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Clarke grimaced slightly as she took in the small three foot pre-lit tree that stood in the corner of her living room. She had never been good at decorating for the holidays, especially Christmas, as nothing ever feels right. That was always someone else’s job. Clarke just shrugs, walking back through the living room towards the kitchen to make lunch. She just pulled everything out to make a sandwich when her apartment door opened and two male voices filtered in from the front room. She quickly grabs more meat and cheese from her fridge to feed her added guests as she hears Bellamy’s voice.
“Clarke!” Bellamy hollered from the other room. “What in the actual fuck is that?”
“Griffin, that can’t possibly be your only decorations!”
Clarke abandons the sandwiches on the counter, following their voices to the living room. She can feel the heat creeping up neck and staining her cheeks pink, embarrassment coursing through her veins as she takes in their looks of pure disbelief.
“That would be it.”
“Clarke, baby,” Bellamy murmured walking towards her. “This honestly can’t be your set up for Christmas.”
“I thought it was cute!” Clarke hollered in defense. “It’s perfect in that corner,” she pouts.
“Clarke, I hate Christmas,” Murphy begins. “But even I have more holiday spirit than this tree.”
“Murphy, you’re a walking contradiction,” Clarke deadpans, shaking her head. “Now leave my tree alone.”
Clarke knocks her shoulder against her friend’s as she makes her way back to the kitchen to continue the sandwiches she abandoned. Both of the guys follow behind her, sitting at her small breakfast bar, watching as she makes quick work of the sandwiches. She piles them with plenty of meat and cheese before tossing some potato chips on the side.
“All done.”
“Okay, but for real Clarke,” Bellamy said, accepting the offered plate. “Let me take you shopping for Christmas decorations.”
“Yeah, Griffin, let your boyfriend take you shopping,” Murphy teased. “It can be the perfect date!”
“Murphy, shut up,” Clarke growled at him. “I will stab you in your sleep.”
“Ouch, Griffin, you wound me!” Murphy laughed, grabbing his heart in mock pain.
“Jokes aside, Clarke,” Bellamy cuts in, grabbing her attention. “We can go this weekend when we are both off.”
Clarke doesn’t respond to his statement with an actual answer, just nods her head in defeated acceptance. She can already feel herself dreading the shopping trip and it was several days away. The thought of the crowds mixed with the cheerful holiday music playing on repeat is enough to make her cringe. Clarke flicks her eyes across the room, instantly glaring at the laughter dancing on Murphy’s face. She grins triumphantly as he winces when her foot connects with his shin. She might not want to go decoration shopping but at least she got back at Murphy for being an ass.
Bellamy feels the excitement racing through his veins as he pulls up outside of Clarke’s apartment. After a long week of waiting, he was finally getting to take her shopping for some new Christmas decorations. He wasn’t kidding when he told her that her small tree was sad. He shakes his head in disbelief at the thought of the tiny tree sitting in her apartment. Bellamy had never seen something so pitiful and he definitely couldn’t let his girlfriend continue with just that. He jogged up the stairs to her apartment and let himself into her apartment.
“Clarke,” Bellamy called out. “You ready to go to Bronner’s?”
“If I say no, does that mean I can stay home?” She grumbles.
“C’mon baby,” Bellamy coaxes her sweetly. “It will be amazing and so much fun.”
“Says Buddy the Elf!” Clarke shoots back.
“I’m proud that you can even make that reference.”
“Whatever,” Clarke mumbled, grabbing for her wallet. “Let’s get this over with.”
Bellamy grabbed her hand as they walked down to his car. He wasn’t exactly sure what her hate for Christmas decor was but he was going to do his best to change that for her. He took the scenic route to the biggest Christmas store in the area. He pointed out all of the holiday displays that adorned the different houses. Bellamy caught her starting to smile as they passed more elaborate decorations. He pulled into the parking lot of the Christmas store and noticed that she was grinning from ear to ear.
“Now that’s the smile I like to see!”
“I can’t help it,” Clarke stated. “The lights are so pretty but they’re also themed.”
“So what you’re saying is you need a theme?” Bellamy asked getting out of the car. “You don’t like the haphazard decorations.”
“I also hate the overly cheerful music on repeat,” Clarke explained. “A theme would probably help keep the chaos away.”
“You got it,” Bellamy agreed. “Now let’s get started.”
Bellamy laced his fingers through hers, before pulling her to the entrance of the store. Bronner’s was one of the best stores for the Christmas holiday. It had massive amounts of decorations that could correlate into a theme.
“Why here?” Clarke asked as they walked down an aisle filled with Christmas lights. “And not somewhere like Target with the same stuff.”
“Bronner’s is special, Clarke,” Bellamy began. “There are things you can get here that you can’t get anywhere else.”
“Like what?”
Bellamy explained the best part of the store was the customizable Christmas ornaments. His mom always got his sister and him one each Christmas with their name and the year. Sometimes she would make them say something special but they always shined brighter than the others. Bellamy walked her over to the rows and rows of ornaments of different colors, shapes, and sizes.
“Bellamy, these are beautiful,” Clarke whispered as she stared. “Let’s pick a theme for my apartment and get a couple for us.”
“Done.”
Bellamy worked closely with Clarke to get the themed worked out for her small apartment. He didn’t want to go overboard with the decorations. There was a fine line between tastefully decorated and looking like Christmas threw up in a room, and he didn’t want to cross it. Bellamy chose a deep royal blue and white sprinkled with champagne gold. He watched her eyes light up more as they got closer to the end of the shopping trip.
“I’m going to order a couple of custom pieces,” Bellamy said. “I’ll be right back.”
“Okay, meet you at the register.”
Bellamy made his way across the store to where the customizable bulbs were located. He had a couple in mind that he needed specifically for Clarke’s tree. He smiled sweetly at the elderly woman working behind the counter. Bellamy quickly explained what he wanted and the woman grinned with a twinkle in her eye. He knew he was taking a risk doing it this way but he thought that Clarke would appreciate it more in the end. He thanked the woman who made the set of ornaments he requested, before making his way back to Clarke.
“Did you get what you need?”
“Absolutely,” Bellamy grinned taking his place next to her in line. “These are going to fit perfectly.”
“Can I see them?”
“Nope,” Bellamy answered quickly. “You’ll see them when we put them on the tree.”
Bellamy leaned over, kissing the soft pout that formed on her lips. He knew that she wanted to see what was hiding in the box, but it was a surprise for her. He wanted to watch her face light up with joy as she pieces it all together. Bellamy finished checking out before grabbing the bags and her hand to make their way back to the car. He packed all of the purchases into the trunk while making sure his custom bulbs were safe and away from prying eyes. He slid into the driver’s seat and turned to the local holiday station for the drive home, getting more excited about decorating Clarke’s new tree.
Clarke finished putting away her small tree, shoving the box into the hallway closet to prepare for the new tree. She really liked the colors that they picked out for the tree and hoped that it would look great in her apartment. She moved the couch over a little as Bellamy started to unbox the six foot tree as Clarke walked over to the bags of ornaments, eyeing the box that had the custom ornaments nestled inside. She slowly reached for the box, pushing the lid ever so slightly to the side and exposing the rich blue of the bulbs.
“Princess,” Bellamy called over his shoulder, startling her into dropping the lid. “Don’t you dare look in that box.”
“I wasn’t going to look, Bell,” Clarke defended, pulling away from the box. “I just walked over to get the other ones.”
“Oh, I’m sure, Princess,” Bellamy laughed, turning back to her. “You didn’t just have the lid of the box almost off.”
“Nope,” Clarke laughed, bringing the bag to him. “You’re just seeing things.”
“Oh, I’m sure!” Bellamy chuckled at her denial. “Wanna put on some Christmas music as we decorate?”
Clarke nodded in agreement as she pulled out her phone to find a holiday station on Spotify that she could handle. She still hated the majority of Christmas music but was slowly falling in love with Michael Bublé and the smoothness of his voice. Clarke felt her body starting to sway to the music and found herself humming along as they worked together. She took a step back as she placed the last bulb on the tree and smiled brightly at the finished product.
“See, I told you,” Bellamy whispered as he wrapped his arms around her. “Christmas decorating can be fun and beautiful.”
“Did you put the ones on from the box?”
“No, not yet,” Bellamy answered. “Those are for later.”
Clarke turned around in his arms to face him with a sad pout tugging at her lips. She wanted to know what custom ones he had picked out for her tree. Judging by the look in his eyes, he wasn’t going to give into her childish antics.
“Fine.”
Clarke pushed away from him with a sigh, heading for the kitchen to get ready for the holiday party. She pulled the different trays from the fridge to set on the counter, rearranging it into a display for everyone. She listened to the music playing softly from the other room and finished setting up the food when she heard her friends arrive. She made her way into the living room standing in the doorway surveying the room.
“Now, Griffin,” Murphy started as he slung an arm around her shoulder, “That is how you decorate a tree.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Clarke chided, giving him a side hug in return. “Bellamy did an amazing job.”
“Bell always did have a flare for the Christmas decorations,” Octavia snorted. “For a minute there, we weren’t sure if he was straight.”
“Nothing wrong with that, O,” Miller laughed, nudging her shoulder. “Besides not every gay man loves to decorate.”
“Alright, let’s get some snacks.” Clarke suggested moving from the doorway. “Then we can start the party.”
Clarke watched as everyone started grabbing different appetizers and snacks, piling them onto small plates. She turned back to the tree to see if she could find the special ornaments Bellamy placed but it looked the same. Clarke shook her head as she turned back to the kitchen. She sandwiched herself between Bellamy and Murphy to make sure that she got something to snack on. After everyone finished gathering their snacks, she made her way through the small kitchen and headed back towards the living room when someone tugged her back slightly.
“Did you say it back?”
“Say what, Murphy?” Clarked asked in confusion.
“Did you say it back to him, Griffin?” Murphy asked again.
“I don’t know…”
“Just go look at your tree a little harder, Clarke,” Murphy smirked as he nudged her toward the tree. “It’s gonna be worth it.”
Clarke felt her heart rate pick up at the implication that Bellamy had put something important on her tree. She set the food she gathered on the counter, before making her way back to where her tree stood in the living room. She looked at the soft glow of the white lights as they danced against the ornaments. She found a deep royal blue bulb with her name written elegantly in white. Her vision started to blur a little as she found the other three ornaments that made up the rest of the statement. Clarke turned around to catch his eye as a single tear rolled down her cheek.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, Princess, I’m sure,” Bellamy agreed as he cupped her cheek bushing the tear away. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Bell,” Clarke whispered before pressing her lips to his. “With all my heart.”
“Good.”
“Alright, hand over my winnings,” Murphy declared, holding out his hand. “I totally called it!”
“Murphy…” Clarke groaned turning back to him. “Did you really have a bet going?”
“Oh yeah, I gave you until Christmas to crack with the sappiness,” Murphy explained.
“I’m going to kill you,” Clarke growled as she made her way to him. “You’re dead!” she hollered as she went to reach after him but stopped short.
“Ignore him, Clarke,” Bellamy whispered, pulling her against him. “Just dance with me and enjoy the moment.”
“I love you, Bellamy.”
“I love you too, Princess.”
“I’ll kill him tomorrow.”
“Whatever you say, Clarke.”