Christmas Morning.

Michael rolled in bed once more, well, as far as he could roll with his left arm pinned underneath the small form of his alien girlfriend, Uzma. For just a moment, he stared at the blackness of the ceiling, just listening to the sounds around him. Outside, small animals pattered about in the late December snow, scavenging for their breakfast among the dead foliage of the Italian manor. Inside he could hear the soft, rhythmic breathing of Uzma. Her heart beat softly inside her chest, a slow, methodic resting rate. He let out a content sigh as he took in his atmosphere, before rolling over to plant a kiss on her cheek, to a disgruntled grumbling that made him smile. She was certainly not a morning person. Slowly, he wrestled his arm from under her form, sliding out of bed and heading for the attached bathroom in their bedroom suite. A warm shower, a shave, and a pair of pajama pants later, he crept back into their shared room, to see Uzma still passed out on the bed. Though, her form was now sprawled over the entirety of the bed. Containing his chuckle, Entei moved towards the bed, looking at the clock that sat on his bed side table.

The small LED display read "7:38 AM". Grinning, he took a few steps back, cracking his neck to the side, and internally laughing.

"UZMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" He screamed running forward, leaping into the air, and starting to jump on the bed. "UZZZZZZZMAAAAAAAAAA IT'S CHRISTMAS!!!! SANTA CAME SANTA CAME!!!" he continued to bellow out, jumping around the surely now furious form of his girlfriend, before plopping on the bed to sit next to her.

"C'mooooooooooon wake up!" He said, poking her in the face softly and slowly. "If you don't get up, I'm going to take all your presents and give them to Tyuki. I think we both know how much she loves to get preeesseeeeents" as he continued to harass the poor, poor alien girl, he reached into the drawer of the bed side table, pulling out a small, wrapped, cube shaped gift.

"C'mon sleepy head." Michael said cheerfully, continuing to poke the peaceful alien whom he loved. He had softly closed his eyes, a bright smile on his face, when he felt the pressure around his neck. His eyes shot open, a startled expression written all over his face. Fire had formed in his hands before he had even noticed it, years of training kicking in instantaneously. That was the problem perhaps, with two heroes dating, they were both essentially trained killers who jumped at the slightest unexpected touch. Combined that with the fact that both of them held the power to level sky scrappers, or incinerate city blocks, it made a bad combination in situations like this.

"U-Uzma..." He choked out, thankful that he hadn't simply cloaked himself in his demon's fire immediately, fearful  for exactly to what extent his fires could harm not only Uzma, but this section of the manor. "Sweetie....you go-gotta let go now..." When the girl released him, he leaned forward, his free hand clutching at his own chest, short, deep gasp of air coming in raggedly. The box had been near incinerated in the fire he had summoned, but, thankfully the parcel inside had not been, and he clutched it tightly in his fist. His eyes flickered confusedly towards Uzma, his mouth agape, still gasping for air.

"Oh my God... Michael... I'm.. I'm so sorry..." Uzma had said, to which Michael held up a hand, simply waving it off, before smiling at the girl. He let out a small laugh, as worry crept into the back of his mind. Hopefully, every Christmas wouldn't be like this.

"It's fine," Michael started, placing his hand over Uzma's, intertwining their fingers. "I'm assuming you had a bad dream. Honestly, I'm just glad it was you who had the first one, and not me. I would hate to hurt you." leaning forward, he placed a small kiss on the girl's cheek, before pulling her body close to his, wrapping her in his arms. "It's all okay now though Uzma, I'm here to protect you. Oh, and, Merry Christmas."

"Oh sure, NOW you're shy." Michael teased, silently slipping the gift into his pocket as he removed himself from the bed, shaking his head at his mocha girlfriend.He stretched his arms, pulling the muscles of his body taut against his skin for a moment, before scratching at his stomach, and moving to the door. "Ya'know, Uzma, I woke you up for a reason." he began, his hand resting on the door knob to their suite. "I know we haven't been dating long, but, I'm very much in love with you. As soon as we get some privacy again, I need to talk to you."


"Merry Christmas." He said, as he opened the door to the mysterious stranger who had been knocking.

"Er...well..." Michael began, crossing the room to the bed, grabbing a small muffin in his hand, before sitting next to Uzma. "It's kind of hard for me to talk about, ya'know? But uh...I really love you Uzma, I can't imagine spending my life without you." Entei paused, coughing, before pulling a small ring from his pocket, and fiddeling with it in his hands in plain view of Uzma. "This ring is actually interesting. It's a lot like you. My fire, it can destroy most anything, and it probably will. However, you, and this ring, are two of the only things that will never be hurt by it."

Michael smiled, as he slipped the ring onto Uzma's finger, his heart beating a million miles an hour in his chest. He swallowed a bit, as his hands fumbled around hers, suddenly unable to properly perform basic motor functions. He laughed softly at his own sad attempts, turning his head towards the sheets of the bed, and licking his top row of teeth with the tip of his tongue, trying to compose himself.

"Uzma I.." He began, trying to find the words in his chest. "I love you, with every fiber of my being. There is not a day that goes on that I don't think of you. You accept me for who I am, you don't try to change me, you don't try to make me hide my more...odd features when we go out. You stuck by me through everything. Forming the Guardians, going to hell, meeting my family." as he spoke, he finally managed to get the ring on her finger, and gently used his thumb to wipe away the iridescent tears that formed in the corner of her eyes. "I want to spend the rest of my life protecting you, holding you close. Someday, when we're a bit older, I want to sit on the front porch as our children run around. " As he said that, a small smile formed on his lips once again. "Though, we may have to stop taking such dangerous trophies from our exploits at that point." He teased.

He fell back slightly as Uzma pounced on him, before catching himself, and wrapping his arms around her. He closed his eyes for a moment as she told him she loved him, and for a moment, he didn't feel like a hero. He didn't feel like some weird half demon hybrid, he didn't feel like the prince of hell, and he certainly didn't feel like a dangerous pyrokinetic. At that moment, he felt like a boy who had found his true love, and he couldn't be happier.

"I didn't technically ask yet." He said, joking. "But, will you marry me. If you're on the fence, technically, marrying me makes you a princess." As he spoke, he softly rubbed he back, pulling her tighter into himself.