don't care about the presents underneath the Christmas tree.

[manwithaplan]

Much like Thanksgiving, Christmas was not a day that Steve particularly looked forward to back in D.C., with so little living family to call his own. There was Peggy, but the holidays were when her family visited, and he didn't want to intrude. Which is not to say that he spent Christmas completely alone -- he always found something to do with himself. For the most part, he volunteered. This year, he knows, is not the first that he has celebrated with friends since he was found in the ice. But it feels that way, the recent memory of those two years back home so strong and fresh in his mind. It makes him appreciate this year's holiday that much more.

He and Lucy have been out since morning, visiting friends and family all over the city. The novelty of going places as a couple has yet to wear off for him, and he is beginning to suspect that it never will. He's very much alright with that. He has, however, been especially anxious to return to Ocean View. Her gift, he tells Lucy, is waiting back at his place.

He had hoped to at least make it through the door before the surprise was ruined, but that was wishful thinking. He barely has the key through the lock when the barking begins. He turns back to Lucy, trying not to grin, trying to look innocent even though the jig is up. "There's someone I want you to meet," Steve says, and he pushes the door open.

Comments

[manwithaplan]

"Very recently," Steve promises. It isn't something that he kept from her for the sake of secrecy alone, and he hopes that much is obvious to her. After the door is shut behind them, he squeezes past Lucy and kneels to pet the dog. When he left, she was wearing a Santa hat, secured with an elastic so that it wouldn't fall. It's long gone now, but Steve isn't overly surprised.

From where he is kneeling, he looks up at Lucy. He can tell that she's confused. He feels slightly guilty for that, but at least it means that she has yet to figure out the surprise. He stands and walks over to the kitchen table, where a small collection of gift-wrapped boxes are set under the miniature false tree he bought a few weeks ago. Each of the boxes holds a different gift for Lucy. Some of the larger, slimmer packages are records. In one of the smaller boxes, a necklace. In another, a key. This is box he retrieves before walking back to where Lucy stands.

"This is Hazel," he says, tilting his head down at the dog, who has chased him across the apartment and back, and is now sitting by his leg. He holds the gift box out to her. "I was thinking that she could live with us."

[radicalize]

All Lucy can really do, at first, is watch, standing by the front door as Steve walks into the other room, where his little tree is. As he makes his way back, she heads further into the apartment, coming to a stop near the couch when he reaches her again. All of this is more than a little confusing, but it's Christmas; while she doesn't think either of them is really in a position to go all out or anything, she can only assume that there's some reasoning behind all of this, something that hasn't yet been made clear to her but will be eventually.

Knowing that can't quite keep her from questioning it, though, especially with a statement like that, her smile small and clearly curious. "With us?" she asks. "That would be kind of complicated, wouldn't it?" She takes the box he's holding and shakes it gently, like that might give her some idea of what's in it, which, of course, it doesn't. It never does. Briefly, she glances down at it, then up at Steve again. "Should I open this now?"

[manwithaplan]

"Go ahead," Steve says, with what he hopes is an encouraging nod. When he was younger, he was never really in a position to give many decent gifts at Christmas. Being poor meant that there was always some measure of frustration in his life, but it increased tenfold around the holiday season. This year, he doesn't feel the least bit of frustration. And it isn't about what he can afford now versus what he could afford back then, although that has surely been a contributing factor when it comes to the other gifts under his tree. This gift, however, is more about the gesture than the price tag. And he is as excited as he is nervous for that gesture to be made. Hopefully, once Lucy has opened the box, his intention will become clear.

[radicalize]

It doesn't answer her question, but Lucy can only assume he's going to get around to that, casting him a slightly bemused smile as she starts carefully unwrapping the box he's handed her, using a fingernail to slice the tape so she doesn't have to rip the paper. She doubts it would really matter if she did, but being careful is an old habit, one she's had since childhood, even when both her siblings tore away at everything. Feeling a brief surge of satisfaction when she manages to keep the wrapping paper in one piece, she holds it in the same hand as the box when she removes the latter's lid, audibly drawing in a breath once she's done so.

What she was expecting, she isn't sure. The box is a size that could have held a piece of jewelry, or any number of other small little trinkets. Instead, looking down at a key, she's uncertain only for a moment before things start fitting together in her head. Maybe this really does answer her question. Looking up at Steve again, she tries, for a few seconds, to come up with the right response. All she manages, though, is, "Is this..."

[manwithaplan]

Patience has never been a defining characteristic of Steve's, but right now he's finding it especially difficult to keep it together. While he (hopefully) looks calm and collected on the surface, behind that casual demeanor, he can't quite tell which is racing faster — his heart or his mind. It's too early, he worries. He's scaring her off, coming on too strong. He's almost certain that he's messed this up, but he can't take it back now, so he tries to sound like he's not terrified of what she'll say next. "Like I said, I was thinking she could live with us."

[radicalize]

Though it may not be a direct, specific answer, in all fairness, neither was her question, and Lucy doesn't think it's reading too far between the lines to assume what he means. In that moment, any number of thoughts run through her head, only about half of them coherent, possible responses. It's soon, for one, the two of them only having been dating for a few months. They'd be living in the same building as her brother and her ex-boyfriend. As with most things in life, there are all sorts of reasons not to do it. She's been through far too much, though, lost far too much, to be held back by notions like that. It only leads to a lot of regrets to do so. Teeth pressing to her lower lip through a smile, she nods, looking up at him. "Yeah," she says. "Okay. Yes."