Leah Puckerman

"I have no idea. I just know what I saw in movies, babe." He shrugged as she lit up the tree. "You better like me too or we’re going to have a problem." He chuckled as he wrapped an arm around her waist to draw her closer. He raised an eyebrow at her words with a small smirk on his face. "Switch presents, huh? I thought presents were for Christmas." He teased her with a twinkle in his eye. He couldn’t wait to give her the present he got for her. He tended to go all out with presents and buy more than absolutely needed. "I think we should because you’re going to love this present, if I say so myself."

Wrinkling her nose Leah looked at her boyfriend and spoke, "I do like you, so it works out, doesn't it?" She smiled at him and then she looked up to him and spoke, "They are, but I was hoping to not have to wait another day to watch you open your gift up." She had been saving since summer for this kind of gift for him, and she'd spent way more money then she should have, but it had been a great deal for what she had gotten for him. Well, we can finish getting this decorations up, then we will open presents." She gave him a wide smile as she looked up to his face from in his arms, there isn't much left to do, the wreath on the front door, stockings up, and the bulbs and topper on the tree."

Hunter rolled his eyes, kssing her back. “I never realized how much there is to do with Christmas.” He admitted, with a wide eyed look around the room. He watched her as she strung the lights, chuckling softly as he heard her words. “Leah, babe, their opinion could never change anything. I don’t care if they hate you because I could never hate you. I like you too much to hate you.” As she finished the lights, he grabbed the bag of garland. “Though, I do have a question that doesn’t pertain to this conversation. What happens if we go to plug the lights in and not all of them work because we didn’t check them before hand?” He walked over to the tree to begin wrapping the garland on. “I only ask because isn’t that what they do in the movies?” He smiled over at her sheepishly.

Looking at the tree Leah shook her head and spoke, "These are brand new, they shouldn't have a problem, I hope..." She trailed off and looked to him innocently as she plugged the lights in to see what happened. The tree lit up, well like a christmas tree. She smiled a bit as she looked to him and spoke, "Well, that worked." She grinned and then she came over to him and spoke, "By the way, I like you too." She was confident that they felt the same, but that neither had jsut said it yet. She nipped at his ear with a small teasing bite and then she spoke, "So, it is Christmas eve, we could always switch our gifts for each other tonight... Once we finish at least the tree...." She was just anxious to give him his gift, and that was all there was to it.

Hunter looked down at the garland and then back up at her with a sheepish smile. “I totally knew that.” He set the bag of garland back down and looked at her as she started to open up the lights. “You can’t get rid of me that easily, Puckerman.” He smirked, knowing that there was an underlying meaning to her question. He liked to imagine that they’d be together for a long time but he knew that neither of them could predict what would happen tomorrow let alone years from now. He knew he wanted to be together with her as long as possible. “My mom is…definitely not as bad as my dad.” He explained, shrugging. “She can be a bit more laid back than he is but still very much into fancy things. They are both very money orientated and that had never been really something I was into. I mean, sure, I’d liked having nice stuff but I wasn’t obsessed.”

"And that is one of the things that I adore about you," Leah responded with a wide smile. She leaned over and kissed his lips before coming back over and finishing the box. Grinning she spoke, "Just to get the lights on, the garland, then the bulbs and decorations...then the rest of the house." She laughed a bit looking at their half bare apartment. She smiled a bit and then she grinned more, "I'm glad that I cannot get rid of you too easily, by the way. I rather do like you around." She came behind him and pinched his butt teasingly with a wicked smile. She then shrugged a bit as she spoke, "It is what it is with the families. Long as them hating me doesn't change your opinion of me." She began to walk around the tree stringing the lights into it as she went.

Hunter looked over at her as he worked on the tree. He moved along the process of attaching the parts together and finally snapped in the top of the tree. He stood in front of it before speaking up. “I think it is, Leah.” He looked over at her with a glance. “We need to know how it’ll go and what better way than actually doing it. One miserable night is nothing compared to the rest of our lives, Leah.” He walked over to the table and grabbed a bag of garland. “If this goes horribly than we know that we’ll have to keep everyone apart in the future and that won’t matter because we have each other, right?” He said quietly, hoping he was convincing her. He really felt strongly about this because he loved her more than he probably loved his own family. He didn’t have to impress Leah like he had to impress his father or mother. He could be himeself and he knew she was okay with that. He’d be okay with separate events if it meant that he was with her.

Beginning to open the package Leah looked over to him as he got closer to her. She smiled a bit as she spoke, "We need to get the lights on next." She held them up and smiled a bit as she listened to him. Looking up and grinned wider as she spoke, "Think this is going to last the rest of our lives, huh, Clarington?" She was teasing him, somewhat. The other part of her really meant the question she was asking. She cared deeply for him, very deeply. She was scared to call it love because she knew that she ran away from love, much like both her parents tended to do, and she never wanted to run from him. Smiling a bit she nodded as she spoke, "Yeah, we do. My parents knew your mom a bit better in school then your dad, so we can hope it all goes well." She was okay if their families never could all be in the same room together after tonight, but she also knew that compromises might need to be made for all involved if they were to last.

Hunter sighed as he moved over to where Leah had dragged the box that contained the tree. “I am afraid my dad will so yes.” He explained, shrugging. “I mean…I don’t care what they think but I don’t really want to expose you to him. He’s very…I don’t know how to explain it.” He dropped to his knees and opened the box. He found the tree stand and placed it in the empty spot on the floor. “Then this should be interesting to see the interactions.” He joked slightly, looking up at her with a chuckle. 

Taking a deep breath Leah looked to him and sighed a bit. She bit her lip and spoke, "I know this isn't a side of me that you have really seen, but my mom and I have very similar tempers. We have short fuses that set off into bombs quickly. It will....be interesting to say the least." Her Latina temper was easily sparked, and that is a trait that was all her mother's. Pulling the tree from the box with him and beginning to get it set up Leah looked over to him and spoke, "Yeah, interesting might be one word for it." She had a feeling that this holiday was going to be miserable. Which sucked, she wanted a good impression of her on his parents, then again one bad word about her heritage or their money...and her mother or herself wouldn't stay quiet long." She went to the bag to begin to pull out the lights as she asked, "You still think this is a good idea?"

Hunter walked to the other side of the couch and pushed it down slowly to the spot he was talking about. He thought about her question as he walked over to where all of their shopping bags lay on the couch. “I am sure it won’t be horrible. I’m just worried about my parents, to be honest. My mom is so used to…fancy Christmases, you know?” He found the surge protector in the bag with the Christmas lights. He turned to look at her. “My dad doesn’t really…have a filter around people.” 

Having never been one for very fancy, or never having anything fancier then her prom, Leah shrugged her shoulders and spoke, "And you are worried that they might pass judgement on me and my family?" She hadn't thought about that when they had planned Christmas for their house. She pulled the tree box over to where they were going to put up the tree and then she plugged in the surge protector and asked, "My mom doesn't exactly keep her opinion to her self either..." They weren't going to be fancy enough or good enough for his family, apparently. Would that mean there would be problems for them? She wasn't sure.

Hunter couldn’t help himself as he leaned down and captured her lips in a soft kiss. He pulled back with a small smile on his face. “I hope you know that I love you.” He took a step back, slipping his hands into his jean pockets. “Okay.” He looked around the room assessing where it was best to put the tree. “If we slide the couch down the wall, that would leave room between the balcony door and the end of the couch and there is an outlet right there anyway so what about that?”

Leah smiled a bit as they pulled away from the kiss and then she looked over to the place he was describing. Nodding a bit she spoke, "That works." She turned to give him a quick kiss and then she began to pull at the couch to bring it down. Looking at him she continued, "There is a surge protector somewhere in one of the bags that we brought in." She looked over to him and then she spoke gently, "Besides, having all our family here won't be too bad, will it? My siblings won't make it, they had other plans mom said."

Hunter heard her question which took him out of his day dream world. “I’m…I guess this all a little overwhelming, if I am being honest.” He looked at her, his eyes showing a sense of uncertainty. “Growing up, we never did this as a family. Most of my Christmas memories were very formal and professional, if that makes sense.” He tried to explain what he was thinking without coming of as rambling. “But I’m also extremely happy. I’m happy that I get to at least some good Christmas memories…with you.” He stepped forward, wrapping an arm around her waist to pull her closer. 

Leah listened to him, and as he came closer she moved a hand to rub a thumb over his cheek bone as she looked up to him. Smiling Leah spoke, "No better way to make good memories." She didn't have too many great childhood memories either, at least not like the ones her parents used to share. Her family was strained on money a lot, and she hadn't shared those hardships with Hunter yet, she wasn't sure that he would understand them. Every year was a struggle for them, not because her parents didn't try but because there were four of them, and their parents had to stretch their money. Giving him a small smile Leah spoke, "Let's get the tree put up, but first we have to decide on a good place for it."

"I can just see us burning down the house." Hunter explained, taking a step closer. "We used to have a real tree when I was growing up because my dad said it was easy to throw the damn thing away instead of keeping it somewhere in the house." He explained. "Cocoa sounds great." He took the mug from her, his mind already in overdrive on what needed to be done around the house. His mother had always did all the decorating when he was growing up or she hired someone to do it. He never helped with any of it so he didn’t know what usually was put up. He was also a little nervous to have his family here mixed with Leah’s family because his dad could be a little too critical and he just wanted to impress his mother with everything. He walked back into the living room, looking around. He took a sip of his cocoa before setting it down on a coaster on the end table. "So, where should we start? I’ve never really done this part of Christmas."

Leah laughed a bit as she spoke, "I can too, since I have no idea how to deal with a real tree. The rest, I can handle. I can cook, and I can decorate just fine." She smiled a bit as she looked over to him and smiled, "I would love to have a real one, someday." She handed him the mug of cocoa and then she smiled a bit more, but she realized that he was off in la la land. She shook her head and followed him. She left her mug in the living room and then she ran a hand over his upper arms, as she stood behind him and spoke, "That is the great part, except for the cooking we can really start anywhere we want." She kissed the top of his shoulder and smiled as she continued, "Though, where we are putting the tree might be the best place to start." She came around in front of him and smiled up to him as she spoke, "Are you okay?"

It was their first Christmas together as a couple and the first Christmas in their apartment. It was kind of nice to be able to go and shop for their own Christmas decorations and all of that as a couple. It was like they were creating their own memories. This had never been a big thing in his house growing up. They did the minimal decorations so it’d be nice to do things big and bold and especially do them with Leah. It would probably be more fun to do things with a real tree but for the sake of their apartment and safety, Hunter opted to buy a fake tree and hoped that Leah would be okay with that. Hunter opened the door to the apartment, hauling the box with the tree inside. He had left Leah here earlier with all the other bags of decorations and ornaments. He hauled the box in the living room, dropping it onto the ground. He pulled his jacket off, tossing it over a chair. “Leah?” He called out not seeing her in the living room. He heard a noise from the kitchen so he headed there, seeing her. “I hope it’s okay that the tree is fake. I just got worried about safety concerns.” 

Leah was in the kitchen boiling water to make them some hot cocoa. The Ohio winter was getting the best of them, and the snow was high, and she was freezing even in the house. Then again, being in her cheer shorts and a shirt of Hunter's with nothing on her feet probably didn't help much. She was just getting the hot cocoa into the cups to mix, it was a homemade recipe form her grandmother that her mother had taught her. Leah heard her name and called, "In here." She then saw him rounding the corner and she turned a bit and laughed, "That is probably best."

"Well then I guess this will make your roommate happy then." Hunter smiled as they began to walk. Something about the idea of her moving  in with him added a sense of excitement in him. He didn’t mind changes in life and this seemed like a pretty dang big change but he was looking forward to it. He was looking forward to spending time with her and waking up next to her and sleeping with her (and not just sexually) but holding her as the slept and all the domestic that came with living with someone you loved. Oh god, did he just thinking to himself that he loved her? He heard her last words, letting out a low whistle followed by a chuckle. "Sex whenever we want? I think I am going to like this arrangement."

"She shall be," Leah said with a small laugh as she looked to him. She then ran her thumb over the back of his hand. Looking up to him she gave a smile and then she continued to move. The fall leaves were changing, and that seemed to have made an even lovelier day. Looking through the leaves Leah wondered where they were going. She made the assumption that this made them dating without ever calling the words official, and Leah was fine and dandy with such. She did know that eventually would have to tell him about her...curiosities. Her feelings for him were over whelming even those needs, as of late. Leah heard his whistle and laughed as it shook her from her thoughts. She then grinned in response, "I thought that you might."

Hunter smiled as their lips connected. He loved kissing her. He honestly just loved being near her and holding her hand or just by her. He nodded at her suggestion, chuckling softly. “Which is definitely not my place seeing as I only have a one room.” He explained, shrugging. He didn’t mind moving if it came down to it. “And anyway, a new apartment would mean it was ours and not just mine.” 

Something about his lips let her get lost in then, and she still wasn't sure how he was so addicting. She smiled a bit as she heard him chuckle her face fell for a moment though. She looked to him seeing what was so funny and then she shook her head as she spoke, "Well, we can't move into mine, I have a roommate. She seems keen on the idea of me leaving her though." Looking up to him Leah smiled as she began to move through the park with him. She smiled a bit more as she spoke, "I like the idea of something being ours." She felt her smile grow more as she continued, "Plus, we can have sex anytime we want without bothering anyone such as a roommate or whatever...." Winking Leah kept walking.