Day 8

The Gingerbread House

by Nannalyn

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It's been a tradition in the Specter household ever since Harvey and Marcus were little. Every year on the first weekend of Advent they would make a one of a kind gingerbread house together, that would later be placed on the festively decorated window sill in the living room to be admired during the season. Naturally, there had come a time when Harvey and Marcus had lost interest in peppermint windows and candy cane fences, and the spot on the window sill had been adorned with a wooden nativity scene from then on.

When Marcus had become a father himself, he had fondly remembered the cheerful hours they had spent together as a family creating those edible houses, their mother Lily always having been the creative force behind it, and had revived the tradition with his kids.

The second year that Harvey and Donna would celebrate Christmas together as a married couple, they find themselves at Marcus's place at the beginning of December. They had decided to spend this year's Christmas holidays and New Year's Eve in a cosy cottage in Canada; with lots of snow and a hot tub outside, and a big fireplace and cedar sauna inside to relax and enjoy the peaceful time together. And since they still wanted to see Marcus, Haley and Nicholas, they'd organised a trip to Boston a few weeks earlier, just in time to help putting up the Christmas decorations.

While Harvey and Marcus are outside hanging the garlands and lights on the front porch, closely watched and assisted by an overly excited Nicholas, Donna and Haley are sitting around the big table in the kitchen, adding the last creative touches to an impressive gingerbread house they had put together over the last couple of hours. The soft tunes of some jazzy Christmas music are playing in the background. It was the day before the first Sunday of Advent.

"Wow, I must say we're pretty awesome!" Donna comments proudly the moment she's closing the pretzel fence surrounding the magical property and takes a proper look at their creation, "I've never seen a lovelier gingerbread house – and I've been involved in this!"

"Don't be silly!" Haley laughs before she's carefully attaching a sugar pearl with a dab of melted chocolate to the front door as a doorknob, "You've made the prettiest candy Christmas tree in the world!"

The colourfully decorated fir-tree in front of the house had been made out of a waffle cone frosted with green icing as a base. The branches of the same substance had been piped with a star tip and had then been partly covered with white icing. It was definitely the heart of their creation and would immediately catch everyone's eye.

"Aw, thank you, Haley!" Donna's heart feels warm at the sincere praise from Harvey's niece and elicits a smile from her. "I'm glad I could be of help. This is fun!"

Doing arts and crafts of various kinds has always been the young girl's passion. Donna remembers a handful of home-made gifts for Harvey that he'd shown her over the years; a little carved wood sculpture of a jazz musician he'd put on his record shelf in his office, a tiny crocheted bag where she'd told him he could put away all his worries and countless adorable drawings. Apparently, she'd inherited her creative talent from her grandmother.

Lovingly decorated and covered by heaps of white icing, the slightly crooked gingerbread house looks like a whimsical fairy home. Fondant plants and bushes and trees in the garden, rows of gumdrops in every colour, as well as sugar pearls and almonds adorning the walls with waves of frosting that look like shingles on the roof of the house make it look like it's coming straight out of a fairy tale.

"Aunt Donna?" Haley asks rather shyly and reaches for the dried apricots.

"Hm?"

"How do I know… when a boy likes me… like… you know…"

Donna looks up at the girl, offering her a smile and then taking a sip from her tea. She's touched by the fact that Haley trusts her enough to ask her this, obviously feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Oh, they're so different…" Donna slightly shakes her head, her finger travelling along the rim of her mug as she thinks back to her teen years, "Is it a boy at school? Why is it that you think he might like you?"

"Yes, he's in my class... Sometimes he looks at me when he thinks I don't notice. It's a bit creepy."

Seeing Haley's bewildered expression when she looks up for a second and pauses the building of a stone pathway to the front door with the apricots, Donna has to chuckle and takes another sip.

"And he always wants to work with me."

Donna chokes on her tea. She hadn't seen that coming.

"Are you okay?" Haley asks, genuinely concerned.

Nodding her head and coughing, Donna tries to get her bearings and grabs a pretzel they would no longer need for the fence to nibble at, "Yes, I'm fine. I just need to learn how to drink tea, apparently…"

"When we have to work in groups of two or more. He could just ask his friend Isaac who is sitting next to him, you know," Haley shrugs and puts the last apricot into her mouth.

"He really seems to like you then. Maybe he's shy or afraid to tell you."

As they were done with the last touches, a dusting of powdered sugar was supposed to give the gingerbread house and garden an additional bit of flair to top it all off.

"Really?" Deep in thought, Haley carefully spreads the sugar with a sifter. "But what could he be afraid of?"

"Your uncle Harvey might be able to tell you more about that," Donna murmurs pensively. Even though the situations do not have that much in common, their girl talk triggers a myriad of distant and not so distant emotions and memories that are rushing through her mind and body, making her suddenly feel a little light-headed.

Her answer surprises Haley. "Uncle Harvey?" She wonders, her eyebrows drawn together; but before Donna can react, the girl's eyes fall on a little box at the other end of the table. "We almost forgot the Christmas elves! Their gingerbread house is now ready to move in!"

Grabbing the box, she opens it and places the little figures on the table, one after the other.

"Oh, it's a big family!" Donna reaches for an elf with long pigtails of red hair and a green hat, "Look, this is me!"

"Haha! And this is Uncle Harvey!" She shows Donna another elf with dark hair under his red hat.

"Me?"

Haley and Donna turn their heads in the direction of his voice at the same time, both not having heard him coming inside. Harvey is leaning against the kitchen door frame, his cheeks a little flushed from the cold wind outside, smiling at his wife and niece.

The sight makes Donna's heart skip a beat as if he was looking at her like that for the first time. She knows that hormones may play with her emotions that way, but she's surprised by its intensity nonetheless.

"Haley!"

They can hear the front door swing shut and then footsteps running down the hallway and getting closer. Nicholas is dashing straight into the kitchen, only coming to a halt right in front of the kitchen table. Still wearing his warm jacket and beanie, his whole little body is bouncing with excitement.

"Haley! Didn't Uncle Harvey tell you? You gotta come outside and see the lights!" He reaches for his sister's hand and whirls around to where Donna is sitting, „Aunt Donna, too!"

The boy was eagerly tugging at Haley's hand and arm and quickly succeeds, both kids leaving Donna and Harvey alone in the kitchen.

"How did it go?" Donna asks as Harvey pulls out the chair next to her to sit down. "Nicholas is adorable."

"Yeah, he's the best cheerleader, that's for sure," he chuckles and cups Donna's cheek with his right hand, his lips closely following for a sweet kiss.

„We've finished the gingerbread house while you lit up the entire neighbourhood," Donna hums when he pulls back, his lips and hand still feeling cold and yet able to ignite a fire inside of her just the same.

Harvey moves his chair closer to his wife and drapes his arm around her waist before taking a closer look at the delicious construction. "It looks amazing. I don't think we ever had such a pretty Christmas tree. As far as I can remember that is."

"Oh, thank you. I gave it my best."

"You made that?" Harvey asks, not even trying to hide his astonishment.

"Well, yes, I did," Donna smirks coyly and then looks down to where Haley had put the Donna and Harvey elves together onto the little bench in front of the house.

"I should have known. You're perfect at everything."

She can feel the squeeze of his hand on her thigh and his breath on her ear in every corner of her body. When she opens her eyes after closing them for a long second, her gaze falls on the rest of the Christmas elf family she hadn't paid proper attention to yet.

"Ah, now I get what Haley meant earlier," Harvey laughs when he spots the two Christmas elves, "The similarity is alarming!"

Hearing Harvey laugh so openly, his unwavering love and devotion invading all her senses, Donna decides she can't hold it back any longer.

Her heart beating loudly in her chest, she gives Harvey's hand that is resting between them a squeeze, and then reaches for the smallest of the figures and places it between Harvey elf and Donna elf.

She watches him nervously, and it's only a couple of seconds before she notices his breath hitching and his eyes tearing up – blurring his vision of the little baby elf wrapped up in a red blanket.

"Donna," he turns his body to look at her, the hand that had hold her waist now resting on her shoulder, "Are you saying…?"

Being too overcome with emotion, Donna only nods in response and with the next blink of their eyes single tears of joy stream down both of their faces.

"When?" Harvey croaks out, softly wiping her tears away with his thumb. Happiness lighting up his entire face.

"I tested this morning and wanted to tell you later today when we'd be alone. But I knew."

"Of course."

Harvey doesn't break eye contact when he leans in and the tenderness of his kiss when their lips connect robs Donna of all ability to act.

She didn't have to ask how Harvey feels about the news. She can read it on his face and taste it on his lips. Just like the unique gingerbread house on the table next to them with the little family of Christmas elves, it feels magical and tastes deliciously sweet. And they are both and without a doubt extremely proud of their little creation.

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