Sora dipped onto the sofa beside Imogen where she was using her protruding stomach as a table for the plate of Christmas-themed sugar cookies she was devouring like a scourge.

"Good cookies?"

She swallowed her latest mouthful. "Carbs have never tasted this good. What is this baby doing to me?"

"Making you glow from the inside out. You look great. Your hair, your skin, your smile; you're glowing from head to toe."

Imogen fingered her hair self-consciously. "You think so? I'm the size of Mercedes."

"I've never seen a Mercedes wear Elie Saab like you do. I didn't know they did maternity wear."

Imogen smirked. "They don't. I altered it myself. What do you think?" She preened.

"You look radiant. You'll have to talk to Narsi about heading up a maternity line at Misra."

Imogen screeched to a halt mid-cookie. "I could so do that."

"Yup. Or even a Mommy & Me collection." Imogen squeaked and dragged Sora into a tight sideways hug.

"Oh my god! That's perfect! Ravi Misra, marry this woman! She's brilliant."

Ravi excused himself from a conversation with Ishir and Manendra to join Sora and Imogen on the couch. Sora smoothed her skirt in an attempt to disregard everyone else discreetly listening in. "What's this about me marrying Sora?"

Imogen was finishing off another of Pam's delectable desserts. "She just pitched a maternity and Mommy & Me collection for Misra. We have to do it."

"You throwing your hat in the fashion ring?"

Sora raised her hands. "It was just an idea."

"It's not unfeasible. Let me have my assistant do some market research and we can talk about it more after the New Year."

"Sounds great. I wanna get some ideas down before I get too big to hold a sketchpad. I've gotta tell Narsi and the moms." Imogen rose from the couch with some difficulty to find her husband. Sora envied the spring in her step that followed. I wasn't that energetic when I was carrying Tommy.

"Making your mark on the company a little bit at a time."

"It was just a thought."

"I don't mind, I like it. Just 'cause you're my muse doesn't mean you can't be anybody else's inspiration. I'm not that greedy."

"You're a little greedy."

"I've got you. Who wouldn't be?"

"You're laying it on thick. Am I going to open my Christmas gift and find socks?"

"Cashmere socks are no laughing matter."

"Please be joking."

"I never joke about fashion."

Sora laid her head on his shoulder. They stayed on the couch until it was time for carols, when they stood side by side holding hands.

...

Later that, night, Sora reached out for the warm body that usually slept beside her, only to find an empty space cooling. She cracked an eye to verify her findings. No Ravi.

She peeked into each of the boys' rooms to find their beds empty as well but messy as though they'd just risen to get a drink of water and not yet returned.

"Okay, where have my boys gotten to?"

Sora crept downstairs. The lights in the front room were still dim, yet the fireplace glowed where a fire lit and warmed the house.

She could hear commotion from the kitchen, a deep baritone she'd know in her sleep and a softer, younger voice she loved as much entwined with a giggle that made her smile instantly.

Tommy was seated in his booster chair, Dhiren was manning his stool, and Ravi was holding court over the stovetop where a quartet of pots and pans sizzled and hissed, and enticing smell rose to mingle in the air. This was her Christmas morning.

"What have we here?"

Ravi did a double-take upon finding her at the door.

"You weren't supposed to be up for another hour."

"Nobody told me the schedule or I might have waited."

Tommy was licking his fingers.

"What ya got there, sweetie?" Sora swept her finger through the mixture to give the batter a taste. "Pancake batter." She raised an eyebrow at Ravi. "You'll ruin his teeth."

"I'll brush them later."

"Better you than me." Tommy was a bear about getting his teeth brushed. She helped Dhiren with his stirring and fed Tommy a steady stream of blueberries while taking a few raspberries for himself. "Thank you, by the way," she directed at Ravi.

"What for?"

"You could have blown me off about Tommy and you didn't. I like a man who listens."

She pulled him down to kiss his prickly cheek.

"I aim to please, Trouble."

"I am not trouble."

The pan gave a pronounced hissss. The pancake had sat too long while they talked and it had burned.

Ravi pointed his spatula accusingly.

"This is what I'm talking about. Quit kissing the cook or we're going to have to eat out for Christmas breakfast."

She obeyed in deference to her hungry stomach.

Mostly.

...

Their Christmas morning consisted of an indulgent breakfast of pancakes and all kinds of sausage and eggs. They all had more sweets than they should have and neither parent complained. Sora spent too long laughing at her boys' antics to worry who would be doing all the cleaning.

Which, as it turned out, was part of her gift. Ravi shooed her out of the kitchen with a cup of hot, sweet café while he and their sons made quick work of the mess they'd made.

Ravi woke her on the couch with a kiss so they could exchange gifts at sunrise.

Tommy was enamored with his new rainbow xylophone. Sora wasn't. Ravi has to move in fulltime, if for no other reason than he should suffer with me.

Dhiren pulled an oversized Red Wings jersey from the box. "Awesome!"

"That's probably going to clash with the Blackhawks cap I got you."

Ravi's scandalized expression would live on in her memory for the rest of their lives.

"Kidding!"

Dhiren made a serious face. "Dad doesn't kid about hockey."

"I've noticed."

Dhiren fetched a large box from under the ornately decorated tree. "This is from Dad, I helped pick it out." Tommy protested. "We both helped!"

Sora tore the wrapping paper form the flat box. A dress, maybe? He's given me two now. The weight didn't feel right for clothing, the box was sturdy, its contents solid. She freed the tucked flap and swept the top back.

It was a framed map.

A map.

"It's a world map." She could see all the continents. Along the bottom it read 'A Map of Love: a Robinson Projection'.

"The most famous poets and writers, all the romanticists listed by the country they came from." He pointed to England. "That's Horsham, England. Read what it says."

'Percy B. Shelley' was listed right underneath Shakespeare. The list they were part of was long and storied.

"You live in my heart," Ravi said. "That's just the path it took to get you there."

She kissed him five time, noisly and lingering. Dhiren pretended to retch. Tommy reached for her till she gave him a hug and kissed him too right on the nose.

Sora presented her gift to Ravi in a white envelope.

"Season tickets for the Blackhawks. All the games you want, box seats."

"I like other stuff besides hockey," he protested despite fluttering through the tickets in awe.

"Such as?"

"Soccer. Fashion. Food. Poetry, maybe you remember that from how I fell in love with you."

"I'll keep that in mind for Valentine's Day."

"Speaking of treating my Valentine-"

"Were we speaking of that?"

"We were!" He produced another flat white box knotted in ribbon. She wasted no time opening it.

"What is this sweater?" The thing was downy soft grey cashmere. What it wasn't was in her size.Ravi knows sizing.

"It's the one you like wearing when I'm not here. It keeps disappearing from my closet and reappearing at the end of your bed. Must be the magic sweater faeries."

"That sounds like a reasonable explanation to me."

"Uh huh. That's your key. Anything of mine you wanna wear, wear it. I love seeing you in my clothes."

Sora hugged the sweater to her chest. It smells like him. "I like it."

"You were gonna do it anyway, weren't you?"

"No." Not totally believable. She was a scholar, not an actress.

They made quick work of clearing away the trash. Recycling in the recycling bin and disposables in the trash. They had many other plans for the day before relatives began pouring in with well wishes.

Ravi sent Dhiren off to dress for the weather while Sora handled Tommy. They squared themselves away last of all.

Sora was lacing up of snow boots when Ravi spied her in her faux fur parka with grey cashmere underneath.

"I know that sweater."

"Do you? Can't imagine how." Sora swept her hair up into a bun so it'd fun under her knit hat. "Let's go ice skating."

...

After a full morning of snowball wars and a brief stopover of bibingka, gossip, and mulled cider with Aiko and her son, Sora and Ravi were taking a rare reprieve from the holiday to scan their respective mail and email in front fo the fireplace. The boys were napping. Dhiren would be leaving the spend the rest of the day with Hana and they were enjoying the time together while they had it.

Ravi made a speculative noise.

"What?"

He tilted his tablet towards her. "Misra is having a New Year's party."

"Ravi, no, no more parties. I feel like I've done more celebrating than anything else this year. We did the holidays and that was weird enough. Let's just stay home with the boys and celebrate as a family."

"I propose a compromise."

"I hate you."

"And I love you. How about this? Let's go to the Himura Media shindig instead. We'll make an appearance, make nice with the employees. It'll give the boys a chance to play with the other kids and wear themselves out; then, it's just you and me all night."

"Are you planning a seduction, Mr. Misra?"

He tugged her against him. "Every single day."

"This is just one of the many reasons I'm in love with you."

"Care to make a list?"

"Kiss first, list later."

"Where have you been all my life?"

"Making my way to you very slowly."

They returned to office drudgery after getting waylaid by each other. That happened a l ot.

He handed her one of his ubiquitous fashion magazines. "Look at the Year in Review for Vogue."

Fashion magazines weren't particularly Sora's thing despite being in love with a fashion designer but she looked because he asked. "Looking now."

"Tell me what you see."

Sora went still. The centerfold extending from page fifty to page fifty-one was a collection of photos featuring her and Ravi. 'The Couple that Shook Fashion'?

"From 'Frump to Fashionista'? They act like I was incapable of dressing myself before we got together. Don't tell me you agree with them."

"I don't, no. Leave it to La Wintour to overstate. You've always had a way about you. They were too blind to see it—their loss. But I like the spread, I like the acknowledgement that together you and I are a force to be reckoned with. That will matter in the long run."

"What are you planning?"

"I am a man of many plans."

"If you're plotting some kind of hostile takeover of Misra..." Again went without saying.

"Nothing that treacherous. It won't be soon. This is the life and job I have. It's perfect. I won't jeopardize that."

"I'm sure your father would be happy to hear that."

"He came to me before we came home last night, he wanted to talk about the way things have been between us."

"Did you discuss Chinar?"

"That was unavoidable. He was upset that I'd turned to the Chakrabartis for support rather than the family I'd been brought up in. I couldn't really give him a straight answer."

"Dying changes everything." She'd died on an operating table more times than she could count. That's why life was for living, not fighting.

"Almost dying, too. I've gotta value what I have even as I search for the other things I need. You taught me that."