#but scanlan and pike wrote themselves a fic so here you go

[thepetulantpen]

I’ll Be Home For Winter’s Crest

(After I wrote my other critmas fic I was inspired to give some love to Vox Machina too. Happy holidays, critters!)

They say the veil is thin on Winter’s Crest.

“Where are you?”

Vex sighs, shivering in the cold against the ice slick railing of the balcony. He’s late, again.

Her beautiful silver dress is certainly hot but not warm and it does her no favors out in the snowy Whitestone morning, waiting for her brother. Every bird call and dark shape in the sky catches her attention but there are loads of birds in Whitestone and with no way to tell the difference between the ravens and the crows or the difference between the real ravens and the divine ravens finding Vax becomes a near impossible task.

“Hey, Stubby.”

“Gods- Vax! How many times do I have to tell you not to do that?”

“Every year. I’m very forgetful.”

And there he is, snuck up behind her, that asshole. Dressed in a feathered black robe, thank the gods.

He pulls her into a hug and she forgets to notice how deathly cold his skin is.

She’s tempted to stay here and hog all his attention, gods know she deserves it, but no, she’ll share, with all the people who didn’t have decades like her.

“Come on inside. She’s waiting for you.”

...

Keyleth is just as stunning as she always is, ageless and unchanging to all but Vax. To Vax, everyone has changed too much, little discrepancies turned drastic with the gaps in time.

The first thing he does is look at her, really look at her, to see how she’s changed over this year, little changes magnified in comparison by how he hasn’t changed at all. New freckles, different hair lengths, tiny displacement of ornaments on her mantle. Things that people who had been around the whole year may not have noticed.

But it doesn’t matter because she is beautiful, as she always is.

They dance alongside all the other couples in this great Whitestone hall, Keyleth in her complicated white and blue gown, a festive departure from her usual color palette, and Vax in a suit Percy lent him, similarly decorated with frost-like flourishes of white and blue, fit for the Winter’s Crest celebrations. But they may as well be alone because the rest of the world fades away when they’re in each other’s arms, savoring their only visit in too long.

They do wander away, eventually, traveling out to a more private balcony where they rock in a slow dance, trading whispers about Keyleth’s life so far this year, away from prying eyes.

Or so they thought, before the branches above them are upset by an invisible hand, dumping snow on them with a sourceless cackle.

“You two love birds are missing the real party! You can make out later, after the games!”

”You’re going to pay for this, Scanlan,” Vax projects his voice in the general direction of the movement, trying to keep the laughter out of his words, a futile effort.

“I’d like to see you try, dead guy. Come on! You don’t want to miss Vex kicking Percy’s ass at target practice, do you?”

He appears in the tree now, balancing delicately to avoid getting his own suit wet or torn. Vax just shakes his head, run out of time to stay mad. Though, he suspects Scanlan should keep an eye out for mischievous ravens in the near future.

“Alright, alright. Let’s go?”

Keyleth smiles and nods, though her arm tightens around Vax, willing to move only on the condition that he doesn’t leave her side.

...

What follows is an afternoon absolutely jam packed with as many family activities as one could conceivably complete in the time allotted. Multiplied by ten.

Pike destroys everybody in a snowball fight, though Vax does get the jump on Grog at one point, delivering an ungodly amount of snow to his unsuspecting, smooth head.

Scanlan leads them in singing carols, teaching everything from the classics to dubious ones that only Taryon is gullible enough to sing along to.

Percy brings out the kids for Vax to build snowmen with, ending up with a legion of snow creatures that Freddy Jr. is very proud of.

Grog tears through the fancy meats of the Whitestone kitchens, stacking a pile of discarded bones on the classy dining table.

Vax only sits quietly as everyone else has their share, watching the others carefully. Pike and Scanlan are sitting as close as they can in these chairs made for giants, as Kaylie rolls her eyes at their cheesiness from the sidelines. Percy and Vex take a moment for themselves, getting as lovey dovey as they want while their kids sow chaos at the children’s table behind them. Grog is content with the company of the food and the beer, pausing only to joke with his family, as they laugh at the growing mountain of food scraps and empty bottles.

Keyleth squeezes his hand tighter, pulling his attention back to her.

“It’s so nice, to have us all together again.”

He hums in agreement, eyes roving over his sister, laughing at Percy making a silly face for the kids, happy and unburdened by lingering grief.

“It’s getting late.” Keyleth sighs, looking at the darkening sky in the big window behind them.

Vax moves to respond, to do something to reassure her when he has nothing to reassure her with, but Scanlan beats him to it when he stands up on the table, full height still barely reaching above their heads.

“A toast! To Vax’ildan!” A cheer goes up, loud and boisterous from a drunk, chaotic family.

“To Vax, a hero, a friend, a brother, a lover! To Vax, our favorite angsty bastard!”

“Here, here!”

Vox Machina and the rest of their expanded family laughs, eyes shiny with tears that will go unshed tonight, unwilling to sully their one perfect, happy day of the year.

Vax says goodnight and goodbye to each of them, promising to be back the same time next Winter’s Crest.

“You better not be late again next year.” Vex smiles, even if it’s difficult.

“No promises.”

And he follows Keyleth back to their room.

...

It is perhaps the only time he ever feels warm anymore, close here with Keyleth in their bed. They fall asleep at the same time and when she wakes, Vax is gone.

She goes to the window, watching the snow fall and seeing a single black feather drift down to sit on her windowsill.

“I’ll see you next Winter’s Crest.”