A/N: Quick apology, I had apparently set the timer wrong for this story. It was supposed to come out on the 25th but mistakes happen a lot of this author it seems. I do hope you'll still enjoy it.
This will be either a 2-3 part special. If you don't wish to read it, you don't have to. It's just done for some light-hearted fun before the real story gets more intense.
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It was the time of year when thick layers of snow covered the streets of New Jersey. The wind chill was cold and bitter at night and not much better during the day. People brought out their thickest winter jackets, boots, and hats to combat the bitter cold as they made their way to and from work, shopping, and other activities that according during the holiday season.
For those who had to work in day-to-day jobs without many benefits, the one goal was to survive until Christmas came along and then to enjoy the hell out of the one day they got off until the following week when the New Year came along. Spending the day with their partners, family, friends, children. Whoever they had in their inner circles. Staying at home or going out for fancy dinners and hitting clubs or parties to waste the day away before regretting it the next day when they had to drag their tried, battered bodies out of bed to clock back into work and count down the days until they could do it all over again when they would be getting ready to greet the new year.
The one benefit that Samuel had learned about being in the mafia was that he nor Lena nor anyone else in the Red Scorpion or Vedova Nera family for that matter had to worry about.
If they didn't want to work around the holidays- they didn't have to. They could do whatever they pleased and make all the plans their hearts desired without worrying about an unexpected wrench being thrown into matters that would ruin their plans.
Well, there was one unexpected wrench that Samuel hadn't been expecting, and that came in the form of his little red-headed fiancé who didn't seem to have much of an interest in the holidays.
"What's the point in such?" She had asked the week before Christmas when Samuel had asked her about what she would like a gift or what kind of traditions her family did to celebrate.
As it would turn out, unlike his family, hers didn't really do much except for indulging in the traditional foods that were served around the holiday season. Lena especially appreciated the various sweet treats that Ryan would whip up for them. He limited her of course to not eating as much as she pleased much to her disappointment. Christmas only came once a year, why couldn't she even do as she pleased on that one day and consume all the sweets she wanted without being told no?
"The point is to make it a fun time and create memories." Samuel told her with a small frown as she raised an eyebrow at him from where she was lounging on the sofa in the sunroom.
He went on to tell her all the things that he and his family had done every year and why they were important to him. From the Christmas tree to the gifts, singing Christmas carols, shopping, cooking together among other things.
"Nothing like that has happened here for years." The princess told him before going back to the book that she was reading.
Thinking back on it, some of that stopped after what happened with her mother. Her aunt tried to keep it up but balancing two sets of kids in a mafia setting wasn't all that easy to do.
"Why don't we try it this year? There's a few days before Christmas and I think that it would be a lot of fun if it's the two of us." Samuel encouraged. The princess put down the book that she was reading to give the other her full attention.
"What exactly do you think that we should do? A few days isn't a lot of time to plan things." She pointed out to the other. The kind of power her family had didn't extend to forcing normal civilians into shifting things around to accommodate them. That was called bribing. Bribing wasn't something that should extend to personal pleasures and trivial fun that Samuel was talking about.
He gave her one of his sly smiles that told her he already had something up his sleeve.
"Well, not everything requires a lot of time to plan. There's actually quite a bit we can do without having to make requests or book things in advance." He told her.
Coming over to sit by her, he showed her his phone. He had already had some ideas of the things that he wanted to do and even had made a list of them.
How long ago in advance had he done this and did he really think that Lena was going to be so willing to agree to him that he could get away with it? Perhaps she was becoming too shift and accommodating to the things that her fiancé wanted from her.
"I thought that it took more than two people to do Christmas carols?" She asked picking one of the things on the list that seemed like it would be an activity for more than just them to do.
"It is. I think though that there are a few people we could ask to join us though. Might take a day to get them together and to decide the songs that we would want to sing. So is this and that." he said as he pointed to two other activities.
The only things that Lena really was familiar with were gingerbread house making and two drinking games. Would you rather and a Christmas alphabet game. She remembered that one the most because her brother had been forced to play it one year with some of the younger mafia members such as Jeff.
"I'll make you a deal. If you can gather enough people within our families to do these things, I will consider agreeing. It has to be by tomorrow otherwise you're staying inside where it's perfectly comfortable with me and we'll do something else." Lena told the other.
She wasn't too concerned about agreeing to this however. She didn't think that it would be possible for the other with his limited authority to gather the numbers they would need to engage in these types of Christmas festivities.
Samuel was bound and determined though to prove her wrong. He knew that her idea of doing something else would include either movies or board games. Neither of which he had a problem with. If it had been any other time of the year, he would have agreed.
Because it was Christmas and their first year together, he wanted to do something special to commemorate the occasion and if that meant he had to pull some strings and call in favors to make that happen- he would do it.
Determined not to waste any time, he gave the princess an unexpectedly deep kiss on the lips before promising her she wouldn't regret agreeing to his plan before heading off to do what he needed to make it a reality.
