Redemption

"You didn't?" Blue dropped her face into her boyfriend's shoulder, shaking her head. "Hernando, I think it goes without saying that my parents like, love you. So you really didn't have to do that..." She began. "but, because you knew there was going to be one... I'm sure that'll only win you that much more brownie points in their eyes. So if you weren't already their favorite, you have most definitely cleared any and all competition. I'm pretty sure including us, their own kids." Blue laughed as he spoke of her brothers. "Honestly, you could have just gotten them both coal and I would have co-signed it."

"I mean...I am an overachiever," he joked, resting his head against hers. "You know I love the holidays and I wanted them to feel the love. And also hopefully not see me as a little kid anymore. Oh I know, you'd get a real kick out of that. Just wait until you see what I got for you," he told her as he reached for her hand. "Plus, I was so ahead of the game, I even helped Damon finish up his shopping early and you know how much he likes to leave shit to the last minute."

"You know what's something that's not discussed enough," Yves said, looking down at the salad in front of him with a sigh. "how much preparation goes into bottoming. Look at you, you get to actually eat." He let Hernando know with a scoff. "Meanwhile, I'm stuck with this. It's unfair, that's what it is." ( @d--cruz)

Hernando almost choked on his food as Yves spoke, laughing as he reached for his water. "Dude give me a warning before you veer in that direction," he told him, coughing a bit before drinking some water. "Hey I didn't say you should eat a salad today or you know pre-plan to hook up with someone. Plus it's not like I'm about to go get busy with Blue right after this. Not unless she wants me farting it up in her room," he added with a snort of a laugh. "Do you want me to order a salad in solidarity?"

Let me ask you a question - what the fuck do 12 year old boys like huh? Like uh... I don't know are bicycles cool? All I know is I was doin' shit at 12 that I wasn't 'supposed to be doin'.

"If they can ride a bike yeah. If not probably like..legos, sneakers. Uh I mean pre-teen, that's like 7th grade, could probably use anythign that makes being a pre-teen less shitty," Diego suggested with a shrug. It had been a long time since his last conversation with Ace but was far as he was concerned they didn't really have anything to argue about at the moment. Though Diego was sure Ace would make it known just how much they weren't friends. "Video games too though I don't know that Fortnite shit is not that fun."

"I'm not hiding–" Bridget said as soon as her bedroom door opened, clearly hiding from the hubbub in the Lisbon's living room. Not that anything terrible was happening, it had been a lovely evening actually, but she was on the quieter end of the spectrum of her sisters and now that their holidays involved more people than themselves she found herself needing a minute to decompress. "I'm just... getting my camera," she wrinkled her brow, clearly thinking on her toes as she spotted her polaroid camera on her desk and scooped it up. "See? Smile..."

"Oh! Sorry, I was actually looking for a place to hide," he admitted with a laugh but he did smile when she held up the camera. "Every year this holiday gets bigger and bigger, huh?" Despite how much holiday cheer Diego outwardly had, there was no holiday that made him miss his parents more than Christmas. With his relationship with his brothers always in an uncertain place, he could sometimes feel like he was intruding in on the Lisbon's space regardless of how long he and Marina had been together. "I'm actually thinking of popping out to get some more ice. You need anything from the store?"

Blue felt a sense of calm as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. A calm that she'd only ever felt in his comedy. He just knew how to ground her, her worries soon a mere afterthought. Those worries now replaced with happiness, happiness for what they truly had— each other. "I happen to like how tall you are. I happen to like a lot of what you are." Blue smiled up at her boyfriend, the smile on her face soon matching his. "I know I'm not." She nodded, her hands finding themselves on his shoulders as she began to massage them. "I mean, I-I've noticed." She said, laughing in between her words as she'd known that she was a catch. But she only ever cared that the man in front of her felt that way, something he always had. "Now you're just laying it on thick." She teased him, placing a kiss to his cheek just because she could. Because he was the only person she wanted to kiss, laugh with, be with. "Okay." She told him, as she was affirmed in just those words. Hernando loved her. "I love you so much." Blue added, pulling him down to press another kiss to his lips. This time, taking her time to enjoy the moment. "I should warn you, you're about to walk into pre-proposal insanity, in there." She motioned back over to the door they'd just walked out of. "The food, spectacular as always. The vibes, insanity. J told the family that he wants to propose to Louise, hence the shrieking before."

"Am I? I think I'm just being honest," he told her, just grateful to be back in a good place. He was also grateful that they could work through it regardless of what happened and it only made him fall in love with her even more. If that was even possible. He knew he had the goofiest smile when she told him she loved him, wishing he could go back and tell his younger self about this exact moment. He knew that in any universe if just being her friend was what he could be then he'd be that until the day he died, and probably after. But to be her partner was a whole other gift and he prayed often that he'd never take it for granted. Never take her for granted. Which is why he happily kissed her back, wrapping his arms around her as they did. When they pulled away and she told him the new, his eyes widened. "Are you kidding? Babe, that's amazing! You know I love weddings. Oh my god, we have a wedding! I bet my Dad is already shining his shoes. We've gotta find outfits, engagement parties. Wow, no wonder your house is like this. You sure your mom doesn't need help? Also did I smell..pancakes?" He raised his eyebrows and brought her hands to his lips. "Let's enter the insanity."

Blue listened to Hernando, just allowing him to spill his guts. He'd had a lot to say, given her behavior as of late and it was her responsibility to hear him out. To help navigate what they'd look like from this moment on as they hadn't been working for quite some time now. He came to the end of what he had to say, essentially asking her to just be real with him. "I hate that I've made you feel pathetic, because that's the furthest from how you've ever made me feel." She told him, with a soft sigh. "You've only ever made me smile, I've only ever laughed in your company. And nothing has changed, what changed is just everything around us. Things that you nor I can control. Yet things that made me feel less then, like maybe, we just wouldn't be able to survive." Blue said, her eyes gleaming in that moment. "For some reason, in this highly intelligent brain of mine, I just equated this new chapter in your life as the ending of what was. So I was readying myself for that heartbreak. Hernando, I love you. I have always loved you. I'll probably always love you. How could I not? You're like if someone went to a lab and created my dream boyfriend." Blue said, wiping at her eyes as soft laughter left her lips. "And I'm so sorry for ever making you question that."

When her eyes started tearing, he stepped closer to her again to take her hands. He thought about what Yves had said and realized then just how scary this all could be for both of them. He understood it then, because it was how he had felt when his father had started seeing Marina again. What if all this change was too good to be true? Too powerful to sustain their peace? He reached up to brush some of her tears away and leaned in to press a kiss to her forehead. "You think they could've given me a bit more height in that lab of yours?" He spoke softly, his smile slowly spreading as he brushed her cheeks with his thumbs. "And I'm sorry the world is so fucking scary at times and that you've felt like you were gonna lose me. But I'm not going anywhere, okay? Because no matter how much the world changes and how many people may want me or look at me..or you, because I don't know if you've noticed you're a fucking catch, what won't change is how much I love you. You and your beautiful, intelligent and brilliant brain. You're my dream girlfriend too, by the way. I want you in every chapter, okay? I love you, Blue."

"In this instance, those rules most definitely apply." As Hernando could ask her mother what was happening and get sucked into the pre-proposal madness happening around the house. Her mother had gotten on group call with just about everyone in their family to discuss what was to come. "Did you really?" She asked, with a nod of her head. She hated that confirmation, because she knew that Hernando had gone to that party to have a good time. A time he most definitely deserved. And there she'd gone with her big mouth and insecurities to ruin it for him. "Hernando, I'm like truly sorry about it." She let him know, with a sigh. "I should have never let how I felt come out like that, you know? It really wasn't fair to you." Blue told him, biting down on her lower lip. "But, yeah, please say what you need to say. I promise, I am all ears."

"Yeah, it was just better. Got some air, some food, chilled out home. Seems like I didn't miss much anyway." He hadn't really been in the mood but he had made the best of it. "I mean I don't know what there is for me to say, Blue. You know how I feel. I'm not gonna ask you to apologize for having insecurities, I get that people get scared. I just thought..you trusted me more than that, you know? Look, I get it, we're growing up, things are changing. But what hasn't changed is how much I love you. How much I want to be with you. How happy I am when we're together. But I don't know if you want that too. I thought you did but lately I don't know. I'm..I'm feeling like just fucking pathetic, you know? Like I did when I was just trying to get you to give me the time of day, hoping you'd see that I was more than just some dude in your life. Like I'm caught in some unrequited shit and I don't like the way that makes me feel so if you're just not feeling us anymore I really need you to tell me so I can stop feeling confused. And know if my heart is about to break."

"Oh, everything is fine—" Blue said, with a wave of her hand before they heard a shriek. Surely from her mother as she told yet another family member of the upcoming proposal. "Don't worry about that, that's a good shriek. I promise." She felt her stomach flutter as his lips pressed against her cheek, yet another reminder that... yeah, Hernando was exactly who she wanted. "You're more than okay, their priorities are elsewhere right now. Seriously." Blue raised an eyebrow at his question. "Do you think I had a good time at the party?" She asked him. "I basically told the guy I love that I hate the fact that he's living his best life, so you tell me?" Blue said, before taking a hold of his hand as she heard the commotion making its way downstairs. "Come on."

"Alright I'll take your word for it. I've learned it's better to ask less questions," he joked, though his curiosity was definitely increasing. "I mean, I don't know...I left pretty early. But you make a good point." It was helpful to hear her take accountability for it and he tried to shed some of the nerves that had taken over since last night. He was worried he had been too upset or he had handled it wrong. Even though he felt justified in his feelings and was trying his best to be honest. The idea that he could lose her had crept into his mind and had shaken him from the moment he woke up that morning. He felt more at ease though when she took his hand and he followed her. "Look, Blue..about last night..."

"Excuse... well, everything," Blue let Hernando know, having opened the door for him whilst the Winston household was currently a madhouse. "You're walking into a pretty big moment for my mom, of all people." She said, with a furrow of her eyebrows. Whilst Jane and herself had been preparing a breakfast worthy of an apology for Hernando– Joaquin made sure to let their mother know that he was planning on proposing to his girlfriend. Which has resulted in her mom calling just about all of their relatives and recanting the story of her own engagement. "But come on in, don't say I didn't warn you." ( @d--cruz )

"Is everything okay?" Hernando honestly had felt a little nervous when he and Blue texted this morning. He had left the party pretty early and had spent most of his driving around until he got home and hid away in his room. He still felt a little off but he told Blue he would see her in the morning so there he was. "I didn't realize so much of your family would be home, I would've brought something with me. Dessert or something. But it smells good in here." He hesitated, before leaning in to press a quick kiss to her cheek. "You have fun at the party?"

Taeyang paused for a second, letting the innuendo marinate in the air before he clapped a hand on his knee, "Poisons exploding in my mouth? That's one secret I'll never tell." He hummed through a mouthful of cupcake that the frosting was always the best part, and pulled an intrigued expression at Hernando's thought process regarding his gag reflex. "And if you have a gift it'd be a waste to deny it, right? Could be worse, you could be double jointed. Like... that's a way less useful gift than a healthy appetite. Cupcake's awesome, might snag one for the road later. Don't want to fill myself up too fast when there's a whole drink menu to work through."

Taeyang's words actually made Hernando laugh and he was grateful for that, needing some lightness from everything he was feeling. "True. People who are double jointed tell you and then continue to do some of the most least impressive stuff ever. You ever notice that? Smart, I think I'll be taking some of these to go myself. Maybe I should pace myself though cause I feel like I might explode," he joked and set everything to the side so he could take some deep breaths. "That's smart. Are you playing the werewolf game? Seems like something you want to do with a few drinks in you, unless you're more strategic when you're sober."