Summary: Chris and Piper get snowed in over Thanksgiving break.
The storm hits hours earlier than predicted. It wakes Piper in the middle of the night, the wind howling and a bitter new chill in the air. She wraps the blanket around her and slips out of bed, pushing the blinds aside and peering outside.
Snow is already piling up, dimming the street lamps and making the cars in the parking lot barely visible. She leans back as warm arms wrap around her, gentle lips pressing against the side of her head.
“It’s really coming down out there,” Chris murmurs.
“Mm-hmm. Wonder if it’ll let up by morning.”
“Hopefully,” he says with a yawn.
It’s Thanksgiving of their senior year, and they’re planning on spending it with her family. It will be Chris’ first time meeting her entire extended family, and she’s been teasing him about how her cousins have told her they’re more excited to meet her football player hero boyfriend than they are to see her.
They sway for a few minutes, the snow falling heavier outside. Chris nuzzles against her neck. “Want to go back to bed?”
She turns in his arms, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “Okay.”
~~~~~~~~~~
The snow hasn’t let up by the morning; the news is reporting they have 10 inches, and more is expected. All the interstates are closed, and no travel is advised.
“At least we’re stuck together,” Piper sighs, frowning at the snow accumulating outside.
Chris smiles sympathetically. “I’m sorry, Piper.”
“Me too. Oh god,” she says suddenly. “It’s Thanksgiving! Do we even have any food?”
“Uhh…”
She rummages through the kitchen cabinets and the fridge, taking stock. “Popcorn. Chicken nuggets. Macaroni and cheese. Ice cream. Ooh! Wine!”
She points the bottle at him and grins. “Jackpot.”
“For breakfast?” Chris laughs.
Piper opens the fridge again and pulls out a bottle of orange juice. “Mimosas are for breakfast.”
They curl up on the couch, sipping on their drinks, Chris running his hand through her dark hair. Christmas movies play quietly on the background, and Piper falls asleep at some point, waking to find that Chris is asleep behind her. She smiles as she looks up at him, appreciating having him here with her…and appreciating the view too, if she’s being honest.
She’d been a little hesitant to move in with him, not because she didn’t think they would be happy together, or that it would test them too much, but because…well, because they’ve been so unbelievably happy thus far that she thought they’d be tempting fate. She’d felt a little silly telling him that, but he’d been his usual sweet, understanding self.
But she’d changed her mind after they’d spent spring break holed up in a rustic cabin together, and she’d realized she didn’t want to keep living with roommates. She wanted to live alone with Chris, without other people waking them at all hours of the night or interrupting their date nights. She wanted to be able to hop in the shower with him in the morning and kiss him and touch him without worrying if anyone would see or give them a hard time.
“You’re staring.” Piper jumps at Chris’ sleepy voice in her ear.
“I can’t help it that my boyfriend is so good looking,” she teases him.
Chris grins, opening his eyes. “Flatterer.”
He stretches, then settles his arms around her.
“So…chicken nuggets or macaroni and cheese for our first Thanksgiving together?” he asks.
“Both,” she declares. “I’m hungry.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Despite the fact that they’re alone, and she was really looking forward to her mom’s pecan pie, it’s not a bad Thanksgiving. They’re together, and Chris keeps kissing her, and he lets her watch Elf all day. She’s grateful that at least they weren’t traveling when the storm hit, and that all of their friends and family are safe.
“So, what are you thankful for this year?” Chris asks as they sit on the floor and eat chocolate ice cream out of the container.
“Hmm.” She leans her head back on the couch. “You.”
“Too easy,” he laughs.
“I am though!” she insists. “I’m just…really happy, being with you. I love living with you. I’m grateful I ran into you the first day of freshman year. Literally,” she laughs.
Chris’ eyes crinkle as he smiles at her. “Me too. Hey, did I ever tell you about the “grateful” game my mom always makes us play on Thanksgiving?”
“I don’t think you have,” she says.
“Kyle and AJ always insist on starting their Christmas lists as soon as we’re done eating. And they’re always pages long and full of ridiculous things, so one year my mom started making them write down one thing they were grateful for for each thing they put on their list,” Chris says, smiling at the memory.
Piper rests her head on his shoulder, tangling their fingers together.
“They complain, but they always do it,” he continues. “Eventually it turned into the four of us trying to outdo each other with what we were grateful for, with the biggest thing, or the silliest thing, or the most meaningful thing.”
Piper smiles. “That sounds like fun.”
“It is,” he says wistfully.
He nudges her gently. “What traditions does your family have?”
“Hmm…mostly we just eat and watch football. We used to play Scattergories, but my uncle and my dad always ended up arguing and my grandma banned it,” she laughs.
Chris chuckles. “I wonder what traditions we’ll have.”
There’s a stunned silence for a long moment after he says it, and her hand stills against his. They’ve talked about their future, of course, but there’s something about the way he says it, with so much certainty, that makes her breath catch and her heart beat faster.
“I-I mean, if we end up together. I hope we do. I want to. If you do. Piper, I-“
She turns, bringing her finger up to his lips. She hasn’t seen Chris this nervous since he asked her to move in together, and she finds it endearing, but she can’t bring herself to let him keep fumbling for the words when she wants the same thing.
“Of course I want that,” she murmurs, pressing her lips against his. “I love you. I can’t imagine not being with you. And…I don’t want to.”
He quirks his lips up in a sweetly shy smile. “I don’t want to imagine life without you either.”
Chris wraps an arm around her waist, pulling her into a hug, and she sighs as she relaxes against him.
“We should play that grateful game,” Piper says after a few minutes, pressing her lips to his neck.
“Yeah? Let’s see…I’m grateful that I didn’t have to wash nearly as many dishes this year,” he says, poking her side.
“I…am grateful I only had to share the ice cream with one other person this year,” she declares.
Chris laughs. “I’m grateful that I still got macaroni and cheese on Thanksgiving.”
They banter back and forth playfully as the snow continues to fall outside, until she straddles him and whispers, “I’m grateful I get you all to myself tonight.”
He groans as she rocks her hips against his rhythmically, running his hands up and down her thighs.
“I’m grateful I can make love to you right here without worrying about anyone walking in,” he says into her ear, then kneels and lays her underneath him.
Piper sighs in pleasure as he slowly moves his lips along her neck, tugging her shirt down to bite at her shoulders. She fumbles for the remote and turns the TV off, plunging them into near darkness but for the streetlights filtering in through the shades.
He pushes her shirt up, kissing her exposed skin, his hands undoing the button on her jeans and sliding the zipper down. She sits up just long enough to pull her shirt over her head and tug him in for a kiss that quickly becomes heated. Chris unhooks her bra, sliding the straps over her arms and cupping her breasts in his hands.
“Mmm,” she murmurs as he eases her back down and brings his mouth to her chest, running his tongue lightly over her bare skin.
She arches against him as he runs the pads of his thumbs over her nipples, then pushes her jeans down. She pulls at his shirt restlessly. “Off,” she whispers.
His shirt joins hers and she eyes him appreciatively, skimming her fingers over his bare chest and stomach. A smile crosses her face at his shiver when she traces her fingertips along his abs.
“I love that you’re ticklish.”
“Mm-hmm,” he mumbles distractedly, her hands reaching down to undo his pants.
“Piper,” he groans as she pulls his jeans down just enough to snake her hand in and cup him over his boxers.
Chris stands and kicks his jeans off, looking at her in confusion when she nudges him to sit on the couch. She settles in his lap, her legs on either side of his.
“I just want to kiss you for a while,” she murmurs, nuzzling against his neck.
“Whatever you want,” he says in a low voice, cupping the back of her head and pulling her in close.
“Those are dangerous words.”
He runs his tongue along her lips, and her hips thrust against his as he bites her lower lip. His hands are warm as he caresses her hips, then runs them along her back. Piper’s head drops to his shoulder as he dips his hands into the back of her underwear, her breath becoming shallow as he rocks her against him.
“Stand up for a second,” he murmurs, and he pushes her underwear down as she rises, then pulls her back on to his lap.
“What do you want, baby?” he asks in a whisper, nipping at her earlobe.
“I want-oh!” she gasps as he slips his hand in between them, groaning when he feels how wet she is.
“Don’t stop,” she pleads in a shaky voice.
He glides his fingers in and out of her center, his thumb circling her, his lips insistent against hers as he kisses her.
“That’s it, baby,” he whispers as she starts moving frantically against him. He curls his fingers and she cries out his name, dropping against him.
She can hear the rapid pounding of his heart as she catches her breath, can feel him squirm just slightly as she presses against him. Piper sucks in a shuddery breath and pushes herself upright, bringing her lips to his. She reaches between them, but she’s barely touched him when he grabs her hand, shaking his head.
“I just want to be inside you,” he says, squeezing her thighs gently.
When they’re standing, she pushes his boxers down, scratching her nails gently along his thighs. He lifts her up, her legs wrapping around him as he carries her to their bedroom and lays her down on the bed.
She grins at him. “I thought you wanted to make love to me right in the living room,” she murmurs.
He smiles as he leans down to kiss her. “I did. But the bed is more comfortable.”
He grabs a condom from the nightstand, and he curses quietly when she takes it from him, ripping the package open and sliding it on him. She runs her hand slowly up and down over his length.
“Damn, Piper. I’m never going to last if you keep touching me like that,” he groans.
She relents, sighing as Chris nuzzles against her neck, sucking and biting her skin gently, then eases into her. She slides her hands up and into his hair as he props himself up over her. His movements are gentle and controlled at first as he moves against her, but she knows how close he already was, and just how to make him let go.
She squeezes her legs around him and starts whispering about how good he feels and how lucky she is to have him.
“I’m the lucky one,” he manages to say, his movements becoming erratic and desperate.
Chris bucks against her when she bites his shoulder, moving a hand down between them and brushing his fingers over her. Her eyes close, fingers digging into his back and her legs tightening around his waist as his touch brings her over the edge. She hears Chris groan her name and he collapses on to her, his breath rapid against her neck, his bare skin warm against hers.
She keeps her legs wrapped around him when he goes to roll to the side, tangling her hands in his hair and sighing as he presses gentle kisses to her shoulder. She lowers her legs after a minute, pulling the sheet up over her and watching him lazily from the bed as he disappears into the bathroom. He leans over her when he returns, their lips meeting over and over again in slow kisses.
“I love you so much,” he whispers.
He’s looking at her like she’s his whole world, and it brings tears to her eyes.
“I love you too,” she whispers back.
He opens his mouth, looking ready to say something, then hesitates.
“What is it?” she asks, turning to look at him as he lays on his side.
“Wait here a second,” he says finally, wrapping the blanket around him as he gets back out of bed. “And close your eyes.”
Piper looks at him curiously. “Why?”
“Please?”
“…okay,” she says, closing her eyes. She feels the bed dip a moment later when Chris returns.
“You can open them,” he murmurs against her ear.
She does, and it takes her a second to realize what she’s looking at.
“Oh my god.”
“Piper…”
“Oh my god,” she says again, and she starts crying in earnest.
“This is…not how I planned this. But I can’t wait anymore. I love you, Piper. I’m grateful every day that I met you, that you gave me another chance, and that I get to come home to you. I want to keep coming home to you, and waking up with you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
Her hand is over her mouth as the tears roll down her face. Chris takes her left hand gently in his, running his thumb over the back of it.
“Will you marry me?” he asks.
“Yes,” she says, without a second’s hesitation.
She will never forget the look on his face when she says yes, the smile that splits his face and the way his eyes light up. He slips the ring on her finger, and she laughs between her tears as Chris climbs back over her and buries his face in her hair.
“I love you,” he mumbles.
“I love you too.”
He moves off to the side, pressing kisses and whispered “I love you’s” against her. He laughs quietly out of nowhere, and Piper rolls over, raising an eyebrow at him.
“I really didn’t mean to propose to you when we were both naked,” he says with a grin.
She laughs, running a hand into his hair. “Well, it’ll make for a good story to tell our friends and parents.”
Chris looks horrified for half a second, then realizes she’s teasing him and tickles her ribs in retaliation.
He grins as he rolls her underneath him and presses kisses down her neck. “I’m really grateful I get to make you Mrs. Powell.”
“Mmm,” she hums as he pushes the sheet out of the way and kisses lower. “I’m really grateful for that too.”