#I'll make mine later but I'm doing this for his Christmas present maybe

[major-fukkup]

I'm making a Minecraft skin for my brother and I'm really going through it help 😭

[arcanekai]

All I Want For Christmas Is You

Aether X gn! Reader

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cn | friends to lovers; reader has a brother; reader and Aether are a bit dense

Word count | 2.5k

an | Merry Christmas/ Happy Holidays everyone! Hope you are spending this season with loved ones! And have a Happy New Year!

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The city of Monstadt was bustling with life as you walked down the street, humming a popular Christmas tune.  You had just finished buying your brother's Christmas gift and were now doing a bit of window shopping.  The decorations adoring every store reminded you of just what needed to be done before the fated family gathering happening on Christmas day.  You still had to decorate the tree, make cookies, and buy an ugly sweater for the day.  Not to mention, you need to prepare yourself for the onslaught of questions your relatives have for you and your love life.  With a sign, you turn away from the store window and continue your journey down the street.  As you turn the corner, you bump into something very sturdy.  The impact made you stumble back a bit causing your foot to slip on the curb.  Now falling backwards toward the pavement, you flail your arms to try and balance yourself only for someone's hand to grab your wrist and pull you to safety.  

“Are you okay?”

You look up to see golden orbs gazing at you with worry.

“Aether?  What are you doing here?  I thought you were in Sumeru on vacation with Lumine?”

“Ha, I'll answer your question later.  You still haven't answered mine.”  Aether said with a small smile. 

“Oh right, I'm fine,” you say as you rub the back of your neck in embarrassment, “my ankle hurts a little from the initial fall, but nothing life threatening.”

“That's good to hear, but maybe we should go to the hospital just in case.  I can carry you on my back if you'd like?”

“There's no need for that!  It's just a small sprain and I can walk just fine!” You shake your head and wave your hands in front of your face as a way to distract him from seeing the growing blush on your cheeks.  “Besides, you still haven't answered my questions!”

“Alright, fine.”  Aether replies a little defeated.  “Lumine got snowed in at university and is still stuck there.  We canceled our plans and decided to celebrate Christmas separately.  As for why I am here currently, I'm buying presents.” He holds up the bag slightly with a sympathetic smile. 

“You're spending Christmas by yourself?  How about you spend Christmas with me and my family?  I'm sure they wouldn't mind having you around, I mean you’re practically family at this point.”

Aether's eyes sadden at your last statement.  Although he is happy you see him as family, he wished for something more.  Something less familial and more romantic.  Did you really not notice the huge crush he harbors for you?  All those times in high school when he brought you somewhere secluded, just the two of you, only to be interrupted by one of your friends calling you.  Or during college when he was the only one taking care of you when you were sick.  His friends, as well as yours, caught on to his feelings for you and gave him multiple opportunities to confess to you, however, he was a coward.  So, here he is, on the sidewalk of a busy street, talking to his best friend.  Only his best friend, nothing more, nothing less. 

“I mean if that's okay with you and your family.  I don't want to intrude on your family time.”  Aether said shyly. 

“Nonsense!  Besides, having you there means I get to avoid my nosy relatives who are only interested in my non-existent love life.” You say excitedly while nudging Aether's arm with your elbow.  “*gasp* We can have matching sweaters!  Come on, we have to get them now!”  

You grab Aether by the arm and pull him toward the clothing stores, talking his ear off about everything you guys can do together before the day.  Perhaps staying as friends has its benefits. 

---------------

Standing in the living room was Aether and a very decorated Christmas tree.  As you emerge from your kitchen with a tray of hot chocolate, you see Aether tilt his head to the side before placing another ornament on the tree.  

His hair was in his signature braid and he was wearing the white scarf you had gifted him on his birthday years ago.  It was nice knowing he cherished the gift so much, but it was also concerning with how much he wore it.  Which is why your Christmas present for Aether is a new scarf, white with gold accents, along with some other things and a long overdue love letter.  There were multiple times in high school where you were going to put it in his locker, but the amount of love letters he got from others was disheartening.  During college you had gathered enough courage to ask him out on a date only for it to turn into a group hangout instead.  Just a couple of days earlier, you were planning to leave it in his mailbox while he was on vacation, but that didn't happen.  However, today is different.  Today is the day that you are going to confess.  You steeled yourself the day prior because you were determined to get your feelings across on matter what.  Your brother had hyped you up and supported you all these years, so now was your chance to show the rest of your relatives why you waited so long to get a boyfriend.  Aether was the only one for you and you know that once they met him, they will finally understand. 

As you were giving yourself a pep talk in your head, Aether hears something ringing.  At first he checks his phone, but soon finds the cause of the noise.  Sitting on the couch cushion was your phone, playing your signature ringtone.  Aether could help but smile at the fact that you haven't changed it since high school, but curiosity took over as he looked at the screen. 

William.  Who the heck is William?!  Alright, calm down Aether, this is probably a misunderstanding.  Didn't they say that they have a “non-existent love life”? It's probably not their significant other unlike all those scenarios in movies. Besides, it's not like it's the end of the world if they have other friends they hang out with. 

As Aether was about to tell you your phone was ringing, you quickly put down the tray and rushed to pick it up.  A little too eager for Aether's liking. 

“Hello?  Hey, I haven't heard from you in awhile, what's up?  Oh, okay that's fine with me.  Feel free to drop by anytime.  I should be home.  Alright, okay see you later, bye!”

As Aether stood awkwardly in your living room, trying to pretend he didn't hear anything, it was hard not to imagine this “William” as someone very important to you if you were just letting him come over whenever.  It irked Aether that you weren't saying anything about it either, like it was totally normal to invite someone over without asking your other guest if it was alright.  So, instead of pushing you for information, Aether decided that it would be best to just leave you alone with this “William”.  Seeing that the tree was basically finished, Aether turned to you and gave you a forced smile. 

“Hey, I'm going to head out now if that's alright.  Lumine has been messaging me nonstop and probably wants me to call her.”

Without hearing your response, Aether grabs his coat off the couch, strides to your front door, puts on his boots and leaves. 

“Okay, bye.” You say softly as the door closes, looking down at the two mugs of untouched hot chocolate. 

You place the tray on the coffee table and sit on the couch, elbows resting on your knees while your hands hold up your head.  You let out a somber sigh before leaning back and covering your face with your hands, letting out a groan. 

What happened?

---------------

A couple of hours later, you opened the door for William.  However, instead of being met with your usual smiling face, he sees you frowning.  Coming inside the house and taking off his coat and boots, William looks at you expectantly. 

“Hey, what's wrong?  Where's Aether?”  

Unable to speak, your bottom lip trembles, and tears start pouring out of your eyes.  Your brother embraces you as you cry into his shirt, thoroughly soaking it. 

“I know you're sad right now, but I need you to tell me what's wrong so I can help you.”

He plants you onto the couch before heading to the TV stand, grabbing the tissue box, and sitting next to you. 

You sniffle your way into telling him the events that lead up to this point and you expect him to be angry.  Instead, you are met with a loud stomach laugh. 

“I know it's wrong for me to be laughing, but you're an idiot sometimes you know that?”

You let out an offended gasp at his comment before he starts to speak again. 

“The reason why Aether left in such a rush wasn't because of Lumine.  It's because he was jealous and heartbroken.  Your action leading up to the phone call is probably what tipped him off at first, making him jealous, while your vague responses to me asking to drop off presents made it seem like you were inviting a significant other over.  The only person you have to blame is your own stupidity for not telling him that it was just me, your brother, coming over for a short period of time.”

You grab one of the pillows sitting on the couch and bury your face in it, letting out a muffled scream. Your brother just pats you back as you wallow in your ignorance. 

“You know that it's not too late to continue with your plan.  All you have to do is tell him the truth.”

You finally lift your head off from the pillow and look at your phone, sitting on the coffee table.  Determination evident in your eyes as you pick up your phone and call Aether, waiting for him to pick up.  

Only for it to go to voicemail. 

You quickly hang up and call again, knowing full well that Aether isn't busy. 

You tried calling him seven times before giving up and throwing your phone down on the couch in frustration.  

Your brother is still present to witness your little outburst of mixed emotions before suggesting a different tactic. 

You put on your winter coat and shove your boots on before grabbing your keys.  You rush out the door yelling thank you to your brother, almost slipping on ice as you sprint down the street toward Aether’s apartment. 

---------------

Aether feels like an idiot and an asshole after hearing you explain everything.  How William is actually your brother that he has known as Liam for the same amount of years he has known you.  How his overthinking led him to make the wrong decision.  How he thought lying to you would make things seem like nothing was wrong.  He felt terrible.  He ignored your calls because he was sad and yet here you are, in his apartment, out of breath with slightly puffy eyes.  

He made you cry.  Now he felt even worse. 

“I'm sorry for bailing on you.  It wasn't right for me to lie to your face like that because of my mixed emotions at the time.”

“So are we still friends?” You say hopefully.

“Yeah,” He replies with a nod and a smile, “but that's not the complete truth either.”

You tilt your head to the side in confusion. 

“I want to be more than friends…. I like you.”

Your eyes widen at this new information.  

He likes me?  All this time, I was fretting over being rejected when Aether was probably going through the same thing.

Realizing that you still haven't replied to him, you quickly blurt out, 

“I like you too!”

A sigh of relief escapes Aether's lips.

“How about we change our movie night into a date instead.  We could go ice skating, but only if you're interested.”

“I'd love to.” smiling widely as you reply. 

“Oh, one last thing.  You can say no if you're uncomfortable with it, but can I kiss you?”. 

He was using his puppy dog eyes at you.  How could you possibly refuse?  

You give him a nod and he slowly leans his body toward you.  Reaching his hand out to cup your cheek, feeling the warmth of his palm against it as your blush grows.  He starts to inch his face closer to yours until his nose is almost touching yours.  You feel his breath on your skin and can tell he is nervous with how his lips tremble slightly.  Finally, Aether tilts his head, and closes the gap between the two of you. 

His lips are soft against your own and meld perfectly with yours.  You don't separate until you are out of breath, slightly gasping for air, only for you to reconnect your lips with his again.  You feel his other hand travel down to your waist to pull you closer. 

When you two finally separate, Aether gets up from his couch and holds out hand.  You gladly put your hand in his and he pulls you up into his chest, using his other hand on your hip to keep you in place.  He then peppers your cheek with quick kisses in which you giggle at his sudden affection, but don't stop him. 

After getting his fill, he takes you to the door and helps you into your coat and boots like a gentleman.  

He links your hands with his once more and you both head out the door not as friends, but lovers. 

---------------

Bonus

You were currently cuddled up to Aether on your shared couch while watching some Christmas movies.  Your head was resting on Aether's chest, listening to his rhythmic heartbeat, arms around his waist with a fleece blanket draped over both of your legs.  As you were enjoying Aether's warm embrace, you can't help but remember a fond memory and let out a small chuckle. 

“What are you thinking about that's so funny?” Aether asked with a small smile while poking your forehead.  

“Just thinking about the time when we had that flour fight and how your whole face was covered.  Your expression made you look like you had a pie thrown at you.”

“Haha, very funny.  But let's not forget the fact that you had an egg yolk running down your head.”

“And whose fault is that, hm?”

“You were the one who initiated the fight.  I was just finishing it.” He said with a smug smile.  You give him an unamused look and his face softens, “Time sure does fly, huh.”

“That's because I get to spend everyday with you.” you say while looking up at Aether's face with a loving gaze. 

“That's so cheesy,”  He says with a laugh while rolling his eyes, “but I wouldn't have put it any better myself.”  

Planting a kiss on your forehead, his arm around your waist pulls you closer to him and he intertwines his hand with yours, feeling the ring on your finger.  

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

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an | Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed your stay here!

[kazoosandfannypacks]

"that's christmas to me" cygnet scholar fanfic for @all-fandoms-christmas-festival

summary: when gideon tells hope he got her a very special christmas present this year, she obsesses over what it might be a/n: for those wondering, this fic is standalone from my other cygnet scholar fics, but it does contain references to some of them! also, since you already have to rejigger the timeline just to make cygnet scholar work, i figured i may as well canonize my other favorite rarepair too. i don't go into much detail about it in the fic, but this is set in an au where rumple dies so that gideon can come back as a baby at the end of season 6, and sometime several years later belle remarries and august becomes gideon's stepdad. taglist: @accidental-spice @kanerallels @ouatnextgen @booksteaandtoomuchtv [let me know if you'd like to be added to or removed from the cygnet scholar taglist!] also on ao3!

That's Christmas To Me

 "So, what do you think your parents got you this year?"

 Gideon looked up from his textbook and raised an eyebrow at the girl across the living room floor.

 "Is this a genuine question, or just an attempt to distract yourself from the algebra homework?"

 "Can't it be both?" Hope asked.

 Gideon rolled his eyes. "You know my parents."

 "So I'm guessing more books than you can carry," Hope said, "and another hand-carved ornament for the tree?"

 "Bingo," Gideon nodded, "and it's only fair, since mom's getting a book from me, and my stepdad's getting a new roll of typewriter ink."

 "That sounds horribly practical," Hope laughed.

 "Oh yeah?" Gideon asked, "what did you get your parents?"

 "Come on, Gid," Hope said, "it's a week before Christmas. Do you really think I already did my Christmas shopping?"

 "It's four days until Christmas," Gideon said, "and unless you plan on shopping on Christmas Eve, that's only three shopping days, counting today."

 "I'll think of something," Hope shrugged.

 Gideon shook his head and rolled his eyes, then fixed them steadily on her for half a second, watching the glow of the fireplace illuminate her carefree smile. What would've sent him into a tizzy of a panic attack rolled off her shoulders like it was nothing.

 "How's studying going?"

 Gideon turned to see Hope's mom behind him with a tray in her hands.

 "It'd be better if someone didn't keep getting distracted," Gideon said.

 "Yeah, Gid, what's wrong with you;" Hope mockingly deflected, "we gotta focus!"

 "Oh, sorry, my bad," Gideon joked in return.

 "Maybe some cookies and cocoa will help," her mom said. She set down a tray of sugar cookies and two festive mugs of steaming hot chocolate.

 "Thanks, Mrs. Swan," Gideon said.

 "You're welcome, kid," Emma said, then looked to her daughter, "and, Hope? Stop distracting the poor boy and let him study, okay?"

 "Yes ma'am," Hope sighed and mockingly saluted.

 As her mom left, Gideon picked up one of the mugs set before them, one with a somewhat ridiculous-looking festive moose on it, which he'd mentioned once or twice was his favorite of her family's odd assortment of Christmas mugs. He took a sip and sighed with contentment.

 "What's your mom's secret to such perfect hot chocolate, anyways?"

 "Cinnamon," Hope smiled, as she reached for a present-shaped cookie, overflowing with frosting and decked out in red and green sprinkles.

 "Fabulous," Gideon said.

 They both returned to their work, but only for a few minutes, before Gideon spoke up again. 

"Have you even started Christmas shopping yet?"

 "Now who's distracting who?" Hope asked. "But, of course not. Why, have you finished already?"

 "Yup," he smiled, and after a pause he added, "I even got a special gift for a certain friend of mine this year." He then took another sip of cocoa in hopes that his expression wouldn't give away his surprise.

 "Which friend?" Hope asked.

 "A certain girl in my algebra class," he smiled behind his cocoa mug.

 "Which girl?" Hope's eyes narrowed. 

 "A longtime friend," he said, "a girl who owns an armload of friendship bracelets, and whose mom makes hot chocolate with cinnamon in it, and who I'll be seeing at dinner on Christmas Eve." He took another sip of cocoa, but he didn't get much chance to enjoy it.

 "Charlotte?" Hope asked, her tone a not-so delicate balance of confused and offended, "you got a 'special Christmas gift' for my best friend Charlotte? My aunt Charlotte?"

 In an involuntary response to her startling misunderstanding of his hints, he quickly spewed his sip of cocoa out of his mouth, hoping most of it ended up in the mug, and later hoping her dad wouldn't ask where these brown stains on the living room rug came from.

 "What, no!" Gideon said, stumbling to regain himself, "Hope, I got a special Christmas gift for you."

 "You did?" Hope asked, her mood instantly changed, the usual sparkle returning to her crystal blue eyes, "what did you get me?"

 "Now," Gideon said, "would it really be much of a special gift if it wasn't a surprise?"

 "I can still act surprised," she said, with a hint of a frown and large, blinking eyes which he almost gave into.

 "Sorry," he said, quickly looking back down at his algebra textbook, "you'll have to wait until Christmas Eve."

 "This is cruel and unusual punishment," Hope grumbled.

 "Yup," Gideon smiled.

 "You do know this is gonna make it even harder for me to study now," Hope said.

 "Yup."

 "And I'll never get this homework done if I'm distracted."

 "Yup."

 "And then I'm gonna fail algebra."

 "Yup."

 "And then I'm gonna get held back a year."

 "Yup."

 "And then we won't be in the same class anymore." 

 "Yup."

 "And then you're gonna have to find a new special girl in next year's algebra class to give a special Christmas gift to."

 "Yup."

 "Gideon!"

 He knew he'd carried that bit a bit too far when Hope called him "Gideon" instead of "Gid."

 "Would you like some help with your homework, Hope?"

 "I'd like to know what a certain special boy got me for Christmas."

 "Can't help with that," Gideon said, hoping she couldn't tell his face was red as a Christmas bow at how she'd just called him "special" without meaning it as an insult.

 "Why'd you even go and tell me if it's supposed to be a surprise anyway?" Hope said. "Taking a new form of torture for a test drive?"

 "I have my reasons," he said.

 The reasons, of course, were that he'd never given her a gift before, and if she didn't know he was giving her a gift, she'd have no time to pick out a gift for him. He didn't necessarily need a gift from her, or expect one, but it occurred to him that she might feel bad if he gave her a gift and she came empty-handed, so it was only fair to give her warning.

 And also, a part of him enjoyed watching her obsess over it. It wasn't that he wanted to torment her or stress her out for once in her life, of course, but her attempts to goad the answer out of him were, as predicted, delightful and charming.

 "Now," he continued, "would you like some help with the homework?"

 "Only if you tell me what you got me."

 "Fine," Gideon said, "looks like you'll fail this class and I'll have to give a special gift to some other girl from my math class next year."

 "Alright," Hope said, with an exaggerated eye roll, "I guess if it's the only way."

 They both slid a little closer to each other so he could see her textbook, and then Hope slid closer still.

 As she started explaining how the answer she got was twenty-seven point five percent while the correct answer was two, Gideon glanced behind her at the mountain of gifts under her family's tree. Given that she hadn't begun to shop for her parents, and her brother was still off writing his own adventures, he had a hunch that most of those presents were for her. With all those gifts awaiting her, he suddenly felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. What if his gift didn't live up to her hype? What if it got metaphorically lost in the sea of brightly colored packages that awaited her the morning after? What could one gift, no matter how "special," really mean in comparison to all that?

 He shifted his attention away from the assortment of red and green parcels across the room and the little parcel under his own tree back home, putting them all out of his mind so he could instead focus on how to explain to Hope that in no world could x equal four-hundred and ninety if x minus fifteen equaled twenty-five.

🤍💙🤎🩵🖤

 "It's horrible, Charlotte," Hope complained as she waited in the lunch line.

 "What, that algebra pop quiz?" Charlotte asked, "or Merry Mystery Meat Friday?"

 "Neither," Hope said, "Gideon. He's been absolutely tormenting me."

 "Oh, right," Charlotte said, as the lunch lady poured some gloop on her plate, "it's absolute torture that you're getting an extra Christmas present this year."

 "You don't understand," Hope said, wincing at the smell of the food on her tray, "at first, I kept asking what it was to be dramatic."

 "And you're not being dramatic now?"

 "No, no, I still am," Hope said, "but now I'm being dramatic with purpose. I can't just let him give me a special gift without giving him anything in return."

 "So buy him something?" Charlotte suggested. "You haven't started your Christmas shopping yet anyways."

 "Yes, but what do I get him, Char?" Hope asked as they made their way to their usual table. "What if I show up with a gently used toaster and find out he got me a gently used convertible? Or I get him a PS5 and he got me a pencil sharpener?"

 "Those are vastly overexaggerated scenarios," Charlotte said, then sighed, "but I get the sentiment. Did you tell him that's why you want to know?"

 "That would ruin the surprise."

 "Well, have you tried asking around?" "Syd doesn't even know this one," Hope said, "and if she hasn't heard about it, no one has."

 Before they could continue the conversation, Gideon took a seat next to Hope.

 "So glad to see you're both present, right now," he said, "it sure is special to share such a moment with you guys."

 Hope tried to ignore him in an attempt to hide her frustration.

 Gideon looked at the girls' lunch trays and smiled.

 "What's that?" Gideon asked, "hamburger surprise? Mystery meat?" He pulled a paper bag out of his backpack and continued, "it sure is a gift to have a mom who packs you your own special lunch every day. It's almost like a Christmas present you don't have to wait for."

 "You're a real jerk sometimes," Hope said, "you know that, right?"

 "It's an inherited trait, I'm told." Gideon said, pulling a sandwich out of his bag. 'Some might call it a gift."

 "And if you don't stop it soon," Hope said, "there'll be a special surprise in it for you," and she scooped up a big spoonful of the gloop in front of her and brought it closer to Gideon, "mystery meat on rye, perhaps?"

 "While putting the school's excuse for 'food' on my sandwich is a truly terrifying threat," Gideon said, holding his sandwich away at arms' length until Hope put down her spoon, "that's not much of a special surprise if you tell me about it first."

 "Speaking of 'not much of a special surprise because you tell me about it first,'" Hope changed tactics, leaning toward him with a doe-eyed expression she'd kept on reserve for just such an occasion, "it sure would be nice if a certain boy told me what he got a certain girl for Christmas."

 "I already told you," Gideon said, "I got my mom a book."

 Her doe eyes were wasted on Gideon, who smugly took a bite of his sandwich.

 "I give up," Hope said.

 "Good," Gideon said, "because I'm not telling."

 "Fine," Hope said, then mumbled under her breath, "hope you like your toaster."

 "What?"

 "Nothing."

 "Anyways," Gideon said, "did you guys want to meet up to work on homework later?"

 "I'm busy," Charlotte said, which didn't come as a surprise. She'd been too busy to do homework with them a lot recently.

 "I've got Christmas shopping to do this afternoon," Hope said.

 "Oh, starting early, are we?" Gideon asked.

 "I'll have to start early if I've got an extra gift to get this year," Hope said.

 "An extra gift for whom?"

 "No one special," she quickly recovered.

 "Well," he said, "maybe we could do homework afterwards?"

 "Sure, but not at my house." Hope said. "Mom and dad are working, so I can't have friends over."

 This was true, but it was also an excuse. If they studied at his house, she might have the chance to do a little snooping and figure out what this mystery gift was.

 "I told my mom I'd help her at the library this afternoon," Gideon said, "maybe we could study there?"

 Dang it.

 "Sounds great," Hope lied.

🤍💙🤎🩵🖤

 "You know the real reason we met at the library?" Gideon asked as they sat down in a side room of the library. 

 "Because you know if we're at your house I'll try to sneak a peek at my Christmas present?"

 "You know, the thought hadn't even crossed my mind," Gideon smiled, "but I also thought the library would help minimize distractions."

 "Oh, sure," Hope said.

 His plan was secretly foiled, though, by Hope's own mind. She brought plenty of distractions with her. Not only did she have the usual to distract herself with, she had plenty of other things to think about, like "what could he have gotten me?" and "I hope what I got him is good enough," and eventually, "why did he even get me a special gift this year anyways?" and on occasion before she could stop herself, "Gideon looks especially nice today." 

 Sure, he didn't look much different than normal. He wore his trademark style of a flannel over a t-shirt with a corny slogan (though in place of a science pun, today's read "MERRY CHRISTMOOSE" over an image of the stupidest moose Hope had ever seen.) Gideon's deep golden hair was parted the same way it always was. His smile was the same and his laugh was the same and his eyes bore the same combination of intelligence and innocence that always made Hope catch her breath when they fixed themselves too hard on her. But today, she noticed it all at once, and it only added to her usual level of distraction.

 They'd hardly been working for half an hour when another distraction came along, this time in the form of Gideon's mother.

 "How's it going in here?" Belle asked, looking over her son's shoulder at the senseless arrangement of letters and numbers and symbols.

 "About as good as always," Hope said.

 "Almost, anyways," Gideon said.

 "Almost?" Belle asked. "Any particular reason why that is?"

 "You know," Gideon said, "now that you mention it, when we study at Hope's house, her mom always has cookies for us."

 "Does she now?"

 "Yes ma'am," Hope said, catching Gideon's drift and quick to help him out, "she says cookies are a sort of brain food. If they weren't, dad wouldn't let us keep them around the house."

 "I see," Belle said, "well, I'm not about to spoil your supper, but how about I bring you guys some hot cocoa instead?"

 "Close enough," Gideon shrugged.

 "I'll be right back," his mom ruffled his hair.

 As a dangerous Christmas miracle, Hope got an idea.

 "Can I help you, Mrs. Booth?" Hope asked.

 "I'd like that very much," Belle said.

 "I can help too," Gideon said, starting to get up himself.

 "We got it, don't worry," Hope quickly got up. She placed a hand on his arm and said, "we'll be right back."

 "Okay," Gideon said, with that calculating look on his face he often got when he was trying to get to the bottom of one of Hope's brilliant ideas.

 But as it stood, he hadn't caught onto this one, because he made no attempt to thwart her time with his mom.

 "I'm glad to see you two getting along so well," Belle said, as she and Hope found themselves waiting for the library's Keurig to heat up. 

 "Yeah?" Hope said, already pleased at how quickly she could shift this conversation to suit her needs. "Does he talk about me much?"

 "A bit," Belle smiled.

 "What kind of stuff does he say?"

 "Well," Belle said, "just a few things here and there. A few things I can't say."

 "Does one of them have to do with a special surprise Christmas present?"

 "Maybe," Belle said, with a wink and a lower tone of secrecy as she loaded a hot chocolate K-cup into the coffee machine.

 "What is it?" Hope whispered.

 "I can't say," Belle responded.

 "Well, you're no help." Hope grumbled.

 "Is there," Belle paused, "a special reason you can't just wait until Sunday night to find out?"

 Hope nodded.

 "Well, what is it?" Belle asked, as she changed out the used hot chocolate pod for a new one.

 "Can you keep a secret?"

 Belle turned away from exchanging the styrofoam cups in her hands to give her a knowing glance, one she'd clearly been the one to pass down to her son.

 "I got him a Christmas present too," Hope whispered, "and I wanna make sure it's not a toaster or a playstation."

 "A toaster?"

 "It's a metaphor." She said. "Long story. I just don't want to give him something too big, or too small, or too stupid."

 "I see," Belle nodded, "Well, I'm not about to breach my son's privacy, but I won't breach yours either. If you tell me what you got him, I'll tell you if yours is too much or too little."

 "You'd really do that for me?" Hope asked.

 "Of course." Belle said, taking both cups of cocoa in her hands.

 Hope motioned for Belle to come closer, then whispered in her ear.

 Belle smiled.

 "Hope," Belle said, "I don't think that gift will be too big or too small at all. It sounds perfect."

 "Really?" Hope asked, feeling a massive weight of anxiety float away in a mere moment.

 "Yup. Now, you take these," she handed Hope both cups, "and, wait just a second."

 Belle took a bottle of syrup from the counter, clearly meant for the coffee, but apparently multi-purpose.

 "French vanilla?" Hope asked.

 "Your mother has her way of dressing up hot cocoa," Belle said, pouring a squirt of syrup into each cup, "and I have mine."

 "I'll have to remember that," Hope nodded, "And, thanks. Thanks for, well, everything."

 "Better get back to your studies," Belle winked.

 Hope took a sip of her cup of cocoa on the way back to their table. It was perfect.

🤍💙🤎🩵🖤

 "So, Gideon," Hope said, as they sat down together for their Christmas Eve dinner, "are you gonna tell me what you got me for Christmas yet?"

 "You'll find out soon enough," he smiled, "and, uh, did you end up getting that 'extra gift for no one special' yet?"

 "Maybe," Hope winked.

 "Oh, how adorable," Charlotte said, taking a seat in between Hope and CJ.

 Gideon's mom soon filled the seat next to him, followed by his stepdad, then Hope's parents, then Charlotte and CJ's, and finally the Mayor and her sister, with her daughter, Robin, next to CJ.

 Gideon tried his best to enjoy the ham and scalloped potatoes set before him, though his mind was on what would happen afterwards, the real meat and potatoes of the evening for him: when those gathered would start exchanging gifts, followed by singing carols, and the space in between those traditions when he'd find an excuse pull Hope aside and give her her gift. Sure, he could just give it to her now, or when everyone else gave gifts, but this one was different, special. It was a gift from him to her, simple as that, and it didn't need anyone else's attention.

 After the meal, as the family gathered around the tree to open presents, Gideon pantomimed joy as he thanked Mrs. Nolan for the book she gave him that he already had two copies of, and he was polite and respectful and didn't lie too much as he told the Mills sisters how much he liked the sweatervest they'd given him.

 Of course, there were genuine joys too, as there often are at Christmas. The younger generation oohed and awed as they each unwrapped a set of dice sent from Hope's brother in the Enchanted Forest. The house filled with laughter as the mayor gave Hope's grandma the annual gag gift of a perfect red apple. There was a type of mischievous joy passed between both parties as Hope unwrapped a present and stuck the bow that it'd been adorned with squarely on Gideon's forehead.

 And still, Gideon's focus was on the one gift that still had yet to be given. After all the packages beneath the tree had been unwrapped, Gideon excused himself, and quietly made his way to the front room of the house, where his jacket hung on a hook by the door.

 "Trying to make an escape before you can give me the elusive special Christmas present?"

 He turned and saw Hope standing in the doorway behind him, the lights of the merry festivities behind them reflecting off the sparkles on her red velvet dress.

 "Not at all," he said, as he slipped his jacket on and put his hands into the perfectly oversized pockets. "I just had to come grab a special gift for a special friend of mine."

 "Oh?" Hope asked, "she must be something pretty special if you had to leave all that excitement just to give her a gift."

 "Excitement?" Gideon asked. "Well then, I guess I better head back in now then. I'd hate to miss whatever festivities are happening without us."

 Hope took a step in front of him, blocking his path. "We can watch my dad and grandpa sing a rousing duet of All I Want For Christmas is You anytime." 

 "Can we really, though?" Gideon asked, sidestepping past her. She mirrored his step.

 "Charlotte's recording it," Hope said, "now, what'd you get me?"

 He sighed. As much as he loved the look on her face as she awaited his gift, he couldn't keep this up for too much longer, not without giving such a small gift too much hype and a huge letdown.

 "Fine," he said, pulling a wrapped square box, slightly larger than the palm of his hand, out of his pocket.

 "Oooh!" Hope said. She reached for it, but he held it up in the air above their heads.

 "What's the magic word?" He asked.

 "Um," Hope said, jumping up to try and reach it, "if you don't give it to me now I'll kick you?"

 Her idle threats didn't scare him anymore.

 "How about please?"

 Hope rolled her eyes, but they stopped halfway, the spark in her eyes frozen as they refracted onto his.

 "Please?" she asked, softly, and she almost seemed genuine rather than annoyed. He nodded and handed the gift to her without a word or a breath left in his mouth, acted upon by something almost beside himself, outside of himself, larger than himself.

 She tore the paper off the package with a careful excitement, and opened the box inside.

 "A charm bracelet," she whispered.

 "I hope you like it." He said, pointing to each charm on the bracelet in the box. "I picked out the charms myself. There's an angel for the snow angels we used to make in the backyard, and a music note for the caroling karaoke every year."

 "Especially the time we turned Silent Night into, well, the opposite of that," Hope added.

 "Exactly." Gideon smiled, "and the reindeer's for that time we tried to wait up to catch Santa Claus."

 "Hey, that snare trap worked perfectly!" Hope defended.

 "A little too perfectly."

 "Yeah," Hope laughed, "he was so mad at us."

 "And then we got coal in our stockings for the next three years," Gideon said, with a chuckle.

 Hope looked back down at the bracelet in her hand.

 "Is the candle for the time you burned the gingerbread cookies?" Hope asked.

 "Actually, the fireplace is," Gideon said, "The candle's for the time you set your hair on fire."

 "I'd almost forgotten that one," Hope said. "And what's the present for?"

 "For this," Gideon said, taking the box from her hand, "the first present I ever gave you that I bought instead of my parents."

 "I love it" Hope shook her head with an amazed disbelief. "Can you help me put it on?"

 "Sure," he said. He took the bracelet out of the box, and handed the box back to her. He then clasped the bracelet around her wrist.

 "How did you even come up with all these?" Hope asked.

 "Those are all my favorite Christmas memories, Hope. When I think of a Merry Christmas," and his hand slid from her wrist to her hand, and his tone lowered, and he continued, "I think of you."

 He watched her expression closely for any sign of discomfort, but instead saw a smile, and the red of her cheeks brought out by the red of her dress.

 "I have something for you too," Hope said, letting go of his hand so she could dig through her purse.

 "For me?" Gideon asked.

 "Of course," Hope said, "you didn't think I'd show up empty handed, did you?"

 "The thought had crossed my mind," he said.

 "Well, it was a silly thought," Hope said. "Here."

 She pulled a wrapped gift out of her bag that was only a little bigger than the box he'd given her. He opened it to reveal a small leather journal.

 "It's very nice," he said, unsure if his gift seemed too much in comparison.

 "Open it up, stupid," she said with a smile.

 He opened the notebook to the first page, which had a handwritten note.

 "Hey, Gid!

 I didn't know what to get you for Christmas, but I saw this notebook and thought it was missing something. Don't worry, I fixed it for ya.

 -HSJ"

 "What does that mean?" he asked.

 "Turn the page," she said.

 He turned the page to see a picture of them at Christmas when they were kids, pouring frosting that was meant for a gingerbread house directly into their mouths. Next to it was the recipe for gingerbread, with the temperature to set the oven to circled with red glitter ink multiple times.

 He turned to the next page: a drawing of a massive snow fort with four tiny stick figures on top. "EXPECTATION:" some writing above it said, and the facing page said "REALITY:" and featured a photo of them as kids, cramming next to Charlotte and CJ inside a circular wall of snow not even six inches tall.

 A few pages further, he found a drawing of his favorite mug with the moose on it, and two recipes for hot chocolate: Mrs. Swan style and Mrs. Booth style.

 "What's all this about anyways?" Gideon asked.

 "You're always filling your brain with all that useless school junk," Hope said, "algebra, Shakespeare, Washington, it's exhausting. I don't wanna see that pretty little head of yours get so full of numbers and names and dates that you forget what really matters."

 "Like what?" Gideon asked, with a smile.

 "Stupid intangibles like family and friendship and love and all that crap," Hope said, "I know, it's no charm bracelet, but…."

 "It's perfect," Gideon said.

 "Really?" Hope asked.

 "Really." Gideon said. "Of all the things I want to remember, you're the most important one."

 "Thanks," Hope said, that red flush creeping again along her cheek, "now, we'd better get back to the rest of the party before our dads start wondering what's taking us so long."

 "Yeah," Gideon said.

 But, apparently, they were too late.

 "Well, well," Gideon and Hope both froze as they heard his stepdad's voice across the room.

 He turned to see August smiling and calling to the other guests.

 "Belle, Killian, Emma," August called, "it looks like someone's under the mistletoe."

 "Huh, wonder who that could be," Gideon thought, before he noticed the guilty look on Hope's face. She looked up at the ceiling, and his eyes followed her gaze.

 Hanging above them like Damacles' sword was a festive assemblage of green leaves and holly berries, tied together with a bow, a scarlet letter that spelled trouble.

 "I'm sorry," Gideon said, "honest, I didn't realize it was there."

 "I know you didn't," Hope said, with an eye roll.

 Despite how fast his heart was suddenly beating, time seemed to hold still. He noticed several things very clearly— the looks on the faces of the parents gathered around them, ranging from the smile of his mom to the deathly glare of her dad. He noticed the way her eyes reflected the fairy lights that surrounded them, and the hint of a smile under her reddening cheeks. He noticed how sweaty his palms suddenly were, and he regretted wearing such a warm sweater, and his jacket as well now, and it dawned on him all at once that he'd never kissed a girl before, and that the number of people watching them had gone from zero to one to four to eleven in seconds, and that most of them probably expected him to kiss her, and that at least one of them would probably be very upset at him if he did.

 He also knew that, as far as he knew, Hope had probably never kissed anyone, either, and that if she wanted him to be her first kiss, that was great— but on her own terms. And if she didn't, well, she couldn't get mad at him for this.

 He bent down ever so slightly, leaned closer to her, then turned his head and planted his lips on her cheek, the cheek that wasn't as visible to their uninvited audience, but that, although his eyes were closed, he could tell had reddened by how it warmed at the touch of his kiss.

 He then pulled away from her, and they stood apart, merely looking at each other with a smile, and a nod to indicate there was no more left that needed to be done. This was met with the rest of the gathering shuffling back to their places, a few with a sigh, though Captain Jones with a smile that made Gideon fear much less for his life.

 "Hey, Gid," Hope said, as they walked back to the party, trailing along behind the rest of the group.

 "Yeah?"

 She slid her hand into his, and he looked down at her.

 "Think you can get me a mistletoe charm for the bracelet?"

 "I think so," Gideon said.

 "Thanks," Hope smiled, and stepped up on her tiptoes to give him a kiss on the cheek, this one spurred on not by mistletoe or tradition or expectation of others, but simply by merit of the spirit of Christmas that hung in the air, and of the love carried between two friends who were well on their way to becoming so much more.

[austinsgirl]

Rather Die | Chapter 17

word count: 2787

no warnings (:

cross posted on wattpad

masterlist

leave me all your thoughts!

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Austin wakes up to the smell of fresh homemade snickerdoodle cookies coming from the kitchen.

"Hey Vic, what's all this?" he asks, walking into the kitchen with just his grey sweats on.

"Oh hey- 

Victoria gets caught off guard, not expecting him to walk in & walk in wearing what he's wearing.

"I'm just making cookies to take over to your sister's later. I hope that's alright. I just want to make a good first impression on your family." she finishes.

"Yeah, that's fine. I'm sure they'll really appreciate it."

"I would have made a pie, but it was such short notice that I was joining you so cookies it is."

"You know, you didn't have to make anything. It's not like you're my girlfriend & you really have people to impress."

"Yeah, but I am your baby mama, so I do need to make a good impression. Your family is about to become my family in some way."

"I guess that's true. Watching the parade?" Austin looks over to the TV from the kitchen.

"Yeah, I'm waiting for the Rockette's to come on. I've always loved them and it's a dream of mine to go."

"Weeeellll, I am hosting Saturday Night Live next month, so maybe you can come with me to New York & I'll take you."

"You'd do that?" Vic asks in awe.

"Yeah, of course." Austin smiles. "I'd love to. Consider it your Christmas present from me."

"That would be amazing, Aus. Thank you." she hugs him. 

Austin feels butterflies in his stomach as she squeezes him tight. 

"Can Ashton come too?" Victoria asks, making those butterflies disappear.

"Sure. The more the marrier." 

It's definitely not what Austin had in mind, but he knows it'll be easier to let him tag along.

"We can probably go that Sunday night after SNL. I'll be in rehearsals all that week." Austin mentions. "I'll look into tickets for us, and I'll see if Ashley wants to go too."

"Ashley is your sister, right?"

"Yeah. She's going to SNL to see me host. She's really my biggest supporter."

"Even more so than your dad?"

"Yeah, I would say so. Don't get me wrong, our dad is very supportive of me, but I think Ashley is just a tad more supportive."

"Do you think your family will like me?" Victoria asks him.

"I think so. I don't see why they wouldn't."

"So, who's all going to be there?"

"My dad, his parents, Grandpa Michael & Grandma Linda, Ashley & her husband Tony, my mom's mom, Grandma Karen, then my Aunt Hilary & her boys, which are on my mom's side."

"What about your grandpa on your mom's side?"

"He passed a few years ago."

"Oh, Aus. I'm so sorry to hear that."

"Thanks, Vic. I was able to say goodbye thankfully."

"I'm glad you we're able to. I was stuck here during the pandemic when my grandma passed back home in New Zealand. She was already battling cancer, then she got hit with Covid, so her body just completely gave out. I had plans to go see her too that year, but of course it all got canceled."

"Damn. That's rough. I'm sorry."

"Thanks. I went back last year. It was weird going to the cemetery to visit her & not to her house."

"I bet."

"I'm so nervous to meet your family. Like what if they don't support our situation?"

"If they don't, they don't. This baby is ours, whether they like it or not."

"Okay."

"If they don't support, it'll be okay. I know my family, and once they meet our cute little baby girl, they'll get over it."

"You did tell your family about the baby, right?"

"Yeah. Well, I told my dad & Ashley. I think my grandparents and aunt know."

"Okay, good. I don't want to go in there with this baby bump and have them freak out."

"Did you tell your family?"

There's a silence from Victoria after Austin's question.

"You didn't tell them, did you?" he asks.

"Nooo, I haven't. I just know my mom is going to flip because I'm having a baby out of wedlock, even though she had my two oldest brothers while in high school."

"You have to tell them, Vic."

"I know, I know. I will soon because I have to break it to them that I won't be going home for Christmas."

"Invite them here."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah! We can do a joint family thing here. Our families meet, I meet yours."

"I don't know, Aus. That would be a lot of people & I don't know how my mom will act. She can be so nosy when it comes to my relationships with men."

"But we're not in a relationship."

"But we're in some sort of situationship, so."

"I think it'll be fine. They'll meet eventually anyways. They're all related to our daughter."

"You're right. I'll talk to my mom about it."

"Good. How many siblings do you have, anyways?"

"Three older brothers, and one older sister."

"Aw, you're the baby of the family just like me."

"Mhm. There's fourteen years between my sister and I."

"Damn, so really the baby."

"Yep."

The oven beeps and Victoria takes the last pan of cookies out of the oven.

"Can I have one?" Austin asks, gearing towards the cookies that are on the cooling racks.

"Yeah, go for it. I'm sure there will be extra anyways. Also, I want to know if they're good before taking them over there." Vic replies. "I haven't baked in a while."

"Holy shit, these are really good!" Austin says after taking a bite.

"Really? You think so?"

"I really do think so. They're great, Vic. I didn't know you could bake."

"Yeah, I've always loved to bake things like cookies, cake, brownies, etcetera."

"A reason why you're going to be a great mom."

"Because I can bake?"

"Yeah, I feel like all great moms can bake. I mean, mine could."

"Thanks, Aus. That's really sweet."

"Of course, babe."

"Babe?"

"Sorry, habit. Didn't mean to call you that."

"It's okay." she gives him a puzzled look.

The sound of the reporters of the parade come from the other room, announcing that the Rockette's will be up next.

Victoria scurries into the living room and sits down on the couch so she won't miss anything. Austin chuckles and smiles to himself at how cute it is that she's so excited to see the Rockette's on TV.

Austin joins her on the couch to watch. He fights the urge to put his arm around her shoulders. He wants to so bad, but that would be breaking boundaries.

In the middle of watching the performance, Victoria gasps and feels tears start to form.

"Aus...." she says to him. 

"What??" he asks confused.

"Oh my god..."

"What? What's wrong??"

"The baby just kicked..."

"She what?!"

"She just kicked! Wait, she's kicking again!" Victoria grabs his hand and places it on her belly where the baby is kicking. "Do you feel her?"

"Yeah, yeah I do." Austin responds as his eyes swell with tears, and he smiles wide.

"Wow, that's something I never thought I'd ever get to feel. This is so incredible."

"I know. I've never felt a baby kick before. I mean, makes sense as I've never been around someone who was pregnant before. I bet it feels so weird on the inside."

"It does, but also amazing at the same time. It really feels like I'm pregnant now, actually feeling her inside me. I felt flutters before but this is just...woah."

"I'm never going to get over the fact that we're going to be parents."

"Neither will I. I prepared myself to not being able to carry, but actually getting a chance to with my chances being so low, is just something I will always be grateful for."

"I know this isn't the ideal situation you wanted to have a baby in, and I know I'm the last person you wanted as your baby daddy, but I'm glad it worked out this way. I couldn't ask for a better parenting partner. And I hope you know I will forever take care of you & our daughter for the rest of my life, even if we aren't on the best terms."

"Thanks, Austin. That really means a lot. And yeah, I wasn't ever picturing having a baby with you, but I'm glad it's with someone I can trust."

"You trust me? Never thought I'd hear that from you after what I did."

"It took me awhile, but yes, I trust you. Eliana on the other hand..."

"Yeah, no one trusts her." he laughs. "But I'm glad I've been able to earn your trust back."

"Me too." she smiles.

Hours have passed and the two of them headed over to Austin's sister, Ashley's house.

"Hey! Happy Thanksgiving!" Ashley greets Austin opening the door for them. 

"Hey Ash! Happy Thanksgiving!"

The siblings share a hug before Austin introduces Victoria to his family.

"Ashley, this is my friend & co-parenting partner? I don't know how else to say it, but um, this is Victoria. Vic, this is my sister, Ashley." Austin introduces them.

"Hi! It's so nice to meet you finally!" Ashley greets Victoria with open arms.

"It's nice to meet you, too!" Victoria responds.

Austin goes around the house introducing Victoria to everyone else.

"Vic, this is my dad, David. Dad, this is Victoria." 

"Nice to meet you, sir." Victoria shakes his hand politely.

"Nice to meet you too, Victoria. And please, call me David."

"Got it, David it is."

Victoria also met his grandparents, aunt, cousins, and brother-in-law.

She went into the kitchen and set the cookies she made onto the counter. 

"It smells great in here. Do you need help with anything?" Vic asks Ashley as she's basting the turkey.

"Uh, yeah! If you want, you can peel potatoes for the mashed potatoes! The potatoes are in the fridge & the peeler is in the third drawer to the left." she replies.

"I will get on it!" 

As Ashley, Victoria, and Aunt Hilary get dinner finished up in the kitchen, Austin is sitting in the living room with his grandparents & dad, watching football.

"Austin, how did you meet Victoria again?" Grandma Linda asks.

"We just filmed a movie together over the summer." Austin answers.

"Oh, that's right. Weren't you with that Hispanic girl?"

"Yeah, but we broke up."

"You sure moved on fast then, dear."

"Linda, they aren't together." Grandpa Michael tells her.

"They're not??" she asks.

"No."

"Then how'd she get pregnant?"

"We, uh, hooked up, Grandma." Austin says.

"Oh..." Grandma Linda says disappointed.

The room was silent until the team they're rooting for scored, and everyone cheered.

"Austin, help me set the table?" Vic pops her head into the living room.

"Yeah." he responds.

They go into the dining room and start setting the table.

"I think Grandma Linda, and everyone else is disappointed in our situation. Well, at least everyone in the living room." Austin says to Vic.

"Why do you say that?" she asks.

"Because Grandma asked how we met, and then she asked if I was with Eliana, and I told her we broke up, said I moved on fast, Grandpa had to remind her we aren't together, and then she asked how you got pregnant, and I told her we hooked up and the room went dead silent. I could tell she was disappointed that we aren't together & having a baby."

"I had a feeling someone would be disappointed & not super supportive."

"Yeah, well, they're older and traditional. What should we expect?"

"That's true."

Not long after the table was set, dinner was ready & everyone sat down to eat.

Of course, Victoria told her life story to his family after being asked where she came from, how she got to into acting, when she moved to the US, etc.

Austin played catch up with his family, giving all the details on the Elvis press tour, filming the new movie, and his other upcoming projects.

Eventually, it came down for them to answer the real questions.

"So, you two are going to raise this baby together?" David asks.

"Yes, we're going to co-parent." Austin responds.

"Victoria lives with you now, right?"

"Yeah, I moved in not long ago. It's been a lot easier on us with appointments & milestones. Like today, we both felt the baby kick for the first time." Vic smiles. Her reply gets smiles & awes from everyone around the table.

"And no wedding for you two?" Grandma Karen asks.

"No, no wedding. We're not together, we're just two friends having a baby together after a one-time thing happened. Victoria is seeing someone, and he's okay with what's going on." Austin answers.

"If you don't mind me asking, what made you decide to keep the baby?" David asks Vic.

"I've been told a few times before that it may be almost impossible for me to conceive, like my chances of getting pregnant we're very low. Since I was able to conceive, I decided that I wanted to do this, whether Austin was going to be apart of this or not. I didn't want to go the abortion or adoption route and give up my chances of being a mom in the future. I'll be super lucky if I ever get to conceive again."

"Oh, Vic. I'm so sorry to hear that you have fertility issues like that." Ashley says sympathetically.

"Thank you. When I first found out, I sobbed. I've always dreamt of having kids of my own someday, and that news just shattered me. It's definitely not how I wanted having a baby to go, but Austin has been so supportive, and just has been the greatest. David, you & Lori really raised Austin right." 

David gets choked up a bit, "Thank you, Victoria. That means a lot."

Austin got a little choked up too. "Thanks, Vic." he smiles at her.

"Of course."

Now that everyone is more aware of what's going on, during desert, everyone has loosened up and is really warming up to Victoria & the idea of her and Austin co-parenting.

"These cookies are so good, Victoria! You have to give me the recipe!" Ashley says to her.

"Thank you! We can exchange numbers and I'll send it to you."

"Sounds perfect!"

After everyone was full from dinner and sweets, they all relaxed a bit in the living room. Ashley had pulled out her photo box which contains many photos of her and Austin when they were kids. 

"Oh, look at this one! Here's Austin as a baby in the bathtub!" Ashley pulls it out of the box and hands it to Victoria. 

Austin blushes & covers his face, being shy and embarrassed.

"Aw, Aus don't be embarrassed! Look how cute you we're!" Vic says to him. "And it's not like I haven't seen you naked before." she jokes.

Victoria's joke made Austin shift in his seat, thinking back to the time where she did see him in the nude.

After awhile, Vic and Austin said they're goodbyes. Austin could really tell that his family really warmed up to Vic & just fell in love with her. They all gave her such big hugs goodbye & wished to see her soon. 

On the way home...

"I think they really liked you, Vic." Austin says.

"You think?"

"Yeah, I think so. Seems like they really got used to the situation pretty quickly, and seem okay with it."

"Definitely. You're family is really sweet, Austin. Ashley invited me to go shopping with her tomorrow. I told her we had plans to go, but we can join her."

"Oh yeah, she mentioned to me that she talked to you about that. We can go with her for sure. I'm glad you two get along really well."

"Me too."

Once they got home, Vic goes into her room and starts getting ready to check out for the night.

On his way to his bedroom, Austin stops in to her room.

"Hey, is there anything you need or anything I can do for you before we go to bed for the night?" he asks.

"No, I'm okay. Thanks though."

"Okay. I'm happy to help if you ever need anything. Just want to help you in anyway I can."

"I know. Thank you, Aus."

"Love you, too." he says kinda quickly and quietly, on his way out of her room.

It was silent for a second before Austin realized what he said. 

"Oh! I'm sorry, I-

"What did you say?" she asks him.

"I didn't say anything."

"Oh, okay."

"Goodnight."

And with that, Austin runs to room, saying "Shit, shit, shit." to himself. "I have to move on..."

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[final-script]

Mistletoe | Ben Chilwell

Day 6 of 10. MASTERLIST

Pairing: Ben Chilwell x Reader

Sumary: What better than the Christmas season to confess love for a person.

Warnings: English is not my first language !!!There are probably many mistakes (I will correct them later).

A/N: I think I'll need someone to kiss me under a mistletoe someday to be able to write better about the subject.

Gif: pernillecfcw

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Tired of watching you drool for each other, the boys of Chelsea decide to act and what better than the time near the holidays to do it.

You had come to work for the club at the beginning of the season, you had just graduated and immediately started looking for a job.

Luckily for you, the Chelsea team was looking for a new community manager, you didn't lose anything by trying, so you did.

Just a week later, it came to your email, a mail with a date and time for an interview.

You introduced yourself and even though you were a recent graduate, they decided to bet on you.

Promising not to disappoint them, the day after your interview you started with the job.

The day you were introduced to everyone, you could swear that you had seen one of the most beautiful human beings.

On the other side without you knowing it had happened exactly the same.

The first few months it was easy to ignore those feelings, you had just started and did not want to have problems, but later both of them found it almost impossible.

Some flirtation here and there is but without any progress.

(...)

From the outside the others began to get tired of it so they began to devise a plan to bring them together.

None of them came up with anything until the Christmas season arrived.

From day to day, almost every door had a mistletoe hung, you noticed some of them but chose to ignore them.

You could ignore the mistletoe, but what you couldn't ignore was the attitude of the boys.

The months you've been working next to them helped you get to know them enough and know they were plotting something.

Although at the same time you knew you should ignore them.

(...)

I think I took it too seriously to ignore them and not be attentive to what they were plotting.

One of those days at lunchtime turned out to be a little late as I had to say some content, it wasn't too much as I still had a few minutes.

As I was rushed to the dining rooms I didn't notice a person blocking the puera.

Y/N- Sorry, no… I stopped talking when I realized who was in front of me. - Ben, I really…

B- It's okay, I think it's me who should apologize, after all I'm the one who's blocking the passage.

Y/N- in the same way I… Again I was interrupted only this time it was Ben's lips that did not let me continue.

B-I… excuse me, I think I should…

Y/N- I think I could forgive you if you do it again.

I was surprised by his act, but to be honest, I wasn't complaining.

Ben also didn't go back and kiss me again.

What was being a beautiful moment between the two was interrupted by a celebration by the people present in the dining room.

M- WE DID IT!!. The rest of them supported him with whistles and applause.

Y/N- I think I now know why there was a mistletoe at every door of this place.

B- Well they only helped with one part. He scraped his hair somewhat abergized.

Y/N- So if there is more, maybe we can be alone and tell me everything else.

We both agreed to meet, this time without so many people around.

At this moment I was glad to have ingorado everything that happened, because as much as all our companions were, both his and mine, it had been a nice way to make a statement and that he used the Christmas season for it, he did it even more.

------------------------------

The First Rule - John Stones x Reader

A Spanish Girl - Kepa Arrizabalaga x Reader

[blxetsi]

armin arlert, mikasa ackerman, and eren jaeger polyamorous headcanons (modern au)

armin arlert x gn!reader, mikasa ackerman x gn!reader, eren jaeger x gn!reader, mikasa x armin x eren x gn!reader

warnings: uhh fluff, this is very long, reader has a gf b4 getting w ema,

this is like my first post since feb that isnt a request 😍😍😍 how did i pull this out of my ass

- obv eren, mikasa, and armin have been besties since childhood so its no wonder they all got together first 🤩🙏

- and theyre all hot so why wouldnt they wanna date each other

- i think armin and eren wouldve gotten together first, and then invited mikasa into their relationship

- the three of them have been officially going steady for like over a year now, and its going really well

- they didnt really expect you to drop into their lives tho

- youre an old friend of historia's and you two reconnected after you moved to the city, securing yourself a decent paying job working as a writer for the city paper

- you usually get the boring stuff, never able to get a good story to write about, focusing your time on heartwarming stories in the community or the sports column

- its boring but it pays the bills

- you were thankful when historia called you during your lunch and asked if you wanted to get drinks at a bar with her and a couple of other friends

- of course you said yes

- so historia and her girlfriend ymir picked you up after work, having dinner with them after a long week was the best, but you were a bit nervous to meet all of their friends

- thats how you met eren, mikasa and armin

- at first you were sure that mikasa and eren were dating, seeing as mikasa had her head on the taller man's shoulder, while his arm was wrapped around her

- but when armin leaned down to give mikasa a kiss before heading off to the bar you werent so sure

- ymir pulled you away to get more drinks and explained to you what the situation was, while commenting on the way you gawked at the three of them before

- you were embarassed to say the least but they didnt bring it up that night so you hoped the throuple didnt notice (they did)

- you really hit it off with all of them though, especially sasha and jean, and were constantly talked about among the friend group

- because of your demanding job dealing with writers block and deadlines you couldnt really meet up with all of them often, usually just having sleepovers at ymir and historia's apartment, the three of you drinking while you wrote on your laptop

- after a couple months of casual hangouts with historia and ymir and their friends, you kinda became one of them too which was nice

- you were added to the groupchat, you all followed each other on social media, and a certain brunet had taken a liking to you

- eren didnt know why exactly he was so attracted to you but he was, maybe it was your hair, or how pretty your skin looked even when oily or with breakouts, maybe it was your smile or your body or your sense of humor or you kindness or maybe it was all of it

- eren jaeger would always stay faithful to his boyfriend and girlfriend, but maybe they could add another person into the mix, more to love right ?

- he had only known you for a couple of months though, he didnt want to jump the gun and bring this up with his partners so soon, especially if they didnt feel the same way he did

- and it would be a bummer if you turned out to be a bad person or smth

- so summer rolls around with lots of memories being made with your new friends, as well as friends from work, and you get a girlfriend ??

- shes not really your girlfriend you two have only been out on a couple of dates and she kisses you a lot but, you havent talked about labels

- one night you, along with your friends are back at the same bar where you first met them

"so, tell us about the girl youre seeing." ymir says, smirking over her beer.

eren's ears perked up at the mention of you seeing someone. "girl ?"

historia nodded. "mhm ! y/n's been talking to someone recently, they've gone on dates and kissed and stuff."

"and stuff, jesus tori you make it sound like we've had sex." you sighed.

the blonde just laughed, leaning her body onto her freckled companion.

"well ? what about her ?" eren asks. armin slapped him on the arm, already having suspicions about eren's interest in you.

your shoulders sagged. "well, she's great and everything, truly..."

"but ? is there a but in this ?" connie asked. sasha started laughing at connie's use of the word but, while jean slapped the girl on the arm because of her reaction.

you shrugged, swirling what was left of your fruity cocktail in your glass. "well, i'm not sure. she's very lively, and sweet. but i don't know, i just don't see myself being able to be in a steady relationship with her."

"so you're gonna end it ?" eren asked. you thought he seemed a bit too eager about your failure in the love department.

"why do you care so much ? you like the thought of me being lonely ?" you shot back, before downing the rest of your drink.

"no i just-"

"i think what eren means is," mikasa intervened, her smooth voice calming you as she looked at you with a smile on her face. "is that there's no point in staying with her if you can't see yourself with her. don't lead her on."

you nodded. "you're exactly right my friend. which is the plan for tonight because i," you quickly checked the time on your phone. 8:17. "have a date with miss molly at nine, so i will be taking my leave."

the group engaged in a chorus of boos for leaving so early, while you chuckled and took the lighthearted insults thrown at you by sasha and connie with ease. grabbing all of your things you put down two twenties onto the table. "i'll see you guys later, have a goodnight." as you walked off you heard jean yell "have a good time you heartbreaker !" making you shake your head

- the date with molly went less then well. she yelled, and cried, and even tried hitting you at one point. your walk back from the park was spent blocking her on every form of social media you followed her on, and when you got back to your apartment you spent the night in a hot bath before retiring to bed

- meanwhile, armin and mikasa were trying to pry the truth out of eren, who was constantly denying his attraction to you

- finally mikasa took one for the team "eren, you aren't alone with the way you feel, i do too." this made eren more willing to open up to his partners

- armin doesnt say anything about you, only saying how youre kind. he doesnt feel the way that his girlfriend and boyfriend do, but he knows that may change

- soon enough, more time flies and christmas rolls around, with you all deciding to have a secret santa get together.

- historia invites everyone to her home on christmas eve, with ymir begrudgingly allowing it

- bertholdt and annie come too, reiner not being able to make it due to going home for christmas, while everyone else decided to stay in the city

- you picked out your secret santas at the beginning of november so you would all have enough time to find something for each other, you hoped whoever picked your name gave you something good

- after hours of games and karaoke and drinking you all decided it was time to open the presents

- ymir got socks from bertholdt, connie got an ugly beanie from ymir, historia got new pens from mikasa, mikasa got knitting needles from annie, annie got a dumbell from eren, jean got a not so appropriate t shirt from connie, jean gave sasha more comic books, armin gave new stationary paper to bertholdt, sasha gifted you that new biography you've been wanting to read and you gave armin your old copy of frankenstein by mary shelley

- he was surprised but very thankful, "how did you know i needed a new copy ?" "well i remember you said eren spilt water on your old one, and the pages just stuck together so i thought you might as well have mine"

- it warmed armin's heart that you remembered something so insignificant, and opened him up to the thought of being with you

- the rest of the night was spent with hugs and thankfulness, cheering when the clock struck 12 and it became christmas day

- after getting things cleaned up everyone decided it was time to leave, with armin, eren and mikasa offering to give you a ride home

- a ride where armin straight up kissed you in the backseat

- you stopped him of course, thinking that it was weird he would cheat on his partners right in front of them, while they were shocked all on their own for different reasons, armin who didnt have feelings for you KISSED you

- and surprisingly armin took the lead in explaining how he felt, why he kissed you, an apology for doing so, and an offer to start dating all three of them

- your heart was pounding in your ears and your entire face felt hot, it was probably the alcohol, or the way his lips felt so soft when they touched yours, so you said yes.

- its not smooth sailing from there

- youre kind of awkward

- this is your first relationship where you really feel like you could love these guys (you already do) but its also your first relationship with multiple people

- the trio start inviting you over more often, soon for sleepovers, and start inviting themselves over at your own place, mainly eren

- he just comes at random times, sometimes when youre not even there and waits for you, or stays and cleans up a bit before leaving

- armin and you share a deep love of literature, and you often find yourselves in hot debates about whatever youve read (mikasa and eren have to pry you two away before things get physical)

- mikasa likes to cook with you, she shares recipes that her mom taught her, and her and armin love to cook dinner together whereas eren is the breakfast maker of the household

- the first time you slept in the same bed as them you were so nervous your whole body thumped to the tune of your heartbeat, you were convinced armin could even hear it as he was laying beside you, but eren wrapped an arm around your waist, pulling you into his large chest before whispering "youre as stiff as a board, relax honey"

- eren snores, mikasa drools, armin has those dreams where you fall and then violently wake up before you hit the ground

- slowly but surely you stop thinking about your relationship as the trio and you, but as all of you together, and that really helps you come out of your shell a bit

- you may still be in the honeymoon phase, and there may be bumps along the way, but you like being with armin, eren, and mikasa. they make you so happy, it feels like the happiest youve been in a long time

- you like watching eren and armin dance in the living room while you and mikasa cuddle on the couch, before the boys pull you two up as well

- you like when armin reads to you, his soft voice reciting the words of the great gatsby

- you like it when eren can just tell youve had a rough day, and pulls you into a hug like hes protecting you from all the bad things in the world

- you love being with them. you love them. and you think that theyre it for you

i rushed the ending bc im fucking tired but i kinda wanna do a poly!series with like sasha, connie and jean, or annie, bertholdt and reiner, or any other poly ships u guys may request !

so yeah pls give me feedback it rlly helps me figure out whether you want a polyamorous series (or just like what i write in general), and it would be my first series ever which would be super cool anyways

yeah requests open for poly!ships anyways

[leelee10898]

A closer look: Alicia & Maxwell

This is from the cgw universe(Cordonians gone wild) a collaborative effort by @ao719 @speedyoperarascalparty @cocomaxley @riseandshinelittleblossom and myself. Catch up on our other crazy adventures here

We asked, you picked. Here is a closer look at Alicia and Maxwells friendship.

Alicia stood in front of the massive Christmas tree in the foyer of the Palace surrounded by their friends. This was the first Christmas with the new king and Queen and with that came new traditions. Since deciding to stay in Cordonia, Anitah thought it would be a good idea for Alicia to get involved in a charity. Although no title, the buzz about the woman who did the unthinkable, and got the playboy prince to commit drew a lot of attention.  Alicia chose helpful hearts, an organization that helped families who struggled financially. Speaking to Anitah and liam she got permission to use the grand entryway tree as an angel tree. Liam and anitah hosted a Charity ball in honor of the organization and as also have each family in attendance chose a child from the tree, and provide presents.

“This was a huge success love.” She grinned as she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her.  “I know, it's so great we have raised a lot of money. Did you pick a child from the tree?” she turned facing him. “I did. I almost had to fight lord Davis for one, he picked 6.” “Well, I'm glad people are embracing this. There will be a lot of happy children on Christmas morning.” Leo placed a soft kiss on her lips. “Speaking of Christmas gifts. You still have not given me any ideas my prince.”

Leo shook his head “That's because I've got all I need in my arms. As long as you're mine, that's all I need.” “Leo, im serious.” He smirked as he walked over to speak with Regina.

“This is so awesome Alicia.  I am excited to buy presents for these kids.” Maxwell grinned holding a handful of papers. “Maxwell, how many families did you pick?” Maxwell pursed his lips “ahhh 8.” He silently counted the slips in his hand. “Yup, 8.”

“Maxwell, that is just. Please don't ever change ok.” She pulled him into a hug. “Oh, thank you Alicia. I won't, don't worry.” She sank down into a nearby chair, letting out a sigh. “Whats wrong?” he asked. “It's just, Its Leo.” she sighed. “leo? What's wrong with Leo? I thought you guys were doing really good.” He sat, concerned. “Oh, we are. It's just. It's Christmas, our first Christmas together.  It's Also six months since we made things official. He is so amazing, and I just want to get him something really nice.” Maxwell grinned “oh. Your six monthaversary? That's awesome. Hey, how about if we go shopping together. We can shop for the kids, and i can help you find the perfect present for leo.” Alicia perked up “really Max? You would help me?” “Of course, Leo is my best bud.” “Oh thank you so much Maxwell, I can't wait.” She threw her arms around him squeezing him tight.  “It's going to be so much fun. It will also give us some time to get to know each other more.”

A few days later. The tinted SUV pulled up in front of the Ramsford estate. A ginning Maxwell came running out. “oooh I can't wait.” he squealed making Alicia giggle. “So I have narrowed it down to a few ideas. Do you think you could store a puppy for me until Christmas? Bertrand wont let me bring any more animals into the house.” He pouted. “oh, ah. I think they are looking for um, presents that are not alive.  Maybe a stuffed dog instead?” Maxwell made an o shape with his mouth “Good call. Ok then a huge stuffed dog then.” Alicia shook her head and smiled.

They pulled up to the mall and walked in. “So what do you think Leo would like?” Alicia asked Maxwell, who's eyes immediately found the toy store. “A motorcycle.” He grinned.  “He has 5. And I don't have motorcycle money.” she chuckled. “Well, i'm sure we will find something. Can't we, um.” Maxwells eyes kept darting towards the toy store. “Lets go.” she motioned towards the store. “ok, one little girl wants a Tiffany doll. But they are sold out everywhere.” Maxwell pouted. “well it doesn't hurt to look or ask.” Alicia walked up to a sale associate “Excuse me miss, I know this may be a long shot but do you happen to have any Tiffany dolls in stock?” The cashier sighed “we haven't been able to keep them in stock, but, we did just get a shipment in. Can you check back in about 2 hours? They are unloading the truck as we speak.” Alicia nodded and they left.

They headed into a leather store “Do you think Leo would like a new Leather Jacket? He always wears the same brown one.” Alicia asked. “Maybe, but what about these?” Maxwell held up a pair of leather riding gloves.  “Oh those are nice, they even customize them. I could have LJR put on them. ” Alicia admired the gloves. “Done, i'll handle the forms, you go look and see if anything else catches your eye.” Maxwell waved her off.

The next store they went into was a novelty store. Maxwell held up a blow up doll “Maybe he would like one of these, this one looks like you. He could snuggle it whenever you arent home. Or is it a pool float?” Alicia's eyes went wide. “Ahh max, i um, that's not. You know what, were just gonna put that back.” He shrugged walking away. As Alicia browsed she noticed Maxwell pulling out his phone, smiling at the screen and then shoving it back into his pocket. Maxwell put a few things into her basket, insisting Leo would love them. They checked out, and again Maxwell was on his phone Texting.

They walked around the mall stopping at a few kiosk in the center. “Leo is lucky to have you, he seems like the perfect guy.” Maxwell grinned. “He is great. But he has flaws too Max. We all do.” “Maverick? No way, I don't believe it. Like what then.”

Alicia shook her head “Trust me, he does. Like hes a stress farter.” Maxwell stopped immediately “A what?” “He farts, when He's stressed out. The only thing that helps it is Sex.” Maxwell's eyes went wide. “No way!” “I swear to god. He has such a high sex drive as it is, why do you think we have so much sex?” Alicia giggled. “I just thought you two couldn't keep your hands off each other.”He shrugged. “Well we can't but, that's one of the reasons. God please don't tell anyone,  he would kill me.” maxwell held up his hand “Beaumont promise.”

“so why do you call him Maverick?” they continued walking. “Oh um. When we were younger Leo and Bertrand were really into top gun. They let Liam and i watch it with them once. And Maverick was so cool with his leather Jacket and aviators. Just like Leo. So that's what I started calling him.”

“wait a minute,  are you saying Leo wore a leather jacket even back then?” Maxwell shook his head “Yup. Leo was the definition of cool. Everyone wanted to be him, and all the girls wanted him. And even with the attention and popularity he always made time for me. He was like the cool older brother Bertrand never was.” “Awe Max. That is so sweet, and so cheesy. Now I know why Leo has such a big head.” she laughed. Maxwell pulled out his phone again, typing and smiling before putting it back.

They sat down to get some lunch in the food court. “This is great. Bertrand never lets me eat food court food. I love cheese burgers and fries.” He said with a smile. “Maxwell, who have you been texting?” She eyed him as he typed again. “Oh um. Well.” he rubbed the back of his neck. “You remember Drakes cousin Stephanie?” Alicia nodded “The cute little redhead that you couldn't take your eyes off of all night?” she grinned. “Yeah, well we um, we have been talking for a while.” he took a huge bite out of his burger. “oh, that is so cute Maxwell. So, you like her?” she pushed. “Yeah, she's  great. But she's in Texas, and well i'm here.” He frowned. “Do you think she likes you too?” maxwell contemplated her words for a minute “yeah.. i think so. But, like I Said, the distance thing.” Alicia flashed him a smirk “if its love, it'll find a way.” Maxwell grinned “You know, you can tell you and Leo are together.”

“Why do you say that?” “Because you just gave me the same smirk he gives.” Alicia's hand slapped her forehead shit.

It was finally time to head back to the toy store. They walked in finding the same clerk they spoke to earlier. “Oh thank god, I was able to hold one, but they didn't last a minute.” she held up the box. Suddenly a woman came from out of nowhere snatching the doll from the clerks hands. “Thanks.” she grinned beginning to walk away. “HEY.” Maxwell hollerd, the woman rolled her eyes. “No the fuck she didn't. Maxwell, wait here.” Alicia took off towards the woman. “Excuse me.” She called out trying to get the woman's attention “EXCUSE ME.” the woman turned around. “That doll is my friends.” the woman rolled her eyes again. “Well, i'm the one who has it, so looks like its mine.” she smirked. “Yes because you snatched it out of the the clerks hands, now I'd like the back please.”

“You snooze you lose, im keeping it.” The woman turned around to leave,  Alicia grabbed her arm “Maybe you didn't hear me the first time, give me the doll back.”

“I heard you, I'm not giving it to you. Get your hand off me you trashy bitch.” Alicia's eyes went wide. “Oh no you didn't. I tried to be nice, I tried to do this the civil way but..” Alicia started taking off her earrings. “Look here bitch, you got 2 options. 1, you give me the doll back and be on your way. Or 2, I whoop your fucking ass and take the doll back. Your choice.” she jumped shaking her head and arms. “Think fast, because where i'm from we don't give much time to think”

The woman stammered “I'll call security.”

“Go ahead, I promise you nothing will happen to me. But I'll still enjoy beating your ass.”

“wait a minute, you're. You're that American, the one Prince Leo is dating.”

“You know, you can never really be sure. Tick tock lady.”

“You're crazy. Here, take it.” She tossed the doll at Alicia and hurried out of the store.

Alicia returned to Maxwell and handed him the doll. “That was, awesome Tiger Lily.”

“Tiger lily?”

“Yeah, I like flowers. Your feisty so, its fitting.”

Alicia shrugged her shoulders “Sounds good to me. Now let's get these presents for the kids.”

Maxwell and Alicia made their way back to the leather store to pick up the gloves. Alicia ran to get them smoothies while maxwell ran in to get the gloves. He approached Alicia a large grin on his face. “they turn out good?” she asked taking a seat on the bench. Maxwell nodded his head “Yup, take a look.” He opened the box, Alicia's eyes went wide, she spilt her drink out and coughed.  “Ma. Maxwell. Why. Why do they say Big Daddy on them? I told you to put Leos initials.” she wiped her mouth. “I thought this would be nicer, I heard you call him that a few times.” her face reddened at the realization Maxwell had definitely heard them having sex a time or two. “Oh god. Um thanks Maxwell, im ah, sure Leos going to get a kick out of these.”

After dropping Maxwell off Alicia returned to the Palace. She entered her and Leos Quarters and attempted to hide his presents. She left the bags for the adopt a family on the bed. “Hey baby, how was shopping with Max today?”  “Oh it was, eventful, but fun.” She stuffed the last bag into the closet. “This all the stuff for the kids.” Leo began looking in the bags. “Ah yup, I just need to take it with me tomorrow.”

“What's this?” Leo picked up a box that was under one of the bags. “The leather shop?” he started to open the box “no leo don't.” She dove for the box but it was to late.  “Oh, leather riding gloves these are Ni-” He stopped mid sentence, that sly smirk spread across his face. “Big daddy?” Alicia's face reddened “I told Maxwell to have them put your initials, but um, he thought my nickname for you was a nice touch.” “But that's not your nickname for, oooooh.” the realization set in Leo started to chuckle “Apparently we are um, a bit loud when we have sex.” Alicia giggled.

A few days later Alicia, Anitah and Genevieve met up for lunch. Pam had plans extra appointments, so she said she would see them later at her house. “How was shopping with Maxwell?” Genevieve asked. “oh it was good,  lots of fun.” Alicia picked up a breadstick. “oh she had fun alright. She almost got into a rumble with some lady over a doll.” Anitah giggled. “A fight? Oh I wish I was there.” Gen grinned. “It was for the children.” she tossed the breadstick at Anitah. “Maxwell is a really sweet,  kind and caring guy. Anitah you know first hand how above and beyond he goes for his friends.” Anitah nodded in agreement. “I learned that our Maxwell has a crush. And I have an idea.” The girls both grinned and scooted forward. “Ok, how about…."

Read what the squad did for Maxwell HERE

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[americanhorrorbatch]

“Rebirth of Light & Dark” - Christmas Special

-This happened before chapter 5 and the priests-

Today was Christmas Eve and I was going home to be with my mother and grandmother. All the other girls at the academy are getting ready to go home as well. I know I haven't known Michael for long but I'm going to invite him home for Christmas. I mean he could use a break from studying supreme stuff anyways.

I pulled out my phone and texted Michael.

Me: Michael, would you like to come home with me to celebrate Christmas?

A few minutes later he texted me back.

Michael: Sure, I just need to think of an escape plan. They are always are me their "Alpha."

I chuckled reading the text.

Me: When you escape, meet me by the bus station in Orleans.

Michael: Okay.

After I finished packing for winter break I grabbed my things, said my goodbyes and left. When I arrived at the bus stop I saw Michael and smiled. "Hey." I say giving him a hug. "Hey." He smiles back as he wrapped his arms around me. "How did you escape? " I ask him. "Well, it is the holidays. " He says. "True."

"Hey, I thought witches and warlocks celebrate winter solstice? " Michael asks. "Oh we do but my grandmother loves Christmas since she comes from a magical father and christian mother. " I explain to him. "Ah, that makes sense." He says. "Yeah." I nod.

"Jeez, where is my mother. I'm cold. " I shiver. Michael pulls me in to his warm embrace. I look up at him blushing. "Thanks." I smile and he smiles back.

"No problem, Y/N."

A car pulls up and I saw my Grandmother. I sit in the backseat with Michael. "Where's Mom?" I ask her. "Oh, she had some last minute things she had to do. " She says and started driving again.

"So, who is this handsome boy?" Grandma smirks looking the rear view mirror at Michael. "This is Michael, my- friend. " I blush as I caught myself almost saying boyfriend. "Hello Michael, I am Patricia, Y/N's Grandmother." She smiles. "Hello Ms. Patricia." He says.

We arrive at our house. "This manor has been in our family for many generations. " My Grandmother says. (picture it snowy with Christmas lights decorations)

"It's beautiful. " Michael says and we walk inside to Christmas music playing. Inside looked like the North Pole. "Wow." Michael mouths. "Yeah, I wasn't over exaggerating my Grandma loving Christmas. " I whisper to him. "I see that, now. " He chuckles. "Tonight we will have guests over for our Christmas Eve party same goes for tomorrow. " My Grandma smiles. "I'll tack him to the guest room to unpack. " I say grabbing my stuff and his hand. I brought him to the guest room which is right across from mine.

"It feels weird you know? " Michael mumbles. "What does?" I ask.

"I haven't celebrated Christmas since my Grandma killed herself. "

"Oh.. Michael.. " I say giving him a hug. "It's fine, it feels nice... Not being alone on Christmas. I also was raised by a woman who is a.. Well... satanist.. " He says looking at me kinda funny. I knew he was nervous telling me that. "That's fine, I won't judge you or her. If that's what you are worried about. " He looked at me surprised. "Come unpack we need to get ready for the party." I smile.

At the Christmas Eve party my family came over and we all laughed, smiled, and enjoyed each other's company. They also really liked Michael and were surprised how much I had grown literally and physically. Mom teased me about Michael. She knew I liked him. We had gotten our Christmas Eve pajamas and went to our rooms after everyone left. Michael had the Grinch pajamas. I was wearing frosty the snowman pajamas.

"Goodnight Michael, your gonna like my present for you. I hope. " I smile.

"Goodnight Y/N, same goes for you. " He smiles and we shut our doors.

--Michael P. O. V--

Yeah, I don't have a present for her... I mean girls like Jewelry right? Maybe I can create a spell the makes her a little necklace. Or a stuffed animal? I'll necklace that has her name on it and has a cute little F/A (Favorite Animal) on it.

Next Morning

--Y/N P. O.V--

The next morning I woke up and knocked on Michaels door and he opened it. He looks a bit tired to me. "Did you sleep well?" I ask him. "Yeah." He smiles, and we walk downstairs with the presents in our hands. First, we at breakfast then sat around the Christmas tree. Michael handed me my present and when I opened it I gasped. The necklace was Gorgeous. "You remembered my favorite animal?" I ask him smile. "Yeah." He says and I handed him his present. He pulled out a red eye shadow pallette and rings.

He looks up at me confused. "One day I had a dream that you grew out your hair, wore red eye shadow, and rings. I don't know... I thought you looked handsome. " I blush. Wow, I knew this was a stupid gift.

"Thank you, maybe you can show me how to put on the eye shadow? " He asks. I look up surprised. "Yeah, sure. Merry Christmas Michael. " I says hugging him.

"Merry Christmas, Y/N."

---oh my gosh this sucked. I had to rush the ending since I leaving soon. I hope you liked it! Have a Merry Christmas!! And Happy Holidays!!--

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[aleahaelajournals]

SEPT. 18, 2021 [journal no. 7]

—The image above shows a collage of some of my priced possessions. As you can see, most of them are collections. The photo on the upper right corner shows some of the "anime figurine collection" of my dad and I. Watching these shows is one of our bonding time whenever he has his day-off/after work and during my free time after class. The picture beside it (upper left) shows the instruments that I play. Music has been my passion ever since I was young...later on I learned how to write songs and decided to make use of music as my diary. The next image (middle) shows the fruit of my efforts, my academic achievements. Being an achiever since elementary will always be something that I'll be proud of. At present, I am doing my best to achieve more now that I'm already in university. Next is the photo in the lower left corner, which shows my collection of K-Pop merchandise that served as my gift to myself for surviving another year (since I only buy during Christmas to avoid spending too much). Even though I only started this collection of mine last year, I consider them important especially because I used my own savings and the happiness it gives me later on provides the inspiration I need in my studies. Last but not the least, the picture on the lower right corner shows my gadgets that became more significant now that I need them for my online classes. I don't have that much of them, maybe just enough for me to be occupied when I'm bored.

—I also love to collect books like novels, pocket books, Japanese mangas, and the like. Though a picture of them is not included (just a photo of me buying them) since I left most of them at our house in La Union because they were too heavy for us to bring when we moved back here in Baguio.

** photo from Pinterest **

—I'm also glad that when it comes to the material things that are mostly my 'wants' , my parents are supportive and okay with it since they too, are intersted in them. Still, they never fail to remind me saying that it is not bad to spend money on things that I want, as long as I think about it a couple of times, and that I wouldn't spend all my money and leave some for emergency and future use.