Christmas at Home

[Demeter]

Dominic fought with wrapping paper. Across from him, on her own square of floor, Saiyuri did the same. Lysander, with Lani, were squeezed into Lani's room for their own spree of wrapping and bedtime stories. It was the day before christmas eve and Saiyuri had invaded with bags and boxes, claiming she needed somewhere sane to wrap a small mountain of presents. She then lassoed Dominic into helping.

He scrambled around for the tape which he knew he'd had a second ago. In do so, he knocked over the baby monitor, something he couldn't quite get rid of yet. The recieving end thwacked against the floor and hit at just the right angle to be turned on. And then Saiyuri learned just why he hadn't yet retired the monitor set to a box in the closet. Well, at least one of the reasons why.

Lani's nightmares of baby duckies with needle sharp teeth and big, bad wolves that lived under her bed meant she didn't come running into his and Lysander's room. It meant they came running into hers when she pleaded through the baby monitor.

Lysander must have already switched the unit in Lani's room on. They were talking about Christmas Morning and if it would snow. Lysander, who hated cold, could only ask why she wanted snow while tucking her in.

"Snow," he asked, sitting down on the edge of Lani's bed and holding out to books to her, "Why in the world would you want snow?"

Lani pointed at Black Beauty for her nightime story. "Because snow is cool, Uncle 'Sander."

Lysander rested his back against the footboard of the bed. "Snow is old, Flutterby, and makes driving my car hard."

"Snow is for hot chocolate and fires."

Lysander prodded Lani's side with a foot. "In that case, you can play in the snow while I cling to your father and freeze. Now, what chapter did we stop on last night?"

Out in the living room, Dominic flushed and moved to shut off the monitor but Saiyuri chucked a roll of ribbon at him. "Leave it on. I love this story."

So, they wrapped presents while Lysander told Lani her story. After a few chapters, Lysander put the book down and looked at Lani. She was looking back at him. "What?"

"You know what."

Lysander rolled his eyes. "Fine but you have to sleep afterwards. You never know, it could snow in the morning."

Lani giggled but snuggled down in her bed.

In the living room, Dominic scrambled for the monitor but Saiyuri snatched it from him before he could flick the switch. "I want to hear this, she said"

Lysander sang the lullaby he'd sang to Lani since she'd been a fussy year old. Though neither one had ever paced the floor with her, the lullaby worked to knock the girl into sleep. Dominic had made of habit of listening to Lysander sing while he puttered around the house.

It was kind of a guilty little secret.

When Lysander backed out of Lani's room and quietly shut the door, Dominic was the color of a fire engine and Saiyuri had this interesting smirk on her face.

[Maira]

Silence ruled the room as both Dominic and Saiyuri watched L from their places on the livingroom floor. Saiyuri started to say something, but Dominic glared her into silence before explaining, "The baby monitor got knocked off the table and turned on when I was trying to find the tape." He didn't want to admit that he'd been bullied into leaving it on by his ex-wife, but he figured that L was smart enough to figure it out. If nothing else, he was sure the bright red tint to his skin would tell the tale for him.

Or Saiyuri would. "When I heard you reading Black Beauty I wouldn't let him turn it off L, I'm sorry." At the questioning look the vampire gave her, Saiyuri even blushed before answered the unasked question with, "You have an amazing singing voice."

After that, Saiyuri quickly refocussed on wrapping the portion of the mountain of gifts she had sitting next to her, leaving the two men to stare at each other before Dominic finally got up and grabbed L's hand, leading him into the kitchen. Once the door shut behind them he apologized, "I'm sorry she said the story was one of her favorites and then when I tried to turn it off when you were going to sing, she took the monitor from me."

The older vampire still hadn't said anything and Dominic was really starting to worry. Had they upset Lysander that much by listening in? "Can you please say something?" he finally begged softly.

[Demeter]

Lysander raised a brow, wondering why Dominic felt the need to apologize. “I was a choir boy, Dominic, and am very used to people listening to me sing. You have nothing to feel sorry for.” He glanced from Dominic to the door and back again. “Can Saiyuri sing?”

When Dominic shook his head, Lysander grinned. “That’s two things I can do and she can’t. I can cook spaghetti and sing Lani to sleep.” Lysander tugged Dominic down to the couch and cuddled him. “It’s nearly Christmas Eve. I know you don’t want to miss Christmas with Lani but I do have a cabin reserved up in the mountains. I’ve already discussed it with Saiyuri and she’s agreed that we can take Lani with us so that she can have a white Christmas. I’ve invited Saiyuri and Theiry up to the cabin for dinner. Do you want to go?”