Comfy Closets

29|| Presents and Passions

"-Aly! Aly wake up! Come on, let's go open the presents!"

A groan feebly escaped my mouth as my eyes blearily blinked open, trying to maintain the image of my wonderful dream in mind so it could continue to play once the interruption went away. There was an extra weight on the bed that kept moving the mattress underneath, their bouncing incessant. "Wha..."

"Come on! I won't be waiting for you if you don't get up now!"

The bouncing human finally stopped, allowing me to breathe a sigh of relief as my sleepy brain went back to hibernate. That was soon interrupted when the little human jumped and landed squarely on my torso, causing me to release this strangled 'oomph' sound into the air.

"Addy..." I groaned in complaint.

"It's Christmas! Get up!"

My slow mind finally registered what she had said, and when it did, my upper body immediately sprang up in wakefulness. "What are we doing here?! Let's go!"

"That's what I've been saying..." the seven-year-old muttered under her breath.

We scrambled down the stairs and rounded the corner at the archway with speed, heading straight to our blue and white themed Christmas tree at the corner of the living room. My parents were already sitting on the couch with sleepy smiles as they watched both of us settle on the floor by the tree with excitement.

"Merry Christmas girls. Okay, Mom opens her presents first," Dad said, settling us down. He always let Mom be the first to open presents every Christmas.

I handed her mine first, my heart excitedly jittering in anticipation for what she thought. She pulled the bow apart from the small box and opened the lid, gaze warming at the sight of the necklace inside.

"Aww, honey. Thank you," she smiled gratefully and leaned over to kiss my head before taking it out and putting it on. It wasn't the most expensive necklace out there, but I thought mom would've liked it and its simplicity.

The rest of her presents consisted of a really nice drawing from Addison and this star map that Dad got, which represented the stars of an exact day at the exact location they had shared a special moment. He chose the day they first met. Mom threw her arms around him and kissed her husband repeatedly at the romantic-ness of the gift. He probably got the idea off of Pinterest.

Addison went next. She almost snatched her gift right out of my hands and ripped the wrapping paper off with claws she suddenly possessed. She gasped when she opened it up, squealing with glee. "I can't believe you got me the T-shirt!" she exclaimed as she took out the cloth with Steven Universe's face plastered on it, hugging it to her chest.

"No problem, Addy bear," I said fondly, ruffling up her bed hair a little. Mom and Dad got her these sneakers she'd been talking about for months, making her one happy girl. It was Dad's turn after, who received a book about dad jokes from me, a plane ticket from Mom for a romantic getaway she planned for the next year, and a clay mug that Addy made in class for him.

Finally, it was my turn, and I was given a tiny box from my little sister. "What's in here..." I pondered aloud, shaking the box and teasing her as I made her wait for my reaction.

"Aly! Open it up!"

"Alright, alright," I chuckled, ripping the paper off and opening it up to see this beaded bracelet filled with alternating colours of the rainbow. I looked up at her and smiled softly, admiring her simple way of looking at these colours, the symbolism lost on her. It meant way more to me than she could ever imagine because it was almost like she was saying she was okay that I was gay. It's silly to even think about, but it just made my heart warm at the thought. "Thanks, Addy. It's beautiful." She grinned widely in response.