Christmas Day, the Newbury Way (Jari & Victoria)

After hanging out with her best friend (Mari was still blushing slightly when she thought of the gifts she recieved in her bag, along with clothes for the next few days) Marilyn was finally ready for the Newburys. Well, as ready as she would be. She, in typical Caldwell style, had put on her 'armour', her dark lips and perfectly styled hair, a strand of pearls and probably priceless earrings. And most importantly, her bracelet. The witch had even dusted her eyelids with golden, dark eye shadow. The process of getting ready was always one that gave her an extra push of energy and confidence.

So that she had done after a nap to accomodate the time difference, and checking her watch she apparated, small poinsietta in hand for his grandparents, and with a crack! she landed on her feet in the stairway from Jake's room down to the house and upon hearing noises downstairs she figured it'd be best to go down. It was a quarter til three. The witch had not so much as heard a peep from her grandparents, no doubt Jamie would at some point apparate in, but she'd left a note explaining her absence and from the moment she'd set it on the table she'd decided not to think on it anymore.

On her way down the hallway she caught the familiar sight of styled hair and a smile spread across her features, "Jake!" in only an instant she was in his arms, her own wrapped around his neck in an affectionate hug, refraining from going for a kiss because she noticed his grandparents out of the corner of her eye, smiling politely at them and standing still near Jake, unconsciously, but not shying away, simply letting him do introductions.

(Mari)
(gifts)

"Yeah, I was aiming for the living room, but ended up on the stairs." Mari responded in answer to if she had a safe trip, enjoying the kiss on the cheek before she was kissed on the cheek by his grandfather before she could finish a "Pleased to meet you" and a sliver of surprise wormed its way into her expression but only for a moment, but then it was replaced by a polite smile. "It's nice to meet both of you, happy Christmas." She smiled, handing Edgar the poinsietta, partially because she'd intended it as a nice, small gift and partially then so he'd have something in his hands that would hopefully keep him from hugging or kissing her.

Luckily in that moment Victoria came bouncing in and after accidently blinking Marilyn found her arms full of the young hufflepuff and smiled, hugging her back, "You look beautiful, as always, Victoria, I'm glad you like it. How've your holidays been?"

"You have to come see the table before Jake and Daddy get there, it looks amazing! And you can sit next to me!"

"Sounds great," Marilyn followed the girl, shooting Jake an amused look before sitting next to Victoria. The table really did look beautiful but the knot in her stomach seemed to be both growing and tightening, and at Jakes whispered words, meant as reassurance, her cheeks tinged red. The witch was not ashamed of what she'd been through, but being who she was she was still wildly uncomfortable about her recovery, rehabilitation, and all issues accompanying it. The only reason she hadn't brought Jagger, though she was supposed to, was because she didn't want to impose.

"So how did you two meet?"

Marilyn nearly dropped her glass of water, but managed to remain steady and cool, only Jake might pick up on the slightest shift in her stature. "Well, Jake...sort of...took charge of my rehabilitation after my...return." She answered slowly, eyes fixed on a random place on the tablecloth. "And we became best friends."

"Mexico? That's great, I'm glad you liked it, is Allegra a friend from school?" She inquired, interested in how a Mexican girl, like herself, had ended up in Hogwarts, in Scotland. Though she was not surprised at how Victoria seemed to become friends with anyone and everyone; it was quite cute, really.

"We started doing things together after that, dance class, hanging out with each other. Then, it just happened, we decided we wanted to try things as... as a couple. And so far I think it's working well."

"I think so, too," she mused with a soft smile, kissing his cheek chastly before returning to her food, grateful for the light conversation and adding to the compliments on the food, though Mari was glad Jake finished off for her as she still couldn't eat much. All in all the meal was not overly difficult, but challenging, for the witch, who was nevertheless reassured by the cool temperature of the delicate bracelet on her arm that she constantly played with.

And she was playing with it when Jake motioned for her to sit between his legs, so she did, tucking her long legs carefully so her skirt didn't ride up, leaning her back against Jakes chest and interlocking their fingers with an affectionate smile up at him, only looking away when Edgar posed a question.

"So what do you do specifically, Marilyn? I know you're an Auror, but I'm pretty sure you can specialise..."

"I haven't officially specialized, because I'm not really an Auror, yet," Mari's smile grew, "But I develope magical equiptment for the Auror department and I'm trying to get into as much field work as possible." she refrained from any details, but nuzzled into Jake's arms, more relaxed. Her job always provided her with comfort and just the thought made her reach for her armband once more.

Marilyn was absentmindedly cuddling Jake in the relaxed atmosphere, her head resting back on his shoulder as her eyes were focused on his grandfather, smiling apologetically when he asked his questions, "I'm not at liberty to say much really, security reasons." The witch had been in the midst of kissing Jakes cheek when his grandmother cut in with an observation and an inquiry that caused her to freeze momentarily, heat flushing her cheeks.

"Did Jake buy you that?"

Marilyn barely registered Jake's shake of the head, her brain scrambling for a way to form an answer that wouldn't sound...well. Her relationship to Louis was somehow difficult to explain to those who didn't know him, or her very well. She admired him, he was her mentor. He was her professor and the witch respected him above all else, but Mari was also very fond of her mentor and she knew he was fond of her. It wasn't something that needed outright saying. But the relationship was purely respectful and affectionate. Never romantic or sexual, as some might gossip.

"No it- it was a gift from my Professor, L- Clement." She corrected, figuring she wouln't be doing herself any favours using his first name, "He's the head of the Auror training," Mari added, as if that would help, honestly it just seemed to make it worse, "It was a birthday present," She finished, somewhat less relaxed and no longer leaning on Jake as much, unsure of what he'd think.

"He sounds like a lovely man."

"He's brilliant." Marilyn replied, unblinking and without missing a beat. She wasn't engaging in an inappropriate relationship with him, but she'd always rise to his defense, no matter how it made her look. But there was no further discussion of this, as this was neither the time nor place, thankfully, but Mari noticed that her distance seemed to affect Jake and regretted it, but was unsure what to do about it.

Soon there was distraction in a board game, but Mari didn't really relax, though she put on a good show, smiling at Victoria when she went to bed after another warm hug. Of the Newbury's besides Jake Victoria was the one Marilyn got along with best and Mari adored her. Of course, it was hard for anyone to not adore Victoria. But Marilyn wasn't just charmed by a first impression of a bubbly girl, she genuinly cared for Victoria and would protect the girl fiercly from anything and anyone that tried to harm her.

And later Marilyn was polite to Alice, simply not reacting to the 'someday you'll understand' and wishing them a Merry Christmas as was good manners. Alexis, however, recieved a warmer smile; one of genuine gratitude that she was invited to share this with her family. "Thank you, Alexis, it was great, everything, thank you." the witch smiled, lacing her hand into Jakes.

"Did you want to stay down here for a bit, or do you want to head to bed too?"

The kiss to her neck was a good sign, but Mari wanted to make very sure they were okay, so after sighing softly from the kiss she turned her head to capture his lips in a slow, building kiss, turning in his lap to straddle him, just to face him, "Jake..." she murmured, "You know that I'd never do anything like that with Louis, with anyone...right?" The witch bit her lip, her face only centimeters away from his as her big brown eyes looked into his.

"I trust you."

There was a time in Marilyn's life where her only response to those words would have been a sour 'don't.' But that had been quite a while ago. Now she was a different witch, slowly but surely, and now she just kissed him again, deeper than before, one hand in his hair and the other reaching down to hold his. And he was right to trust her; there was no person in the world she would rather be with than with Jake and no one could ever tempt her away.

"Good," she murmured, kissing his cheek softly, "Because I," she kissed his jaw line, "Belong," she kissed the corner of his lips, "With you." Mari kissed him tenderly, very gently and affectionately. The couple continued like this for a few moments, kissing and murmuring to each other before the mischievous glint returned to Mari's eye, "You'll never guess what Helen bought us for Christmas..." The witch leaned forward and whispered it in his ear, smirking as she watched his reaction.

"Really?"

Marilyn smirked and bit her lip in a show of vague interest, "Well I brought them along in my bag, if only we were upstairs I could show-" Her words cut off with a laugh as Jake scooped her up and carried her upstairs, arms wrapping around his neck as she kissed him, only breaking the kiss to cast a locking and silencing charm...just in case.

And there the couple stayed until the next morning, and all the worries outside those four walls utterly forgotten as the two remained in the safety of the room they'd first kissed in, first come together in.