(no subject)
Title: I Gave You My Heart (This Christmas)
Author: cecism
Fandom: Private Practice
Characters: Cooper/Violet
Prompt: #27 - More than enough (Author's Choice) @ un_love_you
Word Count: 3740
Rating: PG
Disclamer: Not mine, never will be.
Author's Notes: After my last effort was too depressing, this one is strictly the opposite! And we all need Christmas fic, do we not? ;) FYI, each part is a new year.
i.
“It was a close call when Uncle Jack set the pudding on fire, wasn’t it?” Allan remarked as she unlocked her front door and let themselves inside the house. Violet took off her jacket, feeling much like a turkey-stuffed balloon with sore feet.
“Yeah,” she answered flatly, rubbing her eyes warily. She couldn’t remember ever feeling so tired at Christmas, emotional or otherwise.
“You know when we were kids, he used to -”
“- pretend to light the table by accident,” she finished, heading into the kitchen and leaving him by the front door.
“Guess you’ve heard that story, huh?” Allan laughed, shrugging off his coat. “I’m just going to put these upstairs, okay?” he added. ‘These’ being the dozens of paper chains and Christmas drawings his numerous nieces and nephews had the liberty of giving them to take back home. While she thought the idea was sweet, Violet wasn’t sure where they could put them all. One or two, fine - but twenty six? Additionally, she hardly knew the kids, having only met them twice. Having their Christmas artwork engulf her house seemed awkward.
As she heard Allan trek upstairs, she poured herself a glass of water, draining it as though she hadn’t drunk in weeks. She knew she shouldn’t have eaten so much, but being stranded at a dining table surrounded by relatives of Allan’s that she had only met a couple of times beforehand (if at all), had made her eat a whole lot more than usual.
She didn’t understand why Allan was so insistent on her visiting his family this year. She wouldn’t normally have minded, family was family, but her own cousin had a new baby and Violet had planned to go see them.
She could’ve stood her ground and argued with Allan over it, but the last thing she felt like doing was fighting. Not at Christmas. She didn’t need a dark cloud hanging over them.
So she’d gone with him to his family, for the sake of keeping the peace. And it hadn’t been bad, per se - just not the same.
She poured herself a second glass of water and noticed her answerphone flashing. If it was Anita, her cousin, lamenting yet again how annoyed she was that Violet had somehow let Allan take her this Christmas, then she had another thing coming.
Instead, she was greeted with another familiar voice, one that made her smile.
“Hey Vi, you must be out having fun - well, obviously, ‘cause you’re not answering -” she let out a laugh, despite herself, “- and I hope Santa put you on the ‘nice’ list this year. Unless there’s something you haven’t told me? Probably. Anyway, don’t wake up with a hangover! Merry Christmas, Violet.”
She was grinning now. At least someone had the Christmas spirit, although Cooper could be insane at the best of times.
Her finger hovered over the replay button, and just as she was about to press it, Allan came back into the kitchen. “Any good messages?”
Violet’s hand snapped back as though she’d been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
She wandered over to the sink with her empty glass, her mood considerably brighter than it had been mere minutes ago. “No, nothing out of the ordinary.”
ii.
“Oh, thank God,” Violet muttered aloud when the radio in her car began to play a Stevie Wonder track instead of yet another carol. She could deal with them playing in the stores, or on television commercials, but the radio was her solace from the festive insanity. By the time she actually made it to the twenty-fifth, she was more than willing to let go of the Christmas jingles for another year.
She heaved a deep sigh as she turned the corner into her street. House twinkled with lights as she passed them, some of them coupled with flashing reindeer or swaying Santas. The lengths some people went to make their homes stand out from the rest were ridiculous, she thought, although she was careful not to say it aloud.
Her own house, admittedly, looked rather plain compared to some of the others, but she didn’t know why she should bother to make the effort for just herself to see it. Allan had always been one for holly, but this year she hadn’t had to worry about that, nor his family. It was a relief, but completely depressing as she realised she was alone.
Climbing out of her car, she began to walk up her drive when a movement on her front step made her jump in alarm. The motor-sensory light switched on, and she let out a breath of relief.
“Cooper! What are you doing here?” she exclaimed, approaching him now that she’d established he wasn’t an axe-murderer.
He looked slightly sheepish as he stood up. “Hi to you, too.”
“Aren’t you cold? How long have you been sitting there?” she asked, fishing out her keys and letting them both inside.
“Not long,” he said, following her in and shutting the door to keep the night air out. “I knew you’d be home soon enough.”
“How did you know that? I could’ve been out raging all night.” She put her bag down, switching on the lights.
Cooper scoffed. “Raging? You?”
“Okay, point taken,” she admitted reluctantly. “How’s your Christmas been?”
“Well, that’s what I’m here for.” He lead her into her own kitchen and heaved a grocery bag onto the countertop. “I’ve just been given enough food from my old Aunt Joyce to feed a Third-World country. I can’t finish it all.”
“So you came to me on Christmas Day to offload your leftovers?” Violet asked incredulously, crinkling her brow.
He looked slightly put out. “I didn’t have to, you know,” he said defensively.
“Relax, Cooper!” she grins. “I’m joking. Of course I’ll take some.”
“Maybe I should’ve gone to Pete,” he continued, though with good humour. “At least he would’ve appreciated it.”
She looks at him kindly. “Thank you.” She meant it.
“And you’re welcome.” He rummaged through the bag and brought up a box. “You should try one of these. Best shortbread in the city.”
“Sure.” She’d noticed him rubbing his hands together and realised that, despite his claims of not waiting outside for long, he was probably a lot colder than he let on. Violet hoped he really hadn’t been waiting long, because while she was grateful, it hadn’t really been necessary, has it? Couldn’t he have just waited until tomorrow?
Truth was, going home to an empty house on Christmas Day was depressing, and she didn’t blame him if he wanted to put it off.
“Do you want a coffee?” she offered, opening the shortbread box appreciatively.
“No thanks,” he declined. “Actually, I’m pretty tired, I think I’ll go on home.”
“Already?” The briefness of his stay surprised her almost as much as his visit in the first place. He shrugged and she decided not to argue.
“One for the road?” she suggested, holding out the shortbread box to him. He took one, even though he’d already eaten far too many during the afternoon.
“Fanks,” he muttered through a mouthful of buttery crumbs.
Without another word, she walked him to the door, even though he’d walked it a million times beforehand. She could see his car parked in the street and wondered how she’d missed it.
“’Night, Cooper,” she said, leaning her weight against her doorway, watching him head down the drive.
“Merry Christmas, Violet,” he responded instead. “Whatever of it is left.”
She grinned and didn’t go back inside until he’d well and truly gone. In hindsight, it had been a merry one, after all.
iii.
She stabbed an olive with a toothpick before craning her neck over the milling people around her. Spotting him, Violet made her way over, almost tipping over a chair as she went. These restaurant function rooms were always too small, she mused. Either the venue gave false advertising on their size, or the host always underestimated the amount of people who would be coming. She didn’t know.
He was talking to a haughty-looking couple, and though his back was to her, Violet could tell he was only being polite rather than actually enjoying the conversation. He owed her for this, she decided with an inward chuckle, coming up behind him. “Cooper!” she greeted heartily, and he turned, smiling at her appearance.
“Do excuse us,” one half of the couple said, taking their cue to move onwards, and Cooper looked relieved.
“Thanks,” he said with a sigh, watching them walk away. “They hold annual fundraisers for the AAP and cornered me.”
“Against your will, I bet,” she nodded none-too-earnestly. She held up the olived toothpick between two fingers. “Hey, have you had any of these? They’re fantastic. I don’t know what they put on them, maybe some herbs or something, but you should try them, because they’re that good.”
Cooper surveys her with interest. “So how much have your drunk tonight?” he asked teasingly, and she opened her mouth in protest.
“Oh, give me a break, Coop,” she said disdainfully. “Anyhow, it’s Christmas, shouldn’t we be enjoying ourselves?” Her words deliberately echoed the ones he’d said to her a week ago.
After finding that she wasn’t visiting her family this year, he’d pounced on the opportunity to take her along to a Christmas party he’d been invited to by an old friend from med school. She’d been initially reluctant to go, citing that “it’s no fun being stuck in a room full of doctors at Christmas”. He’d retorted that he was not allowing her to sit in her living room and dwell. Friends forced friends out when they needed it. So she’d finally agreed, but now it looked like she was having a better time than he was.
Although she looked relatively pieced together, Cooper suspected she’d been taking advantage of the free champagne available at the party. Or she was simply delighted in being here, but he somehow doubted it.
Popping the olive in her mouth and disposing the toothpick on a nearby table, she looked at him curiously. “What?”
He shook his head, realising he’d been looking a little too intently at her slightly flushed cheeks and the tendrils of hair falling around her face. “Nothing.”
“Lighten up Cooper,” she told him, hooking him around the elbow. “Dance with me.”
“What? Now?” he asked foolishly, then berated himself silently.
“Yes. Now.” She dragged him into a group who were, among those standing and talking, casually dancing to some music that was miraculously not Christmas-themed.
She threaded her hand through his and grinned up at him, seeing him roll his eyes in mild exasperation. She prodded the tip of her finger into his back with her other hand. “Are you okay?”
“I’m good,” he replied, obligingly moving along with her to the music. “Don’t I come across as good?”
She shrugged against him. “Can we share a cab home?”
“I insist. I’m not letting you go home alone from here.”
“I’m a big girl, you don’t need to look after me,” she told him pointedly. “But thank you.”
“I know. Spinning you,” he added, holding her out by the hand. As she spun back into him, she groaned.
“I shouldn’t have eaten so many olives.”
“You shouldn’t have drunk so much champagne,” he countered good-humorously.
“Shut up, Cooper.” She slid her hand up his back onto his shoulder, resting her chin atop her fingers. “You were right in bringing me here tonight.”
“I’m glad you finally saw it that way,” he smiled, giving her other hand a squeeze.
She simply nodded.
Her eyes fluttered closed as the music dissolved into mere background noise. It wasn’t because she was tired. She felt secure; safe. His scent lingered around her in such a familiar way that it ached. She could feel his fingers on her back, five pressure points that warmed her skin through the fabric of her dress. She’d been held by her best friend numerous times before - normally when she was at an emotional low point on the floor of her living room - but she can’t remember ever being like this with him as Cooper, rather than just her friend. She vaguely wondered what made that difference.
She exhaled a sigh and subconsciously shifted her head so that it touched alongside his, clutching the shoulder of his jacket between her fingers.
“Merry Christmas, Violet,” he murmured, so softly that had it not been for his breath tickling the back of neck, she would have sworn she’d imagined it.
iv.
“Maya wanted to spend today with her friends,” Naomi groaned, sitting back in her chair around the table.
“What, at her friends’ families?” Addison asked incredulously, sipping at her wineglass.
Naomi shrugged. “Who knows. She sure as hell didn’t want to spend it here. Last year she was still excited for opening presents, and now it seems the innocent days of Christmas are over.”
“Could be just a one-year thing,” Violet remarked. She took a couple of almonds from the bowl on the dining table and shrugged. “By next year she could just as easily see what she missed out on now. Kids can become kids again.”
“I hope so,” Naomi sighed with a shake of her head.
Violet dusted her hands of almond residue and stood up, leaving the other two women at the table. She wandered through the hall until she reached the front living room. She found him leaning against the doorway, gazing off into the distance as though he was deep in thought.
“Hey,” she said, coming up to him. She gave his arm a squeeze and glanced at him with a tilt of her head. “What are you doing out here?”
Cooper nodded his head towards the decorated tree in the corner of the room. “Just thinking about how our tree at home looks better.”
She grinned. “I wouldn’t go around telling Sam and Naomi that, though.”
“I guess I’ll have to trust you with my opinion, then,” he said, a twinkle in his eye. “Plus, Pete and Sam arguing over the Christmas turkey was the last straw. Better to keep out of it; the kitchen’s being overcrowded.”
“As long as they don’t burn it, I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Violet surveyed the tree for a moment. “You’re right. Ours does look better.”
“Says the one who didn’t even decorate it.”
“Hey, you were so enthusiastic, who was I to crush that?” she retorted, nudging his arm. “Anyway, even if you wanted to stay out of the turkey fiasco, why are you standing out here? It’s not like you to be antisocial. It’s a lot warmer in the dining room, too,” she added, subconsciously lacing her fingers through his.
He broke into a grin and didn’t reply, confusing her even further.
“What are you - no...” A thought finally occurs to her and she glances upwards. “You’re an idiot!” she exclaimed, whacking her arm across his. “You searched through Sam and Naomi’s house and then stood under the mistletoe?”
“I knew you’d come and find me,” he said defensively, although he was still looking like a triumphant kid who had just taken the last candy cane.
She couldn’t help but grin despite herself. “Oh yeah? And how did you know that?”
“You’re predictable.”
“You don’t seem to be complaining,” she murmured, pulling his face down towards hers. She kissed him, tasting the remnants of the wine he’d drunk earlier. With his arms tightening around her waist so she couldn’t move away even if she’d wanted to, she wasn’t complaining either.
“Ahem.” Violet broke away to find Sam looking decidedly awkward in the doorway. “We’re taking out the food now, so if you want to, you know... yeah,” he finished rather lamely, deciding that he’d be better to simply leave than fully explain himself.
Violet glanced up at Cooper who simply shrugged, looking completely unperturbed. “Guess we better join them, huh?”
Rejoining the group around the dining table, they found themselves holding up their glasses in some sort of impromptu toast.
“Well, Merry Christmas, I guess,” Naomi said with a grin, and the six of them clinked their glasses together.
“I’ll get the turkey,” Pete offered, heading over to the kitchen, Sam hurtling after him.
“No, wait, I’ll get it...” was overheard as they disappeared around the corner.
Violet felt a warm arm wrap around the front of her shoulders from behind, and a kiss being placed around on the crown of her head. “Merry Christmas, Violet,” Cooper told her softly, his breath tickling through her curly hair.
She simply gave his arm a knowing squeeze and she felt it was enough.
v.
“I ate too much.”
Violet collapsed on the couch, letting her legs dangle over the armrest, her head resting against Cooper’s thigh.
“That’s not surprising,” he put in mildly, winding a lock of her hair around his finger absent-mindedly. “How many servings of food did you have again?”
“Hmph.” She didn’t bother giving him an answer to that. A moment passed before she spoke again. “I liked having a quiet Christmas this year.”
“Yeah, for a change.”
They’d unanimously decided to keep to themselves this festive season. Not only would it save in deciding who’s family to see when, but the honest truth was, they’d only seen everyone a couple months ago at the wedding. Cooper, for one, didn’t know how often he could see his distant relatives without being bored to tears. Despite Christmas being deemed as a time for family, once a year was enough, it seemed.
Additionally, all their friends and colleagues seemed to have their own plans themselves. Consequently, the two of them had decided that perhaps something low-key would be a relief for a change.
“At least we don’t have to cook tomorrow,” Cooper said with a shrug. “What with all the leftovers.”
“I nominate you to clean the dishes, in that case,” Violet retorted. “Since I cooked most of it. It’s a balance, right?”
“I think you’ll find I was the one who did the turkey.”
She rolled her eyes. “Team effort?”
“Fine,” he agreed reluctantly, but made no more argument. She realised that he looked slightly preoccupied, much to her bewilderment, and she sat up with a frown.
“Everything alright?”
“Huh?” he glanced across at her and screwed up his nose. “I’m that obvious, apparently.”
“Or I can just read you too well,” she countered with a smile, reassured that there wasn’t anything actually wrong, or he would’ve said so.
He reached down beside the couch to retrieve a small bag from the floor. “I got you this.”
“Cooper...” she have him a long, pointed look. “I thought we agreed, no more presents?”
“Yeah, well.” He looked rather sheepish, as though he had done something wrong.
She opened the bag to find a small, familiar blue box. “No, wait, you went to Tiffany’s? You?” He still didn’t say anything, an apprehensive expression playing on his face. “Relax, Cooper,” she told him. “I’m not going to bite your head off for it.”
She concentrated on opening the box, to uncover a bangle she’d privately been eying in the window for weeks. She gaped; sure, he could be thoughtful and surprisingly sensitive, but psychic? Not even Cooper was that good.
“How did you know this was the one I wanted?” she asked incredulously, then silently chiding herself for not thanking him first.
“Ah.” He rubbed at his eye awkwardly. “Well, I kinda overheard you talk to Addison the other day, and remembered it...”
She realised how much effort he’d probably gone into in order to get the jewellery for her. Not only had her description of the piece been fairly vague, but she recalled herself using words in a language any male probably didn’t have a clue about. She thought she knew Cooper inside and out - and maybe she did - but at times he could do the most unexpected things.
“Thank you,” she simply said, leaning over to kiss him. And it made Violet remember why, when she woke up in the morning next to him, she had to pinch herself. She really was the luckiest.
The phone rang, breaking their bubble for reality.
“I’ll get it,” Cooper offered, standing up and wandering to the kitchen to answer it.
She lay back down on the couch, her head on a cushion. He’d gone out of his way to make this day special for her, regardless of how quiet their Christmas was, she knew that. She anxiously bit her lip, unconsciously twisting the gold band on her left hand’s finger. She could hear him on the phone, not particularly listening to the words he spoke.
His present for her had probably been clouding his mind, she thought. Now that she knew, he was probably relieved, and their life could go on as usual.
Violet knew it wasn’t always so simple.
She was late, and it terrified her.
The rational - or denying, it was difficult to pinpoint - part of her said that it didn’t mean anything. That there was only one way to know, and she wasn’t going there. Not now. Not yet.
She wasn’t going to tell Cooper in the meantime. There was a guilty pang inside her, but she resisted. Not until she was sure. She knew of his desire to have a family, as well as her own apprehension towards that very thing, and she didn’t want to raise his hopes for nothing.
At the same time, she could just pretend and forget for a little longer. It was easier.
But if it was the case that they were expecting, then she’d do it. She’d do it for Cooper, because it was what he wanted, and in turn it would be what she’d want as well. She just needed some time.
But it was Christmas, she thought, and she’d deal with it later. This time of year was already chaotic enough.
The man of her thoughts reappeared at the couch. “Move over,” he said good-humorously, sitting back down. Cooper took one look at her face and furrowed his brow. “What’s up?”
His eyes were curious, searching, and she knew it was because he cared. He’d always cared about her, and in hindsight, she had to wonder why it had taken her so long to realise that.
She inhaled.
“Nothing,” she said with a bright smile, and settled her head back down on his lap.
Time would work things out.
“Merry Christmas, Cooper.”
Author: cecism
Fandom: Private Practice
Characters: Cooper/Violet
Prompt: #27 - More than enough (Author's Choice) @ un_love_you
Word Count: 3740
Rating: PG
Disclamer: Not mine, never will be.
Author's Notes: After my last effort was too depressing, this one is strictly the opposite! And we all need Christmas fic, do we not? ;) FYI, each part is a new year.
i.
“It was a close call when Uncle Jack set the pudding on fire, wasn’t it?” Allan remarked as she unlocked her front door and let themselves inside the house. Violet took off her jacket, feeling much like a turkey-stuffed balloon with sore feet.
“Yeah,” she answered flatly, rubbing her eyes warily. She couldn’t remember ever feeling so tired at Christmas, emotional or otherwise.
“You know when we were kids, he used to -”
“- pretend to light the table by accident,” she finished, heading into the kitchen and leaving him by the front door.
“Guess you’ve heard that story, huh?” Allan laughed, shrugging off his coat. “I’m just going to put these upstairs, okay?” he added. ‘These’ being the dozens of paper chains and Christmas drawings his numerous nieces and nephews had the liberty of giving them to take back home. While she thought the idea was sweet, Violet wasn’t sure where they could put them all. One or two, fine - but twenty six? Additionally, she hardly knew the kids, having only met them twice. Having their Christmas artwork engulf her house seemed awkward.
As she heard Allan trek upstairs, she poured herself a glass of water, draining it as though she hadn’t drunk in weeks. She knew she shouldn’t have eaten so much, but being stranded at a dining table surrounded by relatives of Allan’s that she had only met a couple of times beforehand (if at all), had made her eat a whole lot more than usual.
She didn’t understand why Allan was so insistent on her visiting his family this year. She wouldn’t normally have minded, family was family, but her own cousin had a new baby and Violet had planned to go see them.
She could’ve stood her ground and argued with Allan over it, but the last thing she felt like doing was fighting. Not at Christmas. She didn’t need a dark cloud hanging over them.
So she’d gone with him to his family, for the sake of keeping the peace. And it hadn’t been bad, per se - just not the same.
She poured herself a second glass of water and noticed her answerphone flashing. If it was Anita, her cousin, lamenting yet again how annoyed she was that Violet had somehow let Allan take her this Christmas, then she had another thing coming.
Instead, she was greeted with another familiar voice, one that made her smile.
“Hey Vi, you must be out having fun - well, obviously, ‘cause you’re not answering -” she let out a laugh, despite herself, “- and I hope Santa put you on the ‘nice’ list this year. Unless there’s something you haven’t told me? Probably. Anyway, don’t wake up with a hangover! Merry Christmas, Violet.”
She was grinning now. At least someone had the Christmas spirit, although Cooper could be insane at the best of times.
Her finger hovered over the replay button, and just as she was about to press it, Allan came back into the kitchen. “Any good messages?”
Violet’s hand snapped back as though she’d been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
She wandered over to the sink with her empty glass, her mood considerably brighter than it had been mere minutes ago. “No, nothing out of the ordinary.”
ii.
“Oh, thank God,” Violet muttered aloud when the radio in her car began to play a Stevie Wonder track instead of yet another carol. She could deal with them playing in the stores, or on television commercials, but the radio was her solace from the festive insanity. By the time she actually made it to the twenty-fifth, she was more than willing to let go of the Christmas jingles for another year.
She heaved a deep sigh as she turned the corner into her street. House twinkled with lights as she passed them, some of them coupled with flashing reindeer or swaying Santas. The lengths some people went to make their homes stand out from the rest were ridiculous, she thought, although she was careful not to say it aloud.
Her own house, admittedly, looked rather plain compared to some of the others, but she didn’t know why she should bother to make the effort for just herself to see it. Allan had always been one for holly, but this year she hadn’t had to worry about that, nor his family. It was a relief, but completely depressing as she realised she was alone.
Climbing out of her car, she began to walk up her drive when a movement on her front step made her jump in alarm. The motor-sensory light switched on, and she let out a breath of relief.
“Cooper! What are you doing here?” she exclaimed, approaching him now that she’d established he wasn’t an axe-murderer.
He looked slightly sheepish as he stood up. “Hi to you, too.”
“Aren’t you cold? How long have you been sitting there?” she asked, fishing out her keys and letting them both inside.
“Not long,” he said, following her in and shutting the door to keep the night air out. “I knew you’d be home soon enough.”
“How did you know that? I could’ve been out raging all night.” She put her bag down, switching on the lights.
Cooper scoffed. “Raging? You?”
“Okay, point taken,” she admitted reluctantly. “How’s your Christmas been?”
“Well, that’s what I’m here for.” He lead her into her own kitchen and heaved a grocery bag onto the countertop. “I’ve just been given enough food from my old Aunt Joyce to feed a Third-World country. I can’t finish it all.”
“So you came to me on Christmas Day to offload your leftovers?” Violet asked incredulously, crinkling her brow.
He looked slightly put out. “I didn’t have to, you know,” he said defensively.
“Relax, Cooper!” she grins. “I’m joking. Of course I’ll take some.”
“Maybe I should’ve gone to Pete,” he continued, though with good humour. “At least he would’ve appreciated it.”
She looks at him kindly. “Thank you.” She meant it.
“And you’re welcome.” He rummaged through the bag and brought up a box. “You should try one of these. Best shortbread in the city.”
“Sure.” She’d noticed him rubbing his hands together and realised that, despite his claims of not waiting outside for long, he was probably a lot colder than he let on. Violet hoped he really hadn’t been waiting long, because while she was grateful, it hadn’t really been necessary, has it? Couldn’t he have just waited until tomorrow?
Truth was, going home to an empty house on Christmas Day was depressing, and she didn’t blame him if he wanted to put it off.
“Do you want a coffee?” she offered, opening the shortbread box appreciatively.
“No thanks,” he declined. “Actually, I’m pretty tired, I think I’ll go on home.”
“Already?” The briefness of his stay surprised her almost as much as his visit in the first place. He shrugged and she decided not to argue.
“One for the road?” she suggested, holding out the shortbread box to him. He took one, even though he’d already eaten far too many during the afternoon.
“Fanks,” he muttered through a mouthful of buttery crumbs.
Without another word, she walked him to the door, even though he’d walked it a million times beforehand. She could see his car parked in the street and wondered how she’d missed it.
“’Night, Cooper,” she said, leaning her weight against her doorway, watching him head down the drive.
“Merry Christmas, Violet,” he responded instead. “Whatever of it is left.”
She grinned and didn’t go back inside until he’d well and truly gone. In hindsight, it had been a merry one, after all.
iii.
She stabbed an olive with a toothpick before craning her neck over the milling people around her. Spotting him, Violet made her way over, almost tipping over a chair as she went. These restaurant function rooms were always too small, she mused. Either the venue gave false advertising on their size, or the host always underestimated the amount of people who would be coming. She didn’t know.
He was talking to a haughty-looking couple, and though his back was to her, Violet could tell he was only being polite rather than actually enjoying the conversation. He owed her for this, she decided with an inward chuckle, coming up behind him. “Cooper!” she greeted heartily, and he turned, smiling at her appearance.
“Do excuse us,” one half of the couple said, taking their cue to move onwards, and Cooper looked relieved.
“Thanks,” he said with a sigh, watching them walk away. “They hold annual fundraisers for the AAP and cornered me.”
“Against your will, I bet,” she nodded none-too-earnestly. She held up the olived toothpick between two fingers. “Hey, have you had any of these? They’re fantastic. I don’t know what they put on them, maybe some herbs or something, but you should try them, because they’re that good.”
Cooper surveys her with interest. “So how much have your drunk tonight?” he asked teasingly, and she opened her mouth in protest.
“Oh, give me a break, Coop,” she said disdainfully. “Anyhow, it’s Christmas, shouldn’t we be enjoying ourselves?” Her words deliberately echoed the ones he’d said to her a week ago.
After finding that she wasn’t visiting her family this year, he’d pounced on the opportunity to take her along to a Christmas party he’d been invited to by an old friend from med school. She’d been initially reluctant to go, citing that “it’s no fun being stuck in a room full of doctors at Christmas”. He’d retorted that he was not allowing her to sit in her living room and dwell. Friends forced friends out when they needed it. So she’d finally agreed, but now it looked like she was having a better time than he was.
Although she looked relatively pieced together, Cooper suspected she’d been taking advantage of the free champagne available at the party. Or she was simply delighted in being here, but he somehow doubted it.
Popping the olive in her mouth and disposing the toothpick on a nearby table, she looked at him curiously. “What?”
He shook his head, realising he’d been looking a little too intently at her slightly flushed cheeks and the tendrils of hair falling around her face. “Nothing.”
“Lighten up Cooper,” she told him, hooking him around the elbow. “Dance with me.”
“What? Now?” he asked foolishly, then berated himself silently.
“Yes. Now.” She dragged him into a group who were, among those standing and talking, casually dancing to some music that was miraculously not Christmas-themed.
She threaded her hand through his and grinned up at him, seeing him roll his eyes in mild exasperation. She prodded the tip of her finger into his back with her other hand. “Are you okay?”
“I’m good,” he replied, obligingly moving along with her to the music. “Don’t I come across as good?”
She shrugged against him. “Can we share a cab home?”
“I insist. I’m not letting you go home alone from here.”
“I’m a big girl, you don’t need to look after me,” she told him pointedly. “But thank you.”
“I know. Spinning you,” he added, holding her out by the hand. As she spun back into him, she groaned.
“I shouldn’t have eaten so many olives.”
“You shouldn’t have drunk so much champagne,” he countered good-humorously.
“Shut up, Cooper.” She slid her hand up his back onto his shoulder, resting her chin atop her fingers. “You were right in bringing me here tonight.”
“I’m glad you finally saw it that way,” he smiled, giving her other hand a squeeze.
She simply nodded.
Her eyes fluttered closed as the music dissolved into mere background noise. It wasn’t because she was tired. She felt secure; safe. His scent lingered around her in such a familiar way that it ached. She could feel his fingers on her back, five pressure points that warmed her skin through the fabric of her dress. She’d been held by her best friend numerous times before - normally when she was at an emotional low point on the floor of her living room - but she can’t remember ever being like this with him as Cooper, rather than just her friend. She vaguely wondered what made that difference.
She exhaled a sigh and subconsciously shifted her head so that it touched alongside his, clutching the shoulder of his jacket between her fingers.
“Merry Christmas, Violet,” he murmured, so softly that had it not been for his breath tickling the back of neck, she would have sworn she’d imagined it.
iv.
“Maya wanted to spend today with her friends,” Naomi groaned, sitting back in her chair around the table.
“What, at her friends’ families?” Addison asked incredulously, sipping at her wineglass.
Naomi shrugged. “Who knows. She sure as hell didn’t want to spend it here. Last year she was still excited for opening presents, and now it seems the innocent days of Christmas are over.”
“Could be just a one-year thing,” Violet remarked. She took a couple of almonds from the bowl on the dining table and shrugged. “By next year she could just as easily see what she missed out on now. Kids can become kids again.”
“I hope so,” Naomi sighed with a shake of her head.
Violet dusted her hands of almond residue and stood up, leaving the other two women at the table. She wandered through the hall until she reached the front living room. She found him leaning against the doorway, gazing off into the distance as though he was deep in thought.
“Hey,” she said, coming up to him. She gave his arm a squeeze and glanced at him with a tilt of her head. “What are you doing out here?”
Cooper nodded his head towards the decorated tree in the corner of the room. “Just thinking about how our tree at home looks better.”
She grinned. “I wouldn’t go around telling Sam and Naomi that, though.”
“I guess I’ll have to trust you with my opinion, then,” he said, a twinkle in his eye. “Plus, Pete and Sam arguing over the Christmas turkey was the last straw. Better to keep out of it; the kitchen’s being overcrowded.”
“As long as they don’t burn it, I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Violet surveyed the tree for a moment. “You’re right. Ours does look better.”
“Says the one who didn’t even decorate it.”
“Hey, you were so enthusiastic, who was I to crush that?” she retorted, nudging his arm. “Anyway, even if you wanted to stay out of the turkey fiasco, why are you standing out here? It’s not like you to be antisocial. It’s a lot warmer in the dining room, too,” she added, subconsciously lacing her fingers through his.
He broke into a grin and didn’t reply, confusing her even further.
“What are you - no...” A thought finally occurs to her and she glances upwards. “You’re an idiot!” she exclaimed, whacking her arm across his. “You searched through Sam and Naomi’s house and then stood under the mistletoe?”
“I knew you’d come and find me,” he said defensively, although he was still looking like a triumphant kid who had just taken the last candy cane.
She couldn’t help but grin despite herself. “Oh yeah? And how did you know that?”
“You’re predictable.”
“You don’t seem to be complaining,” she murmured, pulling his face down towards hers. She kissed him, tasting the remnants of the wine he’d drunk earlier. With his arms tightening around her waist so she couldn’t move away even if she’d wanted to, she wasn’t complaining either.
“Ahem.” Violet broke away to find Sam looking decidedly awkward in the doorway. “We’re taking out the food now, so if you want to, you know... yeah,” he finished rather lamely, deciding that he’d be better to simply leave than fully explain himself.
Violet glanced up at Cooper who simply shrugged, looking completely unperturbed. “Guess we better join them, huh?”
Rejoining the group around the dining table, they found themselves holding up their glasses in some sort of impromptu toast.
“Well, Merry Christmas, I guess,” Naomi said with a grin, and the six of them clinked their glasses together.
“I’ll get the turkey,” Pete offered, heading over to the kitchen, Sam hurtling after him.
“No, wait, I’ll get it...” was overheard as they disappeared around the corner.
Violet felt a warm arm wrap around the front of her shoulders from behind, and a kiss being placed around on the crown of her head. “Merry Christmas, Violet,” Cooper told her softly, his breath tickling through her curly hair.
She simply gave his arm a knowing squeeze and she felt it was enough.
v.
“I ate too much.”
Violet collapsed on the couch, letting her legs dangle over the armrest, her head resting against Cooper’s thigh.
“That’s not surprising,” he put in mildly, winding a lock of her hair around his finger absent-mindedly. “How many servings of food did you have again?”
“Hmph.” She didn’t bother giving him an answer to that. A moment passed before she spoke again. “I liked having a quiet Christmas this year.”
“Yeah, for a change.”
They’d unanimously decided to keep to themselves this festive season. Not only would it save in deciding who’s family to see when, but the honest truth was, they’d only seen everyone a couple months ago at the wedding. Cooper, for one, didn’t know how often he could see his distant relatives without being bored to tears. Despite Christmas being deemed as a time for family, once a year was enough, it seemed.
Additionally, all their friends and colleagues seemed to have their own plans themselves. Consequently, the two of them had decided that perhaps something low-key would be a relief for a change.
“At least we don’t have to cook tomorrow,” Cooper said with a shrug. “What with all the leftovers.”
“I nominate you to clean the dishes, in that case,” Violet retorted. “Since I cooked most of it. It’s a balance, right?”
“I think you’ll find I was the one who did the turkey.”
She rolled her eyes. “Team effort?”
“Fine,” he agreed reluctantly, but made no more argument. She realised that he looked slightly preoccupied, much to her bewilderment, and she sat up with a frown.
“Everything alright?”
“Huh?” he glanced across at her and screwed up his nose. “I’m that obvious, apparently.”
“Or I can just read you too well,” she countered with a smile, reassured that there wasn’t anything actually wrong, or he would’ve said so.
He reached down beside the couch to retrieve a small bag from the floor. “I got you this.”
“Cooper...” she have him a long, pointed look. “I thought we agreed, no more presents?”
“Yeah, well.” He looked rather sheepish, as though he had done something wrong.
She opened the bag to find a small, familiar blue box. “No, wait, you went to Tiffany’s? You?” He still didn’t say anything, an apprehensive expression playing on his face. “Relax, Cooper,” she told him. “I’m not going to bite your head off for it.”
She concentrated on opening the box, to uncover a bangle she’d privately been eying in the window for weeks. She gaped; sure, he could be thoughtful and surprisingly sensitive, but psychic? Not even Cooper was that good.
“How did you know this was the one I wanted?” she asked incredulously, then silently chiding herself for not thanking him first.
“Ah.” He rubbed at his eye awkwardly. “Well, I kinda overheard you talk to Addison the other day, and remembered it...”
She realised how much effort he’d probably gone into in order to get the jewellery for her. Not only had her description of the piece been fairly vague, but she recalled herself using words in a language any male probably didn’t have a clue about. She thought she knew Cooper inside and out - and maybe she did - but at times he could do the most unexpected things.
“Thank you,” she simply said, leaning over to kiss him. And it made Violet remember why, when she woke up in the morning next to him, she had to pinch herself. She really was the luckiest.
The phone rang, breaking their bubble for reality.
“I’ll get it,” Cooper offered, standing up and wandering to the kitchen to answer it.
She lay back down on the couch, her head on a cushion. He’d gone out of his way to make this day special for her, regardless of how quiet their Christmas was, she knew that. She anxiously bit her lip, unconsciously twisting the gold band on her left hand’s finger. She could hear him on the phone, not particularly listening to the words he spoke.
His present for her had probably been clouding his mind, she thought. Now that she knew, he was probably relieved, and their life could go on as usual.
Violet knew it wasn’t always so simple.
She was late, and it terrified her.
The rational - or denying, it was difficult to pinpoint - part of her said that it didn’t mean anything. That there was only one way to know, and she wasn’t going there. Not now. Not yet.
She wasn’t going to tell Cooper in the meantime. There was a guilty pang inside her, but she resisted. Not until she was sure. She knew of his desire to have a family, as well as her own apprehension towards that very thing, and she didn’t want to raise his hopes for nothing.
At the same time, she could just pretend and forget for a little longer. It was easier.
But if it was the case that they were expecting, then she’d do it. She’d do it for Cooper, because it was what he wanted, and in turn it would be what she’d want as well. She just needed some time.
But it was Christmas, she thought, and she’d deal with it later. This time of year was already chaotic enough.
The man of her thoughts reappeared at the couch. “Move over,” he said good-humorously, sitting back down. Cooper took one look at her face and furrowed his brow. “What’s up?”
His eyes were curious, searching, and she knew it was because he cared. He’d always cared about her, and in hindsight, she had to wonder why it had taken her so long to realise that.
She inhaled.
“Nothing,” she said with a bright smile, and settled her head back down on his lap.
Time would work things out.
“Merry Christmas, Cooper.”