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quill-pen · 1 year ago

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In Your Corner

I did it again.🤗. Enjoy some sweet, devoted couple fluff!

Warnings: Attempted dietary control and implied comments about a woman's figure, implied depression, people just being jerks.

Summary: Bess has had a less than stellar morning, and Ebenezer comforts her.

Bess stormed up the steps of Scrooge Manor, threw the door open, and slammed it shut with such a bang the whole hall seemed to shake. Safe within the confines of her own home, the woman took a deep breath and released it in a feral scream, trying to channel all the rage she'd been suppressing all morning into it. It only worked minimally well.

Not feeling much better, Bess huffed and began to undo her cloak. She was hanging it on a hook beside the door when the door on the right side of the hall opened and through it came a rather alarmed looking steely-haired banker.

Ebenezer looked from her around the hall and back. "Bloody hell!" he exclaimed, moving toward her. "Was that you, Bess?"

In her already ticked off mood, that only made Bess even more irked. "Who the hell else could it possibly be?" she snapped, glowering at him. "Do you see anyone else in here?"

Her husband stopped, looking even more alarmed as well as a bit miffed. "Now, that's uncalled for!" he countered, brows furrowing even more severely than hers. "And unlike you." He looked the American over carefully, not withering under her dagger-throwing glare, which was actually quite impressive.

Bess let out a harsh, barking laugh. "Oh-ho! So you think you know me better than I know myself, too! Wonderful!" She turned away and stomped towards the stairs and up, not really having an idea of where to go as she simply followed her feet. "It's such a relief to know I never have to make a decision myself or even think of a single original thought ever again--that everyone else is perfectly capable of doing it for me!"

Eb watched after her, no less confused, but much more concerned than cross now. If Bess was lashing out like this, and especially at him, it was because she'd been pushed to her limits. "What is that supposed to mean?" he called up to her, crossing his long arms over his broad chest.

At the top of the veranda, Bess paused and then whipped around to glare at the man again. "I am so sick of otha people trying to run my life for me!" she shouted, voice slipping into the posh accent she usually gained when angry as it trembled with emotion. "Telling me what to do, how to live, what to wear, how to act, and even how to think! For 26 years of my life, that's all it was--otha people bossing me around! Now I'm a married woman with my own house, and I should be able to do and think and live and wear and act and say things how I want, when I want, without Mrs. Byrd or anyone else trying to step in and change every decision I make!" The dark-haired woman sucked in a shuddering breath, her freckled face red with veins popping from her forehead and neck. Angry, frustrated tears pricked at her eyes and she trembled with the same anger and frustration that spawned them.

Ebenezer's eyes softened, his heart filling with sympathy for his wife. Bess had had to fight and struggle so hard her entire life to get to where she was today; it was understandable that even a small step backward in her independence would cause her to be upset. And this didn't seem to be a small step.

The man moved towards the stairs and began to ascend them as well. "Brightness, what's wrong?" he crooned as he came up the steps, eyes never leaving hers. He noticed now, after her little tirade, Bess was looking more defeated than angry, but still just as frustrated. It broke his heart. That had never been a shadow he enjoyed seeing in his love's eyes, especially after seeing it so much during the first two years of their relationship. "What did Mrs. Byrd do now?" Their housekeeper was always giving Bess trouble and grief; it was as though the old bat lived specifically for just that. Usually, Bess could throw back whatever Mrs. Byrd dished out, but sometimes, the housekeeper managed to hit the exact right button to throw Bess off her game.

"You mean apart from taking it upon herself to try and change my dietary needs?" Bess grumbled. She looked away from her husband as she crossed her arms on the railing and rested her chin on them, glowering at the large fresco depicting Hades and Persephone directly opposite the landing.

"What?" Ebenezer snorted incredulously. Reaching the landing, he stepped towards her and placed a gentle hand on her back, rubbing in soothing circles. He smiled slightly as he felt Bess' tense muscles unwind just a bit.

"Oh, yes," Bess laughed bitterly. "Instead of the lovely breakfast of Mrs. Philpotts' scrumptious, loaded omelets and bacon, Mrs. Byrd took it into her own hands to tell Mrs. Philpotts that I'd decided to have half a godawful grapefruit and a sad piece of lightly buttered toast for breakfast. Not even a soft-boiled egg to dunk my toast in!"

Ebenezer was undeniably stumped. Mrs. Byrd had made... several attempts in the past to try and change Bess'--and consequently his--lifestyle. First trying to push Bess out of the master bedroom and back to the one she'd stayed in during the first six months of their marriage because "people of their station always slept apart" (that idea was quickly dismissed); then trying to undermine and seize power from Bess in running the household as she was "foreign and didn't grasp how an English household should be run" (a threat of instant termination without a reference shut that down). But trying to take control of the food in Bess' diet--that was new and rather unexpected. "Why on earth would she-"

"Because, apparently, I need to trim down," Bess cut him off, huffing peevishly.

"Trim down?!" Ebenezer could help neither the disbelief for the offense in his voice in reaction to the statement. Of things Bess might have needed, "trimming down" was not one of them. She was a big girl; not plump (though she did have a little "fluff" in her tummy area), but naturally stout, big-boned, and muscular. Her Nordic ancestors would have rejoiced at her appearance, and Ebenezer certainly did.

Bess curtly nodded. "'An ideal, well bred lady must be slight of figure and small of appetite, m'Lady'." She did her best impersonation of Mrs. Byrd's pious accent. "My fat ass isn't as nice as the little petite ones Lottie and her Brat Pack have, you see."

Ebenezer was about to make comment on how he much preferred Bess' ass to most he'd seen when she launched into another rant.

"I threw breakfast in her face and went to the kitchen to talk to Mrs. Philpotts so she knows to watch out for that situation in the future. By then I was already behind schedule and gonna be late to meet my new client, so all I could do was slap together a pitiful little cheese sandwich and grab the last of the buttermilk and run.

"I managed to be only ten minutes late to the Whippers', but clearly that was akin to erecting a golden calf in the middle of God's house, and I received a thirty-minute lecture on how promptness is the highest virtue and how even being a minute late would bring about my eternal damnation."

"Mrs. Whipper dressed you down like that?" Ebenezer asked in bemusement. He knew the woman--her husband was one of his many clients and he'd met her a number of times. (He was why they'd considered meeting with Bess for potential midwife services.) The woman was younger than Bess--hardly out of her teens--petite, and sweet as cherry pie; as angelic as her name implied, she was without a single ounce of ill will in her tiny frame for even the rats. The banker could hardly believe such an angelic personality could speak so harshly.

"No. At least not that Mrs. Whipper," Bess muttered, rising up on her elbows to look at him again. "Angelica never even got to speak to me. She was being crowded out by her mother, grandmothers, mother-in-law, and grandmothers-in-law."

Eb, slipped his arm around her shoulders and smirked a little at that. "Ah, so you walked right into a firing squad."

Bess rolled her eyes and looked away. "A firing squad has mercy, Wolf: I walked right into Daniel's lions' den, only God didn't close the mouths of these beasts. Scotland Yard has nothing on that group of women; they could make the Devil himself confess and repent of his treachery."

Ebenezer brushed back some of her fringe from her eyes. "Should I even ask if you have the job?"

"Of course, I didn't get it! Afta all, only women who have birthed and raised their own children can make decent midwives--don't you know anything, Ebeneza? Neva mind how I've been helping with births since I was ten years old or all the references I brought from all my past clients--clearly I have no idea what I'm doing!" The tone in Bess' voice was mocking and biting in the harshest of ways and she'd slipped back into her accent again. "One of the grandmothers--not sure which one, they were all as wrinkly and stooped and gray-haired as the other--quite literally told me to take down my advertisements and go get pregnant and have a baby before I offered further midwife services. Then they slammed the door in my face."

Ebenezer couldn't help but smile sympathetically. "Oh, Moonflower," he cooed softly as he draped both arms around her shoulders and pulled her up. He wrapped her up in a warm hug, smiling when she layered her arms over his. "Darling, I'm so sorry. Had I known anything about the rest of the family, I wouldn't have sent you there." He tenderly kissed her temple. "I'm sorry."

Bess wasn't really listening. "After that, I went to the boutique to pick up my dress." Now that was an activity that should have lifted Bess' spirits, but considering her voice was even more glum than before, that didn't seem to be the case.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Ebenezer just dared to ask.

"It would be, if the dress were anything like what I ordered. Not the style I asked for, or the cuts, or even the color! I thought I'd gotten the wrong order! When I asked them to see the seamstress I'd originally met with, the owner said she'd moved on from the establishment but that she, herself, had taken it upon herself to make my dress and "improve it to better suit my figure"."

The figure comments again? What was the matter with people? "What does that mean exactly?"

"Essentially that when I put it on, I looked like I was wearing a deflated hot air balloon, and, actually, I think even that would look more flattering. How can a dress suit your figure when it doesn't even show your figure in the first place?" A tearful snort left the woman and she trembled within her lover's warm embrace. She hung her head as she reached up to hide her face in her hands.

"Bess?" Ebenezer purred with gentle concern into her ear. He hugged her more tightly, trying to hold her as close to his heart as possible. "Moonlight?"

Bess shook her head. "Sorry," she croaked out. "It's just..." she sighed deeply. "Everything today just kinda brought back everything from growing up. I was actually starting to fear turning around and finding Mama there waiting to rip into me or-"

"Shhhhh," her husband hushed her, tucking her tight into his chest. "Shhhhh, Brightness, it's all right. I understand." Automatically the Englishman began to gently, slowly sway back and forth on his feet, showering tender kisses over the back of his wife's neck, shoulders, and ears. "I understand."

Bess held onto him again, melting into his affection. "I just..." she sighed, "... I want people to shut up and stop trying to control my life. For once. I want people to have a little faith and realize maybe I can actually handle my own affairs. Or at least keep their noses out of my business!"

Ebenezer kissed the scar on her neck. "I know," he whispered, giving her a squeeze. He held her silence for a moment, face snuggled into her neck. "Bess, you do know," he whispered after an interlude, "that I have faith in you, yes? And that I support your independence every step of the way?

Bess couldn't help but smile and she craned her neck to look up at him. "Yes," she rasped out. "I know."

Ebenezer beamed. "I'll help you fight for it if need be, my Queen. We'll make them all see together."

Bess felt the slight sting of happy tears. "Thank you, my King," she practically squeaked. She pressed a lingering kiss to his sculpted cheek. "That means so much more than you know. I haven't had much support on that front for... well, my whole life, really."

The gentleman smiled at her. "Well, now you have a big, bad wolf who will fight for his she-wolf," he growled playfully into her ear, making her flinch and giggle at the ticklish sensations. "And wolves are certainly tough enough to take on Byrds, biddies, and butchers of dresses." He trailed some more kisses along her shoulders and nape, before he raised a finger to tip Bess' chin up and planted a devoted kiss on her coral colored lips.

Bess quietly moaned and leaned into Ebenezer's lips. The last of her frustration easily dissipated as loving warmth and calm flooded through her soul. When they parted, Bess nuzzled into the man's neck with a contented sigh. "Hmm, that sounds lovely, Wolfy," she replied. "But can this she-wolf get something decent to eat first? She hasn't had anything all day but a sad cheese sandwich and buttermilk."

Ebenezer chuckled as he smoothed a hand over her hair and headscarf. He smooched her cheek. "Mwah. I think that's a fantastic idea, my darling. Get some food in your belly and this morning will fade into nothing but a bad memory. No one can have a good day on an empty stomach."

"Especially not when you're dealing with manipulative, holier-than-thou bitches."

Ebenezer chuckled as he began to lead his wife back down the stairs and make for the kitchens. "No," he agreed. "I wouldn't think so."

Silence fell over the pair for a moment as they walked. And then Bess was speaking again, gazing adoringly and gratefully up at the man as she did so: "Thank you, my moon song. Thank you for always being in my corner. It's a relief to not fight alone."

Ebenezer smiled down at her. "Always, my beloved one," he murmured. He stopped and turned to face her fully, taking her face between his large hands. "Always," he repeated, gazing deep into her midnight blue eyes. He touched soft lips to her brow.

Taglist: @luvreadingfics @amazingassash @beascrooge @themostanonymousscribbler @b4bynikii @sparklesphobia @christmasgaybusinessmen @tenodai @girlbosseveyhammond @witchypandamonium @purgratoriat @neonshoe @orangewierdo @mirthadra @the-enchanted-rose @simp2537 @pandora-native-ayatei @youngsongnerd @skyvstheworldsince1996 @crimson-phantom-designs @cila-17 @ry-ichi1 @artist-anon08 @alittlebitbethany @crowwritesthings @hyerizz @crowbones13 @rom-e-o @softmullet @cheesethegodfather @the-house-of-auditore-frye @thephantomofzaun @littlethief78 @oldmanlusting

Imagine your F/O noticing that you’re upset.

They drape their arms around you from behind, and kiss all over your ears and the back of your neck.

They hold you tight and promise you whatever is wrong they want to be there for you, and make it alright.

#scrooge 2022 #netflix scrooge #scrooge a christmas carol #ebenezer scrooge #scrooge #fanfiction #scrooge x oc #ebenezer x bess #ebeness #bess scrooge #married couple #married fluff #soft scrooge #fluffy scrooge #gentle love #soulmates #partners #always have your back

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enhanced-operatives-division · 8 months ago

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Points at you. 10 and/or 11 for starstruck?

Two starstruck asks,,,,,,joy of joys,,

Part of an ask game linked here.

#10. What's an au you have for them?

Since them meeting at all is technically an AU i have 3 different ways that they do meet up. There's the one where Juniper ends up with the agency/adjacent to and ends up working with Reggie (have written a fic with this). The next one is Juniper surviving but basically going stealth and living as normal of a life as he can and ending up meeting Reggie through chance (most recent fic I've written). And then there's my personal favourite where Reginald "You're lucky my tracking skills are still up to snuff" Crane keeping himself busy after Phoenix was MIA and finding Juniper still alive (fic I want to write but haven't started mainly because it may end up multi chapter).

In terms of more AU canon bending taking them and putting them in a completely unrelated situation...I have a guilty pleasure Warrior Cats AU for IEYTD in general. Both JJ and Reggie have perfect warrior cats suffixes in their names already (Juniper and Crane) so they're called Junipersong (charcoal bengal) and Craneflight (tabby Norwegian forest cat). It's very silly but the amount of scenes I have in my mind for it...good lord...

#11. How was their first kiss like?

Augh my friend Imp wrote an absolutely excellent fic about it (tragically in the realm of unfinished Google docs) and I'm shaking their hand about it so hard. Basically Juniper kissing Reggie but he like wasn't ready/fully expecting it and Juniper absolutely panicking because he thinks he's misread every interaction between them both since they got closer. The second one is much sweeter though,,

#realised i phrased all the fics ive written like those ghosts that haunted scrooge #ah yes the fic of starstuck past #the fic of starstruck present and the fic of starstruck yet to come. it's so dumb #and uhh for the warrior cats thing um. of course they aren't purebreds minus Juniper who used to be a kittypet (housecat) but -#- it was moreso for easy description #reggie is fluffy but he's not quite maine coonf fluffy...norwegan forest cat was a nice middle ground...still gets big guy points too #also um side note roxanix in that au um. they adopted a kit as a stand in for robutler in that au......#also solaris is a VERY grumpy warrior turned medicine cat annnnd thats about all I have fully hashed out in my mind for it so far #im so torn abt also having triple threat.....extra large polycule where phoenix is just intimidated by the others prism is dating lmao #ANYWAYS ENOUGH ABOUT THE WARRIOR CATS AU #can you tell I have a special interest in cats/warrior cats. oh how I miss drawing cats. but I must learn people. for the brainworms...ouuu #i don't have much else to say on that second question other than....AUUUUUUGH they're so. there's so much pent up stuff.#like for JJ it's the first time he's let himself actually love another man the way he wants to while for Reggie it's a lot of -#- realising JJ is trying to be a better person while still ackowleging the fact that he did bad??? basically second chance yada yada #man. i love these two #ik im a broken ass reccord but I've never proactively posted abt them outside the last couple months and it's been so theraputic #ty for the ask it was fun :3c #ieytd #starstruck #junicrane #ask game #not tagging them specifically I don't wanna clog up tags too much #god WHY do i have such an issue eith that. mental issue. anyways

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frc-ambaradan · 10 months ago

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Some late holiday presents... ^^

#scrooge mcduck #variant cover #topolino magazine #2024 calendar #don rosa #ivan bigarella #mario perrotta #panini comics #disney ducks #(that fluffy cover is so soft!)

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fantasticenthusiasttale · 2 years ago

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Okay, life is sad, soooo... fluffy and silly one-shot ^^

Context: cartoon "Mickey and the Roadster Racers"

Enjoy :)

《》《》《》

It was a normal, boring friday morning of job to the team of mechanics. They made some repairs in two cars and then went to lunch. Before the afternoon shift begins, Minnie received a letter.

"Who's it, Minnie?" Daisy asked.

"It's from my sister, Mandie! She's sending the girls for me to take care for the weekend while she's taking care of our aunt, she's a little ill."

"I hope she gets better soon." Mickey said.

"Thanks." Minnie answered.

"We all hope it!" Daisy answered "Millie and Melody are coming? My nieces will love it! They loves to play with them!"

"Tell them they're coming tomorrow!" Minnie said happily.

"I'll talk with Felicity, maybe she can take the boys to play with them too!" Mickey said happily.

"You all can take all your nieces and nephews! It will be a wonderful party!" Minnie invited."

"All of them? Wait Mickey, how many kids Oswald have? 4? 5?" Donald asked.

"Eh... 420." Mickey answered, in a mix of proud and embarrassment.

"WAK!! What kind of place we can put that much of kids?" Donald got worried.

"In the park!" Minnie answered easily "They would love to play together under the sun, as we ourselves did so long time ago!"

"As if you could complain about that." Mickey growled. "Your family is bigger than mine!"

"It isn't! I know, my family is a total craziness, but it isn't that big!" Donald answered.

"No way! Despite my nieces and nephews, how many uncles and aunts you have?"

Donald started to count in his fingers. "Well, there's uncle Scrooge, aunt Matilda, uncle Rumpus, uncle Gideon, uncle Ludwig..."

"Garsh!" Goofy said, surprised.

Mickey smiled "Ha! Look at this! Your family is soooo big!"

"That means nothing! I don't even spend so much time with them! They doesn't even like me! They only calls me when they needs me!" Donald complained angrily.

Mickey laughed. "Don't lie! Obviously they likes you!"

"Hmpf! Let's just return to work! C'mon!" Donald got angry.

30 minutes after the return to work, a sound of people running and screaming was getting closer to them, like they was running up the aisle for cars. Luck that there's no car coming now.

Pluto was the first who noticed the sound and told it to Mickey, who asked of the others are hearing that too.

"NEPHEW!!"

"Oh no." Donald would recognize that voice anywhere, he's heard it so many times.

Before Donald could just turn around to be sure of his thinking to start running, a pair of strong arms grabbed him hard and spun him around in the air.

"My dear nephew! I was lookin' for you!"

"Hi, u-uncle Scrooge." Donald replied embarrassed amidst his uncle's grip. He grew more embarrassed when the old man started kissing him on the forehead and cheeks.

"Sorry unca Donald" Donald's nephews arrived tiredly after running to catch their granduncle.

"We were with unca Scrooge, as you told us..." Huey started.

"...And he had a dentist appointment scheduled for today, so we went with him..." Dewey continued.

"...The dentist used an anesthetic to pull out a decayed tooth, but this made him loose the control." Louie finished.

"And we came here to get you!" Scrooge said happily, still holding Donald.

"Urgh... So you won't let me go until I agree to go with you?" Donald asked.

"Yeah! I want my favorite boys along with me right now!"

"Don't worry unca Donald, the dentist said that the effect will pass in four hours!" Dewey said.

"Oh me, oh my! At least let me breathe!" Donald managed to loosen his grip a little so he could breathe better.

His friends was laughing silently to him "What?"

"Nothing." They said. "You can leave early today if you need to, Donald 'my family don't like me' Duck" Mickey needled his friend.

"It's wrong, his middle name is Fauntleroy." Scrooge added.

"Uncle Scrooge!" Donald complained.

"Donnie!" Scrooge happily tightened his hug. The friends and nephews laughed of that cuteness while Donald was mad.

Luckily for Donald, the effect of anesthesia took longer than expected to wear off. Scrooge made all of them walk down the aisle holding hands, they ate ice creams, walked in the park, and then took the old man to Donald's house for dinner and to sleep, because he didn't want to go to the Money Bin. The effect of the anesthesia wore off early in the morning.

#rumpus mcfowl is from willian van horn comics #the ppl didn't wanted fluffy? Here is ur fluffy!#someone (I don't rlly remember who) said something about hurting the characters more #but here it is!#i can make cute fics too!#TODAY and ONLY TODAY we aren't hurting donald #im healing him after 80 years of suffering #hope u like it #donald duck #scrooge mcduck #huey dewey and louie #mickey mouse #minnie mouse #goofy #daisy duck #mickey and the roadster racers #mickey and friends #tumblr writers #fic

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quill-pen · 1 year ago

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Meet the Scrooges ~pt. 1~ A Sims 4 Scroogeverse fic

Set in the Sims 4 au by @rom-e-o. The first half of the little fic I've been working on bit by bit. Was originally supposed to be one thing, but it felt right to have one half mainly focused on meeting Starla and the other focusing mainly on Bess meeting and befriending Constance.

Rated T for some language and innuendo.

No warnings, just heaps and gobs and mounds of fluff.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Bess groaned as they approached the tall brick house. Her stomach continuously rolled up into her throat and down again to her toes at a sickening pace as the building loomed closer and closer. It was a beautiful looking house, Victorian era, remodeled and refurbished tastefully to allow for modern functionality while keeping the beautiful, classic, and timeless charm. It was just Bess' style. She would have adored it and been so excited to enter if it weren't for the reason they were entering it: To meet Ebenezar's family.

It was insane how she had never met them before, after having been in her Wolf's life for several years now, and especially since Wolf and his twin brother were so close, being the only real family they'd had for decades. But it was one of those freak things where situation and inconvenience had popped up after situation and inconvenience after situation and inconvenience until you hadn't met people for four to five years. Shit was chaotic. But now, approaching their second anniversary, Wolf was finally taking Bess to meet her in-laws.

They'd been invited to stay the weekend, which Bess thought was incredibly generous and maybe a bit crazy considering Ebenezer and Constance had just had twins not long ago. Not to mention they had a nearly-three-year-old daughter in the house. (This was why they'd opted to leave Bess' siblings with Granny FeFe for the weekend. After all, they'd only be a few minutes drive away should they be needed.) All in all, this would either be a blast or a disaster--no inbetween.

Wolf chuckled warmly from the driver's seat. "You're going to be fine, Dearest," he soothed her. "Take deep breaths. Slowly."

Bess tried, but the breathing seemed to settle nothing. "This was a bad idea," she lamented. "This was such a bad idea--staying the weekend. We should've just kept the kids with us and gone to the beach with everyone else. Why the hell did we think this was a good idea?!" Bess hid her face in her hands as she shook it.

"Because it is a good idea," Wolf assured her, voice soft but firm. "I haven't seen my brother or Connie for years or even met my first niece. It's high time we spend some family time--it's past due."

He glanced Bess' way, eyes softening with sympathy as he watched her rock nervously back and forth in an attempt to soothe herself. The silver-haired man reached over and gently grabbed one of her hands, pulling it away from her face and weaving their fingers together to squeeze comfortingly. "Hey," he murmured quietly. "It's going to be all right, Bess. I promise. Sammy and Connie have been dying to meet you since I first mentioned you. In fact, I'd say it's safe to say they already love you just from what I've told them about you."

Bess looked pitifully at him. "You'd be biased in whatever you said though," she meekly pointed out with a tremor in her voice. "They only know your version of me, Wolfy, not me me--the real, uncensored, un-rosy-colored version. Wh-what if... what if they don't like that version?" She clutched his hand more tightly in her anxiousness.

Wolf brought their hands to his mouth and sweetly kissed her knuckles even as he kept driving. "Sweetest Moondust," he purred into her skin, "beautiful wife and magnificent She-Wolf, my version of you is the real, uncensored version, no matter how you're unable to see it yet. But even if it weren't exactly, why would they not like you?"

"Maybe because I'm almost thirty years younger than you?"

"Your age--and consequently our age gap--has never once been anything more than a bullet point of fact for anyone, Bess, I assure you. All the jokes the others have made over the years have been good natured and affectionate: My brother and Connie will be no different. You're a grown, intelligent, mature woman perfectly capable of making your own informed decisions--no one has ever questioned that for a moment."

"Okay, then if not that, how 'bout the fact I stole you away from your family and business and kept you tied up in the shit with my demonic whack-job of a mother for years so you couldn't come back home? You missed the births of your nieces and nephew because of me. You should have been here, Wolf, not halfway across the world being a shield for me against my incubator from hell."

They were pulling up to the manor now, pulling into the driveway and parking.

Wolf finally looked fully at her. "You never stole me away, Darling," he assured her softly, drawing her worried gaze with his gentle one. "I went with you willingly; practically forced myself into the situation, remember? The past two-and-a-half years I've been exactly where I needed and was meant to be--right by your side. You needed me, and I wouldn't have changed that for anything, nor do I have any regrets for it. Sammy and Constance are in complete agreement with me as to it all and have been since I told them I was leaving with you. They begrudge you nothing, I promise you--I would have set them straight otherwise."

Bess couldn't help but smile a little. "I know you would have," she cooed, kissing his bicep and leaning her forehead against his shoulder. "But, in my experience, even when people are set straight... it doesn't seem to take." She couldn't help the glumness in her tone as she remembered the hell of her youth and growing up. She wanted nothing more than to never go back into any such situations ever again.

The silver-haired man bowed his head and kissed her coal-black curls. "Well, it's a good thing we don't have to worry about it then, hm?"

Bess lifted her head to come nose-to-nose with him and meet his eyes again. She didn't look or feel anymore reassured. "If you say so."

Wolf smirked and hummed, eyes flicking down to her mouth and back. Then, without warning, he surged in and captured her soft, perfectly painted lips with his. Let her try to be anxious with that!

Bess squeaked in surprise but then quickly melted into the contact, letting her eyes drift closed as she shifted closer to him, untangling her hand from his to hold his cheek while the other reached out and gripped his vest to pull them closer. Every thought and emotion she felt that didn't involve him and her love for him washed out of her soul like it had been taken out with the tide. What she wouldn't have given to just stay with him like this; his smooth, warm lips caressing hers, his teeth sinking into her pillowy bottom lip ever so gently now and again, his tongue hot and skilled as it slipped alongside her own, tasting like the peppermint he'd sucked on during the drive, his fresh cedar apple cologne and cinnamon citrus aftershave filling her nostrils and tickling her olfactory senses so delightfully. The fact that this glorious god of a man was hers--and willingly--still boggled her mind.

After a moment, and after Wolf had slipped a hand up her panty-hoed thigh beneath her powder blue skirt to grope her hip, they pulled apart, panting a bit for air. "For the record," Wolf husked as he gazed cross-eyed into her starry eyes, "you're always rosy-colored. And it's gorgeous."

Bess' insides tickled with butterfly flutters. She pulled her lip between her teeth and ducked her face from view into her husband's shoulder, tittering giddily like a crushing thirteen-year-old. A blush reddened her cheeks.

Wolf chuckled affectionately, squeezing her thigh and nuzzling her closer. "Properly married for over a year, and still so bashful whenever I compliment and kiss you," he gently taunted. He peppered her crown with more kisses.

Bess, shyly peeked up from behind her thick curtain of hair. "You make... everything feel new," she murmured. "Like a first. Every time. Whenever I think I can't love you any deeper or harder, you go and look at me like I'm the center of the world or hold my hand or... kiss me like you just did... and I somehow fall even more in love with you." She chuckled and bumped her brow to his, closing her eyes as she nuzzled into his warmth. "How do you manage to do that?"

The man leaned into her touch and nuzzled back. "Perhaps because I love you so bloody damn much, every time I look at you, I think I can't possibly love you more than in that moment, but then the next time I look at you comes... and then I can't possibly love you more than in that moment. Or the next, or the next." Wolf kissed his wife's brow, then tipped her head back to meet her starry eyes again. "I have a sneaking suspicion my entire life is just going to be a perpetual free fall into a deeper and deeper love for you, Mrs. Scrooge."

Bess' heart skipped beats as the butterflies in her belly tickled a grin onto her face and tears into her eyes. "Oh, Wolfy." Without thinking she dove back in for another slow, simmering kiss which she was most eagerly obliged with. "I love you so, so much," she whispered against his soft lips.

"And I love you," her man returned. "And so will your brother- and sister-in-law. Now come on." He pecked a barely-there kiss to her lips again and pulled back to switch the engine of the Royce off. He winked at her. "Let's go meet your family, yeah?"

Luggage retrieved from the trunk of the car and in hand, the couple trekked toward the front door. Each step caused Bess' anxiety to mount higher and higher, and when she finally laid eyes on the door, it took everything in her to not drop her bags, turn tail, and gallop away. Again her mind was screaming about what a bad idea this was. A voice that sounded just like her mother was echoing in her head: They'll hate you. Nobody likes you anyway, but they'll hate you for what you've done and keeping Ebenezar away. They'll think you're manipulative and controlling and only want him for the money. If they care about him at all, they'll try to take Ebenezar away from you--you don't deserve him. You're not good enough for him--you're not good enough for this life--and they know it. They'll see right through you and see just how unremarkable, common, and disappointing you really are.

A gentle, warm pressure wrapped around her shoulder, pulling her focus away from the voice in her head. Bess looked down to see her shoulder encased in her hubby's large hand, then looked up into his face again. She realized she must have stopped walking when he'd kept going because he was turned towards her, like he'd realized she was no longer following him and had come back to collect her.

Wolf smiled in gentle reassurance as he held her gaze. "You all right?" he crooned. His large, strong fingers tenderly squeezed.

"H-How should I act?" The question seemed to come out of nowhere; not even Bess understood why she'd asked it. That hadn't been any of the thoughts running through her mind.

Her man lightly cocked an eyebrow in confusion before sighing with an adoring smile as he shook his head. Letting her shoulder go, he brought his hand to her face, tucking hair behind an ear before cupping her cheek. "Like you," came the sincere answer. "You should only ever act like you, Moonflower." He leaned back down to give her another soft kiss to once again help settle her nerves. (It truly was a remedy he never tired of dispensing.) With that, Wolf curled his arm around her back and gently led her on.

They'd only just reached the bottom of the steps when the large, dark wood door with the impressive knocker suddenly opened and an older, short little woman dressed in a maid's uniform with glasses and a broom stepped out to bar their way. Stamping the broom down on the top step and leaning against it, she perched a hand on her hip. "Well, well, what have we here?" she drawled, sounding vaguely Eastern European. A sly smile quirked up her lips and her eyes sparkled in good natured mischief. "Do my aging eyes deceive me, or has the prodigal finally returned?"

Wolf laughed warmly. "I can promise you it's not your eyes, Magda," he declared. He let go of Bess and opened his arm out to the woman. "I'm home."

Magda's smirk blossomed into a beaming grin and she leaned the broom against the brick and came down the steps to embrace the man. "Oh, Ben," she chuckled warmly. "My Benny Boy."

Bess couldn't help but smirk at that. "Benny Boy"? Wolf hated when people called him 'Benny' and 'Benny Boy'--she surmised--would have been no less different and probably worse. Magda must have been someone quite special: She seemed about Wolf's age, maybe a little older--sixties at the oldest. Perhaps a doting, older sister-figure? The idea warmed the Yank's racing heart.

Magda embraced Wolf for a long moment, patting and rubbing his back affectionately and even rocking him a bit. "Oh, we all missed you, Love," she told the man. "Everyone. Of course, we all knew why you had to stay away so long, and we managed, but it wasn't the same."

Wolf chuckled and rubbed Magda's back comfortingly in turn. "I missed all of you, too," he assured the woman. "But I'm back now. And I don't plan on leaving again for a good long while."

"Good. We need you here." The woman passed her hands over Wolf's sides and then paused, pressing her palms against his ribs. "My!" she exclaimed, pulling back from the Englishman with wide eyes. She felt along his sides, flanks, shoulders and chest, and finally his middle. "I see you didn't suffer from hunger while you were away," she claimed, smiling in amusement. "You've put on as much weight as Ebenezer has! Wonderful! You walking skeletons certainly needed some extra pounds."

Wolf rolled his slate-blue eyes. "Don't exaggerate, Magda," he groaned playfully.

"Me? Exaggerate? Never!"

Wolf snorted out a laugh.

"I hope you didn't become addicted to all that ghastly, American fast-food while you were there," Magda only half-joked.

"Honestly, rarely touched the stuff." Wolf looked away from Magda over to Bess with a soft smile. "Bess saw to that. She fed me well--took spectacular care of me."

Bess blushed and couldn't help but return his smile. "Well, you took wonderful care of me first," she insisted. "How could I not return the favor?"

"Aaahhhh," Magda cut in again. She was turned to completely direct her attention upon the American, a little smile on her lips. "So this is the famous Bess." She looked the young woman over, smiling warmer and larger with every sweep of her eyes.

Bess shrunk back a bit, painfully aware the spotlight was now upon her. "U-Um... yeah, th-that'd be me. I-I-I don't know about "famous" though."

Magda shook her head as her smile continued to widen. "You're famous in this household, Dove," she informed the Yank. "And, one could argue, famous throughout the live music scene of London and on YouTube as well, Ms. Moonrock, sought after lounge performer and 65.5K subs strong--whatever that means, but according to the children it's quite good. I must say famous for good reason as well--you are pretty as a rose and cute as the dickens!"

Bess flushed red hot all the way down beneath her collar at that, her freckles popping from beneath her minimal makeup with the blush. She shifted on her purple peep-toe shoes a bit, fluctuating between feeling both morbidly embarrassed and genuinely chuffed over such compliments. She wasn't sure she'd ever get used to hearing such words so frequently directed her way that weren't in the form of YouTube comments or from drunken galloots at a hotel bar. Smiling the tiniest bit, the woman turned and ducked her head to shyly hide her face a bit behind her dark hair. "Thank-Thank you."

Chuckling warmly, Wolf began introductions: "Darling, I'd like you to meet our maid--well, Sammy and Connie's maid anyway--Magda Vandergeissan." The man clasped the little woman's sturdy shoulder and smiled impishly down at her. "She runs this house with an iron fist."

Magda playfully scowled at him and smacked his hand away. "Oh, you--hush! Not an iron fist. ... A fist of hard-packed earth. Wrapped in velvet."

Wolf laughed. Then he turned to Bess again and stepped toward her, brushing her hair back and taking up her hand to bring to his lips again. "Magda, this is Bess Scrooge." He smiled at the dark-haired woman, eyes soft as a lamb's, and held her hand over his heart. "My wonderful, beautiful, remarkable wife--the woman who has made me the happiest and luckiest man on Earth." His voice was tender, dripping with adoration and devotion.

Bess couldn't help but smile back as that familiar warmth flooded through her. She always felt like the most amazing woman in the world when he looked at her like that. She wasn't, of course, but she could easily believe it for a minute or two when in the lovelight of those gorgeous eyes. "Oh, stop it," she giggled in the way girls who are deeply in love do.

"All right, all right," Magda said, stepping in between the pair. "You lovebirds can make goo-goo eyes at each other later. Right now, I'd like to get to know the lovely lady. You can only learn so much from YouTube videos and hotel Yelp reviews." Without even looking, the maid took Bess' bag from Bess' hand and pushed the handle into Wolf's. Then she took Bess' make-up travel kit and stuck it under his arm. "You can handle the luggage, can't you, Ben?" It was an order phrased as a question. Before Magda could get an answer, she wrapped an arm around Bess' and turned all of her attention to the young woman. She smiled in a motherly fashion. "Come along, Dovey, let's go inside and you can tell me all about yourself." She began to lead Bess inside. "Would you like some tea? I've made fresh biscuits to go with it."

"U-uh, yes. That-that would be just fine, Mrs. Vand-"

"Oh, please, Sweetheart, call me 'Magda'--I insist. After all, we're practically family. Might I say, that is an absolutely lovely sweater. Lavender is an excellent color for you. And don't you look darling in that skirt? Constance isn't the only one in the family with style anymore. She'll be happy for that."

"Oh, um... thank you, Magda." Bess craned her head back to give her husband a nervous look but he just grinned and winked as he followed with the bags.

"I'm afraid you just missed the family by about five minutes," Magda informed them. "They took the little ones on a walk for some sunshine. They should be back in a half hour or so. Ben, why don't you take the bags up to your room? I've turned down the bed and have everything ready for the pair of you to stay in your old room this weekend."

Wolf nodded, then sent a careful gaze his wife's way. "Are you going to be all right for a moment or two?" he asked. His voice was full of sincerity and understanding, not a bit patronizing. Bess' anxiety was never something to be taken lightly for him, especially not since it had begun to flare drastically again during the whole debacle with her mother. They were working on getting it under control again, and the medication and coping exercises were definitely helping--even just being back home with family and friends seemed to be helping a great deal; it would be a good while, though, before Bess was back to the stability she'd had before her mother had reared her ugly head again.

Bess offered a small smile in turn as she managed a nod. "I think so," she answered quietly. "If not, I'll call and-"

"I'll come running," her husband finished for her with an assuring nod. He stepped forward and bowed down to give her a yet another short but still languid kiss. After which, he took the time to touch his brow to hers and hold her gaze. "I'll be back in just a minute." With that, he went up one of the split staircases and disappeared into the floors above.

Bess watched after him, a dopey smile that never seemed to fail to come out whenever he kissed her--no matter how chastely--lingering on her face. "Love you," she dreamily called after him. She would never grow tired of saying that.

Magda watched on with a sly, knowing smirk, hands perched on her hips. If that wasn't the look of a woman smitten to the very core of her soul for her man, she didn't know what was. "Well, well, well," the maid drawled, drawing the raven-haired woman's attention. "I've been in the presence of the two of you for less than five minutes, but I think it's safe to say you're as thick as thieves."

Bess couldn't help the bashful, girlish giggle that escaped her as she hid her blushing face in her hands.

Magda chuckled. "I'll take that as a sign he's treating you as he should."

Bess smiled in a completely lovesick way at the maid, hands on her blushing cheeks, her chest feeling as though it were about to explode with happiness. A year and a half as an established couple, and she still felt as though she were in the beginning stages of fresh love. Would it always be like this? She couldn't imagine that it wouldn't be, not with her marvelous Wolf. "Like a queen," she practically swooned. "I want for nothing with him. He's the most amazing and marvelous man!"

Magda knew that well. And the fact that Bess could see it too, caused Magda to be overcome with the urge to hug the young woman and join in her happiness. She did just that. The fact Bess readily returned the affection only after a moment's hesitation made the maid even more happy. Ebenezar had most definitely picked a good one. Of course, Magda had known that too from the first time the man had ever spoken of the Yank.

"I can tell just from the way he looks at you, that you treat him just as well," Magda murmured. The maid pulled back a bit to meet Bess' shining eyes and, for the first time, truly noticed the freckles sprinkling Bess' face. Ah, another freckled, blue-eyed beauty. I'm starting to see a pattern here.

"I'm so happy you're here with us now, Bess," Magda murmured, squeezing the girl's arms as she smiled sincerely into her face. "I'm so happy you and Ben have finally found each other. I've hoped and prayed for a long time for both of the boys to find their special someones--people who will love and cherish them as they deserve to be, partners who will help them bear the burden of the world instead of letting them become crushed by it. Ebenezer has found that special someone in Constance, and, though I've only just met you, from everything I've heard from Ben over the years and just from what I've seen already in the last few minutes, I can tell he's found that special someone in you. And I couldn't be more grateful or happier."

"I just want to make him feel as happy and loved as I can," Bess stated, gushing a bit as she gripped the maid back. "I want to build a life with him, from the ground up. I want to face every challenge and hardship with him and celebrate every triumph and good time with him. I want to give him a home and everything else he's ever needed and wanted. I want to help him see the man that I see when I look at him--a good man, kind and strong and brave and generous and chivalrous. Oh, I just want to love him, Magda! I do love him with all my heart and soul, and thank the heavens for him every day. I just want to love him for all eternity in any and every way that I can."

Tears shone in Magda's eyes by the end of that diatribe, her chin trembling ever so slightly. "If you knew how long I've waited for someone to say those things about my Benny Boy..." she trailed off into a quiet sob, a happy tear descending her cheek. Once again, she embraced the American, hugging her tight and close as she patted her back. She thought her heart would burst when Bess hugged her back just as tightly. "Welcome to the family, Bess. We've waited much too long for you to come home."

"Took me a long time to find it," Bess croaked back. "But now that I'm here, I'm not ever leaving--I promise."

When Wolf came back, from the third floor, he was drawn by the sound of laughter into the sitting room where he was greeted by the sight of Magda and Bess seated at the tea table. Both women held cups of tea as a tray of chocolate chip biscuits sat between them, and neither of them seemed to notice his entrance as they were both laughing much too hard. The man couldn't help but chuckle as well, thrilled that his wife and mother-figure were getting on so well already. "Well, now," he called out as he crossed the room, "this is a sight." He leaned down and pressed a kiss to Bess' crown, stroking a warm hand down her back. "And you were afraid she'd slam the door in your face," he teased at a whisper into her ear.

Bess giggled sheepishly and blushed. Yes, she'd been overthinking and worrying needlessly. Again. Perhaps one day she'd learn to not do that.

"Now," Wolf sighed, leaning down to chomp a bite out of the half-eaten biscuit in his love's hand before standing up and looking between both women, "what are we laughing at?" He pulled out a chair and shifted it a bit closer to Bess before sitting down and slipping an arm around her shoulders.

Bess smirked at him as she arched an eyebrow in mischief. "You and your folded skivvies and ironed socks." She snickered when her man shot her a slightly unamused glare as his cheeks pinked up just a bit.

Magda chuckled. "Oh, Ben, dear, in many ways you've changed, but in so many others you've stayed the same," she crooned, reaching over to fondly pat the businessman's knee. "Thank the Lord you found this lovely little Yankee who's willing to put up with and cater to your... idiosyncrasies. Many women wouldn't without being paid."

Wolf became a bit defensive at that insinuation, however playful it was. "Bess doesn't have to...! I-I don't force her to...! If she didn't want...!" he tried to explain himself, but he was much too flustered.

Bess and Magda broke into giggles again and Bess leaned in closer to his side and wrapped her arms around his waist. "She's just teasing, babe," she cooed. "Feminists everywhere would scream and froth at the mouth but let them: I like folding your boxer briefs and ironing your socks. Besides, it's not like you don't handle my laundry in return." She kissed his flushed cheek.

Magda's eyes widened behind her glasses. "Whhhaaaaat?" she drawled in disbelief. "Ebenezar Charles Scrooge doing laundry?"

Wolf glowered at the maid. "Don't sound so surprised," he grumbled. "I know how to use a washer and dryer. It doesn't take a genius."

"He was a little rusty at first," Bess admitted with a giggle. "I had to remind him about separating things. And I don't think he'd ever heard of fabric softener before." She ignored the groan from her hubby and continued on: "But after that, he caught on quick--within the first few laundry days. And he was always excellent at handwashing--I wouldn't trust my delicates to anyone but him."

"Huuussssshhhhhh!" Wolf hissed, blushing red clear up to the tips of his ears. The last thing he needed Magda to hear about was how he liked to wash Bess' pretty little knickers in the sink to unwind after rough days.

Bess smirked up at him and winked. "And he positively loves folding things now that I got him a folding board," she went on. "You should see him when he uses it--making sure every piece of clothing is laid out perfectly on the board and carefully folding them into perfect little rectangles and squares. He does this little smile and nod at the end of every one as he stacks them into their specific piles. Ugh! It's so cute I could die!"

Magda broke into laughter again at the thought. Knowing the perfectionist her beloved Benny Boy was, the Hungarian could picture that scenario exactly!

"Oh, and can you believe, Magda," Bess went on as she patted her man's chest, "that this darling of a gentleman went out of his way to buy special, scented products to use on my clothes specifically?" The freckled woman smiled in complete adoration up at the silver-haired man.

Though he blushed red hot and avoided eye-contact, Wolf's lips curved into a bashful smile. He didn't believe he'd ever get tired of hearing her call him "darling".

"Oh, did he now?" Magda chortled as she smirked at the blushing fellow. As if it weren't already plain as day Ebenezar Scrooge was a man smitten beyond reason. "And, correct me if I'm wrong, Bess Dear, but I seem to recall some Instagram posts of a certain silver-haired gentleman cooking and baking?"

Bess grinned a mile wide. "You did!"

"Ho, now--wait a second," Wolf quickly injected. "I only mastered the grill--I'm still complete rubbish in the kitchen." He nudged his wife with a significant smirk. "At least, without someone there to guide me. I'm a much better assistant cook."

Bess smiled and nudged him back. "You are an excellent grill-master," she acknowledged. "And you're the best assistant cook. Especially since you volunteer to do all the dishes." She leaned in to peck a chaste kiss on the lips he offered up in a pucker. "Mmmmwah!"

Magda chuckled as she shook her head at the couple. "Laundry, house-cleaning, cooking, baking, washing dishes--I can hardly believe it, but you've actually domesticated him. Well done, Bess. Brava." The maid actually clapped which earned her a small glare from the man in question. She only snickered.

"Oh, I wouldn't go that far," Bess countered with a sly side-eye to the older woman. "I'd say he's still plenty wild and rough in many ways." She turned back to and winked at her love. "Can't sand those rough edges away completely. What would I have to hold on to?"

The trio continued their tea time with warm, lively chatter, discussing everything from America to Hungary and everything in between. Magda filled in blanks about what had happened the last few years while the Wolves (Magda explained that's what everyone had taken to calling the pair collectively--Wolf groaned at the information while Bess laughed) had been away. It was as comfortable and cozy as three long-lost friends reuniting; Bess felt silly for ever having worried in the first place. But, of course, this was just Magda. She had yet to meet her in-laws.

Speaking of the devils--it wasn't long until there was a voice that sounded much like Wolf's but couldn't be his ringing through the house: "We're back!"

A familiar, resounding bark echoed right after it, and just a moment or two later, a big, furry, golden brown blur came barrelling through the door of the sitting room. Very nearly crashing into the couple, the blur quickly changed into a whining flurry of tail wags and slobbery kisses complete with a cold, wet, inspecting nose. Wolf and Bess laughed and endured the onslaught of wet affection joyously, wrapping their arms around the beast. "Prudence!" they both cheered. They slipped from their chairs to kneel on the floor to more sufficiently love up the excited mastiff, taking turns hugging her and getting showered with drool and giving the dog back and butt-scratches as she frantically spun around between them to give them ample and equal amounts of affection. Clearly the couple had been missed and she had too.

"Oh, Prudence!" Wolf laughed as he scratched the dog down her back and up her sides. "Good old Prudence!"

Bess held the dog's face between her hands, smushing and ruffling her floppy jowls as she smooched the animal all over her giant head. "Ugh, you big, sweet, wonderful ol' meatball-head!" she giggled, touching her brow to Prudence's. "Oh, we missed you, old girl."

Grinning a mile wide with lolling tongue, Prudence promptly flipped onto her back to offer her belly up for tummy-rubs. She was quickly obliged. The dog started whining in happiness again, her tail drumming the floor and one of her back legs pedaling as just the right spots were found.

"The children are going to be upset they didn't get to see you," Wolf crooned.

"She looks great!" Bess exclaimed, noting the mastiff's healthy body weight and solid musculature. As far as her breed went, Prudence was most definitely a senior dog, as she'd already been 9 years old when Bess had first met Wolf. But you could hardly tell from the way she acted or looked: Apart from a few white hairs around her muzzle and in her brows, Prudence could have easily been mistaken for a dog a quarter her age! It was just further proof for Bess' quiet theory that this dog wasn't really a dog, but a guardian angel in canine disguise.

"Hardly looks a day older than when Marley left her with us," a warm, smooth voice chuckled. The voice was familiar to Bess' ears--almost like her Wolf's--but different enough it could easily be deciphered for someone different. By someone close to him anyway.

The couple turned their attention from the dog to the tall man dressed in comfortable slacks and a casual blue vest over a white button-down and tie. This was Ebenezer Samuel Scrooge, one-half of London's famous (and in some corners, yet, infamous), philanthropic, billionaire-bankers-and-businessmen-brothers team. Also, Bess' brother-in-law.

Wolf's mouth split into a laughing grin as he sprung to his feet and quickly closed the distance between himself and the other grinning man. "Sammy!" he boomed. He clasped his brother's extended arm as the other fellow did the same and the two pulled each other into a great hug, slapping each other on the backs.

Bess couldn't help but stare. She'd known since before she met him that her Wolf was an identical twin--complete with a set of identical names because their father had been that sort of dick--and this wasn't the first time she'd seen Ebenezer--or rather "Adonis" as she had taken to calling him since seeing pictures online. But it was still uncanny to see a man who had her husband's face but who wasn't her husband embracing her husband. The same two-toned, steel and silver hair--though Wolf's was much longer as he'd finally managed to grow it to the "rebellious" length he'd always wanted; the same large, handsome, owlish nose; the same diamond shaped face with the chiseled cheekbones and sharp jaw that could cut glass; the same, wide, intelligent brow; the same slender lips; the same bushy brows; the same endearingly large ears; even the same carefully groomed muttonchops that jackasses liked to make fun of Wolf for ("Hey, Wolverine!" "It's not the Victorian age anymore, buddy!" "Yo, where's the time-machine, pal?"). So far the only real difference Bess could see (apart from the obvious hair) was that Adonis looked a tad taller and lankier while her Wolf was a bit bigger and bulkier in the muscle, body-fat, and framing department. Not a surprise, considering Wolf had just spent the last two years living with her on her old family farm, doing farm and renovation work and eating a mixture of her and her friend Debbie's cooking (finger-licking-good, stick-to-your-ribs, homemade American faire). Identical as they were, this fact made Bess officially decide that she had the more attractive of the twins. (However, she was plenty biased.)

Still laughing, the brothers finally pulled apart, but still held each other by the arm, hands now layered warmly over hands gripping forearms.

"Criminey, it's good to see you, old boy!" Wolf sighed.

"It's good to see you, too," Adonis echoed. "Bloody hell, look at you! You look like those damn rugby players we grew up idolizing! What do the Yanks feed you over there in the States?"

"Big portions and hard work."

"I'll say. Shite, Charlie, if Dad were around to see your hair now." He reached up with both hands and ruffled his twin's hair in an obnoxious and brotherly way.

"Hey!" Wolf barked the laugh as he shoved his brother away. He drew up his fists and got into a mock fighting stance and Adonis did the same. For a second or two, the men pretended to spar, ducking and bobbing around playful punches and then, laughing, they embraced fully again.

Bess couldn't help but smile, her heart swelling with happiness that her beloved was once again back with his best and closest friend. Happy whining and thumping sounds beside her told the woman Prudence was happy with the scenario as well. Bess reached down to scratch the dog's head and ears.

"Where's your better half?" Wolf asked as they parted again.

"Taking Starry to the loo," Adonis answered. "We're finally making progress with potty-training. Oh, that reminds me. Magda?" The man looked in the maid's direction. "Would you mind going to help Connie with the twins? I believe they both are in need of changing."

Always happy to interact with the little ones in any aspect, Magda smiled and nodded. "Of course, Mr. Scrooge." She gave Bess' shoulder a gentle squeeze and a reassuring smile as she left the room.

Bess smiled after her, even as her nerves started to rise a bit. Evidently she'd quickly attached to friendly, warm, motherly Magda as something of a security blanket in this strange household, and her departure left the American feeling a bit insecure again. She shifted a bit closer to Prudence, thankful that the dog also shifted towards her in turn, probably sensing her nerves. Good, old, wonderful Prudie!

"Well, Charlie," Adonis sighed as Magda, left. He let go of his brother and moved around him in Bess' direction, his icy blue eyes (ah--another slight difference) friendly and warm despite their otherwise frigid hue. "It's been about a minute since I came in--are you going to introduce me to this lovely lady, or should I do it myself?"

Wolf chuckled and moved back to stand by Bess, slipping an arm about her waist and tugging her comfortingly into his side. His thumb traced circles on her back to help soothe the anxiousness he had seen come back to her eyes. "Sammy, this is Bess." The man smiled down at his lover as she hooked an arm around his waist for extra reassurance. "The absolute love of my life."

Bess looked up at her husband, meeting his gentle gaze (yes, she definitely preferred that cool, liquid slate-blue), wanting nothing more than to kiss the very breath from him for those beautiful, beautiful words. She loved that phrase in context to her. After years of fearing she'd never find someone who liked her let alone loved her, to be referred to as the quintessential love of someone who was her own quintessential love filled her with so many good vibes she could have exploded. The woman knew she'd never tire of hearing them.

"Well, that's quite the statement," Adonis declared smiling between the smitten pair. "You must be something very special, Lady Ness; my hard-headed, self-sabotaging twin has never said that about any woman ever."

Wolf shot him a glare. "Hard-headed? Self-sabotaging? Pot, meet Kettle."

Prudence softly ruffed in agreement.

Adonis snickered with an impish smirk. Then he stretched out his hand to Bess and clasped her hand warmly when she took it. With a gentlemanly bow, he smiled sincerely up at her. "It's good to finally meet you, Bess," he stated fondly.

"You too, Bess responded, returning the man's smile. She squeezed his hand, happy to feel it was work roughened as well, though not quite to the glorious extent her hubby's were. With her beloved Wolf by her side and the palpable friendliness and openness of her brother-in-law, Bess felt her nerves settling again. "Wolf's told me so much about you."

Adonis sent a look his brother's way. "All good things, I assume," he said, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"Oh, of course, Brother," Wolf assured him more than a little sardonically. "Only ever good things."

Bess did her best to keep from smiling and laughing as all the funny and embarrassing stories about her brother-in-law her husband had told her came rushing to the forefront. She succeeded only minimally well. It was hard not to laugh at the mental image of a man as imposing as Ebenezer losing it over a creepy-crawly. Deep down she really hoped a spider or beetle would sneak into the house while they were there for the weekend; she wanted to see if Adonis really screamed as loud as Wolf claimed he would.

Adonis gave his brother a hard look. "Uh-huh." After a moment he looked to Bess again and said conversationally: "You know, he pissed the bed until he was thirteen."

Bess laughed incredulously. "What?!"

Prudence too looked up at Wolf with wide, surprised eyes and perked ears as she tilted her head in question.

A beet-red Wolf immediately jumped in. "No I didn't!" he spat angrily, giving his laughing twin a rough shove. "That's a complete exaggeration and taken out of context, and you know it!" The man then desperately turned to his wife with her goofy, amused grin and frantically tried to explain. "The only reason I wet the bed was because I'd snuck out past curfew with a group of older schoolmates and had much more alcohol than was good for me and passed out. They dumped me back in my bed and I never woke up when I needed to and..." he trailed off, painfully embarrassed by the memory.

Bess smiled sympathetically and reached up to hold his angular face in her hands. "Oh, honey," she crooned with a chuckle. "It's okay--it can happen to anybody." She smooched his nose then smirked mischievously at him. "But if you ever do that in our bed, you're on the floor with the dog."

Prudence woofed rather indignantly.

Wolf smirked back just as deviously. "For all of two minutes before you begged me back into it," he rumbled more than a little salaciously as he cocked a smug eyebrow.

Bess flushed hot and gently popped his chin in admonishment. "Ebenezar Charles!" she hissed. "We're among company!" She tried to give her man a stern look but failed as her lips frustratingly twitched into little smirks.

A shudder went through Adonis at the mental images that statement conjured up and he cringed. Imagining his brother having... relations.... "Eeeesh!" he exclaimed. "There's something I never wanted to picture."

As if in agreement, Prudence shook herself and trotted out of the room with a snort. Clearly she had better places to be if the humans were going to start discussing such things. There was a stash of bones somewhere calling her name anyway.

Wolf side-eyed his twin as he pulled his wife flush into him. He always loved the way Bess fit so perfectly against him, her curvaceous, womanly figure melding perfectly into his body; the way his hands so easily found and fit into the small of her back and other dips in her body. There was no doubt in his mind anymore that they had been made for each other--molded to fit one other specifically. "No kidding," he responded drily, shooting a pointed look at the other man. "Say, did you ever get around to finding some sort of cushioning for your headboard? I imagine the wall behind it is looking a bit rough otherwise."

Bess couldn't help but snort at that. She covered her mouth with a hand to try and stop her laughter. Her efforts weren't particularly successful.

Adonis blushed a bit and glowered at his brother. Then he smirked deviously. "No, we didn't," he replied. "As a matter of fact, Constance and I just use your bed now."

Wolf felt the color drain from his face at that statement. Whether it was true or not was a complete crapshoot, because he and his twin were masters of screwing with each other. Even so, just the mere idea that he could possibly be sleeping in a bed his brother might have shagged in, perhaps making love to his own wife in that same bed, was enough to make his skin crawl. "You're a bastard," he rasped out.

Adonis' devilish smirk turned into a somewhat maniacal grin. "Remember, we're twins, Benny Boy."

Bess looked between the brothers in utter amusement. Having four siblings, Bess was used to the ever-fluctuating nature of such relationships, and the contolled, chaotic energy between her husband and brother-in-law was immaculate. This was going to be a hell of a weekend!

"Papa?" a tiny little voice suddenly chirped in to interrupt the conversation. "Papa, Papa, Papa!"

The three adults turned to see a tiny redheaded girl in a yellow shirt, little blue capris, and teeny white shoes come toddling into the sitting room. Arms outstretched for balance, the tot had a big, gap-toothed grin on her cherubic little face, her sparkling blue eyes trained on her father. The toddler sped up into a waddle and, panting as she squeaked excitedly, darted for the tall gentleman. "Papa!"

Adonis' face softened and his grin turned warm with love as he crouched down to meet the toddler. "There's my little sundrop!" he cooed adoringly as he scooped the girl up. He smooched noisy kisses to her chubby cheeks as the little one giggled and squealed while she hugged his neck.

"Papa! That tickleth!"

Bess couldn't help but smile at the sheer adorable, wholesomeness of the situation. There was something about a big man being gentle and sweet with a small child that never failed to make her go mushy inside. And make her useless womb quiver and ache.

The American looked up at her husband again to see him staring at his brother and niece attentively. A slight smile curled his mouth. The light in his eyes was warm and soft and... maybe just a tad longing. It was hardly a secret the man had a desire to be a father, to hear a little voice call him "Papa" and catch a little child as they came running to give him hugs and kisses, too. While he was the adoptive father of Bess' siblings now and loved being their father-figure and adored being called "Uncle Ebby", it just wasn't quite enough. There was a void deep inside him that it just didn't quite fill, as much as he wished it would. He wanted to be a father to a child, from beginning to end. He wanted to experience the good, bad, and everything in between. He was honored his adopted children had hyphenated his name in after that of their own father, but even so, the man wanted a child to carry his name first and alone.

Bess reached up and cupped his sculpted cheek to draw his face back to hers. She smiled reassuringly at him, knowing what was going through his very soul at the moment because it was going through hers too. "Someday," she reminded him softly. "We'll be there someday." She stroked a tender thumb along his cheekbone and pressed her other hand to his heart. "I promise."

Wolf responded with the softest of smitten smiles he'd given her since their first morning waking up naked in each other's arms. He bowed to touch his brow to her, his stubbornly-stray lock of hair tickling both their cheeks. "How is it you always seem to know exactly what I'm thinking?" he purred, gazing into her eyes.

Bess smirked as she curled both arms back around his neck and pulled him closer. "I could ask you the same thing," she giggled.

Wolf rumbled a soft chuckle and angled his head to bring their mouths together once more. He kissed her chastely but soundly, reveling in the belovedly familiar scent of her blueberry perfume. He would forever associate blueberries with this glorious woman for the rest of his days.

"New fwiendth?" the little girl chirruped again.

The couple parted lips and turned their attention back to the father and daughter, both of whom were now gazing at them, the father much more wryly than the little girl. She gawked at them in wide-eyed excitement and fascination.

"Yes, Sweetheart," her papa answered gently. "New and very good friends." He returned his gaze to his child and smiled at her absolute enchantment with the two new adults. The man gently bounced her in his arms. "Do you remember them?" he cooed. "Hmm? You've seen their pictures and watched them on YouTube. Mama and I have talked to you about them."

The babe gasped and squealed with delighted laughter as she clapped her little hands. "Annie Bweth!" she giggled. "Unky Woofy!"

Bess couldn't help the laughter that escaped her. "Unky Woofy," she snickered to her husband. "That's definitely becoming a new pet name."

Wolf gave her the side-eye. "Don't you dare," he warned her but he smirked as he said it.

Bess only winked. She made no guarantees.

Chuckling, Adonis knelt down and placed his little girl on the floor again. The girl's feet were already peddling before she touched ground; when she finally did, she took off at a run. Or as much of a run as a waddle could reach. "Go make friends," he urged, though the child was already speeding to do just that. He smiled in adoring pride as he stood again. "Charlie, Bess, allow me to introduce you to your niece, Starla."

Unable to help herself, Bess pulled out of her hubby's arms and quickly moved towards the oncoming child, arms outstretched and hands itching to pick up the tot and snuggle her close. She loved children in general, and this stage was positively adorable (if not insanely chaotic), when they really started to come into their own as little people with little personalities and attitudes. "Oh my goodness!" the America cooed as she swooped Starla up into her arms. "Hi, Sweetheart."

Starla's gap-toothed grin beamed wide and radiant as the sun. She giggled excitedly as she reached out towards Bess, stubby little fingers wiggling and grasping for something to touch and hold on to. "Annie Bweth!" she squeaked. When Bess leaned in and pulled her a bit closer, the tot grabbed a chunk of coal-black waves and tangled it between her fingers. Her cornflower eyes widened in awe. "Ooohhh, tho pwetty," Starla quietly marveled. Then she beamed even brighter up at her auntie again. "You pwetty, Annie Bweth!"

Chuckling, Bess settled her niece on her hip and snuggled her. "Not as pretty as you, Little Sunbeam," she crooned. The woman stroked a finger down the owlish bridge of the little ginger's nose and playfully booped the tip, her heart melting at the peals of laughter that followed. Starla may have been her mother's spitting image overall, but she certainly had her father's nose. "My gosh, look at you! If you aren't the cutest little angel I ever did see. And you've gotten so big! Golly, it seems like just yesterday Wolf and I were looking at pictures of you all red and squishy."

"She's certainly turned into quite a little armful," Wolf remarked turning to his brother with a genuine smile.

"And much too fast," Adonis agreed with bittersweet sorrow. "I swear just last week she was falling asleep during tummy-time--now it takes everything Connie and I have to keep up with her.

"I remember watching your first steps," Bess told the little girl. "I do." She poked Starla's tummy and was rewarded with more happy, ticklish squeals. Could this little tyke possibly get any cuter?!

"I remember it, too," Wolf remarked moving behind his wife and putting his hands on her shoulders as he fawned over her smittenness with their niece. ("They're niece"--that sounded so wonderful!) He remembered how happy and excited he'd been for his twin that day, finally starting a family (a deep-seated desire they'd both had and forgotten until recent years) and being able to raise and watch it grow. He also remembered walking in on Bess that evening, drinking wine, watching the video, and sobbing about how she'd taken him away from his family and was a horrible person for it. He'd fallen asleep beside her that night, holding her close as he comforted and reassured her. It was the first time they'd slept together--in the literal sense of the phrase--and, while it wasn't exactly the most positive of memories in context, it was one the Englishman would cherish forever.

Starla's eyes suddenly snapped from Bess' face over to the tall gentleman gazing down at her from over her Auntie's shoulder. Her grin grew even brighter and she reached towards him. "Unky Woofy!"

Chuckling, Wolf moved around Bess and held out his hands to take the little girl from his wife. "Hello, Starla," he crooned as he settled her against his chest. "My goodness, you are quite the big girl!" He pretended to stumble and struggle to hold his niece, causing the tot to squeal and shriek with giggles. The man chuckled warmly and patted the girl's back.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Sweetheart," he said as he smiled at his niece.

Starla beamed back at him. "Nithe to meet you too, Unky Woofy!" she chirped. Then she reached up and took her uncle's chin between her pudgy hands and began to look him over carefully. After a moment, she turned to her father and waved him over. "Papa." When her father came over she reached out and placed a hand on his cheek as she kept one on her uncle's face. The little girl spent several long moments looking back and forth between the two men, her little fingers gently playing with the tickly hairs of their muttonchops. Her grin grew bigger and bigger as fascination and wonder sparkled through her baby blues.

Bess couldn't help but grin at the sweet moment. She also marveled at her niece's comprehensive observation skills for no older than she was. Of course, that shouldn't have been a surprise, considering who her parents were.

"Papa!" Starla gasped after a while. "Unky Woofy wookth duth wike you with wong, pwetty haew!" She clapped her hands in delight.

Both men chuckled. "That's right, baby girl," Adonis praised her. "Do you know why Uncle Wolfy and I look alike?"

Starla shook her head.

"We're identical twins," Wolf stated, watching his niece's adorable little face scrunch up a bit as she tried to process that.

"'Winth? Wike Thewwy an' Wobbie?"

"Sort of," Adonis answered. "Sherry and Robbie aren't identical, but Uncle Wolfy and I are identical. Identical means that we look alike and sound alike and we're both boys."

Starla looked between the men again for a minute. "Doth that mean you my papa too, Unky Woofy?" she asked as innocently as can be.

Wolf chuckled fondly and shook his head. "No, only your papa is your papa," he assured the girl. "I'm just your uncle." He smiled gently at her, a doting look in his slate eyes as he added. "But I still love you very, very much," he purred. "And you're very, very special to me."

Starla smiled sweetly and leaned forward in her uncle's arms to wrap her own stumpy ones around his neck. "Wuv you too, Unky Woofy," she said as she gazed into his face. "Mwah!" She puckered her little lips and pecked them to the pointed tip of the man's large nose in an adorable kiss.

Chuckling again, Wolf cradled the back of Starla's little, red head in his large palm and pulled her in close to hug. He softly kissed her cheek as the babe nuzzled into his neck. Blinking back the watery sting in his eyes, the former miserly recluse let out a shaky sigh as an ache deep inside his heart evaporated away. He'd needed this. He hadn't known just how much he'd needed this.

Her phone already out as she'd been snapping pictures throughout the encounter, Bess quickly collected a few more of the exchange, struggling to not melt into mush on the spot at the fluffiness of it all. Her chest was so full of warmth, she felt like exploding into butterflies and rainbows. This was just about the sweetest, cutest thing she'd ever seen! Finally, her beloved was back where he belonged--with his family. The Silver Wolf had found his pack again.

When she heard the telltale, trembling sigh, Bess slipped her phone away and moved to her husband. Pulling out a hankie she'd taken to carrying around ever since meeting her Wolf (undoubtedly a habit she'd picked up from him), she reached up and gently dabbed a stray tear off his nose. When the man opened his eyes to look at her, she smiled in gentle reassurance and understanding. The next thing she knew, her man was reaching out and curving an arm around her to pull her into the cuddle as well. Bess didn't object and melted into him, wrapping one arm around his waist and reaching up with the other to pat Starla's back.

Starla pulled away from Wolf's neck and looked Bess' way, grinning like the sun when she saw who was there "Annie Bweth!" She practically threw herself at the woman even as her uncle kept a hold on her, and hugged her auntie's face, snuffling into her soft, sweet-smelling curls. "I wuv you too, Annie Bweth!"

Bess laughed, her voice breaking a bit as her own eyes welled up with tears. She did her best to hug the child back in their awkward, somewhat tangled position. "Aw, I love you too, Sweetpea!" She looked up at her husband through a cage of toddler arms, joy and hope sparkling in her watery eyes to replace the anxiety that had once dwelt there. Her brother-in-law liked her! Her niece loved her!

His own eyes still shimmering with tears, Wolf smiled back at his wife and nodded. He hugged her closer and bowed his head to hers. He planted a kiss in her hair. "Welcome to the family, Auntie Bess," he purred into her ear. "I told you they'd love you."

@rom-e-o @ray-painter @crimson-phantom-designs @m0nsterwife @christmasgaybusinessmen @thedivinelights @purgratoriat @themostanonymousscribbler @oldmanlusting @the-house-of-auditore-frye

#scrooge 2022 #netflix scrooge #scrooge a christmas carol #ebenezer scrooge #scrooge #fanfiction #scrooge x oc #ebeness #bess scrooge #sims au #sims 4 scroogeverse #ebenezar scrooge #ebenezar x bess #magda vandergeissan #starla scrooge #uncle wolf and auntie bess #family fluff #scrooge family #fluffy scrooge

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nebulaegalaxy · 2 years ago

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my friend blames jello buy my book apocalypse for her hundreds of ducktales 2017 screenshots

[sound pokemon video -> watching the titanic movie w the rapping dog -> screenshotting the worst parts of that -> "people drew this sammie" -> this continues on to other animated things we watch -> we watch ducktales 2017]

#fluffy is a drangus #jelloapocalypse #dt17 #they have over 100 screenshots of scrooge ALONE #AND ALL OF THEM HAVE HIS HAT

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skzstannie · 1 year ago

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“We’d never want you to struggle alone”

SKZ-> ot8 x 9th member! reader

genre: angst wc: ~2100 cw: mentions of depression and death of family members, hatred for the holidays

Hi guys! Here’s my attempt at some Christmas/holiday angst. The fluffy Part 2 is posted and linked at the bottom of this post!

Feedback and likes/reblogs are greatly appreciated! I haven't got the chance to interact with too many people on here yet, so reach out if you'd like!

Happy scrolling!

"Hey guys, I'm pretty tired. I think I'm gonna head to bed. Chan Oppa, I'm gonna go lay down in your room until everyone's ready to go back to our dorm," you wave off their comments asking you to stay with them and make your way to the leader's bedroom.

It's December 20th, and the guys are all gathered around the television in the 3Racha/Hyunjin dorm, binge watching Christmas movies. During a normal year, you'd all be at your own homes with your families, cozying up to the fireplaces and drinking hot chocolate with your siblings. However, this was no normal year, and your comeback ran too close to the holidays, not allowing you nor the boys to go home for Christmas. Not that you particularly minded; you hated the holidays.

You imagine what you'd be doing at home right now, no doubt curled up in your bed with an exciting romance novel, listening to some dark academia playlist you'd found on YouTube.

But you're not home, you're stuck here with a bunch of Christmas-crazed dorks who have spent the last few weeks decorating your dorms full of all things Santa Claus. You've been managing to sneak away whenever any holiday-esque activities are taking place. You've not told them of your hatred towards the holidays, and you're not really planning to, either, not wanting to be the reason their fun-filled nights are ruined; they're already sad enough about not being able to head home for the holidays, the last thing you want to do is be a scrooge. So, you’ve resorted to humbly excusing yourself, busying yourself with your own activities when the occasion arises.

As you walk into Chan's room, you take notice of all the little trees he has decorating his room. Cute. You pick up the picture of his family he has resting on his nightstand beside his bed. You stare at his mom, dad, siblings, and grandparents smiling faces, feeling the familiarly unavoidable pit in your stomach form.

Your parents and one set of your grandparents passed away in a car wreck about five years ago, before you debuted with the guys. Your other grandparents, your mother's parents, passed away before you were born, never getting the opportunity to meet them. So, that left just you and your brother. Your brother, being a few years older than you, started his own family the summer after your parents passed. He has a beautiful wife and two children now, one boy and one girl. They got right to baby-making after they got married, so excited to start a family of their own. Unfortunately, that family never included you. You only know of their children because you’re mutuals with your sister-in-law on social media.

Your brother essentially ghosted you after his first child was born. You two were never the closest sibling duo, but you never expected him to completely drop you and ignore your existence. But he did, and that's just something you have learned to live with.

You were not in a healthy place after all this happened. You had no one to go to when your heart was breaking, grieving the loss of both your dead and alive family members. You put all your focus into the trainee program, all your sadness and anger towards the world into your dance and song. Chan eventually found you on that one fateful day that you deemed saved your life. You were at the lowest of your low, and you thought you had finally reached your breaking point, but then walked in Christopher Bang Chan, all smiles and laughter. He recruited you to be in his group as one of the first, right after Han. From then on, you had another reason to keep going, to keep fighting.

You've never told the guys this. You have always been a more reserved member, keeping all of your personal life out of the spotlight. While the boys never heard you talk much about your family, really only knowing you have a brother, they always thought that, when you went home for the holidays, you went home to a nice big house filled with love. They thought when you walked in the doors to your childhood home, you were welcomed in by your parents with opened arms, beckoning you in. They thought you spent your Christmas mornings opening nicely wrapped presents, followed by a home-cooked breakfast that'd be shared amongst your family.

They didn't know of the single bedroom apartment you called yours. They didn't know of the bareness that captured your living room, baren of all things Christmas and the lack of Christmas cookies and presents on Christmas Day. They didn't know you've always spent your holidays alone.

Honestly, you were completely fine with their assumptions. You didn't need nor want their pity. Your family was still an incredibly sensitive topic to you. Before their passing, you were so very close. You'd spent every holiday together, enjoying your time as a family, doing all the cliche things. You'd even gone caroling a few times, walking around your childhood neighborhood singing the classic Christmas songs off-key to your friendly neighbors.

Afraid you'd spiral, leading you right back to how you'd been before Chan found you, you never brought it up, and the boys never pushed you to talk about your family. They figured you were normal with a mom, dad, and a loving brother-so what's to talk about?

The holidays have never felt the same; you knew they wouldn't. So why try? Why go through the effort of making yourself a nice Christmas dinner, attending church on Christmas eve and waking up early Christmas morning, when you knew your parents wouldn't be there to greet you. When you knew your grandmother wouldn't be there to give you the biggest hug she could muster in her old age. When your grandfather wouldn't be there to give you a hearty pat on the back, his only true form of physical affection you'd ever experienced in all your years with him.

A quiet knock pulls you out of your thoughts, and in walks Felix with a glass of milk in hand. You quickly set down the picture frame you didn't realize you were still holding and give him a warm smile.

"Hey, what's up?" you ask him, taking the glass from him and sipping on the cold beverage.

"I just wanted to make sure you were feeling alright. You've been pretty distant for a couple weeks now. Is everything ok?"

You're a little caught off guard, this being the first time anyone's noticed your pulling back since the beginning of December. You honesty didn't even realize anyone was paying attention to you, all of them too caught up in the festive activities and excitement of the season.

"Yea, I mean, I'm fine. Just a bit of seasonal depression," you write off his concerns.

"I didn't know you had that," Felix ponders his thoughts for a minute, giving you a loving look. "Is there anything I can do to help? Have you always had seasonal depression?"

While looking into Felix's warm, brown eyes, you decide that keeping all these things from them all these years has been unfair. They're never afraid of sharing their personal struggles with you. You think back to all the times Han's came to you with anxiety, and how you've wanted nothing more than to take away all his worry and pain. How Seungmin's came to you with his insecurities, and you always hyping him up, calling him the most beautiful boy. If any of them had kept their struggling to themselves, it'd crush you. How dare they feel like they couldn't come to you? Why would they want to struggle alone?

You realize that these feelings are most definitely reciprocated by the guys. Now, feeling vulnerable after being left alone with your thoughts for so long, you have the dire urge to come clean about your family.

"Actually Felix, I've been struggling with this for quite some time now. Can you, maybe just, listen? I've never talked to anyone about this, but I want to now. I want you guys to know," you fiddle with your hands, sliding one of your rings on and off your finger.

"Of course! You can always talk to me. Go ahead, I'm listening." He grabs your hand, halting your fidgeting. You look up at him, take a deep breath, and let it all out. Everything you've been holding onto these last few years. It probably sounds like word vomit, all your feelings and hardships falling out of your mouth at lightning speed. You finish your rambling, and you finally have the courage to look up at his face again.

He's crying. Equipped with all the theatrics, the wobbly lip and rosy cheeks. You made Felix cry with all your problems. You reach up to his cheek, wiping a few of his falling tears.

"Ok, I think I'm done," you freeze as Felix also brings his index finger up to your cheek. You flinch when he pulls away, seeing the dampness of it.

You're crying, too. You didn't even realize. I mean, it makes sense. You just trauma dumped all of your troubles onto Felix, the world's most renowned empath, of course you'd be crying.

You guys sit in silence for a minute, before Felix's whimpers become audible. He's so visibly distraught, and your heart breaks even more just at the mere sight of him.

He launches himself at you, clinging to you so tightly you think your ribs may crack. He tackles you back onto the bed, resting on top of you.

"Why did you never tell us this?" his sobs wreck through his body, his arms trembling around you, "We could've helped you."

"I was scared," you wriggle one of your arms free of his embrace, using it to affectionately run your hand through his hair. Your sobs join together as one, both of you a mess. "I was scared you guys would pity me, or look at me less. I was scared that I'd spiral again if I talked about it."

"Well, we're here now, Jagiya." He sits up after a few minutes. His cries have quieted, and so have yours. "We aren't going to let you continue going through this alone, ya know. We are one, and if one of us is hurting, we're all hurting. Please don't keep things like this from us anymore." He begs, standing from the bed. He grabs your hand and pulls you up, making his way towards the door.

"Where are we going?" your voice shakes and you pull away from Felix, standing in the middle of Chan's room. You wrap your arms around your middle, feeling more exposed than you ever have before.

"You know we have to tell the rest of them. They deserve to know, too."

"Felix, I don't think I can tell the story again. Once was enough for a lifetime."

"OK, do you feel comfortable with me telling them? I'll tell them exactly what you told me, no more, no less, ok?"

You frantically nod your head, grateful for Felix's suggestion.

He blows you a playful kiss, no doubt trying to make you feel better, and he leaves to go to the living room. You take your seat back down on the side of the bed and wait patiently for Felix to finish.

You don't hear much for the next few minutes, but you're startled by the swinging open of the door, the handle cracking against Chan's poor wall. Han stands there, a dazed look on his face. His glassy eyes meet yours, and you shriek when he takes off, leaping onto the bed onto your small frame. He wraps you up in a big hug, squeezing the life out of you.

"We love you, and we'd never want you to struggle alone. We're in this life together."

One by one, the rest of the guys make their way into the room onto the bed. We're haphazardly thrown into a cuddle pile of sorts. A cuddle pile filled with the love and adoration you've been missing during the holidays.

You all lay in each other's arms, and you feel incredibly comfortable and safe. Chan's the first to break the silence, "We have five days left until Christmas. What do you say we make some new Christmas traditions? We don't want to replace what you used to have, and you’re entitled to spend your Christmas season as you'd like. But, if you'll let us, we’ll give you something to look forward to about the holidays again. Please?" The guys are all looking at you now, each of them displaying a face that could rival a sad puppy.

You realize now that there's nothing to be scared of. These are your best friends you're talking about, who want nothing but to shower you in love and happiness.

"I'd love that."

Part 2

#stray kids #skz #skz x reader #stray kids x reader #skz oneshots #stray kids oneshot #stray kids imagines #skz imagines #skz angst #stray kids angst #skz 9th member #stray kids ninth member #stray kids 9th member #skz ninth member #part 1/2

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dem-obscure-imagines · 1 year ago

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Merry Little Christmas

Druig x Reader

Fandom: MCU

Prompt: @the-sunflower-room “can’t stop thinking about druig and have yourself a merry little christmas- so cozy 😭🙏🏻”

Note: This was actually requested last year, I believe, but I’ve always wanted to write it. I’m sorry it took me so long to get around to it, but I hope you like it! Happy Holidays, everyone <3

Warnings: None! Just cozy Christmas celebrations <3

Word Count: 1.6k words

Reader Is: Gender Neutral!

Druig was never one for holidays. He wasn’t a scrooge, per se, but, as an Eternal, the seasons came and went so quickly. Years were mere blinks to a being who was thousands of years old. However, the look on your face as you put the ornaments on the tree made something stir around his heart, he had to admit.

He was sipping cocoa from a mug with a snowman on it, one from your vast collection. Kingo was in the kitchen, mixing up beverages, which was why he sensed a bit of liquor in the chocolatey beverage. It was still good, obviously, but he definitely blamed that for the rosy hue his cheeks had taken on.

Definitely not the cute little reindeer antlers you were wearing. Definitely not the way your laughter sounded from across the room.

All of the Eternals were there. A rare feat, but with the danger defeated, for now at least, it was cause for celebration, a time to be with family. It was your house you were all celebrating in, a large place tucked away in Northern Michigan, which, at this time of year, was absolutely covered in a thick layer of snow, more and more fluffy flakes coming down as the moments passed.

You spent your time as a writer. One of the most prolific of your time, the reviews said. But then again, you did have a thousand year head start on the rest of them.

Druig would never admit to it, but he had read them. All of them, every single one. He’d borrow them from libraries, read excerpts in bookstores, but Makkari had a collection of them, too. She was your most loyal beta reader. Therefore, when one went missing, she always had a pretty decent suspicion of who the culprit was.

And he wasn’t positive, but he was pretty sure most of your love interests shared a certain resemblance with…well, him. He didn’t like the way it stirred around in his chest, the way it made him feel so warm and…hopeful. But then again, he’d never asked you what you felt.

“(Y/N), where are your Christmas records?” Phastos asked, standing over with his husband, Ben, as they dug through a crate of records.

“Oh! I forgot to bring them down, I think. I’ll go grab them. I needed to get the topper anyway.” You stepped down from your stepladder and handed the ornament in your hand to Sprite, who was sitting on the floor under the tree, shaking gifts. Typical.

Druig watched as you left, eyes glued to you. Which was why he didn’t notice when Sersi had joined him, standing right beside him.

He gasped, mug rattled, but not to the point that he spilled any on his sweater. He cursed and looked over at her. “What?”

“You look rather festive, Druig. I thought you didn’t care for holidays.”

“I thought so too…” He muttered into his mug, taking a long sip.

“Right. Well, I think I saw some mistletoe in that box of decorations. I can put it up if you’d like?” She asked, that glimmer in her eyes that she got when she wanted to meddle.

Druig thought on it, as he heard your footsteps coming back down the stairs. He met her eyes and that was all that was needed. She nodded and set across the room, plucking it out of the box, along with a length of fishing line.

“I found it! The Muppets and John Denver!” You said excitedly, presenting another crate of records, this one all Christmas. “And some other stuff.”

“May I?” Phastos asked.

“Yeah, of course.” You handed them over and walked back over to the tub of ornaments, searching for a very special one. It was a large mug of cocoa with eleven marshmallows in it, each one etched with the name of an Eternal. You smiled softly and tucked it into the branches of your artificial tree, curling the fake pine to support its weight.

“Where did you find one with so many slots?” Druig found himself asking as he crossed the room to stand behind you.

“Had it custom made.” You replied, turning to face him.

“It’s beautiful, (Y/N).” Ajak complimented warmly from her seat by the fire.

“Thanks. Thought we needed something like that.”

“What are these?” Sprite asked, digging through the other box and pulling out a stocking with Thena’s name embroidered on it.

“Stockings.”

“You had those made, too?” Ajak asked, getting up to see for herself.

“Well, I did them. The embroidery, at least.” You admitted with a shrug, motioning to the hooks under the mantle. “We can put them up, if you want.”

Makkari nodded and grabbed the stockings, putting them all in one clean row in a blur of red and green. She stood next to Druig, elbowing him and tilting her head towards his stocking, which she’d put on the end.

Right next to yours.

He nearly choked on his cocoa. So did everyone know, then? Sersi, Makkari, who else? Kingo, no doubt.

“You alright there, Druig? Looking flushed.” Ikaris jabbed, that wicked gleam in his eyes.

Alright, then, yeah, it was everyone. Everyone but you, it seemed.

It was as if a stormcloud manifested above his head. He shook his head and stalked off towards the kitchen. He didn’t know much, but he did know a cookie would make him feel better. Snacks always seemed to. And there was no shortage of them, especially now, when you and Gilgamesh had baked nearly twelve dozen batches of them. Gingerbread, snickerdoodle, sugar cookies shaped like trees, chocolate chip, oatmeal no-bakes.

He reached for a sprinkle-covered tree and bit off the tip of it, the frosting sweet. The oven started beeping and you rushed in, arming yourself with an oven mitt before reaching in for what he assumed must be one of the last trays. Oatmeal raisin, it looked like.

“Do you need any help?” He asked, staring as you straightened up and brushed the hair out of your face.

“Oh! Thank you, Druig. I’m all set, though. Are they good?”

“Are what—” He looked down at the half-eaten tree in his hand. “Oh, yeah. They’re great.”

“Awesome.” You grinned. “New frosting recipe.”

“Well it’s perfect, whatever it is.” He leaned against the counter, that boyish smirk on his face. He wasn’t sure what came over him, then, but he had to get it out. “It’s great, by the way. That new book of yours.”

“You read it?”

“I read all of your books.” He confessed. “I think this one’s your best.”

Your heart raced as you met his eyes. Surely he knew, right? He had to. That you’d been writing about him for centuries. When he’d left all those years ago, hundreds of years ago, he’d taken a piece of your heart with him, a piece you’d only found in fiction, it seemed.

“Thank you. It…it means a lot to hear you say that.”

“Can’t wait for your next one.” He winked, plucking up a second cookie and leaving the kitchen before his tongue got him in any more trouble than it already had.

***

Later in the night, when almost everyone had gone to sleep, you were up, wrapping presents in front of the fireplace, folding the paper neatly, complete with name tags and perfect little bows.

You’d switched records. It was an older one, the Rat Pack.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas…Let your heart be light…

The words were smooth, glided right out of the speaker. Snow was still coming down in droves. It was good you had nowhere to go, otherwise you’d be snowed in. Well, if your family didn’t have every superpower known to man, you would be anyway. You were glad they were there.

You were glad they were home.

“Can’t sleep?” Druig’s voice startled you from your reverie and you turned around, grateful his present was already wrapped and under the tree.

“Not until I get these wrapped.” You told him.

“Christ, you really do go all out, don’t you?” He chuckled, crossing the room and sitting on the floor beside you, yet another cookie in his hand.

“I think I’d lose my mind if I didn’t. Keeps me…in synch. The routine of a year, you know?”

“Mmm.” He hummed, nodding, face alight in the warm oranges of the flames. “I didn’t see it that way until…recently.”

“Until right now?”

“Yeah, something like that.” He chuckled, watching as you carefully wrapped the last one, taping every edge perfectly and putting a tag on top, printing Sprite’s name with a pen. “What’d you get her?”

“You’ll have to find out tomorrow morning.” You told him, shifting to slide it under the tree with the others. “What did you get her?”

“It’s a surprise.” He grinned as you settled in next to him.

“Is it a surprise to you, too?”

He gasped, offended. “I got presents for everyone!”

“I believe you.”

“Sure you do.” He shook his head, laughing softly. “Say, ehm, (Y/N), I’ve been wondering…”

“Mistletoe!” You gasped, staring straight up at the ceiling where, sure enough, a string of mistletoe hung, glittering in the low light. “Who put that up?”

“Well I’ll be…” He breathed, staring up at it, too, heart racing faster than it had in any battle. “What…do you suppose we do about that?”

“I have a few ideas.” You slowly brought your gaze down, meeting his eyes.

He may have been the telepath, but you could tell the only thing on his mind was you as he leaned in, thick eyelashes fluttering shut as his lips met yours, pink and plush and warm. You kissed back, not leaving a single doubt in his mind that you wanted this, wanted him. Your hand rose to his flushed cheek, holding him close as his arm wound around your waist.

The grandfather clock struck midnight, and he pulled away to rest his forehead on yours, noses flush, eyes on you, glimmering with a million words unspoken. He did have a few, though. “Merry Christmas, (Y/N).”

“Merry Christmas, Druig.”

#druig #druig x reader #druig imagine #marvel #barry keoghan #christmas #fluff #eternals #eternals imagine #marvel imagine

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dramioneasks · 1 year ago

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Christmas Fics 2023 (Part 1):

Hermione's Holiday Healing by Fawkes01 - M, WIP - Upon deciding to end her 'relationship' with Krum, Hermione also chose to remain at Hogwarts for Christmas. She knew everyone would be disappointed when she didn't arrive at the Burrow, but she needed time to herself. Little did she know that Malfoy had also chosen to stay at the castle for the holidays. It surprised her even more when they began to grow close.

Christmas Treats by cleotheo - T, one-shot - As the Christmas festivities get under way at Malfoy Manor, Draco Malfoy has a special treat for his family. However, he isn't the only member of the family with a Christmas Surprise up their sleeve. Fluffy, festive Dramione one-shot.

Christmas Magic by Darcy M. James - K+, one-shot - Hermione takes a holiday to France to enjoy the Christmas market, dealing with the after effects of the war. She happens upon someone from her past and her day takes an unexpected turn for the better. One-shot. Hermione & Draco. Slight fluff (there's some hard-hitting moments though).

The Library Liaison by Anonymous - E, WIP - When Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy realise they’ll need to ring in the New Year by fake-dating, they think that’s just what comes with the job. Little do they know that they’re going to get far more than they bargained for.

To Woo a Witch by MyDelphi - E, WIP - Single father Draco Malfoy adored his son. And had decided that for his first Yule, Scorp deserved a priceless gift for being such a good little boy. And what was more priceless than getting him a mother? Getting him Granger as a mother. (Which would be a very convenient present as Draco Malfoy was terribly and irrevocably in love with her.)

Under the mistletoe by hazzapresents - E, WIP - no summary

The Christmas Prank by Ashabadash - M, WIP - Someone at Hogwarts is in the fun and festive mood and Christmas pranks centered around the 12 Days of Christmas have been popping up all throughout the castle, much to the dismay of several professors, including Transfiguration Professor Hermione Granger and the newly appointed Potions Master, Draco Malfoy. Will solving the mystery of this Christmas Prank put these two in the romantic holiday mood? Or will it Scrooge their season?

Twelve Spells of Christmas: The Yuletide Revelations. by Helledore - T, one-shot - Draco and Hermione exchange twelve enchanted notes. What will this Christmas bring?

All I Want For Christmas Is You by leopoldfucker - E, one-shot - hristmas Eve is a special day for Draco and Hermione, and it’s about to get even more special. That is, if Hermione says yes.

#christmas #dramione

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quill-pen · 2 years ago

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UGH!!! My dream!

Kinda have something like this planned after Ebenezer and Bess's (I'mma just call the reader-insert this when I talk about her outside of the story. It's easier for me) first night together. She wakes up and just lays there staring at him wondering if he's real or if she's dreaming. Then Eb wakes up and shows her that he's definitely real. *wink wink*

God, help me--I LOVE these two!

imagine waking up to your f/o. no no like REALLY imagine it. early morning, the first thing you're greeted with is the slight sunshine seeping through the windows, and the look on your f/os face as they're sleeping. are they facing the window, or are you? maybe they are, maybe you can see the way the soft rays of sunshine illuminate the little creases and details of their face that you've grown so fond of. they look so peaceful, maybe they're dreaming about you, I bet they are. their leg is still partially intertwined with yours, and you can hear the quiet sounds of their breathing. or maybe it's not so quiet, maybe they're snoring, it makes you laugh quietly to yourself.

eventually they wake up, slowly but surely, initially furrowing their eyebrows and squinting at the rays of sun seeping in and greeting them. but them their expression softens as they see you admiring them. they ask you how long you've been awake. you tell them "long enough to know I should wake up before you more often" and they give a light hearted half laugh, and tired smile. maybe they kiss you, I bet they do. or maybe they just pull you closer, with a gentle "mm, five more minutes" as they nestle their still sleepy face against you. mornings like this are always your favorite, maybe when you and your f/o finally get out of bed, you go out to breakfast, or you could even make it yourself together. you can't be bothered to think about it at the moment though, all that matters to you is this moment, wrapped up in a warm and sleepy embrace with your f/o. moments like these are what home feels like. <3

#just soft fluffy romantic things #ebenezer scrooge #ebenezer scrooge x reader #ebenezer scrooge x you #fanfiction #scrooge #scrooge 2022 #netflix scrooge #scrooge a christmas carol

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daydreamingleclerc · 2 years ago

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it’s beginning to look a lot like christmas // charles leclerc

in which, you and your children wake up charles - a certified humbug - early one morning so you can decorate the house for christmas.

warnings: tooth rotting fluff, dad!charles that’ll make your heart go boom, the odd swear words. other than that this is pretty tame so enjoy. as usual, feedback is greatly appreciated! and enjoy the christmas themed stuff <3

requested: no

the return of charles & esmée !!!! plus some more little leclerc’s <3

charles leclerc was many things, a man of great renown, a man of many talents, a man with several world championships to his name, a man who bloomed in fatherhood.

there was one thing he was most of all, and despite never admitting it, your husband was a humbug. he loved christmas day, the presents, the food, the family time, but the lead up was a thing he couldn’t stand; and as the pair of you grew up and had children, that seemed to get worse.

december 1st rolled around faster than you’d expected, and esmèe, your eldest daughter who was six, had officially broken up from primary school. as had her little brothers, antoine and lucien, who were three and a half. your youngest daughter, juliette, was six months, and so she was usually permanently at your side.

it was difficult to try and figure out what to do with the children during their time off from school, but it proved even harder during the christmas holidays, especially now that there were four of them.

you’d managed to drag charles out from his scrooge-like hole to come and watch the christmas lights switch on because esmée was singing in the choir, of that he was proud, but he was anything less than amused when the kids squealed with joy after the town was lit up in a beautiful array of colours. plus, he still was not used to the bitterly cold winters of your hometown where the six of you now resided.

“i just don’t understand why they have to be switched on so early.” charles stated, fumbling with the lock on the front door because of his cold, shivering hands. the boys bickered jokingly behind you, shoving one another with their shoulders as they waddled up the path in their matching snowsuits and wellington boots.

“it’s december the first tomorrow, charles and the children all broke up from school today,” you replied, counting the heads of your three walking children as they entered the house. juliette was bundled up cosily across your chest in her fluffy pramsuit and wooly hat, “that’s why the lights were switched on tonight.”

“i know but—”

“—mummy! daddy!” esmée squealed excitedly, bundling in through the kitchen door. her cheeks were red and blotchy from the cold, and charles’ face softened when he looked at his baby girl, her face almost the splitting image of his.

“yes, sweetheart?”

“the naughty elves are on the fireplace! and they’ve left us a note! come and see!”

charles shot you a look of daggers through slitted eyes, irritated that you’d already kicked off the christmas celebrations in the house. esmée took her dad’s hand in hers, practically dragging him through the house until they stopped in the living room. the twins were already there, waiting eagerly for the rest of you to join.

“look! daddy! can we open the letter?”

esmée pulled charles down to her level, and he saw the four elves all sat along the top of the fireplace with a little envelope held in their hands. you smiled softly when you joined them all in the living room. charles looked over at you and you shrugged, “don’t look at me, baby, they’ve asked you.”

he looked back from you to the three eagle eyed children staring back at him, and as much as he wanted to say no and call the whole thing off, he couldn’t say no to his kids.

“okay! we can get the letter, but only if you read it to daddy.”

esmée, lucien and antoine all squealed and esmée, being the taller of the three, reached in carefully and retrieved the letter. charles sat down next to you on the sofa and the kids all bundled up in your laps - your eldest daughter on charles’ lap, antoine on yours with juliette and lucien stuffed in the middle. esmée handed the letter to antoine, who let his brother take the other corner of the envelope and together they peeled it open. esmée snuggled into charles’ side, and began to read the letter.

“dear esmée, antoine, lucien and juliette, we are your elves, elfie, elvie, eddie and ellie, and christmas is nearly here, so santa wanted us to keep an eye on you all to make sure you’re being good (even if we like to be a little bit naughty ourselves!) we will be here to play until christmas day, remember though, you aren’t allowed to touch us or else we lose all our christmas magic! we’ll try to behave while you sleep, but we like to get into mischief too! let’s make sure santa doesn’t have to check his list to find your names on the naughty list! be on your best behavior and enjoy finding us, love from elfie, elvie, eddie and ellie.”

charles, despite himself, was smiling. his heart swelled at how excited esmée, antoine and lucien got at the thought of their elves coming back, and the only part of the lead up to christmas he would admit to enjoying is seeing the look on his children’s face at what kind of mess their elves were getting themselves into when they woke up in the morning.

“mummy, they remember our names!” antoine’s nose scrunched up as he looked up at you, his eyes a deep brown like charles’.

“i know, baby,” you kissed his head and ruffled his thick head of hair, “they know everybody’s names.”

charles jumped up, and turned to face the five of you. “right, who wants a bath?” he wiggled his finger around the kids, “i think lucien needs a bath!”

charles’ fingers tickled at lucien’s side and the little boy wriggled around on the sofa in a fit of giggles, “no! daddy, no!” he managed to choke out, “anty needs a bath!”

soon, all three of the bigger children were being tickled by charles, and juliette started to stir on your chest. “i think mummy needs a bath!” esmée said, pointing over at you. charles leaned down and jokingly sniffed at your skin, making a scrunched up face and nodding.

“mummy smells,” charles noted, agreeing with his daughter, “she definitely needs a bath.”

“mummy hardly ever has time to have a bath, because she’s got four kids and a husband to look after,” you kicked your husband in the shin softly, “isn’t that right, baby?”

just as charles was about to lean in and kiss you, juliette started to wail. he frowned, pulling the hood and hat from his youngest daughter’s head and giving her a soft kiss through her thin hair.

“what’s all that crying for, babygirl?” he squeezed her cheek softly between his finger and thumb and she stopped wailing momentarily — juliette loved the attention, much like her big sister — but she soon continued to wail. “are you hungry? is that what’s wrong?”

charles’ baby voice was something you adored. “boys, esmée, are you gonna go with daddy so he can give you baths?” the boys nodded, jumping up from their place on the sofa, “and then if you’re all good mummy’ll let you have some chocolate after dinner, okay?”

the boys nodded eagerly and raced one another up the stairs, followed by charles’ shout to ‘please just go careful’.

“can i help you feed juliette, mummy?” esmée asked, taking up the extra space on the sofa by laying down and resting her head on your shoulder. she stroked juliette’s hair softly and you smiled, running your fingers through her curls.

“of course, sweetheart,” you kissed her head, “promise you’ll have a bath afterwards, okay?”

“mhm, i promise.”

you kissed her head again and told her to head to the pantry and pick a pouch of baby food that juliette could eat. you began bouncing the baby up and down so she could stop wailing, and charles let her suckle on his finger for a little moment of peace. he leaned in for once again in an attempt for that kiss, but it was interrupted by antoine shouting for him to come upstairs.

“i might end up getting that kiss by the end of the day if i’m lucky.” he joked.

“sophia‘s mummy let her decorate her christmas tree yesterday.”

it was a simple statement that esmée had said while you were feeding juliette, she was sat at the dinner table next to you with her favourite strawberry milkshake and twisty straw, feet dangled over the edge.

“sophia’s got her christmas tree up already?” you questioned, but you weren’t sure why. you knew sophia’s mother, and she could have her christmas tree up all year round if she could get away with it.

“mhm, and so has cindy and so has marcus,” she said, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. you scooped some of the fallen sweet potato and pumpkin mixture from juliette’s chin with the spoon and she smiled at you giddily when you put the spoon in her mouth. “when can we put our christmas tree up, mummy?”

“i don’t know sweetie.”

“can we put it up tomorrow?”

you thought of your husband, how much distaste he would have at seeing the christmas tree sitting in the living room this early, at seeing the tinsel lining the stairwell and the christmas lights out the front of the house. but then you thought of your children, and how their eyes would light up and their giggles would fill the room exactly like they did last december.

“okay, baby. we can put them up tomorrow, but you need to promise not to tell daddy, okay? we can surprise him with the decorations tomorrow morning.”

“is daddy going to be mad?” esmée pouted, worried that she was going to get told off if they went through with their master plan. you paused feeding juliette and looked across at your oldest child. your hand stroked at her face and you kissed her nose.

“no, angel, daddy isn’t going to be mad with any of us, he just…” you paused, thinking of how to phrase what you wanted to say, “daddy’s just a little bit weird when it comes to christmas decorations, but he enjoys them when they’re up.”

she smiled softly and you kissed her nose. you could hear charles and the boys upstairs making some sort of scenario up in the bathroom, because there was an awful lot of splashing, shouting and laughter. “why don’t you go and get ready for a bath, and then maybe if you ask daddy nicely you can have a piano lesson.”

your daughter nodded, kissing your cheek before kissing juliette’s head, and off she scurried. if you really were going to put up the decorations tomorrow, you had a lot of planning to do.

juliette’s hands flew up and down with excitement when she’d finished the last spoonful, and antoine and lucien came downstairs in their ferrari towels, which charles’ longtime teammate and best friend, carlos, had bought them as one of their many birthday presents this past birthday.

soon after, esmée returned hand in hand with charles, both of them beaming from ear to ear after a quick, but very effective shower & piano lesson. charles took juliette off of your hands and allowed you to cook dinner for the kids, wandering off with her to the play room so she could do tummy time.

“mummy, are we really going to put up our tree tomorrow?”

lucien spoke from the dinner table, eagerly awaiting his dinner with his knife and fork in either hand. antoine sat opposite him and esmée sat at the head of the table, a pink blush coming to her cheeks.

“lucien! you weren’t supposed to tell her you knew.” your daughter frowned at her plan failing.

“we might be,” you shrugged at your boys, who looked at you with eager, excited eyes. “but that depends on how much you love me.”

they giggled, shouting and screaming about how they loved you more than anything in the world, and as you handed them their plates they each gave you a kiss on the cheek. you ruffled their curls, “you have to promise mummy that you won’t tell daddy, okay?”

“promise,” antoine said, nodding his head affirmatively and holding out his pinky finger for you to lock yours into.

the evening drew to a close eventually, with esmée falling asleep on the sofa opposite you and charles under her favourite blanket and the boys in bed just after seven o’clock. charles conked out on the other side of the sofa, with juliette splayed out on his naked chest, and you saw this as the perfect time to get out the decorations and hide them in the playroom.

most of the decorations were in the hidden cupboard tucked to the side of the playroom, and you were grateful that you threw them in there at the end of january during the lazy stage of your pregnancy when charles was away training and the children were at school, rather than climbing up into the attic. it certainly made tonight a lot easier.

there were several things missing, like the wreath you normally hung on the front door, and one of the lights that you hung on a bedroom window, but you figured you’d find them later.

“charles,” you whispered, prodding your husbands shoulder, “baby it’s almost one in the morning, come on.”

you managed to place juliette in the cot beside the bed without her waking, and charles carried esmée to bed without another word. his arms wrapped around your waist and he puckered his lips for a kiss, which you obliged.

esmée, lucien and antoine had managed to find the christmas decorations before you’d even woken up at 7:30 that morning, and it was only because juliette stirred that you got up in the first place. you left the bedroom with her so that charles could sleep in a little longer, only to find your three other babies with the santa hats that pascale had bought them last year at the lights all sitting on their heads.

“mummy, look, the elves found the decorations and left us this note!”

antoine handed you the note and you chuckled at seeing your handwriting scrawled on the paper from only eight hours earlier.

dear esmée, antoine, lucien and juliette, we found these in the cupboard and snuck them in places all around the house. your mission for today is to retrieve all the items and decorate the house, but listen to mummy when she tells you where to hang the stockings or else they won’t get filled! p.s, you must make sure daddy gets into the christmas spirit or else he won’t get any presents! good luck, we’ll report back to santa tonight! love from, elfie, elvie, eddie and ellie.

“can we please go and wake daddy?”

“okay, sweetie, make sure you take him a santa hat though, okay?”

your children nodded and rushed through the door to your bedroom, barging in on charles who was barely awake. the children all bundled on top of him and he pulled the duvet up high, covering his chest and he smiled sleepily when he saw them all with their sleepy eyes and toothy grins.

“morning babies.”

“daddy, look!” antoine shoved the letter in charles’ face, “the elves sent us this letter and they found our christmas hats!”

charles rubbed his eyes and you and juliette sat at the edge of the bed, admiring your family as you sat down. “can we please put up the decorations? please?” esmée drew out the ‘e’ syllable at the end of please, begging her father to let them do as the letter says. charles kissed her head.

“if that’s what the elves say then who am i to say no?”

your children all cheered in excitement and quickly pulled the hat from behind them, “wear this daddy! wear it!” lucien jeered, wagging the hat in front of charles’ face until he gave in and stuck the hat on his head.

“come on, daddy! the elves put the tree in the playroom! we have to put it up so they can tell santa!”

esmée grabbed charles’ hand and juliette began to cry on your chest again. she was hungry, and you smiled down at your family. charles pushed back the covers and you thanked the gods above that he was wearing boxers, and got up to follow his kids to the door.

“mummy, are you coming?” antoine asked, his voice soft and feeble as he stood in the door.

“mummy’s gotta feed juliette, bud,” charles ruffled his sons hair, “she’ll meet us and help out soon, okay?”

your son nodded and you ordered them all back in to come and give you a kiss, “and you, charles,” you scowled your at your husband until he kissed you.

“did you really think i’d forget to kiss you, mon chérie?”

your children all made sounds akin to a retch when they saw you kiss, turning up their noses at the sight and looking away. he kissed the top of juliette’s head and then went back in for another kiss with you, “come down soon, okay?”

you nodded, and began to feed juliette almost instantly. her feed took a particularly long time, but she soon fell straight back to sleep almost immediately, and so you stuck the baby monitor to the waistband of your pyjama shorts.

when you arrived downstairs, the christmas tree had been assembled in its usual place, and the kids were bickering about where on the tree to put the tinsel, while charles was telling them to play nice and pulling out extensive decorations with a furrowed eyebrow; he clearly couldn’t remember where they’d come from.

“why don’t we ask mummy where to put the tinsel!”

esmée spotted you in the doorway and ran over with extensive ribbons of red tinsel that were all tied at the ends to make them longer, while antoine and lucien held up a long golden piece of tinsel. charles was still pulling out random decorations with a puzzled look on his face.

“i think you should put the tinsel wherever you like,” you said, crouching down to their level, where they all bundled into your chest, “and let daddy help you with the top, yeah?”

the three of them nodded and you smiled, your heart beating double time in your chest. “what are you going to do, mummy?”

“well,” you said, hooking your arms around charles’ waist and letting him smother you, “i was thinking… why don’t i go and make us all breakfast while you decorate the house with daddy, how does that sound?”

your children nodded excitedly and ran around with the tinsel, claiming they were creating a new game called tinsel wars. charles kissed you once more and leaned down to face you.

“i love you.”

“i love you too, baby.” you kissed his lips and rested a hand on his chest as you watched your children continue to play with their tinsel, and you realised that you wouldn’t have your family any other way.

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