𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐄 - 𝐡𝐬𝐦𝐭𝐦𝐭𝐬 (𝐢𝐢) | ✔

two

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two: the perfect gift
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     The couple was sitting in Ricky's livingroom under the lights of their christmas tree, both with cups of hot chocolate in their hands and talking about whatever came to mind. As soon as they had got to the Bowen household, they had changed into more comfortable clothes, leaving their cold (and wet) outfits to dry near the fireplace.

     Ricky could not stop looking at his now-girlfriend, who was wearing one of his shirts and playing with the marshmellows on her chocolate.

     "Was there something you wanted to tell me?" the boy asked, remembering how Juliette had told him before arriving that she needed to tell him something. She had thought about telling him what Alex had said that morning, they told each other everything, but ultimately decided against it, not wanting to ruin the holiday spirit.

      "I wanted to tell you how much I love giving you gifts," Juliette changed topics, handing him her Christmas present. As the boy unwrapped it, the smile fell from his face, "hey, it's everything okay? Did... did I do something wrong or...?"

     "No, no Jul," he calmed him, putting a hand on her leg,"it's just... the first gift I ever remember unwrapping under the Christmas tree is a skateboard... from my mom. It's the first Christmas without her and..."

      "I... I'm sorry, Ricky, I didn't know..."

     "It's all good, really. This is nearly as sweet as you are. Did you paint it?" he smiled, softly passing his fingers over the colours of the table, and kissed the girl's hand as she nodded, "Jul, those drawings are amazing. You really need to teach me how to do that. Well... you know that money has been quite tight lately so... I wrote you a song. I hope it fits 'cause you can't return it."

     "Ricky!" she exclaimed, in surprise as the boy took his guitar out, "are you serious?"

     The boy simply started playing a sweet melody, looking directly at Juliette's eyes and then, he began singing: "this song's the second best that I could do, when the perfect gift is you." Even if it was (obviously) not the first time that she heard Ricky sing, it was the first time that he had ever written a song to her and Juliette could not be any happier. Not even if Leonardo DiCaprio appeared through the door right at that very moment.

     By the time he finished his serenade, the girl had tears rolling down her cheeks already, "Ricky that was... truly the perfect gift," she claimed, crawling towards him. Once he had put his guitar away, he opened his arms for Juliette to get closer and there they stayed, hugging, kissing and chatting until Ricky had a better idea.

     He took her by the hand and practically dragged her out of the house, throwing a snowball at her as soon as she stepped outside. That started a snowball fight that, as many of the things they did, ended in laughs and kisses under the mistletoe.

     "I honestly can't wait to do it all over again," Ricky admitted in between kisses, "the musical. And I'm never walking off stage in the middle of a show again. Even less if you would audition with me... Because this, us, is the one thing I can always count on. You're my home."

     Ricky had been trying to get Juliette to audition for weeks now. The boy had made her confident enough to sing in front of people and he had even taught her how to play a couple of songs in his guitar, so he was confident that the girl could land a role in this year's High School Musical 2. Cause, it had to be HSM 2, right?

     "I don't know, Ricky..."

     "Everybody has heard you singing already, why don't step on stage?"

     "I don't go on stage, Rick. I... I rather make beautiful things for others to look at."

     "You're the most beautiful thing anyone could admire."

     "Okay, that just gave me cavities."

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ♫ ⋅.} ───── ⊰

     The boy accompanied his girlfriend to her house so he could wish Merry Christmas to her family as well. In a sense, the Duchamps had become family to Ricky too, as they had always welcomed him when things were getting difficult, when the boy was not feeling well. They had always been happy for his relationship with Juliette and, needless to say, the twins were as happy as could be to have a big brother. Even more if it was Ricky Bowen himself.

     "Merry Christmas, girls," he wished, smiling at the two younger redheads and messing with their hair.

     "Merry Christmas, Ricky," they replied at the same time, kissing his cheeks, "we've got something for you."

     Apart from Juliette's gift, the whole family had decided to buy him another one, as a way of thanking the boy for making the girl so happy na dofr 

     "It's not much but... we remember how you looked at this when we went to the mall some weeks ago," Juliette's mother explained, as she handed him their gift. Inside the package was a hoodie and a new pair of vans that Ricky had been wanting for a while. However, since things at home were not the best and they did not have all the money in the world, he had not been able to buy them.

     "Oh my God, this is amazing," he smiled, kissing all the girl's cheeks and shaking Juliette's father's hand, "thank you so much. I... I don't know how to thank you I..."

     "You have done enough, Ricky," Benjamin Duchamp assured him, signalling Juliette, who was looking at her boyfriend with a sweet smile on her face, "you do everyday."

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ♫ ⋅.} ───── ⊰

     "I can't believe you killed me!" Juliette exclaimed, looking at Ricky. They were in the middle of a very intense Call of Duty match and Ricky was decided to win that one. Even if that took a bit of foul play.

     "Hey, hate the game, not the player," he teased her.

     "Well, hate me because you are not getting any more kisses today," she blatantly stated.

     "Come on, you know you can't resist this," he approached the girl with a smile, fully knowing her soft spot.

     "I very much can," she tried to back up, but Ricky was not having it. He put his hand in her cheek, slowly caressing it with his thumb and looking at her in the eyes. The girl's seriousness broke with a smile. That time, she was the one to join their lips.