December 11th

Skye wanted to make the best impression possible on the cold and wintery first night of Hanukkah. With her hair and outfit put together plus her present wrapped and her card for Levi sealed to perfection, she was set to spend the evening with Levi and his family. All that was left to do now was to get out of her dad's car, walk up to the front door, and then just knock.

Sitting in the car with her dad, Scott was giving his daughter a little pep talk before heading in there. While Skye needed some words of reassurance and inspiration, they weren't exactly helpful as her father's words were motivated by the concept of a potential relationship with Levi.

"Now, pumpkin." Scott began. "I know meeting the boyfriend's parents can be scary."

"He's not my boyfriend." Skye groaned. If she got to take a shot every time someone called Levi her boyfriend, she would probably be dead from alcohol poisoning already. Drink safely, people.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he was after tonight." He said.

"Dad, come on." She glared.

"Fine." Scott let out a sigh, getting to the actual point of this pep talk. "Look, since right now you two are friends as you claim to be, his parents are probably going to be very, um..."

"Nosy?" Skye questioned.

"Basically, yeah." Her dad nodded.

"Gee, this has just been so helpful." She joked.

"Well, I don't know how this is like in your shoes." He frowned. "It's different for girls and boys."

"What do you mean?" Skye asked, unsure of what he meant by it was "different".

"Well, I remember being like Levi once," Scott admitted.

"Seriously?" She raised an eyebrow. It was quite hard to believe, considering how awesome and badass her dad has always been in her eyes, but the now grown-up Simmons was once a scared teenage boy just like Levi was when he met him.

"Yeah, I was scared out of my mind when I met your mother's parents." He chuckled. Looking back on it now was funny despite all that went down between him and Skye's estranged mother, but that was one of the few times that their relationship was pure innocence.

"Well, I'm scared too." Skye frowned.

"Baby, they'll love you," Scott reassured her. There was no way they couldn't love her. If Levi could, then so would his parents.

"You think so?" She asked.

"Well if they don't I'm gonna kick their ass." He laughed, which made Skye laugh too.

"How sweet." She giggled.

"Now get outta here," Scott said. "Go show em you're girlfriend material."

"Dad!" Skye yelled.

"There was a space between girl and friend!" Her dad exclaimed, raising his hands to show he's innocent, which he wasn't in this case.

"Yeah right." She rolled her eyes then opened the car door, getting out of the car and peering down to say one last thing to her dad. "I'll text you when I need you to pick me up."

"Have fun!" Scott yelled out as she walked to the front door.

"I'll try!" Skye yelled back, turning her head and waving before looking back in the direction of Levi's house, which still stood as nicely built as ever.

Holding her gift for Levi in one hand, Skye lets out a deep breath before using her free hand to knock on the door. She patiently waited for someone to answer, then was pleasantly surprised to see Levi and Lenny answer the door. Lenny actually zoomed to the front door faster than Levi could even say "I'll get it", which would be a funny story to tell later.

"Hey!" Levi greeted her. Standing right in front of him with her ever so bouncy curls and a lovely sweater dress that suited her well, Levi felt like a huge wave of wind hit him the moment he laid eyes on her tonight. He was so whipped for her, even if he wanted to keep the "just friends" things going to ensure Skye's comfort.

Skye cracked a smile when she noticed Lenny besides Levi, who immediately showed his excitement for seeing his "bestie". "It's my bestie!"

"Hey, bestie! And Levi, I guess." She replied, going along with the joke from Halloween she and Lenny shared. Levi furrowed his eyebrows in confusion though, so Skye assured him that she was happy to see him and be invited to his home on such a special holiday for him. "Kidding. I'm glad to have been invited."

"Well, come in, guest of honor." He said, stepping out of the way for Skye to step inside. Levi then discreetly whispers "go" to Lenny so he could talk to Skye one-on-one, and the younger Daniels immediately complies and runs towards the living room.

Skye let out a laugh as Lenny's little legs ran to the living room, then she turned to Levi to hand over the gift she got him earlier in the week. "I brought you a gift, by the way."

"Really?" Levi quietly gasped, touched that she had gotten him something. He didn't think it would be possible to like her even more, but Skye managed to do it anyway.

"Yeah." She grinned. "Didn't get anything for Lenny though besides my presence."

"Trust me, he couldn't stop talking about you coming over all week." He lied, which Skye immediately caught onto knowing exactly how Levi is.

"Are you sure you're don't mean yourself instead of Lenny?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Shh." Levi blushed. "Nice outfit, by the way."

"Thanks." Skye blushed as well, having a better time hiding it compared to Levi.

"Here, I'll take the gift then you can finally meet my parents." He offered, extending his hands out to take the gift.

"Don't open it yet!" She quickly yelled, not knowing that they wouldn't open night one's presents until after dinner.

"I won't, I won't." Levi chuckled.

"Good," Skye said, handing Levi the gift now that he's claimed that he won't open it yet.

"Follow me." He said, leading her to the kitchen so Skye could meet Levi's mom who was currently cooking tonight's meal, which she could smell from the kitchen and was dying to have a taste.

Following him into the kitchen, Levi softly called for his mom, trying not to startle her while she focused on her cooking. Skye shyly stood behind him with her hands behind her back, preparing for her introduction that she was so nervous about.

"Mom?"

"Yes, dear-" his mom began, looking away from what she was doing then saw Skye standing beside her son. "Is this Skye?"

"Mhm." He nodded.

"Hello, Mrs. Daniels." Skye shyly waved, then stepped up to shake her hand.

Much to Skye's surprise, Levi's mom only shook her hand for only a second before pulling her in for a hug, praising her about her looks while not failing to mention what Levi has said about her. "Call me Sandra. Levi, I know you said she was beautiful but she's more beautiful than you described!"

"Mom..." Levi blushed. Yeah, this was incredibly embarrassing, but he basically asked for this, so there was no room to complain.

"I mean it!" Sandra exclaimed, letting go of Skye to berate her son.

"Well, uh, thank you," Skye said.

"Levi, be a proper host and show Skye to the snacks and drinks." She ordered.

"I was just about to get to that," Levi said, letting out a sigh as he saw how his mom's demeanor changed the moment Skye walked into the room. There was no doubt that Sandra was a great mom, but she sure loved to embarrass Levi when there was company, especially a potential love interest.

"Good." His mom grinned. "It was nice meeting you, Skye. I'll let you all know when dinner is ready."

"It was nice meeting you too," Skye replied, then walked out of the kitchen with Levi who was on his way to the living room.

"That was less scary than I thought." She said, letting out a sigh of relief knowing that Sandra seemed to like her already.

"It's not over yet, trust me," Levi warned her. Skye still had to meet his dad, and that would surely be just as interesting, if not even more than that.

"Aren't you supposed to be a proper host right now?" Skye sassed.

"I'm getting to it." Levi sighed.

"I'm just messing with you." She lightly nudged him, making Levi blush in embarrassment over not realizing she was being sarcastic.

"I totally knew that." He said.

"Right..." Skye replied, playfully rolling her eyes then following Levi into the living room where his dad sat with a can of Coca-Cola and the television blaring while Lenny sat on the floor impatiently.

"Yo, pops," Levi said.

Immediately getting his attention, Levi's dad greeted Skye in a way that was far weirder than Levi's mom's introduction. "Hey, it's the girlfriend!"

"Just a friend, dad." He groaned.

"Shy? Sly?" His dad furrowed his eyebrows.

"Skye," she corrected him. "Like the sky."

"Skye!" He exclaimed. "Well, I'm Barry, not Larry or Gary."

"Nice to meet you, Barry, not Larry or Gary." Skye replied, trying to keep along with Barry's jokester vibe.

Levi cut into the conversation, directing Skye to the snacks and drinks that his mom urged him to show Skye to previously. "Well, now that you've met the fam, drinks are in the fridge and snacks are on the coffee table."

"Levi set the gift down with the other gifts." His dad ordered, proceeding to call Skye Levi's girlfriend once again. "Your girlfriend's gift can wait."

"Not my girlfriend," Levi said, which wouldn't be the last time he'd have to say it.

"She's my bestie." Lenny chimed in with the childish grin he always possessed.

"Skye's your bestie, Lenny?" Barry asked. "Well, I think you've got some competition with your brother over here though."

"Dad, don't say that." Levi whisper yelled, thinking his dad's words would make Lenny throw a fit, but thankfully Skye came to the rescue for him.

"Yeah, uh, nobody can take over the number one bestie spot." She said, which pleased Lenny.

"That's what I thought." He sassed, that sass being a result of being impatient about both dinner and opening his gift for the first night of Hanukkah.

"God, he's practically like you," Skye said to Levi quietly, who had a pleased smirk on his face after hearing what she just said.

"Learned from the best," Levi replied.

"Sit down, you two! I wanna hear about your "friend" Skye." Barry exclaimed, a major emphasis on the word friend.

"Oh, well, uh." Skye begins, sitting down on the couch near the arm of it while Levi sat right beside her, making sure to keep a comfortable distance. "Levi and I have chemistry, English, lunch, and art together."

The mention of art caught Levi's dad's attention, who brought up how Levi took up a good amount of free time drawing, mostly because Levi would knock on his door asking for his printer paper as he had a nicely sized supply of it for his job. "No wonder Levi had been taking up all my paper to draw!"

"You draw outside of school?" Skye turned to him, furrowing her eyebrows as she wasn't aware of this information whatsoever.

"I had been practicing a little." He said.

"Yeah, he's really good," Barry added. "Maybe he can put those skills to good use if football doesn't work out."

"Hey, football is still in the cards." Levi protested. "My shoulder is healing just fine."

"I know, I know." His dad rolled his eyes, then brought up something that had been on his mind since Skye walked into the room. "You know, Skye, you look really familiar."

"I do?" She questioned, unsure of where Levi's dad could've possibly seen her. Skye didn't meet his parents on Halloween night, so it was hard to think of the possibilities.

"Yeah, I can't quite figure out why." He said, trying his hardest to put his finger as to why she looks so familiar.

"You might have seen me at my dad's mechanic shop before," Skye said, seeing as that could be the only possibility as far as she knew. "I worked there one summer."

"No, that's definitely not why." Barry shook his head. Now, why was Skye so familiar to Levi's dad? Well, the answer related to Levi's drawings. After wanting to see what was all this taking his printer paper to draw was about, Barry decided to take a look at Levi's drawings himself, and all those drawings were many variations of the same curly-haired girl, some being doodles and some being more detailed drawings, but the subject was always the same.

Levi wanted to avoid the truth coming out, so he changed the subject to get it off their minds, although it wouldn't leave his. "Um, why don't I get everyone drinks? Dad? Skye? Lenny?"

"Uh, get me another Coke." His dad replied, shaking his soda can which was revealed to be empty.

"I'll have one too." Skye chimed in.

"I will-" Lenny began.

"No, buddy, you've already reached your soda limit." Barry interrupted, then turned to Levi. "Get him some water."

"Hmph." Lenny crossed his arms.

"Be right back," Levi said, hurrying out of the living room and into the kitchen, leaving Skye and his dad to talk to each other alone, which wasn't really the best idea.

"So, Skye." He turned to her.

Skye could immediately get the gist, so she called Barry out on it before he could go further. "Is this a dating question about me and Levi?"

"Ah, you got me." Barry chuckled. "I couldn't help it."

"To be honest, I've been asked a lot of dating questions from a lot of people." She said, which Barry understood. Skye couldn't help but be a little annoyed about everyone around her wondering will they or won't they, but this school year had been the most interesting time of her life, so she tried her best to let the questions come her way regardless. She was actually curious what Levi's dad had to say though, but she wouldn't get the chance to hear it.

"Well, I can imagine. I swear, that boy-" That boy what? That boy what? Come on!"

"I'm back with drinks!" Dammit.

"You better put them on a coaster," Barry demanded, not wanting stains on his coffee table.

"Well, I'm not like Lenny, so," Levi said, cracking a smile as he tried not to laugh at his own joke, one that triggered Lenny.

"Hey!"

"Come get your water, ya lil whiner." He rolled his eyes, squatting and setting down a water bottle on a coaster closest to the five-year-old while he held the soda cans to his chest with his other arm (and prayed he wouldn't accidentally let them fall to the ground).

"Meanie." Lenny pouted.

"Sorry, bestie." Skye giggled a little, which didn't really help.

Levi handed Skye her drink, and she immediately took it and thanked him. "Here you go."

"Thanks." She said, then Levi went to sit next to her, putting his (notably left) arm around her out of a habit of resting his arm on the couch, making Skye immediately widen her eyes and blush, whipping her head to him.

Levi immediately noticed how weird that was of him, so he retracted his arm and apologized if he made her uncomfortable, which he was trying so hard to avoid doing. "Oh, sorry."

"No, no, you're fine," Skye assured him, cursing herself in her head for getting so flustered about the gesture, but she went to change the subject as an attempt to forget that just happened. "I almost forgot, but, uh, my dad kind of wants to invite you over for dinner on Christmas."

"Kind of?" Levi raised an eyebrow. Of course, he was very excited that he would be invited, but he was just confused about the "kind of" part.

"Well, he does." She corrected herself. "I just thought it would be awkward to ask."

"It's not awkward. I'll definitely go, that is if it's okay with my dad over here." He said, then turned to Barry to ask about dinner at Skye's on Christmas Day. "Dad?"

"Hm?" His dad questioned, turning his attention away from the TV.

"Can I go to Skye's house for dinner on Christmas?" Levi asked.

"I wasn't sure if it would be any sort of violation to your religion, so." Skye chimed in, making sure to mention that before Levi's dad gave an answer.

Barry didn't even think twice about the question, not hesitating to say yes to Levi. "Of course you can go! Go eat at your girlfriend's house on Christmas!"

"Once again, not my girlfriend." He groaned once more.

"She could be." His dad winked.

Levi said nothing more, but Skye slyly sipped on her Coke like she would sip her tea during a gossip session, also not making any sort of comment to what Barry had to say. Sure, Skye could definitely be Levi's girlfriend if she wanted to be, but Levi wouldn't force anything if Skye wasn't okay with it. He was perfectly okay with playing the long game, but how long would the long game last? Most importantly, would it ever end?

•••

MARIA TALKS!

yay, a mega long chapter!

also a double update cause i was feeling frisky you're welcome skyevi nation

honestly i kind of try to put myself at a limit as i don't want to exceed 20 pages, so y'all better feel lucky when a chapter is like 18/19 pages. that shit doesn't happen easily.

the first night of hanukkah will most definitely continue in the next chapter, but know that i can't guarantee the chapter will be as long as this one. it might end up being shorter, i'm not sure yet.

but anyways, as i always remind everyone, don't forget to vote and don't be afraid to comment and share your thoughts 💅🏻