"This... this wasn't necessary," he cleared his throat a little as he shifted restlessly before finally simply leaning against the counter. From the living room, he could hear the happy squeals of the niece and the quiet chatter of your sister and her husband. He felt out of place and unwelcome here, even though everyone smiled at him and no one really took any notice of him except you. The TV was playing in the background, with Jim Carrey in the lead role.

"And leave you alone in your horrible hole for Christmas?" You retorted, almost scandalized that he'd even thought of it. "No way. No one is supposed to be alone at Christmas! Besides, the more people at the tables the better, at least there won't be leftovers," you smiled. You could feel how uncomfortable he was about it, but... there was no backing out now, was there? "Plus..." you began casually. "Santa whispered in my ear that he has a pretty nice present for you here, but you'll have to wait until morning."

The look Simon shot you could only be described purely as very bored and annoyed, but his eyes were amused, even if only a little, but it didn't matter much. He shifted again, arms crossed over his chest. "You're horrible," he averted your gaze, a small smirk on his lips.