Baby, It’s Cold Outside!

The day before Christmas Eve, it snowed heavily. The roads became almost impossible to traverse and an official on the news recommended everyone avoid driving and stay wherever they were. Mr. and Mrs. Hudson had to stay at the house overnight in one of the guest rooms and, best of all, Aiden's aunt and cousins were all out somewhere else and couldn't get back. They had to get a hotel room until things cleared up outside.

By the morning of Christmas Eve, there was even more snow on the ground. It piled up on the sides of the road and covered the parked cars. Derek's grandfather had to change the Christmas party to a New Year's Eve party instead as it was likely that travel would be ill advised for the next couple days.

Mrs. Hudson made all of them huge mugs of hot chocolate with marshmallows, brought out a plate of cookies, and opened up a box full of Christmas ornaments for them to put on the tree. When it was time to decorate the top of the tree, Derek lifted Aiden up on his shoulders in order to reach. Mr. and Mrs. Hudson laughed and took pictures.

"Can you send that one to me?" Aiden asked.

"Of course, dear! It's such a nice photo. I'm sure Derek's father and brother will be shocked when they see it. They probably would never imagine he'd do something like that." She chuckled and sent Aiden the picture which he immediately saved. Then, Mrs. Hudson went to the kitchen to start making lunch and Mr. Hudson followed behind her. With nothing in particular to do in the meantime, Aiden decided to go out in the snow.

After changing into suitable attire, Aiden went out into the yard and started making a snowman. Just as he finished drawing the face with one of his gloved fingers, he felt a snowball hit his back. Turning around, Aiden saw Derek standing nearby with a smirk on his face and another snowball in his hand. Aiden quickly dodged the second throw and scooped up some snow to make his own snowball. With that, the war was on.

Aiden's laughter filled the air as snowballs zoomed in different directions. Soon, both of them were out of breath and covered in snow. Neither of them knew how long they'd been out there but it wasn't a short amount of time.

"Achoo!" Aiden covered his mouth and nose with his arm and sneezed. It didn't escape Derek's notice.

"Come on, let's go in. You should take a warm bath before lunch so you don't catch a cold." Aiden sniffled and nodded in agreement.

"Mhm." Derek took Aiden's hand and led him back inside. Then he helped him take off his snow covered coat, boots, and gloves before sending him upstairs for a bath and a change of clothes. Derek also did the same.

A short while later, Aiden got out of the bath and got dressed in a warm oversized sweater and leggings. He wore fluffy slippers on his feet before heading back downstairs where everyone was already waiting for him. Mrs. Hudson ran over and wrapped a blanket around his shoulders before gently pushing him over to his seat.

"Goodness! You two were out in the cold for far too long. What if you end up getting sick? It's a good thing I made soup for lunch." Placed on the table in front of Aiden was a bowl of pumpkin soup and some small rolls with butter. It was the perfect meal for a winter day.

When they finished eating, Mrs. Hudson quickly shooed Derek and Aiden into the living room so she could clean up. She suggested that if they had nothing else to do, they should watch a Christmas movie. So, Aiden sat down on the couch while Derek started the movie and then sat down next to him.

About an hour into the show, Aiden started feeling sleepy. He was still wrapped up in the blanket Mrs. Hudson gave him earlier and after a warm bath and a hot meal, it was no wonder he was having trouble keeping his eyes open. Eventually, he fell asleep and unknowingly fell onto Derek's shoulder. Derek turned to him and smiled at his peacefully sleeping face. He carefully moved Aiden so he could sleep more comfortably and use his lap as a pillow.

By the time the movie ended and the credits started rolling, Derek too had fallen asleep. His head was resting on his hand and propped up by his elbow while his other hand was draped over Aiden's shoulder. Mrs. Hudson came out to ask them if they wanted a snack but she stopped when she saw them sleeping. She smiled warmly and took a picture of the adorable scene. Then, she left them to sleep and tip-toed out of the room.

Derek was the first to wake up later in the afternoon. He could hear Mrs. Hudson in the kitchen, chatting with her husband, and the sound of clattering dishes. He checked the time and assumed she was making dinner. Derek felt Aiden shift in his sleep and looked down just in time to see Aiden snuggle closer to his leg. His body tensed and he quickly looked away, willing himself to calm down. His ears turned pink and he covered his eyes with his hand. There he was being tortured by temptation while Aiden was just sleeping, innocently unaware of what he'd caused.

Around thirty minutes later, Aiden woke up. He didn't sit up right away but opened his eyes and rolled over so he was looking up at Derek. Aiden, who still had sleepy eyes, beamed brightly.

"Hehe, lap pillow. Thanks." *Badump* Derek's breath hitched and then he flicked Aiden's forehead.

"...If you're awake now, then sit up."

"Aw." Aiden pouted but still sat up. "You're no fun." He stretched and yawned as Derek stood up from the couch. That's when Mrs. Hudson came in to check on them.

"Oh good, you're both awake. Dinner will be ready in a little over an hour so if you have any presents for anyone, go ahead and put them under the tree for tomorrow morning. Also, How would you two like to play a board game after dinner?"

"Really?" Aiden's eyes lit up. "I'd love to! And so would Derek."

"I would?" Derek asked.

"Yes, you would!" Aiden smiled and Mrs. Hudson laughed softly.

"It seems you have no choice in the matter."

"It does look that way." So, Aiden and Derek followed Mrs. Hudson's suggestion and brought the gifts they got for others and put them around the tree. Mr. and Mrs. Hudson had already placed theirs there earlier, making quite the pile all together.

A little while later, it was time for dinner. Mrs. Hudson had really outdone herself. There was so much food on the table that Aiden wondered whether or not it would collapse under the weight of it all. A large roasted ham was placed in the center of the table with all the other dishes set around it. There was salmon, garden salad, breadsticks, roasted vegetables, corn pudding, and twice baked potatoes. Other than food, there was also apple cider and eggnog.

The meal was lively, with everyone happily engaged in conversation as they ate. Although neither Derek nor Mr. Hudson spoke much, Mrs. Hudson would occasionally drag a response out of them. Whenever they responded with less than three words, she'd complain about how it would be easier talking to walls then the two of them.

As soon as they finished the main course, Mrs. Hudson cleared away the dishes and leftover food in order to bring out dessert. Aiden was already pretty full but when cherry pie, chocolate and raspberry cake, and a plate of different kinds of cookies was put down on the table, he decided a few more bites would probably be fine. He didn't know when Mrs. Hudson found the time to cook so much but he was glad she did as everything was amazing.

With everyone stuffed full of delicious food, Mr. Hudson was asked by Mrs. Hudson to bring out the board games. He came back into the room, after everything was cleaned up once again, carrying a pile of games. In the end, they settled on playing scrabble. Most of the time was spent on arguing whether or not something was an actual word or not but it was still fun.

Looking around at the others and their smiling faces, Aiden felt himself get a little choked up. Mrs. Hudson was the first to notice something was up.

"Aiden, dear, are you alright?" Her question startled Aiden back to his senses, only to realize that a tear had escaped from his eyes.

"Oh…" He quickly wiped it away but Mrs. Hudson was already out of her chair and by his side. Derek was looking at him with a worried expression and Mr. Hudson went to make Aiden a cup of hot chocolate.

"What is it, dear? What's wrong?" She gently patted him on the back and waited patiently for him to speak. A few more tears slipped down his face which he also wiped away with the back of his hands.

"It's nothing, *sniff* really. I just…hic! I'm really *sniff* happy. Hic!" Try as he might, Aiden could keep any more tears at bay. "I…I've only ever celebrated *sniff* with my friend Bex. I never…had anything like this. I didn't know something so simple could feel so warm. Gosh!" He wiped his tears one more time. "I feel ridiculous for crying like this but," Aiden smiled more brilliantly than any of them had seen before. "I'm really happy!"

"Oh! Sweetheart!" Tears filled Mrs. Hudson's eyes as well and she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tight. Derek stood up from his chair and joined the hug with Mr. Hudson following close behind. "You can cry as many happy tears as you want! But don't you worry. You'll be even happier from now on, I'm sure of it."