˗ˏˋ𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝𝐥𝐲ˊˎ˗
𝚒. 𝚌𝚑𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚖𝚊𝚜
( S1E16 ) "girl meets home for the holidays"

Valentina POV

𝑰 was walking down the hallway towards my sister, Topanga's, apartment with my best friends: Hollie, Cora, Brett, and Connor (Brett and Hollie are dating) when I heard...

"Honey, this is our first year hosting the holidays. Is your mom gonna go easy on me?" Topanga asked

"You want comfort or truth?" Cory asked Topanga

"Comfort." Topanga answered

"It's gonna be hideous." Cory said

"I said I wanted comfort!" Topanga said

I looked through the peephole. Cory hugged Topanga.

"It's gonna be hideous." Cory repeated

"It's Maya's first time with us, and I need the holidays to go good for her." Riley said

"Well, I need the holidays to be good for your mother." Cory told Riley

I opened the door and ran in. Cora, Connor, Hollie, and Brett walked in behind me, and Brett shut the door.

"Liar!" Topanga and I shouted in unison at Cory

"Liar!" Cory admitted

He pointed to himself.

"I need the holiday to be good for Shawn. Shawn's coming!" Cory shouted like a kid

The buzzer rung. Cory and Hollie ran over to it.

"Shawn?!" Cory and Hollie asked

"Maya!" Maya said

"Shawn?!" Cory and Hollie asked, again

I looked at Cora and we rolled our eyes.

"Aw, what's the matter? Your boyfriend's not here yet?" Maya asked

"He's not my boyfriend!" Cory protested

"Oh, then what are we going to do with this 'Cory and Shawn 4-evah!' ornament?" Topanga asked

She gestured to the ornament Cora held in her hands.

"Oh, that? That goes right in front of the Cory and Topanga wedding ornament." Cory said

He took the ornament out of Cora's hand. Riley turned to us.

"Our whole life." Topanga said

Hollie and I nodded in agreement.

"Auggie, wanna help with the cupcakes Connor and I are making?" Cora asked

Auggie nodded, grabbing Connor's hand. I watched Topanga following them into the kitchen. I started placing my presents around the tree, while Brett and Hollie were sitting on the couch. I looked up when the door opened and Maya walked in.

"I don't even think he exists." Maya said

She closed the door behind her.

"Oh he's real alright. He's real good at being annoying with Cory." I mumbled

"Have I ever told you I love you, sister?" Topanga asked

"Everyday." I replied, smirking

"He's real, Maya. I've known the guy my whole life, and he's real." Cory reasoned with her

"You're fun to play with." Maya said to him

Then she started to talk to Riley. I playfully rolled my eyes and continued to place my presents around the tree.

"So, what's the deal on the mysterious Uncle Shawn?" Maya asked her

I looked up as soon as I finished putting down my presents.

"I don't see him a lot. I don't think he likes me." Riley said

"Riley. Why on earth would you think Shawn wouldn't like you?" I asked, in shock

"Cause he never pays attention to me, Auntie Tina." Riley answered

I sighed.

"Besides, how could someone not like you, anyway?" Maya asked

This made Riley turn to her.

"Ask him and let me know." Riley said

I looked up when the buzzer buzzed again.

"Shawn!" Cory and Hollie shouted

They ran towards the buzzer.

"No, it's your parents." I heard Mr. Matthews' voice

"Rats!" Cory exclaimed, with a whisper

"Twinnie!" Hollie exclaimed

"Let me explain how a speaker box works." Mr. Matthews said to Cory, over the intercom

"These holidays are important to me, Alan. How much of a fiasco do you think it's gonna be?" Mrs. Matthews said to Mr. Matthews

"Let me explain how a speaker box works." Mr. Matthews said

"Come on up, Mom and Dad." Cory told them

He buzzed them in.

"Hideous already." Cory said to Topanga, about Mr. Matthews and Mrs. Matthews

"How about I throw this pot at you?!" Topanga asked, angrily

She held the pot in her hands, just as I came into the kitchen to finish the cupcakes.

"They don't think you're real, but I know you are." Cory said, in a baby voice to the ornament of him and Shawn

I watched in amusement when Topanga threw the pot at Cory. It didn't him though because he caught it.

"She tried to hurt you Shawn." Cory said to the ornament

I giggled and went to help Topanga with dinner.

The doorbell rang as I was helping Topanga set the table for dinner.

"Grandma, Grandpa!" Auggie shouted

He ran to the door. Auggie opened the door to reveal Mr. and Mrs. Matthews on the other side.

"Hello. Here's ten bucks. Write me better." Mr. Matthews said

He handed Auggie ten bucks.

"Okay." Auggie said

He turned to Mrs. Matthews.

"Here's cookies." Mrs. Matthews said

She handed the cookies to Auggie.

"Thanks, here's ten bucks." Auggie thanked

He handed Mrs. Matthews the ten bucks.

"And... that's how you do that." Mrs. Matthews said

She put the ten bucks in her purse.

"Riley, Maya!" Mr. Matthews said

He hugged the two girls.

"Daddy!" Hollie exclaimed

She ran over to Mr. Matthews and hugged him.

"I just saw you this morning." Mr. Matthews said

Cora and I laughed, and walked over to Mr. and Mrs. Matthews and gave them each a hug.

"Ah, look at all these kids." Mr. Matthews said

He hung his jacket.

"It wasn't that long ago I had kids around the house." Mr. Matthews said

"Yeah, it was just this morning, wasn't it, Dad?" Josh asked

He threw a pair of keys to Mr. Matthews.

"Oh, yeah yeah, you." Mr. Matthews said

He pointed to Josh

"Boing!" Maya exclaimed

She pointed at Josh

"Huh, that's my uncle, Maya." Riley said

"Sweet, I would be your aunt." Maya said

"I already have an aunt! Two of them!" Riley said

"Look Vale's awesome, but she's not with him and let me say..." Maya started

"Please don't." Riley said

Riley had a grossed out face and I laughed even harder.

"Joshie!" Auggie exclaimed

He ran to Josh.

"Auggie!" Josh says back

I smiled when Josh put Auggie on his shoulders.

"I love it up here!" Auggie yelled

I giggled.

"Auntie Vale!! Look who's here!" I heard Auggie scream

"I know, baby! I know! The giant of the family has shown up!" I said, joking around

I walked over to them. I looked up to Josh and stood right in front of him with a smirk on my face. He turned and dropped Auggie onto the couch and turned to me.

"Valentine." Josh said 

His face was very serious.

"Long time no see, Joshy." I said

"Not really, what about a week?" He said 

His face was still serious and I smiled.

"You'd be surprised to see how many girls would love to be in my position right now." I said

I hugged him and we walked over to Riley and Maya.

"Uncle Josh." Riley said

She hugged Josh and he hugged her back.

"Riley." Josh said

"Uncle Josh." Maya said

She hugged Josh.

"Uh... I'm not your uncle, Maya." Josh said

"Even better." Maya said

She was still hugging Josh. Riley awkwardly pulled Maya away from Josh.

"It's... it's been awhile." Josh stuttered

Maya nodded.

"Sure has." Maya said

"Well... boy, you grew up gorgeous." Josh said

He walked into the kitchen. I saw Maya smiling.

"My brotha'." Josh said

He pointed to Cory.

"My brotha'." Cory said back

The two fist bump.

"How is it possible we're brothers?" Cory asked

"Because... it's a surprise!" Josh and Hollie said

They looked over at Mr. Matthews.

"Stop doing that." Mr. Matthews said to him

"Aw, Dad, so proud of himself." Josh said

He wrapped an arm around Mr. Matthews and then turned to Cory.

"He gets into movies for like a quarter." Hollie said

Josh then went to sit on the couch with Mr. Matthews, Cory, and Auggie. Cora and Connor went into the kitchen. Hollie and Brett sat on the floor together. I looked up and saw Shawn popping his head in the doorway. He walked in and held up a finger, telling me to stay quiet. I nodded and watched as he sat next to Auggie on the couch.

"Gee, Cor, I thought you'd be excited to see me." Shawn joked

He made Cory turn to him. Cory gasped.

"Yay!" Cory exclaimed

Cory and Shawn then hugged each other, with Auggie squashed between the middle of them. I watched in amusement as Auggie struggled to get from underneath the hugging friends.

"I told you he was real!" Cory shouted at Maya

He was still hugging Shawn. Auggie finally squirmed out of the grip.

"I'm okay, I'm alive." Auggie said

I giggled as Auggie ran towards me, and hugged my waist.

"So, that's us, huh?" Maya asked Riley

They watched Shawn and Cory hug. Riley nodded.

"So I've been told." Riley replied

"Hey, Shawn, am I cooler than you yet?" Josh asked Shawn

"Oh, not yet, but I'm getting nervous." Shawn admitted

The two shared a hug. Topanga then walked towards Shawn with a smile on her face.

"Hey, Mrs. Cory." Shawn greeted

"Hey, Mr. Cory." Topanga greeted back

The two hugged each other.

"You two. How great is this? My favorite person in the world... and my wife." Cory said

Riley and Maya looked at me with amusement on their faces.

"Our whole life." I answered

Topanga nodded. She then joined Mrs. Matthews into the kitchen.

Shawn then walked over to me. I love Shawn, he's like a brother to me.

"Hey, Tina." Shawn greeted

"Hey, Shawnie." I greeted

We shared a hug.

"Hey, Shawn. How you doin'?" Mr. Matthews asked

Shawn hugged Mr. Matthews.

"I keep movin', Mr. Matthews." Shawn said

"We're glad you're here." Mrs. Matthews said

She walked over to Shawn and the two shared a hug.

"Are you hungry?" Mrs. Matthews

Shawn nodded.

"Yeah." Shawn replied

"Good luck with that." Mrs. Matthews said

I stifled a laugh, looking over at Topanga.

"I'm right here." Topanga pointed out

I walked over to help my sister. Riley and Maya then walked towards Shawn.

"Hey, Uncle Shawn." Riley greeted

She put her hands on her hips.

"Yeah... Hey kids." Shawn said

🥰

Later, Hollie and Brett were in one of the guest rooms, Cora was helping Topanga and Mrs. Matthews in the kitchen, Connor was FaceTiming his parents in another guest room, and Auggie and Josh were hanging ornaments on Mr. Matthews, who was sleeping. I giggled at them and joined the two.

"Hold this, will you?" Josh asked

He handed Auggie an ornament.

"Should we be doing this?" Auggie asked Josh

Josh nodded.

"Absolutely." Josh replied

"Okay, so then you can get into trouble by Mr. Matthews, and I can watch with popcorn in my hands." I said

I smiled with satisfaction. Josh glared at me while Auggie laughed. It stopped when Mr. Matthews started snoring softly.

"What the difference between having a younger daddy and an older daddy?" Auggie asked Josh and I

"Younger daddy doesn't fall asleep in the middle of the party?" Josh answered, in a question

I then gestured behind Auggie and we saw Shawn and Cory sleeping. Shawn snored loudly.

"Yip yip yip yip yip..." Cory mumbled, while sleeping

All of a sudden, Maya and Riley walked over to them.

"How could you possibly not like Riley?" Maya asked

This made Shawn and Cory wake up from their slumber.

"Maya." I warned 

She ignored me.

"What is she talking about?" Shawn asked

He turned to Cory.

"Whenever you do come here, it's like you find an excuse not to talk to me and then you leave." Riley explained 

"I talk to you. I'm talking to you right now." Shawn said

"When's my birthday? What's my favorite color?" Riley asked Shawn

I sighed, shaking my head.

"Riley, that stuff doesn't matter." Shawn said to her

"It does matter. Tell us what you know." Maya demanded

"Girls... Shawn knows Riley's birthday." Cory told them

"How do you know?" Riley asked him

"He knows." I told them

Cory nodded. Just before they could go any further, Topanga called us for dinner. We all sat at the table and began to eat.

🥰

After about five minutes, everyone but Topanga and Cora were finished for desert. We both looked at them in shock.

"Five minutes?! That dinner took two days to cook." Topanga exclaimed, in frustration

"You animals ate in five minutes!" Cora exclaimed

"What's for dessert, Mom, Cora?" Riley asked, innocently

"Nothin'! We want you to sit there for two days and think about that dinner you just devoured, and then maybe, we'll give you a cupcake." Topanga answered

She had a sarcastic smile on her face.

"Well, I thought it was great, Topanga, Cora. Thank you. I don't get a lot of home-cooked meals." Shawn said

"How's the job going, Shawn?" Cory asked his best friend

Maya looked at Shawn.

"Oh, you do something?" Maya asked

"Yeah. I write for a site called 'Hit the Road'. Go to a lot of different places and tell you if it's worth a weekend." Shawn said

Maya nodded.

"I... I go on that site." Maya said

"Restless little spirit, huh?" Shawn asked Maya

She shook her head at the question.

"No, I just think about..." Maya started

Shawn interrupted her.

"Other places?" Shawn asked

"Sometimes." Maya said

Maya nodded.

"Yeah..." Shawn said

"Yeah... You take the pictures too." Maya said

Shawn nodded.

"I do. How'd you guess that?" Shawn asked

"I draw pictures." Maya told him

"Yeah?" Shawn asked her

Maya nodded.

"Yeah." Maya said

"I'm gonna say 'yeah' one last time, okay?" Shawn told her

Maya rolled her eyes.

"Very mature." Maya said

"Yeah..." Shawn said once again

"Yeah..." Maya mouthed to him

You can feel the tension in the air.

"Okay, that's it. When's my birthday, Uncle Shawn?" Riley asked

Shawn looked over at Cory with raised eyebrows as if he were saying, 'Help me'.

"He knows, Riley." Cory told his daughter

"You keep saying that. Why won't he answer? What did I do?" Riley asked

We all watched as Shawn threw his rag down and headed for the door. Before he walked fully out, he turned to Riley and Maya.

"You coming or what?" Shawn asked the two best friends

Riley and Maya shared looks before they got up and followed Shawn out the door.

🥰

Later, everyone was helping clean the table from dinner. We looked up when we heard the door open and Riley walked in.

"Get in there!" Riley exclaimed to Shawn

She pointed in the room.

"Uh, Riley, you do not command a grown man." Cory told Riley

I shared a confused look with Josh. Riley pointed at Cory.

"You!" Riley exclaimed

"Who, me?" Cory asked

He pointed to himself.

"Both of you. Go to my room." Riley demanded

Cory and Shawn walked to the doorway and stopped.

"This would never happen on 'The Cory and Shawn Show'." Cory told Shawn

Shawn nodded. The both of them then walked to Riley's room.

🥰

Later, Cory and Shawn were still in Riley's bedroom so Topanga told Josh, Auggie, and I to go get them. Josh and I walked into Riley's room with Auggie perched on Josh's shoulders. Josh opened the door and we saw the two talking.

"Oh. Well, we interrupt two grown men in a girl's bedroom window, for this special announcement." Josh said

Josh spoke as if this were a tv show. Auggie then spoke when I pointed to him.

"Mom says to come down to open presents." Auggie said

"We now return to two grown men in a girl's bedroom window." I said

I made my voice sound like Josh then we started singing.

"They're two grown men in a girl's bedroom window and nobody thinks that's weird." Josh and I sang

"A-wink." Josh said

We wink at Cory and Shawn. Auggie looked down at me.

"I would never watch that show." Auggie said

"Me and you both, Auggie." I told him

Josh, Cory, and Shawn chuckled. We then went out the door and down to the living room.

🥰

We had just finished opening the Christmas presents. I got some good presents this year.

Shawn spoke up, grabbing the attention.

"So, listen, I have an assignment next weekend up in Columbia County, upstate New York City. It's beautiful up there." Shawn said

"We're gonna miss you, Shawn." Cory said

"Well, maybe not. 'Cause I was thinking... maybe you might wanna come?" Shawn asked us

He looked at Riley.

Auggie walked over to the two.

"All of us?" Auggie asked

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Shawn said to him

He hugged the two siblings.

"You know..." Riley started

Cory turned to Topanga and me.

"Here it comes." Cory said

"I never go anywhere without my best friend." Riley said

She looked over to Maya who smiled at her.

Topanga and I smiled.

"Yeah, that's not a bad way to grow up." I said

"So... maybe you would like to invite Maya?" Riley asked

"Oh, you mean her? Oh, what do you say, kid? You wanna come?" Shawn asked

"Yeah." Maya answered, with a smile

She looked over at Josh with a smirk and pointed to him.

"You're invited, too." Maya said

Josh smiled.

"Cool." Josh said

"Oh, boy." Riley said