‹ Prequel: Trouble-Maker
Sequel: Summer Boy

Infinite

Christmas

Christmas came before I started work or Falling in Reverse released their new album. It came quickly and almost snuck up on us. We weren't the type of people to do our shopping a month in advance, although it seemed that we had a lot to do this year. The weekend before the holiday, we helped Ryan and Jenn move into their new apartment not far from our own and we stayed so the guys could hang out and Jenn and I could decorate the gorgeous new place.

Ryan and Ronnie sat in their new living room as Jenn and I doted around the house, hanging Christmas decorations. On the way over, Ronnie and I had stopped at the store so I could pick up new stockings to label and hang on their wall. I wanted it to feel like home to them.

"Look what I got," I said as Jenn as I finished decorating the bedroom and were about to move into the living room to bother our men with holiday cheer. I held up two sets of red stockings and grinned as Jenn's eyes widened and she reached out to grab two.

"Christmas stockings!" she exclaimed, taking them from me, "These are so cute. I didn't even think about getting any. I've been so busy trying to get everything packed up in my apartment."

I nodded. "I know," I said, "That's why I got them. I got pipe cleaner and glue and some stick on decorations. This is Ronnie and I's first Christmas living together, too."

Jenn looked in the bag that I handed to her and pulled out a smaller, blue stocking. "Charlie?" she asked with a laugh, shaking her head at my sentimentality.

"He's part of the family," I defended, taking my puppy's stocking from her, "He wants Christmas presents too."

Jenn grinned and nodded. "I'll remember that."

"Charlie is much obliged," I replied with a laugh.

Jenn motioned for me to walk into the living room first. I walked out and tossed a stocking onto Ronnie's lap, catching his attention from the TV screen. His eyes lingered for a moment while his hand grabbed onto and when he finally looked at it, he frowned.

"What's this?" he asked, holding it up with one hand, his eyes looking over the couch at me..

I gave him a dull look. "Seriously, baby?" I asked, hoping he wasn't deprived of Christmas traditions as a child. "It's a Christmas stocking. You hang it on the wall or above a fireplace and put little gifts in it. Did you father not do this for you and Anthony or something?"

He rolled his eyes in his usual way. "I know what it is, but why do I have it?"

"We're going to decorate our own," I stated, grabbing his hand so I could pull him off of the couch and onto the floor where Jenn was setting up the stuff we needed. Ronnie complained and didn't get up like I was hoping he would. He pulled his fingers from mind and tossed the stocking back to me.

"Ronald Radke," I grumbled, reaching to yank him up with brute force, "get up and get in the Christmas spirit." I jerked him up and he stumbled, helping me get him up from his spot on the couch.

Jenn and Ryan sat side by side while I sat between Ronnie's legs on the floor. The four of us used pipe cleaner and put our names on the white, fluffy fur of the stocking. Ronnie and I agreed to switch, so I decorated his while he decorated mine. Jenn and Ryan followed our example.

In true Ronnie fashion, I used black pipe cleaner to write his name and sprinkled silver sparkles over the entire thing. I managed to keep Charlie's out of Ronnie's grasp and decorated it myself with plushy Pitt Bull stick-ons and all the colored sparkles I'd bought.

"That's really cute, Atticus," Jenn commented, pointing at my stockings with her hot glue gun.

"Thanks." I grinned. "Yours is adorable." She'd done Ryan's name in alternating red and green pipe cleaner.

Ronnie tried to peer over my shoulder to see the one I decorated for him, but I hugged both his stocking and Charlie's close to my chest, careful not to press any of the wet glue into anything it shouldn't be touching. "No peaking," I complained, glaring at the singer.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours," he offered, smirking, holding his up facing away from me so that I couldn't see how he decorated the front.

I playfully rolled my eyes. "You don't have to be so cheeky, Mr. Radke. You'll get to see it eventually."

He grinned and tossed me the stocking with my name on it.

When Christmas came Ronnie and I ended up at his father's house just before noon. We'd left early that morning, hoping to make it in time, but running late as usual. When we got there, we were surrounded by all five kids as they anxiously awaited the moment they could rip into their presents. Anthony, Ronnie's brother and Amanda, his wife, had even managed to get the holiday off to spend with their family.

Surprisingly, this was the first time I met Amanda Radke and her daughter Lucy. While I'd know her sons for a long time and met her husband a year before, Ronnie's sister-in-law and step-niece were still a stranger to me.

She and Anthony were in the kitchen when Ronnie and I walked into the house. I was instantly stunned at how gorgeous she really was. Ronnie and his brother were almost opposites. Anthony took after his father and had the "biker" look just as Russell did, so I was a bit surprised that his wife was as stunning and model-esque as the woman sitting next to him at the table. She definitely didn't look like the mother of five.

"AJ, Amanda," Ronnie greeted, causing them to turn in their chairs to look at us, "You made it."

Anthony stood up and pulled his little brother into a tight hug. Amanda stood up too and smiled at me warmly. "You're Atticus," she said, an excited twinge in her voice, "I've been so upset that I haven't been able to meet the woman who Ronnie's fallen head over heels for. I'm so glad that we're finally both here!"

She held her arms out for a hug and I instantly hugged her, liking her already. Her hair was brown like all three Radke's and her children, but it was a few shades lighter than theirs and mine.

"It's so good to finally meet you," I admitted, pulling away from the hug, "After spending so much time with the kids, I've been wondering who they take after since Anthony is such a trouble-maker."

The older brother laughed and shook his head at me. "You're mistaken, Atticus," he warned, "my little brother is the real tyrant." He shoved Ronnie over to me and gave me a look that dared me to challenge what he'd just said.

I wrapped my arms around Ronnie's waist and smirked up at the six foot one man. "I know," I said to his brother, "He's constantly doing things to remind me of that."

Ronnie leaned down and pressed his lips against the side of my mouth. Amanda awed quietly and I pressed my face against Ronnie's chest, embarrassed by her and Anthony's over-exaggerated cooing that followed.

"AJ," Amanda chastised, "knock it off."

Anthony laughed and held his hands up in defense. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry," he laughed, raising his eyebrows when his youngest ran into the room from the converted dining room. "What's up, James?"

"When can we open our presents?" he questioned in true Christmas morning fashion, letting his dad lift him into his arms. He and the rest of the boys were still in their pajamas. They'd all spent the night at their grandfather's.

"And here I thought you were coming to tell me how much you love me, Jamie," Anthony muttered looking away from the seven year old, "Way to make me feel like you're only using me for the gifts."

James grinned sheepishly and wrapped his arms around his father's neck. "I do love you, Daddy," he announced, hugging himself to his father, "but I just really wanna know what Uncle Ronnie got me."

Anthony set James on the floor and rolled his eyes at his son's words. Ronnie grinned and turned James around by his shoulders. "Then go ask your Grandpa when we'll open presents, because I'm not answering that."

James slouched immediately, turning himself back around to complain to his father and uncle. "But Grandpa said we can't ask him anymore," he complained, flailing around, "and we just wanna open them. It's Christmas."

Anthony lifted his hands in the air in a 'what can I do?' kind of way. "Then I guess you all will have to wait and see, won't you?" he answered, his cruel grin matching that of his brother's.

James screeched in annoyance and headed back to the living room. Ronnie pulled me closer to him as his youngest nephew left the kitchen. The holidays had made us both more nostalgic and each time we saw a gushy couple or adorable child we secretly thought about having our own someday.

Between us, it was no secret that we both wanted a baby, but we'd come to the agreement that now wasn't the time. With Ronnie on the brink of starting a new tour and my new job just a week away, we both would be giving up a lot to be pregnant.

"So when are you two finally going to get married?" Anthony questioned, looking at us like we'd done something wrong. "It's been a good amount of time now, hasn't it?" He asked, "You should at least start planning by now."

"We've barely been engaged!" I stated, looking at the couple, knowing that two and a half months wasn't really long in the grand scheme of things, "Why should we rush into it?"

Anthony grinned in a cheeky way and met his little brother's eyes mischievously. "Well, personally, I'm just worried that you'll come to your senses and change your mind about being stuck with Ronnie for the rest of your life. It'd be a shame, but I'd understand."

"AJ, shut up," Ronnie demanded, shaking his head at the older Radke.

I laughed and shrugged my shoulders, my hand on Ronnie's stomach as I leaned against him. "I don't know," I said, meeting his eyes, "I've gotten pretty used to having him around. It'd be so strange to not have to put up with the ego and all the time it takes him to do his hair."

Russell came around the corner from the kitchen side of the kitchen. The way the house was built, the kitchen was almost L-shaped, separating the appliances from the kitchen table where Ronnie, Anthony, Amanda, and I were still standing.

"Lunch will be ready in about five minutes," he said to us, "You guys might want to wrangle in the kids and see if you can get them in here and seated." He said it as though it was a challenge.

Anthony looked the same way at his father but with one word, the kids were rocketing towards us like a stampede. "Food!" Anthony shouted into the living room. Tanner and Devin came from the other side of the kitchen, having come through the door on the opposite side, while James, Nolan, and Lucy came in the same way Ronnie and I did when we arrived.

"Sit down and you can eat, say a word and we won't feed you until Easter."

Luce rolled her eyes as her brothers sat down in their chairs and closed their mouths so their Grandpa could explain what he made and that it would be ready in the next couple minutes.

"That's how you raise your kids," AJ stated, explaining it to Ronnie, "Remember that for when you and Atti create a couple." He was always grinning and now was no exception. He took his seat at the table and his brother sat next to him. With Anthony was the only time that Ronnie seemed younger than anyone, and I adored the sight of them together.

"Got anymore great advance, Ant?" Ronnie asked slightly sarcastically, resting his arm on the back of my chair while his father carted in the rest of the meal by himself, refusing help from anyone.

Ronnie and I helped the parents get plates made for all four boys while Luce made her own. Amanda noted gratefully how much quicker it was with eight hands instead of two. Within ten minutes, we were sitting in front of full plates, gushing over the food, and listening to the boys as they talked to their grandfather about the reason for Christmas.

The boys didn't care that they were continuously dropping food onto their corresponding Christmas footy pajamas. Devin and Tanner wore a cartoon reindeer pattern in red and green, James had christmas trees, and Nolan's was covered in assorted presents.

"Boys, be careful with your food," their mother chastised as she wiped a bit of gravy from Tanner's stomach, "You're ruining your Christmas pajamas and you won't be able to wear them again if you get them all disgusting."

Tanner pushed his mother's hand away and took another bite of his his turkey. When we finished eating, Ronnie's right hand took my left and I leaned into his side, waiting for the rest of the family to finish. The boys finished first of course, barely on the edge of their seats as their parents and grandfather intentionally slowed down, making them wait excruciatingly to open their gifts.

"Come on," Nolan complained, running his hand over his out grown mohawk, "I want to open my presents. Why can't you hurry?"

"Christmas isn't all about you," Anthony said between bites, "It's about Jesus and he doesn't even get any presents anymore, so why should you?"

"Are you saying you didn't get us any presents?" Lucy questioned, crossing her arms over her chest, "I mean, you probably bought all those for yourself, didn't you?"

Ronnie shook his head. "They're for me," he stated, "Ant owes me a birthday present, so he just said he'd give me all your presents." He grinned meanly at his niece and nephews.

The boys looked outraged. Their mouths hung open as they looked at their father. "Dad!" Nolan shouted, his expression morphing into a pout, "You can't give Uncle Ronnie our presents!"'

Ronnie and Anthony shared a look before they both bolted out of their chairs, jerking the table as their dad shouted at them to stop acting like children. When the boys realized what was happening, Nolan, Devin, Taner, and James scrambled after their father and uncle into the living room.

Amanda grinned at me and stood up. I did the same and the two of us walked into the living room together. Ronnie was holding two neatly wrapped presents over his head as Devin, the oldest boy, and James, the youngest, shouted and tried to climb up him to get them back.

Ronnie laughed and shook both boys off. They crash landed on the ground with a thud before they were right back on their feet, working together to get their toys. Russell and Lucy made their way into the living room and dropped down on the couch side by side. Amanda followed suit and motioned for me to calm down the men in our lives.

I walked over to Ronnie and pulled his arm down. I would've just grabbed the present from him, but his six foot one defeated my average five foot six. Within a few minutes I was curled to Ronnie's side as Anthony passed out the presents. Once the men gave them their presents, they settled down easily.

I wasn't surprised that there were four gifts in front of me when he was done, instead I felt happy that they all considered me part of the family and had taken the time to consider what I wanted and get it for me.

This last week, and especially the last few days, Ronnie and I had constantly been on the phone with Anthony and Amanda, trying to figure out what the kids wanted for Christmas. After making a list, we spent hours in the mall looking for everything that all of them wanted. Ronnie wasn't thrilled about being there so long in general, but it was the crazy rush and lines that annoyed me.

Ronnie and I managed to get the kids a couple things that Anthony and Amanda couldn't. We put our names on one for each other them, and labeled the other big present as being from Santa. We could tell that Ronnie's brother and sister-in-law were surprised by it when they saw that all five kids had an extra present.

"The youngest goes first," Russell said, and pointed to James, who sat on the floor with all his presents between his legs. "House rules."

James grinned and grabbed the biggest box from by his right ankle. It was thin and narrow, but long. He tore into the paper and then shouted in excitement when he saw the image on the front of the cardboard box. "A guitar!" he shouted, grinning at his brothers excitedly as they moved closer to see what he'd got.

"Who's that from?" Amanda questioned, tapping the half torn tag, "Make sure you say thank you."

James read the name and then shot up from the ground, heading in our direction. He threw himself onto both our laps and wrapped an arm around each of our necks. "Thank you Uncle Ronnie and Aunt Atticus," he said noisily.

I patted his back softly, excited by how excited he was for it. "No problem, Jamie," I replied and Ronnie asked him if that was the one he wanted, seeing as there were a quite a few different options for child-sized guitars at the music store we went to.

He nodded animatedly and slipped back to the floor. "Just like the one you used to have," he said to Ronnie, referring to Ronnie's old acoustic Gibson that was back in his childhood room.

"It's a smaller one," Ronnie explained, motioning for him to look at the box, "but it's basically the same."

James said thank you once more and headed back to his pile of presents to wait for his turn again. We got through the boys insanely quickly. Lucy opened her smallest present first, revealing a new phone case. She thanked her parents and then all eyes were on me.

"I'm the next youngest?" I laughed, not realizing that was how we lined up. I grabbed a small box off the coffee table and felt it in my hand. There hadn't really been anything that I wanted, so I wasn't sure what Ronnie relayed to his family. I unwrapped the box carefully, surprised by the jewelry case underneath. I glanced at Ronnie with cautious eyes and then flipped it open, stunned silent by what laid inside.

It was a beautiful metal bracelet, one that wouldn't bend, almost like a bangle but narrower with squared edges. All the way around, every half-in ch or so, there were two little diamonds shaped as letters. AR.

I tried to blink away the water that came to my eyes, but I quickly wiped away a tear as I read the words engraved on the bottom. "I think we ought to live happily ever after," it said, "- Ronnie" I smiled through the small amount of tears and pushed Ronnie's mouth to mine by his jaw. "I love you," I whispered when his lips were separated from mine and just a centimeter away.

"I love you too," he promised before before we both turned to smile at his family, signaling that we were ready to continue.

Amanda was holding Anthony's hand as she motioned for Ronnie to go. "You're next," she reminded him, "You're younger than I am."

Ronnie chuckled and grabbed one of the presents that he knew was from the boys. We went through everybody until we were all out of presents. Ronnie sat with a couple of home-made FIR posters from the boys, a new watch from his brother and Amanda, some childhood things from his father, and a few items for the tour bus from me along with a promise of something more later on.

The boys and Lucy seemed to get everything they wanted. While Anthony and Amanda got them each a couple things, Ronnie and I were just grateful that the kids ended up with everything they wanted. Anthony and Amanda pulled us aside to thank us, but neither of us wanted the credit. With five kids, it wasn't easy for the married couple to give their children everything they asked for, so along with a few personal gifts, Ronnie and I bought their children the rest and had them and Santa Claus take all the credit. We didn't need it.

Ronnie had bought his dad everything the man could never get while he was raising his sons. It seemed that Ronnie wanted to make up for the past and make everyone's Christmas perfect.

From Amanda (and AJ), I'd gotten a new set of work clothes. When she found out about my new job, Amanda went out and bought an outfit that she called "business sexy". The boys had drew me pictures of Ronnie and I, and I with them. While they weren't worth money, I loved them and planned to hang them in the apartment. Ronnie's gift was my favorite though. The man had a habit of buying me jewelry and being sentimental even though he tried not to show it often.

I twisted the bracelet around my wrist as the kids helped clean up their wrapping paper mess. Ronnie kissed the side of my face and I turned to kiss him again. While I hadn't spent it with my biological family, this had been one of the best Christmases I could remember having in a long time.

We stayed until after four-thirty and then Ronnie and I headed to Pasadena to finish the holiday with my side of our family. I knew that it wasn't quite as big as Ronnie's small family had grown, but I knew that someday we'd have a family of our own to add to both halves of the one we'd created.
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Hey guys. I've been kind of bummed because I haven't received a comment in the last four or five chapters. Last chapter, over 70 people read and nobody commented. There were even more on all the other chapters. I know that Mibba is in a comment slump, but it still sucks.