My stomach rumbled loudly as I poked my nose into my kitchen. About a thousand different, wonderful scents met my nose. "How's the cooking going?"

Will glanced at me, wrinkling his nose in that cute manner of his and pulling at the collar of his cashmere cardigan. "Hot."

"I'll bet," I laughed, nodding toward the oven, which was not only baking the turkey but also boiling just about every vegetable in the world on its four burners. Will was amazing and could manage to cook everything and anything all at once. He was even making homemade cider.

All the while looking adorable in my Kiss The Cook apron.

"So how'd you make out this morning?" I asked, referring to earlier when he'd gone to his house to scavenge whatever items he could. Someone had come to check it out the day before and dubbed some areas safe enough to walk through. So Will had entered in search of clothing, that way he didn't have to keep wearing my grandpa's old stuff (which was actually a sight to see).

He plucked at his black cardigan. "Well, this was saved. And my jeans."

And thank his jeans were saved. They were just tight enough to show off his ass, but not so tight you could see everything. "Anything else?"

"Yeah, most of my clothing, actually. Luckily. I hate shopping."

I smiled. Someone with money that didn't like shopping. Wasn't that something? "That's good. They figure out what caused the fire yet?" Because it definitely faulty wiring.

Turning his back on me, he shrugged his shoulders. "No, the investigation is ongoing."

"Is it suspicious?" I persisted.

"Maybe."

"Maybe dealing with those guys from your restaurant— oh my god," I said quickly, my eyes widening.

Will glanced over his shoulder at me, his mouth twisted downward. "What?"

"When I first moved in here, there were people looking for you," I told him, shifting my weight onto my left foot and crossing my arms. "I can't believe I forgot. Well, I can, because it's been busy, but that's not the point. I'm pretty sure they were part of the mafia. And the guy who spoke to me didn't sound too happy."

"Why didn't you say something before?" Will demanded.

"Because I didn't know I even had a neighbor. Your house is always dark. Speaking of which, are you a vampire?" I deadpanned.

Will half-smiled and shrugged again. "That's part of the reason why my lights are always off."

"What's the other part?"

"Saving the environment?"

I grinned briefly, before shifting my expression into something more stern. "Seriously, though. You can't tell me that those people, and the people from your coffee shop, and your house getting set on fire, aren't connected."

"Sure I can," he responded calmly.

"Will."

He let out a small sigh. "I don't know. Maybe. Probably."

I gaped at him, my pulse spiking. "You're kidding... you're part of the mafia?"

"What? No," he replied, eyes wide and amused. "Where'd you get that idea?"

"I don't know, they just seemed like that kind of people."

Will rolled his eyes, running a hand through his messy, dark hair. "No, I'm not part of the mafia. Or any gang. I just caused a lot of trouble when I was younger. You know how I'm the black sheep."

"Care to elaborate more on that?" I asked.

"Not really. It's none of your concern, Katie," he told me, turning back to the pots on the stove. "They're just people who don't know how to let things go."

I frowned at him. "You know, I read this story once. About a girl meeting a guy, who was part of a gang. He ended up getting shot, and she ended up getting stabbed because she got caught up in it. And they even kidnapped her friend."

Will spared me an amused glance. "What in the world do you read? Those erotic books made for grandmothers?"

I turned my nose up at him. "It's a classic. The point is—"

"You don't want to put your brother in danger," Will surmised, his expression softening. "Don't worry. I'm sure they didn't mean to set my house on fire, just to scare me a little. But if you'd feel safer if I didn't stay here—"

"No," I said, shaking my head vehemently. "No, Will, you know I want you to stay here. I couldn't turn you out to a stinky motel room."

Grinning, he closed the space between us and pinched my cheeks. "Good, now stop being such a worrywart."

"I can't not worry," I tried to say, but it came out garbled because he still had my cheeks. After a moment I slapped his hands away. "You make me feel like a child."

Will's eyes raked my body appreciatively. "You don't look like one."

Cheeks warming again, I scrunched my face up at him. "How old are you again, thirty?"

"You know you love this," he responded, running a hand down his chest. His firm, flat chest.

I pretended to think about it for a moment. "I think I prefer Matt."

"Yeah?" he asked, smirking down at me, taking a step closer. "You sure about that?"

My heart fluttered in my chest. . Suddenly aware of both my increased pulse and our proximity, my confidence faltered. "P-pretty sure," I stammered out, eyes fixed firmly on his lips. And boy was that the wrong place to look.

His tongue darted out to wet them, pink and quick, and I swallowed. What I would do to kiss him...

Suddenly the doorbell rang, causing both of us to jump back violently. As I ducked my head in embarrassment, I caught red creeping up the back of Will's neck. Thank God for that doorbell. I wasn't sure what would happen if Will and I kissed. It'd make things a hell of a lot more awkward. Or would it? Our friendship could still be the same... just with more kissing and touching, right? Which didn't sound all that bad to me.

"I'll get it!" Dustin called from somewhere upstairs and five seconds later I heard him thundering down the stairs. His footsteps continued until they stopped at the front door. "Matt!" he exclaimed, his voice cracking as his pitch soared.

"Hey, Kiddo," I heard Matt greet my brother. "Where are the newlyweds?"

I grimaced at his joke. "In the kitchen," Dustin replied, his voice closer, and both men appeared in the kitchen doorway a moment later.

Will waved at his brother. "Hey."

Matt raised an eyebrow at the suspicious space between his brother and me, and our awkward stances. "Hello, Katie. Nice to see you."

"Same to you, Merry Christmas."

"It's not Christmas yet," he responded with a grin, moving further into the kitchen. He headed straight to Will, wrapping an arm around his neck. "Nice apron. Do I get to kiss the cook?"

"No—"

"Too bad," Matt said simply before placing a big, fat kiss on Will's cheek. "Happy Christmas, baby brother."

Will's face screwed up in disgust and he shoved his brother off him, wiping the saliva from his cheek. "You're gross."

Matt smirked. "No, I'm just not afraid to show a little family love. Speaking of which." He turned to me, eyes bright. "You're part of the family now, too."

"Um, I think I'm good," I told him, taking a few steps back.

Unfortunately, Matt was quick on his feet and had his lips on my cheek before I could blink. His wet, sloppy lips. "There you go, buddy," he said, patting my back after peeling his lips off me.

"Thanks," I said dryly, moving toward Dustin and using the sleeve of his shirt to wipe the spittle off.

"Hey!" he protested, jerking his arm back. "That's gross." Then he raised his fists defensively as Matt moved back toward him. "Back off."

Matt held up his hands. "You're safe. No germs for you. Also, I brought presents."

"You did?" Dustin said, excited again. "Great! I got you one too!"

Matt honestly looked touched. "Can I trade Will for you?"

"I'm all for it," Will supplied.

"I'll keep my brother, thank you," I said, wrapping an arm around said sibling. I didn't even want to think about being related to Will.

Awkward.

"I'm going to grab my gifts out of the car," Matt told me before disappearing out of the kitchen again.

"Make sure Sherlock doesn't get outside!" I called, seeing the cat himself scurry after him.

Thanks to Will's helping out with the bills, I'd had a lot more money than I'd anticipated for Christmas, so I'd managed to go out last second and get a present for everyone, more so for Dustin. It wasn't hard to pick out what to get everyone. I knew them better than I'd thought I did. Even Clara, who couldn't make it tonight (hot date with her boyfriend).

"I wonder where Dimitri is," Will mused, scooping a spoonful of butter into one of the boiling pots on the stovetop. "I hope he didn't forget."

"I talked to him earlier, he told me he might be running a little late," I relayed, scrunching up my forehead to try and remember exactly what he said. "Something about ferrets and pills."

Will nodded. "Ah, Merlin must be sick again."

"Merlin?"

"His pet ferret."

"He has a pet ferret named Merlin?" I echoed, an amused smile creeping onto my lips. "That's cute."

Will chuckled. "I suppose it is. Not very fond of the rodent myself, though. Dimitri doesn't believe in locking it up in its cage. One morning I fell asleep there and woke up with Merlin down my shirt. He has two other ones, too, but none of them are as daring as Merlin."

"Nice," I commented with a giggle.

Matt returned with a trash bag full of presents, which I directed him to put in the living room. Sherlock inspected them disdainfully, upset they took his sleeping place under the Christmas tree. Dustin brought down his, and Will abandoned his post in the kitchen for a moment to retrieve his as well. Feeling a little left out, I disappeared up the steps to my room to lug down mine as well, excluding the ones for Dustin and Will. They'd receive theirs later. And when all the presents were under the Christmas tree, it actually felt like a real Christmas again. One I hadn't had since my mother died. Dustin must've been thinking the same thing because he was zoning out at the brightly lit up Christmas tree. Sauntering over to him, I gave him a quick squeeze on the shoulder. He smiled broadly back at me.

"Food's almost ready," Will announced, popping his head into the living room. "Dimitri will be here any moment—"

The doorbell rang, cutting him off. I immediately went off to let Dimitri in, letting him give me a kiss on the cheek in greeting. "Hey, Katie. I brought presents."

I smiled at him, gesturing him to enter my house. "As did everyone else. You can put them under the tree."

"You have a tree?" he echoed. "Nice. My parents never used to set up trees because they aren't religious, and I never bother to do it." Taking a deep inhale, he grinned. "Ah, smells like pine."

Soon everyone was gathered around our dining table, sitting patiently while Will and I brought in the delicious smelling food. The meal was full of laughter, and food throwing, and sexual innuendos, and everything was perfect. Dustin choked on his food more than once from laughing so hard. I hadn't seen him laugh so hard since our mother passed away. For once, everything seemed alright. Not quite normal, but it felt right.

It felt warm and . And I loved it.

After dinner, we all migrated to the living room, where everyone took a seat on the scattered furniture and tuned in for a showing of . Dustin and Dimitri were sprawled out on the couch and Matt had claimed one of the armchairs to himself, leaving Will and me to share the other. We squeezed ourselves into it, groaning and shoving until we were both comfortable, him sitting as far back as he could in the chair with me between his legs and resting my back against his chest. I figured it probably should've been weird, but it wasn't.

I almost fell asleep, but once the credits of the movie started rolling, Dustin sprung up from the couch, claiming it was time to exchange gifts. Designating himself as Santa, he sorted through the kind of amazingly large pile of gifts and handed out to the respective receivers. Then we began taking turns each opening one gift, so each one could receive appreciation.

Matt was first, opening a huge cardboard box full of chocolates from Will. Grinning ear to ear, he winked at his brother. "Trying to make me fat, huh?"

"There's a membership to the gym in there somewhere," Will responded with a grin of his own. "For the next five years since you seem to plan on sticking around. Also a scale, because I remember you telling me you don't own one."

"Oh, so now you're calling me fat?"

Will just rolled his eyes. "Next?"

"That'd be me," Dustin said excitedly, ripping open the present closest to him. In it was a fancy looking microscope from Matt.

Matt gave Dustin a sheepish look. "You mentioned you wanted to do something with science in college, so I thought you might like that if you ever wanted to examine anything at home or whatever."

Dustin's eyes were comically wide. "It's perfect! Thank you!"

Just seeing Dustin so happy made me feel happy. I sent Matt a grateful smile, trying to ignore the tugging of my heartstrings. Dustin hadn't received such a great gift in a long time, and here was Matt, being amazing. Clearing my throat, I forced myself to stop thinking before I teared up.

The gift exchange continued, Matt receiving a silver watch from me because he always wanted to know the time, Dimitri getting Will a couple of his favorite DVDs and Harry Potter Clue (apparently, Will was a closeted Harry Potter fan), and Dimitri gaining a $25 dollar gift card to his favorite steak house from me. Will bought Dimitri new work shirts, because Dimitri's were apparently always dirty. Matt gave me a $50 gas card and The Complete Collection of the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Author Conan Doyle while Dimitri tossed me a Victoria's Secret bag. For a second I thought he'd bought me lingerie but after a quick peeks, I was relieved to see it was just my favorite scents and lotions. And Dustin got both Matt and Dimitri gift cards to the cinema, saying he'd heard them say they wanted to see a movie that was coming out next year.

"I figured I'd give you two your presents later," Dustin said, turning to face Will and myself.

"So did I," I told him.

Will grinned a little bit. "I guess great minds do think alike."

Matt pouted. "Aw, I wanted to see what you guys got each other. Will wouldn't tell me anything and turned down all my present proposals."

"One of those included buying her a dolphin, Matt."

"Hey! Everyone wants a dolphin," he defended, causing Dimitri to start laughing loudly.

"Where would even keep a dolphin?" I mused.

"I offered to buy you guys a pool," Matt said nonchalantly. "Sea salt, or whatever. It depends on the dolphin."

I grinned. "Well, I guess I wouldn't have minded a dolphin."

"See!"

Will rolled his eyes. "No."

"Can I have a dolphin next year?" Dimitri inquired, turning his eager eyes onto Matt. "Or my birthday! That's closer!"

Looking smug and proud of himself for his great idea, he nodded. "Yes, you can have a dolphin. We can all have dolphins!"

"I don't even think that's legal, Matt," Will pointed out.

"Stop being a party pooper, Will."

Will sighed.

For the next two hours, we watched another Christmas movie, this time . Dimitri said his goodbyes halfway through that, saying he needed to be up early the next morning. Dustin fell asleep a little after Dimitri left, and Will retrieved a blanket from one of the closets for him. It was close to midnight when the movie ended.

I stood up from the armchair and went over to shake Dustin awake. "Dustin, if you're tired, go to sleep. In your room."

He opened one of his eyes warily and mumbled something intelligible.

"Up and at'em, Kiddo," Matt said, yanking the blanket off of Dustin. "And I'm leaving, so say goodbye."

Dustin let out an overdramatic groan but sat up. "Good riddance," he muttered to Matt.

Matt rolled his eyes and mussed with Dustin's hair. "Merry Christmas, kid."

"Merry Christmas," Dustin responded. "And goodnight." He glanced back at me. "We're opening our presents tomorrow morning, right?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "Yes, Dustin. Goodnight."

"Night."

Matt engulfed me in a hug, squeezing tight. "Merry Christmas, Katie. I'll stop by again at some point. Don't let my brother bully you."

"Okay," I mumbled into his chest, smiling. "Merry Christmas."

After messing up my hair too, he moved onto Will, clapping him on the shoulder. "Work for it."

"Have fun at Mom's."

Matt grimaced. "I'll try to have enough for the two of us."

"Drive a nail into your hand, it'll be more fun."

"For you maybe," Matt said with a laugh. "I'll tell her you say hi. I'll see you two later."

I waved. "See you, Matt."

After Matt left, I turned to Will, who was just shutting off the television. "Care to share a piece of pie?" he asked when he caught my eye.

"Ugh, I'm still stuffed from dinner," I told him, putting a hand on my stomach. "I'll throw up."

"Come on," he urged, grinning. "Don't wimp out on me. You can never be too full for pie."

Sighing, I relented, allowing him to lead me into the kitchen. "I'm going to get fat."

"Hey, that just means there is more of you to love," he commented with a wink.

We stood together at the kitchen counter with a medium-sized slice of pumpkin pie in front of us. Covered in whipped cream, courtesy of me. My side pressed against Will's as we ate, literally forcing down every bite. Somehow, we managed to finish it off. Will swiped his pointer finger over the plate, gathering up all the excess whipped cream and crumbs, and then licked it off. "I have a question," he began after his finger was clean.

I blinked, realizing my eyes were trained on his lips for the second time this night. "Umm, yeah?" I responded, forcing my gaze to meet his.

"You've read my novel, right?"

"Yeah, I have. It was really good. Why?"

Clearing his throat, he fished something out of his pocket and held it in his fist. "You trust me enough to tell me about your family's history, so I should trust you enough to tell you about mine. So... I've been thinking about this for a while, and I think it's okay to give you this."

He gestured for me to hold out my hand, and then dropped a flash drive into it. Furrowing my eyebrows, I inspected it curiously. "What's in it?"

"A novel I wrote. I haven't shown it to anyone before. It's very... private," he explained, looking nervous.

"What's it about?"

He offered me a wry smile. "My life."

"You mean..." Did this novel hold the secret Will kept quiet? The reason he was the black sheep of his family? Why his mother disliked him so much?

Nodding, he ran a hand over his face. "Everything. Every detail I'm ashamed of... I want you to read it. And then when you do, we'll talk."

I gripped the flash drive tightly in my hand. "Are you sure, Will?"

Will offered me a genuine smile, bumping his hip against mine. "I'm positive. You told me about your past, so the least I can do is tell you about mine. Even if it isn't that pretty."

"Will..."

He placed a hand on my cheek, stroking the skin with his thumb. "Read it?"

"Okay," I breathed out quietly. "Okay."