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"You know- That night of the break-in was probably the best thing to ever happen to us, Honey."
"Well, I'm not so sure that I would say that, Sugar."
"Oh come on, Honey!" Sugar then sat up in his chair. "The raise I got after that! We never could have gotten all of these gifts, for Baby Girl, had it not been for that raise!"
"Yeah, Sugar. But you could have been hurt! Or even worse... And it was only by the grace of Eru that Sarge survived that night! So again, I don't think I'd go so far as to say that it was the- 'best thing to ever happen to us'."
"That's fair... And I do believe that the birth of Baby Girl would happen to be THE best thing to ever happen to us." Sugar then began chuckling, "So, I do suppose- that you're right, then… Even if it's just because of technicalities!"
"Oh stop it, Sugar!" Honey laughed. "Now speaking of gifts- What do you want Santa to bring you? Only a couple of nights left, you know!"
"Oh don't tempt me, Honey," Sugar chuckled. "I know we've already talked about this… but you also know that I'd love that Bat-Symbol lapel pin that we saw at the general store the other day…"
"Ok, ok. I'll stop teasing... But you did get the new 'She-Hulk'-doll for Baby Girl, didn't you? The other day, like I asked."
"The what?"
"You know, 'She-Hulk'... Dr. Walters. She's part of that government initiative, 'The Commandos'... Something like that. They're now running cartoons in the Saturday papers…"
"Yeah, yeah. No… I know, Honey… But what doll?"
"YOU DIDN'T GET THE DOLL!?" Honey then stormed off of the couch, and out of the living room. She went to the kitchen, and began fumbling around in the drawers.
"I… I didn't-"
"I told you! Last Tuesday!... Oh my Eru… I knew I should have just gone to the store, and gotten it myself…"
"Honey, it's fine. I'll go out right now and get one." Sugar then got out of his chair, and walked into the kitchen.
"There's none left! It's sold out!" Honey then grabbed her automobile keys, from a drawer near the sink. She then began heading to the coat rack in the foyer.
"If they're sold out- Then what are you doing?" Sugar was still following Honey.
Honey then stopped what she was doing, and looked directly into Sugar's eyes. "I'm going to try and find one," She said… That look though…
"Listen, Honey. I… I've got something worked out. I was keeping it a surprise… But, listen. Go get you a coffee, maybe even some breakfast- if you want. Don't worry about the doll... I've got this covered."
"How?" Honey tried asking, but Sugar had already ushered her out of the house, and had shut the front door.
Honey did still proceed to get into her automobile. Sugar couldn't be for sure where she would go, or if she would listen to his advice, but Sugar's plan was, so far, working exactly as he had planned…
You see, Honey and Sugar had agreed to not get each other any gifts this year. Even though they had boasted of being able to buy a bounty of gifts for their daughter, they still were barely making ends meet. So they had decided to spend the extra money on Baby Girl, only. They wanted to give her the best Christmas that she would have imagined.
However, Sugar did not have it in him to keep that agreement... He needed to get Honey something. ANYTHING would be far more acceptable than nothing… And honestly, Honey knows Sugar better than anyone else on Arda. She should have known this to be the case… But they had certainly discussed the "no gifts for each other" agreement, and they had both agreed to its terms.
Ultimately, Sugar had, in fact, left work early one evening, and made his way through a couple of Honey's favorite stores. He had found a few things here, and a few more there. The satin sheets that she had wanted. The make-up made from only the best ingredients. Sugar was proud of himself… He didn't do too much, but he made sure that the little bit that he did do had counted!
Now, however, what Sugar needed was for Honey to leave the house for a few moments- so that he could wrap her gifts without her knowing! He knew that if he had got her thinking that a gift was missing, it would prompt her to want to leave the house... However, what Sugar hadn't accounted for was the level of rage that he could see within Honey's eyes- the moment that she "knew" that he had "forgotten" the doll- which is why he tried to change gears before getting Honey out of the house.
… And Sugar hadn't forgotten the doll… He had it wrapped, with the rest of Baby Girl's gifts. And it was stacked at the top of the hallway closet, waiting to be placed under the tree… In the end though, seeing Honey's face full of rage was only a small price to pay, for the minutes of solitude he now had to wrap her gifts…
…
"Mom! Dad! Wake up! It's time to open gifts!" Baby Girl shouted from the doorway of her parents bedroom.
"Alright, Baby Girl. Give us a couple seconds to get out of bed-"
Before Sugar could finish his sentence, Baby Girl had taken off in a dead sprint- towards the bed! She dove between her parents, popped up, and started jumping! She then began chanting, "Come on, Mommy! Come on, Daddy!", Over and over… Honey and Sugar quickly got out of bed, and then put on their robes and slippers. After, they all three then left the bedroom, and made their way towards the living room…
As the three reached the end of the hallway - which lead to both the kitchen on the one side, and the living room on the other - Honey went into the kitchen to start brewing a pot of coffee. Baby Girl did another 'burst into dead sprint' when she saw the mountain of gifts piled under the tree. Sugar walked into the living room and sat down in his favorite chair.
"Oops! What's this?" Sugar said. He then pulled out a small box from underneath his rear. When sitting down- Sugar hadn't seen this gift, and had accidentally sat on it!
"Oh, I don't know… Must be something from Santa!" Honey laughed from the kitchen. "Open it. I'm coming in now with our mugs."
… Sugar ripped open the tiny box… It was a Bat-Symbol lapel pin…
"Tha- Thank you… Santa." Sugar looked at Honey- with a look that most certainly stated, "I love you."
"Santa's always listening, Sugar," Honey smiled. "And he never lets someone nice not get a gift."
"You do not lie, Honey." Sugar smiled back at his wife.
… Baby Girl, who had been furiously opening her gifts since first landing on the floor in front of the tree, then yelled out-
"What!? YES! The She-Hulk doll that I wanted!"
"But how did… Santa… How did you," Honey questioned aloud, while turning to look over at Sugar.
"Like you said, Honey. Santa's always listening."