(Listen to O Holy Night by: Tommee Profitt, Tauren Wells and SVRCINA while you read this one. This cover is breathtaking in every possible way and the unexpected build in this classic Christmas song, drives the emotions in this piece!)

Snowflakes froze against the windowpane as though twinkling fragments of glass. Their fragility made their presence that much more breathtaking, as they delicately lined the frosted glass in perfectly crafted flakes. Each of their finely made edges uniquely their own, as neither was quite alike as another. It was beautiful, to see such mesmerizing perfection in something that was so purposefully imperfect. For the differences in each tiny twinkling flake, was what made their beauty shine. It wasn't found in being the same as all of the rest, there was beauty in the fact that each and every flake that fluttered down from the heavens above, was created to be it's own special little snowflake.

The light of the flickering fire that burned warmly in the cobblestone designed fireplace, illuminated against the window's frosted glass. For it lent a specific hue to the living room, an orangish shade that bathed the soft carpet and the pale white walls in a warming light. It immersed the room in it's light that exuded from it's dancing flames. Night settled in a blanket of darkness on the other side of the frozen front window. The entirety of the Christmas Day having come and gone yet another year in a row, with only the last dwindling hours left to it's name. But even with the darkness that engulfed the world and signaled for the day to come to an end, the twinkling fluorescent light of the tall Christmas tree continued to glow within the walls that casted the night out. The living room was immersed in the light of the burning fire, but it came alive with the glittering of little red and green twinkle lights, that wrapped themselves around the mantel above the fireplace. The day faded with the sun as a content stillness settled over the snowy Earth, but the living room sang with the magic that emanated from the little crystal bulbs beaming from the decorated Christmas tree.

The deep evergreen stood artificial but with every feeling of a true pine, with it's branches full and graced with the job of safely balancing the tiny glittery ornaments upon them. It's little white lights intertwined with it's branches, as their glow bounced against the reflective trinkets that softly twirled against the tree. Capturing the light with a mesmerizing twinkle, that made the tree look as though it was alive with it's own sense of happiness.

You could never be able to deny the beauty that emanated from every crevice of the house, for it was so overwhelming in it's warmth, that it demanded to be felt. You couldn't keep the soft smiles from beaming across your lips throughout the joyful day, or even the happy pierce of tears in your eyes at the lyric of a softly hummed Christmas hymn or the sight of the breathtaking lights that made the room feel more alive than it had in years. There would forever be a magical effect of Christmas, bringing forth a lighthearted flutter and swell of happiness in the littlest of moments. But even as the feelings of the holiday season touched upon your heart, it would never be able to fill the hole that lingered inside. The warmth could never conceal the chill that shuddered through, the sentiment of the holiday could never soothe away the ache. As hard as it tried to fill the void, Christmas Day would always be missing one thing.

Your fingers slid up the cord as it unplugged the Christmas tree for the night, watching as the branches went dark and the corner of the room seemly became dormant for the night. Moving towards the mantel, as your fingers inched towards the next light strand to be unplugged for the night, you found yourself pausing as your eyes fell upon a picture frame stood against the polished wood. You could feel the warmth from the fire soaking up through your body, as your toes softly curled into the carpet closest to it but your fingers felt cold as they hesitantly reached towards the small silver frame. It wasn't one you picked up often, as it would always sit with purpose at the highest shelf, but your heart couldn't bare to hold it much closer. But tonight, in the lasting glow of the crackling flames and the last of the brightly glowing Christmas lights, your fingers gently trailed against the photograph.

It was your favorite picture you had ever taken of him. For it spoke boldly of the way you wanted him to be remembered in your mind. When you looked at this photograph, gone were the racing images of where he might possibly be in the world, the nightmares of what kinds of horrific dangers were weighing heavy on his shoulders. But most importantly, when you gazed at the photograph, you saw the look in his eyes that you always wanted to remember... in case you never got the chance to see them again.

His skin was always gifted with a perfection that emanated even through that of a camera lens. But in this one, an imperfection presented itself in the corners of his eyes. Although far from a flaw, it contradicted the smooth and airbrush seeming beauty of his tanned flesh. Thin little creases, lifting upwards into faint curves. The blue of his eyes were bright, as though they themselves twinkled with a light all their own. As though it wasn't casted from somewhere amongst where he stood, but instead, radiated upwards from deep down inside of his wholesome soul. The emotion displayed across his face, had the heartwarming smile spread across his perfectly pale lips to thank for that. For the happiness in his grin, an all consuming joy, almost seemed to ooze from his pores. Brightening every inch of his flesh, as his contentment guided his expression into one of radiating joy. It was the look in his eyes and the smile he wore relaxed across lips, whenever he was with you.  

Swiping away a fallen tear, that was trickling slowly down your warmly illuminated cheek, your hands retreated from the silver picture frame that held his beautiful face ever so delicately. Your heart felt heavier as you unplugged the last strand of lights and allowed for the living room to become darker. Only that of the crackling fire lighting the walls and your way, as you slowly turned away from the mantel and started towards the frosted windowpane. The living room felt overwhelmingly silent, as no sound but the popping of blistering embers and the soft blowing of the wind, whistled in the space. The sadness that clutched tightly to your heart on this cold Christmas night, spoke volumes.

Your fingertips trailed against the soft linen curtains, as you slowly began to pull them closed over the crystalized glass, but a glimmer of light captures your eye. Stalling your hands, as your eyes gaze out through the frosted glass at the snow covered sidewalk. No longer being able to see the light grey cement that once lined the neighborhood, now completely dusted with the pearly white snow that glitters like tiny diamonds underneath the pale moonlight. A winter wonderland, just in time for Christmas, but the sight of a deep navy blue standing against the edge of your front lawn, takes you by surprise. For it stands out like a spot light amongst a land of perfectly pure white, almost as though a drop of ink in the middle of an empty canvas.

The frost against the window and the warmth emanating from within the walls, clouds the corners of the glass, but swiping your fingers through the cold steam, your eyes settle on the figure of dark navy blue. It stands straight, as it faces the window you gaze through as though it's searching through the flurries of the snowfall just for you. The darkness of the night still threatens to absorb the figure into it's shadows, but just as it had initially captured your attention, something silver glints from the figure of blue. As you stare, squinting closer for any semblance of recognition through the increased blur of snowflakes, it's the rising feeling within your chest that brings forth the much needed clarity.   

For as your eyes gaze at the figure standing bold against the pure white backdrop, the thundering beating in the base of your heart miraculously begins to slow as the ache that had held it captive slowly begins to ease. A sensation so foreign, as it was a pain you had begun to accept as a part of yourself, that it left your legs trembling with a breathless feeling soaring throughout your lightened chest. You couldn't see his face through the blur of the snow, but your heart told you more than your eyes ever could.

Dropping the curtains from your tightening grasp, feeling the shocked gasps for air passing through your lips, you bolted for the door. Running barefooted against the warm carpet until you collided with cold hardwood at the base of the foyer, yanking open the brass doorknob, feeling the immediate rush of the December cold biting against your exposed flesh. But the cold couldn't hurt you, not when your eyes watched in disbelief as the figure in dark navy blue slowly began to take shape. The moonlight glinted against the silver star that formed in the center of his chest, the deep maroon standing out even more than the blue amongst the white of the snow. His boots trudged through the snow covered sidewalk, his strides hurried as he nearly ran through the inches burying the tips of his shoes.

It feels as though you're standing in the middle of a dream. As though at any moment, the harshness of reality will wake you to another morning without his presence. But as you stand feeling the pull of your heart, as tears overwhelm your eyes, watching as his unmistakable form carries him up the illuminated front three steps, you know in the depth of your soul that this is truly reality. As unbelievable and dreamlike as it feels, you know that the remarkable emotion consuming your being in this very moment, is nothing short of a real life miracle.  

Steve Rogers's arms engulf you in a contentment you never knew was possible. Even as the familiarity of them come flooding in like the tides, something about their strength as they wrap tightly around your trembling body, is new. It's the unexplainable fulfilling of a longing so deeply rooted, that you can nearly feel the edge of your very soul singing in sweet relief.

His shoulders are dusted in the flurries, dumping the crystalized flakes down against your blowing tendrils and flannel pajamas, but they melt instantly from the heat that radiates from your body on the inside and out. The scent of his flesh is as though a living memory. For it floods you with the feelings you had kept hidden away to protect your fragile heart. The purity that sings a certain sweetness, melding with the richness of the faint earthy tones that always seemed to find place in his intoxicating musk. Steve's warmth soaks you completely, finally feeling the settling of your shivering heart, as the chill is finally melted by the tender touch of his strong arms and cheek as it rests against the top of your head.

"Is it really you?" Muffled by the pressure of his durable suit, your words faintly touch his ear just enough so, that he pulls away and allows for your overflowing eyes to gaze up at him through tear soaked lashes.

His blue eyes engulf your sight, wrapping their kind and loving gaze around the tears that fall endlessly from your awestruck eyes. His cheeks are tinted pink from the cold that swirls relentlessly around the two of you, as your tears slowly begin to freeze trails down your own reddening cheeks, but you were frozen where you stood the moment he swept you up into his embrace.

"Tell me that this is real Steve," You begged through a soft sob, searching his eyes for any glimmer that would tell you that it wasn't him. Coming up empty, as all you could find was the perfect purity of his baby blues. "please tell me it's really you."

Steve's right hand lifted just a fraction, as he cradled the side of your face and you felt the overwhelming warmth as his thumb slowly brushed away the dripping teardrops from underneath your watering eyes. Easing away the burn of the cold and cooling off the pain with a balm to your longing heart that had yearned for far too long.

"Yeah," His breath froze in front of him as he breathed his answer out softly, as though he couldn't quite believe the words or the reality of this moment himself. "this is real, it's me."

"You came back," Your voice cracked in a depth of vulnerability, but you didn't care how weak you felt when you were finally standing back in the strength of his loving arms. "you really came back."

Steve's blues flashed a glittering light, almost like the way the moonlight looks upon the freshly fallen snow, as the edges of his cold but perfect lips curl upwards into the softest of smiles. "Of course I came back, I shouldn't have ever left in the first place."

It was in those delicately formed words, that you saw the truth reflecting in his eyes that looked deeply into your own. The ache that pulled your heart nearly completely out of your chest in his absence, he felt it too. Perhaps, your heart pulled towards him just as his own was doing for you. Steve Rogers tried to put your life, your wellbeing, your happiness far beyond his own yearnings. But in the process, he never realized that perhaps it was possible that what you needed most in this life... was him. That you would never be safer than you would be with him. That you would never be more pain free, more cared for, or happier than you would be with him. And so, despite all of the voices continuing to beg him to stay away, he came back. Because Steve Rogers listened to the loudest voice of them all... the voice inside of his heart... and it led him straight to you.  

"I love you," Steve whispered against the warmth of your lips. "no matter where in the world I went, no matter how far away I tried to get away, no matter how much I tried to convince myself you were better off, I couldn't stop loving you. I don't think I ever will."

Feeling the bend of your bare toes, as they continued to freeze against the cold front porch, as you pressed your lips against his own. Kissing him with a deepness that you had yearned for since the moment he left. It was the sealing of a fate that you could feel in your heart, the solidifying of your future in a way that you could see written out in the stars clearer than you ever had before. Steve Rogers had come back to you, because above it all, he needed you in his life as much as you needed him. Perhaps beneath the super human strength and the extreme healing that should've easily healed any ache in his heart, you were his one weakness.

"I love you Steve Rogers," You whispered, smiling against his lips that mirrored your loving expression. "thank you for coming back to me. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas my love." He whispered back, before kissing you once more.

The late Christmas snow swirled heavily around the two of your entwined bodies, as though you stood amongst a shaken snow globe, but neither of you had ever felt warmer. As the Christmas day faded as the night slowly stretched into the coming new morning hours, you realized that the greatest Christmas gift you received this year was no gift at all. What God had sent you, wrapped in dark navy blue and maroon, topped with shimmering silver star, was a Christmas miracle.

A/N: Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

I know that the beginning of this one shot starts out a bit angsty and heavy with emotion, but I felt it was much needed in the building of the yearning and story. For a heavy beginning full of longing, makes the reunion so much more beautiful and needed! There's an undeniable softness in the ending that I knew it had to have, not only in the story itself but in the essence of a Christmas piece!

I was kind of stumped this year, when coming up with Christmas ideas for Steve Rogers (I honestly think I peaked last year with my three pieces!) but I sat down with this song playing and as the melodies began to build, I was instantly hit with this overwhelming image of a yearning reunion on Christmas night. And so, I began to piece this one along as I wrote, letting the scene flow on the page. I tried to make this piece as cohesive, detailed, full of emotion and still with the feeling of Christmas woven throughout as I could and I feel it came together well! Especially the ending, I love so many lines in the last few paragraphs.

I hope that you all enjoyed this one and that you all have a magical Christmas!!❤🎄