say as you hold the charm in your hand.
Next to it was an apple tree, similar to the one in the backyard of Alhaitham's old house. A smile breaks out on your face when you see a book and a TV charm to represent your favorite shared past times.
"A piano charm," you laugh, thinking back to all the times he's played for you.
"There's a TCG charm there too," Alhaitham adds. "You're practically a TCG addict at this point."
"Am not!" you tease before going back to admiring the bracelet. "Is the circus tent the Regions Fair?"
"Yeah."
"Oh, and the coffee charm!" you gasp.
"Our little coffee escapade," he smiles. Your gaze lingers on the last charm, which is shaped like an arcade game. "Our first kiss."
"Thank you," you beam. "I can't wait to add more charms with you." Your eyes drift to the items in his hand. "This makes my gift seem so bad," you laugh.
"It's not," Alhaitham replies. "I love it!"
In his lap was a book of sheet music and a framed photo. "I remember you saying you were looking for new music to play."
"And this book is perfect," he reassures you. "I forgot we even took this picture." He holds out the framed photo to you, the photo his mom took of you both years ago. An eight-year old Alhaitham sat next to a seven-year old you. You grinned brightly while Alhaitham flashed a quick smile. The two of you each held an ice cream cone in hand.
"It's funny that you brought us here," you laugh. "We took that picture here years ago, but that's not the best part."
"Then what is?" he asks.
"Turn the frame around and take out the back," you instruct. Alhaitham follows your directions. Immediately, he noticed the two lines of handwriting on the back of the photo.
In large, messy penmanship, the first line read, 'I hope we're friends forever!' with a previous year written next to it. The second line was written in a much neater fashion. It read, 'Dating my best friend' with the current year beside it.
"Love," he whispers. After putting the picture back into the frame to preserve it, his viridian eyes meet yours. The look on his face was one you knew all too well. It was the look he'd have when he sees a book and knows it will be his new favorite. A look that encapsulates so much love and awe yet wonder and excitement. "This is perfect."
"Yours is too," you smile.
"Here," he says as he takes the bracelet from you. "Let me help you put it on." He unclasps the bracelet before joining the two ends together around your wrist. A chilly winter breeze blew by, causing you to shudder. Before he could back away, you take his face in both of your hands, your lips only centimeters apart.
Alhaitham's viridian eyes quickly glanced at your lips, silently asking for permission. You nodded your head. Without having to say anything more, he leans forward, closing the gap. The heat radiating off of the man's body kept you warm. The softness of his lips greeted yours. Together, your lips move in sync, like a dance only you two knew. When you were out of breath, you pulled away from the man.
"Let's do this a bit better," you suggest. You place what's left of Alhaitham's present inside the gift bag and place it on the ground. Alhaitham does the same, carefully placing the book and photo near the gift bag.
With his right hand, he cups your cheek, bringing his face closer to yours. Once his soft lips meet yours, your eyes flutter shut, letting passion take over. An arm snaked around your waist, pulling you closer to Alhaitham, to the point where you were practically in his lap.
Your hands find a way to his silver locks, giving them a little tug. Alhaitham removes his hand from your cheek, instead opting to hold your hips. With his forehead pressed against yours, he pulls away to catch his breath. "Remember, if you ever feel uncomfortable, just say something," he whispers.
"Okay."
His lips meet yours with a fervent need before trailing down your neck. As he did this, he left a trail of lingering kisses. You shudder in his arms as he kisses a certain spot on your neck. A satisfied chuckle left the man's lips.
"H-haitham," you stammer.
"Don't worry love," he mumbles. He pulls away from your neck, looking at you with a loving expression. "I know better than to do that now. Our parents would kill us." A slight frown forms on your lips before an idea plants itself in your head.
"You said my dad let us stay together as long as we want, right?" The man nodded his head. "Well, your mom is staying over at our house, so that means your place is empty," you say with a teasing tone.
"Well, love, what are we waiting for?" he asks. Alhaitham's viridian eyes darkened as his lips parted into a smile. "I'm sure your family wouldn't mind if we came back late as long as we're there Christmas morning."