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quill-pen · 1 year

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A Christmas Confession pt. 2 (Married!ScroogeXReader)

Yeah, y'all are gonna have to let me know how you feel about the song in this one. I've debated on whether to stick some musical numbers in the fic to kind of keep up the atmosphere from the movie that this is a world where people will just randomly break out in song and it's just a normal Tuesday, but I don't know. Musical numbers are really not meant to be in writing like that. Songs, sure--Tolkien comes to mind--but not musical numbers. It's just so hard to make them flow well. Ugh. I don't know. Let me know what you think.

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Pairing: Ebenezer Scrooge x F!Reader

Warnings: ANGST--oh, we got ANGST--the ANGSTIEST of ANGST. AND pining--more pining. AND SO. MUCH. CRYING. Seriously, this bitch is dehydrated after this. What else we got? Love confessions, forceful kisses, kisseskisseskisses (seriously, how are these people breathing?) some innuendo, face-smushing and nuzzling, some self-deprecation, Ebenezer being an absolute sweetheart of a husband, RO-FREAKING-MANCE, Prudence being called a "dumb mutt" (it's said lovingly, and with context, it's valid), AAAAAANNNNNNDDDDDD... a song and dance number (seriously, this one is a warning--I am not a dancer nor am I convinced song and dance numbers should be in writing like this)

Summary: With children put away, the adults will play! Or at least some adults will. Other adults--mainly Ebenezer and you--still discover just how much you mean to each other.

A/N: As promised--PRUDENCE!!!

Part 1

When you and Ebenezer had finally made sure all the children were tucked snug in bed and had come back to the sitting room, the Cratchits and Huffmans were in the middle of a rousing game of Snap! and hardly seemed to notice your return. Even old Prudence was trying to get in on the game, squeezing in between Harry and Hela as she watched on, panting heavily and wagging her tail with her tongue lolling in a giant Mastiff grin.

“I thought we’d just put the children to bed,” you remarked to Ebenezer with a wry smirk. Really, the adults were being almost as loud and rowdy with the game as the children had been throughout the night! Everyone was certainly in excitable spirits this evening!

The man chuckled and shrugged. “I suppose when the cat’s away,” he said, arms crossed over his chest as he reclined against the wall. His slate-blue eyes focused on the game, and he seemed to be enjoying it quietly from afar just as much as he would have if he actually participated in it. He did so seem to enjoy just taking in things at this time of the year, just reveling in the sights and sounds and sensations of it all, as if he were experiencing them all for only the first time. You supposed, in a way, he was, considering everything he’d told you about his past up until the last couple of years. How he’d changed from a miserable, cantankerous, stingy, covetous old miser into the cheerful, charming, kind, generous, all-around lovely, and wonderful man you knew now, you still didn’t understand. When you’d pressed him for details on it, he’d simply told you it was all too fantastical to believe--that he still didn’t believe it himself sometimes. Oh, well, it didn’t really matter the reason (although you did have a burning curiosity as to why he credited your late father for being the catalyst of it all). Whatever it was you were just happy it had happened because you quite liked this Ebenezer. Your Ebenezer.

My Ebenezer… the thought lingered in your mind in a heady way. He wasn’t yours--not truly. If he was really yours you would be sleeping in the same bed instead of separate rooms; sharing kisses and secret whispers and other things that married couples shared. If he was really yours there would have been something more than a signed sheet of paper and a ring that bound the two of you together, something primal and absolute in nature--God-given. But there wasn’t, as much as you craved for there to be. Even so, you couldn’t help but think of him as yours anyway, because it hurt too much to live in the reality of your situation all the time; the fantasy of thinking him yours helped keep the edge off.

Speaking of fantasies, you were half in the middle of one now, staring at him. It was the first chance you’d had all evening to truly get a good look at the man what with all the running about after children and making your Christmas hostess debut. Salt-and-pepper hair brushed, slicked, and sculpted back, Ebenezer was dressed in his finest attire: a matching deep blue tailcoat and cravat over a brilliant green, swirling jacquard waistcoat, and pristine white starch-collared shirt; crisply ironed dark green trousers; and black shoes polished to an absolute sheen. All of it tailored to him perfectly (Particularly the trousers, you thought). He looked sharp and clean and festive and--as far as you were concerned--like the most handsome man in all of England: a Yuletide Adonis. But as fine as he looked in all his holiday attire, you found your mind wandering. And wondering. Wondering… just what Ebenezer might look like… without that coat… that waistcoat… that cravat… that shirt… and those trousers. With his perfect coiffure, all teased up and flyaway. On second thought, maybe it would be nice to leave the cravat--might make for good leverage. You could have chastised yourself: Such sinful, unladylike places for a woman’s mind to go! Oh, you were starting to feel warm….

“I win!”

You snapped out of your desirous thoughts with a start, gaze flying away from Ebenezer (who seemed to have not caught you staring, thank Heaven) to your guests. Harry was currently bouncing up and down, laughing and swinging his arms in the air in triumph. As if she had been teamed with him, Prudence was jumping around with him, her deep bark resounding enthusiastically around the room.

Laughing heartily, Ebenezer finally made his way into the room and over to his nephew. “I say, good show, everyone!” he exclaimed, clapping the younger man on the back. “What shall we play next? The night is very young!”

“Oh, might we play blind man’s bluff?” Hela piped up excitedly. “It’s my favorite!”

“All right, why not?” Ebenezer said. “But I feel I must warn you, I am very good at Blind Man’s Bluff.”

“And I call that a bluff,” Ethel snickered good-naturedly.

Ebenezer gave her a comically pained expression, clutching dramatically at his chest. “Woman, you wound me!” That started the whole group to guffaw.

“All right,” you called out. “Blind man’s bluff it is. But we need to make a bit more room in here; I don’t want to be calling the ambulance on Christmas Eve because somebody split their head open tripping over a footstool.” With hands on your hips, you pointed a look at beloved but altogether clumsy Harry.

“What?” Harry asked innocently.

“Right then,” Ethel said. “We’ll let the gentlemen move the furniture. Ladies, why don’t we help ourselves to some refreshments while we’ve the time? I don’t know about you young maids, but I’m goin’ to need a little somethin’ to boost my energy afore we go scamperin’ about.”

“I am rather peckish,” Hela agreed.

You, Ethel, and Hela all made your way out of the sitting room to be out of the men’s way as they worked and went into the dining room where the snack foods and drink still graced the table, and would grace it for the rest of the night. A little Christmas Eve buffet. You remember how the cook had looked at you when you’d told her that’s what you wanted like you were insane. (“It’s just not how things are done in England, Ma’am.”) But in the end, it looked like it was working out. Certainly, nobody seemed to be complaining.

You were just serving yourself up some wassail when Ethel sidled up to you. “And just where has your mind been tonight, bud?” she asked, her tone teasing.

You looked at her in genuine confusion. “I’m sorry?”

The older woman smirked knowingly, an eyebrow raised. “I saw you,” she said pointedly. “Standin’ there, gawkin’ and gappin’ like a lovestruck schoolgirl at Ebenezer all decked out in his togs tonight.” A sinful glimmer sparked in her blue eyes and her smile turned wicked. “But I’m willin’ to bet it wasn’t him in his togs you was daydreamin’ about was it?”

Your face immediately flushed a bright, crimson red, only made redder by the fact that Hela giggled. Oh, you were feeling hot again, but this time not in a good way. “You both saw me?” you squeaked out, positively mortified.

“Of course, we saw!” Hela laughed with a beaming grin.

“We women who’s been in love before always notice when another woman’s in love.”

“In love,” you repeated with a dry chuckle. “Is that was this is? Yes, of course, it is, when all I can think about, all I can see, all I can hear, smell, taste, breathe, feel and hope to want and have is that devilishly wonderful man.” You instinctively twisted your wedding ring and looked down at it. The golden band housed both yours and Ebenezer’s birthstones as well as the stone of the month you married; hidden inside the circle, nestled against your skin would be the beautifully scripted words ‘Come what may’--a reminder that, whatever happened in this marriage of convenience with regards to your future where your uncle and inheritance were concerned, you and Ebenezer would both be in it. Together. A friend supporting a friend.

The delicate little ring sat so perfectly on your ring finger, so simple yet so fine and elegant and beautiful in its simplicity--just like you liked it. Just like Ebenezer knew you liked it. You still couldn’t believe the man had gotten it so perfectly right without even consulting you. Yes, you’d been friends for a while by that point, and he’d known you quite well; but designing a wedding ring without the input of the woman it was intended for was always a gamble, even one so low maintenance as you. But somehow Ebenezer had just known. He always seemed to just know with you. About everything. Unfortunately, that only made your unreciprocated feelings for him all the deeper and more painful.

You felt tears prick at your eyes and you tried to blink them back. “I thought love was supposed to be wonderful,” you trembled, looking at both women in desperation. “So why am I hurting so much?”

You must have sounded even more pathetic than you thought, because the next thing you knew, Hela was sweeping you up into a big, tight hug and murmuring comforting things into your ear. You just clutched at her, looking for any sort of contact to empty the heartache into.

“I feel crazy,” you admitted after Hela let you go. “I mean it--I feel like an absolute mad woman. I’m married to the man, he’s a long way off from dead, I know there's no other woman, we are best of friends, he cares a great deal for me and takes care of me--even spoils me--adores my siblings like his own, we aren’t fighting--in fact, we’re quite happy in our lives together--and, in the end, our marriage will lead to my gaining my inheritance and finally being out from under my uncle’s thumb. But even with all that, I feel utterly miserable.”

“And why do you think that is?” Ethel prodded gently, a motherly hand on yours.

You shook your head, tears still stinging your eyes. “Because… I love him,” you answered softly. “I love him more than life itself. But he… he doesn’t feel the same way about me.”

Much to your shock, horror, and chagrin, the two women burst into uproarious laughter.

“Oh, my poor, poor child!” Ethel gasped, wiping her eyes. “I didn’t know you were blind!”

“What?” you asked incredulously. You didn’t much relish the concept of being laughed at.

“Can you really not see it, Y/N?” Hela asked. “Truly?”

“See what, pray?”

“Ebenezer!” Ethel cut back in, giving you that sly smile again. "He's positively besotted with you, lovey!"

You blinked at the Cratchit woman, trying to see if she was having you on. "Ha-ha–no. I think not."

"You think not?" Ethel said. "Why?" It was a challenge.

"Why do you think he is?" you challenged back.

"I have functioning senses, pet."

"Pardon me?"

“We've all seen the way he looks at you, Y/N,” Hela offered, wrapping a sisterly arm around your shoulders. "As if you're the only woman in existence."

“And the way he smiles at you or whenever your name comes up," Ethel continued, “like your the source of all joy itself!”

Hela went on: “No one could miss how he speaks to you.”

“In all the time since he changed, I’ve never heard him call anyone ‘Sweetness’ except for you,” Ethel declared. "Not even your Millie!"

“That’s simply because of our friendship,” you insisted.

“Is it?” Ethel pressed, ever bullheaded. “Only because of your friendship?”

You scowled a bit at the woman. “I don’t think I need to remind you that Ebenezer’s and my friendship runs a bit more deeply than most,” you firmly stated, “as well as a bit… unconventionally.”

“You don’t say!” Ethel gasped sarcastically.

“But it does not mean that we are in love with each other,” you continued on, scowl deepening. “Yes, while I’ve come to love Ebenezer because of it, it seems quite clear to me that he continues to see me as nothing more than a friend.”

“Oh, it seems quite clear to her,” Ethel pointed out, giving Hela a pointed look while jutting a thumb at you. The Indian woman tittered.

You rolled your eyes in complete exasperation. “That’s it,” you deadpanned, throwing back the last bit of your punch and walking away. “I’ve had enough of being laughed at for one evening.”

“Can’t help you much, if you wish to think yourself unloved, sweet,” Ethel called after you. “Just keep in mind what we said!”

You stormed out of the dining room and through the hall back towards the sitting room, slowing down when you heard the jolly singing of Christmas carols accompanied by Prudence’s howling. Creeping to the door of the sitting room, you quietly and carefully peeked inside. The men had moved the more trip-hazardous pieces of furniture while leaving the bigger pieces in place to serve as barriers for the game. Now, they were simply having a jolly old time singing, Harry dancing around with Prudence by the front paws. All their voices were raised high in song, but Ebenezer’s rose above them all, rich and full and beautiful and full of emotion as always. Again your heart contracted in love pains for the man who was your husband, yet not your husband. Why? Why did he have to be just so. Damn. Perfect?! Any sort of flaw would have helped to dull the hurt, but here he was, apparently completely without faults! Oh, why did this have to happen to you?!

Pulling back behind the door, you sidled away until you could press your back up against the wall. And there you stayed, listening to your husband-in-name-only and friends singing, your aching heart thudding in your chest to the point you felt your entire being vibrating from it. Again you began to twist the ring on your finger. Again you looked at it, this time pulling it off your finger to gaze closely at the script inside. Could ‘Come what may’, possibly mean something more than your and Ebenezer’s friendship? Could Ethel and Hela be right? Could Ebenezer be hiding feelings of love from you, just as you were hiding yours from him?

You wondered….

No. Ebenezer didn’t hide things from you. He was above that. And he had to know you felt something for him because, again, with you, he always knew. So if he felt something for you in turn, why would he not come out and say it instead of hiding it? What would be the point if he knew you felt the same? That could only mean he was trying to spare you from being hurt, by pretending as though he realized nothing about your feelings. By acting like a close friend would normally act. He was trying to make it easier for you–the rejection. In reality, he was just making it that much harder.

With a heavy sigh, you slipped your ring back on. The little weight it provided was both sad and comforting at the same time. You pushed off the wall and moved towards the windows, using them as a mirror as you checked yourself over. You tidied your hair, straightened your dress, and took deep, long breaths to try and calm yourself. It was Christmas Eve and tomorrow was Christmas. You had company--most of which were children–and tomorrow you would have more. You weren’t going to turn into a blubbering mess over things that couldn’t be helped--that wouldn’t be a good hostess.

“Ah-ha, Y/N!”

You turned from the window and smiled at Bob and Harry. “Ready?” you asked them.

“Yes!” Harry exclaimed. “All ready for the game!”

“I’ll go let Hela and Ethel know,” you said.

“No, we’ll go,” Bob said. “We want to get something to eat and drink before we start anyway. You go help Ebenezer with the blindfold--he’s to be the first blind man.” With that, the two of the hurried off down the hall.

Your stomach dropped out. You and Ebenezer alone? You helping him tie a blindfold on? Presumably, having to be fairly close to him in order to do so--particularly his face?! Oh, this was not a good situation for you right now--not good at all!

All at once, the cause of your dilemma came walking out of the sitting room, Prudence clicking loyally along at his heels. Ebenezer was scowling now, fiddling with this cravat, trying to work it loose. “Damn… bloody… tie,” he muttered.

You couldn’t help the smile that curled your lips or the little giggle that escaped you. The sight tickled you so; watching him do battle with his own necktie. And his expressive eyes and brows were almost comically grouchy.

Ebenezer then directed his scowl at you, but there was a definite playful twinkle in his eye. “And just what might you find so funny?” he demanded.

You smirked at him. “You,” you admitted. “You’ll strangle yourself if you’re not careful.”

“And you find that funny, do you?”

“No. But the way you’re wrestling that tie as if it owes you money, I do.”

“Well, perhaps instead of laughing at my predicament, you would be so kind as to find it within yourself to help me.” The man was smirking himself now.

You stopped laughing at that. Immediately you were right back to where you had been, realizing you were going to be close to Ebenezer--very close--and panicking over it. “Uh-Y-yes,” you stammered, swallowing hard. Your mouth felt so dry. “O-Of course.” Slowly you approached him, feeling as if you were in a daze. Did he notice? Oh, please God, don’t let him notice! Please don’t let him realize the state I’m in!

Ebenezer, now smiling pleasantly as ever, loomed before you. Like a tree. A great, attractive, charming spruce tree of a man. You came to a stop directly in front of him. He towered over you, the top of your head just reaching his chin. That beautiful, strong, sculpted chin….

Suddenly that chin was coming closer as he bowed down a bit for you to reach his cravat. "Is that better?" he asked.

"Yes, thank you," you murmured tonelessly. You reached up and took hold of the cravat and began working your fingers through the knot. You tried to focus solely on that. Not the fact that you were so close to Ebenezer you could feel his body heat. So close you swore you could hear his heartbeat. You tried to forget the fact of how close his face was to yours–just a bit above and angled towards you–his warm breath caressing your skin. You tried to ignore that you could feel his eyes on you, tried to ignore that you could smell a mixture of his cologne and his natural scent. Mother of God, what a heavenly smell! A man's smell! Ebenezer's smell. You fought against the urge to go weak in the knees. Good God, why am I so feeble?

"You look absolutely lovely."

You froze, his silky cravat nearly untied and threaded between your fingers. Eyes wide, you snapped your face up to his, heart leaping into your throat. E/c stared into slate blue.

Ebenezer looked just as surprised as you as if he hadn't intended to say that. But he had, and there was no backing out now. "I-I don't believe I told you that this evening," he went on, trying to explain the sudden statement. "And… well… y-you look lovely, Y/N. Very lovely indeed." He cleared his throat and tore his gaze from yours, lips pulling together in a thin line. His cheeks and ears were tinged the slightest shade of pink.

"Oh," you said, a bit dazedly. Your eyes fell back to the cravat. "Thank you." You finished your work and smoothly slipped the tie from his neck, the smooth, body-warmed material seeming to slither into your hand. You know, technically, you're undressing him, the concept slipped out of the dark, wicked crevice of your mind before you could stop it. You felt yourself flush all over from both horrified embarrassment and–God help you–flaming desire. Without a doubt you were your own worst enemy in this!

"Not that you don't normally look lovely," Ebenezer suddenly continued on from his previous statements. His voice was rushed, his tone jittery. His eyes darted to look everywhere but at you. "You always look lovely–there is no question of that! It is just that you look particularly lovely this evening. And… well…" he cleared his throat again and forced himself to look at you, "... you look lovely."

A corner of your mouth twitched into a slight smile, Ebenezer's sweet, nervous charm working its way through the veil of panic. The man could be positively adorable sometimes. "Thank you, Ebenezer," you repeated, your voice sounding more like you this time.

Evidently, your smile and tone were noticeable, because Ebenezer's own lips quirked into a soft smile as well, the nervousness fading from his eyes. He remained blushing though; that only made him more endearing in your view.

There came an annoyed huff from somewhere around both your legs. And then-

“Whoa-oof!”

You froze, eyes wide in alarm at the predicament you suddenly found yourself in: Ebenezer had just quite literally toppled into you! Your hands were pressed flat to his chest as they’d shot up and out to try and stop his fall, and his hands had come to find purchase on your low waist as he’d instinctively reached out to find something to grab onto a save him from falling on his face. Speaking of face, his face was against yours, his angular nose slipped right in aside yours, pressing into your cheek. Your lips just barely ghosted against each other, startled pants of breath mixing together and warming your faces (though that definitely wasn’t the only reason your face was so hot). You stared pop-eyed directly into each other's eyes. To top it all off, you were just ever so slightly bent over backward with Ebenezer bowed over you as if the man were taking you into a dip. And you stayed like that. For how long, you didn’t know, but you both just stayed, unsure of what to do, or how to react.

A little whine caused you both to look away from each other (though only your eyes moved) and down to see Prudence sitting there between you. Her loveable brown eyes seemed to sparkle as she looked between you and Ebenezer, her lolling Mastiff grin as wide as ever. Ridiculous to think it as it was considering she was a dog, you knew immediately that Prudence had done this on purpose. After all, you’d come to the conclusion a while ago that the dog wasn’t exactly an ordinary dog. And due to all of that, you had even less of an idea of how to react to this.

“Prudence…” Ebenezer growled warningly, his brow furrowing against yours.

His lips brushed a bit more firmly against yours as he spoke, his growl vibrating his firm chest beneath your palms. The reaction in you to these sensations was immediate and startling: your breath hitching into a small gasp; a warm mist floating into your mind that blocked out every other thing except the man before you; a great heat flushed throughout your body, warming you to the very center of your being, leaving you feeling lightheaded; your already hammering heart sped up to a flutter; your stomach lurched and twisted and twined in sickeningly beautiful ways; your eyes fluttered to half-mast. You felt like you could die, cry, and fly all at once, and Ebenezer hadn’t even kissed you yet. Without thinking, you curled your splayed fingers into the lapels of his coat and gently tugged at him.

The man’s eyes came back to yours and immediately melted into softness upon finding your half-lidded gaze. Whether he realized what he was doing or not, his grip on your waist tightened ever so slightly. That caused you to quietly whimper, which in turn caused him to pull you closer. His hair coif draped down and tickled the side of your face. His heart--his wonderfully good heart--beat out a strong, steady rhythm against your palm.

Your eyes slipped closed in reverie at the deepening touch. “Ebenezer…” the whisper of his name escaped your lips before you realized it.

“Y/N,” he returned, voice husky and rumbling even as it was quiet in tone. He gently pulled you even closer, angling his face so that his lips pressed and slid against your mouth and cheek--not in a kiss just yet, but a sort of nuzzle, flat and flush and warm. And it felt completely divine: soft and smooth as velvet against your sensitive skin. Except for his muttonchops, which left a delightfully ticklish twinge behind as the hair brushed against you. Lightning sparked along your nerves.

You opened your eyes just a bit to look up beneath your lashes to see that his eyes were now closed, looking to be in as much of a trance as you. God above, he looked heavenly; felt heavenly too. You felt the slightest hint of pursed, pillowy lips on your cheek, again not kissing yet, just caressing your flesh. The man was working his way up to it and, by God, you were going to let him! His process was going too well to interrupt him now--magic was happening!

Slowly Ebenezer pull you into him and straightened the two of you up, his face still pressed to yours, lips against your cheek, your temple, your brow. He slid them languidly down the bridge of your nose before lifting them off your skin. The tip of his nose still nudging yours, he opened his eyes and met gaze again. You’d never seen those slate-blue beauties so liquidy before, the black centers expanded and endless. The tall man said nothing, but merely let his gaze drift from your eyes down to your mouth and back again, silently asking permission.

God, you wanted to give it! You wanted nothing more than for him to sweep you into his strong, warm arms and claim your lips and mouth for his own. You longed to feel him, taste him--longed for it more than you longed for breath. (If he could have been your breath, that would have been a godsend.) But… you didn’t give permission. You couldn’t bring yourself to. Because you didn’t know for sure what all of this was, what it meant, what it could possibly mean and lead to. What you did know was if you did give permission, if you let him kiss you, you would be committing an irrevocable act by giving your heart wholly to this man. He practically had it already, and that was painful enough; but if he took the whole thing and it came to pass that this… display was nothing more than an excess of Christmas cheer mixed with good food and drink you would be shattered beyond repair. And it would have been better to die than be a walking husk.

Your heart throbbing with love and want and hurt, you forced yourself to turn your face from his. “Don’t.”

“Y/N?”

Good God, the softness in his voice, his obvious confusion as to why you were pulling away when you so clearly wanted it--it stabbed you right in the gut. But you had to turn him away. You had to stop this--to try and protect yourself at least a little bit. You let him go, pushing away from him. “Please, don’t.”

He gently reached for you, looking hurt. “Y/N, please.”

You jerked back from his touch. “Don’t!” The tears back in your eyes and spilling down your cheeks this time, you rushed across the hall to the front doors. I’m dying! You were sure you were dying--your chest felt like it was going to cave in and you couldn’t breathe because of it. You felt so incredibly hot like you were being roasted alive. Air--I need air!

Throwing open the door, you burst out into the frigid London night and practically stumbled down the stairs. When you reached the cobblestones your legs gave out from under you and you collapsed into a snowdrift with a muted fwoomp!, the fluffy snow fwooshing up around your skirts to create your own, personal flurry. You gasped. Then you retched and coughed, your stomach heaving violently. Nothing came up, but you retched again and continued to dry heave and gasp for air. God in Heaven, you felt like hell! But you could feel the crisp, coldness of the air and snow around you now, and that loosened the tightness in your chest so you could breathe again. When you weren’t trying to gag up your innards, that is.

“Y/N!” Ebenezer’s horrified voice reached your ears. Both it and Prudence’s bark sounded muffled through the ringing din in your head, but you heard them all the same, and you felt Ebenezer’s presence come to kneel beside you in the snow. A warm cloak was draped over your shuddering shoulders. “Love, are you all right?!” A hand pressed to your forehead; a wet, black nose sniffed you over in investigation. “Mother of God, you’re burning up! We need to get you to the hospital!” He made to stand, but you grabbed his hand, keeping him with you.

“I’m all right,” you croaked, eyes on the ground as you still tried to wrestle your breath back.

He wrenched out of your grip and brought both his hands to hold your shoulders. “You are clearly not all right!” he insisted, giving you a little shake for emphasis. “You’re ill, my dear--violently ill! You could be suffering from cholera--or maybe scarlet fever with as red as you are--or something worse!”

Your head was starting to clear out, the ringing fading away. You managed to look up at the panicking man and give him a feeble glare. “Ebenezer, I’m fine,” you said as insistently as you could. “I’m not ill.” A whining Prudence pressed her cold nose against your cheek, her gentle eyes worried. You turned to her, wrapping your arms around her neck and burying your face in her warm ruff. “You dumb mutt,” you muttered meekly. “You put me in this position.”

“Well, there must be something wrong,” Ebenezer continued, standing upright in indignance, “because I don’t believe you would be having this violent a reaction to simply not wanting to kiss me.”

You pulled your face from the Mastiff’s fur and looked up at the man to see his face flushed. Whether it was from his panic over you, his anger at your denial of medical aid, or the fact that he had just admitted he’d meant to kiss you, you didn’t know. Your eyes slipped from his to Prudence again, focusing on her soft, golden-brown fur as you stroked it. “No,” you agreed softly. “This didn’t happen because I don’t want to kiss you.” You stopped petting Prudence and grasped at the cloak, pulling it closer and tighter. Biting your lip, you squeezed your eyes shut, trying to hold back the absolute storm of tears that you knew was coming. It had all been building for so long; now everything was about to break loose and turn what should have been the happiest and most beautiful night of the year into an utter disaster. And all because you just couldn’t keep your emotions in check. Damn it all, you were so pathetic!

A choked sob escaped you and you buried your face in the velvetiness of the cloak.

Once again, Ebenezer was kneeling back at your side, his arms coming around you and pulling you to his chest. He gently tried to hush you. “Shhh,” he whispered against your ear. “Hush now, Darling--I have you. It’s all right.”

“It’s not all right!” you spat bitterly, face still hidden in the cloak.

“Then tell me, Y/N--tell me so that I might make it right.” His long, large fingers combed over your hair as he pressed a tender kiss to your hairline. “Please, tell me, Sweetness.” He dared to slip a finger beneath your chin and lift your head just enough so he could meet your eyes, which he did so beseechingly. “Please.”

You stared at him through silent tears for a moment, so many things swirling around inside you that you didn’t know where to start on what to say. How could you possibly tell him when there was so much? “How do you not know?” the question finally squeaked out of your throat. Your vision swam as tears welled up in your eyes, ready to overflow in a torrent. “When you always seem to just know when it comes to me… how could you not know, Ebenezer? You knew with my ring; you knew with my wedding dress; you’ve known with every single thing you’ve ever gotten me or done for me or said to me. H-How can you possibly not know… about this? How can you not see what you’re doing to me?”

Ebenezer looked both baffled and fearful. “How can I not know what, Y/N?” he asked urgently. “What am I doing to you?”

You closed your eyes tight and swallowed hard, tears burning down your cheeks. God, help me. “It’s not that I didn’t want to kiss you, Ebenezer,” you started slowly, your voice raspy. You dared to open your eyes and look at him again. “I did want to. I do want to. God above, ever since you proposed I’ve wanted nothing but to kiss you every day so damn badly it hurts! Kiss you and…” you felt your cheeks burn in a way that had nothing to do with your tears, “... and more.”

Ebenezer remained silent, all his attention on you as if he were hanging on to every word falling from your lips. Well, I least he was going to let you get it out, and not cut you off in the middle with his rejection. There would be some catharsis in that at least.

“I-I know it’s… unladylike to say such things. But I’m not a Lady. … So I suppose the only reason I haven’t said or done anything before now is entirely due to cowardice.” You took a deep breath and pulled your gaze from the man’s and looked down at your hands as they fiddled with a loose thread at the hem of the cloak. You knew you wouldn’t be able to look him in the eye when you finally confessed your secret. You wouldn’t be able to handle the sight of rejection before the word of it came. “The truth is… I love you, Ebenezer Scrooge. I love you and I’ve been in love with you for a long while--though I can’t rightly say when it happened; I know it was before we married. … I think even before you proposed.” You just dared flicker your gaze up to see the man still knelt there, his expression completely stunned.

“The point is, I love you,” you rushed on, looking down again. “I love you and I don’t want an annulment after I’ve gained my inheritance. In fact, I don’t ever want to leave or be without you, Ebenezer. You make my world better just by being a part of it. Being around you makes me indescribably happy. Hearing your voice, seeing your smile, listening to your laugh, touching your hand, feeling your arm around me, having you look at me--you are all I could have ever asked for or wanted in life! Ebenezer, I love you and I want you--all of you, now and forever--as my friend, as my lover, as my husband, fully and truly in every possible sense of the word. There could never be another for me. And I know I can hardly hope to dream that you would feel the same way for me and that we could have something more than what we do, and I know that I will probably ruin what we do have by saying these things now--but it simply hurts too much to keep silent any longer! So if I’ve ruined our friendship now, I’m sorry but-”

You were suddenly wrenched up off the cobbles and cut off by a pair of lips smashing into yours. Ebenezer clutched you flush to him, his arm around your waist, holding you with a grip so tight it was like he was afraid you might try to run or fly away from him. He had one hand tangled into your hair at the back of your head, holding you in place as he angled his face to kiss you as deeply as he could, his nose digging into your cheek. The kiss was full of tears--both his and yours--searing, and desperate, his hold crushing and painful; and it all felt completely amazing! It was all you could do to hold onto the man to stay upright and not melt away into a puddle of ecstatic mush. In that moment you became completely his; his name branded on you very soul.

When he finally broke the kiss, your nose hurt from being smushed into his cheek, your ribs hurt from being crushed to his chest, and you were sure your lips were going to be swollen from the force he’d used, but you didn’t care. All you cared about was what you had just felt in that kiss, and what you had felt was everything you’d just emptied out of the very depths of your soul being reciprocated back to you. “Ebenezer…” you breathed against his lips.

“I love you,” the man whispered back, voice cracking with emotion. Tears trickled from eyes full of sheer passion, devotion, and joy as he gazed almost worshipfully at you from beneath incredibly long, dark lashes. “God be praised--I love you, Y/N. More than any words could ever describe.”

“I love-” You were cut off again by another passionate kiss and you just as eagerly gave into it as the first time, wrapping your arms around Ebenezer’s neck to pull him down closer. This kiss didn’t hurt quite as much, but it burned just as hotly. Lights were dancing behind your eyes as your heart raced, you stomach filled to the brim with thousand of butterflies His lips felt so perfect, so soft and smooth, burning and soothing at the same time as they caressed yours. Every once in a while his teeth would nip at your lips, or his tongue would graze ever so slightly against you until at last you pulled him in deeper, opening your mouth for him to explore. You explored his in turn, groaning at the taste of him as he did with you. You’d been kissed before, but you’d never experienced anything like this. It was like Ebenezer’s kisses were made only for you--like his lips and mouth and tongue were made only for you--like he was made only for you.

Several long, blissful seconds ticked by as the two of you stood in each other’s embrace, lips and tongues tangled together, dancing, caressing, molding your mouths into a most perfect union accompanied by a chorus of quiet gasps, moans, and growls. Had anyone walked by, they would have thought the two of you positively indecent, but neither you nor Ebenezer would have cared. You wouldn’t have even noticed anybody else. As far as the two of you were concerned, there weren’t any other people in the entire world; even sweet old Prudence was left quite forgotten bounding and bouncing for joy around you. There were just the two of you, your love, and the snow falling gently around you. It was absolutely magical!

When the two of you finally parted again, you were both left panting and flushed. Slipping your arms down from his neck and around his back, you nuzzled into the steel-haired man’s chest, the softest and happiest of smiles pulling up your swollen lips. You sighed dreamily: “Oh, Ebenezer….” His scent filled your nostrils, making your head swim even more than it already was. You were weightless, floating--absolutely floating. And you never wanted to stop.

“Y/N,” Ebenezer murmured. He pressed gentle kisses to your head, his arms wrapped securely around you with hands gently caressing your back, shoulders, and arms. Adoration for you and only you seeped out of every pore in the man’s body, making you feel as warm and toasty as though were you snuggled up under a thick blanket before the hearth rather than out in the middle of a snowy winter night. “I never thought I would be able to feel this way about anyone ever again,” he whispered almost to himself. He closed his eyes and nuzzled into your hair with a gentle smile, inhaling deep and long as though he wished to fill his lungs with your scent just as yours were filled with his. He chuckled softly, chest rumbling beneath your head. “Yet here I am, so utterly, impossibly, hopelessly in love with you, I fear I may either die on the spot or soar up and through the heavens forever after hearing that you feel the same way.”

With a giggle, you lifted your face to his again. “Well, please don’t die,” you gently teased, lifting a hand up to brush a stray hair from his face. “But you can only go soaring so long as you take me with you.” You trailed delicate fingers around his left ear, down his cheek, and over his lips

The man leaned into your touch, kissing your fingertips. “You’ll have to steady me,” he told you. “I’m afraid I’m not much good at soaring.” He said it like he actually knew that to be a fact.

“Of course, I’ll steady you,” you assured him, reaching your other hand up now as well to hold his face between them. You gave him a smile filled with all the love and devotion you had for him. “I will always steady you, Ebenezer--so long as you guide me.”

“Of course, I’ll guide you,” Ebenezer declared. He reached up to stroke a callused thumb along your right cheekbone, wiping away what remained of your tears. “Wherever I go, I will be sure that you are there by my side, step for step--my life partner, my steadying hand…” if it were possible, the look in the man’s slate-blue eyes became softer, “... my wife.”

Your stomach did somersaults; your heart swelled to the point you felt it would burst from your chest and rise into the night sky like a hot air balloon. ‘Wife’: Ebenezer had called you his wife! The word brought a fresh wave of tears to your eyes and a lump formed in your throat. “Truly?” you whispered, almost afraid this was all too good to be true.

As if sensing your fear, Ebenezer cupped your cheek in his large palm and bowed his face to yours, his nose touching yours as he gazed into your eyes with sincerity. “Truly,” he answered. “I promise you--with all my heart and soul, Mrs. Scrooge.”

‘Mrs. Scrooge’.... A squeaky cry, escaped you as the tears began to fall again. You pressed a trembling hand over your quivering lips.

Looking concerned, Ebenezer hugged you closer to him. “Darling?”

You shook your head, dismissing his worry. “I’m fine,” you stated, voice muffled in your palm. “I’m fine, Ebenezer, truly, it’s just… that’s the first time I’ve been called ‘Mrs. Scrooge’ since we married and… and to hear it coming from you is… I…” you dropped off into a fit of unintelligible sobs, unable to find the right words or the ability to say them even if you had. This…. This was everything you could have ever hoped for and never thought you would have!

With a warm, rumbling chuckle, Ebenezer cradled the back of your head in his palm and kissed your furrowed brow. “I know, Sweetness,” he soothed. “I know. Believe me--it feels the same to say it.” Smiling, he bowed his head until his lips were right by your ear and whispered rather huskily and with emphasis, “Mrs. Scrooge.”

Whatever last hold you had on yourself, with that it dissipated. Completely overcome with emotion, you threw your arms around your husband’s neck, tangled your hands in his hair, and all but yanked him down to your lips for another kiss, a wet and sobbing mess as you were. He didn’t seem to mind the mess you were and kissed you very eagerly back, hands groping at your shoulders and the small of your back

When you parted, you pressed your face into the crook of your husband’s neck, sobbing away the last of your happy tears in privacy. You were so happy--so terribly, terribly overjoyed! You hadn’t known happiness such as this existed. Surely this is what it must have felt like to enter into Heaven. Maybe you were in Heaven. Maybe both you and Ebenezer had perished from the cold and were now in Heaven together. For all eternity. You swore you could hear a heavenly orchestra playing right now, hauntingly beautiful, tender music ringing through the Christmas Eve night, riding on the gentle breeze with the snowflakes. You were so overcome with joy, you swore you could sing to it, mad as it sounded.

Apparently, you weren't the only one:

“Never knew I could feel like this…” Ebenezer’s voice lifted in song softly beside your ear, “... like I’ve never seen the sky before.” He pulled out of your embrace and took a step back, eyes cast heavenward and reaching a hand up as though to touch the velvet blackness above. After a second he looked back at you with an adoring smile and reached out to stroke and hold your left cheek. You nuzzled into his palm, bringing a hand up to hold his hand closer. The man crooned on: “Want to vanish inside your kiss. Every day I love you more and more.” Slipping your hand into his hand, he pulled you into him again and pressed your palm to his chest. “Listen to my heart--can you hear it sing? Telling me to give you-” he spun away from you, eyes wide and shining, arms stretched out as he turned in a circle encompassing your surroundings,”-everything! Seasons may change--winter to spring.” His arms slowly fell and he turned back to you, stepping up to bring you close in his arms again, gaze gentle once more. “But I love you…” he gazed deeply into your eyes, “... until the end of time.”

There seemed to be a swell in the music on the air, and Ebenezer moved with it, sweeping you up into a graceful, sweeping waltz around the yard and into the street, singing on: “Come what may…. Come what may…. I will love you… until my dying day.” The music in the air seemed to quieten and Ebenezer paused in the waltz, simply relishing in the experience of holding you--his wife, the woman he loved--close. He pressed his forehead to yours and you both closed your eyes, enjoying each other’s presence.

That stirring deep inside your soul had grown stronger and more noticeable with each passing moment. Now it had finally gained enough power to break free, rising up out of your throat in melody: “Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place.” You shifted closer to your husband, and stretched a leg out behind you and around in a circle, daintily skimming the toe of your shoe over the surface of the snow. “Suddenly it moves with such a perfect grace.” You reached up and cradled Ebenezer’s sculpted jaw in your hands and gazed lovingly at him. “Suddenly my life doesn’t seem such a waste--it all revolves around you….”

Smiling, Ebenezer swept you up into dance again, and you both continued on, harmonizing with each other: “And there’s no mountain too high-” your husband hoisted you up with one arm onto his hip as you braced one hand on his shoulder and your knees on his thigh, second hand raised skyward, “-no river too wide!” You dropped down and spun out from Ebenezer until your arms were stretched to the max and you were held together just by the tips of your fingers. Then you stepped closer together and looped your arms together as you faced one way and he the other, ever gazing into one another’s eyes, carouseling around. “Sing out this song and I’ll be there by your side!” Ebenezer grabbed your hand and you twirled around him in a large arc, he acting as the anchor. “Storm clouds may gather--stars may collide…” you spun back into him and he caught you in both arms, dipping you low before bringing you back up to hold again and sing, “... but I love you-”

You lovingly traced your thumb across Ebenezer’s lips, “-I love you…”

“-until the end-” “... until the end of-” “-of time.”

Your husband carried you off into the sweeping waltz again as the music in your souls swelled anew. “Come what may…. Come what may…. I will love you… until my dying day!” Ebenezer hoisted you up with one arm again, both of you facing opposite directions again as he spun you, one of your arms braced across his shoulders for support the other trailing through the air, making snowflakes swirl. “Come what may…. Come what may…. I will love you…”

You slowly slipped back down into the circle of your man’s arms, wrapping your arms around his neck and nuzzling your nose against his, basking in the lovelight of his gaze. “Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place….”

The music swelled to a crescendo and Ebenezer scooped you up into the air one final time. His arms wrapped around your thighs as he spun and gazed up into your face, your hands braced on his broad shoulders yet again. “Come what may…! Oh, come what may…! Oh! I will love you… until my dying… day!”

You collapsed into Ebenezer with another kiss, your arms tight around his neck, his tight around your waist and back as he held you up.

The sound of applause startled you apart: You looked over your husband’s head as he shifted around to look. A scorching hot blush burned your face red. You had an audience: the Cratchits, the Huffmans, and all of the staff that hadn’t taken the night off you offered were standing there at the top step of the entrance. And they were cheering! Some of the more tenderhearted of the bunch were even dabbing at their eyes with hankies. (Harry, however, was in an all-out bawl, hunched over Hela’s shoulder as she patted his back while he wept tears of joy.) Previously forgotten Prudence was bounding around you and Ebenezer, barking and grinning away, her tail fanning the air such as it never had before

“Oh, bloody hell….” Ebenezer muttered his face as crimson as yours (which really was a rather lovely shade on him, honestly). He squeezed you closer as you hid your face in his neck and scowled at the others for their intrusion.

The others really didn’t seem to care. It was impossible to be scared of the old Scrooge Scowl when the man was red as a cooked lobster and had just been caught singing and dancing a love song with his young wife in the snow.

“Well, it’s about bloomin’ time!” Ethel exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air in an emphatic manner. “What did I tell ya? “Only because of our friendship” my arse. Now come back inside, you waltzin’ lovebirds, afore you catch your deaths of cold!”

With that, your audience all began to retreat back inside, leaving the two of you to pull yourselves together.

Ebenezer slowly set you back on your own feet, but his arms remained around you, a warm hand rubbing comforting circles between your shoulder blades. “Are you all right, my love?”

Your face still hidden in his chest, you began to shake with laughter. “I’m more than all right,” you answered, pulling your face from its hiding place to meet your husband’s attentive gaze. “Much, much more than all right.”

The man’s eyes sparkled with happiness at that declaration, his mouth pulling into a beaming smile. “I take it you’re happy then?”

You nodded. “So terribly happy, I could burst.”

“Excellent. I intend on trying my level best to keep you that way.”

If it had been at all possible for your already overflowing heart to swell more, it would have. A gentle prick stung the corner of your eyes, but your tear ducts had just about cried themselves out for the night. Reaching up, you ran your hands through Ebenezer’s soft hair before twining your fingers into the thick, silver locks at the back of his head. You noted the way he quietly moaned (in fact almost purred) in contentment as you did this. That would be a handy detail about your husband to keep in mind--very handy indeed…. “I love you, Ebenezer Scrooge.”

His arms tightened around you. “And I love you, Y/N Scrooge. Until the end of time.” Unexpectedly he swooped you up into his arms bridal style, making you squeal before pressing his lips to your smiling mouth once more, growling into your mouth as you gave an experimental tug on his hair. Then he carried you across the cobblestones, up the steps, and through the doors of the house--your house, together. A true and very much in love married couple at last. It was going to be the greatest and happiest of all Christmases.

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