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Familiar - Part 7

Word count: 9,000

Warnings: The reader celebrates Christmas in this story, but there isn’t any religious discussion. Otherwise a whole lot of fluff. Also, I want to recognize that not everyone has a 'traditional' family like the reader does in this; however, it is not my intent to exclude those who have different family situations!

Here is the 7th installment of the Familiar series! I considered including a little angst, but this just didn’t feel like the place for it… so please enjoy 9,000 words of sticky sweet fluff 😉 The longest chapter in the series thus far!

I included a couple of prompts in this one - one from some time ago by @pamcake21 and another from an anon more recently!

I'm happy to continue writing this series as long as people continue enjoying reading it! Feel free to continue to send me ideas!

Familiar series:

“Darling! Have you seen my toothbrush? I could swear I left it here!”

You glanced up from the suitcase sprawled across your bed, stepping closer to the door so you could shout down the hall in response. “Did you check the bathroom cabinet?”

“Nope!” You heard the click of the cabinet opening in the bathroom. “Found it!”

You chuckled to yourself, returning to your own packing. The pair of you would be leaving in the morning to drive down to your parent’s place in your hometown, where you’d be staying for the week for the holidays. After having spent so much time in his life traveling, you’d think he’d be an expert at packing by now, but Tom was a bit disorganized when it came to this sort of thing.

“What about my favorite sweatshirt?” he called. At the same time, your phone began buzzing on the bed. You placed a newly folded shirt into the suitcase and picked up your phone, seeing your mother’s picture pop up on the screen.

“You’re going to have to look around!” you shouted, before answering the phone. “Hey mom!”

“Hi honey! Just checking in to see how the packing is going!”

You smiled, shaking your head. She always fussed over you, even now that you’d been an adult living on your own for quite some time.

“It’s going great. And before you remind me - I promise I packed extra pairs of socks.”

It had been a few days since you’d caught up with your mother – you normally spoke on the phone every day, but the last week had been so busy you barely had time. You told her about your last few days at work, gushing excitedly about getting to go home the next day. As you chatted with your mother, Tom reappeared in the doorway.

“Are you certain you haven’t seen my sweatshirt, darling?” You shook your head, pointing to the phone at your ear. “Ah, my apologies.”

“Is that Tom I hear in the background?” your mother inquired curiously.

“Yes mom – Tom says hi,” you replied, grinning at Tom as he waved silently with a smile on his face. You went back to your conversation, watching as Tom grizzled around your bedroom searching for his lost sweatshirt. He had little success, finally giving up and taking a seat on top of your bed beside you.

“You haven’t stolen it and hidden it again, have you?” he whispered, giving you a hard look. You grinned, shaking your head while you continued to tell your mother about the famous politician you’d served at the bar the evening before. Tom reached over and pinched your side, making you flinch and jump. Your head whipped around to look at him again, mouth agape.

“Mom, hang on a sec.” You covered the mouthpiece of the phone, leaning closer to Tom as he gazed at you with a big grin on his face. “Tom! I’m on the phone with my mother, don’t you dare start anything!” you hissed, but probably with less annoyance than the words called for.

“Then tell me where my sweatshirt is,” he whispered back, poking you in the belly. You rolled your eyes, returning to your phone call. “I know you have it, darling. You haven’t explicitly told me you don’t. I can tell by your face.”

You ignored him this time, knowing full well that you did, indeed, have his sweatshirt. It was folded neatly in the back of your closet, hidden from view. You enjoyed having the ability to pull it out and throw it on when Tom was traveling, and you were missing him particularly strongly.

Clicking his tongue at your lack of response, he suddenly threw his arms around your waist and dragged you backward into his lap, gently kneading his fingers into your sides. Luckily you weren’t in the middle of a sentence because you barely suppressed a shriek at the sudden contact. Turning your head, you gave him a wide-eyed glare, made much less threatening by the broad, tight-lipped smile on your face as you tried to contain your laughter.

“Tell me where you hid it, love. I’m not above targeting your weak spot while you’re on the phone.”

You sucked in a breath and held it as he crawled his fingers up your ribs slowly, then realized your mom had asked you a question. “Oh, uh, yeah! We’re planning to BE… be there around noo-HOOHOON!”

“Are you alright, dear?”

You shot Tom a look of desperation, receiving only a smug grin in return. “Yup! F-fine! Just fine! Tom’s just trying to tell me a joHOKE!”

“Well, I’ll let you get back to that then! We can’t wait to meet him!”

“Neither can Ihi!” You slapped a hand to your mouth to suppress the burst of laughter as his fingers crawled higher up your ribs, drawing nearer to his favorite spot.

“Alright, see you tomorrow! Love you!”

“L-love you too, bye!” You hung up the phone, tossing it down on the bed and immediately turning to swat at Tom playfully. “THOMAS HIDDLESTON! That was so ruHUHUDE!”

“Don’t change the subject, love. Where did you hide my sweatshirt?” He let his fingertips slide around to that spot on the backs of your ribs that he so loved to torment now that you were off the phone, laughing with you as you squealed and laughed with abandon, squirming half-heartedly in his arms.

“OKAY, OKAHAHAY!! IT’S IN MY CLOHOHOSET!!” you cried, shrieking as he dug his fingers in deeper between your ribs in response.

“I should keep tickling you for choosing such a cliché hiding place,” he teased, finally relenting, and releasing you from his hold so he could go search your closet for his beloved sweatshirt.

“Are you going to let me finish packing now? Or are you going to keep asking me where everything is so you can pack?” you pestered, smirking.

“Yes, darling, I’ll allow you to finish…” he obliged, dragging the sweatshirt from the back of your closet with a triumphant ‘ah-ha!’ You chuckled, preparing yourself to run when he discovered that wasn’t the only sweatshirt of his you had stored in there.

* * *

The two of you hit the road early the next morning, prepared to make the long drive to your hometown. The early winter air was frigid, a layer of snow still coating the world around you from the last snowfall a few days ago. You wrapped your winter coat tightly around yourself, opting at the last minute to grab a blanket for the drive before heading out the door.

Tom offered to take the first driving shift, likely after seeing you stagger out to the car in your half-asleep stupor with a coffee in one hand and your suitcase in the other. You plunked yourself down in the passenger’s seat and threw the blanket over your legs, laying your head back against the headrest and shutting your eyes with a groan. Tom slid into the driver’s seat, taking one look at you and laughing warmly.

“Is this how you always are when you have to travel this early in the morning?” he asked, reaching across and rubbing your knee affectionately. You opened one eye to look at him.

“Mmpf. It’s too early.”

“Get some sleep, darling. I can get us to the highway without directions.” He put the car in drive, pulling off into the street as you closed your eyes again, the hum of the engine and the soft music of the radio lulling you to sleep.

An hour into the drive, you awoke to Tom singing quietly to the radio. As you stirred and opened your eyes, he glanced at you out of the corner of his eye, smiling at your sleepy expression.

“Good morning, sleepyhead. Have a nice nap?”

“Mm.” You fumbled around with your hand around the center console to find the cupholder, grabbing your coffee and taking a long, drawn-out sip with a contented sigh.

“Is this why you chose to work in a bar? So you don’t have to wake up early?” Tom jested.

“Nah, it was so I could pick up famous guys like you,” you teased.

“Oh-ho, is that right? And how many of those did you get?”

“Mm, just the one. I shot down all the others. You know, waiting for Mr. Right and all that.” You grinned cheekily, taking another sip of your coffee. “Want me to take over driving?”

“I can finish up the first half of the drive. You just finish drinking that coffee.”

“Oh I will, don’t worry.” You sat back against the seat, watching the road scroll by as you became lost in thought. You were both excited and nervous to bring Tom home to meet your family. Luckily you’d have a couple of days to spend with just your parents and your brother before meeting the entire family. You knew they were going to adore him, but a part of you was still anxious. It was so important to you that they liked him. You loved this man, and you wanted your family to love him too. You needed them to love him.

“What’s going through your mind, love?” Tom asked, breaking you from your thoughts.

“Oh... just thinking about my family,” you responded. It wasn’t entirely a lie, at least.

“Tell me more about them. Who will I be meeting?”

You told him more about your parents – how your mom was a librarian, and your dad was a chef at a local restaurant. That your mom knew three languages in addition to English, and would love chatting with Tom in French (but not about you, of course. That was off limits since you didn’t speak the language.) You told him about how your dad always cooked Christmas dinner, and that you enjoyed joining him to assist with some of the side dishes. You warned him that your dad was a bit of a comedian, except his specialty was really bad dad jokes.

“Just pretend they’re funny for his sake – he’ll be really bummed if you don’t laugh,” you requested.

“I’m sure they’re not as corny as you think – it’s just that he’s your father.”

“Oh – trust me. They’re corny. Just wait.”

“Alright, we’ll see. What about your brother?”

You smiled. “My big brother is my protector. You’ll need to be careful – if he doesn’t like you, well… then it’s game over.”

“Ah, is that right?” Tom grinned, but you noticed a slight glint of worry in his eyes. “And do you think he won’t like me?”

“Nah, he’ll love you. He just likes to put on a tough guy front to try to scare off the weak guys. But deep down he’s really just a big teddy bear.”

“That’s good to hear.” Tom was quiet for a moment, the silence in the car only cut by the whirring of the car engine as you drove down the highway. You turned to face him a bit more, noticing the slight furrowing of his brow and the downward curl of his lips.

“Tom… you’re not nervous, are you?” you asked gently.

“No! No… well… maybe just a little.”

“I promise my whole family is going to absolutely adore you! Why are you nervous?”

“It’s just…” He sighed, pulling off at the next exit so the two of you could swap seats for the remainder of the drive. “I just really want them to like me. I love you, and I know what your family means to you. If for some reason they don’t like me…”

“Tom.” You grasped his hand as he pulled into a gas station parking lot, parking the car and turning to look at you. “I love you. They’ll love you. It’s as simple as that. And if they don’t, then I’m gonna have to knock some sense into them.”

He chuckled a bit at that. “Thanks, love.” He leaned forward to press a kiss to your lips before getting out of the car, and you hopped into the driver’s seat for the remainder of the drive.

A few hours later, you were finally approaching your parents’ home. They still lived in the same house you’d grown up in, despite the fact that they didn’t need the extra bedrooms anymore. Both you and your older brother had long since moved away, but your parents loved having your bedrooms still set up as guest rooms for the two of you to come stay for the holidays or just for a visit. It felt nice, being able to go home and sleep in your old bed, and just let your parents take care of you a little. You would never get too old for them to dote on you.

You pulled into the driveway, sighing happily at the familiar sight of your childhood home in front of you. It hadn’t changed at all since you lived here – the pale blue siding, the gray shingled roof coated in a thin layer of snow, the wrap-around wooden porch, the porch swing sitting off to the side of the front door… It was homely and beautiful.

“Ready to meet them?”

“I can’t wait.” You both stepped out of the car, Tom grabbing your suitcases out of the trunk before heading up to the front door. Before you even made it all the way up the stairs of the porch, your mother had opened the door for the two of you with a huge, warm smile on her face.

“Welcome home honey!” she exclaimed, throwing her arms around you. You hugged her back, breathing in her familiar flowery scent.

“I missed you,” you whispered, squeezing her tight. After a moment of just holding you in her embrace, she stepped back, her gaze turning to Tom standing behind you.

“My daughter has told us so much about you!” she gushed, walking towards him and throwing her arms around him. “It’s so good to finally meet you!”

Tom looked a little surprised, but he was smiling still as he returned her embrace. “It’s wonderful to meet you as well. Your daughter has told me all about you and her father.”

“I must say, I’m a little star struck – but I promised I would try my hardest not to be, so please forgive me!”

Tom chuckled a bit. “I’m certainly not offended. But please – I don’t want any special treatment. I’m just a regular guy meeting his girlfriend’s family for the first time.”

The two of you followed your mother inside, stepping into the living room. It was the same as you’d always known it to be – the large, gray sectional sofa wrapping around the back wall, the stone fireplace, the maroon patterned area rug stretched across the floor… It was like going back in time every time you entered the house. The Christmas tree was standing in the corner opposite the fireplace, already adorned with the family ornaments and surrounded by gifts wrapped in silver and blue.

Your father was seated in the armchair by the fireplace, a book stretched across his lap. He glanced up when he heard you enter, a bright smile gracing his features as he stood and walked over to sweep you up in his arms.

“Hi pumpkin,” he greeted, squeezing you in a bear hug.

“Mmpf – Hi daddy,” you mumbled into his shoulder. He released you, turning to Tom and holding out a hand for a handshake.

“Tom – great to finally meet you. Welcome to our humble abode.”

“Thank you, sir. You have a wonderful home.” Tom shook his hand firmly. “This fireplace is beautiful.”

“Oh, hang on! How does Santa keep track of all the fireplaces he’s visited?”

“Dad…” you groaned, pressing your palm over your face in embarrassment.

“I can’t say I know – tell me,” Tom urged. Your father grinned like a giddy kid, already laughing before he delivered the punch line.

“He keeps a log. Get it?? A log!” He laughed heartily, slapping his knee. Tom laughed as well, grinning broadly as he glanced at you with your hands covering your face.

“That’s a good one! I love it!” Tom praised.

“Oh, I’ve got loads of ‘em! Just you wait!”

“Dad, are you already harassing our guest with your awful jokes?”

You turned toward the source of the deep voice in the doorway from the kitchen, smiling as you ran to greet your brother, throwing yourself into his arms.

“Sammy! You’re here already!” you gushed as he wrapped you in an embrace. “Is wifey here too?”

“She’s in the bedroom resting. She gets tired pretty easily, being seven months pregnant and all.” Sam locked eyes with Tom across the room, giving him a stern look. “Tom. I’m Sam.”

“Sam. Pleasure to meet you.” Tom stretched a hand out as your brother approached, which he grasped tightly and shook once, his eyes fixed on Tom’s.

“I trust you had a safe drive into town?”

“We’re here in one piece, aren’t we?” you quipped. “Sammy, I promise you can interrogate him later. We’re going to get settled, alright?”

Tom shot you a panicked look at your promise, following you up the stairs wordlessly with suitcases in hand as you led him to your old room. You grasped the handle, turning to look at him before opening the door.

“Relax. I won’t let him interrogate you when I’m not around.”

“Comforting.”

Chuckling, you opened the door and flipped on the light switch. It hadn’t changed much since you were younger, although it was considerably less full of stuff. The walls were still painted the same baby blue color that you’d begged your parents to let you have. The desk in the corner was the same as well, with the same stack of books sitting on top that you always forgot to take home with you whenever you visited. Your bed was made with a new set of bedding, and you thanked your mother silently for getting rid of the old Disney princess bedspread.

The pair of you unpacked a little bit, setting out your toiletries and soaps in your old bathroom. You, too, felt you could use a nap, but you didn’t want to leave Tom by himself with your family just yet, and if you both holed up in your room from the moment you arrived… well, false assumptions would be made, especially by your big brother.

There were still a couple days until the holiday festivities. Most of the day was pretty low key - you and Tom sat in the living room, you catching up with the family and Tom getting to know them better. Your sister-in-law Leah came downstairs a while later, hands resting on her swollen belly as she sat down on the couch beside you and gave you a side hug.

By the time the six of you sat down to dinner, your parents were conversing happily with Tom as though they’d known him for years. Your brother, however, was less trusting. He was never outwardly rude, of course, but he was guarded in the way he spoke about you and your childhood, observing Tom closely as though searching for any sign of malicious intent on his part. You tried to drive the subject toward other things, focusing on asking questions about your soon-to-arrive niece. Had they picked a name? Set up the nursery? Did they overfill the dresser with baby clothes yet?

By the time you’d actually retired to bed, you were exhausted both physically and mentally. You brushed your teeth and threw on an old set of pajamas before collapsing into your bed on top of the bedspread. Tom laid down beside you, tugging on the covers to unwedge them from beneath you and sliding underneath the sheets.

“Do you always sleep on top of everything when you stay at your parents’ home?” he jested, reaching across and scribbling into your belly with his fingertips. Giggling, you gently pushed his hand off your belly, lifting yourself up enough to scoot under the blankets.

“Only when I’m exhausted.” You sighed, rolling over to face him. He smiled tenderly, tucking a stray strand of hair behind your ear out of your face.

“What’s on your mind, love?”

“I just feel bad that my brother is being so… so…”

“Protective? Cautious?”

“I was leaning more towards annoying and overbearing, but I suppose those words work too.”

Tom laid his arm around your waist, gazing into your eyes. “I completely understand why he’s acting the way he is. He’s being a good, loving brother. Frankly, I’m happy to know you have family that cares so much about you.”

“He hasn’t scared you away yet, then?” you asked timidly.

“It will take more than a few stern looks across the dinner table to scare me away from the woman I love,” he hummed. You laughed a little, giving him a kiss.

“I love you too. Now, I need to get some sleep. Have to catch up from this morning”

“Ah, yes. Wouldn’t want you to wake up cranky again,” he teased. “Goodnight, love.”

“Goodnight.”

You let your eyes flutter closed, trying to quiet your mind from thoughts about your brother’s opinion of Tom as you drifted off to sleep.

* * *

When you awoke the next morning, you had to think about where you were, forgetting that you weren’t in your bed at your apartment. The sun rose on the other side of the house, which left your room relatively dark even with the early morning sun shining outside. It was perfect for sleeping in a little – lord knew you needed it after having awoken so early the day before. You rolled over to face Tom, sighing happily as he slid his arm around you sleepily.

“Why are you awake, love?” he asked, voice raspy with the remnants of sleep.

“Just woke up and forgot we were at my parents’ house. Go back to sleep – I’ll fall asleep again eventually.”

“Mm.” Tom slid his hand up the length of your back, tangling his fingers in your hair. A contented breath left your lips as he gently worked his fingers through the knots that had formed in your sleep, sending pleasant chills through your body.

“That feels amazing,” you sighed, pressing your forehead to his chest. He laughed softly, sliding his fingers up along your scalp and gently scratching the back of your head, occasionally sliding his fingers through the length of your hair. Your eyelids were growing heavy as his caring touch lulled you to sleep.

He allowed his fingers to trail down lower as he, too, began drifting off to sleep. They grazed along the back of your neck, scratching gently against the delicate skin. You shuddered and giggled at the unexpected ticklish touch, uselessly shrugging your shoulders to block his fingers.

“Tohohom wait! That tihihickles!”

“Mm, sorry, love, I was nearly asleep – didn’t catch that,” he mumbled, an impish lilt in his voice. His fingertips ghosted around to the side of your neck, grazing just along your jawline and down toward your collarbone. A stream of giggles bubbled out of your mouth as you sleepily reached for his hand.

“Tohohoooom…” you whined, “I know yohou’re lying!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, am I tickling you?” he asked, digging his fingers into your ribs with the arm that was wrapped underneath you. You released a burst of shrieky laughter before slapping your hand to your mouth, muffling the sound.

“My brother will think we’re – ahaha – we’re messing aharound!”

“Then I suggest you keep quiet, darling. Wouldn’t want them to make me sleep on the couch.” His fingers fluttered just below your ear, his other hand traveling down your side to knead at your hip.

“TOHOM! OK, thahat’s it!!” You shot your hand under his arm, fingertips dancing along the bare skin. The sudden rapid giggles that bubbled up in his throat made your heart skip. His hand left your neck in favor of clamping his arm down to his side. “Ha-ha! You’d better keep quiet Tom. Don’t want my parents to make you sleep on the couch.”

“Ohoho, you’re just AHA-asking for it now!” Tom wrapped his arms around you, rolling over on top of you and pinning you down under his weight before digging mercilessly into the backs of your ribs.

“AHAH… TO-AHAH TOHOM… NOHOT F-FAHAIR!!” You shoved weakly at his shoulders for a moment before your muscles weakened too much with laughter, going limp in his arms. The rumbling of his laughter vibrated in his chest as he slowed his torment, kissing your lips sweetly before rolling back off of you. “Whahat was that for??”

“Just love to hear your beautiful laugh.” Your face flushed hot, making him grin and press a kiss to your nose. “Go back to sleep, love.”

“Uh-uh. I’m awake now – you’re getting out of bed with me so we can dispel any rumors about what was going on in here.” You rolled out of bed, walking around to Tom’s side and grabbing his hand, tugging him toward the edge. With a groan, he slowly climbed out of bed with you. You grabbed a set of clothes and headed into the bathroom to get ready for the morning.

After breakfast and coffee, your mother asked if you would come shopping with her for groceries for Christmas dinner. You glanced at Tom sitting beside you, asking him wordlessly if he wanted to come along with a tilt of your head.

“Sure! We’ll come help with the shopping,” you agreed.

“Oh, Tom! Actually, would you mind hanging out here while the ladies head out shopping?” your father asked. “We’re having some issues with the Christmas lights – could use an extra set of hands!”

“Oh! Uh, I suppose…”

“We’d really appreciate the help, Tom. Would be a great chance for us to get to know you better, too,” your brother added, shooting him a hard look.

“Sammy! You’re not going to interrogate him,” you warned sternly.

“No, it’s alright, darling. I’d be happy to stay and help out,” Tom offered, smiling warmly at your father and brother. “I’d love nothing more than to get to know them better too.”

Your brows pitched up, silently asking Tom if he was certain about this. He placed his hand over yours, squeezing it with a slight nod. Reluctantly, you agreed, giving him a quick kiss goodbye as you stood to get ready to head out to the store. You shot your brother a warning look before following your mother outside, shutting the door behind you.

“He seems wonderful,” your mother cooed as you sat down beside her in the front of her car.

“He is wonderful. I just hope Sam doesn’t scare him off,” you sighed.

“He’s just looking out for you, honey. I’m sure Tom will pass his little test of approval.” She pulled out of the driveway, beginning the short drive to the local grocery store. “You seem happy, being with him.”

“I am. So happy.” An involuntary giddy smile spread across your face thinking about it. The last few months you’d felt happier than you’d been in a long time. Tom was most certainly responsible for a good portion of that happiness.

“So… are there wedding bells in the future?” your mom teased. You laughed.

“Mom… not yet no. It’s only been six months since we started seeing each other! Don’t go scaring him off now on me.”

“Six months is a long time! Especially when you’re both clearly so enamored with each other.” She glanced at you out of the corner of her eye. “How has it been for you, dating someone as famous as he is? I’m sure it must be difficult being recognized everywhere he goes.”

“Surprisingly, it hasn’t been so bad. Sure, we definitely have the occasional fan or two rush up and ask for an autograph from him, but most of the time he tries to keep a low profile in public. Says he wants to just enjoy his time with me.”

“That is so sweet!” she exclaimed, beaming. “Oh, honey, I’m so glad you’ve found someone who makes you so happy.”

“Me too. Hopefully he still wants to be with me after Sammy finishes with him,” you joked.

It relieved you to know that at least your mom really liked Tom. It was so important to you that they loved him as much as you did. The nagging worry of what your brother might be asking him weighed on you through the entirety of your shopping trip, though. What if he didn’t like Tom? What if Sam scared him off with his aggressive questioning?

When you pulled back in the driveway at home with the groceries, you were relieved at least to see Tom hadn’t run off, finding him standing at the bottom of a ladder holding a string of Christmas lights while your father took down a broken strand. Sam stood beside Tom, holding the ladder steady as the pair of them chatted amicably.

“Ah! Welcome back, darling!” Tom greeted you as you approached with a bag of groceries in your arms, pressing a quick kiss to your lips.

“You guys look like you’re having fun,” you observed, raising your eyebrows at him questioningly.

“Well, we’ve found the problem with the lights, and once we switch this strand out they’ll be as good as new! Your father has made this quite entertaining,” he noted with a grin and wink. Calling up to your dad, he asked, “Have you told them the joke about Santa’s sleigh yet?”

“Oh! How much did Santa pay for his sleigh?” he shouted.

“No clue, dad. How much?” you asked.

“It was on the house. Get it?”

You shook your head, grinning as you met Sam’s eyes. He rolled his eyes with a laugh.

“He never runs out of ‘em,” he chuckled.

You headed inside to help put away the groceries, and Tom caught up with you shortly thereafter once the lights had been fixed. He slid an arm around you as he sat down on the couch beside you, pulling you close into his side.

“How did things go while I was gone?” you queried, keeping your voice low.

“Well – we… chatted for a while… heard a lot of dad jokes… your brother asked me a lot of questions…”

“Wait, what did he ask you?” You sat up a little, looking at Tom worriedly.

“Oh, just asked me what my intentions are with you, whether I’m putting your happiness before my own, if I’m allowing you enough of my time out of the spotlight…”

You covered your face with your hands. “Oh my god, Tom. I’m so sorry –”

“Darling, please. It’s quite alright. You did warn me, after all. And, in any case, he seemed to like my answers.”

“Really?”

“Mmhmm. You know, he’s quite friendly when he’s finished barraging you with questions, isn’t he?”

You sighed with relief, leaning your head onto Tom’s shoulder as he held you closer. “I’m so glad you’re getting along. Thank you for humoring him and answering all his questions.”

“It was my pleasure.” He pressed his lips to the top of your head, and you hummed contentedly. A thought occurred to you, then, and you jolted upright to look at him.

“Wait – what did you tell him when he asked what your ‘intentions’ are?”

“Oh, just that I’m madly in love with you, and that I’m excited to see where things are headed.” He smiled, squeezing your shoulder affectionately before rising to his feet and walking back towards the door to rejoin your father and brother outside. You leapt to your feet, following him closely.

“Is that all you said to him?” you asked.

“Maybe, maybe not!” he called as he walked out the door, shutting it behind him. Grinning involuntarily, you rolled your eyes and returned to the kitchen to help your mother make lunch.

* * *

Now that you knew Sam approved of Tom, things were going perfectly. Still, you were nervous for him to meet the rest of your family. You had a lot of extended family – aunts, uncles, cousins… a lot of big personalities. It could be a little overwhelming for an outsider, meeting them all at once. You knew it was silly to worry about Tom getting along with everyone – he had already settled in wonderfully with your immediate family, and you knew he was charismatic enough to feel comfortable in a large group. Part of you couldn’t help but feel anxious, though, despite how excited you were for Tom to be a part of your Christmas festivities.

The following evening, after assisting your family with setting up the house for the Christmas Eve party, you and Tom headed up to your bedroom to get ready for the festivities. The family parties were never a very formal affair, so you put on your favorite green sweater with a pair of jeans and put on a simple amount of makeup before joining Tom in the bedroom. He, too, had dressed in a pair of jeans, and was currently buttoning up his dark green dress shirt. You wandered over to where he stood, wrapping your arms around his waist, and leaning your head on his shoulder.

“Looks like we unintentionally matched today,” you joked, motioning to your green shirts.

“Well, when given the choice between red and green, clearly you know which color I’m going to choose,” he responded, chuckling. “I’ve grown used to wearing quite a bit of green already.”

“Green looks good on you.”

“And you as well.” He placed his hands over yours after buttoning the top button, standing still and simply enjoying the feel of your warm embrace. “I’m excited to meet the rest of your family.”

“Oh good, I’m glad. There’s… a lot of them,” you warned. Tom shrugged, taking your hands in his and pulling them off his waist so he could turn to face you.

“I think it’s wonderful you have such a close extended family. There’s no need to be nervous.”

“I think they’re going to love you.” You smiled up at him, lifting your head to kiss his lips. “Ready to head downstairs?”

“Lead the way, love.”

The doorbell rang as you were descending the staircase, signaling the arrival of the first of your extended family. Slowly, your aunts, uncles and cousins arrived, the house bustling with activity and lively chatter over the Christmas music playing in the background. Christmas Eve was always the night that your entire family gathered for the holidays. On Christmas Day, many of your extended family members visited their in-law’s homes, but Christmas Eve was always reserved for your family. It was a tradition you only hoped would continue for years to come, as your family continued to grow.

You introduced Tom to everyone as the pair of you mingled, sipping spiked eggnog, and munching on the various treats everyone brought along to share. Once they got past the whole star-struck aspect of meeting him, everyone in your family was warm and welcoming to your boyfriend. They offered up stories from your childhood (much to your dismay, as most of them were embarrassing in some way) and he shared traditions that he’d grown up with around the holidays.

It felt so natural, having Tom there with you and your family. He joked, and laughed, and conversed with everyone as though he’d known them for years, not a hint of shyness in his face. You supposed part of that was from his line of work – he met loads of new people on set all the time that he had to become friendly with fairly quickly to develop on-screen chemistry. But it didn’t feel like he was acting – he truly was enjoying every moment of being in your family home and spending time with you and your loved ones.

A couple of hours into the evening, your father came and found you in the kitchen, Tom’s arm wrapped loosely around your waist as you chatted with two of your cousins who were around your age. He placed a hand on your shoulder, and you turned to look at him with an excited light in your eyes.

“Is it time?” you whispered.

“Yes, just about! You still want to help me get ready?” he asked. You nodded with a giddy grin on your face, earning a questioning look from Tom. Realizing you hadn’t told him about this tradition, you leaned closer and whispered in his ear.

“Dad always plays Santa Claus for the kids on Christmas Eve.” You leaned back, watching an adoring smile form on Tom’s face. “Will you be alright for a bit while I help dad get ready?”

“Of course, love.” He kissed your forehead, turning back to continue chatting with your cousins as you followed your dad down into the basement.

Your father had been playing Santa for the kids since your brother was born, and he truly went all out. He had a full red velvet Santa suit, complete with a snow-white beard and matching wig. He’d upgraded it slowly over the years, having purchased new black boots and a fake large belly to slip under the suit instead of the pillows he used to use. You had been assisting him with getting ready since you were old enough to know he was the man in the red suit – making certain his hair was completely covered and his eyebrows were completely coated in the white face makeup he used to make them match the beard. Your brother always took on the role of leading the kids away from the front door so he could sneak out undetected, ringing the doorbell and making a big theatrical entrance.

“How is Tom liking the party?” he asked as he pulled his red coat on over his shirt.

“He’s loving it. I’m so glad he was able to come with me.” You handed him his wig, watching as he slid it on over his own graying black hair. “Do you like him, dad?”

“I think he’s wonderful, pumpkin.” He took his beard from your outstretched hand, gazing at you with eyes filled with adoration. “And I can tell he makes you happy, so in my book, that’s all that matters.”

“Aww, thanks dad.” You couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across your lips. He pulled the strap of the beard on over his head, adjusting it so it sat properly on his face. You reached up and placed his red hat on his head, pulling it down over the gray wig. He held his arms out, putting on his deep ‘Santa’ voice.

“How do I look? Ho-ho-ho!”

“Hang on…” You adjusted a few curls on his wig to cover a sliver of his own hair that had shown through, observing him carefully. “Perfect. You have the presents?”

“In my magic Santa bag, of course!” He held up a finger, a thought popping into his head. “How many presents can Santa fit in his empty sack?”

“How many, dad?”

“Only one – after you put one inside, the sack isn’t empty. Ho-ho-ho!” You shook your head, laughing at your father’s ridiculous joke.

“Alright, no more of those. The kids will definitely know it’s you if you keep that up.”

You headed up to the landing on the stairs, signaling to Sam that it was time to redirect the kids. Your father slipped out the door, ringing the doorbell and re-entering the house with a resounding ‘HO-HO-HO! Merry Christmas!” The delight in your little cousins’ faces was infectious as they scrambled to the edge of the stairs, shouting excitedly.

While the kids sat on Santa’s lap, you joined Tom on the sofa, leaning into his side. He watched endearingly as each of the kids received their one early present from ‘Santa Claus’, tearing them open as fast as they could.

“You think you’d dress up as Santa for your kids someday?” you asked Tom quietly.

“I think it’s a wonderful tradition. When I have children, I’d love for them to have a Santa to visit their house on Christmas Eve.”

You smiled at the thought of Tom as a father. The image of him with a young son or daughter perched on his knee made your heart simply melt.

Later in the evening, when the little ones had headed home to bed, you and a few of your cousins set up to play a board game together. This was another one of your Christmas Eve traditions – the game varied from year to year, but the outcome was always the same, with a heavy competition forming between you and your cousins. Tom sat down to join you as well, despite your warning that the game would get a bit rambunctious.

This year, you’d gone with an old favorite – Scattergories. You quickly found this was a big mistake, as Tom knew nine languages and seemed to think he could select words from any one of said languages to fill in the categories. After a couple rounds, you had to set a rule that you could only use the English language so you and your cousins could evaluate the legitimacy of the words he chose. Still, even with the new rule, Tom’s vocabulary far surpassed anyone else’s.

Tired of losing each round, you decided you weren’t going to stand for it anymore. So, when the timer started for the next round, you adjusted your seat on the floor so you could glance over Tom’s shoulder subtly and see what he was jotting down. You couldn’t write every word he wrote down without being totally obvious, but at least you could negate a few of his points by matching some of his better-scoring ideas here and there.

The only problem was, after struggling to come up with a word for each category for the last five or six rounds, it was pretty obvious when you started reading off the responses to one another that you’d cheated. After matching a third category response with Tom, he turned to you with his brows raised.

“Is there something you want to tell me, darling?”

“What? I have no idea what you’re talking about,” you replied, feigning indignance. He took your response sheet from your hand, reading the remainder of your answers. His eyes flitted up to yours, a wicked smirk on his face.

“You, my dear, have been cheating off of my answers, haven’t you?” he alleged, a hint of playfulness in his tone. You gasped theatrically.

“How dare you accuse me of such atrocities!” you exclaimed, throwing a hand to your chest. He sighed, shaking his head in pity.

“You know that I can’t simply let you get away with cheating, darling.”

“Wha- HEY!” You yelped as Tom threw his arms around your waist and dragged you towards him, fingers poised to strike at your ribcage. “W-wait, Tom, do-AHAH NOHO!”

You burst into hysterics as his fingers worked their way into the sensitive spaces between your ribs. He held fast as you squirmed to try to slip out of his grasp, his hands darting randomly between your sides, belly, hips, and ribs to prevent you from growing accustomed to one spot. Your face flushed as you felt your cousins watching your predicament with smug grins on their faces.

“Are you sorry for cheating yet?” Tom asked teasingly in your ear. You shook your head, curling your knees up toward your belly to make yourself as small as possible. Tom sighed as though it pained him. “Alright, darling – you asked for this.” His fingers met the backs of your ribs and you nearly screeched with boisterous laughter. Your older cousin Liam was laughing now, egging Tom on as the others watched in amusement.

“Do you know about her other worst spot?” Liam asked. Tom’s fingers stilled against your ribs, both of your heads whipping up to look at your older cousin seated across from you.

“Other worst spot? Do you mean her feet?” he asked. Liam shook his head with a chuckle.

“I used to babysit her all the time when she was a kid – whenever she got a little too sugar-high, I used to tickle her to get her to calm down. That spot on the back of her ribs always got her laughing the hardest…”

“Liam! Don’t you dare!” you hissed, realizing where he was going with this. He ignored your protests, shooting you a smirk as he continued.

“But if you lay her flat and scratch really fast on the sides of her stomach, she goes into hysterics.”

“LIAM!”

“Is that right?” Tom sounded intrigued, which made your stomach drop.

“Yep. That always got her tired enough to take a nap for a while when she was little. Here, I’ll give you a hand.”

“NO! Liam!! You traitor! You’re supposed to be on MY side, you’re MY cousin!”

Liam shrugged, smirking. “That doesn’t mean I’m on your side. If anything, it means I get to pick on you more.” He grabbed your ankles and pulled your legs out straight while Tom held you in place with his arms around your ribs. Ignoring your protesting, Tom shifted to gently lay your head down on the floor, holding your wrists as he moved to kneel beside you. You shook your head wildly as he passed your wrists to one hand, already laughing in anticipation.

“Wow, you must be really ticklish here, darling,” he teased, resting his hand flat on your belly. You flinched the moment he made contact, trying to drown out Liam’s instructions with your pleas as he directed Tom to move his hand to the exact spot, equidistant from both your navel and your side.

“Ok, now just scratch your fingers up and down really fast along that spot.”

“Like this?” He slid his fingers rapidly along the hypersensitive skin, and you nearly exploded with ticklish laughter. Tom laughed heartily at your reaction, watching you tugging at your wrists and ankles to escape his and your cousin’s grasp.

“What’d I tell you?” Liam grinned, winking at you.

“You certainly weren’t pulling my leg!” Tom switched to the mirroring spot on the other side of your belly, which somehow was worse than the first.

“OKAHAHAY I CHEATED! I… I’M… MEHERCY GOHOHOD!”

“Alright, alright, I don’t want to break you, dear.” Tom relented, releasing your wrists, and helping you back up into a sitting position. You shot Liam a glare through your involuntary smile.

“Liam! Just you wait until you get a boyfriend. I’m SO telling him all your secrets!” you threatened.

“Joke’s on you – I already have a boyfriend. And I doubt you know any secrets he doesn’t know.”

“Wait! You didn’t tell me that! How long have you been dating?? Why didn’t you bring him??”

The game was forgotten as Liam told you all about his partner of two months, explaining he just hadn’t been dating him long enough to take him away from his family for Christmas just yet. You made him promise he would bring him next year. It warmed your heart to see your cousin so happy.

The evening flew by, and soon you’d said goodnight to all of your extended family as they headed home to bed. You led Tom upstairs to get changed into your Christmas pajamas – another of your favorite family traditions – before you would rejoin the rest of the family for a movie before bed. Before unpacking your own set of pajamas, you pulled out a gift box you’d hidden under the bed and handed it to Tom.

“You can’t join family movie night without your own set of Christmas pajamas,” you insisted with a grin.

“Oh dear. The smile on your face is making me nervous. Don’t tell me you got me that Thor shirt your roommate has.”

“Noho! No, just open it!”

He unwrapped the gift, opening the box and holding up the pajama T-shirt. He chuckled with a shake of his head as he observed the graphic on the shirt. You’d found a set with emerald green plaid pants matched with a gray T-shirt, which was adorned with Loki’s helmet.

“You like it?” you asked hopefully.

“I love it. Thank you, darling.” He kissed your cheek.

“I got some too!” You pulled out your own set of pajamas – a set of gray pajama pants with an emerald green, velvety, long-sleeved shirt with Loki’s helmet in black on the front. Popping into the bathroom, you changed into the pajama set and returned to find Tom wearing his as well.

“I like seeing you in my colors,” he noted teasingly, using his Loki voice. Something about the way he said it made your face flush with heat. It seemed that he noticed, based on the flirtatious smirk that crossed his face.

The remainder of the evening was spent curled up on the sofa in Tom’s arms, surrounded by your parents, brother and sister-in-law while you watched It’s a Wonderful Life. The fireplace glowed and crackled with a warm flame, the light dancing along the walls and chasing away the shadows. As you often did, you fell asleep about halfway through the movie, snoring gently with your head laid on Tom’s shoulder. You vaguely remembered feeling him scoop you up in his arms and carry you upstairs to bed in your half-asleep stupor, pulling the blanket up to your shoulders and wrapping his arms around you as you drifted back to sleep.

* * *

“Merry Christmas, darling.”

Tom’s deep voice was soft and melodic in your ear as you slowly stirred the next morning. His strong arms were still draped around your waist, your back pressed against his chest. Sleepily, you turned over onto your other side to face him, pressing your forehead against his as you blinked the drowsy blur from your eyes.

“Merry Christmas.” You tilted your head and touched your lips tenderly to his, melting into the warmth of his embrace. “Easily the best Christmas morning I’ve ever woken up to.”

A rolling, gentle laugh reverberated in his chest. “I wholeheartedly agree.”

The pair of you wandered groggily downstairs to the living room where your mom and dad were already seated on the sofa, a cup of coffee in your dad’s hands and a mug of tea in your mom’s. You and Tom both hugged them and wished them Merry Christmas before making a beeline for the kitchen to pour your own mugs of coffee. Sam and his wife Leah made their way downstairs while you were fixing your coffee. You gathered around on the sofa as your father began to pass out gifts from beneath the tree.

The fire brought enough warmth to cut through the bitter winter nip in the air, sun brightly shining through the windows and reflecting off the blanket of white snow coating the ground outside. Your family laughed and joked, intermittently interrupted to share a hug of appreciation as you all opened your gifts. Having Tom there by your side, to share these nostalgic traditions, it made your heart soar.

Tom handed you the final gift under the tree – a large box wrapped in shimmery blue wrapping paper. You unwrapped the gift carefully, pulling open the box to find an unexpected item inside.

“Tom… this is your favorite sweatshirt,” you observed, glancing at him with confusion.

“I know. I want you to have it,” he insisted, smiling. “You seem to love it so much, and I love that it brings you comfort.”

“Thank you,” you whispered, wrapping him tightly in an embrace. It was such a simple gift, but it meant so much to you. To have a piece of him with you always, even just this simple article of clothing of his, felt as though he was promising himself to you.

“Go on, then – put it on,” he urged, a sly grin on his face. Warily, you slid your arms into the sleeves and pulled it over your head. You could feel something heavy in the pocket of the sweatshirt. Raising your eyebrows in surprise, you slipped your hand in the pocket and pulled out a long, rectangular jewelry box. Inside the box rested a delicate silver bracelet, adorned with a single heart-shaped charm inset with an ocean blue stone.

“Tom, you trickster!” you exclaimed, beaming as he took the bracelet out of the box and wrapped it carefully around your wrist.

“You didn’t think I was just taking the easy way out, did you?” he asked, feigning indignance. You lifted your wrist to look more closely at the glimmering bracelet, then threw your arms around his neck.

“I love both gifts. Thank you,” you whispered in his ear, turning to kiss his cheek. He leaned back to look at your face, his eyes flitting down to his sweatshirt wrapped around your shoulders with a grin.

“It looks better on you than it ever did on me,” he admired teasingly.

“Oh, stop it,” you laughed, allowing him to slant his lips across yours.

Sitting there, in the living room of the home you grew up in, wrapped in the arms of the man you’d fallen in love with and surrounded by the people you loved most… you’d dreamt of a holiday like this, but it was so much better than you’d imagined. You couldn’t wait to share more holidays together with the man who’d captured your heart.

Part 8

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