Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland

@ peter parker.
Danielle shrugged and nodded, "I guess you're right." She replied as she put on her seatbelt in Chris' car. When Chris spoke again, Danielle smiled, "Alright then I guess we are surprising your brother." She replied with a laugh. Danielle was really looking forward to seeing Scott again. It had been a few months since their last hang out session. Danielle usually spent most of her time with the older of the two Evans brothers, "So what are we shopping for anyway?" She questioned.

---

Sebastian groaned at her words, "I'm not fully into it." He replied, even though he knew he was lying. He was completely captivated by the show, and he knew that Vanessa could tell, but he didn't care. When she put on an episode from season four, he leaned back on the couch and propped his feet up on the coffee table. He knew that Vanessa was fully caught up on the show, but with his schedule, he didn't have time a lot to just sit around and watch it when he wanted.

"That's bullshit!" Vanessa said with a laugh, shoving his shoulder lightly. She knew that he was lying through his teeth simply because he didn't want to admit that a show that she happened to enjoy quite a lot was actually good. He always teased her and told her the shows that she was into were garbage, because, well, he was a little brat sometimes. "Mhm...so not into it at all...." She mumbled to herself when he got comfortable as soon as she put an episode on.

---

"He's probably going to murder us both for keeping this from him, but hopefully he'll be too excited to see you to really do any actual murdering." Chris said with a chuckle. He knew Scott was going to flip the fuck out when he saw Danielle, and it likely wasn't going to be easy keep this a secret from his brother, but if they weren't obvious about anything, he was pretty sure that they could pull this off. "I need to find something for my mom, and Shana...and Scott...and the boys...okay, I basically haven't done any Christmas shopping yet. I'll admit it."

@ peter parker.
Danielle laughed and shook her head at his words, "Get your shit together, Evans." She replied. She was thankful she didn't really have to do any shopping this year because of not being around any of her family this time around. Normally, she had the worst time trying to pick things out for family members, but managed to usually find stuff that they loved. Danielle was probably one of the worst people to go shopping with, and Chris knew that, but he still chose to take her anyway.

---

Sebastian couldn't stop the grin from forming on his face at her words. He knew he was lying and she clearly knew he was lying, but it was fun getting a reaction out of her, "It's so easy to get you all riled up." He teased as he stuck his tongue out at her. Sebastian knew that Vanessa really cared about this show, and he really tried to put his all into watching it so he could talk with her about it, but she didn't know that yet. Right now it was just a show that they watched when they were together and that was all. One day he was going to surprise her with his knowledge of the show, but he just needed to find more time first.

"So, I just want to apologize for all of the questions my mom's probably going to bombard you with when we get there." Vanessa said to Sebastian as she slung the strap of her duffle bag over her shoulder. Her mom had called several times since she had told her that she was bringing someone home with her for the holidays, asking tons of questions about Sebastian and their "relationship." She knew that it was only going to be worse once they were actually at her parents' house. "She means well, but she's definitely going to bombard you. I haven't brought a guy home in years, and I'm pretty sure she was convinced I was going to become a spinster, so she's definitely going to like you, she just might be a little much at times, ya know?" Maybe she was overthinking all of this, but she knew her mother, and she knew how she'd reacted to the news initially, so she was sure that it was going to be interesting to say the least.

---

"How ready are you to experience an authentic Evans' Christmas?" Chris asked, nudging Danielle lightly as they got off the plane. He stretched his arms over his head and cracked his back, letting out a low groan. "Man, I'm getting too old to be sitting for that long." Truth be told, the flight hadn't been bad at all, everything had gone smoothly, and there hadn't been any weather induced delays. No turbulence either. But that didn't mean that he hadn't started getting antsy after the first two hours or so. He sometimes wished that he hadn't decided to move to the west coast, it wasn't easy to get to his family anymore, and flying could certainly be a pain in the ass at times. But then he reminded himself that a lot probably wouldn't have happened if he hadn't made the move. He never would have met Dani for starters, and she was one of his best friends, a constant in his life that he simply couldn't picture his life without her in it.

@ peter parker.
Danielle couldn't help but laugh at Chris's words as she threw her carry on bag over her should as they exited the plane, "I'm really nervous." She replied to his question before he spoke about how he was old and she laughed, "I probably shouldn't comment on that." She replied with a smile. Dani wasn't lying when she told him she as nervous. Dani had only ever met Scott before, but meeting the rest of his family all at once was terrifying to Dani. She wasn't a Christmas fan and Chris's family was, and she didn't want to make a bad first impression on the family of her best friend.

---

Sebastian laughed at her words, "It's okay, Ness. I've prepared for this. I'm an actor, this is what I do." He replied with a smile. He put the strap of his duffle bag over his shoulder as they walked, "I'm glad that I could be the guy you bring home to your family." He stated as he threw and arm around her shoulder. Sebastian was more than prepared to be her fake boyfriend. He really was not going to have a hard time pretending to have feelings for her. He just hoped that it worked out in his favor and not against him.

"Yea, don't go getting a big head about it." Vanessa scoffed, though she smiled when he threw an arm around her shoulders. She was sure that Sebastian would play the part of her boyfriend perfectly. She'd seen him in action in movies and TV shows before, she knew that he was amazing at what he did. Of course, this was a little different, it was real life, but she wasn't doubting him so much as herself. She hoped that she could keep up with the charade as well.

---

"You have nothing to be nervous about, Dani. You've already met Scott, and he loves you. You're one of my best friends, so clearly I love you, and the rest of the family's going to love you too." Chris assured her as they walked and followed the signs to baggage claim. "You'd better not comment on that." He shot a playful glare her way. "Just because I commented about my age doesn't mean it's free-game."

@ peter parker.
Danielle smiled gratefully at his words, though they did nothing to ease her nerves. She walked next to him toward baggage claim, "So what do Evans family Christmases usually look like?" She asked curiously. Danielle had heard many stories about Chris's family, and she knew that they were all very close. She almost felt like an outsider watching in, but she had known Chris and Scott for so long that is didn't make her that nervous. It was just the whole Christmas and Grinch thing that Danielle was nervous about. Plus Chris loved his mom so much, and Danielle wanted to make a good first impression.

---

Sebastian laughed lightly at her words, "Why shouldn't I? You asked me of all people to play the part of your boyfriend, and I'm going to have the biggest head about it." He teased with a smile, "I'm actually really excited to meet your family. You don't talk about them much." He explained as they walked out of baggage claim. Sebastian was extremely excited to meet Vanessa's family because he wanted to meet the people that raised her and she grew up around. Vanessa was such an amazing person and he just wanted to meet the people that made her that way.

Vanessa rolled her eyes in response to his words. "You're such an asshole!" She exclaimed, punctuating her words with a slight laugh. She couldn't help smiling when he told her that he was excited to meet her family, though she shrugged her shoulders at his comment about her not talking too much about them. "We were never like one of those super close-knit families. Don't get me wrong, we love each other, and I do spend pretty much every holiday that I can with them, the major ones I mean, but I guess I've always sort of been the black sheep of the family. Neither of my parents are artists, my dad tried pushing me to go to law school when I only ever showed interest in going to art school, and my mom's sort of gotten to the point where she's just sort of constantly reminding me that I'm getting older and that if I want to give her grandkids I'm going to have to get on with it soon. Sorry, I didn't mean to go off on a rant or anything, I guess it's better that you know all that stuff before we get to my parent's house though."

---

"Well, they're very loud." Chris chuckled. "And a little chaotic at times. I mean, you have all of us in one house, and I'm not saying my parent's house is small, but it's not huge either. When you throw all of us together, chaos is bound to ensue." It had always been like that though when everyone in the family was together. When he and his siblings were younger and all still living at home, family dinners used to get pretty damn wild. "It's great having everyone together though. It doesn't happen too often anymore because we're all doing our own thing, so it's sort of like old times around the holidays, and we all get a little nostalgic. Especially my mom. She'll probably cry at least once." He let out another laugh.

@ peter parker.
Danielle couldn't help but laugh at Chris's words, "Well I mean that was a given, you're from Boston." She teased. When he said how his family didn't get together very often anymore and how nice it was when they did, Danielle couldn't stop the small frown that came to her face. She often wished that her family was normal like that, but alas, they weren't. She looked up at Chris as they walked through security, "Thank you for inviting me. I'm sorry if I scrooge up your holiday." She said softly as they walked. Danielle still felt like she had right being at this family gathering. She was a total scrooge, but once you put an idea in Chris's mind, it's pretty hard to change his mind.

---

Sebastian nodded as Vanessa spoke. He remembered Vanessa telling him about how her father wanted her to be a lawyer, but she wanted to be an artist. He never understood why parents couldn't just support their child in what they wanted to do. He wouldn't say anything about her situation though, he was just going to roll with it and play the boyfriend role, "I hope your family likes me." He stated as he looked down at her. He was only playing her fake boyfriend, but that didn't mean he didn't want their approval. He was still a good friend of hers and did have feelings for her, so he needed their approval no matter what.

Vanessa's parents were much more understanding than they used to be about her career choice. Her mother had always been a bit more supportive of her art than her father, but they had both come around, and neither ever really tried to convince her to pursue another career path like they used to. At one point, it was the topic of conversation at every goddamn holiday, and maybe they stopped bringing it up because the brunette had threatened to stop coming for Thanksgiving, but that was besides the point. "There's nothing to dislike about you, Seb. You're one of the most lovable dorks I know. I wouldn't be surprised if they ended up liking you more than they like me." She said with a small laugh.

---

Chris chuckled at her words. "And what's that supposed to mean, hm?" He nudged her lightly as they walked. "What are you trying to say about me, Paisley?" He was really glad that he had managed to convince her to spend the holidays with him back home. He didn't like the idea of her spending them alone back in LA. He knew that she wasn't really a fan of this time of year, but even those who didn't have much holiday spirit didn't deserve to be alone at this time of year. He also knew that Scott was going to flip a shit when he showed up with her, and he knew that the rest of his family was going to love her too. "You don't need to thank me, Danielle. I wasn't going to let you spend it alone, and I think surprising my brother with you might be the best present he's going to receive this year, so you're doing me a favor." He grinned. "And I'm sure you won't scrooge up the holiday. It's going to be fun, so don't even think about apologizing again, got it?"

@ peter parker.
Danielle laughed lightly at his words before shrugging, "I mean you're loud and Scott is loud. I think it's a Boston thing." She teased and stuck her tongue out at him. She didn't mind the loudness though, it was one of the things that she loved about Chris because he was just so loud and happy all the time. It made her also want to be loud and happy at the same time as him, "I won't apologize again, but don't say I didn't tell you so." She replied before making the motion of zipping her mouth shut and throwing away the key. She was actually kind of excited to just meet Chris's family and just spend time with them and see what they were like. It didn't matter to her that it was a holiday, it was just about meeting her best friend's family at this point.

---

Sebastian smiled widely at her words, "Well, of course, they'll love me more than you. Who wouldn't?" He teased. He knew that it wasn't likely, but it was still fun to tease Vanessa about it, "I'll make sure I put in a good word for you with your parents, okay?" He joked. Sebastian was really excited to see the people that Vanessa called her family. She was such a kind and loving person, so he wanted to see where she got it from. She didn't talk much about her family, and when she did it was very brief, so Sebastian wanted to learn as much as he could about them.

Vanessa shoved him lightly. "Hey, I invited you to come with me, I can totally uninvite you if I want to, so you better watch what you say to me." She joked. She knew that he wasn't being serious right now, he just loved to tease her and try to get a rise out of her whenever he had the chance to do so. She rolled her eyes playfully in response to his later words. "This is what I get for being nice to you. You're such a bully." She stuck her lower lip out in a slight pout, feigning hurt. "I don't know if I can take anymore abuse from you, Stan. I've about had it up to here with your bullying ass."

---

Chris laughed at her words. "What makes you think it's just a Boston thing? Maybe my family's just loud in general. It could have absolutely nothing to do with where we're from." He countered. "Good, because I don't want to hear you apologize at all while we're here. You have no reason to say sorry. We're going to have a great time, alright? I can feel it." He really did believe that, he wasn't just saying it to ease her mind. He had a feeling that they were going to have a lot of fun with his family, and that they all were going to love her. "So, should I go in first and act like I'm alone and then have you sneak in a few minutes after when Scott is least expecting it?"

@ peter parker.
Danielle shrugged at his words before letting out a laugh. When he asked if he should go in first, she nodded, "Yeah, I'll just wait out here while you go in." She stated as she leaned against her suitcase handle. Danielle was actually really excited to see Scott again. It had been a couple months since the last time she had seen him in person. They tried to FaceTime at least once a week to catch each other up on things going on in their lives. Danielle already knew she was going to have a blast with the two Evans brothers, but she was really excited to meet the rest of Chris's family because both he and Scott talked so highly about everyone, and she already felt like she knew them already.

---

Sebastian rolled his eyes at Vanessa's threat, "I'm already here, you can't uninvite me." He teased. When she stuck her bottom lip out, he couldn't help but think about how cute she looked in that moment, and he just smiled at her, "Well get used to it, cause you're stuck with me now. I'm your boyfriend for show, and I'm not going anywhere soon. I wanna meet your family." He said with a smile. Sebastian was really looking forward to spending time with Vanessa and her family. He knew that they weren't all that close anymore, but he knew that she did really love her family, and he wanted to share that time with her.

"I can uninvite you if I want to. You have the money, you can get your ass on a plane back to New York no problem." Vanessa shot back, letting out a quiet laugh soon after. She loved the near constant banter they had going. It had been a part of their friendship nearly from the very beginning. It was weird, but she'd just felt comfortable enough with him to tease him in a short amount of time. "Just because you're my fake boyfriend, doesn't mean we can't fake breakup." She stuck her tongue out playfully. She'd be lying if she said his words hadn't stirred something up within her. He wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. He wanted to meet her family. She didn't know why that resonated with her so much.

---

Chris was really glad that he'd managed to convince Danielle to spend the holiday with him and his family. He couldn't wait to see the expression on Scott's face when he surprised his brother with her. He knew his brother likely didn't suspect a thing. The only person who knew Danielle was coming was his mom, and Chris had made sure to let her know that he was probably going to surprise Scott, so he hoped she hadn't said anything to Scott. "Alright, when we get there I'll go in first then. Wait a few minutes and then come up and knock, I'll act like I have no idea what's going on. My mom's in the loop, so she'll know to play along with it. It's going to be great." He grinned.

@ peter parker.
Danielle nodded at Chris's words. She couldn't wait to see the look on Scott's face when she walked through the door, and she was really glad that Chris's mom was kind enough to keep their surprise a secret. Scott was probably her best guy friend besides Chris, so seeing him again was really exciting for her. He was just so much fun to have around, and she never got bored when she was with him. Plus, when she needed to complain about Chris for whatever reason, she could do it to Scott, and he would listen to her one hundred percent of the time despite her complaints being about his brother. Soon, they arrived at the home and the two got out of the cab quickly before heading up to the door. Danielle smiled at her best friend before giving him a thumbs up, "I'll see you in a couple minutes." She stated with a grin.

---

Sebastian put a hand over his heart at Vanessa's words, "You wound me, Ness." He stated, "I can't believe you would fake break up with me." He said before he pouted slightly. Sebastian knew it was all in good fun, and that they were just teasing each other, "I'm about to be the best damn fake boyfriend you've ever had. Just you wait. I'll blow your socks off with how great of a fake boyfriend I can be." He said as their cab pulled up at Vanessa's parents' house, "Nice place. This is where you grew up?" He questioned. It was surreal to him now seeing where Vanessa grew up. She never really talked a lot about her family, and now he was about to learn all about her and her family. It was like a whole new chapter that he was getting to read in the story of her life.

Vanessa couldn't help laughing at how ridiculous this whole situation really was and it was made all the more ridiculous by her threatening to fake break up with him. The fact that they could laugh about all of this was a really good thing though. She knew that it wouldn't be awkward if she asked Sebastian to do this, her friendship was just different than it was with some of her other guy friends. "Am I going to be shook as the kids say nowadays?" She asked, laughing once more as they pulled up to her parents' house. "Yep, this is it. Hasn't changed at all." She got out of the cab and waited for Sebastian to follow suit. "C'mon, boyfriend, it's time to meet the fam." She bumped her hip lightly against his.

---

Chris knew that Scott didn't suspect a thing. Their mom had gone along with his plan when he told her that he was bringing Danielle with him for the holidays, and he knew that his brother's mind was going to blown when she walked into the house in just a few minutes. "See you in a few." He grinned before walking inside, the smell of Christmas cookies mixed with a dash of cinnamon and pine hitting him almost immediately. "Something smells amazing in here!" He was bombarded shortly after by his nephews, followed soon after by Shanna and the others. "Looks like you packed light." Scott commented. Chris had left his bags outside on the porch with Danielle. "They lost my bags at the airport." He punctuated his words with a shrug of his shoulders.