#Anyway I've thought about it since the moment I realized Gabe NEVER celebrated Navidad with his family in the context of the canon

[lieutenant-amuel]

Home For Navidad

This is one of the oldest fanfiction ideas I had in mind and I finally wrote it. This is extremely short, so I thought I could share it directly on Tumblr. You can also read it on AO3 and Wattpad. Anyway, I hope you like it!

***

The light sparkling snowflakes were swirling in the air, slowly falling on the ground and forming a dense snow cover. It was Nochebuena, the time when the city streets were brightly decorated and illuminated with candles. When the sounds of the carols and children's laughter spread across the whole kingdom, helping people enjoy the festive atmosphere even more. Navidad is a special day of the year when every family in Avalor can share the warmth of love with each other and spend the priceless time together. However, not everyone could feel that same way on the day before Navidad. 

Blanca Nuñez was standing behind the counter at the bakery "Nuñez and Son" and kneading the dough, sprinkling it with the flour for the Navidad buñuelos. Every few minutes she raised her head from the worktop and pointed her gaze towards the front door, hoping to hear the bell ringing, meaning that the somebody she was waiting for would finally arrive. She flinched when the door was finally opened and a slight smile appeared on her face. She dusted the flour off her hands on her apron and was about to approach the door, but when she saw who it was, she stayed in place with a disappointed sigh. 

"Good day, Señora Nuñez!" A man covered with snow from his head to his toes came into the bakery and approached the counter. "There is such unbelievable weather today, right? It's snowing in Avalor! Can you imagine that!" 

Blanca forced a smile and nodded. "Yes, you're right." She said, "What would you like, Señor Martinez?" 

"Anything warm would be handy!" He chuckled. "Your empanadas work perfectly." 

Blanca handed a few packed baked goods to the man and said: "Thank you for coming. I hope you will like it." 

"I sure will!" Señor Martinez exclaimed. "¡Feliz Navidad! I hope you're having a fun day with your family!" 

He headed to the exit door and as soon as he left the bakery, the welcoming smile vanished from Blanca's face and she got back to her work. She was rolling out the dough on the table, and suddenly memories flashed through her mind and she saw a little boy six years old. Her son Gabriel. He was carefully pouring flour into the bowl, and mixing it with water to knead the dough. The boy was struggling with that, but soon, he felt the warm and gentle touch of somebody's hands. He raised his head, and upon looking at his mother's kind face, he smiled and giggled, returning to the work with a greater enthusiasm.

As they were cooking together, the kitchen was filled with ringing laughter and Gabriel with his hands covered with flour peeked at his mother. She was slowly removing the dough from the bowl to the table to start rolling it out, but before she could even take the rolling pin in her hand, the tip of her nose was in the flour. She turned her gaze at giggling Gabriel, but his laughter quickly quieted down when Blanca touched his nose. He opened his eyes and saw his mother, covering her mouth with her hand. He snuggled up to her, and Blanca wrapped her arms around him, stroking his hair and hearing Gabriel's voice: "I love you, mami." 

"I love you, too, mijo…" Blanca whispered, slowly running the rolling pin over the dough, as she still was captured by those memories. 

A few hours passed by, and soon, Blanca approached the door, flipping the sign from "open" to "closed". She took her seat at the table to have dinner, but couldn't, as the only thing on her mind was whether Gabriel was safe during his guard mission now. However, her thoughts were interrupted soon, as the door to the bakery opened, and she saw Roberto who had just returned from the market on the threshold. She got up from the table to greet her husband and help him to take the bags to the cellar. 

"I'm sorry I'm so late." Roberto said, as he kept dusting snow off his clothes. "Everything was fine on the way to the market, but then, there was such a strong snow storm. Snow . I still can't believe it." 

"That's okay. The main thing is that you're safe." Blanca replied, and they headed to the kitchen. 

Blanca put a mug of Ponche Navideño in front of Roberto to keep him warm and took her seat. Roberto was about to pick it up, but stopped when he looked at Blanca who was just sitting at the table, thoughtful and worried. "Blanca, did something happen?" She shook her head, and Roberto looked around. "Hasn't Gabriel returned yet?" He asked. 

Blanca shook her head again. "And I don't know when he will. I don't know if he will at all." A slow tear rolled down her cheek, and she swiftly wiped it away. "I've been thinking about him for the whole day, Roberto, and I'm so scared that something might happen to him." 

Roberto took her hand. "Blanca…" He said. "Do you remember how Gabriel saved princess Isabel and princess Caterina during the Peace Festival?" Blanca raised her head. "He was ready to risk his life without a second thought to protect them, and that's when I could see something in him that I had never noticed before. He's a true hero. And now, when he's on his guard mission, he's doing it to protect his kingdom. And us." Roberto squeezed her hand tightly yet gently and continued: "I'm worried about him. A lot. But I don't doubt he will be back. And I know that when he's back, we'll be proud of him even more than we are now." 

Blanca smiled slightly, thanking him for those words with a glance, and placed her hand over his. Roberto was looking at her fondly and suddenly turned his gaze towards the window. He got up from the table to see what was happening outside and saw the clouds clear away to reveal an orange sky. The storm was over. Blanca approached the window and snuggled up to Roberto, resting her head on his shoulder, and together they watched the sunset, awaiting their son's arrival whenever it would happen. 

***

The sparkling flames were illuminating the dark cave and warming up the guards and jaquins who were in the midst of the snow storm. Gabe was looking at Miguel and Andres and handed them a few more crackers from his backpack to pass the waiting time and cheer them up on Nochebuena. 

It was Gabe's first Navidad he spent far away from his family, which was making him feel a bit empty and lonely inside. He couldn't stop thinking that his parents and friends might be worried about him, but watching Miguel and Andres reminded him what he left Avalor for, and the thoughts about people he loved and his kingdom were a true source of strength for him, especially now. 

Gabe smiled, taking a canteen of water into his hand, and suddenly heard Migs' voice behind his back. "Captain Nuñez! The storm is over!" 

Gabe turned his head to Miguel and Andres, not believing his ears at first, and got up from the ground, heading out of the cave. Looking around, he sighed with relief and ordered the immediate resumption of their mission. The jaquins flapped their wings, soaring into the sky, and Gabe glanced at every member of his troop with a soft peaceful smile.