[Matthew] December is a LONELY month

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width, 500px][atrb=style,border-top: 10px solid #0112ae;background-color: #111111;][STYLE=font-size: 50px;font-family: times new roman; color: #eaeaea;text-align: center;letter-spacing: -5px;]{   december is a lonely month[/style][STYLE=background-image:url(http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn8/ShannonWeasley/AKicon15.png);-webkit-border-radius: 100px;-moz-border-radius: 100px;border-radius: 100px;height: 100px; width: 100px;float: right;margin: -20px 35px 0px 20px;] [/style][STYLE=float: left; margin: -80px 140px 0px 95px; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 9px; color: #707070;text-align: justify;text-transform: lowercase;line-height: 8px;]I can't live in a world that You have left behind Seen a lot, been through too much But this is where I draw the line It's not where you're coming from It's where you're going to And I just wanna go with you December is a lonely month In a year of lonely days It's hard to tell which way is up Or down or out Or through the haze People cheat and people lie While you just watch it all go by Counting days until you die The stars shine in the sky tonight Like a path beyond the grave When you wish upon that star There's two of us You need to save It's not where you're coming from It's where you're going to And I just wanna go with you[/style] [STYLE=margin: 70px 30px 30px 30px; text-align: justify; color: #c4c4c4;font-size: 10px;]There was something about the Holiday Season that made Alaska cringe. She always dreaded turning on her kitchen radio and having to sift through the stations until she finally found something that wasn’t Christmas music or taking a late night stroll through Anchorage only to be blinded by towering Christmas trees and infinite strands of blinking lights; not to mention people preaching good will to men and find that perfect holiday gift today in her ears nonstop. She hated it. There were far more important things to worry about at the end of December: like how much snow was on the roof, how much firewood was left, how close the bears were to finding the food supply. Christmas was the least of her concerns. All it did was leave a terrible taste in her mouth of the long ago years of Russian rule. Oh how Ivan used to force the whole idea of Christmas down her throat. Truth be told, that was the main reason Alaska hated the holiday. Years later, now part of an entirely different nation, Alaska had grown a large displeasure for divinity altogether. Her ancient years of animism had long since been crushed when she came into Ivan’s control—no he was not going to allow any of that heathenism from any of his territories. There was a large, gaping hole in Alaska’s heart where the pride of her culture used to reside—as was the case for the rest of the Native states. However, after taking on the full responsibility of keeping Matthew happy, Alaska found herself in the boy’s company on the holiday, as well as many others. Honestly, she didn’t mind it; she was just spending time with Matthew was all. They did exchange gifts, usually thoughtful little trinkets that one would make for the other, but that was about it aside from letting the other go lonely. It was those same previously mentioned feelings of disgust Shtiya had as she marched herself through Anchorage and to the train station. The trains were unpleasantly crowded with people trying to reach their own destinations for Christmas Eve. With a dark glower, she made her way to the back of the train, clinging to the large white box in her hands for dear life. If anyone came so much as a few inches away from the present, she would’ve snapped on them. Alaska had started the projected back in September when she was hunting for deer and ended up making a rather large blanket out of a few of the skins. She had no need for a new one so she thought, ‘why not give it to Matthew?’ So, up until two weeks before hand, Alaska worked tirelessly to work the pelts together and line them with the underbelly fur. It had practically been her magnum opus aside from the rather intricate parka she wore when she left the house. Her boots trudged through the thick mid-day snow that was piling on the sidewalks, but that was no match to what she had walked through leaving her house and what she had yet to walk through getting to his. It was quite the transportation nightmare for someone who wasn’t used to visiting people nestled out in the tundra. But, she still arrived at the same time she had estimated. It was a perfected art form, really, and Alaska had been practicing it for years. A smile crossed the woman’s lips as she slowly made her way up to the secluded property. She shook some snow off her parka, looking over the house a few yards away. Dare she say she almost felt a pang of excitement on Christmas Eve? She never would’ve admitted it to anyone, but it was true. With quiet steps, Shtiya made her way up to the porch of the house, holding tightly to the snow-covered box in her arms as she eagerly knocked on the door. [/style]

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[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,10,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=style,width: 415px; background-color: #E42217; border-left: inset 3px #FFFFFF; border-bottom: inset 3px #FFFFFF; border-right: inset 3px #FFFFFF; -moz-border-radius: 200px 200px 0px 0px; -webkit-border-radius: 200px 200px 0px 0px; border-radius: 200px 200px 0px 0px; true] Sunshine coming through the rain This happiness is mixed with pain Mattie had no real issue with the holidays, but he had to say that the number of people that were out and didn’t notice him became bothersome. He was always getting walked into while trying to acquire gifts, and then ended up apologizing for being walked into. No, it didn’t make sense, but he was Canada and it really was just kind of a reflex. Half the time they probably didn’t even hear him anyway, or if they did he got yelled at for it and apologized more. Maybe he should just stick to online shopping or something, it was definitely far safer for him, and he wouldn’t have to apologize as much. At least, he would think not at any rate. The one gift he didn’t have to deal with that nonsense too much for was Alaska’s, they made one another things because neither of them was really easy to shop for. It was easier to make something for them because honestly they both appreciated it more. Thus, he had sewed a stuffed moose for her. It was very soft and fluffy, and he was rather proud of it actually. He did hope she actually liked it, and it seemed like something she might want possibly. He wasn’t sure though being that she was not an easy person to figure out gifts for in the slightest. The girl didn’t really like material things, so that left a lot of options out for what to get her. Thus, a stuffed moose seemed to be the most logical thing to make, because he wasn’t sure she actually needed anything that she couldn’t just make herself easily enough. This was something she probably wouldn’t make for herself, and thus it seemed like a perfect choice. He put it in a box and wrapped it with silver snowflake paper with a blue ribbon on top. He knew she wasn’t a huge fan of Christmas, from experience of course, and so he went with wrapping that could just represent the winter rather than paper covered in Santas. Though she might like ripping that more, but it was hard to say. He’d set the gift under the tree and told Kuma to leave it alone. He didn’t want the polar bear chewing on the box or something. Whether that was an actual possibility or not was hard to say, but one never knew with the strange polar bear companion. Once the gift was wrapped he set about making dessert for later. He was not the most amazing baker in the world, but he could follow a recipe at least enough to make it alright. It was something he had learned from spending a bit of time with England’s capital. The girl was a good baker, and he did enjoy the sweets she would give him and Alfred under the condition they don’t tell Arthur. Thus he ended up with a cherry pie, but was slightly coated in flour, thus he was going to take a shower before his company for the evening arrived. He should have some time left; he noted looking at the clock and decided he could probably just take a quick one. Thus he hopped in the shower, and washed the flour and other baking ingredients off of him. Ten or so minutes later he got out and dried himself off. Now what the hell was he going to wear? He really supposed that it probably didn’t matter what he wore exactly, but he didn’t want to end up cold if they decided to actually go outside or something. Thus he stuck with a pair of jeans a t-shirt and a zip up Canadian flag hoodie. He pulled on some simple white socks and then heard a knock on the door. He made his way down the stairs and to the door. He was fairly certain he wouldn’t exactly have to ask who it was, being that he was fairly certain nobody else would know where his house was. Matt was also fairly certain that wild critters didn’t tend to knock on doors, and so he felt perfectly safe opening it and finding an Alaska in front of where the door had just been. He smiled at her and stepped aside. ”Come on in.” he said with a smile. Looking over at the small Christmas tree in the corner, he spotted Kuma laying under it next to the gift he had been told to leave alone. ”How was the trip?” he asked her simply. He noted the box slightly covered in snow, and vaguely assumed that was for their gift exchange. ”Do we want to exchange gifts now or after we eat pancakes and pie?” he asked her simply. Figured that he would let her pick being that she was the guest in his house and not the other way around. It was usually polite to let the guest pick what they did. 821 / Monk/AK / let the cute begin? [/style][style=display: none;]made by ashkir at rpg-directory.com

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width, 500px][atrb=style,border-top: 10px solid #0112ae;background-color: #111111;][STYLE=font-size: 50px;font-family: times new roman; color: #eaeaea;text-align: center;letter-spacing: -5px;]{   december is a lonely month[/style][STYLE=background-image:url(http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn8/ShannonWeasley/AKicon15.png);-webkit-border-radius: 100px;-moz-border-radius: 100px;border-radius: 100px;height: 100px; width: 100px;float: right;margin: -20px 35px 0px 20px;] [/style][STYLE=float: left; margin: -80px 140px 0px 95px; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 9px; color: #707070;text-align: justify;text-transform: lowercase;line-height: 8px;]I can't live in a world that You have left behind Seen a lot, been through too much But this is where I draw the line It's not where you're coming from It's where you're going to And I just wanna go with you December is a lonely month In a year of lonely days It's hard to tell which way is up Or down or out Or through the haze People cheat and people lie While you just watch it all go by Counting days until you die The stars shine in the sky tonight Like a path beyond the grave When you wish upon that star There's two of us You need to save It's not where you're coming from It's where you're going to And I just wanna go with you[/style] [STYLE=margin: 70px 30px 30px 30px; text-align: justify; color: #c4c4c4;font-size: 10px;]Alaska waited patiently at his doorstep, occupying herself by tightening her grip on the box that contained his present. By this point, with all the handling it had been through, the box was far less than decent looking. But, Alaska couldn’t care less about the box—after all, she hadn’t even cared to wrap it. When Matthew finally opened the door, Alaska greeted him with a bright smile that was usually reserved for his company anyway. Graciously, she stepped in through the door and out of the cold. She glanced about his house, it being the one she was most acquainted with, and her smile grew a bit. It was much roomier than her own humble abode. Of course, when she built her own it had originally only been accommodated for about one bedroom, a spare room and a kitchen attached to a small living room. It wasn’t until a few years later when Alaska actually added on the guest bedroom and even her own bathroom. So, of course, Matthew’s house was a bit nicer and she couldn’t help but admire it. “Awful as always,” she chuckled, exaggerating a little with a bit of a grin. “Though, getting through Anchorage was a nightmare with all the Christmas traffic.” After walking so far into his house, she stopped and turned towards him, showing that she was thinking over the subject. “Hmm, why don’t we wait till later? It’ll build up the anticipation.” She grinned once more, drumming her fingers on the now worn box in her hands. “I’ve worked especially hard on this year’s creation.” Still wearing an unusually bright smile, Alaska made her way over to the decorated tree on the other side of the room and set Matthew’s present down beside the one she presumed to be her own. She glanced down at the small bear with an amused grin, deciding not to disturb it, before standing up and turning back to face Matthew. Finally, feeling how warm it was inside, she decided to take off her parka before she passed out from heat exhaustion. Folding the large bundle of fur over her arms, Alaska began making her way back to where he stood. “So,” she started, flashing a grin once more, “when’s dinner?” It felt incredibly foreign for Alaska to be smiling so brightly for such a long period of time, especially on Christmas Eve, but she decided not to dwell on the idea any longer. If she was smiling, she was smiling. After all, it wasn’t that uncommon for Matthew to see her smile. She stood beside him back at the doorway, continuing to look around as she waited for a response. Alaska hadn’t really been paying attention to much as she waited to hear his answer until something on the ceiling directly above them adverted her gaze immediately. She narrowed her eyes, trying to determine what exactly it was. She had deduced that it was nonetheless a plant hanging from his ceiling but now, other than knowing that, her own confusion seemed the only thing certain. “Hey Matt,” she started once more, blinking a few times before tilting her head back to look at it closer. “What’s that you’ve got hanging from your ceiling?” [/style]

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[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,10,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=style,width: 415px; background-color: #E42217; border-left: inset 3px #FFFFFF; border-bottom: inset 3px #FFFFFF; border-right: inset 3px #FFFFFF; -moz-border-radius: 200px 200px 0px 0px; -webkit-border-radius: 200px 200px 0px 0px; border-radius: 200px 200px 0px 0px; true] Sunshine coming through the rain This happiness is mixed with pain Mattie had opened the door and let her in. He could see the box in her arms was being slightly smashed, and guessed that there wasn’t anything fragile inside of it. Then again, she probably wouldn’t have given him something all that breakable anyway. The gift for him wasn’t wrapped, but that was perfectly okay with him. He let her in past him and shut the door. It was cold outside, and he didn’t want to let that in with her, so thus he shut the door and turned to watch her walk about a bit. He had asked her a few questions, and was now waiting for the answers. Apparently the trip was awful, and he really wasn’t surprised with today being Christmas Eve after all, but she seemed to be exaggerating a bit with the word awful. ”I’m not surprised; I imagine it’s been like that all this week.” he commented on her saying that Anchorage was a nightmare. He couldn’t imagine trying to get through any of the major cities right now to be honest. Matt had asked her when she wanted to open presents, and it seemed she wanted to wait, also that she had worked especially hard this year. ”I’m curious now.” he said looking at the box definitely curious as to what it had inside of it. That was the thing about boxes, they made it hard to guess unless you shook them, and even then you might not be able to guess. The polar bear under the tree looked up at Shtiya when she put the box down before curling up between the two boxes and going to sleep. He would be lying between them until the boxes moved, or until dinner was served. Kuma definitely wanted food, per usual, and thus he’d just wait there until then. Matt watched as she set the gift down by the polar bear and he gave the bear a look that said to leave them be. It was hard to say whether he would try and chew on the boxes or not. Maybe only if Matthew didn’t feed him in a reasonable amount of time or something. Anyway, she had opted to eat later, so maybe he should start on food or something? Well, he did suppose that depended on if she was hungry now or not too. It would seem she was thinking along the same time, because she asked him when dinner was. ”Do we want to make it now then?” he asked her with a smile? His thought process was interrupted when he noticed her staring at the ceiling though. Maybe it was a bug of some sort, he wouldn’t be surprised if it was. Though, if it was just a bug wouldn’t she just not care and go back to the conversation? Then she seemed to gather his attention while she stared at his attention. ”Yes?” he said simply with a tilt of his head. Why he hadn’t just looked up to see what she was staring at as of yet even he wasn’t sure. Then she asked what he had hanging from his ceiling. ”What?...I don’t know probably a spid-...er.” he said looking up but trailing off a bit when he realized what actually was hanging from his ceiling. ”That would be mistletoe… A better question is where did it come from? I don’t own mistletoe, and likely wouldn’t put it up if I did.” he said probably more talking to himself than anything. That would be when the realization of two different things hit him. One being, that it was probably Alfred that broke into his house and put it up for amusement. The second thing he realized was that he was standing underneath mistletoe with Alaska. Oh my, that was awkward, but her confusion made him wonder if she even knew what that meant. ”I’d be willing to bet Alfred had something to do with this. Anyway well…it symbolizes a Christmas tradition of when a guy and a girl meet under it…they have to kiss.” he said definitely feeling rather awkward explaining, and now he was blushing because he knew he now had to kiss her. He just kind of hoped he wasn’t about to get slapped for it. Not exactly his fault unless she decided that his surprise wasn’t genuine enough or something. Ah well, he might as well just get it over with and then they could move and maybe it wouldn’t make the rest of their night super awkward. Thus he leaned over and kissed her. 760 / Monk/AK /Awkward feels~ [/style][style=display: none;]made by ashkir at rpg-directory.com

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width, 500px][atrb=style,border-top: 10px solid #0112ae;background-color: #111111;][STYLE=font-size: 50px;font-family: times new roman; color: #eaeaea;text-align: center;letter-spacing: -5px;]{   december is a lonely month[/style][STYLE=background-image:url(http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn8/ShannonWeasley/AKicon15.png);-webkit-border-radius: 100px;-moz-border-radius: 100px;border-radius: 100px;height: 100px; width: 100px;float: right;margin: -20px 35px 0px 20px;] [/style][STYLE=float: left; margin: -80px 140px 0px 95px; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 9px; color: #707070;text-align: justify;text-transform: lowercase;line-height: 8px;]I can't live in a world that You have left behind Seen a lot, been through too much But this is where I draw the line It's not where you're coming from It's where you're going to And I just wanna go with you December is a lonely month In a year of lonely days It's hard to tell which way is up Or down or out Or through the haze People cheat and people lie While you just watch it all go by Counting days until you die The stars shine in the sky tonight Like a path beyond the grave When you wish upon that star There's two of us You need to save It's not where you're coming from It's where you're going to And I just wanna go with you[/style] [STYLE=margin: 70px 30px 30px 30px; text-align: justify; color: #c4c4c4;font-size: 10px;]She grinned proudly, glancing over at the box under the tree, and could only hope that his curious expectations could be met after he opened her gift. Needless to say, she was eagerly as curious to see what he had made her this year. Alaska always thought it to be a nice gesture, the two of them exchanging gifts. Of course, she didn’t take as much away from it as other people did at Christmas time, but it was still a thoughtful process that she somewhat looked forward to each year. Throwing her parka down over the back of his couch, Alaska clapped her hands together in mild excitement. “Now sounds good if you’re fine with that.” At the same time, they were both caught off track by trying to figure out just what the hell sort of plants Matthew had hanging from his ceiling. Alaska could say that she almost recognized the plant, having seen it in trees before, but could simply not pinpoint why anyone would hang it from their ceiling. Then again, she made no effort to understand any sort of Christmas traditions. She listened to him, looking at the plant as he identified it. She blinked, trying to process how the mistletoe might have got there as Matthew continued, finally explaining what the purpose of it was. She would’ve been lying if she would’ve said that she wasn’t caught off guard when he explained it to her. She quickly recovered, looking over at him with a nervous chuckle. “Heh that’s silly… I’ll never understand Christmas tradition—” She had been so preoccupied with trying to change the subject, she hadn’t even realized that it was far too late anyways. Alaska was rendered completely frozen and unresponsive as he kissed her. Had it been anyone else, they would’ve been immediately slapped, or worse—right hooked. Alaska didn’t take kindly to being manhandled in any sort of way and she would not hesitate to enforce her own personal boundaries on someone with her fist. Not only could she have never in a million years done that to Matthew, she was too dazed to even react in the slightest. She couldn’t kiss him back or pull away; she could only stand there wide-eyed and paralyzed. The only think she could do was address the conflicted feelings bubbling up deep in her stomach. Those feelings told her that this was not a bad thing and that she should just revel in the moment because it might never happen again. But she still couldn’t find the strength to react in any sort of noticeable way. She shut her eyes tightly, trying to keep herself from thinking any more about what was happening. She was just going to stand there and let whatever happened happen and therefore, with her not reacting in any way, she couldn’t mess anything up. [/style]

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[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,10,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=style,width: 415px; background-color: #E42217; border-left: inset 3px #FFFFFF; border-bottom: inset 3px #FFFFFF; border-right: inset 3px #FFFFFF; -moz-border-radius: 200px 200px 0px 0px; -webkit-border-radius: 200px 200px 0px 0px; border-radius: 200px 200px 0px 0px; true] Sunshine coming through the rain This happiness is mixed with pain Matt watched as she grinned over at the box under the tree that sat next to the box for her and a small polar bear. At least he could somewhat make her have fun at Christmas. He knew she hadn’t always had such a good time with it in the past, and he did like helping people cheer up a bit, so it worked out for both of them. She threw her coat over his couch, and he figured it was fine there. Sure she could have hung it up in the closet or something, but he wasn’t exactly picky about it. It was just something that was left as an option, and seeing as it was only her over, it didn’t matter if her coat was on the couch. There would still be plenty of room for them to sit without being on top of one another or something, so thus everything was fine and dandy. Anyway, she answered his question about when to have dinner and he smiled. ”Sure, now is definitely fine with me.” he said with a grin. Now they would just have to go make dinner and then maybe could open gifts. He really was curious about it, and wondered what she had crafted together this year. That curiosity was soon distracted by another such thing which was hanging from his ceiling for some reason. He really did wonder how it had gotten there. Well, really he could imagine that Alfred had concocted some sort of idea that he needed a date and the only way to do that was to get caught repeatedly under mistletoe or something with different people. He wasn’t sure that was really the plan, but it was the best impression of his brother he could come up with. Just because Matt didn’t have a million love interests didn’t mean he needed them. Sure he liked the attention very few paid him at times, but he wasn’t sure if he really was looking for a relationship, and he wasn’t really much for the one night stands. If he was absolutely plastered that was another story, but usually he wasn’t really one to go for such things. Or maybe he just figured he had some sort of standard and that sex shouldn’t be traded for any real reason. Either way, that wasn’t important right now because he found himself under the mistletoe with Alaska. He idly wondered if Alfred wouldn’t have gone through with the trouble if he knew it would be a state that hated him under said plant with his brother. It was interesting to think about, and he’d have to ask him about it later. Right now he had other things to worry about of course, and he may have accidentally cut off her speaking when he leaned over and kissed her. Now, he was well aware that she really didn’t understand Christmas tradition most of the time, and probably would have been fine with ignoring it. He wasn’t positive of that though, and besides what was the harm in one little kiss? Really there could probably be quite a bit of harm in one kiss, but it wasn’t important at the moment. Just something they had to do to appease a plant, and then they could move on like nothing happened. Or, maybe it would just be awkward for the rest of the night. Either way, there wasn’t much he could do about it now. He pulled back still blushing before debating on whether to continue standing there or scuttling off to the kitchen. Matt gave an awkward smile at her and rocked back and forth on his heels. ”So….dinner?” he asked simply with a continued awkward smile in his question. Dinner seemed like a good option now, and really a kiss shouldn’t have been that awkward. Maybe it had something to do with her reaction, or lack of one that made him feel just generally awkward about it. It was just a kiss, not like he was doing anything else, or trying to for that matter. Besides, if it was just a kiss, then everything should be fine and they could still be friends without things getting too weird over it. 704 / Monk/AK /All the awkward llamas~ [/style][style=display: none;]made by ashkir at rpg-directory.com