To her dismay, the kiss ends quicker than she had hoped and a sigh escapes her lips when she feels Wendy pull back.

"Irene... are you sure?" the Ravenclaw's voice was laced with caution.

She stares into Wendy's eyes and it's then when she finally recognized what she had seen so many times in the past. The way Wendy looks at her, it was a mix of both adoration and hesitation. The contrast had made it difficult for Irene to realize, but now she understood. And in that moment, all she wanted to do was to wash away that hesitation. 

Instead of answering, she caresses Wendy's face again, but this time she did it gently. She can't help but slide her thumb against the Ravenclaw's cheek as she takes in the sight in front of her. Her eyes trail as if wanting to remember the tiniest details of this moment like she doesn't want to forget it. After another second of simply taking everything in, Irene can't wait any longer and brings their lips together, connecting them for the second time that night. Their first one had been rough, desperate almost as it was unexpected and given little thought on Irene's part.

Now, Irene will admit that she's never really had a way with words. Or at least, not when it comes to feelings. To romance. She has always been more of an 'actions speak louder than words' type of person. So with this one, Irene hoped, now more than ever, that her unspoken words (that she had only now realized) would be conveyed. So, she made sure the kiss was soft and slow. She wasn't in a rush nor wanted to be. She wanted to emphasize that this kiss wasn't to make someone jealous or to flaunt an act, but instead, for the first time, that it was for themselves. For Wendy.

As they kiss, she wonders if Wendy understands her message. If she also found their kisses as intoxicating. If she didn't want it to end either. If she's also questioning why they hadn't kissed more often considering how good it felt. 

She wonders and it feels like Wendy answers.

The Slytherin senses hands on her hips, lightly tugging her closer to the girl and she feels Wendy smile against her lips. That action made Irene smile too, prompting them to finally break apart. They don't say anything to each other and instead bask in their new found happiness, both slightly breathless. Eventually, Irene intertwines their hands and leads them upstairs, and they giggle and shush themselves in excitement as if they were little kids.

Just like the previous night, Irene winds up in Wendy's arms and she doesn't mind it one bit. Wendy pulls her closer to which her back was now against the Ravenclaw's front and her face gets hot as Wendy snuggles into her neck. Once comfortable with Wendy's hand on her stomach, she places her hand on top of it and falls asleep with a shy smile, not thinking of what the next day will hold.

----- Dec. 25, Christmas Day -----

When her eyes begin to open, she notes that instead of seeing the wall, she is met with a yellow pajama shirt and a vanilla scent that she had found comforting. She must have turned around in her sleep last night as she now had her arms wrapped around Wendy's torso too. She's confused for a moment and nearly pulls back completely when suddenly the memories of last night flood into her mind. She leans back just enough to see the Ravenclaw's face as if making sure that what happened last night was real. Her lips tingle at her thoughts. 

I kissed her and she kissed me back. But this time, it was different. Now, here we are, she thinks as she studies Wendy's face.

"You're such a creep watching me sleep."

Irene flinches at the voice and her face flushes red in embarrassment. She tucks her head into Wendy's neck to hide her face and the Ravenclaw laughs lightly.

"Do I at least look good when I'm sleeping?" Wendy asks teasingly in hopes for Irene to look at her again. Instead, however, she just feels Irene nod against her body and Wendy chuckles.

They stay cuddled for a little while longer until Irene finally pulls back. Still a bit tired, she rubs her eyes and mumbles sleepily, "Mherry Chrismus."

"Merry Christmas to you too," Wendy replies with a smile before placing a quick kiss on Irene's forehead. "Guess it's time to get up, yeah?"

At last, the two finally roll out of bed, get ready and then head downstairs hand-in-hand.

As the day goes on, the two were practically inseparable as if they were glued together just like the day before. Even the smiles on their faces never seemed to have gone away. Irene was in a bliss that she never thought she'd experience, or at least not with Wendy. At the moment, everyone was in the living room getting ready to start giving and opening gifts. She looks around the room and seeing all the happy faces makes her smile widen. She doesn't think she's ever been so happy as her eyes roam from person to person.

She sees her parents and remembers how much they love and support her and Wendy. Then, her eyes land on her aunt and her family and although they can drive her crazy at times, she still loves them all. And of course, there's Wendy. The person who had made her go through a rollercoaster of emotions over the first half of the school year and now she finds it hard to regret a single moment with the girl.

"You okay, baby?" her thoughts are broken as Wendy looks at her with slight worry on her face.

Irene smiles, "You know, you look cute when you're worried, especially when it's about me."

Wendy gasps playfully, "Oh my goodness. Did the Bae Irene just compliment me? Someone pinch me," Wendy teases and Irene lightly slaps the arm that wasn't wrapped over her shoulders.

"Ow!" Wendy acts, her eyes glance down then back to meet hers. "You know what will make me feel better?"

"What?" Irene says in suspicion.

"A kiss," and Wendy puckers her lips.

"Dork," Irene says before giving the the girl a kiss. It seems that Wendy wasn't expecting that however because she can hear the girl give a small squeak before kissing her back. They break a part in a laugh when they hear one of the younger twins say 'ew' and soon after the gift giving starts. Presents start getting passed around and it wasn't until the twins showed Wendy their new Mario Kart game that Irene realized that she had not brought a gift for the Ravenclaw.

She immediately starts to feel bad because 1) how can someone spend Christmas without opening a gift and 2) even Wendy had given her one.

Before the trip started, the two had never discussed if they were going to give each other gifts because at that point their relationship was still weird. Like they were friends, but not friends, you know? She didn't think Wendy would give her a gift, especially since she had forgotten about the love song request, but now their relationship has reached a new level, so she's unsure of what to do. What if Wendy is expecting one? 

Thankfully, her parents had managed to take off some of the pressure in terms of Wendy getting to open a gift like everyone else. Her mom had been getting into knitting lately and with the help of a little magic she had managed to knit Wendy a sweater just in time.

"And I made it in Ravenclaw colors, of course!" her mom says proudly.

"I love it, Mrs. Bae. I've never received anything like this. It's wonderful," Wendy says in thanks with a genuine smile on her face. For a moment, Irene was actually a little jealous because the sweater looked super comfy and who could say no to a sweater?

"You can borrow it anytime. In my humble opinion, I think blue and silver would look great on you," Wendy whispers to her as if she knew what she was thinking and Irene blushes at the comment.

Soon after, her mom urges her to open her gift right away and Irene's jaw drops at the reveal. It turns out that she had also received a sweater created by her mom and it looked exactly like Wendy's. The only difference was that it was in Slytherin colors and had its respective house crest as the patch.

"Wait, mom," Irene looks back and forth between her and Wendy's gifts, "You knitted us-"

"Couple sweaters!" her mom finishes and claps her hands excitedly. "Isn't it lovely? You both should put it on and let me take a quick picture."

The couple share a glance as if reading each other's minds, shrug their shoulders and start putting on their sweaters. Just as Irene poked her head out with her arms already in the sleeves, Wendy reaches towards the back of Irene's neck and gently pulls out her hair from inside the sweater.

"Even though you got one too, you can still use mine whenever you want," Wendy whispers again with a smirk. "Although, I got to admit that green and silver look great on you too."

The sudden and unexpected closeness catches Irene off guard and when she feels Wendy's fingers graze the back of her neck, her breath hitches. The skin that was touched tingles.

Has Wendy always had such an effect on her? 

The moment ends as Wendy moves to stand beside her and intertwines their fingers causing a smile to form on Irene's face before her mom had even started taking pictures. After the first shot was taken, Irene thought that Wendy would be done, but no. Wendy began to strike different poses one after the other and her mom and even the rest of her family started to enjoy it.

One second she's hugging Irene from the back, then kissing her on the cheek, then making all sorts of silly faces. Thankfully, Irene managed to follow her lead quite easily and loved every second of it just as everyone else. 

"Here," Wendy squats suddenly. "Get on my back."

"What?!" Irene laughs in disbelief.

"Piggyback ride! Believe me the pictures will be so cute, so hop on pretty lady."

Irene waits a second in hesitation before finally getting on Wendy's back. She clings on to Wendy's neck and her legs wrap around her waist once the Ravenclaw stands straight.

"Omo-," she squeals and her grip tightens as she presses her cheek against Wendy's face in slight fear.

"I got you, babe," Wendy says confidently (although it did sound a bit panted, but Irene didn't say anything).

It only took one picture to make the twins suddenly want to take similar ones. So, Sana was pulled into frame by her brothers and they had to messily take pictures with the twins trying to jump on her back.

It was chaotic, but everyone was having so much fun that Irene wished the moment would never end.

-- 

As the eventful gift exchange was starting to come to an end, the lingering thought of what to give Wendy had remained. Wendy had never mentioned nor asked about receiving a present from her throughout the day and for that Irene had been grateful, but she can't let the thought go. As everyone starts the clean-up process after having a bunch of gift wrap, boxes and bags spread all across the floor, Irene pulls Wendy to the hallway out of view from everyone else.

"Everything okay?" Wendy asks her first.

"Yeah, it's just-can you stay here for a second?" she asks back and after Wendy nods, Irene gives her a quick kiss on the cheek before speeding away to go grab something. When she comes back, Wendy notices that the Slytherin was hiding something behind her back and covered up by her hands.

"What's that?" Wendy asks curiously as she tries to move and take a peek at whatever Irene was holding. 

"Will you stay still?" Irene giggles. "It's your gift," she continues in a nervous manner, but Wendy immediately sends her an eye-crinkling smile at the words.

Despite the girl's reaction, Irene stays cautious and talks timidly as she looks down to avoid the Ravenclaw's eyes, "But don't get too excited, okay? I'll be honest and say that this is extremely last minute and will definitely not beat the gift you gave me."

"Always turning things into competitions, aren't ya Bae?" Wendy teases at first, but she senses that Irene was still worried, so she reaches out to lift Irene's head until their eyes meet. "Hey, but in all seriousness, just the fact that you even got me something is good enough for me. I didn't even think that you were going to get me anything," Wendy halts at her words.

"And I don't mean that in a bad way considering that we didn't really talk about whether or not we'd be giving each other gifts!" Wendy says the last sentence in a rush in hopes to prevent Irene's nervousness from increasing and reassure her.

That seems to have helped as Irene's shoulders relax and she takes a deep breath, "Okay first, close your eyes."

"Ooo, you're not going to hit me with a snowball again are you?" Wendy asks as she does what Irene told her to do.

"Ha ha," Irene says sarcastically. "Okay, open."

When Wendy opens her eyes she was confused at first seeing that Irene wasn't holding anything out in front of her. But in the next second, she realized that instead of the gift being in front of her, it was instead being held above her.

Wendy's eyes trail back down from the mistletoe to look at Irene. "I think I'm starting to love traditions," Wendy grins before reaching out to pull Irene closer to her.

When their lips meet, electricity flows throughout Irene's body as she melts into the kiss. She's so immersed that she ends up dropping the mistletoe in her hand in order to properly wrap her arms around Wendy's neck. Although they have kissed a few times already in the past, they never fail to take her breath away. If anything, this time around it does feel different in comparison knowing that when Wendy kisses her back, it has all the more meaning and the thought makes her heart swell.

As they pull apart, Wendy pecks her lips a couple more times to Irene's delight. They're still in each other's arms when Wendy speaks, "I think that might've been the best gift I have ever received."

"Oh shut it," Irene lightly hits the girl but smiles. "But I'm glad you liked it. Now let's head back before they start to get suspicious."

They share a smile before making their way to the living room to gather with the rest of the family.

--

As all the parents went to bed, Irene and Sana were sitting on the couch, watching the twins as well as Wendy go against one another in Mario Kart as they sat on the floor. Despite the fact that the twins were younger, Wendy never let up and kept winning. Irene was prepared for loud whines, but to her and Sana's surprise, the boys only became more inspired to beat the Ravenclaw instead, making it all the more entertaining. 

She watches Wendy apparently have the time of her life racing against her cousins. The joy on her face was evident and Irene can't help but admire the Ravenclaw from a few feet away. As she observes the girl's side profile, she suddenly felt like she was seeing her in a new light. She felt like she could think about how beautiful Wendy is without having to scold herself now and it felt a lot more relieving than she would have thought.

"Oh babe, did you see that!?" Wendy says excitedly with her eyes still glued to the screen, making her break from her trance. "I just red-shelled the hel-" she coughs, "-heck outta Sunghoon," she finishes with an awkward laugh.

Irene and Sana laugh as well at the Ravenclaw's self-censorship. Before Irene can respond, Sunghoon speaks up, "Laugh now, but just you wait!" he tries to threaten, but it still sounded too cute to the older girls.

"Ugh, they never act like that whenever I do something like that. They usually rage quit before I can even finish the race," Sana whispers to Irene. "It's almost like it's impossible for them to hate Wendy in any way at all."

Hate Wendy?

Irene nods in understanding, but ends up lost in thought soon after. Before she knows it, the twins are yawning and everyone decides to head back to bed too. She's cuddling in bed with Wendy, however this time around she finds herself struggling to fall asleep as the word 'hate' lingers in Irene's mind a bit longer.

Didn't she hate Wendy at one point? She takes a peek back at the sleeping girl as she thinks about how far they've come yet again. It makes her wonder if she had ever really 'hated' Wendy in the first place. Maybe deep down she knew never did, but she'll admit that she definitely didn't like her at the start. Not to mention that Wendy didn't seem to be her biggest fan at the beginning too. As she remembers how their relationship has grown and how she had gotten to learn about Wendy more, she starts to get into her thoughts thinking that maybe this is all too good to be true. 

Was it really possible for her to genuinely like someone so quickly despite not liking them at first? Or has she been blinded by the joy she would feel when experiencing aspects of a relationship to the point where it didn't matter who the person was?

So now here she is, left to wonder.

A/N: Okay, hear me out.

The ending may seem worrisome, but don't be scared lmao! The idea is that I think it's fairly normal to question a relationship early on especially for someone who has never been in one before. I also believe that people start to get self-conscious especially if it's with someone that they didn't necessarily get along with at first too (plus the given circumstances that their relationship had technically been an act), so I think Irene's thoughts at the end of this chapter and her sudden change seemed reasonable and you'll see how she deals with it as time goes on.

Thanks for reading and lemme know what you think by commenting or letting me know on twitter!

- S

(@rv_twice5 on twitter)