#bought a new ugly christmas sweater to wear today

[stonesandswords]

.

[ughgoaway]

ugly sweater party // day 10

content warnings; nothing i think? maybeee swearing but i do not remember <33

a/n; did anyone else have ugly jumper days at school or did I just go to a weird fucking school?? anyway I hope you enjoy this fic!!! (I did not enjoy re-reading it, but when do I ever lol)

word count; 1.8k

(this fic takes place pre-relationship)

12 days masterlist

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“Come on in, Jamie! Nice jumper, very ugly!” you say, smiling down at the little boy whose eyes were bright with pride. Normally calling a student's jumper ugly would end in tears and a stern conversation with your boss, but today it's the very best thing they could hear.

Last month, you were sitting in a meeting, ringing your hands together, trying to muster the confidence to suggest the idea of an ugly jumper day to fundraise for cancer research. Somehow, you pulled yourself together enough to say it out loud. You immediately cringed after you said it, prepared to be shot down. But thankfully, you were met with a chorus of support from your colleagues.

As the days passed by, you had more and more excited children coming up to you saying they found their jumpers and couldn't wait to wear them. You even went out and bought some spares, just in case someone forgets.

And so this event became your baby for the next month. You created flyers and handed them out to everyone. Putting them in backpacks and bookbags to ensure they made it home safely.

You even did some secret stalking on the mum-only Facebook page under your alias “Caroline Monroe”, and were over the moon to see mums talking about how much their little ones are enjoying the idea.

And here the day was, each new child coming in had a smile so big it looked as if their cheeks could split. Every parent is praising you for the idea and the organisation of it all, and you couldn't feel more proud. Finally, you’re fitting in and making use of the degree that caused you endless stress. 

But if you were honest, you were waiting for one student in particular. Not that you'd admit that to anyone, or even yourself, really. Every time a new head of hair came bounding in, you did a double take to see if it was the pile of curls you were hoping for.

Unlike how she was usually, Annie was pretty silent about her jumper, not even telling you if she had one or not. So, to say you were suspicious was an understatement. 

9 o'clock drew closer, and you got the sudden fear Annie wasn't in today. But just before the bell could ring, you saw 2 heads full of bouncing curls running into the school gates. And you couldn't help the splitting grin that came over your face.

“Well little miss Annie…” you begin as you bend down, “what an amazing jumper!! It is very ugly!” You scrunch your face as you say it, the words still not feeling normal on your tongue.

If only the daily mail could see him now, you are sure half the articles they pumped out would be scrapped.

Matty Healy in a matching ugly Christmas jumper to his 6-year-old daughter.

Matty catches your eyes and immediately mirrors your grin, and you can't help but snort at the sight of him. He lifts a finger mockingly and wags it at you, imploring you not to laugh. 

“And you match with your daddy!” You say with a teasing lilt to your voice. You shoot your eyes up to Matty, who is already looking down with more disdain than you thought he could muster at 9 a.m.

“Yes.. thank you, miss y/n” Matty says with a joking quality to his words and one hand on his hip, the other holding his daughter's hand. 

You break eye contact and look back to Annie, who is beaming at you, showing off her gappy smile. She giggles and nods excitedly at you before speaking.

“Thank you, miss y/n!!” she says shyly, burrowing into her dad's leg and grinning.

You make a move to stand but are quickly pulled back down by Annie, who clearly has more to say, as always.

“But do you want to know the very best part, miss y/n?” Annie asks like a spy sharing top-secret information. You play it up, nodding and looking around before leaning in. 

“My daddy MADE my jumper!!” she says with a shriek and a laugh. You immediately brighten up and look up at Matty for confirmation, knowing Annie can… exaggerate at times. 

Matty looks down at his daughter with so much love in that moment you're sure you can feel your heart grow 3 times the size. The pure adoration in his eyes neatly made you need to sit down, but you managed to stay steady on your feet.

Eventually, you gathered the strength to rise to Matty's height and make eye contact with him, and it's then you knew Annie was telling the truth.

Dark circles sat below his eyes, which were also slightly sunken but somehow remained bright. He had clearly been up late working on making these, the thought of which made you dizzy. 

Matty saw the questioning look on your face and began to explain, “My mum loves to knit, and she saw the flyer for today last time she was down. She was very insistent Annie had to have a homemade ugly jumper” he finished his sentence by stroking the top of his daughters head, curling a ringlet of her hair around his finger. 

He continued to fiddle with Annie's hair as he spoke, “I conceded it could be homemade but…” he paused slightly embarrassed of what he was about to say, “I wanted to make it for her, you know? I wanted to do something for my little girl.”

Your silence made Matty nervous, so he began to ramble in the way he does when he feels his heart in his throat, “I know, I know. What an over-the-top dad, but I just can't help myself when it comes to my little peanut.” he smiles bashfully, and Annie giggles at his nickname for her.

Oh god. Those words combined with the shy look on his face caused butterflies to erupt in your stomach, crashing against your sides in a way that almost hurt. But you shook it off, refusing to admit you could feel this way for a parent.

You were professional, and having feelings was not. So you didn't have feelings… definitely have no feelings here! Nope!

“How- how did you make it? Do you knit?” You manage to stutter out after standing in shocked silence for much longer than socially acceptable. An apprehensive look passed over Matty's face briefly, but he quickly shook it off. 

“Uhh I managed to convince Mum to teach me. so she made mine, and I just copied her and made Annie's. Same pattern, just smaller! We Facetimed and worked alongside each other. I struggled at the start, but it turns out as long as I listen to Radiohead whilst I knit, it turns out pretty good!” he grabbed his daughter and spun her around in a flourish, showing off his hard work. A roar of laughter escaped Annie as she spun, obviously entertained by her dad's endless antics.

God, this having no feelings thing is getting harder and harder. Especially when staring into his eyes as his adorable daughter's cackles filled the air. Normally brown eyes are boring but not his. His had something in them that captured your attention, some inexplicable force that dragged you deeper and deeper.

Soon, Annie was desperately asking her dad if she could go show her friends her jumper, and he agreed and bent down. He gave her a brief kiss on the temple and sent her off with a pat on her back and a wave.

Matty once again felt slightly awkward at your silence, wondering if he had said something wrong. Little did he know it was quite the opposite. 

He waved at you and began to walk away, but your brain caught up, and you shouted after him. “Matty!” You say jogging towards him and meeting in the middle of the playground.

Shit. You had forgotten about that. Quickly you decide you're just gonna ignore that and keep rambling, just as Matty would, you're sure.

“Sorry! I'm a bit groggy this morning. I haven't had my coffee yet” You try to excuse your odd behaviour, but Matty shoots you a look that says he doesn't quite believe you.

His eyes shift from yours to the coffee cup in your left hand.

“I just wanted to say that you making Annie's jumper is so thoughtful and sweet” You start to bring your hand up and briefly pause, but then think 'fuck it'. 

You put your hand on his upper arm and somehow resist the urge to squeeze and feel his arm tense.

“Really, not many parents would do something so amazing for the kids. Thank you,” you say earnestly, not moving your hand and staring at Matty intensely.

Little did you know Matty's brain was short-circuiting. Your hand on his arm was the only thing he could focus on. The warmth he felt through his jumper, the slight grip you had on him. He even got lost in staring at your nail polish, red and green for Christmas. 

He felt sick with want the second he felt your touch. Trying to focus on any words coming out of your mouth at the same time you were touching him felt like a herculean task.

He somehow managed to catch the end of what you were saying, just enough to attempt a normal human response.

He internally psyched himself up before speaking, desperate to play it off cool and natural.

“Thanks, I just love her so much.” he said earnestly, but he couldn't be sincere for too long, “and it's not like I have a real job to go to, right? I just dick around with a guitar for a few hours!” he laughs.

“Ah- its- yeah- im-” he stammered.

Well, that's not a great start, is it? He scorned his brain for not catching up to his mouth in time. However, he eventually got them back in sync. 

You smile and giggle at his comment, but you know the real sentiment behind it. You squeeze his arm one last time before removing your hand and beginning to walk away. 

Both you and Matty wave to one another before turning around and walking in opposite directions. You fought the urge to turn around to get one last look, little did you know - Matty was fighting the same urge.

Whilst you won that battle, Matty didn't. He flicked his head around briefly, just long enough to see your bright smile as you greeted another student. Just long enough to feel his heart stutter one more time.

[bingoboingobongo]

task force 141 + christmas day

Characters: Simon "Ghost" Riley, John "Soap" MacTavish, Kyle "Gaz" Garrick, John Price, Alejandro Vargas, Rodolfo "Rudy" Parra

Warnings: none

A/N: oh lordy i can't believe it's christmas already. keep sending me requests so i have stuff for january por favor. merry happy to all u guys

alright so the big day has finally arrived

christmas

it's been snowing for the last week and the trend continued today which means rudy is ecstatic because it's always been his dream to have a white christmas

he's also one of the first people to wake up and he has to fight the urge to run around and wake everyone else up

another person of the first people to wake up list is soap and unlike rudy soap does not fight the urge

he goes throughout the base blasting christmas music (mariah carey ofc) and shaking everyone out of their beds

ghost's been up for a while (as expected) and is already waiting in the kitchen with a cup of tea as everyone else piles in

pretty much everyone is in pajamas or sweatpants

rudy and soap are wearing their favorite ugly christmas sweaters tho

and as price starts up a pot of coffee the gift opening ensues

they all let rudy start out because he's literally trembling with excitement

of course everyone chipped in to get rudy his dream lego set this year

the ferrari daytona sp3

but in addition to that ghost somehow managed to get rudy a mint condition, never opened, ferrari f1 racer set

and for those of y'all who aren't familiar with legos (pretty much the entire team except rudy) this is a huge deal because the set has been retired

rudy was so excited he couldn't stop himself from running up to ghost and giving him a massive hug

ghost awkwardly let him but mainly because rudy looked so happy he couldn't say no

and yes rudy spent the rest of the day raving about how cool the set ghost got him was

the next person to open up their gifts was price

and apparently all his coy hinting worked because he got what he wished for, a heated weighted blanket

unfortunately (or maybe fortunately idk u decide) his hinting worked a little too well because gaz, soap, and rudy all got him one

so now he has three

in addition to that alejandro got him a super nice bottle of macallan whiskey

and ghost got him a really expensive set of cigars

after price went gaz

soap felt so bad for sitting on and breaking gaz's speaker that of course he had to buy him a new one

it's bluetooth of course and very nice

that being said the gift is technically from soap and price because the speaker was pretty expensive (but really good quality)

alejandro and rudy both chipped in and got gaz a really nice pair of noise cancelling headphones so that he wouldn't have to deal with the task force's nonsense anymore

and gaz had recently mentioned how he had gotten back into listening to the weeknd

and ofc ghost bought him two vip tickets to the weeknd's after hours til dawn tour

gaz literally freaked out when he saw the tickets like im talking jumped up out of his seat jaw dropped wide open

ghost let's gaz give him an awkward hug too because he doesn't want to kill his mood

and then it's alejandro's turn to open his gift

and low and behold what does he see when he opens up the wrapping paper

of course it's his dream gift and like the one thing he wished for

a brand new ps5

everyone on the team chipped in to pay for it

and they got him a few games too

then next it was ghost's turn

he wasn't expecting much and he was pretty surprised when he opened his gift

he got all the books he wanted of course, plus a few extra

soap got him the metamorphosis by franz kafka

gaz got him the picture of dorian gray by oscar wilde

alejandro got him journey to the center of the earth by jules verne

rudy got him the count of monte cristo by alexandre dumas

and then somehow, price managed to score a signed, first edition version of treasure island by robert louis stevenson

ghost was literally speechless for the first time in his life when he realized what he was holding

like his hands were literally shaking and he had to put it down because he was scared he would ruin it

he tried to interrogate price and find out where he had got it from but price wouldn't say anything

and then last but not least was soap

he was getting kinda nervous as everyone opened up their gifts because it didn't look like there was gonna be any for him

and the ghost opened up the last box and soap's heart pretty much broke

but before the sadness could fester too long everyone dragged him to the garage

and low and freaking behold what does soap see

but his dream gift, the yz250 sitting in front of him with a bow on top

and soap freaked out he was literally bouncing off the walls in shock

it turned out ghost knew a guy who knew a guy who knew a guy

and so he was able to get the bike at an insane discount

and with everyone chipping in, they were able to get him a helmet/gear as well

and again soap was literally freaking out

he tried to hug ghost, who declined at first but then gave in

after gift opening was over they all went to have lunch and the kinda split off to do their own things

simon "ghost" riley:

alright so the first thing ghost does is take his first edition treasure island and sprint to his room

like i cannot emphasize to you enough how insane of a deal this is

because not only is a first edition copy valued at literally ~$10,000, treasure island has an insane amount of sentimental value to ghost because that was his favorite book as a child

that being said ghost was literally terrified to touch the book

like he put on his gloves and anything

the book was in really good condition and even the signature looked like it was in mint condition

i mean again ghost was just in awe completely shocked

he ended up tucking it away in his safe because he was too scared to read it

he ended up brewing himself a cup of tea and reading the count of monte cristo to relax

and if you're there with him than congrats u get to see a new side of ghost, nerd!ghost

because he will not stop raving about the first edition treasure island

he'll also give you your gifts in private

and they're everything you ever wished for

including something you didn't even remember wishing for until you saw it

and then he's more than happy to spend the rest of the day hanging out with you while he reads

at least until price calls everyone to the dining room for christmas dinner and soap starts drinking

john "soap" mactavish:

alright after seeing his gift soap has one thing on his mind and that's riding the dirt bike

unfortunately the weather outside is not the most friendly to dirt bikers

but what soap wants soap does

and so (very unwisely i might add) soap decides to try riding his bike indoors

he takes it to the hangar because it's got a lot more space but just because he has the extra space doesn't mean he's successful

it's been a long time since he last rode a dirt bike and so he almost immediately nearly ran into one of the planes

and then you and price practically forced him to stop so he wouldn't immediately destroy his bike

he was disappointed for a bit but you made it better

he gave you his gift and it was the best, most soap-centric gift you could ask for

it was absolutely perfect and it referenced one of your many inside jokes

he also let you pick one of the soap's everyone put in his stocking

you picked a fancy bath and body works one

then he spent the rest of the day hanging out with you and the others until dinner time

and you know that afterwards he's getting stupid drunk again

kyle "gaz" garrick:

alright so honestly gaz was freaking out about the weeknd tickets a lot

like it took him a good while to finally relax

and of course the other ticket is going to you so you can join him

he also pretty much immediately put on the noise cancelling headphones alejandro and rudy got him

and you just know he was listening to the weeknd's entire discography

he also pulled you aside so he could give you your gift in private

he got you some new clothes you've been wanting for a while

as well as some jewelry with your initials engraved in it

he was kind of nervous it was too much but you assured him it was perfect

he spent the rest of the day listening to music and dancing with you

as well as hanging out with the others until dinner came

and during the after dinner party gaz's speaker was the prime music source

john price:

alright so price is just ready to milk his gifts as much as possible

but before he does he knows he has to give you your gift first

it's something really sweet and heartfelt and you can tell how much he loves you through the gift

and he also got you your own bucket hat with your initials embroidered on the inside

he says you look like the most beautiful girl in the world with it on

then he drags you to his room where you milk his presents with him

he pours you a glass of the fancy whiskey while he lights one of ghost's cigars

if you smoke too he'll offer you one as well

and then he'll have you cozy up to him under one out of the three weighted heated blankets

and the two of you will just cuddle there until dinner

alejandro vargas:

alright so the first thing alejandro does after everyone's done opening gifts is hook up his PS5 to the tv

he's super excited to play some games and he brings you over to play with him

before you start though he gives you your gift

it's something you've been wanting for a while

plus an all expenses paid for spa trip at a really nice spa

then he pulls you against him and has you pick a game to play

and the two of you will play that until dinner comes

and then he might still keep playing after dinner, although this time he'll be much worse because you don't get to go through a soap party without drinking at least a smidge of alcohol

rodolfo "rudy" parra:

alright so rudy is just super duper hyped about his legos man idk what to say

his first thought is to immediately start building one of them but he has enough reason to give you your gift first

one of them is an expensive set of shoes you've been eyeing for a long time

another is a lego set of your own (because he wants to build legos with you but he also gets super defensive if you try to build his so he needs it to be seperate)

and then a super duper heartfelt homemade gift

he's really really nervous about it and his heart just about bursts when you wrap your arms around him and tell him it's perfect

and then the two of you spend a pretty long amount of time building legos

honestly you finished pretty quickly but you stuck around to watch him finish his

you also helped massage his back/shoulders whenever they would hurt from being hunched over for too long

and lord knows rudy would sing your praises so loudly for doing that

he's done by dinner and during soap's little party rudy is more than happy to be all over you

and it's easily the best christmas he's had so far

[imwall-e]

Pairing : Bucky x Reader

Summary : Spending Christmas Eve with your favourite super soldier!

Warning : none

It was your first Christmas with Bucky since you moved together. So, this year you wanted to spend it only together. No reunion with the Avengers. Just the two of you.

You loved Christmas, and you love some cliché. That’s why you bought two ugly Christmas sweaters : one for you, the other for your super soldier. On each of them was a T-Rex playing in the snow, wearing a Christmas hat and holding some presents. Or of course there were many colours such as red, green or yellow.

“As much as I love you doll, there is no way I’m wearing that”, Bucky said as you gave him his sweat.

“Come on James! It’s just for tonight!”

“No. And why is there a dinosaur? There is no link with Christmas.”

“Excuse-me, Sergeant Barnes, but dinosaurs are awesome.”

“...”

“Please James,'' you said with a sweet voice while putting your arms around him for a hug.

“You know I can’t resist when you do that, right? Okay then, but just tonight and no pictures.”

“Yes Sergeant!”

You couldn’t stop smiling. He’d do anything to see you smile like that all the time. He took his sweater and was about to put it on when you warned him that you were going to cook for tonight, and that you didn’t want him to dirty it before the movie night.

The program was that you will prepare dinner during the afternoon but also bake cookies and other biscuits for desserts. But first, you had to leave to get your boyfriend’s present. You couldn’t wait to give it to him. 

It was only 10 am, but you received a message saying that the gift was ready. You kissed Bucky and left saying “you’re gonna love it”.

Bucky and you lived in a small apartment in a quiet village. You loved New-York, it was a beautiful city, but there was too much noise for you. Sometimes, it was scary and it reminded you of things you’d rather forget. 

This village was really beautiful, and this, every season. But winter was your favourite. The snow covered everything. People were building snowmen, everything was decorated. 

You decided that you’d walk instead of taking transport. Your destination was not that far. Plus, it allowed you to enjoy the beauty of the town at Christmas. There was a line at the bakery. People were buying their desserts for the night to come.

You really couldn’t wait for tonight. Hell, you couldn’t even wait to see the look on his face in less than an hour when he’ll receive his gift.

Finally, you arrived at your destination : SPCA. Bucky really loved cats. You loved them too, but you were more of a dog person. In any case, you were sure that this little cat was going to make you both happy.

You explain the reason for your presence to the woman at the reception and she led you to the naw member of the family. The cat was a female, her fur was all white and her eyes were blue. She was named Alpine and she was two years old. A person found her a few months ago on a roadside.

You fell in love with little Alpine the moment you saw her on the SPCA’s website. You came to the shelter two weeks before to meet her, and today as you approached her it was like she recognized you : jumping in your arms and purring.

As your returned to the reception to sign all the papers, you saw a very familiar figure:

“Bucky?!”

What was he doing here? He turned his face to you, looking as shocked as you were. You both stayed silent, staring at each other. Then you noticed : he had a leash in his hand and a beautiful husky attached to it. On his side, he noticed the cat in your arm.

He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck with his vibranium arm :

“Well, it was supposed to be a surprise for when you came back, but I guess we had the same idea. Merry Christmas doll.”

He gave you the leash, and as you took it, the dog slowly came to you. Like Alpine, he was white but with some shades of grey. His eyes were green and he had a scar on his muzzle and on his right front leg.

“His name is Hermes. He is a bit scared but he’s nice. Also, he is deaf due to what happened to him, but I know we’re going to take good care of him.”

Bucky and you sat next to Hermes who had his eyes fixed on Alpine. The cat put her muzzle next to his.

“They seem to get along really well”, you said to Bucky.

“You’re right, but you still didn’t present this little kitten”, he joked.

“Excuse me Sergeant, you laughed, so this is Alpine. Merry Christmas James.”

You both kissed, but were interrupted because you still had to sign papers. Then, you all headed to the car that Bucky took to come. You stopped by some stores to buy food, toys and a lot of new things for your animals.

Bucky and you joked a lot about the fact that you had the same idea, and that you were at the same place at the same time. 

You came home around 1 p.m, and you installed everything for Hermes and Alpine which took you about an hour. After that, Bucky and you were really hungry so you both ate before starting baking some biscuits.

“James, can you give me the flour please?”

You weren’t looking and he took this opportunity to throw some flour at your face.

“Sir, you’re really gonna regret that!”

That’s how you both started a flour battle while Hermes and Alpine were watching you from the couch. When you finally stopped, there was more flour on the both of you than in the bowls for the preparation of the biscuits.

At the end of the day, the kitchen was clean just like Bucky and you. You were wearing your ugly Christmas sweaters while watching Gremlins, drinking hot chocolate and eating your biscuits, Hermes and Alpine next to you.

“You know, Bucky started, I think the apartment is too small for the four of us.”

“Are you suggesting buying a house?”

“Maybe”

“I really like that idea Mr Barnes”, you said kissing him.

“Merry Christmas Y/N.”

“Merry Christmas my Bucky Bear.”

***

A few days later

Bucky and you had started to search for a bigger place, so you've decided to start sorting through your stuff.

As you entered the room you shared, you saw something that made you laugh: Bucky was wearing his T-Rex Christmas sweater.

“I thought you didn’t like it and that it was only for our Christmas night?”

“Please doll, don’t tell Steve and Sam!”

[jerzwriter]

Merry Little Christmas - Ethan & Casey

This was so fun & festive! Thank you to the amazing @jamespotterthefirst for making our holidays brighter!

He will be wearing an ugly sweater (within reason) soon. Whether he likes it or not.

Note on snowball fights: The last one Ethan started was 25 years ago. The last one Casey started was 25 minutes ago.

They are in Boston and will have ample opportunity, now that they're official, Casey will see to it that "kissed in the snow" is taken care of for him by next year.

Home for the holidays is forever changed for Ethan, be it Casey or Alan, home is where he wants to be.

The Christmas character... Ethan was young, and it was against his will (even then). I HC him stepping in to dress up as an elf, or some other embarrassing creature, during college. It was when someone else bailed out of an event and he did it to impress the person he liked (and he was a little drunk). It didn't work, he still didn't get any. Sorry, Ethan.

Song: It was hard for Casey to pick, she loves so many, but she is so happy and festive this year, and this song embodies that. (And we are talking the Burl Ives, classic version) Holly, Jolly Christmas

Ethan's is a little more poignant because he finally has his grown-up Christmas wish. (I was today years old when I learned it is "List" and not "Wish", but I'm not redoing this. lol) Grown Up Christmas List

Movie:

It doesn't feel like Christmas for Casey until after she's seen It's a Wonderful Life, and she cries at the end every single year. Ethan rolled his eyes when she told him about this tradition; but this year, as she snuggled up next to him on the couch, his arm wrapped around her, he felt his eyes becoming damp too. He was afraid Casey would tease him, so he tried to hide it, but one does not hide things from Dr. Casey MacTavish. To his surprise, she simply handed him one of her tissues and squeezed him tighter, giving him a quick buss on the cheek. As a result, their favorite tradition will be changed next year, it will now be watching this together, as soon as their schedules permit, after Thanksgiving each year.

Tradition:

Casey's answer was essential "All of them", but since she was forced to pick, she said this. Her family's tradition was to celebrate Christmas Eve and open gifts after midnight, and it's something she loves to this day.

Ethan hadn't honored too many traditions in his adult life, but he still found himself making a special Christmas breakfast each year, even if it was something just a little more special than usual (say, Nutella French Toast). He did this whether he was alone, or seeing someone. Now that he has Casey (and in the future Emma), this will be quite a display each year.

Casey wanted a couple's massage (it's scheduled for January), a weighted blanket (he got her 2), and a llama planter. Don't ask, she just wanted it. He bought it for her, but got a giraffe planter too, because... well, you know.

Ethan didn't ask for it but got Casey wearing that, and he may never ask for anything else for Christmas for as long as he may live. He wanted new Le Creuset pots but would never ask for them knowing Casey is still not settled financially, but she knew and got them anyway. He had asked for painting supplies, I HC this is part of him trying to take a step back and realize there is more to life than medicine. I think Dr. Ramsey may learn that he has something else he is quite talented at.

Casey is all about Christmas Eve, but Ethan loves that breakfast...

Ethan finds turkey a healthier option. Casey rolls her eyes since it comes with butter-laden mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, and a lot of other bad stuff. She reminds him it is once a year.

Eggnog... spiked. And they enjoy it in front of the fireplace (or in the office if they are working Christmas Day).

Point of contention each year. Casey wants the tree up by Thanksgiving and it doesn't come down until mid-January, that isn't a good look for real trees. They argue, she always wins. They now get a tiny real one for the foyer as a compromise.

Ethan is conspicuously missing from the winter activities. His answer is "sitting by the fire with a fine glass of scotch." Casey was actually a competitive skater when she was younger, and still loves it, but she is split down the middle because she'll never pass on a good sleigh ride either.

It was easier for her to get him into the swing of Christmas music ("swing" especially, since he loves Christmas Jazz), but she's working on the rest.

I hope you enjoyed this! Merry Christmas to those who celebrate and Happy Holidays to all!

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@openheartheadcanons

[shirophantomvox]

What is this Fuzzy Feeling? Part 4

Hello anon! Thank you for your persistent request for “What is this Fuzzy Feeling?”! I’m surprised to see a lot of you enjoy this mini series. I’ve decided that I will write a few more parts and end it unless I feel like writing more parts. Today’s addition involves you and Hisoka spending Christmas at your family’s cottage in upstate New York. You both were looking forward to a nice vacation by the lake, with a beautiful December sunset, until you both agreed to a wager. Hisoka says that you cannot go for a week without sweets or sugar and you say that Hisoka cannot drink any alcoholic beverage until the break. If you all break the deal, you wear an ugly Christmas Sweater everyday leading up to the vacation. You must wear it during the trip as well. Although this wager seems easy to defeat, it is very challenging as he purposefully drags you to supermarkets and restaurants that have the tasty treats… peppermint treats. I will do this in two parts!

Let’s get started!

🎁 ❄️ 🎁 ❄️ 🎁 ❄️ 🎁

“Next in line, please.”

New York’s most famous gingerbread house sat just before the entrance of Staten Island. Despite its childish atmosphere, the “Gingerbread Hut” is a family establishment. It had activities for people of all ages! Young children would take part in gingerbread houses and take part in singalongs while the teenagers engaged in paintball wars, poetry reading contests, and creative writing. The adults left this building and went to the one next door that appeared to be a style of a pub. Of course, they drank, but not too much. I was shocked to find responsible adults!

Why am I here, you ask? Hisoka and I are going to my parent's cottage for Christmas break. Because they are having a potluck-themed party, it is our responsibility to provide the desserts. We’ve already bought the “expensive” desserts like Tiramisu and Double Chocolate Cake, but we wanted to get something new and basic. Most families build gingerbread houses every year. As for mine, we haven’t done so since I was 11.

I hear a voice that reminds me of an elf; its voice was annoyingly nasally, and the bells were jiggling on his pointed shoes. They were jiggling without a care in the world. I could tell by the movement on the floor that he was skipping, using his weight in each pouch. When he passed me, he backed up slowly, like a truck, and looked at me as if I was some exotic he’d never seen before.

“Golly, Gee Miss!” he says in front of me in that same high-pitched tone. Before he could continue with this statement, he came closer to me, crouching, and placed his hand in front of his mouth.

“If you ever get lonely, call me.” His sudden change in tone sends shivers down my spine. Just the thought of another man’s voice being oddly annoying to instantly sexy raised many questions. Thankfully, Hisoka was too busy next door guzzling down beer. Confused, I proceeded to “Sweets Street '', the popular attraction in the entire joint.

We consider Sweet Street to be “candy land”. They hung glitter and Sequins decorations on the walls. The “Santa’s Lane” neon sign hung proudly in the window. Thankfully, they replaced the old haunting radio that crackled every time a song picked up volume. Now, it played smoothly and delivered the bass nicely. Once you walk into the small vestibule, you can scoop candy into a bag and pay based on its weight. Truth is, all the candy looked delicious, but I came specifically for gingerbread AND my only weakness…. peppermint chocolate. Just the thought of it makes my mouth water. Since I was a child, when my parents would take my brother and I to dinner one Friday each month, the server gave us mini mint chocolate candy or mint chocolate ice cream. Since then, I have developed a love for such a thing. My addiction grew strong, so strong that I almost developed a cavity from eating so much! I’ve been clean for 5 years. Today, I deserve my reward.

I filled my bag with at least 1.5 ounces. I still have to purchase the gingerbread and have to reel in Hisoka. Who knows how large his tab is by now.

“That’ll be $7.45.”

Huh.

I give her the change and as she’s ringing me up; I see a familiar face pressed against the window. A woman shrieks as she points in horror at the sharp face. Another man grabs his child away from the door and into his arms. I couldn’t see who it was at first until I got a glimpse of this man’s face. Instantly regretting what I thought would be a wonderful outing, I grabbed my bag of candy and rushed out of the story. By that time, a few children were crying. I understand how they feel. If I saw such a horrendous mask, I’d be crying too. Except, that wasn’t a mask or makeup, it was Hisoka.

Hisoka hadn’t noticed I left the shop because he was still peering through the window. The slightest touch on his shoulder made him jerk, falling over on nearby wooden barrels. They fell and made a BOOM, causing everyone, including their horrified children, to stare in our direction. I couldn’t help but blush for a moment. My skin darkened more than I thought and slowly spread to my ears. Before a curse word could escape my lips, I noticed a strong smell of alcohol on his body. Wine, to be exact. Hisoka remained on the ground, using his forearm to cover his eyes.

Was he embarrassed?

I doubt it.

But He did whine about not feeling well.

“Y/n, I feel sick.”

I sigh… heavily.

“How much did you drink?”

“O-Only 3 glasses…”

“3 glasses of what?!”

“Oh, darling, please don’t yell. You’re making my head hurt worse.”

I stood still, standing tall, crossing my arms. To the public, I looked like an angry soccer mom, but in my mind, I was an angry fiancee that did not feel like dragging her toned man to the car at once.

“What did you drink, Hisoka?”

“Scotch Whisky, Rum and…”

“WHAT?!”

The sound of my voice was so loud that it ricocheted from the building’s walls. Everyone was staring at me, and the man on the ground. Oh, I could just kill him for this outrageous behavior!

I got him to stand up and walk towards the car. I bought gingerbread from our local store. I’m so angry! That is why we came ALL this way… well, part of the reason.

When Hisoka sat in the passenger’s side of the truck, his face appeared to be pale. He laid his head back, crossed his legs, and placed his right hand on his stomach. Just then, I knew what he was going to do.

Before he attempted to exit my trunk, he vomited on the floor. It stunk. No words could describe my anger.

“I’m sorry, kitten.”

“Oh, hush up! Now I have to clean this up before we head home!”

Cleaning the vomit from the floor was horrible. The dirt from the carpet mixed with the vomit made it look so repulsive. I almost vomited! Threw my floor guards away. There’s no point in keeping them now. I took a spare rag and went inside. I wiped Hisoka’s jacket from top to bottom, along with his pants. I wiped the smell away because it wasn’t as strong as it was before. I wiped his face. Scrubbing it, cupping his cheeks and making his lips pucker appeared to be an endearing moment for others, but it wasn’t so much for me. From the little space he had, he opened his eyes. His golden orbs stared at me, although I didn’t know.

“You care about me, don’t you, kitten?” His voice was much more tender than usual.

“Don’t ask me that right now. Wait a few hours, ok?”

“No one likes a meanie, y/n. Lighten up a little. It’s ok.”

“Hisoka, be quiet!”

“Or what? You’ll punish me? Hm…. I dare you.”

“I know it’s the Hennessy boosting your confidence right now. Be careful, buddy. That’ll get you into trouble.”

“Why don’t you give me a lick or two? I swear I’ll behave.”

He winks at me twice. Thankfully, I’ve been through this before. The cocky horny talk is only amplified when he is filthy drunk; so drunk that he confuses the letter D for the letter B. Just then, Hisoka pats my backside twice, making a loud suction noise. I jump at the motion, covering it with my left hand. Thankfully, all the youngsters were still quiet some feet away from us, so they did not have to see such “PDA”. I finally drove home.

Over the next few days, Hisoka finally recovered from his “wild ride” at the gingerbread house. I bought at least 5 boxes of gingerbread houses for the family. I gave into temptation and bought more peppermint chocolate candy. Seeing that addiction was forming, I still shoved them in my mouth. It seemed as if I became irritable or upset. The candy made me feel better. I wouldn’t say the same for Hisoka. Alcohol does not make him happy. Instead, it gives him a rush after a fight or sudden arousal if I’m nowhere to be found. I rather he takes it out on himself than another woman.

Within a few hours, I ate the entire bag of peppermint chocolate that was supposed to last until our trip.

“Damn!”

Hisoka chuckled. The chair he placed next to mine made a squeaking noise as he sat down.

“I thought you were supposed to save some for the rest of us!”

“I’m glad to see you’re feeling better.”

🎁 ❄️ 🎁 ❄️ 🎁 ❄️ 🎁

Before I knew it, I snuggled Hisoka and I close together like two birds of a feather would be. The fireplace was lit; the tv was nearly on mute, and the fresh snow fell from the sky. Although I was up like a light, Hisoka was sound asleep. Because he was foolish enough to mix alcohol (which you should NEVER do), it took a toll on his liver. If he isn’t better by the time of our family trip, I am taking him to the doctor. Despite Hisoka’s stupid, and illegal behavior, when he is sound asleep, he is much tolerable. I do not see his “bloodlust” or evil glare. No. All I see is a tired young man; eyes shut, mouth rested, and head laid carelessly on my shoulder. I could feel hot air blown out of his nostrils on my neck. Hisoka’s muscular body was much heavier than I expected. His arms and body weight trained my body to gain the strength of its own! Still, the heavier his body, the more reassured I was that he was sound asleep and was not waking up soon. His right arm was wrapped tightly around my torso as his head was pressed firmly against my chest. I imagined he thought I was a teddy bear.

I moved slightly to reach the remote. My body moved as my torso bent to the right to reach for the remote. Hisoka squeaked…. Yes, he did. That happens occasionally when he is in a deep sleep and feels something move that he is… cuddling with. I’ve teased him about this rather cute jester, but every time I do, he threatens to cut my neck off. At the moment's spur, I don’t press the issue, but he and I know he is most vulnerable when he is asleep. Still, his soft face makes my heart flutter.

Rest well, Hisoka. We will leave in 4 days…

[hawks-supremacy]

Mall Food

a/n: I didn't proof read it. Sorry if there's errors, I reread as I'm writing and try to catch any as I go.

warnings: Swearing I think that's it

word count: 2k

Masterlist

It was the weekend that the Seijoh team was supposed to come down for their practice match against Inarizaki and you were currently sitting in the gym at 7 am on a Saturday. If it were up to you, you’d still be asleep in a warm bed. Instead Shinsuke had woken you up at 6:15 so you could get ready to be to the school on time. The Seijoh team had gotten to town late last night but wouldn’t be arriving at the practice match until 9. Sitting on the bench after you had finished the tasks assigned to you, you had begun to text the group chat saying the boys were lucky they got to sleep in even if it was only for an hour and a half.

After texting them you heard someone sit down on the bench next to you. Putting your phone down you looked over to see Osamu laying down on the bench with his eyes already closed. You looked down at him and poked his face a few times until he opened his eyes to look back up at you, “Whaddya want Y/n?” You shrugged in response and moved so your legs were on either side of the bench facing the direction he was laying. You started to run your fingers through his hair before laughing to yourself, “What?” He asked.

“Nothing, I just wasn't expecting your hair to be this soft. I thought it’d be fried with the constant lightening and toning.” He rolled his eyes at your reply and closed his eyes enjoying the feeling of your fingers against his scalp. You sat like this just enjoying each other's company in a comfortable silence until Atsumu and Suna came to sit on the floor next to you both. It was early enough to where Atsumu barely even talked, save for a few sentences here and there.

After 30 minutes of everyone trying to get in a little bit of extra sleep you heard Shinsuke and the Coach greeting people. Looking up from Osamu’s hair that you attempted to braid you saw the Seijoh boys. After they were done talking and the Coaches walked off to discuss the practice match you got up from the bench and ran over to greet your old friends.

You jumped on Hajime’s back since he was closest and turned away from you, “I missed you guys so much!” You yelled as Iwa was trying to keep from falling over due to your sudden weight. “Y/n, please get off of me.” You climbed off of Iwa like he had asked and went to his side where he pulled you in for a side hug kissing the top of your head briefly, “Missed you too kid.” You smiled as you shoved him away, “I am one year younger than you quit calling me kid old man.”

“Well where’s my greeting.” Toru said with his hands on his hips and pout on his lips. You shook your head and gave him a hug while he grumbled about Hajime being your favorite. Turning you pulled Maki and Mattsun into a group hug. While catching up with your old friends, unbeknownst to you, your new group of friends had been watching your interactions.

“Yeah so I’m pretty sure they’re dating the one that kissed them on the head.” Atsumu stated with crossed arms. Suna sighed not moving from his spot on the floor whereas Atsumu had stood when you left. Osamu sat up rubbing his eyes, still tired, “Quit assuming things until they tell us specifically.” Atsumu huffed and sat back down on the bench, arms still crossed, “Fine but don’t come crying to me when I’m right.”

“Shut up Atsumu, behave yourself. They’re comin’ over here.” Osamu said as you walked over with the Seijoh four in tow. “Hey guys! I wanted to introduce you guys.” You motioned for the boys to stand up so you could properly introduce them to each other. To be honest you were worried about them meeting each other. It could either go perfect or it could end with the fire marshall being called and the practice match being cancelled. You hoped it went well so you all could go to the mall when there was free time today.

“Iwaizumi, Oikawa, Hanamaki, Matsukawa, this is Atsumu, Osamu, and Suna.” You pointed and gestured to each person as you were naming them and they all gave the same lame wave except for Atsumu and Oikawa who glared at the opposite group. Seeing Shinsuke waving you over, you dismissed yourself to go talk to him.

“Quit glaring,” Iwa said, hitting Toru over the head. He let out a hiss of pain and turned away from the other group while rubbing his head. “No need to hit me.” He mumbled crossing his arms, now pouting. “Boohoo suck it up.” Iwa said, “Hey so which one of you met Y/n this summer?”

Osamu turned to Iwaizumi after scolding Atsumu for glaring at your friends, “That would be me, I went ta the same culinary camp as ‘em.” Iwa elbowed Toru as he mumbled something about a dumb accent. “Culinary camp? You never went to a culinary camp ya liar.” Atsumu said faceing Osamu. “Ya I did. I went to it the same time you did yer volleyball camp dumbass.” Everyone watched as Osamu and Atsumu continued to argue. Shortly after you walked back over to gather everyone, “Come one guys you’re supposed to start warming up.” Nodding everyone went to their respective sides of the gyms to do their warm ups that the coaches had set for them.

The practice match ended with Inarizaki winning the first and last set and Seijoh winning the second set. They ended up playing a rematch where Seijoh won. You started to clean up and put everything away while the boys showered and changed. After cleaning up and discussing what things could be improved on and what the team will work on next practice you all headed out for the day. Seijoh wasn’t leaving until tomorrow so the coach gave them the rest of the day to do touristy things and look around if they wanted, they just had to be back at the hotel at 9.

“Why are we going to the mall anyway?” Mattsun asked, walking in the back of the group with Maki. You turned around walking backwards as you replied, “Because the mall has everything. You’re hungry? Food court. You need a new sweater? Clothing store. Want to play games? Arcade. C’mon Mattsun, use your head.” As you were turning back around you tripped over your own ankle, Iwaizumi catching you before you could hit the ground, “Thanks Haji.” Behind you Atsumu gave Suna and Osamu a knowing look before Suna rolled his eyes and smacked Atsumu in the arm telling him to cut it out.

Everyone was hungry at the moment so you headed towards the food court after entering the mall. After picking where each person wanted to eat you met up at the table with your trays of food. Finishing up your food and throwing away the scraps and setting the tray down you asked where everyone wanted to go. You first went to a book and music store where Maki bought some new cds. Then you headed to a clothing store where almost everyone got a sweater or t-shirt. Lastly you headed to the sports store, you had figured you’d end up here at the end of the day.

“Hey, what do you think of this cross-body bag?” Toru asked, sporting a neon green bag with orange accents. You grimianced, “Fashion really isn’t your thing Toru.” He scoffed saying he

liked it and went to look at the Volleyballs they had. You walked over to Osamu who was looking at the tennis rackets, “You gonna take up tennis?” He hummed in a questioning tone and looked at you, “Oh. No, I’m just kinda wandering at this point. Nothing I really need in here.” You nodded, “Yeah I’m pretty much the same, nothing’s really catching my eye unless I wanna shop for early christmas gifts.”

After 30 minutes of wandering around the store and buying nothing the guys decided they needed to head back to the hotel. As you were exiting the store the security alarms started to go off before an employee told everyone they needed to get back in the store. You looked around confused before the employee started accusing you all of stealing. Sure a few of you looked like degenerates but none of you actually were. You glanced at everyone before stopping at Toru, “God damnit Toru, you’re still wearing that god awful bag.” He looked over at you after you called his name, “Huh? Oh I didn’t even realize it. I wasn’t stealing.”

The employee scoffed, “Then what do you call it? Borrowing?” Scrunching his eyebrows Toru took off the bag, “No I call it an accident.” Ripping the bag out of his hands the employee scowled, “Don’t get an attitude with me young man.” You furrowed your eyebrows taking a step towards Toru and the employee, “He didn’t have an attitude if anyone has one it’s you. Come on dude it was an accident. Who would willingly steal that ugly ass bag?”

The grouchy employee raised his eyebrows, “You all have an attitude? Let’s see where that attitude gets you in the mall holding cells.” After that he called mall security where you were all escorted to the back of the mall where the holding cell was for people who intentionally stole. You honestly thought it was absurd that you were in here. Even more absurd that you only got one call for all of you combined. After weighing the options you decided the best bet was Atsumu and Osamu’s parents. The boys didn’t want to call the coach otherwise they would’ve gotten in trouble and you didn’t want to call your grandma because she was probably sleeping anyway.

As you all sat there waiting for their parents to get here you looked at Toru, “I can’t believe you got us into this situation again.” He threw his hands up in defense, “It’s not like I did it on purpose. If anything it’s your mouth that got us in here.” Crossing your arms you looked out the cell, “Yah well maybe if the manager wasn’t a dick I wouldn’t have needed to say anything. He was totally out of line.” Everyone nodded and sat in silence.

A few minutes later the twins’ mom arrived with the security guard. “Seriously Atsumu and Osamu, what did you do this time?” She questioned folding her arms. “They didn’t do anything ma’am, it was my fault I’m sorry.” She sighed and looked at the twins, “Is this them?” You whipped your heads to look at the twins in confusion as they nodded, “You can explain what happened over lunch tomorrow, how about that?” She asked, as she ushered everyone out of the mall. “Yeah that sounds great, thanks Miya-san.”

Walking out of the mall Atsumu and Suna got into the car with the twins’ mom while you and Osamu talked briefly, “So much for not meeting your mom in a holding cell.” You mumbled looking at your feet. Osamu laughed before giving you a quick hug, “See you tomorrow I guess.” You nodded as you hugged him back, “Yeah see you tomorrow.” As he got in the car you turned to the Seijoh boys to walk back to their hotel before Shinsuke picked you up, “That was weird right? Like what happened? Her knowing who I am and then randomly inviting me to dinner after I said it was my fault? Or am I crazy?” You asked the boys. “No, that was weird, but you’re definitely still crazy.” You shoved Toru running away before he could shove you back. He chased you the whole way to the hotel with Hajime yelling at you both to cut it out.

Tag List:

@officialfictionalwreck @chloji @mynscorner @halesandy @elianetsantana @kaleidoscopekai @browneyespinkhair @rinsangel @marvel-ing-at-it-all @writersandroses @lilith412426 @noodlenerd101 @bakugouswh0r3 @redheadedpineapple @chantalkate16 @confusedturtle @yqshirov @kazewo @kit-kat428 @tetsuhoes

[softholand]

gingerbread kisses - t.h

pairing: tom holland x youtuber!reader

warnings: a lot of dialogue and some good old festive fluff

words: 2.5k

a/n: this is like a part two of my youtuber!reader series, it can also be read on it’s one but if you haven’t read chocolate kisses yet, you can do it here i really hope you guys enjoy it and please let me know what you think!! ✨

It was another normal workday at your flat, you had all your lights and camera set in your living room, ready to start filming. Today’s video was going to be a Q&A with a special guest, Tom Holland.

It was expected that your baking video with him was going to be one of the most successful ones, but you weren’t expecting the number of views that, to this day, a whole month later, kept coming.

With so many comments almost begging you to bring him to your channel again, you finally gave in and asked him to do a Q&A with you, but since it was the end of the year and Christmas was just around the corner, you decided that, while you answered your viewer's questions, you two could build gingerbread houses.

“Tom, where are you? I’m about to start this without you!” You shouted from the living room floor, where you were seated. “I’m coming, I just had to get something before,” Tom answered, appearing in front of you, wearing a ridiculously ugly Christmas jumper, making you burst out laughing.

“Oh my God! Where did you get that?” You asked, trying to recover from your fit of laughing. “Oh, don’t worry, darling! There’s one for you too!” He stated, taking an identical jumper from behind him.

“You’re not letting me get out of this, are you?” You questioned, sighing when you saw him shake his head. Once you took your (his) hoodie out, replacing it with the ugly sweater, you were finally ready to start recording.

“Hi guys, welcome back to another video! This week we have a special guest that you guys have been asking since our last video together.” You said, giving Tom time to sit next to you. “It’s Tom!”

“It’s me!” He exclaimed, smiling at the camera. “This time we’re not baking anything but, since Christmas is almost here, I thought it was a good idea for us to build some gingerbread houses!” You said, pointing to the kits you had bought on your last trip to the grocery store.

“It’s been so long since I’ve done this!” Tom smiled, clearly excited to start. “But, instead of just sitting here, I asked you guys on Instagram to send some questions so we could answer while doing our houses. What do you think?” You questioned, looking at him.

“Dangerous… but fun!” He said, making you laugh. “So, we have the Christmas tree with the lights on, it’s starting to snow outside, I’ve made us some hot chocolate and of course, we cannot forget our ugly sweaters, courtesy of Tom.” You grinned.

“You’re welcome!” He praised, making you roll your eyes. “I’d said we’re ready to start.” You announced, to which he gave you two thumbs-ups.

Once you had taken the house out of its package, you laid all the biscuit parts in front of you, Tom doing the same beside you.

“So, the first question is “What’s your best/worst memory together?” You let them know while putting the baking glue on your biscuit. “Do you wanna start?” Tom offered, to which you shrugged. “It’s okay, you can go first.” You said, seeing that he already had the answer at the tip of his tongue.

“Best memory is your twentieth birthday party.” He stated, without taking his eyes out of his project. “Why?” You asked, also concentrating on building the house.

“C’mon, y/n! You know why!” Tom finally looked up, making kissy lips to you. “Tom! It’s supposed to be a surprise for the end of the video!” You whined, earning a chuckle from him. “Okay, fine! I’ll behave!” He said, making you laugh this time.

“I think my favorite memory of us is at the Far From Home premiere party! We had so much fun!” Tom declared, making you smile. “Yeah, that was nice!” You agreed, thinking about your favorite memory with Tom. “Mine is probably when we went to New York, I loved that trip!” You confessed, remembering all the crazy things you and Tom did back then.

“Yeah, that was a good one!” Tom agreed, smiling at you. “Worst one has to be the time paparazzi locked us outside of that restaurant. It was awful, I honestly thought I was gonna die that day.” You remembered, feeling chills cover your body. “Yeah, same!” The boy next to you answered, clearly feeling down just thinking about that event, so you made sure to quickly change the subject and ask the next question.

“So, the next question is, what was your best trip?” You asked, motioning for Tom to go first. “Mine has to be Bali, I loved that place and I’m dying to go back.” He stated. “Tell me about it, I was so jealous when you guys went there!” You whined, remembering the photos he kept texting you. “What about you, y/n?”

“Oh, 100% Christmas in New York!” You told him, without even having to think. “It was magical!” You smiled, remembering the trip like it was yesterday.

“Nice! I never spent Christmas in New York!” Tom commented, before going for the next question. “What’s the other Starbucks order?” He asked, taking a sip of his hot chocolate.

“Yours is tea!” You said, rolling your eyes. “Hey, I drink coffee too!” Tom uttered. “Rarely! Most of the time is Chai Latte or a Royal English Breakfast Tea.” You stated and of course, Tom had to agree.

“Yeah, you’re right! I should try more of their stuff. But you also always get the same, White Chocolate Mocha or Peppermint Hot Cocoa at this time of the year.” Tom listed, making you smile knowing that he knew your drink orders.

“But it’s just soooo good! I can’t help it!” Tom chuckled, before passing your phone back to you for the next question. “That’s a good one, who’s the messier one?” You questioned. “I don’t even think I have to answer this, you guys realized that from our last video together!” You declared, making you both laugh.

“Ok, I’ll give you this one. I’m pretty messy! But I’m trying to get better at it, I promise!” Tom added, to which you chuckled. “My house is built, now I just have to decorate!” You announced, making Tom gasp by your side. “What?! There’s no way! I’m still trying to make these walls stick together.” He whined, making you chuckle.

“That’s because you’re not using enough glue, look, you have to put a straight line across the whole biscuit, otherwise it won’t stick.” You told him, showing exactly how to do it. “But the glue it’s showing on the other side.” He reasoned. “It doesn’t matter, Tom! We’ll just make it look like snow. See?” You pointed to your own house and he nodded, going back to work, focused on finishing it so he could start decorating.

“Next question, what’s the most useless talent you have?” Tom asked, already laughing. “Mine is really stupid but I can put my feet on top of my head,” Tom stated, demonstrating exactly what he was saying, almost knocking everything that was on the table in front of you off.

“That’s not a talent, you’re just flexible.” You rolled your eyes, to which he laughed. “You’re only saying this because you’re jealous you can’t do it.” He smirked, clearly trying to get on your nerves. “Shut up, I have a much better one, I can lick my elbow.” You said, also showing your completely useless talent. “That’s… weirdly impressive.” Tom expressed making you both laugh.

When Tom was finally done building his house, he joined you and started to decorate. You told him and your viewers that you were going for more of a white Christmas theme, while Tom expressed his desire to make the house as colorful as possible.

“Tom, I think the next question is for you.” You gave him a look, before continuing. “What is the dumbest way you’ve been injured?” He gasped, putting one of his hands over his chest while you laughed. “Why are you coming for me today?” The brown-haired boy asked, pretending to be offended.

“I’m sorry, but how many times have you broken your nose while filming?” You asked once you had stopped laughing. “Three, actually, two and a half, the last one wasn’t a complete fracture.” He explained, trying to not make a fool out of himself.

“Well, I’ve never injured myself badly, just some paper cuts, which for me it’s very dumb.” You mentioned. “See? Your answer is dumber than mine and still, I get the title.” Tom shook his head, making you laugh. “So, taking a break from the questions, what are you doing with your house?” You questioned, taking a moment to observe his work.

“I’m gluing some gummies on the roof.” He exclaimed, putting the icing on the sugar-coated candy before sticking it on the house. “And you?” Tom asked, stopping his movements to look at yours.

“I’m putting shredded coconut on the roof and a little bit on the floor, to make it look more like snow.” You smiled, happy with what you had done so far. “Uhh, bougie!” Tom uttered, sticking his tongue out.

“Shut up! Okay, question number… I don’t even know what number we are, so… weird habits of each other? Oh my God, Tom makes SO much noise to eat, it’s ridiculous!” You blurted, to which he immediately complained. “I do not!” He exclaimed. “Yes, you do!”

“You never said that to me!” You laughed at Tom defending himself. “I have told you, at least, a hundred times!” You stated. “Well, at least I have control of my own body, you can’t stop bouncing your leg for literally two seconds.” He exclaimed.

“That’s because I have anxiety and you know that! I’m always moving a part of my body!” You practically yelled. “Still annoying!” Tom said. “Well, I can’t help it!” You interjected. “Neither do I!” He replied. “Next question?” You asked. “Please!” He shot back, making you both burst out laughing.

Once you stopped, Tom took your phone and asked the next question. “Do you have nicknames for each other?” He smirked, making you panic. “Hey, you said you’d behave!” You warned, pointing a finger at him. “I will, promise!” He told you, but that didn’t stop you from being nervous about his answer.

“I sometimes call her cherry, because she can do that trick with the cherry stem, it’s unbelievable!” He smirked, making you blush. “That’s actually pretty easy to do!” You said, trying to make light of the situation. “Oh yeah, it’s totally easy to tie a knot with a cherry stem with your tongue. Super chill!” Tom added, without taking that stupid smirk out of his face.

“Stop it! I don’t think I have a nickname for you, I call you spider-boy sometimes but just to spite you.” You smiled, sticking your tongue out. If Tom wanted to play, you could join his little game.

“I wish I could tell them all the other names you call me in bed,” Tom whispered, making you almost choke on your hot chocolate. “Thomas!!!” You screamed, trying desperately to clean the mess you’ve made. “Fine…” He replied, taking a sip of his drink.

“Ok, since we are almost done with the houses, the second to last question is: If you could, what would you change about your first kiss?” You asked, immediately regretting choosing the question. “Oh, that’s cool! Let me see… no, I don’t think I’ll change anything about it, maybe the place. It was a little too crowded.” He replied, not even trying to hide his smirk.

“Really? That’s all you’d change?” You asked, giving him the chance to take back his answer. “Yep, that’s all! What about you, y/n?” You shook your head, feigning disappointment that he didn’t choose to make you his first kiss. “I’d change the person, you idiot!” You answered, throwing one of the icing packages at him.

“Hey, that hurt!” Tom protested, throwing it back at you. “Stop it! We have to finish these so we can end the video.” You warned, pointing an accusing finger at him. “Oh, I’m done!” He announced, showing off his finished gingerbread house with a very colorful roof, windows, and door. “Already? I still wanna do a garland on the door. I even bought special sprinkles for it.” You stated, rushing yourself. “Of course you did!” Tom mocked, to which you simply flipped him off.

Once you had also finished your house, you and Tom did a quick cleaning of the table, before going back to filming. “We’re back!” You said, to which Tom added. “And we’re finished!”

“I’m really happy, they turned out so pretty!” You beamed, looking at your finished works. “They did!” Tom agreed, smiling widely. “So… before we end this video, we do have a last question, one that was the most asked and that is: are you guys together?” You said, finally acknowledging the elephant in the room.

You and Tom shared some guilty looks before blurting it out together. “Yes!” Tom’s smile was so wide that it made you smile too. “Yes, guys! You were all right! Tom and I are in a relationship now and we are so happy to finally share this with all of you!” You grinned, looking at your boyfriend, that of course was looking back at you.

“Yeah, I feel like the luckiest guy in the world and I honestly couldn’t be happier,” Tom murmured, making you blush. “Stop it!” You smiled, now completely lost in his eyes. “I think you have to finish the video now, darling!” He joked, bringing you back to earth.

“Oh, yeah, right! So… that was everything for today’s video, I hope you guys enjoyed it! Don’t forget to give the video a thumbs up and subscribe to my channel! Please, let me know what you guys thought in the comments section down below and… I think that’s it. Do you wanna say something?” You asked, shifting your eyes to Tom. “Thank you for having me again and I hope to come back soon for another one!” He said, giving the camera an adorable little wave. “Bye guys! See you next week!” You cheered, getting up to stop the recording. “We did it!”

“Yay! Can I eat now?” Tom quipped, before smashing his house in half. “Thomas!!!!” You shouted, not believing what he had done. “What?! We’re not supposed to eat it?” He wondered, putting one of the cookie pieces in his mouth. “I mean, yeah, but not… like that!” You tried to reasoned, to which he scoffed.

“C’mon, you didn’t think I wasn’t going to make a mess, right?” He smirked, signing for you to come closer. And you did, sliding right in front of him, straddling his waist.

“You’re an idiot!” You teased, clasping your arms behind his head. “Hmm, c’mere!” Tom lifted your chin and there was nothing more to do other than kiss his lips, so you did, only this time, instead of chocolate, they tasted like gingerbread.

tagging some of my mutuals ✨ @stuckonspidey @definitely-not-black-cat @missnxthingg @bi-writes @uglypastels @screamholland @peeterparkr @wazzupmrstark @tomhollandthing @lauras-collection @tommybaholland @mrs-hollandstan @duskholland @allyz @hazinhoodies @hollandcreep @worldoftom @whatevsholland @geminiparkers

[ri-ahhh]

rockin’ around

because my family isn’t doing anything Christmas until the 26th and I have nothing else to do

home for the holidays doesn’t always mean you have to return somewhere.

just a big pile of dumb, ridiculous fluff. happy Christmas Eve🎅🎄⛄️

***

“I can’t go home for Christmas.”

Grayson looks up from his phone as you mope into the living room, tossing your purse and keys on the couch cushion beside him before climbing onto his lap. He pouts and wraps you in his arms, pressing a kiss to your temple as you cling to him and nuzzle your nose into his warm neck.

��Aw, baby, I’m sorry,” he murmurs. You sigh when he swipes a palm across your forehead to smooth back your hair. “What happened?”

“My dad just found out he might have gotten exposed at work.” You take a deep breath, holding back tears that would do no one any good. He’s in the exact same boat as you — minus the potential risk of his parent having the virus — but it still wouldn’t be fair to him if you sat here and cried about it. “I just really was hoping I’d get to see family, at least for the holidays.”

Grayson hums a little and brushes his lips against your forehead once again; he understands all too well the struggle of beinf an out-of-state transplant in these times. “Well, lucky for us, we’ve got our own little family in this house, right? It’s not the same, of course, but it’s more than a lot of people have.”

He’s right. You mumble some semblance of agreement and squeeze him tight. You’re still upset, but the familiar smell of his cologne and the feel of being close to him is already assuaging some of your anxiety and sadness.

He hugs you back, and you can hear the reassuring smile in his voice when he speaks again. “We’ll have a party on Christmas Eve. I’ll have Adele order all the shit today; we’re gonna this the best, most festive Christmas we can, babe. I’ll make sure of it.”

Christmas Eve arrives before you know it. If 2020 has taught you anything, it’s that time is the most fickle and outrageous concept of them all; you feel like it was yesterday that you hung up the phone with your mom after finding out you’d have to cancel your flight home, when it’s really been just over a week.

You’re returning back from your apartment with a carful of presents and the other half of your closet to hang up in Grayson’s, to find an excess of Christmas decor has exploded in the twins’ house. Kristina stands precariously on a stool while she hangs a garland across the back doors, Ethan standing protectively behind her with hands held at the ready to catch her rather than simply helping her pin the other end of it to the wall. You giggle and shake your head, making your way to the den to dump some of the presents under the tree. Mando and Adele are stringing multicolored lights all across the room, which is sure to set the vibe right when the Christmas movie night starts later.

Your favorite sight by far, though, is the one you see upon entering the kitchen once your car is completely unloaded. Grayson, in a Santa hat, scooping out thumbprint cookies onto a baking sheet, singing along adorably off-key to the Kacey Musgraves rendition of ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ that’s playing through all of the nearby alexas.

“You’re so cute,” you grin, standing on your toes to kiss his cheek before reaching down sneakily and pinching his ass.

Grayson curses with a little yelp, but chuckles with you as he ducks down for a proper welcome-home kiss.

“Gotta make Santa his cookies,” he says, grinning against your lips, then puckers them a couple more times before pulling away. He sets the bowl down and starts mashing imprints into the dough.

You reach up and squeeze the pompom on the end of his hat and quirk a suggestive brow at him. “You look like a Santa to me. And I might have a special cookie for you later tonight.”

Grayson’s own arched brows shoot up until they’re hidden beneath that sexy swoop of dark hair you love so much. He pushes too hard on one of the dough balls, squishing it much too flat, but he doesn’t even notice. “Yeah?”

You nod and pick up the jelly jar from where it sits on the counter next to a batch of already baked and cooled cookies. “Yep.” You lick and suck the remnants of the sticky sweet from the spoon that rests in the jar, eyeing him up and down. “I may have even bought special packaging for it, too.”

You smile widely at his annoyed laugh, watching him shake his head and get back to work to distract himself from the mental image of the early Christmas present he’s sure to receive tonight.

Ethan and Kristina are still hanging more garland and bunting all around the house, and you take pity on your friend when you hear her bickering quietly with her boyfriend about him refusing to do anything but be her spotter.

“I’m, like, a meter off the ground, E. You’re being ridiculous.”

“I’m American; a meter sounds like a lot. And you’ve almost fallen like five times.”

“Only because you’re distracting me and not actually helping!”

You laugh and haul a barstool to where the end of the ‘merry Christmas’ bunting needs to go, shooing Ethan off to help Mando and Adele. What would Christmas be without some healthy fighting from the resident mom and dad?

Decorations get finalized, cooking and baking are completed, and everyone gathers in the living room for some fun Christmas-themed games you and Adele had found on Pinterest. Ryan even makes it over, having made the decision himself to stay in LA as well. Adele passes around more Santa hats and obnoxious necklaces made of big, lit-up Christmas lights to accompany everyone’s ugly sweaters and cozy pajama pants. It’s truly something out of a Hallmark movie, and though you still miss your family across the country, you marvel at the one you’ve built right here — just like Grayson said.

Much later on (technically Christmas Day at this point), after cycling through The Grinch, Home Alone, and Love Actually, Ethan and Kristina head to bed. Mando’s new apartment is close enough that he goes home, taking Ryan with him, and Adele crashes in the guest room. It leaves you and Grayson some alone time to cuddle up together in a bundle of blankets beneath the tree, sharing soft giggles and sweet kisses.

Grayson’s smile is infectious as he nuzzles a dimple in your cheek brought out by your own giddiness — you practically feel the energy of a child in the early morning hours of Christmas, waiting on presents to appear magically beneath the tree.

“Do you think Santa will still come if I fuck you under this tree?” he whispers, kissing your ear softly and making you shudder. The chasteness compared to the dirty nature of his words gets you even more riled up. “In the hat, and that necklace, and whatever special wrapping you mentioned earlier?”

You hum and run your hands up and down his broad back, letting him trail hot kisses now down the column of your neck, sighing happily. “I don’t know. I think rockin’ around the Christmas tree in that way might get us put on the naughty list last moment.”

“More like rompin’ around the Christmas tree, am I right babe?”

You laugh out loud, squirming beneath him when he slips his hands beneath your sweater and tickles your ribs gently. You reach up and adjust his skewed Santa hat. “Please shut up, Mr. Claus. Now, I might already be wearing that wrapping, if you’re ready to eat your cookie.”

[iridescent-hallucinations]

December Prompt 7 - Ugly Christmas Sweaters with the BAU

So my prompt for today was ugly Christmas sweaters & while I’m taking a break from writing, I actually couldn’t help myself... so here we go!

Penelope - starting off very strong, we have only the very best hand crafted Christmas sweater. Only Penelope could pull off something so spectacular. And how she pulls it off - 100/10

Derek - This year he took being a hero to a more literal level and couldn’t stop posing while wearing the sweater. No one’s mad, after all, if anyone gets to be superman at the BAU, it’s Derek.

Spencer - Resident boy genius wanted to dress up like Tom Baker’s Dr Who, but settled for this very stylish number after Penelope reminded him that Dr Who doesn’t typically wear Christmas sweaters so that would be cheating (but he can save the costume for her fancy dress party scheduled for New Years Eve)

JJ - Although it doesn’t necessarily meet the criteria of ‘ugly’ Christmas sweater, no one says anything because JJ simply looks so adorable in her turtle neck attire.

Emily - she didn’t even want to wear a jumper, saying they’re itchy and too hot, so JJ bought her this and secretly she loves it. But no one can ever know and no one is fooled

Hotch - Jack got to choose his jumper this year, and they ended up getting matching ones, super sweet, and totally jarring because he can’t stop smiling and no one dares to mention it in case the spell is broken. Good job Jack.

Rossi - everyone and I mean everyone groaned when Rossi walked in wearing this monstrosity. But he got the memo, an ugly Christmas jumper if ever there were.

Tara - effortlessly fabulous, as always Tara has smashed the assignment, ugly Christmas sweater - but make it fashion - and it rides the line between tasteful and tasteless perfectly.

Luke - once again, the assignment has been met - and while it may not be his usual style, Luke adores his sweater more than any he’s owned before, mostly because Penelope hand crafted it for him and looked so proud of herself when she gave it to him.

[petersasteria]

Michael Scott (III) - Haz Osterfield

Osterfield || Main || Taglist

Requested? Nah 624 words Based on Michael Scott quotes. As usual, the one in bold is the quote.

* * * *

Harrison recently found joy in online shopping and it drove you insane. Everyday, there’d be a package for Harrison and most of the time, he’s not even home to claim it. It’s already been paid for, but you really didn’t have the energy to get up and answer the door everyday. You have now reached a point where you leave a note on your door telling the delivery person to leave it by the door. Harrison would come home to see the door blocked by 4-5 packages and he’d smile really big and get it all in the house.

He’s addicted to online shopping. You’re literally close to calling TLC to sign Harrison up for ‘My Strange Addiction’. Today, you’ve had enough of his splurging. All the things he bought are now in the guest room and he leaves it there.

“Haz, we need to talk.” You told him as soon as he walked in the house with two packages that he took from the front porch. He shrugged and said, “Let’s talk in the guest room.”

Harrison made his way to the guest room and you followed behind him and started talking. “Haz, you know that I love you a lot and I care about you-”

“I love and care about you too, babe.” Harrison said as he took the last step and walked to the guest room. He took out the key to the guest room and unlocked the door.

“Yes, that’s sweet. Thank you.” You said quickly. “But I can’t help but notice your money spending habits and I’m concer-”

“Wait out here.” Harrison told you before going in the guest room and closing the door before you could get in. “Go ahead! I’m listening!” He shouted through the door and you heard some ruffling and shuffling.

“Okay, um…” You trailed off, not knowing where to begin. “I just care about you, y’know? I’m concerned that you’re buying a lot of stuff that you don’t even need and I don’t want you to waste your money because you don’t know what’ll happen in the future. You should really save your money so that you’re financially secure in case anything happens. At least you have money in your bank account, right?”

“Also, instead of spending so much on useless stuff, just donate the money to charity. Seriously. I’m not even sure if you’re listening!” You sighed. “Haz? Hello?”

Harrison opened the door and he was wearing a really thick jacket that was made for skiing, rain boots, a beanie, a dungaree underneath the skiing jacket and an ugly Christmas sweater underneath the dungaree. It was a… horrid outfit worn by one of the most stylish men you’ve ever known.

“Haz, I-” You said. You literally had no words. You didn’t know what to say. He smiled and turned around to show you.

“Do you like it?” Harrison asked when he faced you. You shook your head, “No, I don’t. What’s all this for? You’re hoarding on random shit!”

“These new things are for me and you! My old clothes are the things I’ll donate and old shoes too. The things in here are stuff to replace the ones we’ll donate. We have it.”

“Have what?”

“It.” Harrison said as if you knew what he was talking about. You raised your eyebrows and waited for him to explain.

He rolled his eyes, “SWAG. Stuff We All Get.”

You squeezed your eyes shut and pinched the bridge of your nose, “I understand nothing.”

“You’ll get it soon.” Harrison said before closing the door again and leaving you in the hallway. You opened your eyes, crossed your arms, and told yourself, “This man will be the death of me in both good and bad ways.”

* * * *

𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐇𝐀𝐙 𝐎𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐈𝐄𝐋𝐃 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓: @blueleatherbag @cocoamoonmalfoy @thatforgottenangel @parkerpeter24 @turtoix @givebuckyhisplumsnow @hotforharrison @chewymoustachio @just-here-to-escape-from-reality @yourstrulyamour @pearce14 @juliediggory @lharrietg @thevelvetseries @buckymylove @quxxnxfhxll @angelsgrxzer @more-like-reyna @caitsymichelle13 @aayaissaa

𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓: @holland-styles @trustfundparker @calltothewild @felicityparkers @hufflepuffprincess24 @tommysparker @justasmisunderstoodasloki @quaksonhehe @call-me-baby-gir1 @itstaskeen @theonly1outof-a-billion @lost-in-the-stars03 @justafangirlduh @piscesparker @speedymaximoff @miraclesoflove @lexirv @blairscott @getbywithasmile @pqrkerr @lavender-writer @blackbat2020 @hoodpankow @bi-lmg @emmastarz

[6rookie-writer0110]

Love is written in your eyes - Part; 2

Melissa Benoist x Male Reader

Request - how about a sequel to love is written in your eyes where Melissa and male reader are married and have a kid and it’s the final season of supergirl.

Since you first appeared on Supergirl, you became a series regular. Melissa got excited about it. You and Melissa invited the cast to the wedding and everyone came. You and Melissa did post pictures on Instagram and everyone loved it. Melissa sent you a text you and you smiled, she sent you a picture of her and your son. Your son Leo and he is only four months old. You finished filming on the show Supernatural now you are going home.

”I’m home babe!!” You yelled.

You walked towards the living room and she smiled at you. She hugged you and she starts to kiss your face.

”I missed you,” Melissa said.

”I missed you too and got you chocolate,” You said.

You kissed and smiled. You gave her the chocolate and you picked up your son.

”Hey buddy, I missed you so much. Now, I will stay home be with you” You said.

Your son smiled and you kissed his head.

”The show will end after season six,” Melissa said.

”Yeah, I saw the news online. How do you feel about it?” You said.

”It’s bittersweet. Everyone became like my second family and I will miss them so much” Melissa said.

”I will miss them too,” You said.

You and Melissa talked about the show for a little bit. You changed clothes then you lie in bed and play with your son, he tries to grab the toy from you.

”What I should cook for dinner?” Melissa asked.

”I will help you cook dinner. We can make tacos” You said.

”Sounds good,” Melissa said.

You and Melissa go to the kitchen, you put your son in the high chair. Melissa gave you the baby food and you start to feed him. After feeding him, you help Melissa make tacos.

Much Later, You fell asleep on the couch with your son sleeping on your chest. Melissa took a picture and she smiled

✬ ✯ ✫ ✯

You and Melissa go to the Christmas tree farm with Leo. You have on a baby carrier to hold Leo and Melissa took a selfie with you. While walking around and Leo holding your finger, Melissa found the perfect tree.

”Babe, this is the perfect tree! Just look it's not too big or too small, we have to get it” Melissa said

You looked at the tree.

”Leo, what do you think?” You asked him.

Melissa laughed and he just looks at you then at Melissa.

”Well?” Melissa asked.

”We love it!” You said and she laughed.

----

Back at the house, you set up the tree, and Melissa is feeding Leo. She watches you set up the tree then bring out the decorations and snacks. After feeding him, you changed his diaper, and Melissa starts to put ornaments on the tree. Later, you start to help her. After decorating the tree, now you decorate most of the house, she would tell you where to put it. The same process goes for when decorating the outside of the house.

”Maybe we should wear matching pajamas for Christmas...” Melissa said.

”I’m guessing you saw a cute set and you bought it?” You smiled.

She smiled back.

”Yeah, I did and I coolant resist,” Melissa said.

”Usually, I wouldn't do it but for you, I don't mind. Plus I already got my ugly Christmas sweater” You said.

Melissa giggled.

”What did you get?” Melissa said.

”It’s Santa riding a unicorn” You said and smiled big.

”Can’t wait to see it” Melissa said.

Later, you and Melissa go to the kitchen to bake Christmas cookies. Leap tried to grab the cookie dough but Melissa didn't let him get it. You start to make hot chocolate later you start to feed your son with the bottle. While sets up the movie in the living room, she loves to watch Christmas movies or shows during December.

✬ ✯ ✫ ✯

It's the final season of Supergirl, Melissa has been filming long hours. You have been at home with your son, you will appear in some episodes but not every episode with Melissa. Your nanny couldn't watch Leo, her family doesn't live close. You take your son to the studio.

”What happened, Y/N,” Melissa said.

She is in her supergirl suit.

”The nanny had a family emergency. So, Leo is with us today. Don't worry, I brought many diapers, food, and extra diapers and clothes” You said.

Leo tries to talk then the cast saw baby Leo. It's the first time they see him, the cast surrounding you and Leo.

”Oh my God, he is so cute,” Chyler said.

”I know I'm cute, thanks,” You said.

Everyone laughed and Chyler rolled her eyes at you.

”I meant the baby,” Chyler said.

”I’m still cute, right?” You joked.

”Shut up” Chyler laughed.

Chyler did hold Leo, then it was Nicole, Katie, Jesse, and David.

----

Katie and Nicole are watching Leo, while you are in your trailer putting on your new suit. You took a selfie then send it to Melissa, later you went to see her.

”Hey handsome” Melissa said.

She gave you a peck on the lips.

”Happ anniversary, babe,” You said.

You kissed her. It's been two years since you and Melissa got married.

”I thought, maybe we do something simple eat dinner and my mom watches Leo. Maybe we can go out and do something” Melissa said.

”Sounds good to me. If we work late, then we can order something and we can do whatever you want” You said.

Melissa smiled and you smiled back.

-----

You and Melissa did have to work late. You and Melissa would take turns changing and feeding Leo. Your co-workers did help taking care of Leo while you and Melissa had to film together.

Later, while Nicole is holding Leo, you had to film with Melissa, David, and Katie. During the scene, you are running with them and you fell and they laughed. You posed and winked

”Lena, use your gadget gizmo,” You said.

”That’s not your line” Katie laughed.

David and Melissa helped you get up from the ground. Everyone had to the scene again, this time you and Katie said each other lines and she playfully smacked your arm. Melissa and David did mess up their lines and started to dance. Later, you took a group picture with the cast.

Much later, you and Melissa had to do a small interview with a host of E! And answered a few questions.

Melissa put her arm around and you smiled.

”Tired?” You asked.

”Little bit. Andrea finally made Leo go to sleep. I'm in the mood for seafood” Melissa said.

”I’m in the mood for wings and something else,” You said.

Later, you shoot your final scene with everyone. You hugged everyone and you will miss them. Much later, you and Melissa finally go home with Leo.

[neon-vocalist]

day 15: date night: chandlamara

Originally written October 26, 2021

The first week, the sweater-buying is acceptable and unquestionable. The only thing that Heather McNamara even notices about her is her hair... her eyes... her style... her body... but certainly not the sweater-buying! She doesn't give the sweater-buying a second thought. Christmas is usually the busiest season for the shop anyway, and they just got in a shipment of new ugly sweaters, so she had much more to deal with between unpacking and online orders and countless customers to notice the beautiful- okay, sexy- woman coming in and out every day, every time with a scowl on her face, slamming down the money and sweater and grumbling a thank you as she tugs it over her head on her way out.

Halfway through the second week, the sweater-buying becomes slightly concerning, and since there's no shipment that week, Heather considers actually talking to her. Just do it. Just say hello. It's five letters. Five letters, Mac. You can do it.

And then she actually shows up. Today's sweater is cat-themed, unfortunately. It's the type that never comes off the rack at all, so it's a pretty momentous affair for the sweater shop. It has two cats on the front; one in a Santa hat, one in reindeer ears, and it reads Meowy Catmas. It's horrendous. The girl comes up to the counter and exhales a dramatic puff of air.

"Do I get some sort of repeated customer bonus?" she asks, looking coldly up at Heather through her hair.

Hold it together, Heather. "Uh, um, no, unfortunately not. May I ask you why you've bought so many of these sweaters? Especially, uh... that one?"

The girl laughs bitterly. "I wasn't aware you were allowed to interrogate me. Just let me buy this disastrous sweater and save my dignity." She stares Heather down, who gulps and quickly starts counting out cash. Nope, nope, nope. Big no.

"Have a good day!" Heather adds brightly as the girl leaves again. The only reply she's granted is  a grumble as she yanks the sweater over her head and shuts the door behind her with a huff, smoothing it out in front as she exits. Heather can't help but laugh at her attitude combined with the cats.

"How's your girl doing, Heather?" asks a coworker, Jason.

"For the last time, Jason, she is not my girl. She is nothing. She is just someone who shows up way too much and sends me into gay panic constantly. I can't even get her name without choking!"

"Alright, Heather. But I see how she looks at you behind the demonic Hell-melting glare in her eyes."

"Ha. As if."

On the first day of December, business booms again and Heather almost doesn't catch the girl coming in. Almost.

By December eighth, it's been almost three weeks since the sweater-buying began and there is no end in sight. Today, she plunks down a red and green colorblocked sweater with an obnoxious bow protruding from the front. "$12.95," Heather says cheerily.

"God, why are you so happy all the time?" snaps the girl, digging angrily in her wallet. "Every time I come in here you're all happy happy joy joy 24/7. It sounds exhausting. You sound exhausting. Jesus."

"Hm. I never thought about that. Maybe I'll answer that if you tell me why you've come here for the past nineteen days."

The girl pretty much growls at her. "You counting the days?" Heather doesn't respond. "Ugh. Okay. I lost a bet."

"You lost a bet?"

"Yeah, are you dumb? I lost a bet to my friend Veronica, and so now I get to wear a new ugly sweater for eleven more days."

"Ma'am, I- that's gotta be expensive," is all Heather can come up with.

"Yeah. Which is why I wanted a discount."

"Why don't you return and exchange?"

The girl smiles. "Because this is covering presents for Veronica for the next five years or so. That girl's getting a sweater every chance I get. She's gonna bet me to wear them? Well, she'll have to deal with the consequences."

Heather giggles and passes her the sweater back. "Well, I think you look great."

"Hmngg," she grumbles, yanking the sweater over her head.

"Hey, wait," calls Heather.

"Huh?" The girl pauses at the door, glancing back at her.

"Uh, well... I didn't catch your name."

"I didn't throw it."

"Funny," Heather deadpans. "Name please. If you're gonna be in here for the next over a week, I'm gonna get to know you."

"Good luck with that," says the girl, tossing her hair over her shoulder and turning around. Heather sighs, giving up on introduction for that day, when she hears one last word before the jingle of the bell.

"Did she just say Heather?" she asks Jason.

"Yup. You and your girlfriend are name twins."

"She is not my girlfriend!"

By December 15th, they've talked every day for the past week. Every. Day. Heather is over the moon.

"You gonna ask her out yet?" asks Jason.

"No! And I'm not gonna ask her out ever!"

"Are you suuuure?" he teases.

"Yes!" Heather nearly shouts, attracting a couple stares. "Oops. Yes, Jason friggin' Dean, I'm sure."

"Alright," he singsongs. "Guess I'm going to have to do it for you."

"JASON!" All he does is whistle as he walks away to stock things. Heather bristles. And then the Other Heather comes in and selects a glittery blue number for Sweater 20-whatever.  

"Hi," says Heather, taking her money. Did their fingers just touch?

"Total still the same?"

"Yep."

"Any extras today?" Other Heather asks hopefully.

"Actually..." starts Jason, sliding in holding a second sweater.

"Jason!" shrieks Heather.

"You get a whole nother sweater today!" He dramatically unfurls the sweater, and Other Heather's eyes go bigger than Heather thinks possible. She peeks over the side of it to see that it reads Will you go on a date with this disaster? in a terribly hand-knitted font.

"JASON!" she shouts louder, not caring about the people in the shop. Other Heather glances at her while Jason cackles.

"Is this... for real? Are you... serious?" She takes the sweater with a shaking hand and holds it up next to Heather. "You're not playing with me? This isn't some joke?"

"Well, I mean... it's not like I wanted Jason to ask you out for me-" Other Heather's face falls- "but I've been longing to ask you out myself for way too long." She gives Other Heather a soft smile. "So, uh... coffee at seven once I get off my shift?" They have each other's phone numbers by now. Heather is in Other Heather's phone as Bouncy B!tch. Other Heather is named a n g e r y with a little puppy emoji at the end.

"I'd love to," says Other Heather.

"Bye," says Heather, speaking in a voice so soft she almost can't be heard.

"Bye," Other Heather replies, walking on air out the door.

[tagsecretsanta]

From @MissSquidTracy

to @scattergraph

Secret Santa does not own this work, full credit to the author above!

Gordon liked to think of himself as the fashionista of the family.

Sure, his Hawaiian shirts sometimes drew attention of the unwanted kind, but the aquanaut was a firm believer in using clothing as a means of non-verbal communication. John was living proof of this theory.

Unfortunately, all of the freedom associated with self-expression went down the toilet with a resounding ‘flush’ when tradition dictated your attire, even if only for a day.

“Seriously, grandma?” Alan grouched, his bottom lip poking out to form his signature pout when he spied the Tracy matriarch descending the stairs with an armful of colourful sweaters.

“Zip it, kid,” Sally rasped, her tone offering no room for negotiation, “This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Tracy Christmas Album, and I’ll not have your attitude souring the occasion.”

Scott and Virgil shared a look of mutual disgust as Sally handed them two hideously baggy and itchy looking jumpers.

“Don’t you two start as well,” Sally warned, yanking a loose thread off the sleeve of John’s before tossing it towards the redhead, “Anyone caught sulking will be in the kitchen with me for the rest of the afternoon. I’ve just finished a fresh batch of liver and onion stuffing and could use a taste tester.”

Five jumpers were yanked over five heads in perfect unison.

A nod from Sally affirmed her satisfaction with her grandson’s new-found cooperation.

Gordon grimaced and scratched absently as the coarse fibres tickled the soft skin of his neck. Posing for the annual Christmas album photograph was a tradition that stretched right back to their days on the ranch, yet he found himself becoming more disillusioned with it the older he got. Maybe it was the discomfort of wearing an unnecessary extra layer in Tracy Island’s heat. Maybe it was the disappointment of no longer having snow to wake up to on Christmas morning. Maybe it was the absence of his parents, and for the last three years, at least one of his brothers.

“Who’s on the roster for today?” Kayo asked, striding into the room and wordlessly scooping up the one remaining jumper that was equally as ugly as the abominations adorning the torsos of her male colleagues.

In an effort to preserve the family element of the season, Scott had devised a strategy where just one member of International Rescue acted as the primary point of contact for any rescue calls that came through on Christmas Day, be them sea, earth or space based. Last year, Virgil had volunteered and been called to Nigeria to deal with a flash flood. The year before, Kayo had drawn the short straw and ended up assisting with the evacuation of a small town in Chile when a nearby volcano blew it’s top. The year before, Gordon had helped clear away the debris caused by a three-way semi collision on one of Australia’s busiest highways. The aquanaut had been instrumental in ensuring three hundred people made it home in time for Christmas, despite it coming at the expense of his own.

Fairness dictated that Virgil, Kayo and Gordon were exempt from being called upon this Christmas unless absolutely necessary. Accordingly, the honour of being ATD (available to deploy) fell to Scott, John, and Alan to hash out.

One quick round of rock, paper, scissors later, and Scott found himself wondering what brothers three and five would look like with their heads shaved.

“Alright, scoot in!” Sally ordered, returning with Alan’s tablet which she held aloft in an attempt to get a good angle, “Scott and John, you two stand at the back. Gordon and Virgil, you kneel in front of your brothers. Kayo and Alan, I need you both to sit at the front. We’re going for a tiered approach this year.”

A healthy amount of shuffling ensued as each Tracy (plus Kayo) moved into position and tried desperately to make himself/herself look decent. Scott yanked on the hem of his jumper in an attempt to cover up his belt. Virgil tried to hoist his up so that he wasn’t rocking the off the shoulder look. John scrubbed at his nose as the acrylic material began to trigger one of his many allergies. Gordon fanned his face with a hand as sweat began to bead across his forehead. Alan tugged fruitlessly on sleeves that fell woefully short of his wrists, and Kayo demanded that Virgil tell her honestly whether the shape of her jumper made her look fat.

Sally was firmly of the opinion that jumpers had to be vomit-inducingly ugly in order to be ‘festive’. The designs adorning each of the six knitted atrocities in front of her offered indisputable visual evidence of this belief.

Scott was brandishing a bright blue snowman, while Virgil sported a dark green reindeer (complete with light-up antlers). John was the unwilling wearer of an orange gingerbread man, and Gordon was proudly modelling a yellow penguin (complete with a squeezable beak that sang Jingle Bells if you so much as looked at it). Alan appeared indifferent to the red elf plastered across his chest, and Kayo was trying to make the best of her rapidly unravelling black turtledoves.

“Smile!” Sally sang, her finger poised, “On the count of three, everybody say cheese! One…two…three!”

“CHEESE!”

Click.

Flash.

The end result was less than impressive. Scott had blinked at precisely the wrong moment. The grin plastered across Virgil’s face was nothing short of horrifying. John’s eyes were almost as red as his hair. Gordon was shamelessly modelling a chunk of leftover spinach in his right canine. Alan had twisted his head to peer at Virgil at the last second and was a blond and red blur…

Unsurprisingly, Kayo was the only one who’d managed to look straight at the camera and smile like a normal person. 

After reviewing her rather substandard snap and tutting in disapproval, Sally tightened her grip on the tablet and ushered her dispersing grandsons back into formation with a ‘shoo’ motion of her free hand, “Come on you lot, form up. Nobody leaves this room until we have a decent photo. How you boys can look so good in real life but so bad on canvas is beyond me. Your dad always said-“

The sudden departure of an elf wearing Tracy brought all dialogue to an abrupt halt.

“Sorry, grandma!” John yelled as he made a beeline for the stairs, the redness of his nose akin to Rudolph, “But this wool is giving me a nosebleed. You’ll have to take the next shot without me, or just make the one we have work. It might be for the best, as you know how Alan gets unforgivable gas whenever he’s forced to pose.”

The youngest Tracy let loose a honk of outrage, but was dutifully ignored as, one by one, his other brothers began to filter out of the lounge. Excuses of varying degrees of believability bounced off the walls as three more bodies scampered to freedom.

It took all of ten seconds for most of the lounge’s inhabitants to disperse, leaving Kayo and Alan alone with a somewhat disappointed looking Grandma Tracy.

“Oh well,” the Tracy matriarch sighed, reaching to pick up the blue snowman that had been ejected over the first floor bannister, “There’s always next year.”

Kayo smiled thinly and made a mental note to spend next Christmas with her father.

-x-

As well as being the family fashionista, Gordon was also a self-appointed expert in gift giving.

His affinity for making people smile helped tremendously, since it made the process of choosing something his recipient would find meaningful much easier. He wasn’t adverse to buying his brothers practical gifts that they could use in their everyday lives (the tea cosy he’d bought for John the Christmas of fifty four was still in active service), but he knew they had all of the utilitarian gadgets they could ever want or need, courtesy of Brains and their nine figure bank account.

Cue unicorn poo bath bombs, flamingo slippers, and personalised face cushions.

This year however, he’d outdone himself.

Unbeknownst to anyone outside of the family, Gordon was quite the expert on upcycling. He had a knack for seeing potential in things that other people had written off as trash (like Scott, for instance), and took great delight in working with his hands. 

It had taken several days, but he’d finally managed to relocate one of their dad’s old hoverbikes from the ranch to Tracy Island. It had taken up most of the room inside Thunderbird Four’s dry tube station, however he’d managed to offload it in the hanger and perform the desired modifcations in the (relative) privacy of Four’s module. 

Alan had stopped believing in Santa when he was seven. With Lucy dead and Jeff away for three quarters of the year, Scott had taken it upon himself to safeguard whatever remained of his youngest brother’s innocence. Every year on Christmas Eve, without fail, the eldest Tracy donned a red suit and beard and made a big (and often loud) show of depositing presents under the tree. Unfortunately, a rather heated debate one year over Santa’s handwriting (which looked suspiciously similar to Virgil’s), had culminated in the death of Alan’s wide-eyed belief.

Gordon had found the whole debacle rather heart-breaking. Sure, he’d been a year younger than Alan when he himself had stopped believing, but the process had been much gentler. He’d made the innocent mistake of asking John one year to help him with some basic calculations regarding the speed and size of Santa’s sleigh, however had ended up on the receiving end of a lecture from his redheaded brother on reindeer anatomy and wind resistance.

His belief had died peacefully in its sleep nine hours later. 

Still, having a belief squished verbally was a lot less harsh than having it squished visually. Poor Alan.

Gordon smiled to himself as he inspected his handiwork. He’d outfitted the storage compartment on the back of the red hoverbike he’d abducted to look like the back end of a sleigh. He’d toyed with the idea of enlisting the help of a couple of real life reindeer (or ponies) to act as draught animals, but had decided against it after reviewing the vaccination and transport requirements. 

Despite managing to complete the modifications inside Four’s module, Gordon had been forced to relocate his creation elsewhere when he and Virgil had been called away on an impromptu rescue involving a couple of unqualified divers. With his back against the wall, the aquanaut had picked the first alternative hiding place that had come into his head.

The roof.

As ridiculous as it sounded, the glass roof of Tracy Island’s lounge was anchored into numerous rocky outcroppings that, when utilised effectively, provided excellent cover. So long as nobody glanced up, of course.

A sigh of pride bubbled up Gordon’s diaphragm. He might not be able to reverse the damage caused by Virgil’s handwriting gaffe, but he could at least give his youngest brother a laugh and deliver his gifts in style instead.

So preoccupied was the aquanaut with buffing out an imaginary mark from the hoverbike’s bumper, that he failed to notice the Island’s automated weather system bark out the alarm for a storm warning.

Thankfully, John didn’t.

-x-

Scott had checked high and low.

And then high again, just to be sure.

The eldest Tracy was stumped. Gordon had somehow managed to vanish clean off the face of the earth.

Not that such a discovery would usually cause the eldest Tracy any concern (the aquanaut had a knack for evading capture), but Christmas lunch was due to be served any minute and they were one body short at the kitchen table.

“Gordon?” Scott called, shoving his head into the bathroom for what felt like the billionth time that hour. He’d tried calling the aquanaut’s phone, but had been sent to voicemail both times. His biometric tracker showed that he was still on the island, however couldn’t generate an exact location for him. EOS’s heat signature scans weren’t much better, courtesy of the wonky connection brought about by the oncoming storm. 

“I’m stumped,” Scott huffed, admitting defeat with a bemused shrug, “He’s gone. I’ve checked the hanger, the changing rooms, his room, the bathroom, and the gym. Nothing. It’s like he’s poofed into thin air.”

Virgil opened his mouth to reply, however was cut off by the arrival of John, whose expression was an expert blend of concern and flippancy. 

“I’ll give you three guesses as to his location,” the redhead began, “If you win, I’ll do your laundry for a week. If you lose, you have to eat my portion of grandma’s stuffing.”

Scott quickly did the math. It was a risk he was willing to take.

“Is he stuck inside his launch chute?”

“No.”

“Is he swimming in the lagoon?”

“No.”

“Is he hijacking Thunderbird One again?”

“No.”

….

“Well?” the eldest brother demanded, hands on hips. He had no interest in John drawing out his victory for any longer than necessary.

The redhead allowed a small smile to grace his face before gesturing with an index finger towards the ceiling.

Scott blinked as his blue gaze clapped onto a jean-clad butt scrabbling around atop the reinforced glass, oblivious to the small audience he’d amassed as he tried to evade the rapidly intensifying rain.

“The roof?” Scott honked, one hand fisting itself through his hair, “I take my eyes off him for two minutes, and he ends up on the roof?”

“Whoa, whoa!” a new voice piped up, it’s baritone depth failing to bring Scott any relief, “He’s where?!”

The eldest Tracy said nothing, opting instead to stab a finger upwards. Ever the cooperative one, Virgil cast his eyes in the desired direction, a small frown infecting his face as he did so.

“We should probably get him down,” the engineer announced, cringing when Gordon slipped on the now wet glass and starfished on his back, “He’s still wearing his Christmas jumper, and the blasted thing will short-circuit if it gets damp.”

A loud ‘thwack’ echoed around the lounge as Scott’s palm got itself well acquainted with his face.

-x-

John had never been one for big displays of emotion.

A polite smile or, in extreme cases, a shoulder pat were usually the preferred methods his brothers employed whenever they wanted to convey feelings of endearment towards him. 

Christmas was an exception, however, and it was without a shred of his usual awkwardness that the redhead enveloped his fish brother in a tight hug, the scent of singed fabric tickling his nostrils.

Virgil’s extraction of their younger brother hadn’t quite been quick enough, and it was with a suitable amount of humility that Gordon shuffled back into the safety and dryness of the lounge, a thin trail of smoke rising from the beak of his thoroughly soaked penguin jumper.

“How bad was it?” John queried, biting his cheek to keep his humour in check as he took in the static strands of hair atop Gordon’s head. The aquanaut looked as if he’d just stuck his finger inside a plug socket which, on reflection, wasn’t as much of an inaccurate analogy as the redhead had originally thought.

Gordon ignored his space brother in favour of slowly shuffling towards the staircase, an involuntary yelp escaping when his traitorous jumper suddenly gave off a stray spark.

Virgil snorted and flicked a hand through his hair to rid it of the rainwater it had collected, “Nothing to worry about on the health side of things, but man John, you should have seen it. He nearly took off like a firework.”

The redhead quirked an unimpressed brow, “Serves him right for skipping over the electrical safety briefings I sent down last week. You’d think he’d have a better understanding of how water and electricity don’t mix, what with his ‘Bird being the only one kitted out for aquatic reconnaissance.” 

  A shrug was offered by Virgil in lieu of a response, “I’m sure all will be revealed once he’s properly earthed himself. Meanwhile, I’d better get that hoverbike down before it crashes through the roof and lands on someone’s head. Can you send Scott up to help? I could use a couple of his grapples.”

John threw his brother a mock salute before breezing off towards the kitchen, only to stop when he caught sight of a familiar blue outline on one of the sofas.

“Be there in a minute!” Scott mumbled, his cheeks bulging like an oversized hamster as he chomped his way through an indulgent looking doughnut.

John felt his gaze darken as he took stock of the stray sprinkles in the corner of his eldest brother’s mouth, “Where did you get those?”

Scott held a finger up as he swallowed, thumping his chest when a stubborn piece of dough got lodged, “Mainland, to make up for grandma’s sprout and salmon tart. Help yourself, there’s plenty left. I’ve only had three.”

The lack of control Scott had when confronted with unhealthy snacks never failed to amaze his brothers.

“You want to take it easy,” Virgil warned, motioning with one hand to his waistline, “Too many of those could send you to an early grave.”

Scott flicked his hand dismissively and reached for a fourth doughnut.

“Don’t care. I won’t be the one carrying the coffin.”

- FIN -

[sebthesnipe]

A Very Patton Christmas

Other works by me (AO3)

Tumblr Master Post

To @gilby-the-geek-girl for being the best friend a person could ask for. For without whom my writing would be riddled with errors and inconsistency, and whose gift of friendship has been the greatest thing to happen to me in a very long time. While I know you’ve read this (cuz you beta for me like the boss bitch you are) I still hope that you know that it was written with love for you. (I really don’t have time to write for anyone else XP) One day I hope you’ll have a friend at least half as good as you are (because we both no I ain’t it XP) I hope your Hanukkah wasn’t a miserable one and that you Christmas is the highlight of your 2020 (because we both know there isn’t much competition).  Prompt: Explain why Patton’s Sweater this year is so damn ugly.

Patton shifted under the mountainous pile of blankets atop him. It was early, or rather… late? He hadn’t really slept. How could he?! His favorite day of the year was here! Well, it would be.

He shifted again, this time wiggling towards where he thought one of the blankets ended and poked his head out to look at his frog shaped Wisoee alarm clock. Its dim light smiled at him reading 3:37 AM.

He held back a squeal as he ducked back into this warm cave of comforters. He couldn’t watch the clock.

A watched pot never boils,he reminded himself.

He went over the day’s schedule in his head:

Logan would already be awake and emerge at precisely 4:00 AM, as he always did. Today though, was the only day out of the year the Logan broke his (otherwise) usual routine.

Logan would skip his usual jog, replacing his gray sweats for the pajamas Patton had bought him for his birthday (a blue plaid pair of pants and a grey tee  with the text ‘Wash your hands. Wear a mask. Vote.’ printed on the front) At which point, he would make his way to the kitchen where he would start a pot of coffee for himself, Virgil, and Janus.

That would be where Patton, came in!

Patton would already be in the kitchen to start his homemade hot chocolate for himself, Roman, and Remus (With Logan’s help of course. He didn’t want another incident like the baking fiasco from a few months ago).

By the time they finished, Roman would be up, no doubt singing everyone into wakefulness. Then it would be time for hot cocoa and presents!

Patton got them all Christmas sweaters just like he did every year! He loved picking them out for each of his friends and watching them all spread out in the living room, all snug and cozy to watch their usual Christmas movie marathon!

They always let Patton pick the first movie, but there were so many good ones he usually couldn’t choose! Logan would probably chime in with the Nutcracker, not because he was a fan but because it was the only Christmas movie Roman and Remus agreed on, making  it the popular choice.

Then it would be Logan’s actual turn. He usually chose The Polar Express. Patton was pretty sure he only chose it because there were really only two Christmas movies based on books and Janus always chose A Christmas Carol. That and because Patton really liked it!

Then came Janus and finally Virgil, who was Jewish and didn’t have personal stock in Christmas, but participated for the others (which was another reason he was Patton’s favorite ,not that he’d ever admit it). Virgil always wanted to watch Die Hard, but knew Patton didn’t care for the violence much, so he usually settled for Rudolf, which warmed the fatherly figure’s heart to no end (Which was probably why Patton had bought him the collector’s edition box set of the movie). During the previous year’s viewing of the movie Virgil and Logan ended up in a discussion regarding how the song Rudolf the Rednosed Reindeer was (according to Virgil) one of the only times a big corporation did what was right. Patton usually tried to follow this kind of discussion, but he usually got lost when Logan started in about percentages and underpaid artists. It just really hurt his little heart to know so many talented people out there were struggling.

The movies, as a matter of fact, were why Patton chose the sweaters he did for them this year! Each of his friends would be gifted a sweater to mirror each of their favorite Christmas movies! (Die Hard being the exception of course!)

After all that, the group would settle in for-

The alarm clock croaked loudly, signaling the arrival of 3:45 AM.

Patton’s previous thoughts evaporated into excitement as he attempted scramble from the mass of comforters, reaching to shut off the alarm.

His leg tangled in one of the large downeys and he hit the ground with a heavy thud. He paid no mind to his bruised ribs as he wrestled himself from its grasp, smacking the flashing frog to silence it.

A moment later he threw open his door, intent for the stairs.

He never made it though. At least, not at first…

Something was off.

He paused in the hallway, skin prickling at the coolness of the air.

He had only made it a few feet when he noticed it.

Roman’s door was ajar, the dark shadows of his messy room an indication of his absence…

Remus’ too. Though it was only slightly. Patton noticed the smell more than the sight.

Was everyone up before him?

He moved towards Virgil’s room, giving a soft knock before shouldering open the door.

“Hey, Kiddo. You up?” He whispered softly before noticing the unmade empty bed.

“And what would you know?!” the ‘kiddo’-in-question’s voice came in a harsh snap, drifting up from the living room.

“Keep your voice down!” Janus’ own snapped back, matching Virgil’s volume though the tone was a mock attempt at a whisper in his tone.

Patton inched closer, concern playing on his features as he flattened himself against the wall at the top of the stairs. He certainly didn’t want to intrude on his friends’ conversation, but there was obviously something was wrong.

“Bite me, snake boy!” Virgil snapped in return, though his voice was lowered.

“Don’t tempt me,” Janus hissed.

“Wait! Let me get the camera! Pics or it didn’t happen!” Remus’ voice came in a giddy giggle. “Okay, make sure you draw blood.”

“Gross,” Virgil huffed, heat gone.

“As much as I hate to admit it, Stormcloud, I think Ser Lies-a-lot is right,” Roman sighed softly. 

“You can’t be serious!” Virgil grumbled. 

“I believe he is,” Logan’s calm voice interrupted. “Statistically speaking, twenty three percent of christmas gifts in America in a given year are unwanted but kept.”

“That’s reassuring,” Virgil growled. 

“I wasn’t finished,” Logan retorted. “Given that statistic, along with the fact that individuals are more likely to gift items they like themselves, and factoring in the number of gifts we’ve received over the years. That paired with the fact that it was commissioned from an independent artist, supporting their work directly: I would say that there is a ninety-two point six five present chance that Patton will find the gift quite adequate.”

“Did you really just do all that in your head?” Janus asked curiously. 

“Actually, no,” Logan admitted. “I calculated the odds when the idea was brought up months ago, as I do with each of your christmas gifts.”

“Is that why I got socks last year?” Remus chirped. 

“Yes, well… I found that the other options would cause unease with the others,” Logan clarified.

“Boring!” 

“Don’t worry Remus, he didn’t get you a dissection kit this year to make up for it,” Janus commented sarcastically.

“What?!” Roman spat as Remus gasped excitedly. 

“I’m not even sure how you know that,” Logan sighed, probably straightening his glasses like he usually did when something annoyed him. “And I’m not sure I care to know.”

“We’re getting side tracked. He’ll be up any minute,” Virgil interrupted once more. “The fact is, it’s one of the ugliest things I’ve ever seen and it’s too late not to give it to him.”

“I like it!” Remus argued.

“See!” Virgil huffed, using Remus’ opinion as evidence to the validity of his statement. 

“Ugh, maybe he has a point Teach,” Roman agreed. “I could put together a card for us to sign instead?”

“No, it’s too late for that, beside I am certain this is all an overstated concern.” Logan countered.

“Perhaps, a vote wouldn’t be appropriate?” Janus offered. 

“I agree, all in favor of giving Patton the gift we already agreed upon?” Logan asked. 

There was silence as Patton assumed a few of the boys raised their hands. 

“All opposed?” He continued.

“Remus you can’t vote twice!” Roman snapped. 

“You’re no fun!” Remus whined. “I’ll stick with J-anus then!”

“Please, continue to call me that. I just love it,” Janus deadpanned. 

“The ayes have it then,” Logan decided. 

“What eyes?” Remus chirped excitedly, but no one paid him any mind. 

“Roman, if you would be so kind as to finish wrapping the gift, I have a pot of coffee to finish,” Logan dismissed.

“I have some extra ribbon in my room. Want to help, Stormcloud?” Roman asked, making Patton tense as they headed his way. 

He didn’t wait for V to answer as Patton hurried back to his room and closed the door softly behind him. 

He really shouldn’t have eavesdropped. 

Guilt filled him as he leaned against the frame, processing everything that had been said. 

The group had never agreed on a gift for Patton. Usually Logan and Roman were the only two to get him anything and they just included the others’ names on the presents (not that Patton ever called them out on it. Why would he?). Patton didn’t mind of course, he knew they had trouble buying for him.

Logan usually got him a new hoodie or something practical like a flamingo pen, or oven mitts (though those usually only lasted about a week before Patton caught them on fire or melted them!). Roman always made him something, like the card he had mentioned, and just had the others sign it. Patton didn’t mind of course, he loved everything they gave him. It was the thought that warmed him! Even the fact that Remus refrained from his usual off the wall habits to try and make Patton more comfortable meant the world to him.

The fact that the group was so torn over his opinion broke his heart. How could they think that? What had he done to put that doubt in their mind? He had to do better! Whatever it was, he would show he loved it more than anything they had ever gotten him before.

His brows furrowed in determination. 

This would be their year!

He took a moment to gather himself before plastering on a smile and throwing open the door once more, running straight into a surprised Logan. 

Logan gave a small grunt as Patton bumped him, the mug of hot cocoa sloshing over and onto his hand. 

“Oh goodness!” Patton gasped in shock, “I’m so sorry Lo’! Are you alright?” The smaller man hurriedly took the mug from his friend’s hand and set it on the small table next to the door, frantically searching for something to clean up the mess. 

“I’m fine, Patton,” Logan reassured, producing a blue handkerchief from his pant pocket and wiping the warm liquid off his hand. Leave it to Logan to have his handkerchief with him despite wearing pajamas. “I made sure the liquid was at an acceptable temperature for this exact reason.”

“Oh! I hope I didn’t ruin your new PJs!” Patton cried, already pushing Logan’s arms up to examine the flannel. 

There wasn’t a stain to be found. Logan arched a brow as he waited for Patton to satisfy his need for the inspection before sighing. 

“Truly, Patton, I’m fine. Are you?” Logan asked, his neutral expression turning to one of concern. 

“What?” Patton hummed, glancing up to meet the taller man’s eyes. “Of course! I wasn’t the one holding the cup!” 

“I wasn’t referring to the cocoa,” Logan pointed out, lowering his arms. “It’s 4:17. It isn’t like you to be so unpunctual on Christmas day.” 

“Oh…” Patton whispered, lowering his gaze in shame. Should he tell him? It wasn’t right to keep secrets. Would he be upset if he found out Patton had been eavesdropping? No… Today was their day… He wouldn’t do anything to upset them. “No. I’m fine!” Patton reassured, suddenly as chipper as ever as he offered out a smile. 

Logan eyed him suspiciously, but seemed to wearily accept the answer. 

“Well, I thought your traditional cup of cocoa would help if anything were amiss,” Logan nodded towards the cup, bringing Patton’s attention to it once more. 

Logan had made it without him? 

Patton could feel the mask around his heart start to crack a little as his stomach sank. He supposed it made sense that Logan wouldn’t really need him to make it… Still, that was Patton and Logan’s Christmas tradition… It hurt that he had been left out of it. 

“Aw! Thank you Logan!” Patton forced out in his preening voice as if nothing was wrong. 

This was their day, not his. 

“That’s so sweet!” He added, collecting the mug and taking a small sip. Somehow it didn’t taste as good as it usually did. 

“You’re very welcome, Patton,” Logan replied with a small tilt of his lips. 

His crooked smile also seemed to soften his features; Patton loved that about him. It made his sudden disappointment worth it. 

“I know we usually have a schedule for the holiday, but…” Logan paused as if he were nervous. What an odd look for the scholar. “Well, the others requested a change in plans.”

Patton’s heart sank. What kind of change? Did they not like the way they usually celebrated Christmas? Why hadn’t they told him? Was his idea of Christmas really so one sided? How had he not noticed this before? Was that why Logan was so nervous?

No… It didn’t matter. This was their day, not his.

“What kind of change, kiddo? I’m sure whatever it is will be great! It’s Christmas after all!” Patton responded, despite the way his stomach knotted. 

“Well,” Logan began, stepping aside. “Perhaps it would be best if they explained it.”

Patton hesitated before nodding taking the lead as they walked down the hall. What if they didn’t want to do hot cocoa and movies any more? What if they didn’t want to celebrate Christmas at all?! Was that why they came together for a gift? To appease Patton? They were all getting older and it wasn’t as if they had children. Maybe they felt like Christmas wasn’t for adults…

That was ridiculous, Patton knew that. But still…

He headed down the stairs, a smile still glued to his lips as he caught sight of Remus and Janus whispering over a small box. 

“I told you, it's for you!” Janus hissed at the mustached man next to him, fending him off the plain white box in his hands. 

“I helped pick them out! I should be allowed first dib-” Remus cut himself off as Janus elbowed him in the ribs pulling his attention up to Patton, just as he took the last step on the landing. 

“I didn’t lick them, I swear!” Remus called out, smiling broadly in his stained Oscar the Grouch onesie. “Okay maybe a few.”

Janus rolled his eyes, dressed in his usual suit and hat, not bothering with a comment. 

“Good Morning, Patton, slept horribly I hope?” Janus asked pleasantly. 

“Hey, kiddos. You’re up early,” Patton offered, feeling more uneasy than ever; something that must have shown because at that moment Logan leaned down to whisper in the smaller man’s ear. 

“Are you sure you are alright Patton?” he asked softly. “If you’re not feeling well then perhaps you should rest. I’m sure we can put this off unti-”

“Hola, Padre!” Roman’s voice came,  cutting off Logan’s words. 

Patton glanced up at the two figures standing at the top of the stairs. Roman, straight backed, hands behind him as he stood tall in his prince pajamas; Virgil behind him, using him to practically hide his small form, dressed in his Jack Skeleton onesie. 

“Roman, Virgil! You’re up already! This is a surprise!” Patton feigned excitement.

“Definitely a Christmas miracle,” Janus sighed. 

No one paid the comment any mind as Roman hurried down the stairs. Grin wide.

“Well this is a special day, Padre!” Roman explained as Virgil followed after, rolling his eyes. 

“Bah-Humbug,” the black and white clad man grumbled in response. Though it may have been Patton’s imagination, but Virgil's eyeshadow looked a few shades lighter than usual. 

“Feliz Navidad Patton! Merry Christmas!”Roman sang, producing the present from behind his back and offering it out. 

Patton’s heart skipped a beat, hesitating as he glanced around the room at each of his friends. They all looked so nervous… Even Janus. 

His attention went back to the gift being presented. It was a decent sized package with rainbow wrapping paper, black and white striped ribbon, and a green and blue bow that sat just above a small yellow tag that read ‘To: Janus From: Patton’.

Despite Patton’s dread and apprehension, he couldn’t help but smile at the packaging. They had even come together on the wrapping. It was very sweet. 

He glanced up at Roman who nodded eagerly, indicating that Patton was welcome to it. 

“You guys! You didn’t have to do all this!” He whispered in awe, voice cracking as tears began filling his eyes.

No matter what happened, Patton was awed by the fact that the boys went to so much trouble for him. They had come together for him. It didn’t matter if they were too old for Christmas!

He tugged at the ribbon, finding it firmly in place, before turning it over and trying again. After flipping it once more he heard Logan give a small chuckle. 

“May I?” his soft calm voice came. Patton nodded, handing over the package to Logan and wiping away a tear he felt rolling down his cheek. 

Logan’s nimble fingers loosened the bow and the surrounding ribbon, careful not to ruin them (he knew Patton loved to keep them and hang them above his mirror to admire later). Logan set the ribbon aside before handing the package back to the smaller man.

“Thank you,” Patton murmured weakly, gently tearing the wrapping to slide the sleek white box from inside. 

“This is worse than waiting for a magnet you swallowed to come out the other end!” Remus chimed in excitedly. 

“Ugh! Does he really have to be here?!” Roman whined, causing Patton’s grin to turn genuine.

The momentary distraction had him feeling a bit better as he slid a nail under the lid of the box, breaking the tape there and pulling open the lid. 

Wrapped loosely in a thin tissue paper lay a DVD copy of The Shop Around the Corner, a mug that, when you sip it, makes the drinker look like the bottom half of their face belongs to a puppy, and some kind of knitted fabric.

“Ah! You guys!!!” Patton squealed, tears beginning to fall as he collected the mug and movie, setting them aside and pulling out the sweater to get a better look at it. 

The light blue knitted midsection was covered in what, he assumed, was supposed to be some kind of icing pattern? Or perhaps whipped cream? Lace? He wasn’t sure. There was also a brown bow tie that was maybe supposed to be chocolate? Down the center was a line of pink chocolate chip cookie buttons. The bright pink sleeves had much of the same design though instead of pink cookies they were light blue.

It may have been the ugliest excuse of a sweater Patton had ever seen.

Silence fell in the rooms everyone waited for Patton’s reaction. 

“We know it’s not as good as the ones you get us,” Virgil chimed in nervously. “But we thought that maybe you’d like one of your own?” 

“The mug, of course, is so you won’t have to make so many trips for more cocoa,” Logan added with a soft smile. “I thought the others would like to help us make the rest after you change, of course. If you’d like.”

“The rest?” Patton asked, breath hitching as the tears threatened to fall. “You mean… You didn’t make it without me?” He sniffled.

“What?” Logan blinked in surprise. “Of course not, Patton. Making hot chocolate for everyone is a tradition I enjoy spending with you. I would never-”

“Well, it's just… you brought the mug up… So, I thought…” Patton let his voice fade as he watched understanding flash over Logan’s features.

“I was worried there might be something wrong. I thought waking you with your own mug would be a nice surprise.” Logan explained. “I apologize if I gave the wrong impression, Patton. I only made the one mug. I know you find a great deal of happiness in our customary time in the kitchen. I would not want to take that from you.”

“But…” Patton murmured, eyes shifting to the others. “Everyone’s already awake… And you were all together… I don’t want to impose on-”

“¡Espera! ¡Espéra! ¡Espéra!” Roman interrupted, looking both surprised and concerned. “I did not wake up far before my beauty rest was done to hear this slander especially from Mr. Spirit of Christmas, himself! Patton, with you there is no Christmas.”

“Roman is right, Patton,” Virgil shrugged, shrinking a bit lower into his hood. “I certainly wouldn’t be celebrating and we definitely wouldn’t have come together to get you the gifts. 

“I know Shop Around the Corner isn’t usually on our Christmas Merry Marathon list, but you never really get to pick a movie and I know it’s your favorite,” Roman pitched in. “At least, that's what Janus claims.”

“I totally didn’t check your browsing history,” Janus shrugged.

“And I edited the email to the artist!” Remus added proudly.

“That… explains a lot,” Logan whispered under his breath softly.

“We also didn’t bring you cookies from that bakery you hate.” Janus stated, setting the box he had been holding down on the small table next to him. 

Patton was silent throughout the exchange, burying his face into the soft fabric as he began to shake silently with his sobs. 

“I told you he wouldn’t like it!” Virgil cried desperately.

“No!” Patton responded, voice breaking. “I love it! I love all of it!” He dropped his hands just enough to rush forward, wrapping both Virgil and Roman into a great big hug. “Thank you so much! It’s perfect!” 

Roman gave a boisterous laugh, returning the hug as Virgil couldn’t help but smile; both grunting as Remus piled atop them. 

Logan approached, resting a hand on Patton’s shoulders in reassurance. 

“Well, this is certainly a disgusting sight,” Janus sighed, though he was grinning as well. 

“I love you guys so much!” Patton laughed, the weight on his heart lifting to the point of forgetfulness. How could he have ever thought these men didn’t need him or wouldn’t want to spend Christmas with him. They were his family!

“Is it just me or is this oddly arousing?” Remus purred.

“Ugh!” Roman and Virgil both scoffed at once, shoving the rank smelling man away from them. 

“Why do you have to ruin everything?!” Roman growled, dragging his brother away.

Patton didn’t mind the outburst, however, far too busy hurrying up the stairs to change so they could get their Best Christmas EVER underway…

The End...

[hockeyboysiguess]

untitled | m. rantanen (fic preview)

a/n: i’ve been talking about this fic a lot, so here’s a little 1.6K. it’s very much not done. it doesn’t even have a title yet, but i hope you all like mikko and jo as much as i do! i ended up writing with an oc so i could write this how i envisioned. let me know what you think!!

Jo tugged at her sweater, pulling at the sleeves, at the slightly too tight bottom band, at the neckline, really any part that was touching her skin. It was itchy beyond belief, but she was pretty sure that she was about to take home the non-existent prize of ugliest Christmas sweater at the party tonight. Jo had been out with Helena for dinner, so she threw the sweater on in the car on the way over to Gabe’s and was regretting never having tried it on before this moment. But, the look on Mikko’s face when he saw just how ugly the sweater was would be worth her temporary discomfort.

She punched in the gate code at Gabe’s and made her way up the driveway, smiling the whole way, something Jo had been doing a lot more of lately than she usually did. She told herself it was the hometown air, mile high and clearer than any other city. She told herself it was the fresh snow falling regularly now, deep into December. She told herself it was Christmas and a lot of people were happier around Christmas. Jo’s happiness wasn’t temporary though. It was a shift, slow and steady, a constant pressure forcing her out of the mindset she settled in years ago, the one where she always needed to be pleasing other people to be happy, the one where she needed everyone’s approval to find her own joy. She knew the clearer air, the snow, and the holidays weren’t the pressure. The pressure was a tall, somehow clumsy Finn who wanted nothing more than to see Jo smile every single day.

He didn’t try to make her happy with jokes and gimmicks and other things that were essentially bandaids to Jo’s heaviness. He didn’t try to pull a funny face while jumping just high enough for Jo to see from the other side of the walls she has built to protect herself, the ones she thought were too high for anyone to climb. Mikko wasn’t climbing them, knowing full and well that him getting over them wouldn’t truly help Jo. It would make her just okay for a little while longer, make the way she lived a little more bearable, until it destroyed them both. Mikko was taking the walls apart, brick by brick, his patience and his steadiness guiding the way. He never got frustrated when some of the bricks went back up in the middle of the night while he slept. He got up the next morning all the same and went back to work, taking the walls apart piece by piece, at whatever pace Jo would accept. Mikko hadn’t given up in four months, and he wasn’t planning on it, not until all the walls were gone and the bricks were destroyed, crumbled back into dust, and Jo could see herself the way he saw her the few times he managed to make a hole in the wall and actually see her behind all her defenses.

Jo opened the door into Andre Burakovsky. It was an accident and he shouldn’t have been standing directly in front of the front door and he wasn’t hurt in the slightest, but Jo felt bad about it all the same.

“I’m dumb, it’s my fault,” he assured her. His mouth dropped open when he saw her sweater as Jo hung up her jacket in the front closet. “That’s the best thing I’ve ever seen and I wish we had a contest because you’d so win.”

“I would so win,” Jo agreed, fussing with her curls to get them reasonably back into place

“There should be a contest. Maybe you can bully Gabe into getting some sort of prize anyway because you deserve it, ” Andre told her, his signature wide smile on his face. “He’s in the family room last I saw him by the way, since I know you’re looking for him.”

Jo blushed at Andre’s words. He had caught her eyes tracking over the party that was in full swing, looking for the guy who had technically invited her, but she probably could’ve shown up anyway without his invite. She ducked out on Andre, blush still deepening with him laughing in the background, and made her way through the living room and kitchen into Gabe’s family room. She was old news by now, a days old newspaper no one wanted to read anymore, and it was Jo’s favorite thing about the Colorado Avalanche. She was Mikko’s friend Jo. Full stop. No additions necessary.

“Jojo!”

Jo heard Mikko before she saw him. She technically felt him before she saw him either as two heavy, muscled, ugly sweater covered arms wrapped around her stomach and lifted her off the ground, making her squeal.. He was laughing as soon as her feet left the ground. Jo’s hands gripped one of Mikko’s forearms around her waist to steady herself as Mikko rocked slowly side to side, weight shifting from foot to foot, with Jo in the air in his arms.

“Mikko!” Jo shouted through her laughter. “Put me down!”

“You’re so easy to pick up though, and now you can actually see the party,” Mikko pointed out unhelpfully.

He set her down anyway, knowing that when Josephine Evans made up her mind, such as wanting to be put down, she was a woman who would figure out how to get her way, Mikko’s shins be damned if that’s what it took. Mikko had a game to play the day after today and wasn’t excited about doing it with shins bruised by Jo’s boots.

“This sweater,” Mikko breathed out as Jo turned to face him. He was in disbelief as he looked at it, “Jo, this is the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life.”

“Are you proud?”

Jo spun slowly on her heels, letting Mikko take in the absolute monstrosity she had bought to wear just for this. Mikko was in disbelief, written plainly all over his face, as he observed the sweater in all its terrible glory. Jo had more than delivered when he texted her and said it was an ugly Christmas party. Mikko loved the sweater, a true ugly beauty, but he thought the best part was that Jo put her hair in those little half space buns, the rest of her hair in curls falling down her back. He thought she was the cutest person he’d ever seen and he only knew one way to deal with it in a healthy way Jo would actually appreciate.

Appreciate might have been the wrong word.

Mikko reached out with two large hands and gave her little half buns a squeeze while saying, “Your antlers are cute.”

“Mikko, I swear to god, one day you’re going to die and it’s because I kill you,” Jo informed him with a tone so casual you would think she had just ordered a breakfast sandwich.

“And what a way to go,” Mikko just laughed in response. “Mel made spiked eggnog. You interested?”

Mikko knew Jo was interested before he had even asked, which is why it didn’t surprise him in the slightest that she took off for the kitchen, dragging him by his hand to get to the eggnog. Mikko had released when he stepped into Jo’s apartment on November 3rd, almost two months ago now, just how much Jo loved Christmas, because it had already been decorated that day he walked in. She had offered no explanation for the decorations being up so early other than that it was her apartment, she could do what she damn well pleased, and if Mikko didn’t like it, he could damn well leave. He stayed. Mikko always stayed when Jo was involved.

“Those are some pours there, Jo,” Mikko told her as he eyed the cups Jo was already filling for them from the pot. “Trying to get me drunk?”

“You’re a growing boy,” Jo countered, shoving a full cup into Mikko’s waiting hand. “Drink your milk and maybe you’ll grow big and strong.”

Mikko couldn’t help but laugh. He might make Jo laugh a lot and Mikko laughed a lot in general, but no one made him laugh more than Jo. Even on his worst days, even on Jo’s worst days for that matter, she could always pry a full bellied laugh out of him. It wasn’t even prying. Mikko would willingly give it over to her even when all she offered him was a shitty joke in exchange. It wasn’t lost on Mikko why that was. It wasn’t lost on anyone in the room, or really anyone who had ever spent four minutes in the same room as Mikko and Jo. Mikko looked at Jo differently from other people. Debate what you want about loving someone or being in love with someone, Mikko knew Jo didn’t want him to be in love with her and he respected her wishes more than how he wished she felt, but Mikko Rantanen loved Josephine Evans and it had taken only a few months for it to happen. Mikko realized it the other day on the plane coming back from a road trip. All he wanted was for the plane to get to altitude so he could turn on his phone and text Jo about something funny that had happened since his phone had been in airplane mode. All he wanted to do was get home and see her. All he wanted was her. And that’s not how you feel about people you don’t love.