It was very possible that Marcus had given no thought whatsoever to getting Astoria a present. If that was the case, then Angelina's plan of conversation could turn sour very quickly. However, she remembered joint gifts in the future. She had a feeling they were not there yet, would not be there for a while, but she needed to make sure. She had ideas, plenty of them, but for some reason, it was necessary for her to make sure.

"Marcus," she called out, realizing quite suddenly that this was the first time they'd been alone since before. She winced, looking at the door. Maybe he didn't hear her. Maybe she could still get away.

Marcus stepped out of his room and glanced at Angelina. He'd been... Well, he hadn't been hiding. Just... Avoiding the women. The two of them were so jumpy around each other that it made him want to snap. Or lock them in a room with nothing but a bed.

"Yeah," he asked. She looked nervous.

Dammit. She'd hesitated in running to her room and he'd appeared. Like magic. "Sorry if you were... sleeping... or something." She didn't want to think about what he'd been doing in the bedroom, really, so she rushed on to fill in the silence after her statement. "I was just wondering if you'd gotten Tor anything for Christmas."

"Not yet," he said uncomfortably. He knew he needed to get them both something, probably something girly, but he had no idea what. "I don't suppose she'd like Quidditch supplies or the same smelly perfume I send my mum every year."

"I'm not quite sure that Doft would smell the same on Astoria," Angelina said with a small smile. "She doesn't really enjoy Quidditch," she added. She'd been racking her mind for something the blonde would like, that would suit her, but everything she came up with was entirely cheesy.

"Then I'm out of ideas. Do you have any?"

"I had a few," she said, shrugging. "Nothing spectacular." This was harder than it was supposed to be. "I'm worried that she's going to get us both something great, and we're going to be sitting there with nothing for her."

"Yeah," he agreed as he turned and headed towards the stairs. It was awkward to stand around in the hall. "A few ideas is better than me, though. So you'll come out ahead."

"It's not a competition," Angelina whispered with a frown. If she considered their relationship a competition, she'd go nuts. Insane. She was already worried she was going to get irrationally jealous. She'd done it in the past, almost ruined her friendships with Fred and Katie. She hated losing, would do almost anything to avoid it. That fact alone had her frowning.

"So what are your ideas?" Angel had followed him into the den, but stood awkwardly as he sank down onto the sofa. "Anything that I could use? I think you know that I'm not good with the girly thing."

"Yes, but you're good with the Astoria thing, so you'll figure it out." She shifted her weight from her heels to the balls of her feet, stuffing her hands into the back pockets of her jeans. "I don't want to tell you what I'm getting her, because you'll steal the idea."

"Maybe," he hedged. "Or maybe I'll do something stupid." He felt an odd urge to twist the wide silver band on his wrist. "Why don't you just give me an idea that you've decided not to do?"

Angelina frowned, taking a step further into the room. "I thought about dresses, and shoes. Something soft. Something to replace that damned night gown. Make-up, jewelry, painting, prints. A broom. A gift certificate to a spa of some sort. I used that last one on someone else, though, and Astoria deserves something better." Eyes coming back into focus a bit, she looked at Marcus, smiling sheepishly. "I gave it a lot of thought."

"So you did," he agreed, considering all the options she had gone through, weighing them for his own use. He would be pants at picking out a dress or make-up. He liked it much better when she wore nothing to bed. Still, it gave him something to work from.

"I know what she wants, actually," he told her with a smirk. "But it's not something I can provide." OK, so convincing Angel that she should jump Princess's bones wasn't actually a gift, but it would make his life better.

Angelina flew across the room, pulling her long legs under herself as she collapsed onto the couch next to him. "Tell me! Please!"

Having her practically fly into his lap distracted him from everything else, and with a soft growl he gathered her close, pulling her into his lap. "Maybe I can be convinced to reveal what I know."

Swallowing reflexively, it took everything she had, but Angelina didn't stiffen in his arms. This wasn't how she'd thought the conversation would go, but she wasn't going to argue. "What would it take," she asked, blinking as she looked up at him.

He considered the question. Angel was going to be pissed when he told her that the Princess wanted her wet and naked. Maybe with a cute little Christmas bow strategically placed. If he pushed the "convincing" too far, it'd earn him a smack at the very least.

"A kiss," he decided. It seemed safe enough.

"O-oh," Angelina said. Astoria wants a kiss. From me. She'd been thinking something she couldn't afford. It was almost worse, in a way.

What if she's been hoping for this thing, thinking about it, and it falls short of what she wants? What if she's been craving this thing and when she gets it, she doesn't want it anymore? What if I'm not who she needs or wants?

"That doesn't seem like enough," she finally said.

"Take it or leave it." His hands were on her thighs, fingers teasing the crease of her legs. He could feel her muscles jump as he inched them along.

"I'll consider it," she said, eyes shutting for a second. Letting out her breath slowly, she put a hand on the couch and pushed herself from his lap, but not from the couch just yet. "I'll have to give it more thought. See if I can't figure out something." She turned her head, looking at him with a small smile. "Thanks for the idea."

He chuckled as he realized what had happened. Angel had taken his "price" for telling her what Astoria wanted as his idea for the Princess's Christmas present. He wouldn't have phrased it so nicely, but in essence it was correct. Even if he felt like stomping because he didn't get his kiss.

"I meant for me," he explained, snagging the back of her neck and drawing her forward. "But it would work for her as well."

Confusion passed over her face right before their lips met. Angelina forgot what they were talking about, as well as why she'd been avoiding doing this for so long. It'd been over two weeks since they'd been in this position, and she realized that she'd missed it. It'd only happened twice, but it had been enough. She pressed herself against his chest, sighing a bit as she all but positioned herself in his lap.

Marcus moved her the rest of the way into his lap, making her straddle his thighs. His hands found her hair and buried themselves into the wealth as he stroked her tongue with his.

Angelina sighed against his mouth, losing herself in the feel of him pressed against her. She really should have learned by now that avoiding him was a stupid, stupid thing to do. Well, avoiding him or Astoria.

Astoria.

The blond's face, sadness and jealousy written on it, passed through Angelina's mind right before she pulled back from Marcus with a disappointed noise. Astoria was already upset that they had had each other. She did not want to make her anymore upset, especially right before the holidays.

He growled in frustration, knowing exactly what was happening. It had happened enough in the past couple of weeks that he was familiar with the routine.

"I wish you two would get it worked out soon," he muttered, running a hand through his hair.

"I'm trying," Angelina said a bit defensively, not quite ready to move from his lap. "It's a little harder than you think it is."

"I know exactly how hard it is," he said with a leer, grinding his erection against the juncture of her thighs. He was rewarded with a bitten off moan.

He was the one that pushed her away, though. Living with Princess and Angel had changed him. The old Marcus would have kept at her until she hexed him in self defense.

"I'm going to take a nice, long, cold shower."

Angelina glared at his back. She wanted to ask him if he'd ever been with a man, and if he hadn't, could he just rush into it like it was no big deal? She had a feeling he wouldn't appreciate the question, and wouldn't care how awkward it was for her. She had never been with a woman, not like that, and she just wasn't sure. She wasn't not sure about Astoria, though. She was just not sure how it would all work. How it worked.

Physically, yes, she understood, but it was everything that came along with it. The intimacy. The three of them together. It was all a bit intimidating, and while she was becoming more and more open to the idea, actually putting it in motion was a different story. "I need one too," she said, rising from the couch.

He paused in the doorway to their bedroom and clutched the frame for a moment. He would not ask if she wanted to join him. He would not ask.

Sighing, knowing that if he'd asked her to join him she wouldn't have had to guts to say no, Angelina made her way to her bedroom, shutting the door behind herself softly before leaning back against it, her eyes closed as she let out another large sigh.


Summary: Angelina and Marcus discuss gifts for Astoria.