#But then christmas eve comes and I cook Christmas dinner and am reminded of my One Wish

[writerfae]

Christmas movie au Advent Calendar 🎄

Day Twenty: 🥘Christmas Dinner🥘

Christmas special tag list: @bunnymermaidsblog @deadlycupid @dustylovelyrun @ladywithalamp @sleepy-night-child @theguywithnonickname

When they came back from their little ice skate date, the house of Aiden’s family was empty.

“Where is everyone?” Talon asked.

Not that he minded having some more alone time with Aiden, but it was so unusual.

Strange how quickly he got used to the sounds of a family life.

Talon had almost forgotten how that was like. He should come home more often.

Then again, the house was mostly empty anyway these days.

“Dad is at physiotherapy and Henry and Callan took Celene to the town to see Santa. And to visit Amalie afterwards.”

Aiden chuckled.

“Celi told me she’ll ask Santa for a sibling for Christmas. I wonder how Henry and Callan will react. But in all honesty, I think they have considered it before already, so maybe she’ll get one for her birthday instead.”

He winked at Talon, who laughed.

“My mother said my sister wanted the same. They told her Santa came by earlier to drop me off when I was born.”

“Aw, that’s cute! Hey, should I make us dinner? I consider it a rehearsal for Christmas Eve.”

Talon was surprised. “You will make the Christmas dinner?”

But thinking about it, it did make sense. Talon has only tried Aiden’s pancakes yet, but those were proof enough that he was really good at cooking.

“Me and Callan together, yes. It’s our tradition by now. My brother can’t cook to save his life, so he’s not allowed in the kitchen, but I don’t think he minds that all too much. He’s just glad we get along I guess. It wasn’t always easy, you know?”

He opened the fridge.

“Anyway, what do you say? Hungry?”

Talon nodded. “Very.”

“Good. Do you want to help me?”

Talon scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. “Cutting vegetables is about all I am capable of, but if that helps?”

Aiden laughed. “So another kitchen expert.”

“My talents lie elsewhere.”

Aiden hummed. “I can imagine that. Though you didn’t do as bad as you claimed with the cookie dough either.”

He chuckled at the memory.

“But yeah, cutting vegetables is at least a good start. Please don’t cut into your finger, though, I don’t want your blood in my kitchen.”

Talon laughed. “Okay I’ll try.”

He did not cut into his finger.

He also managed to help Aiden with the potatoes.

As for the rest, Talon much preferred just watching Aiden do it and he felt like Aiden preferred it too.

He looked so in his element as he prepared their dish and Talon couldn’t help but smile.

“What?” Aiden asked, head tilted to the side.

“I just thought about how happy you look. It’s cute.”

Aiden smiled. He put aside the spoon he was holding, letting the water in the pot boil a little.

Cleaning his hands on his apron (yes he wore an apron, which made him look even more adorable - and reminded Talon of their first real meeting), he made his way over to Talon.

As he stood behind him, he put his hands on his shoulders and leaned forward to kiss his cheeks.

“I am happy,” he said. “I don’t know what the future holds, but right now, I have all I need.”

He smiled as he squeezed Talons shoulders.

Talon took one of Aiden’s hands and kissed it.

He tried swallowing down the feeling of guilt, but it kept coming back up, like it often had these past days.

Soon you’ll have to tell him the truth.

The rope Talon had tied around his own neck with his feelings for Aiden and the secret that he kept from him kept getting tighter.

His father was breathing down his neck. He expected Talon to show results and he didn’t back down from his plan to sell the property to that rich asshole that wanted to get rid of the farm.

There was no other alternative since the man wanted exactly this bit of land.

Why, Talon didn’t know.

Not even the value the Christmas tree farm had for the towns around got Talon’s father to reconsider.

“As long as it’s not radioactive ground, is plagued by earthquakes or has some birds that are under wildlife conservation, we’re not giving up this good of a deal.”

So Talon didn’t have much of a choice, he needed to tell Aiden the truth, before his father personally showed up at their doorstep to blow his cover.

And Talon would not put it past his father to do so.

“Talon?”

The worry in Aiden’s voice brought him back to reality and he realized he still had his lips pressed to the back of Aiden’s hand.

He let him go and Aiden’s equally worried face entered his field of vision. “Is something wrong?”

Talon shook his head. “No it’s just…” He sighed. “I really like you. A lot. You know that right? Nothing is gonna change that.”

He needed this reassurance, even if it would be a lie.

Because he knew Aiden and he knew once he found out that Talon lied to him…

“Of course I know, stupid.” He kissed Talon’s cheek again before walking back to the stove. “You made it really clear those past days.”

He smiled and Talon tried his best to return it.

Luckily the sauce demanded his attention so he didn’t notice what a sorry excuse of a smile it was.

A little later the food was done and Talon found himself in front of a plate full of roasted beef with potatoes and vegetables.

“You’re too good to me.”

And for me, he thought but didn’t say it.

He really didn’t deserve Aiden. Or his food. Which was amazing by the way. Only his mother’s food could rival this, really.

Aiden chuckled. “And that is just the light version, you should see the dinners me and Callan do on Christmas Eve. Last year we tried duck. This year it’ll be turkey. And for dessert this time we try something really good, we-“

“Aiden,” Talon interrupted him. “Please stop talking about Christmas dinner or I get jealous. My Christmas dinner last year was reheated vegetable pasta from the day before.”

Talon had to laugh at the disgust on Aiden’s face.

“You poor thing! Did you even celebrate? No wonder you hate Christmas!”

“I don’t hate Christmas.”

Dislike would describe it better. Or used to. That was definitely in the past.

“And no, we don’t really do that anymore since… you know.”

Aiden became more serious again. “I understand. But it’s so sad. You’ll stay here over Christmas right? Surely you would’ve told me if you’d leave like tomorrow or something, wouldn’t you?”

“I’m not leaving. I’m expected back at work on January Second, no one will care what I do till then. My mother and sister are on vacation during Christmas this year anyway and my father, he… will be working.”

“Well, then it’s good that you are here. This way you can spend Christmas Eve with us!”

Talon almost choked on his food. “I… really? You want me to… spend Christmas Eve with your family?”

Talon tried his best not to tear up, really, he did. It was stupid.

He shouldn’t be as touched about this invitation as he was. But it made him happy. And it made him sad, too.

“Of course.” Aiden grabbed his hand from across the table. “I’m not letting you celebrate Christmas all alone, or even worse, not at all. I want to have you here. With me. And I’m sure my family won’t mind either, they like you.”

“Thank you,” Talon sniffed. “If you’ll have me, I’ll gladly come.”

He smiled at Aiden, squeezing his hand, holding on to it even as he continued to eat.

“Especially when the food is this good.”

They laughed and Talon felt content.

At least for a little while.

[always-coffee]

food is love

Everything I learned how to cook or bake is a spiraling tattoo of those I have loved or love. Those here and gone. Every learned skill or recipe is a love letter of a sort.

I learned how to cook from my mother. I make marinara sauce from scratch and meatballs, and when I do, it reminds me of her. Of a kitchen that smelled of garlic cooking in olive oil, of sauce that simmered all day.

Growing up, holidays were all about food and togetherness, so I carry on those traditions for my dad and two siblings. Christmas Eve is always seven different kinds of fish, spaghetti, and antipasto. It's all a roadmap, a history.

I learned how to make jalapeno ramen, because of a restaurant in Montreal that @lizleeillustration took me to. I learned how to make gumbo, from scratch, after living in the south. Every time I make it, I think of my friends there.

I make hot chocolate the way a childhood friend did. I taught myself how to make my grandmother's Italian cheesecake from barely half a recipe and years of experience. It didn't even have a pan size. Ingredients were missing. Those that were present were written as a little bit of milk or a can of ricotta. Ricotta, it should be noted, doesn't come in a can. At least, not as long as I've been alive.

But I perfected that recipe for my dad, by request, for his birthday. Because to me, food is love. And I love taking care of people. That's honestly one of the truest things about me. And I will learn how to make your favorite dish. And I have absolutely delighted in cooking for friends, and you can absolutely summon me for a weekend, if there's coffee and a couch. Because to me, the best times really aren't fancy dinners (which I love), but cozy bits of stolen time with good food and conversation. I love the intimacy of a shared meal and a bottle of wine. I often joke that I am a kitchen witch, but at this point, I genuinely mean it.

There's magick in a good meal, whether it's a winter stew or a lasanga or baked fish. I love the smell of a meal as it's progressing. The way it warms the room and the heart. I love the chaos of it, too, the timing, the feeling of getting it right. The dog being underfoot just hoping for an error.

Recently, I made meals for my best friend, who had several surgeries. For her, I taught myself how to make white chicken spinach lasagna with bechamel. And by taught, I mean found a recipe, realized I could make it better, and now I have a brilliant new meal in my rotation. I can't make the surgeries easier, but food? Food I can do.

I think good food eases a broken heart. I think good food conjures love. I think a shared meal and a long walk are two of the best joys in life, and you won't ever convince me otherwise.

If we are friends, chances are I will try to feed you. That's who I am. It's also how I show affection or care, whether it's platonic or romantic. Because love in its myriad forms means food, more than occasionally in the form of baked goods. And now that's it's turning toward winter, baked goods can easily be shipped. So, maybe I'm plotting.

And I do take requests.

[smartrelationshiptips]

First Christmas After Divorce: Best 7 Tips For You

This blog post will explore the steps to make your first Christmas after divorce a success and help you avoid feeling alone during this special time of year. The holidays can be an especially difficult time when you’re not with your spouse. At some point in their lives, everyone has had to deal with the painful and time-consuming process of a divorce. It can be especially challenging for children as they often feel as if their entire world is coming apart. Because of this, many adults find themselves separated from their ex-spouse during this time of year, making things very hard on those dealing with the separation.

What is the first thing to do after a divorce?

First Christmas After Divorce

This is a blog post about the first Christmas after divorce. It’s been three years, and I am still feeling sad that my marriage ended, but this year it helped me with family and friends who didn’t know what was going on in my life. We all just had fun together, and not one of us mentioned the word “divorce” once!  Here are 7 ideas for how to make your first Christmas after divorce as painless as possible:

1. Family Matters

I am very close with both of my parents, so it was important to me for this first Christmas after divorce to be spent with them. Not only did I spend the holiday with both sets of grandparents, but we all went out to dinner on New Year’s Eve as well. I know that not everyone is lucky enough to have the kind of relationships I do with my family, but I am thankful that I can choose to be around the people who make me feel good about myself.

2. Escape If Needed

One Christmas after the divorce, my best friend and I escaped to her beach house in South Carolina for four days. She wasn’t ready to surrender the holiday to the sadness that follows a breakup, and I was happy to go along for the ride. We did everything we normally do together: yoga, shopping, cooking, and gossiping. It felt like a mini-vacation from my life.

3. Keep Busy

Unfortunately, there aren’t many fun things going on in Atlanta in the middle of December. But if you live somewhere where holiday markets, ice skating, and concerts are happening all month long, go! I went to a tree lighting ceremony at the CNN center last weekend And was reminded that there is plenty to do during the holidays other than dwelling on what’s missing from your life.

4. Don’t Give In To Guilt

I know it’s hard not to feel sad when your friends are all in relationships, but don’t let yourself feel guilty about being alone during this time. You didn’t do anything wrong, and the only person you owe an explanation to is YOU! I spent my holiday with people who love spending time with me. It was great.

5. Keep A Journal

I have found writing about my feelings to be very therapeutic. I had some great conversations with friends, but it just feels good to have an outlet for my emotions. If you don’t want to share your journal with anyone else, that’s OK too! Putting your thoughts on paper is a great way to get them out of your head and onto something you can hold.

6. Don’t Try To Measure Up

Making new traditions is hard enough, but trying to live up to the ones that were taken from you will cause even greater sadness. Keep doing the things that make YOU happy, and try not to worry about what other people think. Some people might not understand why you aren’t going home with your spouse, but that is their problem, not yours!

7. Create A New Tradition

I haven’t figured out what my new family holiday traditions will be yet, but I can tell you a few things I want to do: make a gingerbread house with the kids, have a white elephant gift exchange, and see The Nutcracker. Embrace new traditions that make you feel good about yourself, and don’t worry about what anyone else will think!

Read Also:

10 Rules for The First Date After Divorce How Long After Mediation Is Divorce Final?

How to Deal With Being Alone on the First Christmas after Divorce

The first thing you need to do is remember that this is not your fault.  There is nothing you have done or failed to do for your spouse to decide to leave, so it’s vital not to blame yourself. If you find yourself asking what you did wrong, remind yourself that it’s not your fault and do your best to put your thoughts aside. While it’s very common for many people going through a divorce to feel depressed and lonely, this is not something that needs to be ignored. Christmas time can make these feelings even more pronounced, and therefore it’s important to be kind to yourself.

Take the time you’d spend thinking about how your ex is spending Christmas without you and do things that make you happy instead. Many people enjoy collecting items for the family at a local shelter, which can help you feel as if you’re making a difference.

In addition, doing good deeds for someone other than what you would typically expect from yourself can be very rewarding and help you feel happier and more in control of your life. If you’re looking for a new career during the holidays, consider online business training programs that can help you earn a living and increase the opportunities for advancement. Another option is to put yourself on an expense account by taking time to focus on your hobbies and interests. When money is tight, it can help you focus on yourself and learn how to be more content with what you have.

Whichever way you choose to spend your first Christmas after divorce, it must bring you some measure of happiness. If not, remember that the holidays are not an obligation but a time for celebrating friendship, family, and love.

How do I get through my first Christmas after divorce?

If you’re spending this time of year feeling sad and alone, then the best thing you can do for yourself is to make plans with friends or family. You may even be surprised by how other people feel about your situation once they learn what’s going on. Often, other people want to help but don’t know how and simply knowing that you’re not alone can help tremendously. When we think of Christmas, we often think about spending time with loved ones and reflecting on the good things in our lives, so allow yourself some time to do this while focusing on what you have rather than what is missing.

If you had children together, it’s very important to keep them involved in the holiday activities. Christmas is important to children, and they too will need time to heal emotionally, so you mustn’t shut them out of your life during this period. Take some time for yourself over the holidays while remembering why you’re spending it alone. It may be very difficult at first, but the more you give in to your emotions, the harder it will be to move on in the future. If you feel yourself slipping into depression or suicidal thoughts, seek out someone who can help before it’s too late.

Conclusion

It may be hard to imagine what the first Christmas after divorce will look like. You might even think it’s impossible to enjoy this time of year because you’re feeling so much pain and sadness right now. We hope you found this blog post helpful, and we wish you luck with your first Christmas after divorce. Whether you’re hosting the holiday festivities or not, please enjoy yourself and make sure to take care of yourself throughout the day. 

If there’s anything that we can do for you, don’t hesitate to reach out in the comments below. Happy Holidays from our family to yours.

[duskwoodgirl4life]

MC had not seen Jake since that one day in duskwood that was over 6 months ago, he told her that he would contact her when he was able to. MC was now living in duskwood MC Jessy were sharing an apartment Jessy had helped her get a job at the Aurora Phil happily said yes.

Things had been going well. MC kept herself busy trying to keep her mind off Jake, everytime her phone rang or buzzed her heart stopped thinking it would be Jake. Her heart broke into a million pieces all over again she kept wondering if he had forgotten about her. Did he want her to move on from him? Phil had been getting close to MC; he wasn't all that bad looking.

Christmas was coming up MC and Jessy had just bought a tree and we're busy decorating it when Jessy's phone buzzed.

Jessy: that's probably Richy, I bet he's forgot what time to come round

Richy: Hey beautiful, what time did you say to come round?

Jessy: I knew you would forget you can come round now

Richy: okay, see you soon X

Jessy: yep I was right

MC: he's really lucky to have you in his life

Jessy: I'm sorry MC, we can have a girls night of you want

MC: no it's okay, the distraction will do me good

Jessy: I'm sure he will contact you soon don't give up hope

MC: I'm trying to I really am, it's just so hard I love him

Jessy: I know you do, come on let's go get some wine

MC: that's a good idea

They went into the kitchen and grabbed two glasses and the wine. There was a knock at the door. Jessy went to answer and let Richy in; he had bought a couple bottles of wine and tequila.

All 3 had an amazing night laughing and joking with lots of drinking, the next morning MC woke up with a hangover thankfully she had some painkillers and a bottle of water by her bed. After taking the painkillers she got up and went to make coffee Jessy was already up and was feeling hungover.

MC: remind me not to drink tequila again

Jessy: my head hurts never again

MC: What happened to Richy?

Jessy: He's still passed out on the bed

MC: I need coffee and a shower

After taking a shower MC felt a little better she still had some last minute Christmas shopping to do, once she was ready she headed out into town. The shops were busy, everyone rushing about trying to get their gifts. After MC had finished she decided to treat herself to a coffee and a slice of cake.

MC went into the rainbow cafa and placed her order, she found a seat near the window and sat down. The waitress bought her coffee and cake. MC took a bite of the cake and it tasted so good.

After MC had finished she made her way back home and wrapped up the gifts, she placed them under the tree. After a busy day MC decided to go run a hot bath and get an early night.

The next day MC woke feeling a lot better. It was now Christmas eve, everyone was coming over tomorrow for Christmas dinner there was so much to sort out. Thankfully Cleo was bringing the desserts and Hannah and Lilly were coming round in the morning to help with the cooking.

Later that day MC had just finished work and was now heading back home, when she arrived back home she could hear Jessy and Richy talking to someone. When she opened the door she was greeted by someone she thought she would never see again.

Jake: MC?

MC: What the…Jake is that you? What are you doing here?

Jake: yes it's me, I came back to be with you

MC: But I thought it was too dangerous? And why the hell didn't you tell me? I've been so worried

Jake: I understand I am sorry I didn't let you know, I wanted to surprise you I am no longer being followed by the FBI I am free

MC ran over to Jake and put her arms around Jake holding on to him as tight as she could, she couldn't believe that Jake was really here. She stepped back looking into his eyes. He had beautiful bright blue eyes.

MC: I can't believe you are really here I've missed you so much

Jake: I've missed you to MC more than I can say

MC: I love you Jake

Jake: I love you MC

Everything was coming together so well MC felt like she could take on the world now that she had Jake back in her life.

The next morning MC woke early, Jake was still asleep. She got out of bed and opened up her wardrobe pulling out a gift for Jake.

Jake: Merry Christmas my love

MC: Merry Christmas my handsome hacker I've got you a gift

Jake: You have? Thank you so much

MC handed Jake the gift inside the box was a picture inside a frame, it was the first picture that they took together the first time they met.

Jake: MC I love it, thank you so much

MC: I'm glad you like it

Jake: I have a gift for you

Jake reached over to his backpack and pulled out a box, he handed it to MC to open as she took the paper off she opened up the box and inside was a beautiful heart pendant.

MC: OMG, Jake it's beautiful thank you so much I love it

Jake: you are welcome my angel

Jake helped MC put on the pendant. It looked beautiful around her neck, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him softly.

MC: this is going to be a wonderful Christmas

Jake: I agree, it's going to be perfect

[cocochannel00]

Only Wish (This Year)

All Y/n wants for Christmas this year was Harry to be home... so what happens when Harry can’t make it? (a part of the ‘Christmas song fic challenge’)

Word count: 3k Pairing: Harry Styles x reader

A/N: hello my loves! This is my submission for @goldenbluesuit​’s christmas fic challenge, Christmas is literally my favorite holiday of the year and I’m so happy I got a chance to do my first fic writing challenge based on the absolute bop that is Britney Spear’s “Only Wish (This Year)”. If you want to read more great Christmas fics by some amazing writers checkout the Christmas Song Masterlist Here and if you want to read and more of my writing check out My Masterlist Here. I hope you enjoy!! 

"Love I think the tree looks a little crooked"

"No, it's not! It looks fine," you grumbled as you tried to fluff one of the branches that was limping to the left a bit. You had just gone out with Anne yesterday to the Christmas tree farm to get it. The two of you spent nearly two hours walking around the field looking for the perfect tree to put in the living room and after your fingers and toes had officially gone completely numb the two of you gave up and settled for the lanky one in the corner of the field that no one wanted. The tree towered over you quite a bit and had a bit of a tilt, but it reminded you a bit of Harry and this Christmas that was what you wanted, him.

"The reindeer you just hung up is about to fall off, Love" he mumbled from the screen of your computer as he face-timed you from the studio in LA. Rushing over to the left side of the tree, you scooped up the ornament quickly just as it was beginning to slide off of the scrawny branch you had placed it on earlier. As you less than gracefully began to pick yourself off the ground, you heard a wolf whistle come from your husband.

"On second thought, if you keep bending down like that I think I might actually like this tree" Harry stated with a smirk as you gave him the middle finger. "Your mom and I picked it out yesterday cause we thought it looked like you. A little lanky, a little scrawny... looks like he just rolled out of bed" you replied with a laugh.

"I'm going to spare my ego and pretend you didn't just compare your beautiful, loving, and supportive husband to that sad drooping tree you have in the corner."

"(Y/n) is that Harry you're talking to in there? Tell him he better be making it home for Christmas Eve dinner or I'm going to be having a stern talking with Jeff" Anne shouted from the kitchen where she was finishing up some cookies for when Gemma and Michal' today.

You could see the color drain from Harry's face as he scratched the back of his neck. You and Harry have been married now for a little over a year but had been dating for well over three, so you know his every tick and giveaway and when Harry begins to scratch and rub at the back of his neck you know it's bad news.

"I've got this really good chorus started with Mitch, but were still trying to figure out whether-"

"Harry"

"We spent all of yesterday  working through the tracklist and I think I've narrowed it down to-"

"Harry"

"I think I'm going to end the album with the song I wrote on our honeymoon. I tweaked the melody but it's still-"

"Harry" you whispered for the last time before he finally stopped his rambling. You could see him by the way he was avoiding your stare that he didn't want to say the words you both were dreading. He isn't coming home for Christmas. You both knew it was a possibility when he flew out to LA nearly five weeks ago to finish the album before the new year. Despite Harry's offer of having you come to LA with him, your job didn't allow you the luxury of taking off that much time especially during one of your busiest times of the year. You had held out hope that Kid Harpoon and Harry could tie up all of the loose ends ahead of time, but clearly, that wasn't going to happen.

"I tried baby, I really did. There are just too many little things that need to get done here. I promise I'll try and make it back next week, we can have our own little Christmas together in London" he stated trying the lighten his crushing words. This was supposed to be your first Christmas as a married couple together so to say you were disappointed would be an understatement, but you knew that if you let Harry know he would be on the first flight out to London.

"It's ok, we both knew this could happen. I'm sure Anne and I will spend way too much time fussing over Adelaide to even notice you're not here" you replied back trying to lighten the mood a bit more by mentioning Gemma's adorable two-year-old daughter.

"Stop rubbing it in" he joked as Jeff called his name in the background. "I need to get back in before they all have my head for keeping them here past midnight again. I'll try and sneak another call later tonight if you're still up"

"So good, H. I love you"

"I love you too, (Y/n). See you soon" Harry replied back as he hung up. You closed your laptop and continued your quest to finish decorating your slightly distorted Christmas tree. Securing the lights onto the tree had somehow become the hardest part of decorating the tree, so while you were wrapped in a mess of bulbs and strings you didn't even notice Anne come in with two cups of hot chocolate.

"Oh dear let me give you a hand" Anne muttered as she placed the mugs on the coffee table before rushing to your side, delicately untangling you from the lights while placing each string perfectly in its place. You gave her a quick thanks before you walked over to the couch to admire your work.

"He texted me to check up on you, that crazy son of mine. Swear I love him, but sometimes he's got just no sense of priorities. Leaving his wife all alone for the holidays, just not right" Anne said as she passed you a mug and sat down next to you.

"I appreciate you belittling your son on my behave, but reset assured that I am ok. I'm sad we won't be able to spend our first Christmas together as a married couple, but I'm sure we'll have our own little Christmas once he gets back. Besides, I still get the full week off of work and I get to spend time with you and baby Adelaide for the next couple of days and it will be great!"

"Well if you ever need me to put him in his place you let me know, ok sweetheart? Can't have my favorite daughter-in-law feeling upset" she said as she wrapped her arms around you.

"Thanks, Anne" you replied as you gave her a tight squeeze, placing a kiss on her cheek.

"Anytime dear. Now quick, turn on channel Hollywood Gossip before Gemma shows up,  she never lets me watch this show. I heard Lily James was spotted with an ex-boyfriend again"

The two of you spend the next hour catching up on some gossip and making lists of everything that still needed to be done before Christmas in two days. If there was one thing you were certain about, it was that you were going to make the most of your situation and try and have the best Christmas possible

**********

It was Christmas eve and you had spent the entire morning cooking and prepping for the large family meal you and Anne were hosting for Gemma and Michal and a couple of close friends. The two of you had been absolutely buzzing and Christmas tunes had been playing throughout the house since you both woke up bright and earlier at 7 am. You had scoured your suitcase for the perfect Christmas outfit but after spending 20 minutes trying on outfits in the and had settled for one of Harry's red cardigans and some dark washed jeans. The smell of the vanilla candle that smelt just like Harry that Anne had left in your room last night made you miss him even more as you finished getting yourself ready just in time to hear the doorbell ring downstairs.

You peeked out the window and saw Gemma and Michal standing at the door with little Adelaide at their feet and quickly ran to the door to greet them. Once you opened the front door a pair of small arms wrapped themselves around your legs as Adalaide screamed your name.

"Well hello, my sweet girl. I missed you so much! Did you miss me?" you asked as she nodded quickly. You picked her up carefully and smothered her face in kisses just as Anne came over to greet everyone.  The five of you made your way out of the foyer and into the kitchen as Gemma wrapped her arms tightly around you and dragged you to the far end of the kitchen.

"Good afternoon my favorite sister. How is the married life treating you? Any surprises I should be worried about this Christmas?" she asked as she stole a Christmas cookie off of one of Anne's various dessert displays.

"It's been very nice, thank you. I don't think you'll be having any surprises from me this Christmas"

"Pitty I was hoping they be able to be in the same class as their cousin could go to school together," she said nonchalantly smirking at you as you stood there confused.

'What do you mean cousins? Adelaide already in day-care and I don't-- Oh my gosh Gemma are you -"

"Shh don't say it out loud, but yes. About eight weeks along, but we haven't told anyone yet. I'm telling you because last time I told you everything went well, so I think you're my good luck charm... and I need you to drink all of the shots Chloe tries to feed me tonight" She mumbled as you laugh and give her a big hug.

"Well congratulations Gem, I wish you both the best. Hey Adelaide, did you know what special person is going to be joining you really soon?" you asked the little girl in your arms as she played with the butterfly necklace Harry had gotten you for your second anniversary together.

"Santa"

"You're right baby Santa is coming tonight. Why don't you help me and Nana Anne finish decorating these last cookies before everyone gets here"

**********

The night was fantastic. After all of the guests had arrived, you all sat down to eat the wonderful roast Anne had been making all day. The room was filled with laughter and smiles as people recounted their most embarrassing Christmas stories. Your favorite was Michal's who as a child got so excited about seeing Santa at the mall that he actually peed on Santa's lap while telling him what he wanted for Christmas. Gemma discreetly slid her shot glass to you numerous times throughout the night and despite the questioning looks coming from Chloe, no one questioned Gemma's excuse of being the designated driver this year. Overall it was by far one of your favorite holiday meals to be a part of, you only wish Harry could have been there to share it with you.

"Me pants are about to explode, but does anyone fancy a little Christmas Eve stroll outside?" Michal asked as he cuddled a sleeping Adelaide to his chest.

There was a chorus of agreements and your large group slowly began to clean up their placemats and prepare themselves for the trek out in the snow. You helped Gemma load the dishwasher as Anne distributed Tupperware for everyone to take leftovers home with them before running upstairs to grab your winter jacket and boots. After everyone was all bundled up, you all headed outside into the snow, Gemma, and Michal leading the way as walked along the sidewalk. You watched the way Gemma placed a snowflake on Adelaide's nose and waited for the little girl to giggle before quickly wiping it off just to do it all over again. You continued to watch the interaction with a yearning in your heart at the thought of having your own kids with Harry and being able to take them on walks and show them ordinary things like snowflakes. Just as you had begun to drift off into your subconscious world Anne came up next to you and wrapped her arms with yours.

"That will be you someday, I can just feel it" Anne stated as she squeezed your hand tight. You gave her a small smile and nodded your head.

"I hope so. Just have to get your son to stay in one spot long enough" you joked as you rubbed your hands together for warmth.

"That man worships the grown you walk on, Love. If you tell him you want kids right now he'll drop everything"

"Hopefully when I get him back next week we can talk about it all a bit more" you replied as Anne nodded her head.

Your walk lasted about a half-hour until Adelaide began to cry saying she was tired and wanted to go to bed. You all preceded to head back into Anne's home for a bit to warm up before everyone would drive back to their respective homes to continue to celebrate their Christmases. Being the busy body that you were, you began to make tea for everyone in the hope of avoiding the dreaded interrogation about Harry and your's relationship that always came towards the end of these gatherings, but it never came. You think Anne must have warned them that you were feeling somewhat sad about Harry not being there because they managed to avoid the topic throughout the rest of the night. Just as the clock struck midnight everyone slowly began to say their goodbyes and exchanging any last-minute gifts that needed to be given. You helped Anne gather everyone's things and waved your last goodbyes before heading into the living room to relax a bit.

"I'm a bit wiped out dear so I think I'm going to head to bed early. Will you be ok here by yourself?" Anne asked cautiously as you scrolled through some pictures Harry had sent you the other day of him at the studio.

"Yes, I think I'll be ok. Have a good night Anne and thank you for a wonderful Christmas"

"No thanks needed dear, you're family now and always will be. I'll see you in the morning".

You waved a quick goodbye as Anne left upstairs to her room. The silence downstairs was only making your feelings of missing Harry worse so you decided to put on the TV and watch a Christmas movie to lift your spirits a bit as you cuddled Harry's picture to your chest. You know he was having Christmas Eve dinner with Jeff's family now and you didn't want to bother him so you decided that you would suck it up and wait until tomorrow to call him and tell him how much you really miss him. All you wanted this Christmas was to have him sitting next to you, sipping on a couple of hot chocolate and making fun of your weirdly patterned socks.

You hoped that flipping through the tv channels would help distract you but the minute you started channel surfing and Love Actually popped up on the screen in front of you, the waterworks began. You cried because you missed Harry. You cried because you didn't get to share all of your happy memories of today with him. You cried because you could cuddle him to sleep and wake up to his delicious scent. There you sat in his childhood home wrapped in a fuzzy blanket crying. You sobbed into the blanket as quietly as you could in the hopes of not waking up Anne and after what felt like an eternity, you finally fell asleep on the couch

*********

You were peacefully asleep on the couch until the sound of music blasting from the kitchen speaker startled you awake. 

“I signed my letter that I sealed with a kiss I sent it off, and just said this...”

"Oh, fucking shit. Stupid fucking Tom calling me at..." you heard as a crash came from the kitchen.

You jumped from your curled up position on the couch and turned around to see where the noise was coming from. As you sank deeper into the couch hoping not to be seen, you saw a silhouette moving around the kitchen searching the drawers. Your pulse began to race as you start to run all of the potential ways in which this intruder could kill you right now. Just as you were about to reach for your phone to call 999, the intruder turned on the light and you saw a familiar head of curly hair.

"Jesus fucking christ Harry nearly gave me a heart attack" you stated as Harry nearly jumped out of his skin.

The two of you stared at each other for a while before you finally processed what was going on. Harry was here. Harry had made it. He was here for Christmas. He came. You all but sprinted off of the couch and launched yourself at him, hearing release gasp as you latched on to his body like a koala.

"Nearly gave me a heart attack there, love" he stated as he wrapped his arms around you and ran his hands through your hair.

"I could say the same thing. Who comes home after midnight and doesn't say anything, especially when said person said many times that they weren't going to be to make it home"

"Wasn't supposed to be home but then mom said you looked upset after our call yesterday so I told Jeff I would finish the rest in the London studio and zoom call any last-minute details. Excited to have me home?" he asked with a smirk.

"No" you stated trying to hide your excitement.

"Come on Love, don't lie to me. I'm excited to be home. Get to spend Christmas with my beautiful, smart, kind, amazing wife.  Get to shower her with gifts. Best Christmas ever"

"Definitely best Christmas ever" you mumbled back as you leaned in and kissed him, savoring the taste of his lips after so long.

"I have one more surprise for you that I think you'll like" he stated as he broke away from the kiss.

"What" you whined as he laughed at you.

"Told Columbia that I'd make the record, but that I'm not releasing it till the end of next year. Want to settle down a bit more, gain more stability in case..." he trailed off as he cheeks turned pink.

"In case what?" you asked innocently even though you knew exactly what he was insinuating.

"In case you want to try for a baby like we talked about on our honeymoon. Said you wanted more stability from me before we started trying so this me giving you that. Don't want to pressure you or anything and this is your choice and I don't- "

"Yes," you whispered.

"Yes?" he questioned before you nodded your head and wrapped your arms around his neck.

Tears appeared in his eyes as he spun you around the kitchen. You laughed as he chanted "baby baby baby" quietly as to not wake Anne but the joy in his expression spoke volumes. You were both ready for this next chapter in your life and whatever happens next, as long as you were together, you knew everything would be ok.

“Hey babe” you whispered as Harry continued to cheer quielty. 

“Yes, Love?”

“Is Britney Spears your ringtone?”

“Maybe... It’s festive!” he defended as you laughed

“Ok love, whatever you say” 

Hope you all enjoyed and happy early Christmas to all who celebrate and a Happy Holidays everyone!!

[seokmingiggles]

powdered sugar.

@ofrosesandteacups​ requested on 201220: "Would you do a fluff Yoongi one shot where he goes home for the holidays with his girlfriend for the first time (but he's previously met her family when they've come for a short visit) and although he's nervous, he finds that since his girlfriend is the youngest of her family with a wide age gap between her and her siblings (like 8 years older) she gets babied by them/gets them to do things for her by being cute/whining which he's seen bits of in Seoul but she usually independent and tends to take care of him and the rest of the boys so he teases her for it? Also I really enjoyed 'Comfortable' and I'm excited for whatever else you create!"

Pairing: Min Yoongi x female reader

Genre: fluff, established relationship, holiday season.

1.85k words

Warnings: brief mentions of alcohol consumption, (dialogue heavy).

On the drive home from your parent's Christmas Eve dinner with the rest of your family, your boyfriend enjoys hearing you whine as he reminds you of the way you're coddled by your older siblings. Later on, he continues to pamper you when you return home. Alternatively, Yoongi wants to baby you every once in a while because you're just so darn cute.

A/N: Thank you for the request (and for all the support you've shown for me so far)! This one was a bit tricky for me to think about since I am the eldest of my family. I tried to put myself in my step-sister's shoes (who is younger than me by nine years) to come up with how the reader would feel being the youngest. I hope it turned out okay! I kind of made it turn into something else near the end (it felt like I was around 600 words for a long time, and then it suddenly became 1.8k). Please enjoy :)

•• "Wait, no, when Jun got hit when we opened the champagne! That was the highlight of dinner, I swear. My cousin is hilarious."

You laughed again just picturing your tall relative hiding in the corner of the kitchen behind your (much smaller) aunt, but still getting the cork to his head despite his efforts.

"Yeah, Junhui is something else, that's for sure," Yoongi grinned, keeping his eyes trained on the road ahead of him. One of his hands was on the steering wheel, while the other encased in yours. "Do you want to know my favourite part about seeing your family again?"

You glanced over at your boyfriend, interested in what his opinion was, "I bet it was the turkey my mom made. I know you love her cooking."

"Well, yes, that's a given," Yoongi silently thanked your mom again when he remembered the delicious care package she put together before you left, "but actually, I love seeing how different you act when you're surrounded by your siblings."

"I should have known." You rolled your eyes despite knowing he wouldn't see the action under the passing streetlights.

"It's true! I keep forgetting you're the youngest when it's just you and me. You always insist on taking care of me and asking how I'm doing, so it's funny to see your siblings pull that stuff on you when you're all together." Your boyfriend's face was illuminated crimson from the traffic light. He glanced at you, "You're the baby. The little, tiny baby-"

"Ah, stop it!" You smacked his hand situated on your lap.

"Be careful, (Y/N)-ie, that dish just came out of the oven!" Yoongi ignored your gentle warning and continued to tease, quoting what your siblings had said earlier, "Let me do it. You can go sit down at the table."

"Now you're just as bad as them, Yoon."

The light turned green.

"You just rile them up when you walk around all cute and pouty. I'm scared to open the champagne bottle. Can someone else do it for me, please?" Now he was quoting you.

"And I had the right to be scared of it! You saw how it hit Jun's forehead!" You still couldn't get over how the cork managed to find him. "Are you telling me that I'm not normally that cute around you?"

Yoongi scoffed, "You already know I think you're cute. It's just that you're so different around your family."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No, not at all. But it catches me off guard. They're all so cautious about their youngest doing things on her own." Another stoplight. "But little do they know what a big girl their baby sister has become!"

He had the audacity to poke your cheek as he laughed; a cold sensation on your skin warmed from the champagne—you’d had both yours and Yoongi's portion as the boy knew he'd have to drive you both home afterwards.

"Yoongi," you dragged out, "please! I could be teasing you at how stiff you were when you first walked through the door tonight."

"That's not the same."

"Isn't it? It's nice to see you again, Mr. (L/N). I swear you corrected your posture as soon as my dad opened the door."

Now Yoongi was whining out a complaint.

"They like you already; my family has for a while. I don't know why you still act so proper around them."

"I'm only being a good son-in-law."

"Say that again after you propose, Min."

"Yes, ma'am."

You finally were met with silence, a nice change from your boyfriend's loving teasing. You leaned your head against the top of the passenger seat and watched the colourful lights pass by. The radio was quietly playing in the background; a Christmas hymn barely heard over the noisy car, crunching over the gravelled-down streets.

"Do you want me to propose?"

You almost missed Yoongi's words from your ears being tuned to the gentle orchestral arrangement playing from the speakers.

"Of course I do," you cooed. "I love you, so yes. Without a doubt, one day, when we both feel ready to take that step."

"You know we've been together for years now, (Y/N). It'll be our sixth in the spring. Maybe it was because I saw your siblings with their spouses tonight; it got me thinking about it all. Your eldest sister already has a daughter too." He paused, eyes still focussed on the snowy road, "It made me wonder if you'd want that too someday. With me."

You couldn't help the smile that formed across your face at picturing a lifetime with the boy next to you. You squeezed Yoongi's hand intertwined with your own.

"That sounds perfect, Yoongi. Any future with you sounds perfect."

The car finally reached its designated parking spot in front of your condominium unit. Yoongi put the vehicle in park and removed the keys, but you both remained in your seats with hands still laced together.

You turned your head to the side to see Yoongi already giving you a fond gaze.

"I love you," he whispered. Anything louder would seem deafening under the delicate snowflakes beginning to fall, instantly melting as they hit the glass of the car's windows. "Merry Christmas, (Y/N)."

"Merry Christmas, Yoongi. I love you too."

The two of you exited the car and collected the cards and small presents arranged in the backseat that your family so graciously handed to you after dinner. Of course, also not forgetting the leftovers your boyfriend was so enthusiastic about too.

You unlocked the door to your home as Yoongi had the assorted gifts held tightly to his chest with the oversized Tupperware of food in his hands, carrying it like some prized possession.

He walked over to the small decorated tree in your living room to add the few new additions of prettily wrapped boxes beneath the shrubbery after dropping the food in the fridge on his way. He plugged in the lights and admired the way the tree sparkled.

He found himself looking beneath the tree at one small box in particular. "Hey, could I give you a gift tonight, love?"

You were in the entryway hanging up your jackets and putting away your boots. Once finished, you made your way to see Yoongi sat on the floor next to the tree: his portrait glowing from the gleaming lights.

You smiled at the view; your boyfriend never failed to take your breath away. "I don't know, technically it's not Christmas yet."

"It will be in ten minutes."

"Hm, I suppose I can let it slide just this once."

You made your way closer to Yoongi, taking a seat in front of him on the carpet.

"Can you close your eyes for me?"

You obliged his request, but quipping, "Your idea of a gift that can't wait until tomorrow better not be a kiss, Min Yoongi."

You felt a soft peck on your lips.

"You know me too well, love."

But you also felt something small placed in your hands.

"You can open your eyes now."

As your eyes fluttered back open, revealed to you was a small box. It was no bigger than your palm; black velvet with a forest green ribbon decorating it, turning into a delicate bow resting on its top.

You looked back up at Yoongi, who only nodded his head to encourage you to open it.

Pulling at the ribbon, your breath hitched when you carefully opened the lid.

It was a necklace. In the shape of a heart, it looked even more golden from the warm-toned twinkling lights of the tree next to you.

"Yoongi, it's beautiful," you gasped, already removing it from its container.

"It's a locket," your boyfriend commented, taking it from your smaller hands so he could show you.

Upon opening it, you were met with two small photos on each half of the heart. The left side had a tiny family photo with you, your parents, and your siblings at your graduation a few years back, and the other side contained an old photo of you and Yoongi around the time you first started dating.

You almost felt like crying; the gesture was so thoughtful.

"Your mom found these photos buried away and gave a few to me. I know how much your family means to you, so that's why I chose this one," he pointed to the one with you grinning in your cap and gown and smushed in the middle of a hug by your siblings, "and I'm fairly certain that I also mean a lot to you, so I wanted to include a photo of us." Yoongi brushed his thumb against the right half of the heart housing your younger faces.

"This is the most thoughtful gift I've ever received, Yoongi." You released your grip on the velvet box and moved to embrace the boy, "I can't thank you enough. You're so wonderful to me."

"Merry Christmas, my love," Yoongi returned the hug, smiling into the top of your head. "Would you like my help to put it on?"

You reluctantly let go and sat in front of him once again. "I think you've spent too much time around my siblings, Yoon. You know you don't have to treat me like a baby the way they all do. I'm capable of doing things myself even if they say otherwise."

"I know you can, (Y/N), but you're my baby. I think there are different rules. Here, let me help you."

You sighed with a smile and shook your head at Yoongi's persistence, but turned around in your spot nonetheless. He carefully maneuvered the necklace around you, fiddling with the clasp until the sides hooked together properly.

You spent a little while longer in the gentle ambiance of the decorated tree and watched the dainty snowflakes fall from the sky. It was past midnight now; the world was quiet. Silenced by the powdered sugar fragments drifting down from the heavens and covering the earth in a blanket of icing white.

You fiddled with the chain around your neck, leaning back into Yoongi's warm chest, having moved from your spot on the floor and to the couch.

You felt him press a kiss onto the back of your head, his protective hold around you tightening ever so slightly. Maybe it was from the coziness being in Yoongi's arms, or possibly from the big dinner you had a few hours ago—you felt yourself beginning to drift off, not fighting the all-encompassing tranquillity.

It was only at the sound of your breathing becoming heavier when Yoongi realized the predicament he found himself in. He smiled, wanting to coo at how cute you looked asleep in his arms, but he chose not to wake you.

Instead, he planned on bugging you about it when you inevitably woke up, saying something about how his little baby didn't even make it to the bed because she was so tired.

Yes, like your siblings, you were his baby too. Until you had your own, and maybe even after then as well, you'd be his baby.

••

[thescentifollow]

New Year’s Eve | Fred Weasley

After a blissful dinner on New Year’s Eve with your loved ones, your boyfriend, Fred has a question to ask you.

Word count: 2.6k

A/N: This is not how I planned it to be but I like it. Instead of making it too fluffy and cheesy I tried to capture the feeling of home, coziness and the comfort you feel when you’re with the poeple you love. I hope you like it! Feedbacks are always appreciated. ^-^

New Year’s Eve 2000

Seeing the laughs filling the living room in your new apartment on New Year’s Eve, you could feel the coziness of home. Everyone you loved was around you, except the ones you lost, the ones who sacrificed their lives for a better world. You teared up a bit thinking about Remus, Tonks, Sirius… and many more. You feel sadness and gratitude at the same time whenever you are reminded of them. You really wished they were here today.

With the voice of the small, adorable, newborn baby in her grandmother’s arms, you snapped out of the thoughts and wiped the tears. You made your way to play with her with a funny expression on your face to make her laugh.

“Look Victoire, Auntie Y/N is here.” Molly said with a baby voice.

You took one of the little baby’s hands and made funny faces. At first her face remained expressionless, but a few seconds later she started laughing like crazy, which made you feel proud. It was hard to make her smile and you made her laugh.

“Y/N, dear, this place looks amazing, I have to say.” Molly said and gave you an approving smile.

“Thank you, Molly; we are very pleased with it too.” You answered and smiled at her. Then you offered her to take a break and have a drink like everyone else. She gladly accepted it after planting a kiss on her granddaughter’s hand. You played with Victoire and took her to the other rooms to show her around. You explained the rooms to her in a baby voice to keep her entertained and sometimes she would nod and look you in the eye like she understands everything you say. When you were back downstairs you took a look around and felt blessed to have such people around you.

Molly, Ginny, and Hermione were talking about Hermione’s new job at the Ministry of Magic. Arthur, Ron and Harry were in another corner talking about the reformations that were done at the Ministry past year. Bill and Fleur were resting against the wall and chatting, looking relaxed since Victoire was in safe hands. Sadly, Charlie and Percy were not able to come this year. Charlie was busy, stuck in Romania and Percy was invited to another event.

Fred saw you standing next to the stairs and sent you a mocking look and mouthed: “Auntie.” And lifted his eyebrows cheekily. You rolled your eyes as you tried to contain your smile. Then Arthur approached Fred with curious eyes and started asking questions about the Christmas lights above the fireplace.

You remembered seeing those lights for the first time. It was when you were living in the Muggle World for a few months after the war and you remembered both you and your boyfriend liking it quite a lot. This year you went back to that store and bought a few pairs of them, thinking Arthur would love them. You wanted everything to be perfect for it was your first Christmas since coming back to the Wizarding World and it was also the very first Christmas in your new apartment.

When the doorbell rang Arthur was talking to Fred about how adorable and interesting the tiny light bulbs were. Fred looked at you, lifted one eyebrow with a smile on his face and pointed at the door. You got the message right away and went to answer the door.

“Come on Victoire, we have one last guest.” You kept talking to the little baby.

“Finally! We were starting to worry that you got stuck under a pile of snow.” You said acting like you were mad while welcoming George; but he did not fall for it.

He grinned cheekily and gave you flowers as a sorry for being late. You sighed but accepted the flowers gladly.

“Hello little baby.” His eyes went to her right away and Victoire said something incomprehensible. He guessed it was her way of welcoming him then turned to greet you. You hugged him as he started teasing you the moment that he entered the house.

“Hello to you to sister-in law.” You glared at him, trying to contain your smile at his cheesy nickname. Well, it was cheesy but after being friends with the twins for more than 10 years and dating Fred for 5 years, you got used to it.

“For the hundredth time, I’m not you sister-in law.”

“No, not yet. Though I doubt that it’s gonna take long.” He winked at you and made his way to the living room. You just shook your head and followed him. He became the center of attention the moment he entered the living room, and this made Victoire cry at the top of her lungs. Fleur rushed to take her and calm her down.

You made your way to the kitchen to bring out the dishes you prepared. You could hear Molly scolding George because of his lateness.

“George Weasley, how dare you make all these people wait for you on New Year’s Eve? It does not matter we are your family; you are not allowed to behave this way…”

You giggled while you slowly made your way to the living room.

“Since everyone is finally here, we can start.” You emphasized the word finally and sent him a look. It made everyone giggle and the scolding turned into a sweet laugh.

“Do you need help with anything, dear?” Molly asked approaching you, as you put the dishes on the dinner table.

“No, thank you Molly. Everything is ready. Please sit down and start.” She nodded with a smile on her face and rubbed your shoulder.

“Freddie, can you bring the wine my parents sent us?” You asked Fred and he gave you an okay sign.

-

The dinner was a blast. Everyone enjoyed it and complimented you and your boyfriend’s cooking. Freddie’s amazing cooking skills was a surprise for them since he never cooked for them. But you knew that he took cooking classes in the Muggle world and you were quite proud of him. After dinner you played games such as Who am I and Charades. As the night deepened Victoire fell asleep and Fleur put her to the bed in the guest room. Everyone went back to their initial corners to chat a little. You were sitting by the fireplace with Molly and chatting when Fred approached you from the back and whispered to your ear.

“Darling, can you come upstairs for a second?” You sent him a curious look and he mouthed the words “Present time.” With a smirk on his face. You turned to him and whispered.

“Now?”

“Now.” He answered with an intense look in his eyes. You just shook your head and excused yourself to follow Fred upstairs. You saw George sending him a thumbs up as you walked upstairs.

He held your hand and rubbed your skin with his thumb as he led you upstairs. You could feel his breaths were unstable and you wondered why but you didn’t ask, thinking that it was probably because he was excited for the present exchange between the two of you. When you reached the upstairs, you let go of his hand to enter the guest room. He knit his eyebrows confusingly.

“Wait here.” You whispered trying not to wake the sleeping baby up. He nodded not being sure what you were doing as you entered the room. Opening the wardrobe next to the rocking chair, you built in the Muggle World, you reached for the box you hid underneath the boxes that needed to be unpacked.

Fred knocked on the door impatiently. You told him you were coming in a second very quietly, but you were sure he heard you because you heard his footsteps and the sound of your bedroom’s door opening. You looked at Victoire one more time and planted a kiss on the top of her head before leaving the guest room.

When you entered the room, he was facing away and looking outside of the window. You approached him and hugged him, and he brought you to his side and put his arm over your shoulder before planting a kiss on your temple.

Looking outside, you noticed that it started to snow again.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” You asked rhetorically. He hummed and nodded. His eyes caught the box you were holding.

“Well, what’s it you are holding?” He knew the answer but asks anyway.

“Obviously, it’s your present, Weasley.” You answered. He loved it when you called him by his surname because it reminded him of the school days you had spent together. His eyes lit up and he reached for the box in your hands. You took a step back and lifted one of your eyebrows.

“Where is mine?” His eyes darted and he wiped his sweaty hands on his trousers before answering you.

“I have it, I promise. But can I please have mine first?” He asked with puppy eyes and a pout on his lips. He tried to speak calmly but you could sense the nervousness in his voice. So, you gave in and passed the box to him. He took the box, put it on the bed and embraced you lovingly. His one hand was on your back and the other one was stroking your hair. At that moment, all you could hear was your calm breaths and your hearts beating harmoniously. You kissed his cheek before you pulled away and wished him a merry Christmas.

You held your breath as he opened the box. He said nothing at first, but you could neither say anything nor move because of how nervous you were. So, you waited for him to say anything. The box was full of your pictures together, pictures you had taken as friends, as lovers, on your first date, on your second, on your twentieth. The photos of you on the first night you had spent together. Pictures of you resting on the porch of the Burrow under the sun, almost dozing off. There were also his pictures playing Quidditch you had taken, and your pictures he had taken without you knowing, while studying or reading. There were notes you had exchanged secretly during class and detention. And there was also a familiar diary at the bottom of the box. He took it in his hands and after a few seconds he lifted his face to look at you. Now you could see his face. His eyes were full of tears that were about to be released. You could finally move again; you sit next to him slowly and quietly and took one of his hands in yours. It was the diary you had kept during your school years, the diary you had written all your feelings for Fred in. He didn’t know it but there were also letters you had written to him as you had waited for him to wake up after that heartrending incident.

He laughed lightly as he remembered that one time, he had tried to grab it from you. You had gotten so angry at him that you hadn’t spoken to him for 3 days. He looked at you like he was asking for permission, and you nodded at him.

As he opened the diary and touched the old pages that began to wither, you started to tear up too. He knew how hard it was for you to gather the courage to go to your home after you had obliviated them prior to the war. You knew it was a low chance that they had still been there, but you had been hopeful anyway. When you saw that they were gone, it wrecked you. The fact that your stuff was the exact way you left them hurt more. It was your existence on the World meant nothing. The tears started to fall as you remembered all those hurtful memories. The possibility of losing both your family and Fred after he got hurt during the war, was agonizing. The situation with your family was irremediable. As for Fred, you were grateful to him, for he had clung to his life.

After the war and Fred’s treatment, you had decided to live in the Muggle World for a while because what you had gone through was too much for both of you. Being away from the Wizarding World had made it a lot easier to heal. After Victoire’s birth, you decided to go back to your actual lives, that you had put on hold for a while, because you had wanted to be with your loved ones and feel like you belong in that world again. The birth of Victoire represented the start of a new era for you and you loved the baby dearly.

He closed the diary as soon as he heard your little sobs and take you in his arms. Your sobs got as he rubbed your back. You stayed in that positions for some time. He whispered words of comfort into your ear, but you knew he was crying too.

When you finally started to calm down you pulled away from him and saw his wet face. You both cried after recalling all those memories.

After a few seconds, a smile made its way to your face as Fred rubbed his nose to yours like the way Eskimos kiss. He mirrored the smile and looked into your eyes deeply. You felt like he could read your soul. You would not be surprised if he could. He reached for his pocket and a small, square shaped, navy blue colored, velvet box appeared in his big hands. Your eyes went to the box he held in his hands from his face, and to his face from the small box in his hands. You opened your mouth to speak but words did not come out.

“Marry me.” He said without a without any hesitation in his voice. His eyes were glued to yours as he waited for your answer. You looked at him, your lips parted but not being able to speak.

All you could do was to nod. He closed the gap between the two of you and kissed you passionately. It was more like a fight to decide who was yearning more for the other than kissing. It is not like you had not been intimate with each other before, but something about this was just different. He pulled away from you after planting a loving, lighter kiss on your lips and opened the small box.

“It was my grandmother’s. My grandmother and my grandfather had loved each other dearly and they had lived a very happy life.” He told the story of the modest but mesmerizing ring as he put it on your ring.

“It’s beautiful.” You said, tears coming back. You placed a small kiss on his lips before hugging him so tightly that after a few minutes he asked you to let him go because he couldn’t breathe.

-

Someone knocked on the door as you were putting all the photos into the box and you were surprised that it was George. It was probably the first time you witnessed him knocking on a door. He had a knowing expression and a smirk on his face, so you just extended your hand for him to see the ring. The first words he said after seeing the ring made both Fred and you laugh.

“MUM! MUM!!! MUM!!!!!!!!”

He left the room in a hurry and went downstairs running. Fred got up and looked at you before pointing out the door with his head, smiling softly. He extended his hand for you to hold before leading you downstairs to give the big news to everyone, if your brother-in-law to be hadn’t told everyone yet, of course.

[imaginesupply]

Homecoming - Chapter Seven

(Gif's not mine.)

I am so sorry for only posting this chapter when Christmas is already over. I lost my initial draft and it was difficult to find time for writing since this season means lots of family time for me.

Anyway, I hope you'll still enjoy this last chapter. Previous chapters can be found on my Masterlist, just follow the link.

Chapter Seven 

Chapter warnings: Smut (mild), alcohol consumption (very mild). I think that’s it.

Ada grinned to herself as she slid under the white cotton bedcovers. It wasn't every day that she woke up before the Captain and she intended to make the most of it.

Kneeling on the mattress between his outstretched legs, she bent forward and licked the underside of his proud morning erection, from the base to the soft, pink glans where she made sure to trace the small slit. Sy's hips bucked up and his cock twitched in response, a soft moan escaping his parted lips, but he didn’t wake up just yet. Ada pouted for a moment - she wasn't feeling too patient this morning, not after the dream she had had.

This time, she grabbed his erection firmly at its base and proceeded to take him as deeply in her mouth and throat as her gag reflex would allow, hollowing her cheeks and humming softly.

His reaction was instant. His body went rigid and Sy sat up at once, a glazed look on his soft blue eyes. "Fuck, Ada!" He cursed loudly, carding a hand through his hair as he lifted the covers to look underneath.

His wife merely hummed around his cock, looking up at him with innocent eyes. Sy moved a hand to her cheek, caressing her skin with his thumb and feeling the outline of his cock inside her mouth. He closed his eyes for a moment, inhaling sharply. "Come up here, I want to kiss you," he rasped, surprising himself with his own words when her mouth felt so heavenly around him.

Ada pulled her head back with a slight pop and scooted forward, straddling his strong thighs. They shared a kiss before her lips moved to hover by the shell of his ear. "Happy three-year anniversary of our first meeting," she whispered smugly. No, she had not forgotten.

Sy laughed, draping one large hand over the back of her neck and pulling her closer to him, her wet folds sliding over his cock in the process and making them both freeze for a second, caught up in the sensation. "Guess I hit the Jackpot three years ago."

Ada chuckled and began to roll her hips against his. The friction felt too good on her clit to stop. "Pity you didn't hit the Jackpot in Vegas," she teased lightly, her hand moving to his shoulder for balance as she raised herself on her knees before slowly impaling herself on his cock. Ada gasped quietly as Sy buried a moan against her neck, his beard grazing her skin.

"If memory serves, I did hit the Jackpot in Vegas when I married you," he murmured.

Ada laughed lightly, her walls rhythmically clenching around his cock. "Stop being so sweet and fuck me already."

For all his natural authority, the Captain did know how to follow an order, especially when it came from his wife. With her holding on to his shoulders for leverage as she rode him, Sy found his head nuzzling her cleavage, his beard leaving the skin of her breasts raw and sensitive. Neither seemed to mind.

All too soon, Sy lost his patience and wrapped an arm around his wife's middle. He began a punishing pace, making her cry out in the mixture of pain and sweet rapture.

The doorbell rang just as they were catching their breaths, still dizzy with bliss. Sy groaned loudly, rolling his eyes. "Is this becoming a trend now?!"

Ada laughed at his reaction, disentangling herself from him. "So, it seems," she chuckled. "Go see who it is."

Sy huffed next to her. "Why should I be the one going?" After all, he had been the one who had let Tom in when he had come over for dinner.

Cocking a brow at him, Ada's voice turned mischievous. "I don't mind getting the door. But I'll go naked with your cum running down my inner thighs."

He glared at her dumbfounded, but nothing indicated that she was joking. With a sigh, Sy got off the bed and put on a pair boxer briefs, pointing an accusatory finger at her as he walked out of their bedroom. "That shit's not funny."

°°°

Ada picked up the small envelope that came attached to the wicket basket that had been delivered by a deli, a smile spreading on her face as she read the message.

"It's from Tom," she announced. "He wishes us a merry and delicious Christmas."

“Why is it that anytime the bell rings at the worst moment, Tom’s always implicated.” Still, Sy looked impressed as he started taking out the various foods from the basket. There was all you needed for a copious brunch and even a cold bottle of champagne and orange juice to make mimosas.

Ada got up from bed to grab the plastic goblets where they kept their toothbrushes in from the bathroom. Drinking mimosas in those would be a first but she really didn't want to walk downstairs. When she got back in the bedroom, Sy was already munching on a warm cinnamon roll. "What did we get Tom for Christmas?" He asked with his mouth full.

Ada rolled her eyes, climbing back on the bed. "We," she said, stressing out the word as she looked pointedly at her husband, "gave him a perfectly preserved 1925 Underwood typewriter and had it delivered to his parents' house in Wiltshire two weeks ago already."

Sy swallowed the rest of the pastry. "We are very good and generous friends, indeed," he jested, trying to imitate Tom's British accent.

They ate and drank lazily in bed. With a full belly, Ada had half a thought to take a nap – she had exerted herself this morning after all - but it was noon already and she still had lots to do.

"What time does your mom want us over?"

"Seven o'clock is the official time but she's probably expecting us much earlier to help with the cooking and the baking."

Ada bit her lip. Sy wasn't going to like this. "I won't be able to make it before seven. I've got errands to run."

Sy sighed in response. "If you want to avoid them because of the sex tape thing-" He was interrupted when she hit him with the pillow.

"It's not about that but thank you very much for reminding me of it right when I had finally managed to stop thinking about it." She laughed, gulping down the rest of her mimosa to help with the remaining mortification.  

Leaning forward to kiss her, Sy stopped just before their lips could touch. "I expect you at seven o'clock at the latest, Mrs. Syverson." He warned before finally landing a peck on her lips. "And if that errand of yours is to find me a gift, I wouldn't mind a new desk chair to play the console."

Ada barked a laugh. "Did you really think I would leave it until Christmas Eve to get your gift? Let me tell you, Sy, I got you the ultimate present."

He cocked an eyebrow. Was that a challenge? After all, he had stayed up very late three nights in a row to organize her gift. After all the care packages she had put so much thought in while he was away, Sy really intended to surprise her. "Whatever it is, I'm sure yours won't beat mine, darlin'."

She looked pensive for a second and then stretched out her hand, smirking. "Wanna bet on it?"

Sy chuckled, throwing back his head against the pillow before finally nodding. "As you wish, darlin'. May the most thoughtful gift win."

°°°

The airport had always felt like a real maze to her and the unusual hordes of people really weren't helping. Apparently, a snowstorm had taken over the entire East coast and tons of flights had been either cancelled or delayed.

Ada groaned as she tried to find a path between the crowds. This would have been so much easier if Sy had been there with her - people had a tendency to naturally move out of his way. Eventually, Ada gave up and took off her high heels, deciding to walk barefoot instead. She was already dressed for the Christmas Eve dinner since she knew she'd be cutting it short and it was unlikely she'd have time to get changed later.

When her phone rang, she fished it out of her pocket and took the call without looking at the screen, cursing under her breath. If she didn’t get to the counter in time before it closed, her gift would fall through. "Yes?"

There were some rushed whispers from the other end of the line, but she couldn't make out a single word with the loud ambient noise. "I can't hear you."

"Please tell me you're not leaving! On Christmas of all days!"

Ada stopped in her tracks, a frown taking over her face. What the fuck was going on? "Madie, calm down. I'm not going anywhere."

"Then why are you at the airport?!" Madie retorted, her voice a stressed whisper.

"How do you even know I'm -" Right. She had forgotten she'd given her sister-in-law the ability to track her phone a few years ago when she was still new to the city and afraid of getting lost somewhere. "Never mind." Ada interrupted, shaking her head. "Look, I will be there tonight. I am simply running a little late. Is Sy okay?"

"I - He - Urgh!" Madie groaned in frustration through the phone. "He's in the kitchen with mom, they're making cookies. Sy was worried about you because he thought you would have been here by now. Something about it not taking ages to buy a desk chair."

"Did you tell him where I was?" Ada asked, cutting off her sister-in-law. She had finally arrived at the right counter.

"No! God, no! I didn't want to worry him."

"Good. Don't tell him. I'll be there in two hours, give or take."

"Two hours?! Ada no-"

She had already hung up and slid her phone back in her pocket. Plastering the biggest smile on her face, Ada walked up to the lady at the counter. "Hello. I'm Ada Syverson. Please forgive me for being late."

°°°

The quick stop at the store had been hell. Why there were still so many doing their Christmas shopping on the 24th at six in the afternoon, was beyond her. Admittedly, she was there as well but it was simply because Sy would have found it if she had purchased it sooner. Frantically, Ada rubbed her hands over her dress and coat, trying to remove as she waited for someone to open the door.

Helen’s house appeared to have been fully decorated for the season. Luke and Elaine excitedly grabbed Ada hands and dragged her inside before she could even remove her thin coat, proud to show her the table they had helped decorate. It was a nice, festive table indeed, and Ada decided not to point out that cutlery was put in the wrong order. Apparently, her parents were the only ones absolutely pedantic about that.

Sy came running to her with a plate of cookies in his hand. "I made them!" He announced, showing off the Christmas treats as if they were precious jewels.

Before Ada could grab one, Madie appeared behind him, playfully slapping the back of his head. "He might have made the cookies, but I decorated them. I want credit for my work."

Ada rolled her eyes at their siblings’ antics and picked up a cookie, humming appreciatively just to elicit a proud grin from her husband. The fact that they tasted this good didn’t leave a doubt that Helen has kept a close eye on him.

"You made it on time after all, darlin'," Sy pointed out.

Ada ran her tongue over her lips, catching the crumbles. "There was not much traffic," she replied, electing not to mention her excessive speeding.

Dinner was a cheerful affair. Phil mostly kept them entertained with stories of dumb, sometimes rude, customers from the hardware store. When dessert eventually rolled around, Helen thanked everyone for being there, tearing up. It was the first time in years that the family was fully reunited for Christmas and she wished her late husband could have been there with them.

When it got to midnight, Ada learned that the Syversons had a special Santa Claus conception that they taught the kids: Santa did exist, but he only brought gifts to less fortunate children whose families were unable to provide presents for Christmas. If a child was lucky enough that their family could afford gifts, they each had to donate a present to a charity. Joshua had accompanied Elaine and Luke to do so this morning.

They had long finished exchanging gifts and the kids were already playing with their new toys, yet Ada was still going over the binder on her lap, tears in her eyes. Sy had planned this meticulously. He had even made sure she got two weeks off in February and that they would have the same car waiting for them in Vegas so they could do their West coast road trip in the Camaro they had driven to Vegas the first time. 1811km from Las Vegas to Seattle – she couldn’t wait!

She was so enthralled by her gift, she hardly even noticed Sy squeezing her shoulders or Josh calling her name. "I'm sorry, what?" Ada blurted out, jumping up when Sy decided to tickle her to finally get her attention.

"I was asking whether you'd forgotten to get Jack something?" Her brother-in-law teased gently, making her realize that everyone had already exchanged gifts and she hadn't even noticed.

Ada laughed. "I didn't forget. It... It's just not something I could give him here," she replied, attempting to stay vague but it sent the wrong message and she saw Madie chuckle, looking away with a knowing smirk.

"Oh, it's something naughty, then?" Josh asked playfully and Ada swore she could almost physically feel the daggers Helen was staring at her. First, the sex tape and now this, she was slowly getting afraid of what his family would think of her at this rate.

Sy cut off the teasing with a sharp and stern 'hey' in Josh's direction who immediately raised his hands in defeat, much to his Luke's amusement.

Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Sy leant down over Ada’s shoulders and whispered in her ear, smirking. "Is it? Something naughty, I mean."

Ada turned back at once, still sitting on the floor between his legs. Sy had the dumbest grin plastered on his face. "Not everything has to be naughty, you know," she chided light-heartedly, but Sy only laughed, until she pinched his thigh.

"Ada, will you come help me with the dishes?" Helen called from the other side of the room, startling her.

Like a deer caught in the headlights, Ada silently pleaded Sy for help. The kitchen wasn't a big enough room for both Helen and her to come out alive. Yet, instead of getting her out of this, like any good husband would – might she add – Sy merely gave her an equally encouraging and bemused look.

Sighing, Ada got up on her feet and followed her mother-in-law into the kitchen. She grabbed a rag and awkwardly stood by the sink, waiting for Helen to hand her the clean dishes. They worked in silence, Ada carefully drying off the glasses, lest she have the bad luck of breaking something.

"I wanted to apologize," Helen said out of the blue.

Ada was caught by surprise. "What?" She blurted out before composing herself and shaking her head. "Excuse me, what?"

Helen sighed, drying her hands before turning to her. "I am sorry, Ada. For the way I've treated you."

"Oh." She gasped. Miracles did happen on Christmas then. Ada wasn't sure what to say. "It's okay."

The older woman frowned at her reaction. "Don't you want to know the reason?" Ada shrugged slightly. She was happy enough with the apology as it was. "I disliked you from the first moment because you were the reason my Jack missed Christmas with the family three years ago. It was the first time he was home for the holidays since he had been deployed."

Ada nodded slowly. Well, she could understand that. "Then my late husband slowly managed to convince me to give you a chance. He said that Jack wouldn't just marry any random girl," Helen paused, smiling briefly. "Well, on your first birthday here in Austin, I came by your house to drop off a gift and ask if maybe you wanted to go out for dinner. Once I got there, I saw you were already having dinner with someone else. A man. It looked like you were fun, and I naturally, perhaps foolishly, assumed the worst."

Ada opened her mouth, wanting to say that it was just Tom, but Helen silenced her with a wave of her hand. The woman had authority, it ran in the family apparently "A few weeks later, I saw you at the movies with the same man. That only confirmed my suspicions. I never told anyone, least of all Jack, because I didn't want to see him hurt, especially while he was still in Iraq but I was never able to move away from that."

"The man you saw me with is Tom. He's a good friend-,” Ada quickly explained as soon as her mother-in-law had finished talking.

Helen smiled, nodding softly. "Jack told me about Tom today. Said you three had dinner together, that Tom a kind man, and that the two of you were just friends."

"Well, it's true," she chipped in quickly.

"I believe you." Helen reassured Ada with a squeeze to her shoulder before heading back to the living room where the family was gathered.

Ada remained in the kitchen for a few seconds more, surprised by the turn of events but just as thankful.

°°°

"Nervous?" Sy inquired in the car, quickly glancing at her before moving his eyes back to the road.

Her brows furrowed. "What? Why would I be nervous?"

"You're biting your nails and checking your phone every few seconds." Sy told her, just as smug smile started taking over his face. "If it's about the gift, don't worry, darlin’. I know you couldn't possibly come up with a better gift than the one gave you."

Ada scoffed indignantly. "Let's see if your smugness remains once you see her."

"Her?" Sy asked just as she groaned at herself. Why had she let that slip? He laughed heartedly. "Darlin', Rihanna could be waiting for us at home for a private concert and it still wouldn't top my gift."

It was Ada's turn to laugh. "Perhaps not, but I'd definitely top her!"

°°°

“So, where is it?” Sy inquired as soon as they had made it through the threshold, looking around the ground floor to see if there was something new or unusual.

Even Ada was surprised nothing looked amiss. Her friend, Lily, also a volunteer from the animal shelter and who did not celebrate Christmas, had stayed over most of the evening and miraculously managed to keep the house intact. “Your present is in the study upstairs.” She told Sy, watching bemused as he quickly discarded his shoes to head upstairs.

“If you did get me a desk chair after all, I’ll kill you for all this suspense,” he threatened her playfully, landing a small kiss on her cheek before rushing up the stairs.

With a knowing smile, Ada leaned against the wall, waiting for Sy to open the door. Five seconds later, her husband’s excited voice reached her ears.

“Aika!”

The German Shepherd barked cheerfully in response. Despite the carpet flooring, she could hear the pitty-patter of the dog’s paws on the floor. Yes, they had both aced the challenge, Ada mused as she hung up her coat and took off her shoes. She grinned, shaking her head softly with amusement when she listened to Sy giving Aika the grand tour of the house upstairs.

"This is the bathroom. As you can smell, it ain't stinky like in Baqubah."

"Bedroom here. If you're real nice to mama, she might let you sleep here."

"The walk-in closet. Please don't come here a lot because you’ll get fur everywhere."

She looked up once she sensed them coming closer in the hallway upstairs. As soon as they appeared on the stairs, Ada started laughing at the sight. Sy was caring the German Shepherd in his arm like he would a toddler and Aika really seemed to be enjoying it.

"Be careful with the stairs, it's slippery 'cause of the varnish," Sy told the dog very seriously, sporting an authoritative frown before he caught sight of wife and smiled broadly, almost skipping over the last few steps.

"This is your mama," Sy introduced her, bringing the dog close enough to her face so that Aika could lick her cheek. Ada grimaced, making Sy scoff. "She's a bit uppity, but she's the best," he playfully whispered into the dog’s ear, as if sharing a great secret.

“Aika and I got acquainted in the car when I drove us home from the airport,” she told him, petting the dog’s snuff.

Sy finally set Aika down and she promptly ran off, exploring the ground floor and more specifically, the couch.

"I never thought you'd let me get a dog," Sy admitted, the grin still not leaving his face even as he leant down to kiss his wife. "Didn't even think you liked them."

Ada pulled back, looking offended. "I literally volunteer at the animal shelter weekly!"

"I know, darlin'. Just thought you would rather get a cat or a parrot, or something more Ada-ish."

She chuckled. Truth was she was still keen on getting a cat but now she'd have to find one that would get on with Aika.

Something weird in her peripheral vision caught her attention now that the lights were on, making her turn her head. "Is her fur... stained green?" It was the first time she’d had a good look at the dog under a bright light.

Sy laughed, clasping her shoulders. "Yes. Green dog means good dog. It’s a long story."

°°°

This is it. I hope you enjoyed the series. Thank you for reading!

I wish you a very happy New Year!

@colourmeinblue @hail-horror-queen @youthought-iwasa-nicegirl @kmuir1​ @madbaddic7ed​ @coffeebreathy​ @purplelove75​ @summersong69​ @helenaellie​ @rn7rocks​

[sushigal007]

Time for The Time Of The Doctor. Cat is showing signs of making herself very comfy on my lap, but I have learned my lesson. Well, sort of. Laptop is now on my chest rather than beside me. It is not optimal, but is at least less painful.

VO and weird sound going out everywhere. Nobody can translate, so everyone has gone for a nosy.

Doctor has wound up on a Dalek ship by accident oops. Turns out his friendly cyberman head did it. I know cybermen are supposed to have no emotions, but I still can't help feeling like Handles did it on purpose, for the lulz. The phone rings - outside - and the Doctor asks Handles to remind him to patch it through the console. Which Handles does. Immediately. The Doctor tells him to remind him later.

Phone is Clara. She needs an emergency boyfriend. She's cooked Christmas dinner and told her family she's got a boyfriend and it isn't even an android. Doctor is distracted by a new ship. This time he holds Handles out to check and all is fine! the Doctor steps out, Handles held aloft, and announces he's come in p-

It's a Cyberman ship, HA!

Credits!

Clara's nan is getting toasted, sensible lady. The rest of her family are pestering about the turkey. She hears TARDIS noises and runs outside and- the Doctor is naked WHY. Because he's going to church.

OK, it's very silly and childish, but I am amused and entertained. Anyway, he's wearing hologram clothes and honestly, I do like the idea. I've been fantasising about hologram clothes for years, mostly when I go Sims CC shopping. Imagine being able to wear them all yourself! And think of the cosplay opportunities! Can't wait!

She takes them to see her fam. Gran is delighted. everyone else is weirded out. Turns out, Clara is the only one who can see his hologram clothes, whoops! She tells them... he's Swedish.

The turkey is not cooked. The Doctor says it needs a vet. Or a time machine. Then he catches on. Seems Clara has been using time travel to catch up on missed birthdays and TV shows and he's annoyed about it, but I dunno, she's got a point, if I had access to a TARDIS, I'd skip forward to Friday when I get paid, finish my Christmas shopping, then come back to today so I have time to wrap them instead of staying up until 2am Christmas Eve.

Handles identifies the planet. Slowly. It's... Gallifrey. Apparently. The Doctor gets very pissy with Handles and tells him Gallifrey is gone, even if it survived, it's not in this universe.

Big space church! They're the ones who shielded the planet and can get them in to have a look around. Tasha Lem appears as a giant head with gives me very Holly from Red Dwarf vibes. The Doctor hands Clara a hologram pill and tells her she can't go to church with her clothes on.

The church stuff is weird, but honestly, I kinda like it? Religion is such a big thing, we've seen half a dozen Satans by now, so it does actually make sense that church would be in the future too. Plus I do weirdly like church having a place in a Christmas special. Even if it is a space church that demands nudity.

Tasha Lem and the Doctor flirt. She likes his new body. He introduces Clara, badly. Tasha wants to talk to the Doctor alone. The Doctor says she can say anything in front of Clara, except maybe not and by the end of it, Clara is more than happy to just wait outside. Actually, she's probably wishing she knew how to add noise cancelling headphones to her hologram outfit.

She spots a Silence!

Tasha and the Doctor sit and drink wine, before the Doctor remembers he doesn't like wine and spits it out again. They talk about how the message scares everyone.

Clara keeps seeing and forgetting the Silence.

The Doctor and Tasha chat some more. Nobody wants to be the first to go and see what's going on. Except for the Doctor.

The Silence tell Clara to confess and she freaks out enough to run into the room. And instantly forgets why. Tasha has a personal teleport and sends them down. She can also see through holograms and knows the Doctor's been hiding a TARDIS key and now I have a second cat on me.

Weeping Angel in the snow! It grabs her ankle. She cant get free unless she can wiggle out of her shoe, which is when the Doctor reminds her she isn't wearing one. Aaand there are multiple Angels.

Happily the Doctor had a second key and summons the TARDIS. Surprisingly for this episode, it's not in a rude place, it's under his wig. He says he shaved his head to get them past the shield. Clara reckons he just got bored one night, and after all the lockdown haircuts we saw, I gotta admit, that's completely understandable. It took all my self control not to cut off my own hair back in March 2020.

They wind up in the village and see a couple of people, so the Doctor comes up with a cover story and immediately blurts out his whole life story. Clara admits she's a control freak and when I pause, wow, you can really see how horrified she is to have the mask slip for a moment. The Doctor realises it's a truth field.

The town is called Christmas. Clara questions it, like there isn't literally a Christmas Island on Earth. And an Easter one, as the Doctor points out. Despite it being July, it's got the whole Dickens Victorian Christmas vibe again, because if it ain't broken, don't try and fix it. Dickens Victorian Christmas vibes just work better.

Too many cat help.

Its Amy's crack (shh). Flashback time!

The Doctor realises it's a weak spot in our universe and something's trying to push through. Gallifrey, of course.

The Doctor whips out the Black Seal of Rassilon that he nicked off the Master way back in The Five Doctors. With it, Handles is able to translate. He warns that everybody will be able to hear the translation, and the question is, Doctor Who.

Tasha is concerned.

The Doctor says only he would know the answer and the truth field means he can't lie. I just appreciate that they're asking this time, rather than just muscling in and trying to barge Earth out of the way, President Tim.

The Doctor tells Clara to go to the TARDIS and charge up a thing because half the universe is above the planet, waiting to restart the Time War. She runs off just as Tasha's giant face appears in the sky and tells him the planet is Trenzalore.

The TARDIS takes Clara home, She spins around and jams her key back in just as it starts to dematerialise.

The Doctor says he's going to protect the town. Tasha tells the church they are now dedicated to Silence and will not allow him to say his name.

We get a montage. I enjoy it, but I do wish we got to see all these battles and him bonding with the townspeople. The wooden Cyberman looks great. The Doctor is visibly starting to age. The sonic still does not work on wood lol.

TARDIS noises! It's been 300 years! The children ask if this means he's leaving.

Clara is rather freaked out. She was in the time vortex. Hope she waved to Salamander. Somehow the turkey isn't done yet.

The Doctor explains that nobody can attack in case he unleashes the Time Lords, and he can't run away because everybody will burn the planet to stop the Time Lords coming back.

Handle is getting old and has developed a fault. Before he powers down, he reminds the Doctor to patch through the telephone, awww. :( The Doctor thanks him.

The next morning, Clara asks why the Doctor sent her away. He points out that she'd be long dead now. They talk about regeneration and make it clear that the War Doctor used up a regeneration, and the hand clone Ten also counted, which I was very happy to hear when this first aired, because I'd been complaining for ages about that one and how if you could cheat regeneration like that, Simm Master would've spent the first few hours of his regeneration cutting off multiple chunks of himself for a clone army. So Eleven has hit the limit and this is where he dies.

Clara keeps pointing out that he has his TARDIS now, so surely he can do something. I'm thinking a mass evacuation. Then the big Tasha Lem face in the sky asks for parley. When he approaches the TARDIS, he finds one of the village children guarding it.

More Silence. We finally get an explanation of what they are - priests genetically engineered so you forget what you've told them. Tasha, Clara and the Doctor head off to chat and oh dear, the church staff are all Dalek puppets. Meanwhile, Tasha explains how the cracks happened; a faction of the church led by Madam Kovarian went back in time and blew up his TARDIS to try and stop him ever reaching Trenzalore, but in doing so, caused the cracks in the first place. If you find this confusing, may I recommend Day Of The Daleks, which does a similar paradox plot, but over four episodes, so you have time to understand it.

Then Tasha lets slip that the Daleks killed her three days ago. The Daleks burst in, so the Doctor amplifies the message and warns them he'll take ages to die and he'll definitely bring back the Time Lords to spite them first.

Tasha grabs Clara as a hostage, but the Doctor tells them to go ahead and kill her, and Clara says they'll kill her anyway. The Doctor use that to utterly roast Tasha and while I don't like it, I do remember that Four did exactly the same thing to get Sarah Jane through a ventilation shaft once, and just like Sarah Jane, Tasha focuses all her energy on breaking out of the Dalek's control so she can slap him. And kill the Daleks. Anyway, they kiss and he says she's been fighting a psychopath inside her all her life, she can manage a Dalek, and I remain convinced that she's somehow one of River Song's regenerations. I don't know how, but I'm not willing to let it go entirely.

The turkey is done! Clara tells him to look at her and promise he'll never send her away again. He promises. She goes to get the turkey, steps outside... and she's home. The TARDIS vanishes.

More montages.

Back in Clara's flat, her family are bitching. Well, Aunt? Linda is. Gran talks about how she met her husband and Clara cries. And then there's TARDIS noises again! She runs outside... but it's Tasha, not the Doctor. She says flying the TARDIS was always easy, I say hello, River Song.

She sends Clara to the Doctor because he's even older now and dying. The old makeup they've done on him is really very good.  He even struggles to pull the cracker. The crackers don't have jokes, just little sayings and it's a very apt one:

Now it's time for one last bow, Like all your other selves. Eleven's hour is over now, The clock is striking twelve's.

Eleven says he would've preferred a knock-knock joke. All right, knock knock, who's there, Doctor. Lol.

Clara begs him to change the future. He says he could've, when there were Time Lords, but not any more. He heads out to talk to the Daleks, and Clara goes and yells at the crack.

The crack disappears.

The Doctor mocks the Daleks, who've spent centuries trying to kill him and he's still gonna die of old age.

Then the crack appears in the sky and sends him a bunch of regeneration energy! The Daleks complain about the rules of regeneration, but it's not the first time the Time Lords broke the rules, they gave the Master a new cycle too. The Doctor gloats and zaps them all, and unlike the Master's zappy hands, I don't hate it, because we saw Melody Pond/River Song do something similar when she was regenerating.

The Daleks are dead! Christmas is saved! Clara heads to the TARDIS. Eleven has left his clothes all over the floor and half a bowl of fish fingers and custard on the console. He's young again, but can't stop the regeneration. He gives a short speech about how he'll always be the Doctor, but times change, and so will he.

Baby Amy cameo!

He says we're different people throughout our lives and that's OK, so long as you remember them, and he will always remember when the Doctor was him and I like this SO MUCH MORE than Ten's regeneration. Tears in my eyes.

He drops his bow tie. It really is the end-

But we don't even get a second to mourn, because it's Twelve, in the fastest regeneration ever! And he does not like the colour of his kidneys!

FINAL THOUGHTS

Again, not quite as perfect as A Christmas Carol, but still one of my faves, and my fave regeneration episode so far as well. There's Christmas vibes, but there is also lots of warring, which makes it all a bit sombre. But Matt's final scene is just perfect, honouring the previous Doctors as people he used to be, accepting that his time is now up without protest. To be fair though, Eleven lived for hundreds of years and Ten lasted about three. We also get a much-needed reset of the regeneration cycle, and confirmation that Gallifrey was saved in the 50th.

But my biggest complaint about this episode is the montages. The Doctor is on Trenzalore for hundreds of years, and we barely see any of it, so we don't get a chance to connect with the people of Christmas ourselves. Barnable is the only one who even gets named. Which means I don't care about them nearly as much as the Doctor does. I would've liked for this to be a series, something like Flux, so we could've seen some of the battles. I'm pretty sure there's books, maybe Big Finish stories, but I don't know because I'm too poor to consume much spin-off merch. And it's annoying, because the rest of the story is pretty good, it just feels like bits of it hit fast-forward just when I want to sit back and enjoy it.

ETA: Another problem I forgot to mention is that the church and the village never show any sign that time has passed, so that, combined with the montages skimming over all the battles, makes it very difficult to believe that this is a war that has been going on for centuries. I know tech isn’t allowed through the shield, but surely the citizens of Christmas themselves would try and come up with stuff to help the Doctor fight or armous their buildings a bit more, but every time Clara comes back, it all looks exactly the same. The only sign that time has passed is the Doctor himself, and if the Tasha VO had said he’d tried to build his own time machine and accidentally made himself old and Clara had only been gone three days, it would’ve been just as believable.

Also much of this one is not going to make any sense at all to anyone who isn't a dedicated fan, which means it's not a great one for watching with distant relatives.

[mosshead-lover]

The Snowflake & The Kitten

Shoto x Reader

Summary: It’s your first Christmas with the Icyhot. You know he shows little or no enthusiasm in the holidays. How will it end up after you go against your instincts and decide spend the Eve with him.

A/n: Hey y’all! Hope you had a fabulous Christmas. I wanted to post this in time for Christmas, but my lazy ass was well..busy procrastinating. Any ho, I'm a Lil late, but hope you like the Present :D

It was late evening, and you were strolling through the streets, slower than usual, observing the decorations on the buildings and homes. Christmas sure brightened up your otherwise mundane city. You go back to wondering the same thing that's been in your mind for so long, whether you should get him something and if yes, what should you? It's been almost ten months since you and Shoto started going out. If you had to point out one thing that you not necessarily liked about him(not until recently), it would be how minimal Shoto's reactions or expressions were, almost all the time. It just made it really difficult to gauge his likeness or dislike-ness towards something. It was hardly a problem or something that bothered you until you had to pick a gift for him.

*Buzz Buzz*

You have a new text message.

Jirou: Yo! Coming?

Y/n: Will be there in 5 min.

Jirou always played her gigs to you before she actually performed. This had become a ritual more of. You started walking faster, paying lesser attention to the decorations along the way.

Jirou rocked it, as usual.

"Are you sure you don't want to join?"

You Jirou and few other girls in the class who couldn't go home for the holidays had planned a night out. Jirou still couldn't digest that you were missing it. Her reaction was only normal considering the enthusiasm your boyfriend had towards holidays.

'I want to spend the holidays productively,'

is what he had told the last time holidays came up in one of your conversations.

"Yes." You replied with a hint of uncertainty.

"At least buy a tree and some decorations on the way. Pretty sure he wouldn't have put one up." Jirou sighed.

"You don't know that!" You defended, regretting it a second later.

Jirou shrugged.

Your head was filled with ambiguity. You knew Jirou wasn't the kind who joked around or even talked much. You knew there was weight to whatever she said. You draw the cell phone and type a quick message.

y/n: Hey, I am on the way and stopped by to get a tree. What size do you prefer?

*Buzz Buzz*

Doki: What tree?

You despised Jirou for a second for being so accurate. Was not bothering Shoto with the pressure of celebrating the best gift you could give? You wondered if it was too late to join the other girls.

Doki: Oh, I see. Whatever works for you.

You picked a tree small enough for you to carry and some decorations along with candy canes. You had forgotten about the Christmas present for him until you came across the headband section with cute cat ears. You bought a white one and read one. At the billing counter, you struggled, You still had time to put it all back. Maybe just have dinner and watch a movie like any other weekend and not bother your not-so-festive boyfriend. But, you made up your mind. There was no turning back now.

--

"Hi, y/n."

Shoto helped you with the shopping bags and the tree. You reluctantly unzipped your bag and took a white sweater out. It matched the one you were wearing. The couple-Christmas-sweaters that you drunk ordered three months ago. Before you could say anything, He checks the time and,

"Hey, the webinar that I was supposed to attend this afternoon? They postponed it to seven. It will take an hour, Hardly, okay? I'm sorry, but I hope you understand."

He rushed through his sentences.

"Oh! This is for me? Thank you"

He grabbed the sweater from your hands, pecked your cheek, and hurried to his room.

You crashed into the couch. He didn't even notice that you were wearing the same sweater. You sulked and buried your face in the couch pillow and let out an inaudible scream. You took a deep breath and reminded yourself why you wanted to do this in the first place. It was your first Christmas together. You had to make it memorable for both of you. Moreover, Shoto never got together with his family to celebrate anything. You couldn't blame him for not getting excited about the festival.

You decided to look at the brighter side of it. You had an hour to make the house Christmas friendly. You went and bought some more lights and bells, set up a tree, put the lights around. You had to go to his room a few times to get the stapler, tape etc., He didn't mind. You had time to modify the cat ears as well. You removed one of the ears and carefully sewed the other color ear to match his hair color. You took one last look at the setup. It wasn't much, but it was a pleasant sight. It was almost ten. He wasn't done yet. You were too hungry to cook, you'd end up eating, and eating without him was the last thing you wanted to do. You decided to stay away from the kitchen. You fired up the TV and started surfing through the channels. Another hour passed. You gave up and went to the kitchen to fix yourself a cup of coffee. You were too sleepy and didn't want to doze off.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, you heard his door open. You set your coffee aside and sat up. He was wearing the sweater. He wore an apologetic face that transformed into a delight when he saw the tree.

"There is .. on your.."

Before you could process what he was implying, he bent down and cleared the foam mustache above your lips with a kiss.

"Coffee? at this hour?"

Shoto spoke up softly as he settled down next to you.

"I had to stay up, so..

”Did you eat?” He sounded tired too.

"No..I.."

He widened his eyes as a mother would, reacting to her kids skipping meals.

'Wait a minute, I am the one who should be mad!' You shouted on the inside.

"That was one heck of a long webinar." You comment, trying to suppress everything that you were feeling.

"I know." He acknowledges and takes you by your arm to make you sit on his lap. You put your legs on either side and sit on him, facing him.

"The fact that you were here, waiting, made it even more difficult for me." he continued as he wrapped his arms around your waist.

The sincerity in his voice was something you could never bypass and stay mad at him even if you wanted to.

"I am sorry."

"You are forgiven," you murmur and begin arranging his bangs. His face was ever charming against the constantly changing TV lights.

You both stayed there for a while, making out. You might have, longer if it wasn't for your grumbling stomach.

"You think that Soba place will still be open?"

You both go out and eat stomach full. Shoto offered to hold your hand on the way back. You were surprised as he never did that before. He always stayed away from PDA.

"It's too cold. I'm just keeping you warm." He justified.

"Besides, this way, there is a higher chance of people noticing that we are twinning."

You felt warmer as his heterochromatic eyes met yours. Your eyes dilated further at the sight of his tender smile. It was almost midnight when you reached home.

"Hey, It's almost Christmas." You squeak. You weren't worried about him being non-festive anymore. He reacts with an equally encouraging smile. As the clock struck twelve, you swing your arms around him and raise your toes, he helps by lifting you a bit, you kiss and wish him a merry Christmas.

"Merry Christmas to you too, y/n" He kisses you back and puts you down, gently.

"Hold on." He said and rushes into his room. He came back with two tiny boxes and placed them under the tree.

"Too Late?" You nod and join him to near the tree.

"Open!" his excitement was palpable. You carefully unwrapped the first box and saw a tiny glass slab covered in transparent resin shaped like a cuboid that was decorated to look like a charm.

On further inspection, you realized what was inside was a slide. You bought it closer to your eyes and tried to make out what was inside.

Shoto handed you a magnifying glass.

"Doki, Is this a ...?"

"Yes." He sounded proud.

"A real ...?"

"Yes."

You were awestruck.

"I didn't know Snowflakes can be preserved like this!"

You finally took your eyes off the charm and looked at him.

"Apparently, we can."He beamed a brighter smile, soaking in every inch of your reaction.

”And this way, an important part of me will always stay close to you."

He meant it. It was obvious from his tone and expression.

The present had exceeded all of your expectations. It was thoughtful, symbolized much more than Christmas. It was perfect. You were left speechless.

Shoto handed you the second box. Your vision blur from teary eyes. You managed to stop the tears and open it. It was a silver snowflake bracelet.

Shoto went on to explain it.

"Since the actual one is quite delicate and I couldn't morph it into a bracelet like I wanted to, I got this too, you know a ..."

You interrupted him the midway with a kiss, followed by another, and another.

He returns all your kisses with equal passion and holds you close.

He reaches out to grab his gift, you push away his hand, and take the present away from the tree. You felt so stupid. You were flustered with embarrassment suddenly.

"Hey, let me see it." He complains.

"No!" You exclaim and hide it behind your back.

"Why not?" He was confused.

"B..B...Because... It’s is not for you!"

"What?" He chuckles.

"Y/n... Are you sheltering someone else here without my knowledge?" He narrowed his eyes to look serious.

"Wh..what...No...I mean.."

Shoto pounced upon you and snatched the gift while you were in a state of confusion. You tried to snatch it back, but it was too late.

"Cat ears?" Shoto turned it back and forth, inspecting the band.

"Looks adorable. Should I put it on?" He asks innocently. You nod, still looking down.

"Like this?" You finally look up, and all your unworthy feeling lifts that just how adorable he looked. He smiles and brings his palms closer to his cheeks, trying to imitate a kitten. You almost had a nose bleed. Your reactions must have been so obvious, for he burst out laughing.

"Here, you try it on."

"No! don't you dare take 'em off!" You warn him.

"There is an extra pair." You beam ear to ear and get the other one. Of course, you had enough time to mend the other set.

After you pet each other, you take a bunch of photos together, you took his solo shots. Near the tree, in the kitchen, in front of the door, in the bedroom. You wanted to take a couple more, but you decided against it, reading the growing annoyance in his face.

Then you both sat by the tree, checking the cards he received. You were honestly a bit shocked to know he never went through them.

"Wow. Isn't this your sister?"

"Yes. and her Boyfriend." he eyes at the photo and gets back to his phone.

"They look so cute together!"

You were a little annoyed he wasn't paying attention to the cards. You snatch the phone to find him looking at the cat-ear pictures of you both.

"I think we look better." He states, unaffected by your barbaric snatching.

”We should use one of these pictures to send out cards”

You ruffle his hair and giggle, not because of the comments he just made. But because he could make such cheesy statements with a straight face.

Suddenly, you couldn't recall why you were worked up the whole day.

”Hey”

Shoto breaks the silence. You were on the couch, sitting between his limbs, as he wrapped his hands around you, warming you up and letting you rest on his chest.

”Um?”

”We should do this every Christmas”

”Do what?”

”You know, the tree, the matching sweaters, the cards...”

You chuckle.

”We will, Doki”

’Oh My baby Kitten, this is how Christmas is supposed to be!’

[jj-5656]

🎄Fa-la-la-late🎄 With; Diego Hargreeves

A/N:Ummmm...hello? First off, thank you all so much for the love on my last couple imagines. Sorry for the hiatus, what can I say junior year is as hard as they say it is. Anyway, I was supposed to be sleeping last night but I was writing this instead. Leave it to me to become inspired at the worst times. This is for everyone celebrating a holiday this year without your family because of the pandemic (which is still a thing btw.) Also, this is very long but I love it. Okay enough talking, enjoy!

TW: None except...Well, Klaus is Klaus. And more random POV change bc I can!

He’s running, sprinting really, brown bag tucked haphazardly under his arm as it’s contents jostle around inside with his movements. Filled with last minute groceries for the evenings event. Never in Diego Hargreeves’ life had he thought he’d be rushing home in preparations for a Christmas party, in a red sweater for that matter. But what can he say, a year into his relationship with her and he’s officially whipped. Ever since the two of you met you had introduced him to an enormity of things he’d never considered important. Whether it be birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, you’ve added so much more to him that he could never really repay you for. So, he figures making a very last minute trip to the ever so crowded grocery store on Christmas Eve is worth it. Having to deal with other crazed and unprepared city people for three types of cheeses, four types of crackers, and a particularly expensive bottle of wine.

Apparently a Christmas party, or any get together for that matter, is simply incomplete without an assortment of appetizers. Right, Diego Hargreeves hosting a Christmas party for his siblings. The same ones who only learned about holidays in their World Culture textbooks during hours sectioned off on their daily regimen instead of actually celebrating them. The biting cold reminds him of the lonely Christmas’ throughout his life, which was at the time any other day of the year to him. He snaps out of the dark thoughts when he realizes he’s made it up the stairs and to the front door, a chorus of clanging pots and curses coming from inside.

He fumbles through the door, reminding himself he’s supposed to be rushing, but the beautifully decorated apartment distracts him from the task at hand. The warm feeling he’s still getting used to fluttering through his stomach as he recalls when you first surprised him with the holiday decor.

“It’s not too much, right? I know you never really celebrated Christmas, and neither of us are religious but my family always made the holidays a big deal and I thought-”

“You did all this?” His brown eyes are wide, gazing up at the assortment of twinkling lights aligning the interior of your shared home, a beautiful tree full of red and green ornaments in the middle of your living room. It’s stunning, to say the least, and Diego’s sure he’s never felt so much at home as he does now.

You’re gazing up at him, eyes nervously darting between your boyfriend and the assortment of ornaments. He walks forward from the entryway to admire the garland above the fireplace and the evergreen that just barely scruffs the top of the ceiling. It’s all new to him, and a bit overwhelming, and suddenly Diego realizes the resentment he’s held toward the holiday ever since he was a child was completely misguided. Because the joy he feels now, the warmth tingling throughout his body is foreign but so comforting.

“You hate it, don’t you? Listen, I just thought maybe I’d try and show you Christmas isn’t all about consumerism and selling shitty-”

“It’s beautiful.” He interrupts again, and you swear there’s a moisture begging to leave his eyes as he finally looks to you with an awed expression.

“I don’t, I’ve never...I always hated Christmas. I guess because I never had a real family as a kid. But this, this is j-just...Thank you.”

*End Flashback*

“You’re late!” You shout as the front door bursts open, a familiar thud of boots kicking snow off their bottoms and then walking towards the kitchen. Diego walks in with hands full with groceries, hair wet and messy with flurries of snow littering the raven strands. You narrow your eyes at the sight of him, dopey smile on his face as he sets the bags down on the counter.

“What’s gotten into you? I thought you’d still be grumpy at the fact that we’re hosting.” You’re less than presentable at the moment, having been cooking all day and leaving getting yourself ready for last minute. You puff a stray hair out of your face as he responds.

“Nothing, and actually I am still upset that my siblings are coming over.” He leans against the counter as you unpack the groceries, eager to finish up so you can look a little less crazy when the remaining Hargreeves arrive. Diego is still staring at you, grinning fondly at how flustered you look. And although he’d rather not have you meet his brothers and sister, you deserve to know why he’s keeping you from meeting. After all, it’s been a year since you’ve been together, and he’s met your family already.

It’s different though, because although they too have their issues, your family isn’t a dysfunctional pack of emotionally-stunted freaks. He’d much rather protect you from their intrusive antics. The warm feeling fades as he realizes what’s to come. He appreciates your optimism, truly, but he suddenly can’t shake the feeling that they’ll manage to upset you and ultimately screw up what you’ve been preparing for all day.

“A little help please?” You ground him once more, gesturing to the bags beside the both of you and the assortment of trays of food on the counters. Diego grabs onto your sides when you try to brush past him to check on the turkey, ignoring your incredulous look as he presses his body against yours.

“There’s still time to call this all off, you know. We can watch all the cheesy Christmas movies you want, and have dinner all to ourselves.” His eyes are hopefully looking into yours, the persuasion in his tone hinting a part of him isn’t really joking.

“Absolutely not. Di, we’ve been together for a year now. I want to get to know your siblings. Besides, you met my family and they loved you!”

“That’s different y/n, you’re family is...Well, they’re not like mine! You guys are normal! My brother is a moon-obsessed, half monkey moron and my sister is a mind-controlling movie star.” You can’t help but giggle at his words even though his frustration is adamant. He backs away from your embrace and runs his a hand through his hair in an effort to calm himself down. The sudden thought of one of them being too pushy or making you upset is overwhelming him now. If it’s one thing he’d like to keep you from, it’s the bad side of him his siblings tend to bring out.

“Diego.” Your voice is soft now, you’re using that love-laced tone that always makes him feel like he’s melting. He shivers as you get closer to him, still somehow getting used to the effect you have on him. And although you don’t notice, you seem to be aware you’re calming him down. “I’m scared too, I don’t want to mess something up or embarrass myself in front of them. Hell, your little-or...Older brother is a time traveling assassin who’s kind of a genius. It’s intimidating definitely, but they’re your family Di. I know you hate to admit it, but they’ve played a huge role in who you are. And even if a lot of times you resent each other, it’s clear you love them.”

He’s gotta admit, you’ve always had a way with words. “Fine, what can I do to help beautiful?”

“you can start with setting the table so I can get ready and actually look beautiful. And use the good China!” You plant a quick kiss to his cheek before rushing off to the bedroom, silently praying the anxious won’t drop a plate or two in the process.

****************************

“Baby, does red or white wine go with tur-woah.” You’re doing some finishing touches on your makeup when Diego walks in, honey brown eyes shamelessly looking over your figure with a smirk as he now leans against the door frame.

You roll you eyes at his ogling, but can’t help smoothing down the silky olive green fabric of the dress your wearing with a pleased smile. Gold jewelry adorns your neck and ears, with matching gold heels to bring the look together. The red of his sweater (he so stubbornly obliged to wearing) compliments the green you're wearing beautifully. A year ago, Diego wonders just how much it would take him to put on anything other than black.

“Cmon, they’ll be here any minute.”

As if I’m cue, the doorbell of the apartment rings. You rush to the front door, Diego trailing behind as he reminds himself how important the evening is to you.

“And remember, no knives.” You whisper to him, turning back around and opening the door.

“Fröhliche Weihnachten!” Klaus pushes through the entryway excitedly, tackling you in a hug in greeting. Luckily, you’ve already met the most eccentric sibling of the bunch. As he often crashes at your place, much to Diego’s disliking (or so he says).

“My my my, that dress is to die for! I’ll be borrowing that soon. And those heels! Please tell me we’re the same siz-”

“Alright bonehead, you can steal her stuff later. Take yourself and the booze to the kitchen.” Diego interrupts, shrugging when you slap his shoulder at his bluntness.

Greeting the rest of the family goes better than expected. Allison and Luther arrived together (an innocent carpool of course) whilst Vanya had come just a few minutes after Klaus, happy to see she wasn’t the first to arrive. She brought along with her a homemade dish, Allison with a top notch bottle of champagne, and Five with a box of Griddy’s  donuts and...Coffee? His odd choice of food making the perfect ice breaker, to his confusion of course. 

“Alright, enough small talk. Diego, how much are you paying this lovely lady to pretend to be your girlfriend?” Klaus interjects your conversation about current events as the rest of the table looks to the pair of you and laughs. 

“Seriously, Allison couldn’t even rumor someone to be this good of a cook,” Luther chimes in. Not having looked up from his plate for a majority of the meal.

Although slightly offended, Diego realizes his siblings have a valid point. You’re blushing crimson as you laugh along, shaking your head and nervously rambling on about when you just last week almost burnt the apartment down trying to perfect said recipes. He’s entranced as you speak, admiring the way you seem to capture all of them with unknown ease. Unknown, truly, because you’re still too modest to see how perfect you are. He doesn’t deserve you, but he’ll spend every day trying to even out the impossible score. It's known he can be quite the competitor. 

“I’m just shocked he’s out of black for once.”

“Says the 45 year old in a school uniform!”

                                          **********************

“Alright, I’ll clear up dinner so we can start dessert.” Y/n announces, just in time to halt a three-way argument between her boyfriend, Luther and Five about some Academy mission from when they were kids. The evening has been lighthearted for the most part, with a majority of the conflict being steered off by Allison or Vanya. The two practically experts at distracting their egotistical brothers. You catch on as they do so, the three of you having shared a few sly smirks between one another a few times throughout the meal. 

“Please y/n, let me. You’ve done more than enough tonight. Besides, I need someone to test out that wine for me.” Allison assures, kicking Diego’s shin and motioning to the kitchen when you’ve given her an appreciative smile and inquired Vanya on her violin skills. 

Allison’s knife wielding brother shoots her a look of shock at her actions, trailing along confusedly after her. Your empty plate and his own in hand as he sets them down in the sink. 

“What the hell? Why-where-you-hiding-her-from-us!) The curly haired woman emphasizes each word with a smack of a stray dish towel to his arm, sure nobody can hear them over Klaus’ obnoxious storytelling back in the dining room. 

“Quit it! I wasn’t hiding her I-I was protecting her from you shitheads.” Diego defends, once again bewildered by his sister’s playful outburst. 

“Diego! She’s amazing, you should’ve introduced us forever ago.” 

“Right, she’s amazing. What do you not get by the word protecting? If you all had met her any sooner you would have scared her off!” He flails his arms as he speaks, unaware of his flushed cheeks as his sister smiles fondly at him. 

“What now Allison?”

“You loooveee her.” She poke his side as she teases, chuckling again when he swats her arm away. The scene is childish, but something about the heat rising through his neck to the tips of his ears makes Diego feel like a kid again. Allison teasing him about girls, just as they had when they were young. 

“Wh-whatever. Yeah, I love her. Can we go back to the table now, or should we paint our nails and giggle about how totes adorbs Luther Looks in that coat?” They both laugh at his mocking, leaving the room and too giddy to remember the discarded plates left behind. 

                                      ***********************

“An espresso machine? Wow, Columbia-brewed K-cups too! You shouldn’t have y/n.” Five is beaming at the gift in hand, wrapping paper still hanging off the side of the box as he admires the machine. His siblings stare confusedly at his jolly demeanor, and he immediately clears his throat before giving said girl a curt nod. “Thanks.” He deadpans, and you laugh with a nod at his change in demeanor. 

Luther and Allison have already opened their gifts, the burly man pointing to his miniature moon replica and lecturing about the craters and valleys to an extremely bored Klaus. Allison has already put on the elegant gold charm bracelet you’ve given her, rolling charm with Claire’s initials and birthstone on it with glossy eyes. Beside her, Vanya delicately peels the wrapping off to a freshly polished violin case, her name inscribed in cursive on the top. 

“It’s beautiful. I-I’m so sorry we didn’t get you anything. If I had known-”

“Nonsense V, I’m just glad you could all make it tonight.” You reassure with genuine smile, glad to see her positive response to the nickname. 

“I still can’t believe you got them gifts.” Diego mumbles from behind you, having climbed over the back of the couch you’re all sat on to have you sit between his legs. He kisses your temple and wraps his arms around your middle, softly humming when yo lean into him. The fireplace is crackling, and the record payer you love dearly quietly plays a Perry Como Christmas album. You close your eyes, taking in the warm feeling and relaxing in Diego’s touch. The two of you jumping when a shout comes from beside you.

“My turn! My turn!” Klaus claps loudly to grab your attention. You chuckle at his childish ways, leaning down to pick up the wrapped present at your feet and handing it off to him. Unlike the others, he eagerly rips apart the wrapping, gasping dramatically when he lifts up the skirt. 

“You’re a bit hard to shop for, there’s a gift receipt if-” The excitable man scrambles up from the floor tug on the fabric, twirling around in it in a fit of giggles before you can finish your statement. 

“Great, he’ll never take that off.” Diego mumbles in your ear, you shake your head with a smirk at his teasing before you’re reminded of something.

“Oh! And one more thing.” You note suddenly, climbing out of Diego’s hold as he huffs reluctantly. You pull a a final present from under the tree, secretly handing it to Klaus to make sure the others don’t see. Though they’re too enveloped in conversation to noticed.

“Another one for me?” He whispers happily, eyes furrowing when you shake your head. Sitting back down in Diego’s arms before you explain. 

“No, well...Yes, sort of. You’ll see.” You ramble, gesturing to the box in his hands as he apprehensively chuckles. You feel Diego’s eyes on you, deciding to place a peck on his jaw instead of elaborating. 

Klaus pulls out a pair of books, readig the well-known titles before looking up at you. You motion to the box once more, biting your nail as he sets them aside and reaches in once more. He pulls out  picture frame with a sharp intake of breathe, hand going over his mouth as he looks up at you once more. Your boyfriend, eager to see what has silenced his rowdy brother, takes the frame to inspect it. 

It’s a picture of him, Klaus, and Ben on the front steps of the academy. Having to be only five or six in the photo. Klaus has an arm around Ben, smiling big for the camera as his brother offers a smaller, but no less genuine grin to the lens. Diego sits a step above them, mouth frozen open in a laugh as he must of been reaction to something only Klaus could make him react so much at. 

“I remember Di telling me Ben read a lot. And...Well, it felt wrong to get everyone else a gift but him. Those are two of my favorit-”

“Wh-Where did you find this?” Diego whispers, arms encircled even tighter around you as he holds up the frame in shock. 

“When we were moving in. I found it at the bottom of one of the shelves at your room at the gym. It was under a bunch of old books you had, I figured it could use a frame.” Just as you finish, Klaus practically tackles you in a hug, a soft hiccup coming from him when he pulls away. 

“Geez Klaus, it’s just a skirt!” 

“Can-it Luther!”

                                     *************************

“You think he’ll be alright?” You mutter from the bedroom hallway. You and Diego leaning against the wall, looking at Klaus whose passed out on the sofa. The others having left hours ago, but you simply couldn’t wake him at seeing how peaceful he was. The picture frame still tucked to his chest as he snored softly. 

“Trust me, he’s fine. I think he’ll be sleeping in that skirt every night from now on.” Diego pulls you to your bedroom door as you laugh, the exhaustion from today finally setting. 

“Hey, would you look at that? Mistletoe.” Your head trails upwards to gaze up at the fruit being dangled above your head as you grin.

“Those are grapes Di.”

“Are they? Hmm, must be from that stupid cheese board I had to run across town for.” 

“It’s a chacuterie, actually. Didn’t you learn French Hargreeves?”

“Yep, but I only seem to remember two words.”

“Oh really? And what might those be?”

“Embrasse moi” He finishes as he connects his lips with yours, holding your face as if you might slip away when he lets go. 

“Smooth, knife boy.” You pull away softly, wrapping your arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.

“Merry Christmas Di.”

[theydontknowaboutusimagines]

This Christmas - A Harry Styles Christmas Series (Part 8)

Two life long friends. Secretly in love. Home for the holidays. Will they risk everything by telling the other how they feel? Or will they spend another year loving from afar? 

Read these first    

Prologue   Part 1    Part 2   Part 3    Part 4   Part 5  Part 6  Part 7

The next morning you woke up with the sun blaring through the window and your head feeling like a heavy paperweight. You looked over, seeing and hearing a sleeping Harry. He was the only person you knew who snored like that while sleeping on their stomach. You giggled softly before rolling over onto his back.

He let out a humpfh sound before going back to sleep.

“Haarrryyy,” you whispered into his ear.

Nothing.

“Harry, wake up,” you whispered again.

Again nothing.

You smirked getting an idea before bouncing up and down, “Harry, wake up.”

“Seriously?” He groaned, reaching back for you.

You giggled, “Yay, you’re up.”

“And you need a mint,” he joked, pushing your head away.

“I don’t doubt that,” you said. “I got pretty bad last night.”

“I’ve seen worse,” he said.

You sighed laying back down beside him.

“Hey,” he said, placing his hand on top of yours. “Are we… okay?”

You nodded,”Yeah, we are,” you smiled.

“Good,” he smiled, kissing the top of your head. “So, how do you feel about going out for breakfast?”

“I’d love to, but I need to get some writing done,” you sighed.

“But you have to eat,” he said. “And you’re hungover, so how much writing will you actually be getting done.”

“You’re a bad influence, Styles,” you pointed at him.

“So, I take that is a yes on getting breakfast?” He smirked.

“Yes,” you laughed.

**

After a hot shower, a change of clothes, and popping some aspirin, you two were walking your way to the cafe down the street. Harry smirked, grabbing your hand as you were walking. You smiled, picking your hands up and wrapping his arm around your shoulder. He laughed, leaning down to kiss you.

“Thank god you brushed your teeth,” he smirked.

“Fuck you,” you laughed, pushing him away, while you walked forward.

“Aw come on, babe,” he laughed, running after you.

You smirked as you picked up your pace.

“Oh, so it’s going to be like that, huh?” Harry laughed.

Next thing you knew you felt arms around you and a huge weight jumping onto your back.

“Bloody hell are you trying to kill me?” You groaned.

“Nope,” Harry smirked, popping the p.

You rolled your eyes as you walked forward trying to carry Harry to the cafe. When you got there, you pushed him off of you.

“I expect a massage later,” you told him.

“Gladly,” he smirked.

The two of you walked into the cafe and you smiled at the decorations.

“I love that they still decorate like this,” you said. “I remember when I was little I thought this was the North Pole.”

“Well, you were a weird one,” Harry said.

“Remind me why I agreed to this breakfast?” You raised an eyebrow.

“Because you love me and want to spend time with me,” he said, wrapping his arm around your shoulders.

“Or it’s because you promised me free food,” you smirked.

“I wouldn’t put it past you,” he laughed.

You giggled kissing his cheek before sitting down at the table. You looked over the menu, ordering the same thing you’ve been ordering since you were little.

“We need to do something Christmassy,” you said. “It’s almost Christmas and I feel like we haven’t done much.”

“Well, what do you want to do?” He asked.

“Hm, I don’t know,” you said. “Why don’t you surprise me.”

“Challenge accepted,” he smiled.

**

Once you two were finished eating, you grabbed some hot chocolate to go. Instead of going back home, you two went to the local park for a walk. You smiled wrapping your arm around his waist as the two of you walked through the trail.

“So, I have a confession to make,” you said.

“Uh-oh,” he said. “Do I need to sit down for this?”

“No,” you laughed. “Do you remember when you mentioned how the main love interests reminded you… of well… you?”

“Yeah,” he said, looking at you.

“Weeellll,” you said. “You’re not exactly wrong with that.”

“I knew it!” He pointed at you. “I fucking knew it!”

“Yes, yes, you were right,” you rolled your eyes. “Are you mad?”

“What? No,” he said. “But I am a little worried about having to live up to those expectations,” he laughed.”

“There are no expectations,” you smiled. “Because nothing else could live up to having the real thing.”

“Sooooo, what you’re saying is, is you prefer me,” he smirked.

“I do,” you smiled.

Harry moved a strand of hair out of your face before leaning down to give you a kiss.

**

You stared at the page in front of you. Watching the cursor blink while you contemplated what to write next. You could picture it perfectly in your head but the words just weren’t coming out. Groaning you pushed yourself away from your desk, pacing around the tiny little space while you gathered your thoughts.

After about ten minutes, you finally felt some inspiration and the words were flowing out in buckets. You ended up finishing the chapter and quickly realized you had less than five chapters left in the book. You looked at the calendar and made a note to yourself to be finished by Christmas Eve. You could do it, you just might have some late nights ahead.

Speaking of late nights, you realized how dark it was outside and that your stomach was alerting you, you needed food. You shut your laptop, grabbed your coat, and walked towards the house. There weren’t many lights on when you walked inside, except for the kitchen.

“Hello?” You asked, looking around. “Is anyone here?”

“In here!” Harry called out from the pantry.

You giggled making your way over to him, standing in the doorway, “Um… hey, what are you doing?”

“I’m cooking dinner for us,” he smiled. “Mum went out with your Mum for dinner, so we have the house to ourselves.”

“Really?” You raised an eyebrow.

“Yep,” he smiled.

“Not sure if this is a good thing or bad thing,” you laughed.

“What do you mean?” He asked, pulling ingredients off the shelf.

“Because with your Mum and my Mum together, you do realize they’re going to be talking about us the entire, right?” You asked. “I’m pretty sure they’ve been planning our wedding for years.”

“Oh god, you’re right,” he groaned.

“Well, on the bright side, at least we can suffer together,” you giggled.

He laughed, “That is true.”

“So, do you need any help?” You asked.

“If you’re offering,” he smiled.

“Of course,” you said.

He smiled and handed you the vegetables to chop as he got everything else ready.

“Getting any writing done?” He asked.

“Took a little bit, but I did,” you smile. “I have only five chapters left to write!”

“That’s amazing,” he smiled. “When you finish, we’re going to celebrate.”

“And let me guess, by celebrate you mean let you read it?” You raised an eyebrow.

“I wouldn’t be opposed to it,” he joked.

You rolled your eyes, “Again we’ll see.”

**

Once dinner was in your bellies and the dishes were in the dishwasher, the next activity was baking cookies.

“Is this part of your Christmas surprise?” You asked.

“Not necessarily,” he smirked. “I’ve got a bigger surprise for that.”

“Now, I’m intrigued,” you said. “Can I get a little more of a hint?”

“No, not going to happen,” he said.

“But why?” You whined.

“Because it wouldn’t be a surprise,” he said in a duhh tone.

“Oh… you mean like this,” you smirked, flicking flour in his face.

He gasped, looking over at you. “Excuse you.”

“Oops,” you said, innocently.

“Oh, oops my ass,” he said, taking a handful of flour and throwing it in your face.

You gasped looking over at him as you wiped flour off your face, “Oh, it’s so fucking on, now,” you said, grabbing whatever you could to throw at him.

“Shit,” he laughed, grabbing what was left and throwing it at you.

The next ten minutes is filled with shouts, squeals, and running around throwing various cookie ingredients at the other. Finally, you two declare a truce, when you notice the mess in the kitchen.

“Anne’s going to kill you,” you joked.

“Me? I didn’t throw the flour at myself!” He laughed.

“Yeah, but she likes me more than you,” you shrugged.

“I wish I could deny that, but unfortunately it’s true,” he sighed.

You giggled, “Why don’t we clean ourselves up first and then we’ll worry about the kitchen.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure there’s sprinkles in my ear,” he laughed.

The two of you headed up to the bathroom, where Harry got each of you a towel out of the linen closet.

“You can take a shower in this one and I’ll head to the other,” he said. “I can let you borrow some clothes, so you don’t have to go out just to change.”

“Or…” you said.

“Or what?” He asked.

“We could… um… share uh… bath or whatever,” you said.

Harry’s eyes widen at your proposal, “Uh…”

“Wow, um… yeah… let’s just forget I said anything. Totally stupid,” you said quickly.

“No, it’s not,” he said, taking your hand in his. “Are you sure… I don't want you to think…”

“We’re both grown adults,” you said. “As long as you’re okay with it, I’m okay with it.”

“Um… okay, I’ll start the water,” he said.

“Okay,” you nodded.

The next several minutes were filled with silence. It was a bit awkward at first, but it really came down to nervousness. Normally, you weren’t so bold and forth coming this early in a relationship, or whatever it was you and Harry were at the moment, but there was something about being with him that made you feel comfortable. And yes, you both agreed on taking things slow, but this felt… right. It felt natural.

You slipped off your clothes leaving them in a pile on the floor before getting into the tub. Neither one of you glanced at the other, not wanting to make the other feel uncomfortable. Whenever he was in the tub with you, you finally turned around to face him at the opposite end.

“This is nice,” He smiled. “It’s been ages since I’ve soaked in the tub.”

“Alone or with company?” You raised an eyebrow.

“Both,” he said.

“Hmm,” you said. “You should really do this more often. Soaking in hot water really relaxes me.”

“Alone or with company?” He mocked.

“Depends on who the company is,” you smirked.

He leaned over, sloshing water with his movements, reaching for your hand, “Well, I would hope from now on, I’d be the only one keeping you company,” he smirked.

“Hmm… I could definitely arrange that,” you giggled.

“Good,” he said, pulling you closer to him, a tug on his lips.

Lacing your finger with his, you looked up in his eyes, “Whenever I’m with you… it feels… I don’t know… it just feels like no time has passed, but then it also feels like so much time has passed.”

“I know exactly what you mean,” he whispered, looking down at you.

Your lips formed a smile as you placed your hands on his cheeks before pressing your lips against his. The kiss was gentle and sweet as his hands ran over your naked back. In that moment, you felt the most intimacy you’ve ever felt with anyone. Your heart was almost ready to burst out of your chest and you knew that there would no longer be anymore going slow because your heart was finally ready to open up to him.

Before anything got too hot and heavy, a step you two were more than wanting to take, but thought better of waiting, you both got out of the tub, drying off before getting dressed. After you two laid in his bed, wrapped in each other’s arms, fingers laced together. Neither of you really said anything, being there was enough. Christmas music played from Harry’s phone as he softly sang the lyrics to you.

You smiled, snuggling yourself closer to him. You were on the verge of falling asleep, but you ignored it, wanting to savor every second of this.

And when you two finally were ready to give into your heavy eyelids, you heard an angry voice call out, “HARRY EDWARD STYLES! YOU BETTER GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE!”

Both of you shot up in the bed looking at each other, “Shit! The Kitchen!”

Well, it was good while it lasted.

**

What are some Christmassy Activities/ things should they do? Let me know! :)

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

The 12 Days of Christmas: Day 2

So is there anything in particular you feel like eating for dinner? It is Christmas, so I wouldn’t mind getting roast or something…

I take it you’re not the type of girl who likes to have big meals on Christmas?

Nah, not really. So what do you want? I don’t mind.

Hm…I guess some rice and miso soup will do. That ok?

Sure. Let’s go get some ingredients then.

Right behind you.

Ok, so…

What was it we needed for miso soup again?

*sigh* Miso, Wakame, Enokitake, Daishi and Tofu.

Thanks…geez, I’m a terrible wife, huh?

I wouldn’t worry. Cooking is like any other skill, it can be improved with practice and patience.

Thanks for the encouragement.

*After buying ingredients, Komaru and Toko leave the store and begin to head home.

Crap, it’s gotten really cold now…

Yeah, we should probably hurry home before one of us catches a cold.

Oh, that reminds me…

Isn’t the Christmas special of that anime you like airing tonight?

Huh? O-Oh, yeah…I’m surprised you found that out actually…

What? Were you trying to keep it secret from me?

N-No, it’s not that! I was just thinking of recording it and watching it another time…

But…isn’t it right to watch a Christmas special on Christmas Eve?

Things are different now…

I have you to think about now…It’s selfish of me to spend Christmas watching anime when I should be spending it with you.

I could always just watch it with you…?

Wha-You’d do that!?

It might take me a bit to understand, but it’s not like we have any other plans.

I’ll give it a shot.

Oh, Toko, I love you.

Yeah, yeah…

You know though…This is the kind of life that I’ve always wanted.

Having a peaceful life, enjoying time with the one that I love. It’s like a dream come true…

I guess I get that…Though, having to put up with me is the sort of dream only your crazy mind could think up…

I don’t know if you’re insulting me or insulting yourself…

I feel the same way though, so I’m not complaining…Though, to be honest, I expected my first love to be with master and not you…Though…

Anyway, the special should be on soon, so I’m gonna go take a shower and get changed into my nightclothes.

Ok, let me know when you’re out so I can go in…

…Um…

On second thought, let me wash your hair.

Thanks…

(Something weird is happening here…Not only does she know about the anime, but she knows what time it’s happening?)

(More to the point, SHE’S the one talking about a shower? What’s going on with her?)

Ah…There’s nothing like a warm cup of Hot Chocolate on a cold Christmas night.

Hey, Komaru. Mind if we turn off the lights?

Why?

It’ll feel more like a d-date that way…

Oh, ok…

*Komaru shuts off the lights. The only thing illuminating the room now is the light from the television.

Ok, that IS better.

*Komaru makes her way back to the sofa. Toko has relaxed herself a bit, having put her legs on her seat.

Hey so…I gotta ask…did you by chance…research this anime?

Huh? No, why?

Well, I find it strange that you knew what anime it was, how it had a Christmas special, AND what time said special was on.

You didn’t go out of your way to look up all that stuff just for this evening, did you?

Shut up…What’s wrong with that if I did…

Look, this anime’s very popular. There’s merchandise and advertisements of it all over Towa.

Hah…If you think THAT’S a lot, wait until you see Akihabara at this time of year.

What’s it about?

Oh, well, it’s a story of a group of girls who go to a school that’s on the brink of being closed down due to the lack of applicants. The girls form a High School Idol Group with the purpose of hoping to save it.

It’s actually a pretty easy anime to get into if you haven’t seen any before.

Huh…

*Komaru’s comment about it being an interesting anime isn’t misguided. Toko watches the events on the screen with interest.

…

…You like it…?

…Yeah, I admit it…

I never thought an anime could be this interesting…I’m always more into the books than I am the film products…

That makes me really happy…This show is a lot of fun after all…

Nico and Maki are my favorites so far. They seem almost familiar somehow...

Hm…

Toko, what are you…?

*Toko begins making poses with her hands.

N-Nico Nico Niii…?

PPFFFFFTT AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA *hic!* HAHAHAHA!

I-I-I don’t know why I thought that was a good idea, j-just forget I did that!

Nope! I’m gonna tell everyone that the next time I see everyone.

Grr fricking…christ…

I only tease.

*Komaru nestles into her side.

Oh, right, I forgot. I think this episode has a pretty nice insert song.

Oh, really?

Yeah, just wait. It should come up soon.

*The insert song comes up after a few minutes. The couple find themselves rocking back and forth to it…

This…is actually a very well-written song.

I knew you were a writer, but when did you become a lyricist?

It’s not so different. Songs tell stories too…

The rhymes combine nicely to such different tempos…It must’ve been a lot of work for the composers.

And I really like the combination between traditional Japanese music and modern rock…

You never really realize how much effort goes into these things…I’m glad I have you here to remind me.

*Komaru huddles ever closer.

Back when this episode was first released, a lot of people went crazy for it.

And seeing it like this…is great.

Haven’t you seen it before?

Yeah…but when I’m with you, it feels like I’m watching it for the first time again.

You might not remember this, but I told you once before that I’d like for us to spend a night on the sofa like this.

I kind of wish it would last forever…

But we still have a lot of things we need to do, right?

We’ve got the rest of our lives to spend together. So…

Let’s…make sure we go to lots of different places, ok?

Mmhm!

Oh, on that note…

Yeah?

*Toko gets up for a second and picks up something off a shelf in the corner of the apartment. She returns to the sofa and gives it to Komaru.

For you…M-Merry Christmas…

…

*Komaru opens the box to reveal a small keychain inside of a manga character she likes. It’s from a different manga/anime than the one they are watching…

I…thank you so much…

You’re welcome…

*They lean in for a kiss as a second insert song plays at the end of the episode.

[neerasrealm]

“Send wholesome family requests” I HAVE BEEN SUMMONED AND I would request just like

Holiday things?? Like Christmas or Easter or if they even do stuff like that

OOOH THIS ONE’S INTERESTING OK OK I’m gonna do as many holidays as I can think of

New year’s eve

Everyone is home. The entire family comes to visit for christmas and stays at least till new years. the kids are allowed stay up till midnight, they watch fireworks and just do the general new years eve stuff!

Yes they do the kiss thing when it hits midnight. I’m a sap leave me be

When I say the entire family I mean Slender’s brothers and Kate the chaser (she lives on a farm out of state </3)

Valentine’s day

Listen ok. So many of the people in the mansion are dating so a lot of em just go on dates or buy flowers

everyone is lovey dovey for a day leave them be

Tim sits in his room staring at Jay’s old hat waiting for february 15th to roll around

maybe one day I’ll go more in depth about what each couple does to celebrate ;)

St Patrick’s Day

I’m Irish let me have this one

LJ celebrates by getting hammered and singing irish drinking songs with the older creeps

Slender takes the younger ones to a local parade so they don’t have to see Jack being a bad role model

If you’re not wearing green Jeff and Cody will hunt you down and punch you on the arm

Easter

Slender sets up an easter egg hunt in the woods! he makes it extra hard since there’s so many people taking part, and a majority of them have supernatural powers

Tim, hanging upside down from a tree: can i offer you an egg in these trying times

yes the older creeps take part. let them have fun

and they want chocolate

Pride month

MOST OF THE PEOPLE IN THE MANSION ARE GAY AND/OR TRANS

Slender lets people put pride flags up if they want

local pride events get RAIDED by the slender family you can’t STOP THEM

Jack dresses like a rainbow nightmare for a month

Everyone else wears a couple rainbow items throughout the month because of him

‘’yearly reminder that i am gay’‘

‘‘yeah we know’‘

Halloween

This one might be long my family is kinda obsessed with halloween so y’know. lotsa projection

the moment it hits october you know Jeff, Ben, EJ, Cody and Sally are going shopping for decorations

The mansion is decorated from top to bottom. skeletons, statues, animatronics, you name it.

they go all in

the outside of the mansion has a fake graveyard set up

LJ doesn’t like creepy clown decorations :( they don’t use any

COSTUMES

they go all in on costumes

slender helps to make them

you’d think the creeps would take the opportunity to walk around without a disguise for once

nah dressing up is FUN BRO!

LJ takes Sally trick or treating along with a bunch of other kids that he’s friends with

just a gaggle of kids running around with this giant clown man

Sally’s go-to costume is a pirate

she loves pirates

Ben, the rest of his gaming friends and Jeff go trick or treating together

they’re just running around like feral bastards. Liu goes with them later on when he joins the family <3

FREE CANDY WHOOO

they attend bonfires and just cause chaos

EJ, Tim and Cody attend whatever local halloween party they can find because they wanna have fun

Helen and Dina go out together to local festivals leading up to halloween

Helen is really good at designing original costumes

they just like being among people and seeing other’s costumes

Liu and Momo watch spooky movies leading up to halloween

Liu is one of the few people in the mansion who actually gets scared by horror movies

everyone else is just desensitized GSDHDGVSHJDSGH

‘’Liu calm down ghosts don’t even work like that smh’’

everyone collectively has a candy induced hangover in early november. smh. 

Thanksgiving

I’m Irish so idk what thanksgiving really is???

Slender cooks for days on end getting ready

Kate comes home for it! she brings her own food and stuff she grew on her farm

Slender loves seeing her 🥺 that’s his LITTLE GIRL he LOVES HER

Trender also comes to visit! he lives all the way up in new york, so they don’t see him super duper often, but he always stays for holidays!

brings stuff from fancy bakeries and new clothes for everyone

he always brings tons of gifts. its his way of making up for never being around

big family dinner <3 they love each other

Christmas

Literally a month later everyone comes back AGAIN

again, Slender spends a few days in advance cooking. nowhere near as intense as thanksgiving tho

the mansion is decorated top to bottom. they have a GIGANTIC christmas tree just COVERED in decorations

slender loves the winter time <3 it reminds him of when he lived in poland

holiday markets!! you know they’re all going to those!

WINTER FESTIVALS YES

lots of family outings throughout december

sally loves going ice skating and they usually all go except for Ben

Tim takes him and Jeff out to do something else while everyone else skates. he isn’t good at skating, and neither is Jeff.

mall santa slenderman

so many fucking gifts. there’s so many of them and they all get gifts for each other so everyone gets like 20 gifts every year

holiday shopping is TOUGH

SNOWBALL FIGHTS

slender makes the best hot chocolate around christmas time

he knits sweaters for everyone too

LJ gets SUPER EXCITED throughout december

christmas is his favorite holiday because it’s also his birthday!!

slender makes a fuss of him leading up to christmas because. husbands.

LJ in a christmas sweater send tweet

trender brings so many gifts. all of them are expensive as all hell. it’s great

christmas eve is spent singing carols together in the living room and just enjoying being together as one giant family 🥺 im a sap istg

aaand that’s every holiday! this post took nearly an hour to type HDSVGHGDSH I GOT SO CARRIED AWAY SORRY FSHGFADSJHFSJ

[unto-the-breach]

✨Inferno & Bucky✨

Pre-Relationship-

4.) Who felt romantic feelings first?

General-

3.) What was their first kiss like?

Love-

2.) What are their primary love languages?

Domestic Life-

7.) How do they celebrate holidays?

bet alright let’s gooooooo

gonna throw this under a read more bcos it won’t make sense to literally anyone but jor, Inferno is my marvel OC who’s shipped with Bucky Barnes! 

there’s sort of two answers to these questions, the Back Then and the Now answers. For context, Inferno has sort of got two “lives,” one that she lived as Quinn Watson, an army nurse in World War 2, and afterwards she became a science experiment and got all fiery. She’s been pretty much in hiding since, until Captain America and Bucky Barnes start running around again, and she figures if they can show off, so can she. I know you said Inferno but I’m going to mostly answer these from the Back Then (pre-Inferno and pre-Bucky-falling-off-a-cliff) perspective because that’s the part of the relationship I have mapped out the best! Also, just in case you were wondering, yes I am answering these to further put off finishing her biography. It’s all I have left to do for her form and it’s like a third done, but. I don’t wanna. 

PRE-RELATIONSHIP- 

4) Who felt romantic feelings first? 

This is sort of a toss-up. Bucky was sort of immediately attracted to Quinn and the powerful vibes she was throwing out, but it took a little while before it became more than a passing interest for him. Quinn thought he was pretty from the moment she met him, but didn’t give him much of a chance, because she assumed he’d be like many of the other Male Officers she’d come across so far. She’d spent some time in a field hospital before being assigned to the 107th, and hadn’t received the respect she deserved from many of the male officers--even though she technically out-ranked them. However, she changed her tune when the two of them were the only ones in reach of another soldier who was wounded, and she began barking orders at him and he took every one of them swiftly and efficiently. This caused her to start seeing him in a different light, and her fondness of him only grew. She was much nicer to him then, and he began to realize he was more than just passively interested in her. So, romantic feelings, probably Quinn, but not for long. 

GENERAL- 

3) What was their first kiss like? 

God I actually have SO MANY thoughts about this one!! 

They have a lot of moments where they come close, pressed tightly against each other in a foxhole he’d pulled her into when an enemy opened fire, leaning over him to put pressure on a wound that would be fine, but she wanted to be safe, quiet whispers when they were scared they might not make it through the night, but their first kiss doesn’t actually come until a little ways into their story. 

It was late one night, and Quinn certainly should have been trying to sleep, but Barnes had volunteered for the first watch of the night. That day, they’d taken some quasi-victory--it was something small, but in their situation, you learn to celebrate the little things. Many of them had been drinking, sitting around a fire and telling stories, breathing in the smoky air and thinking of home, and these two weren’t exempt from that. Neither of them were drunk (most of what they’d drank had worn off by this point in the night) but if you asked them the next day, they’d say they were. 

Quinn went out to find him at his post, not exactly sure what or why she was doing what she was, all she knew is she wanted to see him (even though she’d spent the earlier half of the night glued to his side, nearly in his lap as they all shook with laughter). She’d sat down next to him, and he’d smiled, and they’d talked a little bit (neither of them remember later what on earth they talked about), and she’d leaned in, and so had he, and suddenly they were kissing, and it was everything. 

“We can’t,” she’d said. 

“Right, right,” he’d agreed. 

And they’d done it again. 

And again. 

LOVE- 

2) What are their primary love languages? 

I think that Quinn/Inferno, having grown up really during the Great Depression, has a big thing for receiving gifts. She never quite got out of the mentality of being so, incredibly poor for a large part of her childhood, that receiving gifts means so much to her. A lot of her childhood, her family and her neighbors would exchange goods for services (her neighbor gave her homemade jam for babysitting her kids, her father repaired a rocking chair for someone who gave them a bolt of fabric to make clothes from in return) and gifts simply for the sake of being gifts were somewhat foreign to her, but nevertheless incredibly appreciated. Giving her a gift now won’t produce quite the teary eyed response it might have when she was fifteen, but it still strikes her so deeply, and feels like such a great act of love. It’s not necessarily her primary love language, but it is one that strikes her straight to her core. 

I think they both have quite the thing for physical touch, and that when they were in the war together, just being able to feel the other person’s warmth and know they were alive went a long way. Probably a primary one for both of them, this is something that has really stuck for the both of them I think. Moving into the 21st century, positive physical touch is something Bucky has been deprived of for so long I think it would scare him a little bit, but especially when they finally admit that they both still love each other, I think just being there and holding each other would be big for them both. 

Real talk, Bucky has been deprived of love period for a long time, and I think it probably really messed up how he expresses and receives it. I think back in the war, Bucky seems very much like a words of affirmation kind of guy? Looking into his backstory, he was a big time over-achiever as a kid, and was apparently a 3-time YMCA boxing champion, and that all screams “loves being told that you’re proud of him” kind of guy. 

I’d actually love to hear your thoughts on this in regards to a current Bucky, because I don’t know how I think his current relationship with Words and generally what he went through might change that. Would that only get stronger after he’s used to the closest to praise he gets is being told his mission was successful? Would that make him crave honest affirmation and love even more? Or would it mess with his relationship with that sort of thing and make him really reject it? I’m sort of leaning towards the former, but I’m not sure. What do you think? 

DOMESTIC LIFE- 

7) How do they celebrate holidays? 

Oho boy. So, after that last question, I think some proper fluff is in order. So we’re actually going to skip into their timeline a little bit. 

Think of this as a few years down the road, when they’ve settled into a relationship and are living together. And we’re gonna talk Christmas, because, well. It’s christmas. These two were children in the 20s and 30s, and I think a lot of what they do for christmas is stuff that reminds them of back then, back in simpler times. Their first christmas living together, they watch three different versions of A Christmas Carol (because it was SUPER popular in the 20s!) in the week leading up to the holiday, and they debate whether they could get away with putting real candles on the tree (”I’m always here for fire” “you could put it out if something happened right?” “ah, it doesn’t work like that. I can only make the fire” They use LED lights). Bucky makes an incredible eggnog--he doesn’t quite remember the ingredients and proportions, but he tries using a recipe and then totally veers off the path and it comes out incredible. Quinn/Inferno is generally a really great cook, and she intends to cook Christmas dinner by herself (as was typical of her day) but Bucky wants to help, and she’s nervous he’ll be terrible at it but he’s actually great, and they cook together. They make way too much food, but all these years later, the excess doesn’t give them anxiety anymore, it feels good to be able to celebrate Christmas like this. They have leftovers for a week, and give extras out to people who don’t have their own. 

They love to host Christmas Eve dinner for their close friends, but no big crowds. Maybe a gift exchange with friends, and the first year they do this, they both say that they’ll open their gifts for each other at the gathering. However, on Christmas morning, they both reveal that they’d kept a special gift for the other person to open that day. They’re both shocked to see the other did the same thing, but think it’s adorable, and from then on it becomes a tradition. They always save one, special little thing for Christmas morning. (Maybe one year it’s a ring? Idk that’s not solid but it seems like the logical follow through on this!!) 

There it is!!! Thank you to Taylor Swift and the things I should have been doing but didn’t want to for how long this ended up being, and thank YOU for these questions it got some Real Creative Juices Flowing !!! 

@oh-cruel-fate i’m p sure it’ll notify you I answered your ask but just in case, you can never trust tumblr notifs and if you didn’t see this i might actually cry