"Explain to me one more time why we are doing this," Lucian said, sliding his eyes over to Nex questioningly before returning his gaze to Kat.

It was Christmas Eve and normally on Christmas Eve, Kat had her parents to do their yearly tradition of walking downtown to look at all the Christmas lights and displays. But this year was the first year she didn't have them. Nex made the mistake of saying demons stayed away from the holiday for the most part and when Kat told him to bring all his friends out to look at lights he made the mistake of making up that none of them had scarves or hats to keep them warm all night in the snow.

That backfired because she spent the next three days knitting scarves and hats for every single one of them and was now walking around to each of them, handing out those very items along with candy canes.

"Because it's what she wants," Nex growled. "Just drop it and play along."

"Do you do everything she wants?" Marcus teased, raising an eyebrow.

"Fuck you," Nex spat. "Go ahead, try to say no to her. I dare you. When she comes over here and looks at you with those big green eyes and that sweet face, if you can say no to her then by all means give me shit but if you can't then let it go."

At the moment, Kat walked over and stopped in front of Marcus with a big smile. "Candy cane?" She asked, holding it up.

Marcus opened his mouth to refuse but couldn't so accepted the candy cane. Kat smiled then frowned.

"Do you not like it?" She asked, gesturing to the scarf in his hand.

Marcus tried. He tried to not care but she looked at him with the very green eyes Nex was just complaining about and he couldn't do it.

"It's good, Kat, I just... I've never worn a scarf before," he said. The truth was they could generate their own heat and had absolutely no need for them but no one had the heart to tell her that.

"Oh, well I'll show you how to put it on," she said, taking the scarf and throwing it around his neck.

Marcus stayed in place as Kat bundled him up then went off to give a secondary round of candy canes. He looked over at Nex, muttering a curse.

"See?" Nex said, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah, yeah," Marcus sighed, stuffing his hands in his pockets and rolling his eyes.

Kat skipped over to Nex and wrapped her arms around his neck, lifting on her toes to press a kiss to his lips. "Ready?" She asked.

Nex sighed and wrapped his arms around her, pressing another quick kiss against her lips. "Ready, kitten."

Kat smiled and grabbed his hand, leading him and the other demons down the street. There were vendors and music and light and lots of people walking around. Nex did his best to be enthused although he didn't care for the crowds. Normally he would've fought her on this but not today.

Today was the anniversary of her parent's death and she'd already spent a lot of the morning crying and trying to not cry in between her family calling her repeatedly to check in on her as well as the Pastor and Bernice both stopping by. It had been a hellish day. He would do anything to keep her from being miserable all night, even if it meant making his friends cooperate and walk with them to see silly displays of lights.

Nex knew very little about Christmas and had seen few Christmas movies so he struggled with things to say as they walked by different displays. Kat stopped at most of them but passed right by another that seemed very popular.

"Do you not like..." Nex peered over the crowd to read the display's title. "Rudolph?"

"I like Rudolph," Kat shrugged, stopping in front of a different display. "I don't care for that adaptation of Rudolph."

"Why not? It seems very popular," Nex said, noting that most people stopped to take pictures.

"It's sexist," Kat said wrinkling her nose.

"It's sexist?" Nex repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah! It's a classic, sure, and I'm not going to lie and say I don't love the misfit song but it's sexist. Rudolph goes missing and the mom wants to help look for him and the dad is just like," Kat paused and changed her voice to a deeper one to try to mimic the dad in an over-the-top mocking way. "No, this is man's work!"

Nex snorted and shook his head, trying not to laugh.

"So I don't care for it but I like the misfit song," Kat explained before she started singing. "We're a couple of misfits, what's the matter with misfits? That's where we fit in!"

"For fuck's sake," Nex muttered, chuckling lowly.

"What?" Kat asked, pink reaching her cheeks.

"Nothing," Nex said, pressing a kiss to her head. "You're just really fucking adorable, that's all."

Kat's blush deepened and she looked away to hide the smile, her eye catching a hot chocolate stand. "Do you want some hot cocoa?" Kat asked, looking back at Nex.

"Do you want some?" Nex countered. Kat smiled and nodded and Nex shrugged, letting go of her hand and stepping towards the stand. "Then I'll get it for you. You don't have to stop looking."

"No, I'll come with you," Kat said, grabbing his hand.

"I don't think so, kitten. This is man's work," Nex said, smirking.

Kat rolled her eyes and smacked his chest but he caught her hand and pulled her against him, tucking her close to his side as they went to the stand. They stood in line and Kat glanced back, seeing Lucian and Marcus close by.

"Do you want some?" Kat asked, inclining her head to the stand.

They answered but she didn't hear it. A song came on and memories flashed in Kat's mind. The same song she used to dance around the Christmas tree with her parent's. The same song that was playing when the truck slammed into the car. She couldn't get the image out of her mind, their bodies getting smashed, the blood that seemed like way too much for just two people.

"Katherine," Nex's voice boomed, snapping her out of it.

Kat blinked and found they had somehow moved away from the crowds. He had her against a wall, away from the people and was brushing away the tears she didn't realize started falling.

"What happened?" He asked, frowning in concern.

"I don't... I don't know," Kat said, biting her lip to try to stop the crying.

"Come here," Nex said, pulling her into his chest and holding her tightly.

"I'm sor-" Kat started but Nex interrupted.

"Don't," he said, cradling her head. "Don't apologize. It's all right."

Kat sunk into his arms and breathed in and out to try to get ahold of herself. Nex stroked her hair until the tension seemed to fade. It wasn't until she seemed much more relaxed he tried again.

"What happened?" He asked. There weren't any cars on the street since the whole thing was blocked for this display and he wasn't sure what else could set her off.

"It's so stupid," Kat mumbled, hiding in his chest.

"For fuck's sake, Katherine, stop saying that," Nex said, guiding her back so he could look at her. "Don't minimize it like that. What happened?"

"It was just a song," Kat said, biting her lip. "A song that was playing when..." She trailed off but didn't need to continue. Nex pulled her back into his chest and kissed the top of her head.

"I understand why you want to be here," he said, glancing back at the crowds. He actually didn't understand why anyone would want to be here but he did understand she associated it with her parents. "But perhaps it's all a little too much," he said, tilting her chin up to look at him. "Is it too much?"

Kat frowned. She didn't want to admit that it was. She thought it's what she should be doing, to honor their memory. But it did very much feel like too much so she nodded reluctantly and avoided Nex's gaze.

"Then we don't have to stay," he said, kissing her forehead.

"But what about everyone else?" Kat said, glancing back at the other demons.

"Don't worry about it. They'll understand," he assured. "Let's go. We can watch that sexist movie and make fun of it."

"That sounds fun," Kat giggled, wiping at her tears before looking up at him. He gave her a small smile and her heart filled so much just seeing him smile. She set her hand on his face and rubbed her thumb over his cheek. "Thank you," she said, pressing a kiss to his other cheek. "I don't know what I'd do without you. I... I'm glad I accidentally summoned you," she admitted in a whisper.

Nex wasn't sure what to say to her. Words weren't his strong point and so he just kissed her head and led her away from the crowds and bright lights and towards their home, passing by her church.

She was too distracted and Nex was putting all his energy into cheering her up; neither noticed Gabriel standing in the window of the church, watching the two of them walk past so close together. Another man walked up and paused next to Gabriel, staring out into the snow at the couple.

"That's them?" He asked.

Gabriel nodded. The man frowned, watching them start a snowball fight, chasing each other down and falling in the snow, laughing like two perfectly innocent people.

"Are we sure?" He asked, looking at Gabriel apprehensively. He recognized Nex but it couldn't be. They seemed harmless to him.

"I'm sure," Gabriel nodded. "You know the rules. We have to make an example out of him or more will do the same thinking if he can get away with it then practically anyone can. He needs to be taught a lesson before he's sent back to the underworld."

The man frowned as he watched them. It didn't seem right, to tear them apart, to make them both suffer when the aura they put off was so bright it was easily recognizable.

Love.

"Is there no other-" the man started.

"I don't make the rules, Melchizedek," Gabriel said, shaking his head. "I enforce them. I tried to pull her away from him so she wouldn't have to be a part of it but she's too attached to him. This is the only way. I don't know why you're even here," he sighed. "I'm handling it."

Gabriel walked away but Melchizedek continued watching them out the window, the frown deepening.

"Don't you know why I'm here?" Melchizedek challenged, stopping Gabriel in his footsteps. "I'm here because a high-ranking demon is breaking the rules and it was your turn to handle these kinds of problems and yet," he said, glancing back at Gabriel. "You haven't. You normally work very quickly and yet you've spent more time on this incident than you have on any other. Why is that, Gabriel? Why is it taking so long?"

"She's stubborn," Gabriel said, crossing his arms. "I was trying to be discreet but it's not going to work."

"Is that really why?" Melchizedek challenged, turning to face Gabriel. "Or is it because you're doubting that what you were sent to do is the right thing to do? You normally approach humans so delicately and yet from the beginning you did not give this human the calmness I know you know how to give. It almost seems as if you've intentionally drove her away. Why is that?"

Gabriel looked away, unable to maintain eye contact. Angels weren't allowed to lie and Gabriel was unwilling to admit he had doubts from the moment he arrived, from the moment he first saw them together he had doubts.

"Are you stalling?" Melchizedek asked. "To me it seems you haven't really been trying. You've given her more than enough reason to shy away from you. Is it because you think separating them is wrong? Because I'm also starting to think we need to handle this differently than we normally would."

"It doesn't matter," Gabriel muttered. "If we don't handle it, Uriel will. We both know that will be much worse. If we don't take care of it without Uriel," he said, his eyes going back to the window. "It will be much more brutal. Our way won't hurt them as much," he whispered, watching Kat and Nex playing in the snow, wondering how a human managed to soften a demon as much as she seemed to have softened Nex.

Kat normally would look back at the church just because she loved the way it looked in the snow but dodging Nex's snowballs took priority and so this time she didn't notice the staring. Nex was too focused on her to notice anything else and so neither saw the figures in the window. Kat slipped and almost fell but he caught her before she hit the ground, making her giggle.

"Let me down," she said.

"In the snow? Weren't you just complaining it's already too cold?" Nex pointed out.

"You've gotten me covered in snow anyway, it doesn't matter," she said, sending him a playful glare while trying to pull the ice chunks out of her hair.

"Fine," Nex said, setting her down gently in the snow.

She spread out her arms and legs to make a snow angel, staring up at the sky and watching the flakes fall. Nex watched her lay there for a moment. He wasn't one for waiting around or wasting time staring at anything but he could stare at her lying in the snow like that forever. The snow was shimmering white, almost like it was covered in glitter. Pure just like she was pure.

"Why don't you make one with me?" She suggested.

"Very funny," Nex said flatly.

"Aww, come on, it would be cute!" Kat said, spreading her arms out further to make the wings bigger.

"I don't need to make one, Katherine. I've got you," he said, crossing his arms.

Kat couldn't stop the blush or the smile at his comment and so she darting her eyes away shyly. "Okay now I'm really cold," Kat admitted, hopping up and rubbing her arms. "Let's go home," she said, inclining her head down the street.

"Home," Nex nodded, coming up alongside her and wrapping his arm around her waist.

He thought back in the underworld was his home and while he did very much miss his hounds, that place wasn't his home at all. His home was with her.

"I need to warm up before I can do anything else," Kat shivered as they stepped in the house.

"I can help with that," Nex smirked, shrugging off his coat just as she did.

She bit her lip and backed away from him after hanging up her coat. He raised an eyebrow and followed after her.

"Are you trying to get me to chase you?" He asked, tilting his head to the side.

"No," Kat lied, tucking her hands behind her back and taking quick steps backwards.

They stared each other down for a moment before Kat turned and bolted into the bedroom. It didn't last long, Nex caught her easily and pulled her into a kiss that definitely had her warming up.

Kat's favorite moments with Nex were the ones where he was so intense with her and then quickly followed it up with tenderness. And that's what he did. In the shower he had her against the wall, thrusting into her so hard she cried out, clinging to his shoulders and feeling weak after the orgasm hit her.

Soon after that he held her close in the shower, washing her body delicately, holding her against him as he washed her hair, massaging her scalp. It wasn't anything she ever considered intimate but it felt that way with him. Gestures she considered small before didn't seem small with him, everything felt intimate.

Once they were out of the shower, Kat wrapped up in a robe and was towel drying her hair when Nex came out in just a towel. He never seemed to get cold like she did. She couldn't stop herself from watching him go to the dresser and get out clothes.

She thought about the things he said he wanted from her. Wanted to do to her, with her. The idea excited her but also at the time made her a little nervous. But that was before. He'd shown he could be tender with her when she needed it and she wanted more of him, every part of him. She wanted to see that side of him and the idea of being with him in that way... It now excited her more than made her nervous.

"Nex?" Kat asked.

"What is it, kitten?" Nex asked, turning around to find the robe she was covered with off, leaving her exposed to him. His eyes darted up and down her perfect body and he felt himself grow, ready to have her all over again. In her hands was the soft strap that normally held her robe closed. He brought his eyes back to her and she bit her lip.

"Tie me up," she said, holding up the strap.