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 Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2018 9:20 am
Quote: At some point, you notice a present nestled somewhere in your house that you've never seen before. Maybe it's tucked under the Christmas tree, maybe it's sitting on a window sill or hidden in the back of your closet. It's decorated very festively, with a cursive script letting you know that the present's owner is none other than yourself but there's no sender listed on the tag. Who in the world could have put it there? Opening the present reveals an item that you've sorely wanted for some time now but haven't been able to afford or haven't allowed yourself the pleasure of buying. The trouble is that you've never told a soul about wanting it. Who could have known? And how did it get there?
Christmas break was soon approaching for the school districts and with it came an ample amount of free time for the young music teacher. He was already doing his best to hang out with his girlfriend as much as possible, if anything but to help scare away the doldrums that came with the constant reminder that he was away from his family for the holiday season.
Which was, namely, why he had found himself that evening in the Willows' humble abode, nestled up in the blankets and pillows of their worn out couch while Christmas movies played on from the TV across from him. Snuggling with Aurora was definitely the medicine he needed to keep the sad vibes at bay --- and her delicious cooking and baking didn't hurt, either, especially on the evenings he visited and was forced to share her attention with the stern Mr. Willows himself.
"I could get used to this sort of coziness," he teased gently, pulling the shared blanket up to his neck as he glanced over at his beautiful girlfriend. "I might never leave, with this kind of warm fuzzies going on."
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Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2018 9:27 am
Christmas always carried a hint of melancholy for one Aurora Willows because it was another holiday season that passed without her mother, without her dear friend Bazzi, without Pasi, who she still didn't know what happened to, without...so many.
But it was easier and easier to distract herself as the years went by. It was her second Christmas with a boyfriend, she had her cats, she had Otto, and she had her pops. They were great at distracting her from the anxiety that tried to wrap around her heart and being wrapped up in blankets with her favorite person was the cure she needed for a potentially heavy heart.
"You know you can always stay over," she told him, snuggling further against him, her arm resting across his stomach when she pressed her nose into his neck and the blanket in front of it.
"We still need to open presents," she reminded him, freeing a hand just so she could boop his nose.
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Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2018 9:46 am
"Stay over? And feel the wrath of your father when he catches me, again?"
Eyebrows waggled, or at least they tried to as he soon found himself playing the role of comfortable pillow against his sweet, snuggly girl. Even with her trying to insist on presents, he was finding it hard to pull away from her comfortable grip to do anything at that point.
"Do we have to?"
The question came out more of a whine than question, the older boy tugging her closer, practically into his lap as the blanket came with them. "But I'm so comfortable."
His bottom lip stuck out at her dramatically --- he made the sad face so much better when he was a seal but he put the effort in, as human, nevertheless.
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Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2018 10:00 am
"Pops doesn't hate you," Rory tried, feebly, to argue. "I'm an adult, Pops knows that. Besides, you need to try and have a better relationship with him." She wasn't going to have her pops hating her boyfriend forever. They had to figure out how to both exist in her life, together.
"I mean...if you'd rather just go home to your bed, alone..." Rory trailed off, her teasing smile hidden from how she pressed against him.
When he began to whine and pout at her, the girl pulled back and gave him a disapproving look. One that certainly didn't last long because she was shifting, pulling the blanket down so that it was out of her way when she leaned in to kiss him.
Gently teeth nipped at his bottom lip, the one he dared to pout with. "You really don't want to open presents? To see what I got you? To see how I react to what you got me?"
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Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2018 10:12 am
Kisses were a weakness, one Aurora knew could exploit her boyfriend into doing whatever it was that she wanted. Frankly, pretty much anything that she did was a weakness when it came to Akio Yoshida - the man had it bad for his beautiful girlfriend and wasn't ashamed to let the world see just how much he adored her.
"Alright, alright -- yes, yes I want to see what you got me," he admitted, shucking off his part of the blanket as the temptation to kiss her back proved to be too much. Leaning forward, he stole another kiss before finally rising and making his way off of the couch, approaching the tree and all of the colorful gifts underneath. The air in the apartment was warm but he couldn't help but feel a chill run through him, now that he'd de-hibernated himself from within the cocoon of blankets they'd formed together.
Leaning down, he rummaged through the group of packages, perusing through the tags in search of ones labeled to Akio, from Rory.
"Is there something I need to open first? Or is there one you've got your eye on, beautiful?"
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Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2018 11:59 am
Her smile grew when he gave into her. Akio was always giving into her, really, but it still felt like such a wonderful victory she couldn't help but smile into his kiss even as she slid off the couch and onto the floor to be closer to him and the gifts.
"Which ever one you want to open, or want me to open, first is perfect." Rory answered without giving him a decisive answer one way or another. She had coaxed him out of his blanket cocoon, it was his duty to grab the presents and figure out which ones they should open.
He'd find a stack of three neatly wrapped presents labeled to him, from her. Inside the largest one was a new shirt and bowtie for work. Inside the second largest was a scarf and beanie set and gloves to keep him warm. And inside the smallest was something a little presumptuous.
Akio wasn't exactly a necklace wearing sort of guy, but she'd made a corded necklace with...the key to her apartment hanging from it. A.W. was painted onto one side, a bit of a possessive claiming but also a way of telling him he'd gotten the key to her apartment and heart.
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Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2018 12:20 pm
He gave her a look when she didn't give him a straight forward answer, soon deciding to simply divvy out the presents in front of both of their seats so that she would have to choose which one she wanted to open first, as opposed to forcing him to decide for her.
Four packages made their way onto his side of the coffee table before he brought her the ones he'd brought over from his apartment to hers, leaving the remaining few beneath the tree to go to Mr. Willows, once he arrived home from work or woke up, whichever of the two it tended to be. With his odd hours, Akio could hardly keep up with it all.
Three presents found their way in front of Aurora, each decorated a little less beautiful than the ones she'd clearly taken the time to wrap. His skill with tape and paper was in need of mastering but effort had clearly been made in an attempt, at the very least.
Inside her boxes lay a series of gifts: the largest had an oversized stuffed cat, orange in color with an added-on black tie to perfect the mimicry. Akio was certain that the giant thing would be mauled by Bob in no time flat but at least, hopefully, Rory would find amusement in it before the feline foe had time to.
The second contained a pair of mittens and earmuffs, both in a color that made him think of her eyes. Fuzzy and warm, he was already imagining his beautiful girl wearing them as he coaxed her out of the warm apartment and into the snow for a late night dinner.
The last present held the one he'd spent the most time on, physically.
Using a tutorial he'd found on youtube, Akio had struggled for well over a week trying to use clay and paint to recreate one of his favorite scenes from their shared memories. Afterwards (and after a few mishaps), he managed to seal a bulb atop the scene, along with water and small pieces of confetti.
When shaken, a flurry of snowflake-like particles swirled around a familiar (albeit lumpy and slightly mispainted) garden with a fountain and bench and two little figures attempting to dance, from the look of things.
He'd made her a snowglobe... or at the very least, attempted to, though he was fairly nervous she'd just end up calling him a dork and giving him a dutiful, obligatory girlfriend kiss for his efforts.
In the meantime, though, he was more than delighted to tear in to the presents she'd carefully wrapped for him, donning on both the bowtie and scarf before squishing his dark hair beneath the beanie, despite sitting in the warmth of her living room. He seemed thoroughly pleased by the accessories she'd given him but not nearly as wide-eyed as he was when he opened the third box, revealing the key inside.
"You know just how to make a man happy, beautiful," he mumbled softly as he grasped tightly onto the key with one hand, shifting to pull her close for a kiss with the other, ignoring the fluffy scarf that tried to get in their way. "I'm so lucky to have you as my girlfriend."
The fourth present sat there for the moment, Akio caught up in the emotion of the moment and the sheer need to pepper her adorable face with kisses.
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Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2018 2:23 pm
Rory pouted at Akio when he also found a way around making any proper decisions when it came to gift unwrapping. Still, she was careful as she unwrapped each of his gifts to her. The cat plush had her squealing, hugging the thing to her chest.
"Where did you even find this?" She couldn't help but ask, loving the gift even though she knew that Bob would find some way to act like it was an attempt to replace him, as if he were even replaceable.
The gloves were put on almost immediately, Rory always having cold hands that could use a bit of warming up even with the heater going.
The last one...it made her pause, carefully lifting it to her eye level before she gasped softly, quiet and surprised. "Akio, did you make this?" Her voice was soft, a bit of awe evident in her tone as she shook it, feeling overwhelmed that he'd taken so much time to make a present like this.
It made her feel like her gifts paled in comparison.
"I know you're afraid of Pops but...I want this to feel like home for you too, just like your apartment feels like home for me."
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Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2018 6:48 am
The plushie seemed to be a hit, making a warm feeling of pride swell up in his chest as he watched her reaction. She hugged and squeezed it, making high pitched noises of happiness and he wished he could bottle up that feeling, capture it to relive it over and over again any time he felt the slightest bit sad.
Gloves were added on, Aurora joining in with him in his outerwear-worn-indoors movement but the snowglobe seemed to take her breath away for a moment. He shifted in his seat, feeling a bit bashful at the focus on his craftsmanship (or really, lack thereof).
"It's... the painting and clay could use some work. Maybe sometime you can help me redo it, make a better one? It's really not that hard, once you find the right youtube tutorial..."
For someone who used to bask in attention, it felt weird to brag about something so... shoddy, compared to the confidence he held when it came to his voice. So, in an attempt to redirect the focus, he quickly took to the final present waiting for him in his lap, a festively decorated box addressed To Akio, nothing else on the tag.
Paper was removed, tissue was set aside and the young man paused as he stared down into the box, freezing in place. Brown eyes stared for several moments before he glanced over at Aurora, looking at her with a mixture of perplexity and joy.
"A-Aurora, how did you...?"
The outgoing man was speechless as his hand dipped down to retrieve the present, nestled atop even more tissue. Two slips of paper were pinched between his fingers as he stared at the printed words on the rectangular pieces, his gaze shifting back and forth between his girlfriend and the gift.
"I... this is too much. I mean, I'm.... this is incredible. I don't even know what to say --- Aurora, this has to be the best gift ever, I can't even begin to thank you. I don't know how you managed this but... I... thank you."
The gift was set gently down on the coffee table, Akio abandoning them for a moment as he reached over to collect his girlfriend for a tight hug, noticeable tears in his eyes before he squeezed them shut.
Home.
She'd bought him tickets to return back home for a visit and Akio Yoshida was absolutely speechless.
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Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2018 9:20 am
When Akio produced a fourth present, Rory blinked at it several times. She had only purchased and wrapped the three that he'd already opened. Her father hadn't purchased anything for her boyfriend, if only because it had been agreed upon that the gift exchange was between her and her pops.
Pops considered Akio 'temporary' until proven otherwise, even after nearly two years of dating. Rory half expected that Pops would continue to consider Akio as such until they were married, if that was something they chose to do.
Still, despite her confusion, Rory tried to focus on everything positive. "It's perfect, handsome. I love it as is." And she truly did, the girl being so touched that he'd put so much time and effort to recreate their first meeting in something she could look at every day.
But then the present was opened and out came two tickets, to Japan.
"I--- I didn't--" She couldn't even form a complete sentence, completely baffled by such an extravagant present. Maybe Pops had purchased them but...he would have told her.
Where did they come from?
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Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2018 11:11 am
If Akio noticed her equal surprise, he said nothing of it as he squeezed the young woman tightly in his excited hug. He was almost trembling, he was so overwhelmed by the gesture. Sure, his parents had always extended an open invitation but this was... this was so much more than just having them pay for yet another thing for him. This was so much more, this was his girlfriend leaving him dumbfounded as she came through with her earlier promise.
"I know you said we'd figure it out but I had no idea you had this sort of trick up your sleeve. You sneaky, beautiful woman."
Drawing back, he grinned down at her, collecting her cheek in one hand before dipping down to steal a quick kiss, then another.
"You're the best, I just... I don't even know what to say besides thank you. This is amazing, I can't wait to tell my parents that we're coming to see them."
The hand on her face let go, moving to dig his phone out of his pocket so he could begin texting both his parents and his sibling the terrific news. They'd already heard him sing praises of his beautiful Aurora but this was certainly going to convince them even more that she was the one for him.
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Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2018 9:21 am
Her boyfriend was simply thrilled about this present she definitely didn't give to him and Rory didn't know how to break it to him that she hadn't done it at all. So she didn't and part of her felt guilty for taking credit for someone else's gift but she couldn't figure out who it might've been.
She hadn't told Reven, who had no means for really obtaining money, or Otto about the notion that Rory and Akio would go overseas to meet his parents, so they were out.
There was the smallest, very unlikely, option of Bob but other than her speculation, she couldn't think of where they'd come from.
She tried not to think about it. Rory wouldn't ruin his excitement about something she knew was very, very important to him. "We'll um, have to get stuff sorted out, I don't have a passport but..." She trailed off, worrying her lip before she carefully gathered his face in her hands to kiss him sweetly.
"Let's clean up, watch a movie, tomorrow we can start planning for the trip, okay?"
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Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2018 2:54 pm
Small hands pulled him away from his attention towards his cell phone, Aurora's quiet request for both kisses and focus immediately responded to by way of a return kiss from the older boy. As excited as he was about the present, she seemed rather... serene, herself, as if she wasn't equally excited about the gift she'd no doubt spent a heft penny on.
Maybe he was making a fool of himself with it, going a little over the top in his gratitude? He couldn't help his reaction, couldn't help how excited he got at the thought of going home and seeing everyone -- he hadn't meant to make her feel like the attention had shifted elsewhere and neglect her over it.
"That sounds like a terrific plan - we gotta take advantage of the rest of Christmas before it gets away from us, yeah?"
Quick to abandon his phone on the coffee table, he rose to collect all the wayward boxes and shredded wrapping paper, insistently having her stay on the couch as he made a dash to the kitchen to deposit the trash. In a heartbeat he returned, scooping up his girl in his arms before settling them both down on the couch to snuggle in for yet another cheesy Christmas flick - he'd text his family the next day, when he was alone.
Tonight... tonight was Aurora's time and he wasn't about to do anything to take it away from his fair lady.
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