Christmas Admirer - 5. Chapter 5

Every year our two families would come together on Christmas Eve and this year it was our turn to host. As usual Auntie had decked the house out in decoration and gotten a grand tree for the living room. The table was weighed down with food; turkey and all the trimmings. More dessert then we could possibly eat in one night. We always ended up having leftovers for days. We had spent so many years together there was no way we could be anything but a family. Conversation flowed and laughter came easily. We poked fun at each other and reminisce about all our years together. After dinner and dessert we gathered in the living room in front of the TV where the fireplace channel gave the room a warm glow.

It was such a beautiful loved filled night but part of me was having trouble enjoying it. My stomach was slightly twisted over my gift idea. I kept going back on weather it was a good idea or not. After gifts were opened and we had finished watching Rudolph, Talen and Shay excused themselves to head home and Keirnan and I headed up to my room. We had decided ahead of time to exchange or gifts in private. We sat crossed legged on my bed, knees touching as we faced each other, and I found myself fiddling with the small box kiernan's gift was inside. He had a dopey smile on his face, the one he always wore when I was doing something he thought was cute and I thought was embarrassing. I smacked him gently on the arm and he laughed.

“Come now, darling, you’re acting like you're heading towards the firing squad instead of exchanging gifts with your boyfriend.”

“Well, I've never done this before.”

“We do this every year.”

“But this year is different.”

“Aw little bit, I know you put a lot of thought into this. It will mean the world to me because it's from you and it's from your heart. That's all that matters. Do you want to open mine first or second?”

“How about at the same time?”

“As you wish.”

He handed the small package to me and I let him take mine from my lap. I focused every part of myself on carefully unwrapping the box so I wouldn't pay too much attention to what he was doing. By the time I got the box open it was easy to forget my trepidation. Nestled in the blue velvet of the tiny box sat a small ring. Two silver hands, holding a heart and wearing a crown. I felt my heartbeat pick up and my face burned. A claddagh ring. And it was truly beautiful. When I looked up to meet his eyes I saw that he had stopped halfway through unwrapping his box to watch me. He had a sheepish grin on his face and he tried to gage my reaction.

“Now, I'm not proposing or anything, I mean we’re still in high school. But it's like a promise ring. The hands represent friendship, the crown loyalty, and the heart…”

“Love.”

“Yea, its an Irish thing. Do you like it?”

“I love it, Kier, god it’s beautiful.”

“Good. Try it on, I hope it fits. Its traditionally worn on your right ring finger with the heart facing in. To represent you belong to someone.”

“Belong too hmm?” I couldn’t help but tease him.

“I mean.. Like your heart. That you love someone and you know, not that you belong too... you’re not a possession. I just meant you know…” I couldn't help but smile as his voice trailed off, I decided to give him a break.

“I know. I get it.” I slipped the ring onto my finger and held my hand up to admire it. A promise.

When I looked past my hand I saw him watching me, his face full of love and devotion. I couldn't help but blush. And I felt my face get even hotter when I realized he hadn't opened his yet, and I would have nothing to distract me while he did.

“Umm… Kiernan?”

“Right! Sorry, I was enjoying the smell. My turn.” His smile was radiant with excitement. I found I wasn't as nervous anymore about my gift, not after receiving a promise ring from him.

He tore the paper and gave me a smirk when he noticed it was also a jewelry box. I bit my lip and looked away.

“Holy shit.” My eyes snapped back to his face, I couldn't tell if it was a good holy shit or a bad one. “Nick… is this what i think it is?”

“Ummm…. Well, I guess this is my promise to you.” My voice was low and I knew if he hadn't had advanced hearing he probably wouldn't have heard me. Kiernan ran his fingers gently over the heart shaped gem that was held in place by black wire fasteners. He took a deep breath and shuddered as he let it out.

“I know I can’t possibly, but I can almost smell it.”

“Its supposed to be sealed.”

“I know, my mind is just playing tricks on me. God Nick, this is…”

“It’s okay?”

Once again I began to worry. Giving a gift of a blood filled charm was a Demonborn tradition from long ago, it was a human’s way of declaring your loyalty and devotion to a Demonborn. It was like saying; my heart and blood are yours alone. It was kind of a big deal.

“OKAY? God, little bit, it’s so much more than okay. It’s amazing.” When he finally looked away from his gift and back up to me I swear his eyes were swimming.

“You sure about this?”

“The only thing in the world I'm sure about, Kiernan, is you.”

He didn’t even wipe the tear that ran down his cheek when he picked up the necklace with a slightly shaky hand. He held it close to his chest and caressed it one last time before closing his fist and holding it tight. He squeezed his eyes once before opening them and giving me a hundred watt smile. He reached out with his free hand and pulled me into him. Out mouths clashed together but we recovered quickly. We kissed for a few breathless moments before he pulled away enough to speak but close enough I could feel his breath on my mouth.

“I love you so fucking much, little bit. And I am so honored and in awe by your gift, I will spend the rest of my life hoping to be worthy of it.”

“You are, I love you so much, and you are so worthy.”

We chuckled softly against each other lips before he gave me one last kiss and pulled away abruptly. I nearly fell over trying to chase his taste. Keirnan laughed at my stumble before turning around and handing me the ends of the chain.

“Put it on.”

I closed the clasp and kissed the back of the neck.

Later that night we lay together, his arms wrapped tightly around my waist. I could feel the blood charm pressing gently against my back. His breathing had returned to normal and he seemed to be fully recovered from our experiences. And while I could breath just fine, I couldn't think of anything except how his body had felt pressing me into the mattress as we rubbed against each other. Part of me thought he was going to finally take it further, and I couldn't tell if I was glad or disappointed when we came together in our pants. I felt Kiernan press a soft kiss to the back of my neck, “Sleep well, little bit. I love you endlessly.”

“I love you too Kier, sweet dreams.”

As I felt his body relax towards sleep I decided I was glad we didn’t go all the way tonight. Our love wasn't about the physical pleasures and the gifts we each had received were so emotionally important anything sexual we did would have tried to overshadow it. Doesn’t mean I wasn’t ready for more, but no, tonight wasn't the night. We had the rest of our lives for that.

Keirnan's Blood Charm