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thrillridesz · 4 years ago

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all i want for christmas | eric

in part of the deobi secret santa project and dedicated as a gift to @channiewoo ✨ ( i hope you like it >< i tried my best! )

➳ pairing: college student!eric x reader ( ft juyeon, kevin, chanhee and sangyeon with jacob mentions! )

➳ genre: fluff, fantasy, time travel!au, time loop!au, christmas!au, university!au, love triangle!au ( ish? )

➳ warnings: n/a (PG13)

➳ word count: 4.6k

➳ inspo: lotus inn by why don’t we

➳ fic playlist: all i want for christmas - big time rush ft miranda cosgrove | lotus inn - why don’t we | christmassy! - the boyz | you belong with me - taylor swift | crush - david archuleta

a/n : this is my christmas secret santa gift to eri @channiewoo ^^ also hi, i’m your theb secret santa! thank you for being such a sweet person to talk to throughout this month and honestly you really made my first secret santa here on tumblr pretty memorable! i know we’ve just exchanged a few asks here and there but i genuinely did like talking to you though im not the most frequent secret santa anon out there >< i sincerely hope you can forgive me for that. but anyways, i hope you like your gift!!

+ also unedited for now because i really wanted to post this on christmas day... and tags are still not working but i don’t want to delay this any longer

The Christmas spirit could be felt in all corners of the house that night as the sweet aroma of freshly baked cookies and crackling log fire from the fireplace wafted in the air while party guests swayed to the upbeat Christmas music playing on the stereo and chatted merrily amongst themselves. Outside, fine white snow was falling and against the black canvas of the night sky, it made the streets seem almost serene and even beautiful. Looking out, one could easily feel the Christmas mood as neighbours held their own christmas parties and family gatherings. Everywhere they looked, they would see beautifully decorated houses adorned with Christmas wreaths and intricate fairy lights. Sometimes, one would even see the occasional snowmans displayed out in the neighbours’ yards, covered in scarves and hats with the ever familiar carrot nose. From a distance a few doors down, one could also hear singing - a telltale sign of the local group of Christmas carolers making their rounds in the neighbourhood like they did every year.

This was what Christmas is all about - enjoying good food with loved ones, receiving amazing gifts, going door to door caroling and feeling at home with the people you appreciate and cherish while the winter snow falls outside. Yet, Eric felt anything but. In fact, his heart was pounding against his chest as he sipped nervously at his mug of hot apple cider. Around him, the party guests were mingling and laughing at the college Christmas party as they shared funny stories from the year they had, feeling particularly merry. Normally, it would have been easy for him to get in the mood but not this time.

“I don’t get what you’re so nervous about.” Kevin said, shaking his head. “Why can’t you just talk to her?”

“I don’t want to make a fool out of myself. What if I mess up?” He replied despondently, his eyes softening as he glanced at you from across the room.

There you were - decked out in a cute Christmas outfit just standing by the fireplace, your hair falling around your face and framing it, looking more beautiful than he had remembered. The smile on your face made his heart flutter ever so slightly and he could feel his face grow warmer despite having a huge mug of apple cider just in front of him. The santa hat you wore added just that little touch of sweetness and adorableness to you and Eric couldn’t help but feel his heart start to pound in his chest. If you weren’t already stunning to him, you were breathtakingly beautiful to him now. Every little smile or shy glance made his heart beat just a little faster and he reached up to clutch softly as his chest.

“It’s better than not trying at all, Eric.” Kevin pointed out, taking a bite out of his gingerbread cookie. “You ought to have a little bit more faith in yourself.”

Eric sighed in resignation. “It’s so much easier talking about it than actually doing it. Everytime I think about doing it, I chicken out. I just can’t seem to stop fearing about possibly screwing it up, Kev.”

Kevin regarded him with a sympathetic look before patting him reassuringly on the shoulder. “I understand. Look man, if you don’t feel ready then you don’t have to force yourself to talk to her.”

“I promised myself that today would be the day.”

“Yeah, I know you did but still, you don’t have to force yourself. Your face is turning pale from the anxiety.” The latter said, concerned.

“It is?” Eric asked, alarmed as he quickly turned to the window beside him, checking out his reflection. He narrowed his eyes as he reached up to ruffle his hair in an attempt to make it look somewhat better though all it did was make it seem more tousled.

Kevin watched him, chuckling softly. Men in love are truly a different breed.

“Hey, Kev! I nearly forgot, do you want to listen to my newly curated Christmas playlist? I’ve been meaning to ask but I couldn’t find you.” Sangyeon suddenly appeared from behind the duo, with a joyous grin on his face. Kevin gave Eric a questioning look which he waved away.

“I’ll be fine.” He smiled.

“Alright… If you need anything, just call me!” Kevin said, casting him a last fleeting glance as he walked away with Sangyeon.

Holding the mug of hot apple cider close to his chest, Eric leaned against the cold glass panel of the window, staring out listlessly despite the steady pounding of his heart. He shot a furtive glance in your direction and quickly looked away, his cheeks reddening. At this rate, it would not be long before he turned as red as Rudolph’s nose.

“Get a grip, Eric. Why are you being such a wimp?” He chided himself. Looking around, Eric couldn’t help but observe his surroundings wistfully.

Everyone was seemingly in their element - snacking on Christmas snacks, dancing and just having fun. By the boombox, he watched as Hyunjae engaged in conversation with a girl who he did not recognise. The way they were laughing and the way she so flirtatiously slapped him on the shoulder, giggling at something Hyunjae said made Eric feel so deeply envious. Even from where he was, the smitten look on her face was undeniable and he wondered why he couldn’t have been more of a ladies’ man like Hyunjae was. Things would have been so much easier for him. Why is it that whenever it came to you he was suddenly the most awkward person to grace the face of this earth? It just didn’t make sense to him.

Sighing, he took another sip of his hot apple cider, feeling the liquid burn at the back of his throat. Suddenly, he frowned, his eyes narrowing. Who was that?

He had one of the most attractive faces Eric had ever seen - with soft, fine dark hair, a strong build and a warm smile that simply lit up the room. There he was, talking to you and you sliding your hand over his shoulder, not in a seductive or flirtatious way but in a friendly way though it was still enough to spark jealousy in Eric’s heart. He watched intently as you leaned in to whisper something in his year, his smile growing wider at your words.

Eric longed to know what the two of you were talking about, his grip on his mug growing tighter and firmer.

“Lost your chance, buddy.”

Swivelling around, Eric nearly spilled his apple cider as he turned to face a pink haired boy with an upturned nose. He didn’t remember seeing him around but there was something odd about him that Eric couldn’t quite put his finger on. Not to mention, that statement really did rub him off the wrong way.

“Excuse me?” His tone was slightly icy as he furrowed his brows together, frowning at the stranger in front of him.

“Didn’t you want to talk to her?” The boy asked, taking a swig of his hot chocolate, seemingly not noticing the confused look Eric was shooting him.

“Do I know you?”

“Oh right! I’m sorry, I should have introduced myself. How rude of me… I’m Chanhee but you can call me New. Everyone does,” he smiled warmly, “you’re Eric?”

Eric narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Yes? How do you know my name?”

“I just do. I know everyone,” He waved away his question nonchalantly, “I see you have a Christmas sweetheart.”

He tipped his mug in your direction and Eric felt his face grow hotter, annoyance setting in at the same time.

“How is that any of your business?” He snapped, his tone indignant and confrontational.

“I am here to help so watch your tone around me.” New rolled his eyes, looking at him in disdain though there was a twinkle in his eyes as he continued, “I can help you get the girl.”

Eric cast you a sideway glance before turning back to New with a skeptical expression. Whoever this guy was, he was weird, odd. Yet, the proposal he had proposed was a tempting one and despite himself, he felt inclined to listen. Watching you from afar, Eric’s heart sank just a little deeper as the guy you were talking to suddenly reached up to brush your hair away from your face, the both of you looking into each other’s eyes as he did. The irritation and jealousy he felt came back stronger than ever and before he knew it, the words were out of his mouth before he even knew it.

“How can you help?”

At his words, New grinned, drawing a small crystal vial from his pocket. The vial was filled with a mysterious sparkly, glowy pink liquid and smelled distinctively of roasted chestnuts though Eric was almost a thousand percent sure the liquid was not made of any kind of roasted chestnuts in any shape or form. As New popped open the cap, the scent grew even stronger and Eric shot him an alarmed look.

“What is that? A drug?!” Looking around frantically, it felt like nobody was paying the two of them any attention, being too preoccupied with their own conversations. How is nobody noticing this?

“Calm down and don’t get your panties in a twist.” New scoffed, “It’s a time travel potion. Or a time loop potion if you will.”

This guy is actually crazy. Eric almost wanted to laugh out loud at the ridiculousness of it all but barely managed to suppress it.

“Okay…?”

“Yup, I made it myself. Took me like half a year to brew it to perfection but it should work now. I followed each step really closely so there should be no problems.”

“Yeah, sure man. Thanks for wasting my time. If you don’t mind, I’ll be leaving. Thanks for the false hope.” Eric grumbled, taking his leave and not even bothering to consider the chagrined look on New’s face. Mayhaps Christmas is not his time either. He wondered how long this would drag on. When Valentine’s Day rolled around, he chickened out and said ‘next time’. When Halloween rolled around, he chickened out yet again and promised to make a move by Thanksgiving yet when Thanksgiving rolled around, he settled for Christmas. Now…

“Maybe it’s just not meant to be. Maybe I’m just too much of a coward.” He whispered to himself, pushing his way through the crowd of people. As he took yet another sip of his hot apple cider, he couldn’t help but keep his eye on you. The way you were now looping your arms over the guy’s neck and the way he had his large hands on your waist made Eric want to leave the party. If only he had a little bit more faith…

“What time is it anyways?” He murmured to himself, wanting more than anything to leave.

9:04pm. Damn. It wouldn’t be until two hours later for the party to end. Sure, he could always leave early but he would hate to be seen as disrespectful to everyone else especially Jacob, the host of this lovely party.

He stared at the mug of hot apple cider he had in his hand, scrunching up his nose at the taste of it.

Was it just him or did it taste slightly… Off?

Eric gazed at it for a moment before he shook his head. I’m overthinking everything, he thought. However as he stood over the snack table, he felt a sharp pain at the back of his head. It was like having someone slap him at his head before his vision turned blurry. His limbs were beginning to go soft and his mouth dry. What was happening? He blinked rapidly but to no avail. It felt like he was falling in a deep pit…

When he opened his eyes again, everything felt fine. Patting himself lightly on the face, he looked around his surroundings in confusion. Just what was that? Did he imagine all of that? The mug of hot apple cider was still in his hands and the reindeer horns band was still on his head. He was wearing the same clothes and everything had become clear, there were no more blurry visions. The pounding in his head had stopped and it felt like whatever happened earlier was merely a figment of his own imagination.

“Eric…? Eric!”

The voice shook him from his stupor and with a start, he lifted his head to see Kevin regarding him with a questioning look on his face.

“You okay? You zoned out for a minute and I mean, really zoned out.”

“Y-Yeah… Aren’t you supposed to go listen to Sangyeon’s playlist or something?”

Kevin raised an eyebrow.

“What playlist?”

Eric frowned. “Didn’t Sangyeon ask you to listen to his Christmas playlist?”

“Um… No? Even if he has one, he hasn’t asked me yet.”

Eric looked at Kevin with confusion in his eyes. What was going on? Last he remembered, that was exactly what happened. Swivelling around, the confusion got even stronger when he saw you standing all alone at the other corner of the house. Were you not with that guy?

Instantly, he remembered what New had said. “Time travel potion…” He mumbled under his breath, his eyes widening when the realisation dawned upon. No way…

Whipping out his phone, it felt like his heart was about to pound right out of his chest when he saw the time. His throat felt dry and tight as he stared, unable to believe his eyes.

8:46pm.

Eric suddenly recalled the weird taste he had gotten in his cider and instinctively, his hand reached up to cover his mouth. There was no other explanation for this other than the fact that one, that New or was it Kyu guy had not been lying when he spoke of a time travel potion and two, he had slipped him the potion on purpose when he wasn’t looking. He could feel the anger bubble up within him - the nerve of that guy! With pure, unadulterated fury in his eyes, his gaze swept across the room, looking for him. Kevin looked on, thoroughly puzzled.

“...Eric? Are you okay? You’ve got a weird look on your face.” He asked, concerned. “Eric?”

All anger had just dissipated from his being as his sights finally landed on you. There you were, standing all alone at the fireplace with a drink in your hand while your friend danced. The look on your face was one of loneliness and even from a mile away, anyone could tell you looked extremely awkward at having been left alone while she swayed up against Haknyeon, a guy he recognised from his Medieval History module.

From the corner of his eye, he could see the same dark haired guy he had seen approach you ‘earlier’. Following his gaze, Eric could feel his stomach drop as he realised that they were on you. From his body language, it was clear that he was about to make his way over and take his chances with you.

Just then, a voice at the back of his mind whispered softly.

“What are you waiting for?”

Taking a deep breath, Eric squared his shoulders and hurriedly straightened the jacket he was wearing. This is it. This is actually it. He was going to do it. His legs were moving now, one step after another in large strides towards you. The sound of his heart pounding was practically deafening to his ears and he could feel his legs turning into lead, each footstep heavier than the next. Squeezing past the crowd, another voice - this time insistent and panicky - suddenly cried out.

“No, don’t do this! What if you embarrass yourself and make yourself out to be a fool?”

Eric’s face paled. No, this is a mistake. What was he doing?

“Hello?”

Shaking out of his thoughts, Eric almost jumped back in shock at the sight of you just right in front of him. Before he even realised it, he had made his way over. It is now too late to back out. Had he been standing there like an idiot this whole time?

“I-I… Hey!” He squeaked out, his heart almost leaping out of his chest.

“You’re Eric right? Eric Sohn from Professor Kim’s introduction to accounting class?” You asked kindly.

From the corner of his eye, he could see the guy from ‘earlier’ approaching, pushing past the crowd and judging from his demeanour… It seemed like the competition was still in the game.

He needed to pull this off.

“Yeah, I am. Y/n right? It’s a pretty cool party, isn’t it?”

“Mhm! Pretty great so far! My friend is over there dancing but I’m not much of a party dancer so here I am,” you smiled and Eric almost forgot what he was about to say.

“I-”

“Hey, how are you guys enjoying the party?”

Eric looked up and his brows furrowed into an annoyed and anxious ‘v’. The dark haired competition merely grinned back at him though there was a certain glint in his eyes which made Eric clench his jaw tightly. It was the sort of gaze that was long enough to send a goading message - game on.

He smiled and extended a hand towards you, completely ignoring Eric. “I’m Juyeon, roommate of Jacob’s. I saw you from afar and thought I’d come say hi.”

You shook his hand, oblivious to the tension between the two guys. “I’m y/n. It’s nice to meet you.”

Juyeon briefly lifted his gaze to Eric and without anyone’s notice but his, he winked slyly.

“Revolting.” Eric thought angrily.

“I heard they have some really cool peppermint treats at the candy table, wanna come?” Juyeon asked and quickly Eric said, “I heard they have a great log cake at the snack bar though. I’ve heard people raving about it!”

You looked at the both of them, seemingly a little disconcerted. “Uh… I…” Juyeon shot Eric a scathing look which he returned with a smug smile.

“Who doesn’t love a good old log cake?” He asked, to which Juyeon rolled his eyes at.

“I mean… I do love peppermint…” You trailed off and Eric turned to you with wide eyes as big as saucers and Juyeon’s lips lifted into a smug smile.

“Excellent choice! I hear they have so many varieties…” Juyeon chattered on, placing his arm over your shoulder, leaving poor Eric speechless and red faced, watching helplessly as the two of you walked away from him. Turning behind you, you had an apologetic look on your face but said nothing.

“That’s too bad. I was rooting for you, you know?”

Eric swivelled around to find New standing behind him yet again, this time chewing on a piece of toffee. The time on his watch was clear as day as the red, glowing digits stared right back at him - 9:04pm. It had come full circle. He had the chance to turn things around but he had failed. Somehow, the nonchalant look in New’s face irritated him but he tried to remain calm. His gaze drifted down to the bulge in the man’s jacket pocket, tracing the faint outline of the tiny vial that contained the potion from earlier.

“At least we know now that I’m legit, right?” He winked at Eric, smirking as he did though it dropped when he saw the look on the latter’s face.

“Why are you-”

“Please, give me one more chance. Please just let me turn back time this one more time.” He pleaded. Eric was not one to plead but this time, he was feeling particularly desperate.

New looked at him like he had just sprouted an extra head before he burst out laughing.

“How’s that for a turn of the tables, Mr ‘thank you for wasting my time’?” He asked, still giggling. Clearly, he was taking much joy in this new dynamic - something Eric didn’t look too pleased about though he was not about to act on it. After all, it was New’s potion that allowed him this one more chance which he had quite unspectacularly let slip from his grasp.

“Alright, I suppose I could let you try this one more time though I’ll definitely be charging for your next usage.” New sighed, whipping out the vial. “I did want you to succeed after all.”

As Eric gulped down his drink, the familiar feeling of dizziness washed over him yet again, along with the looseness in his limbs and before he knew it, he found himself standing right where he was with you standing where you were previously.

This time, Eric squared his shoulders and ran a hand nervously through his hair. There you were yet again, standing by the fireplace with that drink in your hand.

“No hesitation this time,” he whispered to himself before he made his way over. He barely even paid attention to Juyeon coming in from the side as he struck up a conversation.

“Hey, y/n from professor Kim’s introduction to accounting right?”

You turned to him, looking a little surprised before you smiled warmly at him.

“Yeah! Eric, is it? It’s nice to see you here.”

“How’s things going so far at the party?” He asked, trying to keep the edge out of his voice. His nervousness was getting to him quickly but the thought of messing up yet again reined him back in and his smile stayed on.

You wrinkled your nose as if considering his question before you replied, “Well, it’s going alright so far. I’m not really a party sort of person but I thought I’d make an exception since you know, Jacob’s my friend.”

“I see! I don’t usually mind parties but I do like…” He paused as he saw Juyeon approaching, the gears in his head whirring away and you looked at him curiously.

“Eric…?”

“How about we go get some peppermint? I hear they have a variety here.” He suggested quickly, his eyes darting towards Juyeon’s direction.

You stared at him, looking a little perturbed but then grinned and nodded. “Sure, I love peppermints.”

Before Juyeon could even make his way over, the two of you had walked away, squeezing past the dancing crowd. The bass beat of the music was so resounding throughout the house that it almost seemed as if the walls were vibrating as well. The glitter and lights all around all looked stunning but perhaps a little too stunning as Eric made his way through the crowd with you just right by him. From all sides, people were accidentally bumping into each other and more than once, he almost lost his balance.

As the two of you neared the candy table, Eric realised too late that perhaps pushing past the crowd had been a bad idea and that a smarter way would be to stay out of the dance floor when he felt himself fall forward. Someone’s foot had been there and without looking, he had tripped over and landed with a huge thud on the floor, flat on his belly. His chin collided with the ground and if he had hit it just a little harder, had the impact been just a tad stronger, he might have suffered a serious injury.

Since you were just trailing behind him, his unexpected fall had sent you falling as well. As the both of you crashed against the ground, some members of the crowd audibly gasped as people shuffled out of the way. Though it may have hurt when he fell, Eric’s heart ached much more than the bruise he would no doubt sport on his knees tomorrow. Seeing you sprawled next to him and knowing all of this happened only because of him, he wanted nothing more than to dig a hole right there and then and leap right in.

A few partygoers reached out to help him up and right next to him, Juyeon appeared in front of you, extending a hand with a look of concern. Eric watched as the two of you looked into each other’s eyes and like in a fairytale princess bedtime story, you reached out tentatively to hold onto Juyeon’s hand as his heart fell to the ground with a messy splat.

“Y/n-”

“Are you guys okay?” Juyeon asked though it seemed as if he was only asking you in general.

“Yeah, we’re alright. Thank you.” You said softly, still seemingly a little frazzled.

“Come, let us go get you seated somewhere.”

Eric couldn’t help but simply stand there and look helplessly as the both of you wandered away, his heart feeling like it was about to shatter into pieces. A second chance he was given and he screwed it up and if that wasn’t enough, he was offered yet another shot which went worse than his first. Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be. Maybe no matter how many times he tried, tonight was just not the night. Or perhaps nothing was ever destined to happen between you two. The jolly christmas music was still playing but he no longer was in the Christmassy spirit anymore.

All he wanted for Christmas was you but it seemed that that didn’t seem so possible anymore, if not impossible.

As the partygoers resumed their dancing, all he could do was plop himself down on the nearby couch and do nothing except nurse not just his fallen pride but also his feelings which never had the chance to express themselves before it got completely shut down.

Grabbing a bottle of ginger ale from a nearby pack, he took a swig and felt the ale burn as it ran down his throat. Usually, he would have loved it but tonight, it just left a bitter taste in his mouth. Keeping his head down, Eric exhaled deeply. He ought to just give up completely.

“Hey, Eric.”

At the sound of your voice, his head snapped up and he gazed up at you with wide eyes. There you were, standing before him and looking down at him as he wallowed in his own feelings. How long have you been standing there? Why were you here?

“Y-y/n?”

You gave him a bashful glance as you sat yourself next to him. “Are you okay? Did you get hurt?”

“I… I… “ He simply stared at you, his mouth gaping like a fish and looking absolutely flummoxed. “Didn’t Juyeon-”

“I couldn’t possibly leave you alone.” You hurried to say and when he didn’t reply, you continued. “Do you… Do you mind if I sit here with you?”

It took Eric a second for it to register in his mind what you had just asked of him before he grew flustered just as the joy in him began to spark.

“Do I mind? No! Of course not! You’re welcomed here! Please, sit with me!”

As he chattered on nervously, you couldn’t help but admire the way his eyes would light up whenever he talked and how charming his smile was. He was in the habit of moving his hands around a lot which though some might find annoying, you only found to be endearing. You could feel your heart beating quickly which always happened whenever you were near him, saw him around class or even just at the mere mention of his name.

As you looked into his eyes, you felt yourself clench on tightly to the couch, the excitement in you simply immeasurable. You couldn’t help but smile as you felt the weight of the vial in your pocket. A worthy bargain indeed from the mysterious pink haired boy.

This was all you wanted for Christmas.

141 notes · View notes

prismatales · 4 years ago

Text

Word Count: 2.8k

Pairings: Ushijima Wakatoshi x Reader (Gender Neutral)

Category: Fluff, Comedy.

Warnings: Mentions of dicks in a comical manner.

Beta Readers: @strawberryakaashi @cassroler @dadchis-girl

Summary: There’s always a first time for everything. For you and Ushijima, this was the beginning of your unique holiday traditions.

Here’s my contribution to the Haikyuu Headquarters SFW Secret Santa! This is my gift for the lovely @kandyshoppe. Happy holidays, love! You’re such an amazing friend and a great artist. Every time I see your art on discord my tummy does a flip. Hope you enjoy my little gift for you, baby!

As far as Ushijima can remember, his family wasn’t used to celebrating holidays such as Christmas while most people tend to enjoy said festivities alongside their whole families or closest friends. Growing up, the closest thing Ushijima experienced was a small dinner with his parents, the dinner usually accompanied by a simple gift every now and then.

Ushijima’s family never got the experience of setting up a christmas tree, or decorating their home with things like those red stockings people used to hang over the fireplace. There was no need to prepare a feast for Christmas night since there is no need for letting children to make a mess in the living room as they ripped through layers of brightly colored gift paper to look for the presents Santa got them.

Speaking of the old man in a sleigh, that was a tale nobody could manage to convince a young Ushi to believe in, no matter how many times his teachers and classmates tried so hard to make him believe in. As a result, he made the other children cry more than once when he revealed that Santa didn’t exist…

For him, Christmas was just another day of the year, nothing he had to worry about...That is until you came into his life, and slowly began influencing his perspectives after getting together and eventually moving in together into this small, cozy place of your own.

That summer day when you moved into that small house was one of the happiest moments of your lives. Ushi’s stoic expression hid an excited spark in his eyes at the idea of having a place of his own, accompanied by one of the persons he cherished the most. And despite the many ups and downs that every couple goes through, he’s never come to regret your relationship in the slightest.

Every moment becomes another memory that’s swept away just like the seasons over the passage of time. Before he realized, all the trees had lost their lively appearance and the air became cold and crisp with the arrival of winter.

And when winter finally arrived, so did the same holiday he never bothered paying attention to, that is until you came along.

Ushijima noticed the way your eyes would always fixate their attention on the houses and stores covered in beautiful assortments of lights, spheres and wreaths, admiring their beauty with the same wonder as that of a small child. It was the same way you always paid attention to the surroundings during a trip to the mall, deeply enthralled by the soft tunes of the carols while cradling a warm drink with a smile, enjoying the soothing warmth against your hands with a serene expression.

And yet, despite the utter ADORATION for the holidays, you never suggested decorating the house, no matter how many times you both passed by the rows of lights or the trees they sold at the market.

“You see...my family never bothered celebrating Chritstmas before.” You shrugged casually, stirring the simmering pot of soup over the heat of the stove. “My parents were never that passionate about the holidays, and frankly we barely bothered celebrating birthdays as well.”

With a smaller spoon you took a spoonful of the savory meal, blowing gently on the food before pushing it towards Ushi, who carefully grabbed the spoon from your hands and gave it a taste.

“Is it good?”

“Mhm.”

Satisfied with his reply, you beamed softly at him and turned back towards the pot to turn off the heat so you both could finally enjoy some well-deserved lunch together. Said meals were always accompanied by some light chatter. He always had a new story to share about his teammates, and you always had something to say about work.

“Since this is our first year together...Would you like to celebrate Christmas together?” His question however, made the conversation differ from its typical subject.

“Well….it would be nice, I guess. Where did all this come from?”

“I see the way you look at all the decorations at the mall and how much you enjoy the songs.” He noticed you got awfully quiet, staring at the plate in front of you for a brief moment before turning back to look at him with eyes filled with hope.

“I’d love to do something with you for the holidays, but only if you’re okay with it!”

“Of course.”

Ushi's answer was short, but his tone of voice told you everything you needed to know. Needless to say, lunch was quickly taken care of before you were both out of the house and headed towards the car.

It was quite a sight for many people, watching you two go through the store almost like a pair of children with free reign over a credit card. Some people who recognized Ushi didn’t hesitate to take pictures when you placed an elf’s hat over his head (he had to crouch down so you could reach him.)

A couple hours later, you came out carrying a christmas tree, decorations and even some ingredients for cookies. Ushi had also brought something else but you didn’t get the chance to see it, since he put it along with the groceries.

Almost like a couple of kids, everything was quickly taken inside. And as soon as the groceries had been left back in the kitchen, the next thing on the list was decorating the living room.

Starting with the Christmas tree...

“ I...think we messed up.” You mutter, looking up at the mess before your eyes. Both you and Ushi are just standing there next to each other, witnessing the monstrosity also known as the “Christmas Tree”.

The tree itself has such a beautiful shade of green and looks so beautiful that it can easily be confused for a real one. The decorations however, were on a whole different level…and not in a good way.

“It looks good enough to me.” Ushi’s remark is filled with such confidence that you had the urge to ask if he was faking it. Because the thing in front of you two was anything but “cute”....

It’s covered from head to toe in such differently colored spheres, lights and strings that it hurt to look at it. The lights were also the wrong color, rather than that warm shade of yellow, Ushi accidently grabbed the ones that had multiple colors, which were also accompanied by an array of different colored strings….Needless to say, it was gaudy. The tree looked like it came out of a bad parody of the retro era...

That thing couldn’t be considered a christmas tree, but on the other hand, it’s not that bad for your first time decorating by yourselves...right?

“We’ll...worry about that later.” Your attention diverted from the shining atrocity, and instead it went towards the next thing to do on the Christmas list. Strolling once again into the kitchen with Ushi trailing after you like a lost puppy, you picked up the tablet at the countertop and began looking through some tabs, scanning the screen until you found exactly what you were looking for.

“Let’s try this one out!” The tablet is quickly shoved towards Ushi’s face, who blinked twice before grabbing the tablet away from your smaller hand and looked at the reason behind your excitement.

“Christmas Cookies?” There are different varieties of cookies displayed on the long tray. From Santa Clause's face, little snowmen, gingerbread men, candy canes to even little bells, all of them were decorated in beautiful shades of red and green glaze that looked absolutely delicious. The ingredients and instructions are relatively simple, easy enough for someone who’s never baked cookies in their lives.

The kitchen quickly resembled the white aesthetic landscape outside. There’s layers of flour everywhere you look at, the counter, the sink, your clothes and even your faces. It’s all accompanied with the comforting warmth from the heated oven and the lighthearted atmosphere as you both work in a comfortable silence, kneading the dough and rolling it into a fine layer, just perfect for the cookie cutters to do their one job. As you cut row after row of dough into different shapes, Ushi cut up some squares of parchment paper, laying them over a baking tray and shortly after, the raw pieces of dough were quickly placed down and shoved inside the oven.

With the timer set for thirty minutes, you turned to look at Ushi with excitement. He brushed the flour smeared on your cheek with a thumb, smiling softly before the two of you began cleaning the kitchen together along the rhythm of some christmas classics, waiting patiently for the oven to finish baking the sweet treats…

“....They don’t look like christmas cookies...at all.” The way you looked at these cookies was almost comical. As if life itself had been drained out every time you looked at them. If your cousins happened to look at these treats, they would think they were halloween cookies and your aunts would probably make fun of you for all eternity if they looked at the so called “bells” and “candy canes”...

“They actually taste pretty good.” You can hear Ushi munching on some of the baked goods. There’s a slight change in his tone as he enjoys biting into one of the treats without a care. When you turned to give him an unimpressed look, you had to fight back a snort. Was he really that oblivious about their not so innocent shape?

Watching him eat that baked failure had to be one of the funniest things you’ve ever seen since you began dating, you quickly pulled out your phone to take a couple of pictures as well as a video. Ushi swallowed the mouthful of sugary pastry and turned to look at you in utter confusion.

“What’s so funny?”

“You really don’t see it, babe?”

You tried so hard to fight back tears. And the phone kept shaking uncontrollably between your hands as it recorded a confused Ushi that kept looking directly at the camera. “Look at the candy canes.”

His eyes went back to the tray, raising an eyebrow in confusion at the deformed, yet tasty cookies. With the same expression full of confusion he turned to look at your giggling self “They don’t look like candy canes but that’s it.”

“Turn it upside down.” You’re trying so hard to contain your laughter at this point. It becomes downright painful to hold it in when he takes hold of one of the treats, all of his focus is on the treat’s shapes as he tries to find the reason you’re acting so strange. Until he finally turns the cookie the way you told him to. “....oh.”

You don’t know what’s funnier, the fact he’s holding a cookie shaped like a limp dick...or the fact he just kept staring at it before shrugging, taking a huge bite so nonchalantly, but by this point you’ve already forgotten how to breathe and nearly end up dropping your phone into the bowl of frosting. He may not get the joke concerning the treats, but watching you nearly slip off the counter in a fit of hysterics pulled a soft chuckle from Ushi. A barely audible one that you completely miss while you send Tendou a pic of your boyfriend eating those cursed Christmas treats.

“Alright, alright…” You wipe a small tear that slipped out before grabbing the outstretched hand before you. Taking a deep breath you look back at the baking tray on the counter. “I think we baked too many cookies. But we can still decorate and give some to our friends, it would be a waste to throw them away.”

“We can always make another batch if you feel like it.”

“Nah, doesn’t matter. Let’s just decorate these and take a break.”

After the little baking fiasco and everything was cleaned and put in its proper place, you decided to just lay down on the couch and take a break. You would be lying if you said it wasn’t disappointing that neither the decorations nor the baking turned out well.

At the same time you have to admit that spending time with Ushi like this was better than you could have ever imagined. So what if some of the cookies looked like penises and the christmas tree looked like someone had thrown everything representing the retro era, threw it into a blender and poured it all over a poor tree? You could still see a faint glint of excitement in Ushi’s eyes when the lights were turned on. The same glint that appeared again when he was biting on those delicious treats covered in powdery sugar.

You could say it was like an adrenaline rush that you were now coming down from, because slowly your eyelids began getting heavier with exhaustion. The soft fabric of the couch felt like a warm hug enveloping your body, welcoming it to the land of dreams with each passing second.

When Ushi walked into the living room, he was greeted with the adorable sight of your hands tucked underneath a cushion, holding it closer to your sleeping face while you laid face down on the sofa. The fluffy blanket that was always in the living room during winter covered your body up to the waist, except for the fuzzy socks you would always wear at home.

But the prettiest sight of them all was that smile adorning your face even in the middle of a deep slumber. A smile that he’s always cherished ever since that time he first realized he had a crush on you.

Perhaps you would enjoy waking up to a small surprise. With that in mind he went back into the kitchen and began looking for the stuff he bought along with the groceries, ready to prepare something Tendou had shown him during one of their meetings. Something he enjoyed so much and would love to share with you…

A delicious smell flowed into the living room, slowly stirring you awake from the nap. The mouth watering scent of spices coming from the kitchen was impossible to ignore, its alluring presence pulled you in like a moth enamoured by a flame. As you found the source of the smell, the one thing you didn’t expect was seeing Ushi in front of the stove.

“What are you doing, babe?” Even in a drowsy state, that didn’t stop you from embracing his waist from behind, nuzzling into the welcoming heat radiating from him. “And what are you cooking? It smells incredible.”

“It’s called mulled wine. Tendou showed me how to make it.” You took a peek at the simmering pot, which was filled with a bottle’s worth of red wine and spices such as cinnamon sticks, clove, orange slices and anise. He swiftly removed from the heat before it could start boiling and pulled a pair of cups from the cabinets.

And just like that, you found yourselves enjoying a delicious cup of mulled wine as you sat in front of the fireplace, cuddling together under the same blanket from before. The warm and toasty atmosphere, along with the soft music in the background, was one of the most comfortable moments you’d spent together.

“Did you like the wine?” He kissed the side of your head.

“Mhmm, It’s delicious.” You nuzzled closer to him with a smile, before taking another sip of the mug, sighing in happiness by the comforting flavor of the delicious drink. “I didn’t know you liked this kind of stuff.”

“Tendou taught me how to make it.”

“We should send him something as a thanks….as long as it’s not cookies.”

The room filled with a contagious laughter. You felt Ushi shaking as he chuckled at the reminder of the deformed treats before kissing the side of your face for a second time.

After his laughter died down, Ushi turned to face you. “I’m sorry our first Christmas together wasn’t perfect.”

“...Huh?”

The two mugs, now empty of their contents, were carefully placed to the side as you turned around in his lap to face his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“We were supposed to have the perfect Christmas together, but it feels like everything came out wrong.”

“Toshi, listen carefully…”

Your hands cradled his cheeks tenderly, thumbs skimming over his face and tracing circles across his cheekbones with a delicate sweetness he became addicted to.

“Things may not have turned out perfect but we still had fun, didn’t we? Besides, look at it this way, it could be our own way to spend the holidays! Decorating the ugliest tree ever, making cursed christmas cookies, having some mulled wine near the fireplace. I’m more than happy celebrating like this.”

It felt like a weight had lifted off his shoulders with your answer. His arms made their way around your waist, embracing you tightly as he captured your lips in a brief and delicate kiss.

“You’re all I want for Christmas.”

Taglist: @godtieruwu @hanniejji @savagetrickster @shoobirino @sugacookiies @unbreakableeiji @pixxiesdust @xmyshya @sugassetter @jayeray

#Haikyuu #haikyuu imagine #haikyuu x reader #ushijima x reader #haikyuu imagines #ushijima and reader #haikyuu fluff

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babysizedfics · 4 years ago

Text

Little Accidents, Big Developments

Chapter 8: Sink and Float

[This is an age regression story]

Chapter Summary: Roman is anxious, Virgil has some compelling things to say, Logan deduces Virgil’s true regression age, Patton gets emotional, and we say good-bye.

Chapter word count: 11,750

Other chapters: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / bonus

Read on AO3 or below the cut!

Content warning: Light angst, but cuteness galore to make up for it.

oOo

‘All right, little prince. What should I write here?’

‘His coolness rating,’ Roman replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. His tongue stuck out slightly as he concentrated on his drawing; a picture of Kanga on the top half of a small piece of paper. Underneath the character were five rectangles, all coloured to varying levels of completion.

‘Of course,’ Patton said, nodding solemnly as he wrote “coolness” underneath the fifth rectangle on his own piece of paper. ‘And I’m guessing Tigger’s coolness rating is -’

‘Ten.’

‘Ten. Obviously,’ Patton giggled. He picked up the red crayon from the dining room table and coloured the final rectangle to completion. Just like the four rectangles above it. They signified Tigger’s bounciness, funniness, orangeness, and Roman’s seal of approval ratings, all maxed out. ‘I’m starting to think this card might be rigged.’

‘Nu-uh!’ Roman cried, finally looking up from his drawing with a pout. ‘Not rigged if it’s true. Tigger is the funniest, bounciest, orangest, coolest character, and he’s my favourite. He just has to win all of the rounds!’

Despite the frankly questionable logic, Patton was simply glad that Roman was back to his cheeky self.

While they baked, Roman had been strangely well-behaved. The way he had obediently mixed the batter, rolled the dough, and shaped the cookies without so much as a whinge was highly unusual. Patton was glad he didn’t have to tell the boy off for anything, of course, but there was nothing relieving in seeing Roman stand patiently at the side of the room while Patton washed up. There was no singing, no dancing, no bouncing, not so much as a peep from the little prince. It just wasn’t right.

Roman was boisterous, whether he was little or not; he was excitable and hyperactive and loud. Usually, he would have baulked at the mere suggestion of standing in silence awaiting instructions. Though that was precisely what he had done in the kitchen by his own volition, staring at his feet in quite a pensive manner.

By the time he had set the gingerbread haycorns and hunnypots on the counter to cool down, Patton had made the decision to extend their father-son bonding time. He knew Roman’s strange mood would persist if Patton didn’t get to the bottom of it.

‘Where are you going, sweetheart?’ Patton had asked when Roman had started walking towards the living room once Patton had finished the dishes.

‘Back with Vee and Mom,’ Roman had replied. ‘We can’t decorate them yet.’

‘It’s still father-son bonding time though! Why don’t we find something fun to do while we wait?’

He wasn’t quite as bouncy as Patton had hoped he would be, but Roman at least smiled at the suggestion.

Now, after almost an hour of crafting Pooh Cards (all design credit owing to Roman, of course), the creative side had finally been coaxed out of his sombre, contemplative mood. Patton himself had even perked up from the reassurance that he still knew what was best for his little prince.

‘What if another player that isn’t you gets Tigger’s card?’ Patton asked, neatening the edges of the coloured rectangle. He was careful not to budge Roman with his elbow as did so. ‘Won’t you be sad to lose?’

The scritch of Roman’s crayon paused for a moment, then continued. ‘It will be a worthy loss.’

What a funny little boy, Patton thought with a chuckle. Having finished with Tigger’s statistics, he put the crayon back in Roman’s Lion King pencil case. ‘Okay, last one!’ He slid the card across the table to Roman’s spot. ‘Do you need your dad’s help to draw Tigger?’ Patton asked. (Not so much because he was expecting a positive response, but because he knew the question reinforced both of their respective headspaces.)

‘I got it!’ An orange crayon was snatched from the table.

Patton sat back and watched as Roman drew his favourite character with a bright smile. It was impossible not to mirror it. ‘Once you’ve finished drawing Tigger we can decorate our cookies!’

‘Dad,’ Roman whined without looking up from his drawing, ‘they’re not cookies. They’re haycorns and hunnypots.’

‘Right, haycorns and hunnypots,’ Patton quickly corrected himself. ‘I keep making that mistake, don’t I?’

There was no response from Roman, who was clearly concentrating on getting Tigger’s tail just so.

‘Cutie pie,’ Patton couldn’t help but coo. When he pinched Roman’s cheek the younger side laughed so sincerely that Paton was hit by a wave of equal parts joy and guilt.

Joy because Roman was happy and so utterly adorable. Guilt because Patton clearly didn’t spend enough time with his little prince if this was such a rare sound to him.

‘I’ll get the icing ready,’ Patton whispered, leaving the room quickly.

By the time he had moved the cookies and the icing bowls into the dining room, Roman’s drawing was complete. Patton praised him heartily for his work (to which Roman blushed and giggled) as he arranged their workspace with the three different bowls of glace icing - yellow, pink, and mint green - and the cookies, plus a tube of white writing icing for the hunnypot labels.

Excited to be in charge of yet another creative project, Roman instantly took on a leading role. ‘Dad, you’ve gotta do the writing on the hunnypots and fen - and f-th-then I’m gonna do all the pretty colours!’

‘Right-o, kiddo!’ Patton saluted him, then got right to work. ‘You always have such wonderful ideas, don’t you, little prince?’ The lid to the writing icing tube put up a slight resistance as Patton unscrewed it.

‘Mhm… I’m clever,’ Roman mumbled slowly, concentrating as he spread some green icing onto one of the haycorn cookies.

‘Just like your mom. I’m sure him and Vee agree too.’

‘Vee thinks I’m clever?’ Roman asked, his voice a pitch higher from excitement.

‘Of course, sweetie. He looks up to you a lot.’ The tail of the “Y” that Patton piped accidentally curled off of the hunnypot in his hand. Patton placed the cookie back on the cooling rack and licked the sugary blob off from his fingertip. ‘You two are such lovely brothers - you’re practically inseparable.’

There was a gentle snap. Both Patton and Roman looked down to see that the haycorn in Roman’s hands had snapped in half.

‘Oh…’ Roman breathed as he looked down at the broken cookie. The pout on his face was so intense that Patton was almost worried he would start crying.

‘No, it’s okay. Here,’ Patton gently took the gingerbread pieces from his fingers. ‘Your dad can work his magic and glue it back together with icing. You just keep making them look pretty, sweetheart.’

They resumed decorating in silence, with something indescribable hanging heavily in the air between them. Patton kept quiet, allowing Roman space to speak if he wanted to say anything. Then, after a couple of minutes:

‘Dad?’

It sounded shy, so instead of looking at Roman and possibly making him more nervous, Patton’s eyes remained on the haycorn halves that he held together. White icing oozed from the crack as he waited for it to set. ‘Yes, my bright ray of sunshine?’

The nickname pulled a little giggle from Roman, brightening the atmosphere infinitely. He sounded a bit more confident when he asked, ‘Is, um… is Vee wearing a diaper?’

Patton’s gaze snapped onto Roman’s face in faint shock.

‘There was a weird sound when Mom moved him earlier,’ Roman explained. ‘And you said he feels littler ‘cause you tried something new.’

There was no variation of upset or amusement on Roman’s face, so Patton was not concerned when he confirmed, ‘Yes, he is wearing a diaper, you’re right.’ Though he still felt it important to add, ‘Does that make you feel okay?’

Roman quickly nodded, clearly desperate to show that he was not in opposition. ‘No, it’s fine. W-wait, I mean yeah! Yeah, it’s okay.’ His eyes fell down to the cookie in his hands as he continued decorating. ‘It makes sense. Babies need diapers, right?’

‘Right.’

The way Roman gazed at his cookie reminded Patton of how he had appeared in the kitchen; contemplative. It was clear that Roman had more to say, going by the way his toes tapped at the foot of Patton’s chair rapidly. Patton waited.

‘Okay, wait, so,’ Roman eventually said, sounding as if he were a student troubling himself over a difficult math problem and Patton was the teacher who could shed some light on its solution. ‘Virgil really can’t go to the toilet?’

Patton readjusted himself to lean his elbows on the table, settling in to patiently help Roman through his confusion. ‘Not when he’s regressed, no.’ The cookie halves wobbled a little in his hold.

‘And can he really not speak properly?’

This time Patton had to take a moment to think over his answer. He hadn’t actually considered questioning whether Virgil’s hindered speech was genuine. Now that he thought about it, Virgil did appear to try hard when he spoke while regressed. Although the babbles were quiet and seemed to meld into each other, they were notably forced. As if he was putting a lot of effort into getting them out. And yet they were only ever half-coherent at the best of times.

‘No,’ Patton said, smiling to himself at the realisation. ‘I don’t think he can.’ The reminder that Virgil’s regression was all-encompassing sent a rush of excitement racing through Patton’s veins. He truly was responsible for an incredibly vulnerable baby. While that thought might have been intimidating to some, Patton was filled with pure comfort at the mere thought. It was like he was finally fulfilling his purpose. It was like coming home.

‘So… Vee is really, actually a baby.’ Roman’s eyes were wide and his voice laced with astonishment.

‘Yes,’ Patton confirmed with a giggle. It sounded like this was a new revelation to Roman. ‘Your baby brother is really, actually a baby.’

Roman’s brow pulled into a light frown as his spoon swiped over his cookie one last time before dropping into the icing bowl with a clatter.

It was clear Roman wanted to ponder over the answer, for whatever reason, so Patton turned his attention to testing the cookie in his hands. At the slightest pressure, the two halves broke free from each other, and he tutted. Replenishing the icing more liberally this time, he held the jagged edges together firmly again.

‘I like that,’ Roman muttered.

‘What’s that, sweetie?’

‘I like having a baby brother.’ Patton saw Roman nodding as if assuring himself of his decision. ‘I don’t want Vee to be like me, I like that we’re different.’

The last part seemingly came from nowhere, and the whole discussion seemed oddly disjointed, though Patton didn’t show his confusion. Instead, he opted for his standard smile of loving support, which would always be appropriate in any situation as far as Patton was concerned.

‘Well, I’m glad you like it!’ His tone bounced cheerfully. ‘And I know that Vee really loves having a big brother.’

‘Hm,’ Roman hummed and picked up a hunnypot cookie to decorate. Something in the slow movements of his fingers as he iced the treat felt off.

Patton nudged him gently, jostling his elbow. A sympathetic smile wormed its way onto his lips when he saw distant eyes snap onto him. Roman’s throat rolled with a gulp.

‘What’s the matter, little prince?‘ Patton murmured sweetly. It never took Roman long to blurt any troubling thoughts that hurtled through his mind when Patton asked about them with such softness.

Right on cue, Roman sighed explosively. Then he began: ‘Now that I’m part of the family -’

(Patton’s heart twisted. Now that Roman was part of the family. As if he hadn’t been before.)

‘- I’m kind of…’ Roman paused, nibbling his lip. His eyes fell to the table as he whispered, ‘I’m scared.’

Patton instantly dropped his cookie to the table. He didn’t care that it split apart once more, leaving a thin line of white, sugary goop on the wooden surface - his only priority at that moment was Roman. His little prince always placed so much importance on being fiercely brave and strong. Patton knew this must have been an exceptional circumstance for him to actually admit to feeling afraid.

‘What are you scared of, honey?’ he asked, his tone as steady and firm as the arm he placed around Roman’s shoulders. It was of utmost importance that Roman saw him as a supportive, strong father figure during that moment of rare vulnerability. It had to be known that Patton would protect him from anything that was causing him distress.

‘I’m scared it’ll end.’ Thankfully, Roman clearly found Patton supportive enough to lean against him as he spoke. ‘You know, us being a family.’

It was difficult to contain the urge to shrug off the mere idea. Though Patton knew better than to dismiss his loved ones’ worries, no matter how seemingly unlikely. ‘Why do you think it will end?’ he asked instead.

A sharp shrug jostled both of their bodies. ‘I don’t know… What if Vee stops regressing?’

‘I don’t think that will happen,’ Patton said gently as he swayed them to and fro. The weight against his side got heavier as Roman leaned into his one-armed embrace. ‘Your mom thinks the regression is written right into Virgil’s brain since he’s done it for so many years. It’s a part of him.’

‘Okay…’ Roman sounded uncertain still, reaching forward to fidget with the hem of Patton’s cardigan. ‘What if me and him start arguing all the time again?’

Taking the long fingers in his own, Patton whispered, ‘You won’t,’ with absolute confidence. ‘I don’t think you could go back to how you used to be after everything you boys have shared with each other.’

When Patton pressed a soft kiss to Roman’s cheek, he honestly expected to feel the tension leave Roman’s body.

Instead, the grip around Patton’s fingers tightened painfully. ‘What if he says he doesn’t wanna be brothers anymore?’ Roman’s words were frantic, panicked. ‘I don’t wanna lose him, he’s the best brother I…’

Silence reigned.

Patton’s gaze sunk to the tabletop where the two halves of the haycorn cookie lay torn apart, joined only by a thin trail of icing.

‘I just don’t want us to be split up,’ Roman whispered brokenly.

Memories flooded Patton’s mind. Of two boisterous children, identical twins, perpetually by each other’s sides despite their constant arguing. Of fearsome fights; scratching and biting and screaming. And of a thought, just a thought, that had passed through Patton’s mind one sunny day like an innocent floating cloud. The thought that one of the twins had potential and that the other was… wrong.

Memories of the following day and only seeing one child come out from their room. Of little snippets of conversation between Janus and Logan. Of realising that the other twin had not ceased to exist, but had been moved to the lower parts of the mind. (No one understood how. It was the only time a side had been moved between the conscious and the subconscious.) (That would change over a decade later when Virgil timidly knocked on their door.)

Memories of the “good” twin - Roman - seeming unaffected by the loss of his brother. Happier, even, that his ideas had no contenders. That there was no longer a double of him suggesting all manner of disturbing things that Patton simply could not stand to hear.

Warm fingers tightened further around his.

As Patton’s awareness was reeled against that cold, crashing wave of regret, his mind spluttered. Unaffected? Patton realised now the ridiculousness of the mere notion that Roman would have been unchanged by the split. By the fleeting thought from Patton - he himself still being a child at the time - that had acted as the catalyst for such an irrevocable shift in the twins’ lives. In everyone’s lives.

‘Dad?’ Roman’s gentle voice broke the surface of Patton’s turbulent reverie.

With a steadying breath, Patton forced himself back to the present and clasped both hands around Roman’s. He prayed that the tightness of his grip would dispel the trembling of his fingers.

‘You and Virgil love each other very much,’ he said, ‘and you’ve both become a lot better at showing it; when you’re little and when you’re big. Even if you did argue, you could never stop being brothers. Not now. I promise, nothing will -’ Patton’s voice was suddenly strangled by an involuntary gulp. He felt his cheeks burn as he swallowed past the knot of nerves in his throat. ‘Nothing will tear you apart,’ he finished quietly.

‘What if you and Logan break up?’

It was easy to forget how different Roman’s voice was when he was little. Him being such a master at adapting his voice for different roles, the shift in tone was subtle, though effective. The slightest bit higher in pitch, though not unnaturally so. Much bouncier in intonation, but not inappropriately so. Changed, but not overexaggerated. (Perhaps Roman was accustomed to minimising the impact of changes, Patton realised.)

Though now it was clear. This question was deeper, louder, bigger than the previous ones. It was a question from adult Roman.

Patton sighed and met Roman’s eyes equally. At that moment he was no longer a father speaking to his son, but rather a friend reassuring a friend.

‘If, for whatever reason, Logan and I stop dating…’ Patton paused. That was the first time he had verbally acknowledged that they were an item. It truly felt amazing to admit to someone besides Logan himself. Though it was a melancholy experience, to be announcing their relationship while simultaneously theorising its demise. ‘If that ever happens then we’ll still be very good friends. And we will all still be a family, I promise.’

The reluctance faded from Roman’s expression and he wriggled his hand free from Patton’s hold. A finger raised between their faces. ‘Pinky promise?’ Roman asked in childlike hopefulness.

Patton curled his little finger around Roman’s. ‘Pinky promise,’ he said earnestly.

Taking advantage of the fact that Roman’s hand was apprehended - and desperate to distract from the loaded atmosphere - Patton swiped some icing onto Roman’s face.

‘Hey!’

‘What’s wrong?’ Patton asked in mock-confusion.

Roman glared at him past a smile. ‘There’s icing on my cheek!’

‘Oh, let me get that for you!’ Patton pressed a long, wet kiss to Roman’s cheek, the icing spreading between his lips.

‘Da-ha-d,’ Roman giggled, trying to squirm away.

With a loud smack of his lips, Patton pulled away laughing. As he licked his lips clean, he took a moment to appreciate the pure joy on Roman’s face. ‘I love you, little prince. And I love Virgil and I love Logan. And I know for a fact that you all love each other too. That will never, ever end. No matter what.’

There was a loud screech of chair legs against the floorboards then Roman was on his feet, hunching over to hold Patton in a deadly-tight hug. Patton returned it with a strained wheeze.

‘I don’t want it to end,’ Roman mumbled into his shoulder. ‘I don’t want anything to change.’

That was a loaded statement if Patton had ever heard one. The sentiment behind it was clear and admirable, of course. Like Roman, Patton too loved how their family was faring and wouldn’t change it for the world. Though he was hit by the reality of just how much had changed in the past few weeks, the past few days, even the past few hours!

Regardless, he knew what Roman meant, and he wasn’t one to magnify the ambiguity of language choices. That was Logan’s job.

So - despite his uncertainty in the generalisation of the statement - Patton held Roman closer and said, ‘Nothing will change, sweetheart.’

oOo

As much as he had enjoyed his and Roman’s Father-Son bonding time (which they agreed would become a weekly ritual from then on), Patton was more than eager to return to the living room and be the happy pappy again. It was hard to shake the melancholy from the earlier conversation, after all.

Once the hunnypots and haycorns were decorated and left to set in the kitchen, the two traipsed back down the hallway. Patton stopped just short of opening the living room door when he heard a muffled, unintelligible conversation coming from the other side of it.

He looked behind him to Roman, who mirrored his confusion. The distant voices sounded as if they were holding a full-fledged discussion. Could Virgil have been grown-up again?

Patton pushed the door open with a deep disappointment that he didn’t quite want to acknowledge. Though on poking his head into the room, it didn’t take long to see that Virgil was still regressed and in Logan’s lap. He sighed in relief.

‘Mamanaba,’ Virgil muttered, rattling Meeko with fervour. The inflection of his voice was similar to that of normal speech, even if the actual content was gibberish and his tone was still decidedly babyish.

Logan’s hands readjusted on Virgil to hold him steady as the boy kept bouncing in his lap. ‘My goodness, I never considered such a thing! Though I don’t believe that is quantifiable.’

‘What are you talking about?’ Roman laughed from behind Patton, then stepped around him in the direction of the couch.

There was nothing but pure paternal instinct that made Patton hurriedly reach out and pull Roman backwards against his chest and into his arms. He just could not bear to see the others being so sweet while his own arms were empty of one of his babies. Thankfully, Roman just settled against him and didn’t comment on it.

‘This is an academic debate, little prince,’ Logan explained very seriously, offering one of his false-stern looks. His lips twitched. ‘No interruptions, please.’

‘W-waba, mamama,’ Virgil babbled, his voice now squeaky with excitement.

Logan gasped loudly and looked at Virgil in amazement, to which the regressor giggled. ‘What a fascinating hypothesis! But have you considered the subjectivity of such a theory?’

There was a moment of quiet while Virgil looked over at the doorway to Patton and Roman. It seemed he had only just noticed their appearance. Meeko was raised to hide Virgil’s face as he collapsed against Logan’s chest. ‘Baba,’ Virgil whined, muffled by the toy at his chin.

A loud chuckle rang out. ‘Well, you’ve certainly given me a lot to think about,’ Logan said, cupping the back of Virgil’s head protectively.

‘Mom, can you speak baby?’ Roman asked, sounding thoroughly impressed. As he spoke, he launched himself away from Patton’s chest and skipped over to stand in front of the couch.

‘It certainly sounds like it,’ Patton murmured, watching Roman go. The sudden emptiness in his arms couldn’t hold a candle to the emptiness in his chest. Why was he so sensitive all of a sudden? Why did his chest physically ache when he wasn’t holding his boys?

Then his thoughts came to a crashing stop. No. This wasn’t about him and what he wanted. Roman obviously didn’t want a hug so he was perfectly within his right to wriggle out of it. Patton had been keeping him from his brother, after all. The memories of his and Roman’s previous conversation rose in tides, threatening to spill over. Patton had been keeping Roman from his brother again.

‘What did you two get up to, little prince?’ Logan asked. ‘Did you have fun with your dad?’

As Roman launched into an impassioned regaling of the creation of Pooh Cards and his expert cookie decorating skills, Patton floated over to the couch - specifically towards the baby in Logan’s lap. His knuckle ghosted over Virgil’s smooth cheek and elicited a small coo from him. The contact and the sweet sound filled Patton with a sudden motivation that he hadn’t realised he had been lacking.

Then Virgil pulled himself to sit up from Logan’s chest and shook his rattle right by Patton’s ear with a bright smile that threatened to dislodge his pacifier. ‘Babababa.’

‘What a fun sound!’ Patton gushed, only faintly acknowledging that Roman’s monologue had just drawn to a close. ‘I see someone’s woken up a bit since we left.’

‘He is rather enraptured by the rattling sound,’ Logan said, shuffling Virgil in his lap so that he could more directly face the others. (It was true, the way Virgil stared at his toy looked as if we were both confused and amazed by the sounds coming from it; almost spellbound.) ‘I think it’s safe to say that it is a “good stim”.’ He directed his gaze to Roman and said, ‘Virgil appreciates his present from you Roman, even if he is not able to tell you as much at the moment. Thank you for making your little brother happy.’

Roman flopped down to sit on the couch a couple of feet away from Logan with pink cheeks. ‘S’okay,’ he muttered with a nonchalant shrug that was betrayed by his wide smile.

Quite unexpectedly, Virgil whined loudly and dropped Meeko to the couch. Then he wriggled and reached his arms out towards his brother so insistently that he slid right off of Logan’s lap.

‘Vee!’ Logan yelped.

Patton acted lightning fast, dropping to his knees and catching Vee in one fell swoop. A fraction of a second later and Virgil would have hit the ground.

‘Woah, there we go.’ Patton hoisted Virgil onto his hip and stood upright again, keeping a firm arm under Virgil’s diaper to support him. ‘Are you okay, angel?’ he asked breathlessly, residual adrenaline surging through his veins.

The shock didn’t fade from Virgil’s expression for several seconds. Then, at last, his eyes swam with thick tears and he broke into a constant stream of whimpers.

‘Aww, my little baby,’ Patton cooed. He started bouncing him lightly as parents often did with wailing infants. ‘You’re all right, sweetie. Shh-shh-shh.’ Virgil’s whimpers quickly quieted at the bouncing so Patton kept it up, warm adoration swelling in his chest at just how alike a real baby Virgil was.

With a wet sniffle, Virgil buried his face against Patton’s shoulder.

‘That’s it,’ Patton murmured. ‘Papa has you, you’re safe.’ He felt a pinch at his side and looked down to see that Virgil was gripping his cardigan and tugging on the material harshly. Without looking away from his baby, Patton held his free hand out to the couch. ‘Can someone please pass me Meeko?’

A few seconds passed without any softness being pressed into his hands. Patton looked over to find Logan and Roman sat staring at him in stunned silence.

It felt as though he had unknowingly done something horribly wrong. Heat flooded his cheeks. ‘What’s wrong, what did I do?’ Was he being a bad Dad? Would they take his baby away? His grip on Virgil tightened.

‘N-nothing,’ Logan stammered.

A loud snort sounded from Roman. ‘Wow, Dad’s pretty strong, isn’t he, Mom?’

‘Oh,’ Patton breathed with a nervous chuckle, trying to hide how utterly relieved he was. The look of betrayal Logan was directing towards Roman inspired enough amusement for it to be passable. ‘You carried him earlier too, Lo.’

‘I know that,’ Logan defended, his cheeks dusting pink as he looked back at Patton. ‘Just… not with one arm.’

Patton’s eyes trailed down to realise that he was indeed bouncing Virgil easily with only one arm.

Logan cleared his throat then muttered, ‘It is rather impressive.’

‘Well, I’m a dad,’ Patton giggled lightly. He would never have imagined Logan would be flustered by such a thing. ‘Dads need to be strong for Dad Stuff!’

‘Like catching Moms when they swoon.’

At Roman’s cheeky remark, Logan’s mouth dropped open. The creative side quickly descended into giggles.

Patton witnessed the shock on Logan’s face be wiped away by an evil grin. ‘Oh, I’ll give you something to laugh about.’ Then Roman was being tugged towards Logan’s chest, Logan’s fingers wriggling in his underarms.

‘W-wait! Wait!’ Roman’s legs kicked against the couch as he was dragged into Logan’s lap. ‘Mom, ple-he-he-ase!’ he pleaded through already hysterical laughter.

Patton giggled and shook his head. It wasn’t often Logan tickled their little prince, but when he did he was merciless. Roman’s begging would not help him.

Amongst the raucous laughter and tumbling on the couch, Patton managed to swipe Meeko from the cushion before Roman’s ankles thrust into it with a squeal.

‘Here you are, honey bunny,’ Patton said, worming the toy between his cardigan and Virgil’s fingers.

The weight on his shoulder lifted as Virgil looked up with a curious hum. On seeing that he had been reunited with his raccoon, his eyes sparkled with joy rather than tears. And, as expected, he rattled the toy for what must have been the hundredth time.

‘Why did you jump off of Mama’s lap, Vee?’ Patton asked, fully aware that Virgil might not have been old enough to even understand the question. It was worth a try at least.

The question seemed to break Virgil from the trance the rattle had him under and he started whining and wriggling violently.

‘Baby, baby, it’s okay,’ Patton tried to soothe him. It was only met with louder whines and harder kicks. ‘All right, down we go,’ he sang, doing his best to make the words bounce with joy. It was difficult considering the immense sinking sensation in his stomach as he carefully lowered Virgil to the floor.

‘Is everything all right?’

Patton looked up at Logan’s breathless question, pleasantly surprised to see Roman still in Logan’s lap, finally free of the tickle attack.

‘I just asked him why he jumped off your lap.’

At the reminder, Virgil thrust his arms out towards Roman again and pleaded, ‘Wo… Wo-Wo!’

‘I didn’t do anything!’ Roman’s shoulders raised defensively as he looked to Patton. ‘It wasn’t my fault he fell!’

‘We know that, little prince. It’s all right,’ Logan assured him, embracing him to his chest.

With a gentle smile, Patton realised that Virgil was not blaming Roman for the fall whatsoever. ‘Sweetheart, I think Vee just wants to play with you.’

Virgil’s arms stretched even further into the empty space between himself and the couch. ‘Pway!’

‘Oh, um,’ Roman hesitated, looking at the ground and running his fingers over Logan’s arms, which were fastened around his waist.

‘I would like to stretch my legs anyway,’ Logan said, carefully sliding Roman off of his lap.

There was a short moment of thick quiet. It was over in an instant as Logan quickly rose to his feet, announcing that he would fetch some more toys for them before promptly leaving the room.

Before long, Logan had returned with supplies and the caregivers had set up a baby-safe play area for the boys. A large fluffy blanket lay across half of the living room floor and more than two dozen soft toys sat around the edges of the blanket, cordoning off the area. Around the room, cushions and pillows padded the harsh corners of the coffee table, TV unit, and radiator to avoid any painful bumps.

Roman was as bubbly as ever, overspilling with exuberant playfulness as he finally had his little brother’s full attention.

‘And what doth the King Meeko have to say to this usurper?’ Roman cried regally, bouncing his stuffed dog Bumpkin in his hands to indicate that he was speaking.

Virgil giggled and bounced in place where he sat against the foot of the armchair, carefully propped up by two pillows. His laughter mixed with the rattles coming from Meeko as he shook him.

‘Vee, what do you want Bumpkin to say?’ Logan mumbled from where he sat beside Patton on the couch.

A happy hum rolled from Patton’s chest. It was rare that they got a chance to sit together while both boys were little, but Virgil had gotten surprisingly fussy when Logan tried to sit with him on the blanket. It seemed the excitement of being with Roman had chased away his languid energy and he wanted to sit alone with his brother while they played.

Despite Patton’s increasing panic at seeing his little baby sitting all on his own, not in his arms, Patton felt comforted by Logan’s closeness. It meant he could run his fingers idly over Logan’s thigh as Logan’s arm draped heavily across his shoulders. He took the rare moment of casual intimacy in stride. Usually, they had to sneak around while the boys were asleep to cuddle and kiss. Though since he had spoken so openly about their relationship with Roman in the dining room, and seeing as Virgil was either unbothered by or unaware of their displays of affection, they allowed themselves this intimate moment.

‘A-ababa,’ Virgil babbled, pointing to the soft toy in Roman’s hands.

Roman sucked in a pained breath through his teeth. ‘Oof. That’s brutal, Vee.’ It earned him a bright symphony of babyish giggles.

Over the next few minutes, Patton brought his cellphone out to take pictures of the littles. Then when Logan pointed out that he had taken more than twenty almost identical photographs, Patton rolled his eyes with a playful nudge to his partner. He would have easily taken a thousand pictures if it meant he could remember this day by the adorable scene in front of him, rather than the blunt, heavy regret hammering away within him.

‘How old is Vee right now?’ Patton wondered aloud, partly because he was watching Virgil through his phone screen. Partly because he just needed Logan’s voice to drown out Roman’s sorrowful words from earlier that kept replaying in his head.

‘Going by his babbling and playfulness,’ Logan replied, ‘I would place him around eight or nine months.’

All of the breath wrung from Patton’s lungs as he snapped his gaze onto Logan. ‘Months?’

Not seeming to notice Patton’s shock, Logan continued watching the boys with a gentle smile and nodded.

‘That’s way younger than he usually is…’ Patton placed his phone down on the couch, feeling shaky all of a sudden.

‘I am not so certain.’ A thumb started circling softly over Patton’s knuckles as Logan explained in a low murmur, ‘At first he told us he regressed from two to five years old. Though I have been observing his behaviour over the past few weeks, and I believe he has been greatly mistaken in this estimation.’

The soft material of Logan’s slacks bunched between Patton’s fingers. ‘What, do you think he’s not that old?’ The new information bombarded him with the horrible thought that he hadn’t been doing his job as a father if he hadn’t even noticed how old Virgil was when he regressed.

Gaze fixed on their boys, lips fixed in an oblivious smile, Logan went on: ‘Nothing I have seen of his regression has suggested he is ever older than two and a half years - though even then, being that old is rare for him.’ He tilted his head in thought, which would have been adorable had Patton’s vision not been pulsating with his frantic heartbeat. ‘I wonder whether he misunderstands developmental stages, or whether it is simply a case of him being unaware of his own behaviour patterns.’

‘What ages does he actually regress to?’ Patton whispered. He stared intently at Logan, desperate for the answer that he had apparently been too incompetent to see for himself.

With utmost confidence, Logan said, ‘Three to twenty-four months.’

Hot tears sprang to Patton’s eyes. ‘Three months…’ he echoed under his breath. Practically a newborn. With a gulp, Patton’s watery eyes settled on Virgil. A newborn who had been alone for so many years.

His wet eyes being glued on Virgil’s steadily blurrier form, Patton was startled when he felt Logan’s arm pushing insistently at his shoulders. Within seconds Patton was on his feet and being swiftly ushered into the hallway. His heart lurched when the blue and purple blob fell out of sight as he was guided past the corner of the doorway and the tears finally fell to his cheeks.

‘Your dad and I are right outside if you need us. Keep playing with your little brother,’ Logan’s voice said, then the door was pulled mostly shut and Patton was surrounded by long, warm arms. ‘What’s wrong, Patton?’

It all happened so quickly that he had no hope of burying his emotions, so Patton didn’t speak. He just clung to Logan and sniffled into his shoulder, thinking about what he had learned. About Virgil being so young and consequently about everything he had ever had to deal with on his own. The loneliness, the accidents, the bullies.

Patton bit his tongue through a wave of overwhelming anger. Over the course of the next minute, he simply took in deep, shaky breaths, glad that Logan did nothing but tap out one-second intervals on his back to aid his breathing.

Then, just as he thought he had overcome the worst of it, a babyish giggle rang from behind the living room door.

A sob wrenched its way from Patton’s throat.

‘My love, please tell me what’s wrong,’ Logan pleaded, his voice gentle though pained.

‘Sorry,’ Patton choked, pulling his face back from Logan’s shoulder to scrub his sleeve over his eyes. When he opened them and caught the utter sincerity in Logan’s concerned expression, the tears started anew. What exactly had Patton done to deserve such a wonderful man?

Patton couldn’t bear to hold back his lament any longer, keeping quiet so as not to upset the boys in the next room. ‘He’s just so - he’s literally just a baby. He’s innocent and - and vulnerable and -’ his voice wobbled and broke off with a shuddered breath. As he recollected all Virgil had told them of the hate he received on his blog, that same boiling rage oozed through Patton’s entire being. It stung and made him tremble. Like poison. ‘I can’t believe those horrible people would bully him for it!’

At the hissed tone, Logan’s face crumpled with a wince. Patton was ready to vehemently apologise for himself - about to claim he had no idea where that came from, it wasn’t him at all - until Logan said, ‘I know. I am angry too.’

There was no way Patton could have predicted how comforting those four words were. They doused the fire in his chest and left him dumbstruck. The raging indignance that had been snapping and flaring within him all afternoon suddenly disappeared and all that was left was a smouldering, pathetic sorrow.

Patton slumped back into Logan’s arms in defeat.

‘He was on his own for so many years, Lo. It’s bad enough he couldn’t look after himself,’ Patton whispered and shook his head, Logan’s shirt rustling faintly with the movement, ‘but on top of that some strangers attacked him just for - for -’

‘For trying to feel safe,’ Logan finished, twining his fingers gently in Patton’s thick hair.

Delighted, squeaky laughter echoed from the living room.

‘Not everyone is accepting.’ The deep voice vibrated in Logan’s chest. Patton held onto him tighter. ‘It is an unfortunate reality in both Thomas’ world and ours, and I understand it is upsetting. As much as we would like to, we simply cannot protect our boys from every possible threat.’

The icy pang of dread in Patton’s gut was twice as toxic as the scalding anger from before. What was Patton’s whole purpose if not to look after his family?

‘Virgil was not completely helpless to it, though,’ Logan continued. ‘He disabled anonymous asks without being prompted to do so. That shows he had the foresight to prevent it from happening again. He was protecting himself.’

Gentle shivers radiated over Patton’s scalp as Logan’s fingernails combed through his hair. ‘That’s meant to be our job,’ he argued weakly, ‘and he didn’t even tell us about it.’

‘Not at first,’ Logan conceded. ‘Still, that does not mean he did not trust us.’ Then Logan pulled back from the hug, leaving Patton cold. ‘You know how reluctant he is to share things that he perceives as embarrassing. Your conversation with him yesterday proves as much,’ he said, turning and walking down the hallway.

‘Where are you going?’ Patton shrieked, his hands curling into tight fists by his sides.

Logan looked back in shock. Then he carefully reached out to pick up the tissue box that sat on the cabinet by the staircase. The movement was slow, and Logan watched Patton all the while as if he were a startled animal that had to be monitored.

Shame flooded Patton. ‘Oh. Sorry, just… not done cuddling you yet.’

A soft smile replaced Logan’s frown and he brought a couple of tissues back to Patton, holding him again and dabbing at his itchy eyes. ‘I didn’t realise you would be competing with a box of tissues for my attention,’ Logan chuckled.

Patton knew it was a joke, of course he did. He loved jokes and he loved that Logan was finally comfortable enough in himself to make them without fearing people's opinions of him. But suddenly the heat in his chest was reignited.

‘Why didn’t you just summon them?’ Patton asked flatly.

The tissue that Logan stroked over his cheekbone faltered.

‘You always say how important it is that we don’t challenge the mindscape,’ Patton went on, glad that this topic had distracted Logan enough from his sudden clinginess. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen you summon since you realised the whole - what’s it called?’

‘Equivalent exchange,’ Logan supplied, blushing. It was he who realised that the programming he had set up for their mindscape to follow real world laws of physics glitched whenever the sides took advantage of their powers; summoning an object would make another of similar mass and/or sentimental worth disappear, and breaking the laws of physics would train the mindscape to disparage Logan’s carefully crafted code. For the sake of stability in their environment, they had long since all agreed to sacrifice the convenience of summoning unless in emergencies. Logan most of all, which is why Patton was so shocked when he saw he had summoned a baby book earlier. ‘I understand it was hypocritical of me to break my own rule. I apologise, it won’t be happening again.’

Patton nodded. He didn’t want Logan to think he was upset with him, though he was satisfied that he had redirected the conversation effectively. ‘What was so urgent about a baby book anyway?’

‘I could not think of anything to calm Vee down,’ Logan explained, pocketing the crumpled tissue as Patton’s face was perfectly dry by then. ‘Regretfully, I acted quite impulsively in response to his crying.’

‘Oh no, was the poor thing upset?’ Patton asked, all harsh emotion replaced by softness and concern for his little one.

With a soft sigh, Logan leaned forward to press a kiss to Patton’s forehead. ‘You know how his separation anxiety is,’ he murmured against his skin, lingering there.

Patton frowned at Logan’s chest. ‘He still has separation anxiety?’

‘Of course,’ Logan said, putting some distance between them to look down at him.

‘But,’ Patton blinked rapidly, ‘earlier he was okay with me leaving and he - he hid from me, I thought -’

‘Patton, it doesn’t disappear from one positive experience,’ Logan explained, his arms still wrapped around Patton’s shoulders. ‘It may have been dimmed momentarily though it is still very much present. I believe it may be a permanent fixture of his headspace, simply due to the ages he regresses to and his anxious nature.’

‘Oh… okay.’ It was hard to know what else to say. Earlier Patton had thought he was proud of Virgil for overcoming his separation anxiety. But hearing that Virgil would perhaps never get over it sent a wave of warm comfort over Patton. He wanted to smile, but the fluffy feeling was sullied by something. Something distant that he couldn’t identify. Something unpleasant.

‘Do you know what time it is?’ Logan asked softly, spoken as if it were a love confession.

Patton instinctively reached into his pocket, only to come out empty-handed. ‘Sorry, I must have left my phone in -’

A featherlight touch at his lips made Patton fall silent: Logan’s fingertips. He could feel Logan’s pulse thrumming through them.

‘It’s later,’ Logan whispered, his eyes swimming with utter adoration. Then the soft fingertips were replaced by softer lips and Patton fell into a dream.

They floated together for a while, suspended in the short space between their hearts. After a few gentle pecks and a quick swipe of tongues, Logan pulled away.

‘That was sweet,’ Patton whispered airily, letting his eyes flutter open. Then he saw that Logan was frowning deeply at him.

‘Patton…’ Logan licked his lips and grimaced a little. He started chuckling, ‘Just how much lemon did you put in your tea?’

It wrenched Patton from his dreamy state.

Guilt. The unpleasant feeling that was sullying his emotions was guilt. Guilt because how could he think himself supportive of his family if in the face of their developments his response had been extreme jealousy? So extreme that he had had to literally suck on a lemon to pull himself out of it.

As if that weren’t awful enough, Patton had actually felt happy when he learned Virgil would continue to be distressed by his separation anxiety. He had failed his baby, just like he had failed his little prince by neglecting him and not recognising his insecurities. He had failed at being a dad; the one thing he thought he knew. Why was he even trying to be a caregiver when he kept accidentally hurting his family?

Roman called loudly from the living room, ‘Dad?’

A switch flipped in Patton’s brain. No, he wouldn’t give up. His boys needed their dad and that had to be him. No matter how many mistakes he made, how wrong he was, Patton would never let go of the only thing in the world he could do. He would never let go of his purpose. The one thing he lived for.

He was nothing if he couldn’t be Papa Patton.

He slipped right past Logan, not caring to check his reaction to Patton’s avoidance. With a huge smile, Patton bounced into the living room. ‘What’s up, my majestic little songbird?’

It was immediately clear why Roman had called.

Where Virgil had been sitting on the blanket before they left the room, giggling and rattling Meeko excitedly, both boys now sat. Roman’s arm was thrown over Virgil’s shoulders protectively, supporting the younger boy as he swayed and blinked slowly. His eyes were decidedly teary and he was tugging at his pacifier again.

‘Oh, my sweet little baby,’ Patton cooed, rushing over to them. The storm of guilt and jealousy cleared from his mind in an instant, leaving him a little light-headed. It was replaced by a muffled determination and affection that made everything seem softer around the edges.

Dropping to his knees, Patton pulled Virgil into a hug. There was a little whimper, and then his shoulder was immediately used as a hiding spot for Virgil’s face. ‘What happened, Roman?’ Patton asked, leaning back against the foot of the armchair. He rested his hand atop Virgil’s head and felt as though his heart had started beating for the first time in hours.

‘He just froze and went super quiet all of a sudden,’ Roman explained, letting go of his brother and collapsing back onto the blanket with a pout. ‘Then he didn’t wanna play anymore.’

‘It’s all right, Roman,’ Logan said, settling onto the floor beside Roman with a reassuring pat on his knee. ‘Virgil can play with you again another time.’ He began clearing the mess of various toys on the blanket, assembling them into an ordered line.

‘Are you upset, baby?’ Patton whispered, rocking Virgil slightly in his hold.

As was to be expected, there was no answer. Virgil only hid his face against Patton more fiercely.

‘Perhaps it was the separation anxiety.’

Patton nodded faintly at Logan’s suggestion, but internally he knew that wasn’t it. In the past, if Virgil was anxious about being separated from Patton he was much more vocal in his upset; sobbing and whining loudly. Plus he certainly hadn’t heard Virgil calling out for him before Roman beckoned him in, so Patton remained doubtful that that was the issue.

Another difference became obvious as Virgil hugged Patton tighter, forcing Patton to hunch down a little to accommodate it. Where Virgil would always scramble into Patton’s lap at being reunited with him, this time he had remained on the floor with his legs pulled tightly to his chest. Patton experimentally nudged Virgil’s knees to convince him to lower them but was met with a whine and Virgil’s whole body tensed up.

As Patton shushed his baby and swayed him back and forth, he just knew. There was no solid thought process he could attribute to his realisation. He thought it must have been his paternal instincts (which sent a rush of pride through him). Though regardless of how he knew it, Patton was quite certain that Virgil’s diaper was wet.

Then Logan spoke. ‘I think I would like to -’

‘I’m handling it,’ Patton assured firmly without looking up from his baby.

There was a short while of silence before Logan spoke again. ‘I was going to say I would like to play Pooh Cards with Roman.’

Shame flooded Patton’s mind. He chased it away by rubbing soothing circles on Virgil’s back.

‘Oh yeah!’ Roman cried, jumping up from the blanket so fast Patton was surprised he didn’t fall face-first to the floor with the momentum of it. As he bounced in place he grabbed and tugged on Logan’s hands. ‘Mom, Mom, Mom, quick, come see!’

There was a slight reluctance as Logan raised to his feet. ‘I said I would play with you Roman. Please do not pull me.’

Patton rolled his eyes. Roman was merely excited, and he knew his own strength. It wasn’t like it hurt Logan. There was no reason for him to be so strict with their little prince.

‘Are you sure you two will be all right?’ Logan asked, and his voice actually wobbled.

Logan - who always kept a steady, calm voice even in moments of distress - was presumably so worried about leaving Virgil with Patton that his voice had actually wavered.

Patton had to unclench his jaw to reply, ‘Of course we will, I’m his papa.’ It came out far more snappish than he had intended. He ran his fingers through Virgil’s hair, using the soft tendrils to distract himself from the sinking feeling in his chest. ‘I mean - he’s okay. I know what this is.’ Finally meeting Logan’s gaze, Patton offered a small smile that he knew didn’t meet his eyes.

‘Okay, love,’ Logan said softly, lovingly, and Patton knew he didn’t deserve it.

Then Logan led Roman out of the room to fetch the card game and the papa and his baby were left alone.

For a minute they simply sat, Patton still swaying them gently. Going by the fact that Virgil was no longer whimpering, it was clear the cuddle was soothing him. Patton too felt himself relaxing as their bodies moved as one and their breaths synchronised.

Over the course of those few quiet moments, Patton’s worries all seemed to float away. As if Virgil were a calm breeze, clearing the muggy clouds of guilt and bitterness from Patton’s mind and replacing them with crystal clear skies. Patton nuzzled his nose into Virgil’s hair and breathed deeply, feeling as though he hadn’t tasted oxygen until that very second. There was no other feeling in the world that could compare.

‘Come on, sweetheart. Let’s have a proper cuddle.’

There was no protest as Patton shuffled both of them up into the seat of the armchair. Virgil kept a tight hold on Meeko all the while, clearly afraid of dropping the toy. Admittedly, Patton had hoped he would have an opportunity to check Virgil’s diaper during the movement, but their positions simply didn’t allow for it. As soon as they were seated with Virgil on Patton’s lap, the regressor whined and hurriedly wriggled off of his legs to squeeze into the small space between Patton and the armrest.

‘It’s okay, honey,’ Patton murmured, letting Virgil curl up to his side instead. His knees were flush with his chest once more; hiding his lap on instinct, Patton realised.

‘Dad!’ Roman yelled, skipping back into the living room with a bright smile. ‘Mom really likes my game and says I’m really clever!’

Feeling Virgil jolt at the sudden noise, Patton carded his fingers through his hair softly. ‘That’s wonderful, sweetie,’ he said, trying not to feel disheartened by the interruption to his and Virgil’s time together. ‘I think you’re very clever too.’

Roman appeared to vibrate. ‘And - and n-now Mom is gonna play with me!’

‘Well, I hope you win, little prince,’ Patton chuckled, enamoured by Roman’s sweet enthusiasm. Then he put on a loud stage-whisper, ‘Try to get the Tigger card!’

A deep gasp sounded from the doorway. ‘I heard that, Patton!’ Logan entered the room with a look of mock-offence. He held a red sippy cup in one hand and the stack of Pooh Cards in his other. ‘I cannot believe you’re conspiring against me.’

Patton giggled, twirling a lock of Virgil’s hair around his pinky. ‘I’m a supportive dad, I have to be on Roman’s side!’

‘Hm, I suppose I can concede that,’ Logan grumbled, throwing a quick smile Patton’s way. He handed Roman his sippy cup, praising him when he said, ‘Thank you’.

There was a quiet whine from Virgil and Patton rocked him a little. He was probably upset by the others being so close given his shy headspace at that moment.

‘Come here, little one,’ Logan called, moving to sit by the coffee table at the other side of the room. ‘I need you to teach me how to play.’

Roman did not react.

‘Sweetie, that’s you,’ Patton whispered, reaching out to squeeze Roman’s hand.

A blush overtook Roman as he looked over at his mom, a smile forming on his lips. ‘Me?’

‘Of course,’ Logan nodded. By the casual shuffling of the Pooh Cards in his hands, it almost appeared as if Logan didn’t recognise the gravity of calling Roman ‘little one’, though Patton knew his partner better than that. He knew that Logan must have noticed Roman’s need for coddling in the face of Virgil’s younger headspace.

Patton grinned as he watched Roman rush over, sitting as close to Logan as was physically possible.

Then he felt Virgil trying to burrow into his shoulder further and looked down. The boy’s neck was noticeably strained by the action since he had to stretch awkwardly seeing as he wasn’t in Patton’s lap like he usually was.

‘Do you wanna sit in Papa’s lap?’

A slight nod came in reply.

‘All right, on three. Ready?’ Patton secured his arms around Virgil’s back and under his diaper. ‘One, two… three!’ As he easily lifted Virgil onto his lap, he took the opportunity to subtly pat and pinch the diaper through the fabric of his onesie. Definitely wet. With a swell of satisfaction at being correct in his assumption, Patton lowered Virgil to his lap and kissed his head.

It hadn’t gone unnoticed though. Once he was sitting on Patton’s thighs, Virgil immediately whimpered and hid his face behind Meeko.

‘It’s okay, baby,’ Patton reassured, rocking him again. ‘Papa was just checking if you’re still dry.’

The explanation was met with a tiny squeak. Virgil lowered Meeko, revealing his pink cheeks and rattling the toy once more. Though he did not shake it with the same vigour he had earlier; this time Meeko was gently waved to and fro quite lazily. ‘Bababa,’ Virgil mumbled.

Apparently, the diaper check had comforted Virgil and reinforced his younger headspace. Patton sighed and held his baby closer. That was just utterly adorable.

Logan cleared his throat quite pointedly from the other side of the room, and when Patton met his eyes he mouthed silently: Is he dry?

Patton responded with a slight shake of his head. Then, strangely, he felt his lips curl into a smile. Even stranger, Logan mirrored it, and Patton was quite sure they must have been thinking the same thing:

That Virgil had had an accident again, but this time there was no sobbing. There was no hyperventilating. There was no panic attack. In fact, the only indication he had wet himself at all was the fact that he had been pushed back into his sleepy baby state, and that wasn’t a bad thing whatsoever!

Looking down at him now, it was clear to Patton that the diapers were a hugely positive change for Virgil. Despite his lethargic energy, his dimples were showing at the sides of his pacifier which bobbed lazily in his mouth. As he rattled Meeko softly, his eyes sparkled with babyish curiosity. He was calm and happy. It soothed Patton immensely.

oOo

As their time together went on, Patton and Virgil cuddled and played so much that it was impossible for Patton to wipe the cheesy grin from his face. He had rocked Virgil gently, tickled his cheek softly to watch him blush and giggle, dutifully kissed Meeko whenever Virgil held the toy up to Patton with a smile, and now…

‘Are you ready?’ Patton asked in his most exaggerated baby-talk voice. ‘Is my baby ready for more bounces?’

Virgil giggled and kicked his feet a little by Patton’s hips, facing him in his lap. Meeko was hugged tightly to his chest as he nodded.

‘Ahhhh…’ Patton started, securing his grip on Virgil’s shoulders. ‘Bouncy, bouncy baby!’ He bounced his legs on each syllable, making Virgil bob up and down in his lap with little squeals of happiness. ‘What a cute little stormcloud!’

Sweet laughter continued to tumble from behind Virgil’s pacifier. ‘Baba, g-gen!’

‘Again?’ Patton repeated, chuckling. They had been doing this for several minutes by that point, and his legs ached from the constant lifting. But who was he to deny his baby when his eyes glittered with such joy? ‘Okay. Last one, sweetie.’

There was no protest, only a squeak of anticipation. Virgil really was a sweet baby.

‘Ahhhhh… bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, bouncy baby!’

Delighted laughter escaped the pair and danced in the air surrounding both of them. Then Virgil smushed his face into Meeko and made a strangled, high-pitched sound. It was a common verbal stim when he was overwhelmed by happiness.

‘Oh my goodness,’ Patton gushed heartily, huddling Virgil closer in his lap and wrapping him in a tight hug. ‘You are the sweetest, squeakiest, most adorable little baby in the whole world.’ He emphasised his point by pressing a great number of kisses to Virgil’s cheek in quick succession.

Virgil suddenly whined quite desperately and pushed at Patton’s chest to be released from his hold. Feeling a rush of concern, Patton held Virgil at arm’s length, still supporting him but trying not to crowd him. ‘I’m sorry, was it a yucky feeling, honey?’ he asked, fearing he had set off Virgil’s sensory sensitivities.

Though Virgil still smiled and promptly held Meeko up in front of Patton’s face.

Patton bit his tongue through a wide smile. ‘Why hello again, Meeko! Would you like some kissies too?’

‘Mnh,’ Virgil hummed insistently, rattling the toy a little.

Chuckling, Patton leaned forward and pressed a loud, ‘Mwah!’ right on Meeko’s button nose. When he pulled back, Virgil dropped Meeko to his lap and held Patton’s cheeks softly between his hands.

Patton was frozen in place. His brain simply couldn’t handle the adorableness.

‘Dad, Dad, look!’

Patton held Virgil’s hands softly to stop him from squishing his cheeks for a moment. Looking over to the coffee table, he saw that Roman was holding a full deck of Pooh Cards up to him with a triumphant smile.

‘Yay, you won again!’ Patton cheered, laughing when Virgil giggled and poked his cheeks again. ‘Well done, my clever little prince!

‘He’s a complete expert at this game,’ Logan said, stretching his back with a click. It must have been an awkward position to be sat on the floor hunched over the coffee table for so long (though exactly how long Patton wasn’t sure, he didn’t care to check the time.) ‘I don’t think I will ever be able to outsmart you at Pooh Cards, Roman.’

It was clear that Logan had purposefully let Roman win every game from the snippets of laughter and dramatic sighs Patton had heard as they played. Though Roman either hadn’t clocked it or didn’t care about it going by his extreme happiness.

‘How about we have some hunnypots and haycorns to celebrate?’ Patton suggested, knowing the cookies would have been set by then.

‘Why don’t you and Virgil go and pick them for us - only one each,’ Logan hastily added with his eyebrows raised at Patton. It was a fair point to make; as much as he and Logan didn’t care much for sweets and would be happy enough to share one cookie between them, Patton probably would have let the boys have several if that’s what they so wished. He was grateful Logan was there to be a sort of filter for his blind generosity sometimes. ‘Meanwhile, I think Roman and I may need to expel a bit of excess energy.’

By him and Roman, Logan obviously only meant the creative side, who was currently shaking and fidgeting quite energetically in his place on the carpet. It was true that a quiet card game was quite a rare activity for the hyperactive boy, as was obvious by the energy overspilling from him.

Patton nodded, holding Virgil closely against his side as he stood from the armchair. ‘Okay, let’s go pick some yummy cookies for everyone, baby!’

As Patton carried Virgil to the kitchen, he heard Logan set up the soundtrack to The Tigger Movie on the speakers. It was followed by the unmistakable sound of Roman launching to his feet and starting to jump and dance around.

‘All right, can you look up for me, Vee?’ They were stood in front of the rack of multicoloured cookies now. Virgil lifted his head from Patton’s shoulder and made a hum of interest when he saw the treats. ‘Good boy. Now you’ve got a really important job: I need you to pick some pretty cookies for everyone!’

Virgil pointed at himself with a surprise in his eyes.

‘Uh-huh,’ Patton nodded, jostling Virgil further onto his hip with one arm as he picked up a plate from the drying rack.

‘Baba,’ Virgil mumbled, and Patton looked down to see he was pointing at a cookie that had gone slightly wrong. It was originally a haycorn but as the cookies all spread in the oven it had been crowded against the corner of the baking tray, becoming misshapen and wonky. It was coated in pink icing.

‘This one?’ Patton lay the plate on the counter and picked up the cookie to hold it in front of Virgil.

‘Wub!’

‘You love it?’ Patton asked.

Virgil shook his head and pointed at it again. ‘Harp!’

‘Oh, you’re right,’ Patton smiled, looking at the cookie in a new light. ‘It does look like a heart! That means it’s a special love cookie.’

‘Beshul?’

‘Very special.’ He pressed a kiss to Virgil’s head. ‘Just like my special little baby. Do you want this one, honey?’

In response, Virgil suddenly pushed at Patton’s hand and the cookie got lodged between Patton’s teeth. He giggled in surprise, pulling the cookie back out of his mouth. ‘You want this to be Papa’s one?’

‘Wub Papa!’

Just as Patton thought there were no more harsh, icy emotions in him to thaw, he positively melted at Virgil’s innocent love confession. He smiled and placed the cookie on the plate. ‘I love you too, baby. I think me and Mama can share that one. Now do you wanna pick one for your brother?’

After some quite serious deliberation, Virgil had decided on a green haycorn for his brother and a yellow hunnypot for himself. Patton carried both his baby and the plate of haycorn cookies back to the living room. The hunnypot cookie was held in Virgil’s fingers as he suckled on the edge of it (Patton had stored his pacifier in the pocket of his cardigan, making a mental note to invest in a pacifier clip for the future). It seemed their bouncing game had tired him out once more, as Virgil’s head promptly dropped back to Patton’s shoulder once his task was complete.

‘I’m putting your cookies on the table, you two,’ Patton announced over the sound of Tigger’s theme song once they had returned to the living room. He swerved himself and Virgil around Roman as he bounced (and Logan who bounced only when Roman looked at him, then stopped once Roman looked away), careful not to bump anyone as he lay the plate on the coffee table.

Patton then settled into the middle of the couch with a sigh, letting Virgil drop to his lap again. Thankfully the music was not overly loud and Virgil seemed unbothered by it as he sucked quite lazily on his cookie.

‘Is that yummy, sweetheart?’

The soggy cookie left Virgil’s lips and was held up to Patton’s. He humoured his baby by pretending to nibble it and humming in enthusiastic approval. ‘Ooh, that’s lovely! Mm-mm, very yummy. Thank you, Vee.’

It satisfied Virgil as he smiled and continued sucking on it himself, nuzzling further into Patton’s hold.

Soon Roman had gotten tired of bouncing and Logan switched the music to set up the next chapter of their Winnie-the-Pooh audiobook, claiming that it was quiet time now.

While Logan was preoccupied, Roman had finished his cookie deftly in three bites (making Patton giggle) then he approached the couch quite shyly. ‘Dad, can I…’

‘You wanna cuddle too?’ Patton asked softly, smiling in encouragement.

The acknowledgement of Roman’s unspoken request was apparently enough permission for him and he practically jumped into the spot beside Patton.

‘Excuse me, I believe you are in my spot,’ Logan announced on his way back to the couch. As Roman made a noise of offence, Logan pulled him up from the seat to collapse into it himself.

‘Hey, I was -’ Roman started whining, but cut himself off with a yelp when Logan swiftly tugged him back down into his own lap. Roman’s cheeks flushed pink and he clammed up.

‘You were saying?’ Logan asked in a lightly teasing tone.

Patton shook his head at their silliness. It was strange that whenever the two showed affection to each other they seemed to want to set it off with jokes and teasing. Though as Patton rocked Virgil in his lap delicately, he realised it wasn’t really for him to judge how they showed affection. As long as his family was happy, he was happy. And it was clear from Virgil’s sleepy hums and Roman’s blushing cheeks bunched in a smile and Logan’s soft chuckles that his family were all perfectly happy.

His gaze dawdled a little on his partner until Logan’s eyes met his and softened, crinkling with a smile. Patton bit his lip and looked down, feeling bizarrely like a shy, lovestruck teenager.

‘Dad, can I have a kiss?’

The question threw Patton a little, not ever having heard such a blunt request for affection from Roman. It was unexpected but made Patton extremely proud of his son for being brave enough to ask.

‘Of course, little prince!’ He leaned up slightly to press a firm kiss to Roman’s cheek, noting a very light stubble there.

‘And now Vee!’ Roman immediately cried once Patton had sunk back to his seat.

Patton chuckled at Roman’s strange antics, but complied, pressing a softer kiss to Virgil’s head. The baby squeaked and buried his cheek further into Patton’s shoulder. Some gingerbread crumbs littered Patton’s cardigan, but he hardly cared.

Then Roman spoke again, ‘Now Mom!’ His voice was all childish innocence, whereas his eyes screamed pure scheming adult.

A short, surprised huff escaped Patton as he looked over to Logan. His cheeks felt warm.

‘Well,’ Logan hummed, his lips pulling into a shy, crooked smile, ‘I suppose you have kissed everyone else.’ He looked down at Patton expectedly. ‘It’s only fair, right?’

Patton thought his face would split in two with how he beamed with a smile. No more hiding, no more sneaking around. Not needing to be told twice, he pushed forward, thankful that Logan leaned down to meet him in a quick kiss. It was entirely chaste, lasting a fraction of the time all of their previous kisses had done, but it lingered in Logan’s blush and Patton’s smile as they pulled back from each other.

The look of absolute calm in Logan’s eyes instilled such an overwhelming feeling of content in him that Patton had to take a slow, measured breath. Everything is going to be all right, Logan’s eyes seemed to whisper. I love you and I believe in you, I believe in us, and I believe in our family. We’re all going to be all right.

And Patton believed that. He knew things weren’t perfect, that they might never be. That Roman would not overcome his insecurities overnight, that Logan was still struggling to balance sternness and playfulness, that Virgil still struggled with asking for help and that they would have to deal with the repercussions of Virgil coming out of this new headspace likely confused. Reluctantly, Paton also acknowledged that there might have been something to his own caregiver headspace that was less than ideal if his jealousy and clinginess earlier were anything to go by.

Still, in that exact moment, everything was fine. They weren’t going anywhere. They would continue to be a family no matter what. They had plenty of time to address these difficult things. Presently, Patton just wanted to appreciate the rest of the evening in peace.

‘Is everyone ready?’ Logan asked, holding his phone up to show that the audiobook was ready to play.

Virgil breathed deeply, still sucking his cookie. Roman nodded and scurried back in Logan’s lap to lean back against him.

When Logan’s questioning gaze turned to him, Patton simply nodded and shuffled on the couch to rest his head on Logan’s shoulder. ‘Ready.’

A gentle kiss from Logan pressed to his head and Patton held Virgil closer with one arm while reaching to hold Roman’s hand with the other. He knew now that the perfect family wasn’t possible. Though being surrounded by the three people he held dear in his heart, Patton also knew that this was the closest anyone could get.

‘Chapter Ten, in which Christopher Robin gives a Pooh Party, and we say good-bye…’

⤛ The End ⤜

oOo

Reblogs and likes are greatly appreciated! ♡

AO3 link | Bonus chapter

#agere virgil #Little Virgil #agedre roman #little roman #cg logan #cg patton #ts agere #sanders sides agere #little/big series #little/big series fics #little accidents big developments

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juiceboxesheadcanons · 4 years ago

Note

I finally figured out how to send asks on mobile :D Got any headcanons for how Illumi, Hisoka, (plus gon and Killua if it's not too much trouble) would decorate for Christmas? I just think that would be kinda poggers UwU

YESSSS I DO ACTUALLY! CANT WAIT TILL CHRISTMAS GUYS! I decided to just pin this post until the end of December so if anybody else wants any Christmas headcanons I’ll just add it here and I did put extra characters/headcanons because of that reason and if you want me to add anybody else just send in a request about it! (also dont mind the random juiceboxes I just left them out bc I don’t feel like adding new ones when adding random hc’s.) THANKS SO MUCH FOR REQUESTING! I’ll finish illumi and hisoka later but my food just arrived so I’m gonna go start on that first :)

Hunter x Hunter Christmas Event! This Event Includes The Main 4, The Adult Trio, The Phantom Troupe, The Zoldyck Family, The Freecss Family, And The Minor Characters!

Illumi

🧃 rich kid is gonna be the one with either nothing but a tree or literally is gonna go to the point of fake snow on the stair rails

🧃 it’s either nerf or nothing for this man. either go all out or don’t go at all mf

🧃 he likes Christmas except the fact it’s cold, girlie isn’t a fan of cold weather

🧃 he’ll probably do the jazz with the gingerbread cookies tho :’)

🧃 but yeah his tree’s gonna look like the ones in the movies with like all the height and the little balls with the perfect star on top bc babie is perfect so his tree should be too ✨

🧃 he says he doesn’t want anything but if you actually get him something he’ll be so touched-

🧃 he maybe will take a day off of fuck knows what to spend Christmas with anybody-

🧃 okay we all know he’s spending Christmas with hisoka and we can’t change that

🧃 poor baby he just wants to be held and feel the feeling of warmth again so he is a fan of hot chocolate

🧃 will not go out in the snow but he will go with you or anybody that wants to go outside and play

🧃 he isn’t a fan of dressing up but he’ll take his s/o out on a Christmas date (I will do a mini scenario/hc’s for this if you guys want.)

Hisoka

🧃 I feel if he wasn’t a pedophile or mass murderer they would hire him to work as a mall Santa Claus.

🧃 he’d probably do a color coded thing and the whole house would be that color

🧃 this mf would buy a gift for himself-

🧃 he wouldn’t do anything to his room and the biggest ick about him I have is that he has nothing in his room but a bed, dresser, desk, lamp, and nightstand like only the necessities so he wouldn’t do that much.

🧃 if he had a kid he’d 100% to elf on the shelf until they were like 16 years old and even use his nen ability to secretly make them move so the kid would believe in the magic for a while

🧃 he’s forcing illumi to come over cause he doesn’t want the little shit to be alone and sad on Christmas.

🧃 he got illumi a present

🧃 not a fan of those childish Christmas films but he’s pretty fond of the romance ones tbh

🧃 he literally never ends up under the mistletoe because everybody’s avoiding it so they won’t have to kiss the scary guy-

🧃 he can COOK asf so he’ll def make a feast for him and his s/o or just friends :)

Killua

🧃 he’s gonna be the most fun with all this, he want everything either blue, purple, or white. Literally he hates doing shit and not perfecting it (nikki minaj??)

🧃 he’d be the one to act like a mom saying “stupid I’m not buying that it’s too expensive!” and then you wake up with it under the tree- “you thought you weren’t getting it didn’t you?” I stg he is literally EVERY SINGLE MOTHER ON EARTH and it’s not even funny.

🧃 he wants to go play in the snow and make snow angels but he won’t say anything until you say something

🧃 hc that his ears and nose turn kinda red when it’s cold

🧃 he’s literally cooking a red velvet cake and there is no point in stopping him

🧃 he probably isn’t a morning christmas guy, he’s all for around 11-12 gifts so then you guys can bake cookies and play in the snow a ton because you got some energy stored up

🧃 this mf wants chocolate robots for Christmas and probably at one point in his life asked Santa for a new family but he didn’t deliver ig. (Illumi probably wrote him a fake Santa note saying that his family was better than everybody else’s.)

🧃 his parents forced him to go sing those fucking Christmas songs when they know damn well those kids sound ratchet.

🧃 he ALWAYS ends up under the mistletoe with somebody. Even if it’s unintentional it always happens.

🧃 a giant fan of wreaths for some reason? He puts one on every door.

Gon

🧃 his favorite holiday is Christmas so ohhh boy this is gonna be magical-

🧃 red green and white colors. you cannot change his mind literally that is what colors are in his head as soon as he hears the word Christmas.

🧃 the tree’s gonna be HUGE and he’s gonna want to decorate every room in the house. The bathroom, your room, his room, and yes he is that one neighbor with the fucking big ass lights outside-

🧃 he is a firm Santa believer he doesn’t take criticism.

🧃 literally is going to wake everybody up at 6 fucking am to open gifts and everybody is gonna do it because can we really resist his pouty face? no.

🧃 the joy on his face opening any gifts make it a fucking can of baked beans makes it all worth losing about 3-4 hours of sleep :,)

🧃 he probably wants toys for Christmas, I get he’s 14 but hxh doesn’t exactly have too much social media so he wouldn’t be trying to grow up too fast

🧃 he would get matching sleepwear for everybody except for some fucking reason it actually will look cute and he won’t just settle for a ugly ass tight suffocating elf sweater.

🧃 he believes Christmas is about spending time with your family and probably donated his old toys to a center so kids who didn’t have toys got some :)

🧃 he’s gonna make sure everybody has a good time, like every single person. it’s a main protagonist thing I guess but I mean I applaud him for it.

🧃 doesn’t quite ever end up under the mistletoe with anybody but if he happened to he’d giggle and kiss their cheek in a friendly way.

Leorio

🧃 he’s gonna reuse the same fucking plastic wrinkled tree he’s been using for 12 years because the tree prices are “insane” even on sale.

🧃 he would be the one a Walmart ringing the little bell and forcing kurapika to sing with him because he needs the money.

🧃 his house is the one with rainbow colored little balls and it’s so ghetto but at the same time adorable

🧃 he is literally that one neighbor who gets the most snow and it’s the snow that’s basically ice and will take around 6 good days to shovel up.

🧃 maybe wont shovel out the snow too early because he wants killua and gon to have fun.

🧃 he wants money for Christmas and nothing more, but kurapika tells him money isn’t a real gift and to ask for something else

🧃 even not being a morning person, he LIVES for morning Christmas.

🧃 probably eats snow.

🧃 he would try to cook and it might work actually

🧃 miss girl is plopped right down right next to gon watching elf on the shelf movies

🧃 he wears the Santa hat and is lowkey twinning with kurapika-

Kurapika

🧃 this bitch is gonna make you wait all fucking day to open gifts 😀

🧃 he thinks afternoon/nigh Christmas is the best. On Christmas eve he would literally sit down and watch movies with killua and gon for exactly 2 hours while leorio waits outside because kurapika wants him to sound like there’s somebody on the roof and kurapika can put the two children to bed and get a break for the rest of the night to finish gift wrapping and food making

🧃 hella good at wrapping gifts- commercial wrapping mf.

🧃 he thinks a white color coded Christmas looks best

🧃 he’d give killua and gon like 150$ to buy Christmas stuff for their rooms and that’s lowkey just him trying his best he doesn’t know what the fuck else to do he isn’t a mom-

🧃 he might teach the other 3 traditional kurta songs his clan and him sung on Christmas.

🧃 he’s twinning with leorio cause he got the reindeer ears I mean get it ig-

🧃 leorio is BEGGING kurapika to let him get a couple of drinks and kurapika’s like “YOURE GONNA STAY SOBER AND YOURE GONNA LIKE IT BITCH.”

🧃 he may or may not boys whatever they asked for and accidently on purpose use leorio’s credit card-

🧃 he just wants everybody to be happy, but can we blame him? it’s Christmas why wouldn’t he?

🧃 okay all wholesomeness aside he’s making leorio shovel the driveway.

Chrollo

🧃 he thinks this is like a romance thing

🧃 he’ll probably steal a gift or 2 for you ya know

🧃 I feel he’s the mf to have a black Christmas tree or a white one theres no in between

🧃 cookies are a yes

🧃 just go watch a classic romance movie one with him, it’ll give ya clear skin ma

🧃 he won’t decorate outside but inside will look magical asf

🧃 I think personally he’d wear a santa hat

🧃 probably would make a big phat juicy meal just for the two of you and he’d get gifts for the troupe if they cared about celebration

🧃 I feel the troupe isn’t big on that holiday stuff but if you felt like celebrating with him he’d be over the moon

🧃 he got that big tree though for no reason, he also takes the tree down the day after Christmas

🧃 Probably would give you a gift everyday leading up to christmas

Feitan

🧃 He probably was forced to sing carols and ring the bell on christmas as a kid-

🧃 he doesn’t really care much and won’t care to decorate but may or may not get you gifts

🧃 if you get him something he’ll have a small smile behind his mask

🧃 he doesn’t wanna be in the cold just make some hot chocolate and watch a movie with him jeez

🧃 probably will wear reindeer horns if you insist

🧃 his favorite holiday is halloween but christmas is nice I guess

🧃 he probably would spend his entire day if he didn’t have a s/o with shalnark seeing who could figure out the christmas word find fastest

🧃 he’s gonna just see if theres anything he could steal for anybody

🧃 doesn’t bother with snow at all if there is snow he just doesn’t care to go outside when we got a perfectly nice house

🧃 firm believer in christmas isn’t about family it’s about gifts

🧃 he’s gonna get you something expensive though

Alluka

🧃 alluka the sweet princess is literally the neighbor that has the biggest brightest lights

🧃 she probably had her big brother killua come help her

🧃 her christmas tree is pink and white, and she decorated every square foot of her house

🧃 Christmas is her favorite holiday :)

🧃 she get’s everybody gifts and for christmas she wants some toys maybe to go shopping or something

🧃 snow angels are a must 100%

🧃 firm santa believer doesn’t take criticism.

🧃 she’s gonna be so happy just to spend time with people honestly even if nanika comes out she’s just gonna be happy

🧃 her gingerbread houses look absolutely amazing like please become a house builder sis-

🧃 she’s wearing matching sleepwear with killua and gon, probably doing a elf santa and reindeer theme which is adorable

🧃 this is the best day of her life and I’m living for it.

machi

🧃 This bitch is not a fan of anything

🧃 she want’s to paint those little christmas ball things and yeah

🧃 probably says she doesn’t want anything but some jewels or bracelets would be nice

🧃 also isn’t a fan of snow but her house doesn’t get much to be honest

🧃 for the troupe she gives them like some bakery idem she made because why not that’s her family after all

🧃 probably wears fluffy socks on christmas and they’re like really adorable she just doesn’t realize it

🧃 she probably got something extra for shizuku idk I head canon them to be friends :)

🧃 she wont steal anything probably will buy or make it

🧃 omg machi stitching little christmas sweaters and socks omg that’s the highlight of my mother fucking day

🧃 her house if she decorates, is red and white.

Pakunoda

🧃 omg this beautiful woman I love so much

🧃 her house is white and blue and it’s all pretty

🧃 she has lights and stuff but doesn’t like overdo it or anything because she isn’t that jolly but might decorate a tree or two

🧃 she donates to animal shelters on christmas and literally it’s so cute

🧃 will probably get the troupe something specific that fits them or that they like because she isn’t trying to get somebody useless shit

🧃 for her s/o she’ll go out in the snow with them if they’d want

🧃 she buys the best gifts like that one aunt you don’t wanna give kisses but they always come through except we do wanna kiss her asf

🧃 she’ll wear machis socks that machi made her :,)

🧃 probably is the best person to have on christmas because just look at her

🧃 cuddles are everything just let’s just hug her while she watching a movie yes

Shalnark

🧃

Phinks

🧃

Uvo

🧃

Shizuku

🧃

Mito

🧃 yes

🧃 she thinks christmas is all about family

🧃 def an adult who says that they don’t want anything

🧃 she loves gons little handmade gifts or cards though

🧃 she decorates the house whatever way gon would want to cause you know he’s the only kid in the house

🧃 so basically her family has like a huge feast and everything and the food slaps

🧃 she makes gon wear this adorable sleepwear thing cause she thinks its cute

🧃 won’t let gon near any gifts before christmas

🧃 she’ll bundle gon up like a burrito if he wants to play in the snow which is adorable

🧃 she’s the mom like “you thought you wasn’t gonna get that huh? oh you welcome baby.”

Kalluto

🧃 this small little boy omg

🧃 he loves christmas but nobody really pays attention to him so he’s a little sad

🧃 with the troupe if they get him something he’ll be so excited but you won’t be able to tell :(

🧃 he’ll give people stuff because to him this is probably the most spirt he gets

🧃 he might just go sit out in the snow to enjoy the scenery

🧃 he enjoys christmas eve most because of the vibes

🧃 doesn’t believe in santa but you know he’ll let alluka believe in it

🧃 probably a bit hurt killua wants to celebrate with alluka but not him tho

🧃 will ask killua if he wants anything def

🧃 might get illumi and milluki something if they let him

Milluki

🧃 he is always cooped up in the zoldyck house so they probably don’t decorate or celebrate but he still enjoys it

🧃 if illumi or something gets him a new game he’ll pretend he doesn’t care but he’ll appreciate it :)

🧃 he loves snow like yes

🧃 he might ask his siblings for something because his bitch ass parents wont buy him anything

🧃 yeah he doesn’t rlly give af but like yes

🧃 he probably just wants a new game or figure

🧃 he might go online and talk to his online friends to see what they got and watch hauls on yt

🧃 probably the mf to want something that arrives in like july like damn pick something else

🧃 wont get anybody else anything sadly

🧃 we stan milluki here

THATS IT FOR NOW!! IM PLANNING ON ADDING SHALNARK, PHINKS, UVO, SHIZUKU SO IF YOU HAVE ANY OTHER CHARACTERS YOU WANT JUST SEND IN REQUESTS! 😁🧃 this event does not include nsfw.

#christmas #hunter x hunter #hxh #christmas event

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emmerrr · 5 years ago

Note

Neil has never had Christmas cookies (even those not too sweet shortbread ones or the extra gingery gingerbread men) and Andrew is personally offended. So of course he takes it upon himself to remedy the situation. “Shut up, Josten, they’re just cookies.” For the winter fic prompt.

this isn’t quite what you asked for because i’ve grown kind of allergic to headcanons that are like ‘neil has never [fill the blank]’, but i can absolutely write cute holiday cookie shenanigans for you! :)

The smell of cinnamon and cloves filled the hallway of the third floor of Fox Tower. Andrew followed his nose to the girls’ room, and Neil followed Andrew.

In the kitchen was organised chaos; Renee rolling out dough on the counter, Dan pulling out a cooked batch from the oven, Matt icing cooled gingerbread men, powdered sugar smeared across his cheek. Nicky and Allison were also there, Allison sitting on the breakfast bar reading a magazine, and Nicky doing little else other than getting in the way by the looks of things.

Matt looked up at Neil and Andrew’s entrance. “Oh good, you guys can help now, me and Dan are going to the movies and Renee needs happy helpers.”

Andrew rolled up his sleeves, putting his armbands on full display. “How about indifferent helpers,” he offered.

“I’ll take it,” said Renee.

“What are we helping with?” Neil asked.

“Cookie making,” Renee said, then took in Neil’s confused expression. “For the bake sale?”

Neil knew about the bake sale; all the PSU sport’s teams were putting one on to raise money for the children’s hospital over the holidays. For some reason he hadn’t considered they’d have to actually…bake stuff.

“Ah. That.”

“We’ve got it down to an art-form,” Renee said cheerily. “A fine-tuned machine.”

“Where does Allison fit into this assembly line?” Andrew asked.

“I’m project manager,” Allison said without looking up from her magazine.

“And Nicky?”

“Quality control,” he said with a grin, picking up one of the finished cookies and biting off a leg.

“Hey, quit eating the product, this is for charity,” Matt said, swatting Nicky’s hand away.

“You’re absolutely right,” Nicky said in a faux-apologetic tone, holding his swiped gingerbread man out to Matt. “Here, this one’s an amputee. We can make him little gingerbread crutches.”

Matt scowled, but Renee smiled patiently. “Just eat it, Nicky. But no more, okay?”

“Scout’s honour,” he said solemnly, hand over heart. Neil was pretty sure that wasn’t how the boy scout salute actually went, but whatever.

“Matt, come on,” Dan said. “You need to shower before we go, you’re covered in powdered sugar.”

“What?” His hands flew to his face. “Where?”

“Right there.”

He wiped at his face, smearing it even worse and adding some more for good measure. Dan sighed with fond exasperation and took his hand. “...Yeah, you got it, babe. Let’s go.”

They said their goodbyes and went to get ready in Matt’s suite, leaving Andrew and Neil to take their places. Neil stood in the middle of the kitchen for a moment, looking at all the bare cookies that still needed to be decorated. He’d never felt more out of his depth, and he’d been involved in a mob war.

Andrew flicked his nose lightly. “They’re cookies, Neil. They won’t bite.”

“That’s funny,” Neil deadpanned. “You’re funny.”

“I’m a regular comedian.”

Renee swooped over and handed Andrew a piping bag. “Have you decorated gingerbread men before?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Once or twice.”

“Great. Do whatever you want, just within reason, okay? Nothing rude.”

“Renee, who do you take me for?”

She just smiled serenely and Andrew headed over to the decoration station. Renee turned to Neil.

“In a couple of minutes, a timer’s going to go off, and when it does I need you to take the baked cookies out of the oven, and put in that last batch of uncooked ones. Can you do that for me?”

It sounded easy enough. “Got it.”

While he was waiting for the timer to go off, Neil washed up the dishes that had been soaking in the sink. Allison and Nicky had now moved over to the sitting area, and Allison was painting Nicky’s nails.

“So you two are really just not gonna help at all, huh,” Neil remarked.

“I’d love to, but like...my nails,” Nicky said, wiggling his now pastel orange fingertips Neil’s way.

“I’m really better in a moral support kind of role,” Allison added, looking up at Renee with a smirk. “Right, babe?”

“You’re lucky you’re so pretty,” Renee retorted, and Allison snorted a laugh.

The timer went off, and Neil removed the cookies and set them on the side, then put the new ones in and reset the timer.

He dried the dishes, then moved the baked cookies to a cooling rack.

“What now?” he asked Renee.

She looked up from decorating. “Now you can grab a piping bag and come do some decorating.”

He’d kind of been hoping to avoid this part, but he went over to have a look.

Renee was giving all of her gingerbread people festive jumpers with patterns that looked like they should take ages to do but somehow she was speeding through it, and they all looked identical.

There was a bunch of finished ones on the other counter that Matt and Dan must have done. They were all pretty basic, with smiley faces and buttons, reminiscent of ones Neil had seen in stores. He was fairly confident that he could recreate something similar.

Andrew hadn’t said a word since Renee had sent him over to start decorating, and he was now hunched over a cookie with his piping bag as he worked, the tip of his tongue poking out in concentration. Neil smiled and went over.

“Can I see?”

Andrew shifted back so Neil could have a look. The gingerbread Andrew was currently icing wasn’t yet finished, but it had the outline of a Foxes jersey on, black hair, and a tiny little queen chess piece on its cheek.

Neil grinned. “It’s Kevin.”

“It will be,” Andrew said, and continued icing. Neil looked past him at the ones Andrew had already finished.

There was a Renee, complete with her pastel dipped hair, and a Wymack with his tribal tattoos and a whistle around his neck. And next to them, with auburn hair and a number 10 jersey, was a Neil.

“You made a gingerbread me,” he said with quiet awe. The icing on the Neil cookie was the driest; Andrew had clearly decorated this one first.

“I did,” Andrew said, without looking up.

“You’re making the Foxes.”

Andrew sighed. “What’s your point.”

“My point is that you could have decorated these however you wanted, and you specifically chose to make us. Your team.”

He looked up. “It’s not my fault I have to spend all my time with you assholes.”

“Yes it is,” Neil said, smirking. “You love us.”

“I tolerate you.”

“What’s going on?” Nicky called over.

“Andrew’s making the Foxes as gingerbread men because he loves us,” Neil replied, without dropping Andrew’s gaze. The corner of Andrew’s mouth twitched, almost a smile.

“Awww, Andrew!” Nicky exclaimed. “Make mine the prettiest.”

Andrew waved a hand at his cousin, agreement or dismissal, it was hard to say. Quietly, just for Neil, he said, “You’re a real pain in the ass.”

“I know.” Neil grabbed a piping bag filled with black royal icing and got to work.

Andrew paused in his own decorating to peer over Neil’s shoulder, and it didn’t take long for him to sigh when he realised what Neil was doing.

“You’re so predictable,” he drawled.

“You started it.”

Neil finished outlining gingerbread-Andrew’s second armband and hurriedly filled it in. “Renee, where’s the yellow, I need to do his hair.”

It took him ages to finish this one cookie, but he finally had a passable Andrew, complete with a tiny cigarette. He put it next to gingerbread-Neil, and Andrew snapped a picture of them with his phone.

“For Dan’s photo wall?” Neil asked dryly.

“Beats getting my own photo taken,” Andrew said with a shrug. “I wonder if I can use this for my student ID...”

Nicky came up behind them and got a good look at their creations. “Oh my god, I want the Kevin one. And look at the little gingerbread-yous! They’re adorable. You guys are adorable.”

“We’re also finished now,” Andrew said, brushing his hand against Neil’s. “Your turn, Nicky. And Allison.”

“Oh what? I’ve already been here all afternoon!” Nicky complained.

“And what a help you’ve been,” Renee said, her tone not betraying any sarcasm, but her smile definitely did.

“Yeah, come on,” Allison said, finally deigning to come over now the bulk of the work was done. “I want to make a prettier me than Andrew did. Although,” she allowed, “that’s not bad.”

“Maybe if stick-ball doesn’t work out I have a promising future in niche cookie decorating then,” he said. “Renee, we’re out.”

“Thanks for your help, guys!” she said with a wave, and Andrew took Neil’s hand properly, leading him out and up to the roof.

It was cold up there, but it wasn’t so bad huddled together, sharing cigarettes and kisses.

“I can’t believe I got away with only decorating one cookie,” Neil said.

“It did take you, like, half an hour.”

“Still. You did loads.”

Andrew shrugged. “In fairness, yours was the best one.”

Neil took Andrew’s hand, warming it between his own. “It was, wasn’t it?”

Andrew pressed a kiss to Neil’s jaw then leaned his head on his shoulder. “Don’t get cocky, Neil.”

He squeezed Andrew’s hand. “Too late.”

#the foxhole court #andreil #tumblr prompts #tfc fic #tfc

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tarjear · 5 years ago

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Norwegian Christmas

I don’t actually know how Norwegian christmas differs from how others celebrate it, so I’ll just make a bit of a rundown of our best known traditions, and hopefully someone will find this at least somewhat interesting!

In Norway, we celebrate advent, which starts in late November or early December, and lasts until the last sunday before christmas eve. Each sunday in advent we usually drink ‘gløgg’ and eat gingerbread, and we light candles in a traditional advent wreath, containing four candles, one for each sunday in advent. Gløgg, for the uninitiated, is a spiced drink served hot, usually with red wine. It’s really good, and we only drink it for christmas and advent. Also, in advent, children get calendars with chocolate or presents, or one of both, and you open one present and get one chocolate each day in December until christmas eve.

We sort of kick off christmas the day before christmas eve, when we eat the traditional rice porridge. Tradition dictates that there be an almond in the rice porridge, and whoever gets the almond wins a pig made out of marzipan. It’s also common to put up christmas decorations after the children have gone to bed.

Christmas eve is the day when we actually celebrate christmas. Kids wake up to a decorated house, and a stocking filled with candy. I don’t know what most people do on christmas eve, but we don’t do much until 4 or 5 pm, other than eat candy and watch TV. A christmas eve tradition is going to the graveyard, and putting a candle and a flower or wreath on your deceased loved ones’ graves. During my childhood, we went to church, but I’m the only one in my family keeping up that tradition. At 5, when the sermon is over, the church bells toll, officially marking the start of the christmas celebrations. After church, people usually go home to eat their traditional christmas dinners; 'pinnekjøtt’, ‘ribbe’ or ‘lutefisk’.

Pinnekjøtt (literally meaning ‘stick meat’), which is what my family always has, is basically dried lambs ribs, boiled together with sticks og birchwood. We serve it with boiled potatoes and mashed swede (the vegetable).

Ribbe, is basically pork ribs, cooked in the oven. We serve it with vegetables, cabbage (seen to the left), apples, prunes, sauce and sausages. The most important part of the pork rib, is that the skin should be crispy.

Lutefisk is probably the most controversial of the traditional christmas foods. It’s fish that has been treated with lye (you know, caustic soda), rinsed for a couple of days, and then cooked in the oven. We serve it with mashed peas, potatoes, bacon and mustard. Some people swear to lutefisk with brown cheese and syrup, but that’s not something I’m used to.

After dinner, we open presents, and after that we just eat snacks, watch TV, read, that sort of thing.

On christmas day, most people have some sort of get together. In my childhood we used to have a second christmas dinner (ribbe), at my grandmas place, where we also opened the gifts from my grandma and grandpa.

After christmas day, I don’t think we have many ‘national’ traditions, we just relax, go to christmas parties, and eat lots of food.

We have some traditions that might not be uniquely Norwegian, but which I think are worth mentioning.

For christmas, all major comic books (as in ‘funny books’, not like, Batman) get a christmas edition, with christmas stories in them.

If you’re celebrating the old fashioned way, you’re supposed to bake at least seven different kinds of christmas cookies. Some of the most usual are pictured here. Going clockwise from the left we have:

Sandkaker, berlinerkranser, krumkaker, smultringer, sirupssnipper, fattigmann, goro.

There are, of course, several others you can make. Gingerbread is one kind most families have for christmas. I think that baking the traditional seven kinds is sort of unusual today, we don’t have housewives, and you’re not expected to bake all seven. I want to bake all seven ‘when I grow up’, but this year I sadly only had time to make caramellized almonds. Fattigmann is one of my favourites, but it has sort of gone out of fashion in recent years. Translated it means ‘poor man’, and that’s because the recipe calls for quite a few egg yolks, and some cognac, which were expensive back in the day. In Norwegian folklore, we also have little gnome-like creatures which look a bit like Santa Claus. According to the stories, they used to live in peoples barns, and on Christmas Eve, you were supposed to bring out a portion of rice porridge to the one living on your farm. We call them ‘nisser’, which is the same term we ended up using for Santa, whom we call ‘Julenissen’.

I’m sorry if the post is a bit rambly, but I hope some of you guys find it interesting! Image credits:

Pinnekjøtt: https://www.matmerk.no/cms/images/600/824/824/pinnekjoett_voss_kjoettind.jpg Ribbe: https://www.viover60.no/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/ribbe1-702x336.jpg Christmas cakes: https://1.vgc.no/drpublish/images/article/2017/12/08/24206482/1/big_10/2591657.jpg Lutefisk: Me.

#christmas #traditions #Norway

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chaoticneutralwriter · 6 years ago

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The Grinch Who Stole New Year

You no longer like Christmas, you love Christmas. But perhaps it was still your heart that grew three sizes before the end of the year.

guardiandemon!Jimin x reader

genre: slice of life, supernatural, fluff, comedy

word count: 4.4k

A/n: You know me, I never get stuff out on time LOLL But to make up for it, I tried to do a mash up of the two big holiday/season into this one drabble. Hope everyone’s had a great holiday and a happy New Year! 2019, let’s get this bread. Forewarning; it’s half unedited so....asfsdkgh

December 31st

“You look awfully happy.” Jaehee comments from the kitchen threshold. You glance up only briefly, not bothering to hide the dopey, wide smile you currently have. It makes Jaehee laugh before she asks, “Is it the guy you told me about?”

You sputter, nearly knocking out the lone ear bud you’re wearing with how you jostle your laptop to indignantly squawk, “As if!” You take a hold of your laptop and turn it just slightly to show her your paused screen, cooing affectionately as you say, “It’s my boys.”

“Oh.” She drags out the sound and rolls her eyes playfully, “Should’ve known.”

You grin back at her before continuing where you left off. Curled up on the sofa with the fluffiest blanket, sipping one of your favourite white wines, you’re watching your copy of BTS’ Seasons’ Greetings 2019 on your laptop. Sure buying it might’ve put a rather large dent in your wallet but in your defense, it was deemed to be your Christmas present to yourself. Plus, in your opinion, it’s worth every penny.

“So what happened to the guy then? Did you ghost him or something?” Jaehee calls out again, coming to settle on the other end of the sofa where your feet haven’t reached.

“Oh… him.” You reply offhandedly, paying more attention to the conversation the group was having on screen but at the thought of…. him, you can’t help the snort that comes out of your mouth that isn’t entirely because of BTS’ antics.

Oh, Jimin…. Well, your demon version of Jimin….

You can’t say you feel completely sorry for him because ever since the season to be jolly had crept closer and closer, he had become more and more like a mixture between the Grinch and Grumpy Cat and while it should’ve made you a little apprehensive of his temper, you were absolutely loving it.

12 days before Christmas

“On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…” You find yourself singing as you work on stringing the Christmas lights up so that they frame your living room windows. You stand back to admire your handy work, still humming the song and you can’t help the giddy wiggle when you see how perfectly the lights twinkle in rhythm.

“You bought more lights?” A begrudging voice sounds from within the darkened depths of your room. You turn and the grouchy mood your room invader has does nothing to dampen your own high-spirited one. In fact, his appearance looks too much like a certain grumpy house cat that even his glowing ruby eyes doesn’t detract the image. It makes you choke back a giggle, which seems to make him bristle (much to your delight).

“Don’t you know that you can never have enough lights?” You make show of reprimanding him as if you’re an over-enthusiastic grade school teacher, hands on either side of your hip and head slightly tilted. He glares harder at you and you think this is the perfect chance to rub it in his face more. “And guess what else I got?”

You whirl around to reach into your shopping bag and pull out your two additional purchases, shaking them excessively in both hands with excitement and a shit-eating grin stretching so wide you feel your cheeks starting to hurt. “Santa hats!” And they’re not just any old, normal looking ones. They’re red sequined and they jingled.

“You’re disgusting.” is your only response before he promptly slams the door shut to your room. But you can’t be bothered, too busy cackling to yourself from his reaction. You’re honestly living for how much your demon guardian is loathing the holiday season. Before, you can barely get him to stop popping up at the most inconvenient times, claiming it to be ‘watch duty’ (when really it’s just to annoy you and give you a heart attack for his own amusement) but ever since Christmas started to loom around the corner, he’s gone reclusive, avoiding the outside world like the black plague was on the loose.

Needless to say, you were ecstatic. You could finally meet up with your friends without having to look over your shoulder or become too distracted because he thinks it’s funny to do outrageous things under the invisibility spell (you’ll never forget the time he decided to make balloon animals two seats away from you, all the while keeping the most stoic face you’ve ever seen).

So it’s no surprise that you’ve decided to take full advantage of this new discovery, going to lengths you never had before in a way to get back at him. To be honest, you weren’t even that big on Christmas, doing the bare minimum in the past to celebrate the holiday but thanks to him, you’ve gone all out in the decorating department and it only seems to fuel your enthusiasm (so no, you wouldn’t call it being completely petty; just more festive).

A most wonderful time of the year indeed.

You toss the Santa hats onto the couch, taking the moment to step back and admire your entire setup. The tree was up and filled with ornaments on nearly every branch you can hook, standing in a corner by the sofa, blinking prettily with it’s many lights, complete with a faux fur lined tree skirt. More lights were pinned just above the sofa and along the small bookshelf while garlands and wreaths were placed on your front door, above the kitchen threshold and the railing outside of your entryway. The magazines on your coffee table were tucked underneath in favour of the poinsettia candle-holder centrepiece, complete with faux self-lit candles.

And although you don’t have a fireplace, it didn’t deter you from buying stockings to hang just below the TV stand (I mean, if you turn on the fireplace channel, it could still work right?)

Overall, you’re quite happy with your little home makeover. Your place looks exceptionally decorative and you get a kick out of annoying your demon house cat for once. Two birds with one stone.

2 days before Christmas

“What is that?”

“What’s what?” You ask innocently, biting your lip to hold back a snicker as you pretend to busy yourself in fixing the holly you’ve got in your hands. You can practically feel the temperature drop behind you from the sofa but you’re perfectly warm in your oversized ugly Christmas sweater.

“That!” He hisses. You spare him a glance but his gaze is so fixated on the little ceramic figurine on the coffee table that you actually think he might set it aflame.

“It’s Mary and Joseph and the newborn king, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; gosh I thought you of all beings would know them?” You flippantly reply, having to turn away again to hide the smile that’s starting to creep up on your lips.

“I do but I also know for a fact that you’re not even Christian. So why do you have this here!?"

“Jesus loves everybody and it’s not exactly them, it’s a very abstract depiction of them. And besides, it’s a nice candle holder that says Noel so calm down.”

You hear angry muttering and then a huff, making you sneak a peek only to nearly burst out laughing at the pout he’s sporting. You have to admit, it’s adorable but only because he looks like Jimin. He turns to you and you can’t help the corner of your mouth from twitching. Your Jimin clone raises a finger, pointing at you as his expression turns accusatory, comically so.

“You did this on purpose.”

“Did what?” Your voice comes out in a higher pitch because you’re trying so hard not to laugh but also because you’re clearly lying through your teeth.

“All of this!” He finally exclaims, like his week long pent up frustration is coming to head. “I can’t believe you would go along with the capitalism of this holiday, just to get back at me!”

“You’re a demon! I thought you’re supposed to encourage this sort of thing?”

“There are many things I encourage…and this is definitely not one of them!”

“Oh c’mon, don’t act like you totally hate the holiday season; I’m not the one sneaking gingerbread cookies at two in the morning."

A pause.

And you smirk; gotcha.

Yeah, there was no way you wouldn’t have noticed that every time you decided to bake some holiday treats (for the household and your workplace), the portion left for home would mysteriously disappear at an alarming rate. You knew for sure you didn’t eat any because you literally had your fill when they were fresh out of the oven. Jaehee didn’t really like gingerbread cookies nor sweets for that matter but she indulged you and had the bare minimum.

So doing the math for that wasn’t too hard and if the deep crimson blush Jimin had on was anything to go by….

“So what? I had like two…” He says defensively, crossing his arms. You let a snort go, turning back around to fiddle with the fake holly berries.

“Sure…whatever helps you sleep at night.”

“Demons don’t really sleep.”

“Ugh, you know what I mean.” You roll your eyes, finishing up and stalking back towards the kitchen again. “Anyways, I’m gonna go make some cookies since someone keeps eating all of them before I can leave any out for Santa.”

“He’s not even real!”

“I don’t want to hear it!”

Safe to say that your chewy chocolate chip cookies turned out fantastically, you think they’re good enough to open your own bakery even. Once the tray cooled, you take three for yourself and a glass of milk, heading back into your room. You take a quick a glance in the living and find that your demon guardian has vanished. You shrug, kicking open your door and get settled in for a little movie night in bed.

The next morning, you find the tray more than half empty.

“Oh wow, chocolate chip cookies. You should really open up a shop, Y/N. You’ve got a knack for baking.” Jaehee comes up from behind you, peering over your shoulder. “Why’d you make so little? Just had a craving last night?”

“Yeah…” was the only thing you can say in utter disbelief.

That bastard.

He could’ve saved you some to last the week.

Christmas Day

Oh boy, you probably should not have drank that much. You’re regretting it deeply now as you stumble up the stairs after thanking your Uber driver and wishing them a happy holiday. The Christmas party your friend held was super fun, something that wasn’t too rambunctious like a frat party even though you're totally sloshed right now. It was a gathering of close friends and their dates but friends who definitely know how to party. The night started off rather tamed with the exchange of presents and pleasantries in catching up, eating and light drinking before the games started.

That’s when the drinks started pouring because games are fun but they’re even more fun when alcohol is involved (and anything can be turned into a drinking game if you tried hard enough). Coupled that with your fairly low tolerance and it’s no surprise that you’re about ready to fall asleep in the closest corner you can find. But no, you’re a trooper and you held on, even when Jaehee (who was no less sober than you), insists on going home with you. So after ordering you an Uber she deemed trustful (cancelling around five of them), she saw you off, not without demanding that you text her when you’ve arrived safely at home.

You’re almost inside, fumbling with your keys and checking thrice to make sure it’s the right one before slotting it into the keyhole. As the door opens, you let out a loud noise of relief like you’ve just finished a marathon.

“Goddammit….” You slur to yourself as you shut your door and nearly topple over in removing your boots. You fling them off after finding your balance on the wall, heaving yourself to the living room where you promptly collapse onto the couch, energy spent. Your head is pounding already as if your hangover is beginning to form even before your body has a chance to sleep it off but you still have so much to do; take off your jacket, text Jaehee, change your clothes, wash your makeup off, brush your teeth, drink some water, the list was endless but all your body and inebriated mind wants to do is to close your eyes and just rest here for a bit because this couch was so comfy…man, investing in those throw pillows and blankets sure was a good ide—

“I don’t remember letting in a hobo.”

Through your curtain of hair, you blearily make out a shadow looming over you. Tossing your head back a bit more, you find an infuriatingly handsome face staring down at you, one that you want to punch but kiss at the same time.

“Jimin…?”

“Yes, but not quite darling.”

You frown, muddled mind sifting through information like dial up Internet before you make a noise of affirmation. “Not Jimin…English too good.”

You hear a breathy laugh as your heavy head lops to one side, too tired to hold it up any longer. A clicking sound, the kissing of teeth in a way you can only imagine a mother would do when scolding her child.

“Someone’s indulged a little too much in the blood of Christ.”

In your head, you think you’ve formed words that sound something like ‘You don’t even like Christmas’ but in reality, it comes out half way before dying in a mumbling, incoherent mess. Your head continues to pound to the rhythm of your heart and as you close your eyes, trying to will it to go away, you very nearly drift off when you feel a tug at your arm. You make an attempt to swat at it but fail miserably, giving up because you don’t have the energy to care.

“I don’t get paid enough for this….” You faintly hear as you’re suddenly lifted into strong arms and the familiar scent of vanilla and lavender invades your nose.

“Mm…So strong…” You giggle drunkenly, head burying against the soft cashmere sweater he’s wearing. A groan rumbles against your ear before you’re unceremoniously dumped onto the fluffy comforter of your bed. You whine loudly at being jostled, blindly rolling to your side in an attempt to sit up. A firm hand stops you from straight up falling out of bed.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Mm’face is dirty…”

“Don’t worry, you rubbed half of it off on my sweater anyways.”

“Jimin…!” You whine petulantly, a hand stretched out as if you could summon a cleansing wipe if you thought hard enough. Even drunk you refuses to go to bed with makeup still on your face; imagine the mess it’ll leave on your pillows!

A loud sigh and before you know it, you feel the dampness of one of your cleansing wipes in your outstretched hand. You take it with a grunt of appreciation before slapping it onto your face and begin rubbing it in the best way you think you can get the makeup off. You try to be strategic about it, going by sections of your face but eventually, you keep forgetting if you’ve went over the area or not. You end up wiping your face for a good fifteen minute straight.

“I think you missed a spot.”

You let out another grunt, loudly, tossing the wipe in the direction you hear his voice coming from, “Shuddup.”

The wipe doesn’t come close to reaching his stupid handsome face like you wanted it to, it lands rather pathetically at the edge of his knee, right where the rip in his jeans were. Still, he takes it and effortlessly sends it flying to your trashcan.

“Finished?”

“Mm.” You hum, snuggling into your pillows before letting out a content sigh through your nose. You feel the covers tuck a little closer to you, the weight lifting from your bed and your hair being brushed out of the way.

“Now stay, and sleep.”

“Mm…Merry Chris…Nn—Merry Holiday, Jimin.” You mumble sleepily, drifting off finally though for a split second, you could’ve sworn you heard a “Merry Holiday” in return.

The next morning, you wake up with a splitting headache that renders you incapacitated for half the day. When you did have enough strength to get up, you’re pleasantly greeted with a steaming mug of peppermint tea (the one with cute little snowflakes on it) and a pack of painkillers.

Jaehee’s door was still shut, no doubt she’s either still passed out in sleep or she might’ve spent the night with her date so it’s with a half-hearted reluctance that you accept who could’ve done this. Nevertheless, you gratefully take the tea, cradling it in your hands as you make your way over to the couch. Settling down on the plush seat, you go to reach for the remote on the coffee table, only to notice one minor detail.

Your little Noel candle holder was missing.

You could only let out a sigh. In truth, you’re not even mad.

Present day

“You sure you don’t want to head over to Jisoo’s? We can stay only until the countdown is over.” Jaehee asks once again as she straightens her sequin dress.

“Nah, I think I’ve maxed out my social metre for the year in just this past week alone.” You laugh, stretching your arms over your head before settling back down again, cradling the laptop perched on your knees. You’re halfway done the season’s greeting DVD and you’re thoroughly enjoying yourself where you are.

Jaehee acquiesces, adding a couple of finishing touches to her look, giving you a twirl and you giving her your seal of approval in return. She throws on her jacket just as her phone goes off, signaling her dates’ arrival to pick her up. Jaehee bids you farewell, wishing you a happy new year beforehand as she slips through the door. You brief chill from outside reaches you and you bring the throw over blanket closer to you, resuming your video.

Throughout the entire time, you’ve got a smile stretched wide across your face. You can’t help it; BTS does that to you. Even when the DVD comes to a finish, you’re still left with the faint feeling of happiness and utter adoration for them and honestly, it kind of makes you care even less that you’re spending your New Year by yourself.

So with a content sigh, you eagerly fill your glass again, wiggling happily as you settle further into the cushions to continue perusing the Internet. Now this is what you call self-care.

“You look crazy.”

You resist the urge to groan aloud.

“Well, look who decided to crawl out of their bat cave.” You decide to shoot back sarcastically as you glance up just in time to see him emerge from the darkness beyond your living room. The way he strides towards you makes it look like the shadows had melded to his form and given shape to his clothing as well; all black but looking rather cozy to your surprise; a simple black hoodie and sweatpants, the comfiest and most casual you’ve seen him. The change is startling and makes your heart palpitate a little, though you brush it off as the wine working its way into your system.

“And I see you still have those obnoxious decorations up.” He looks disdainfully at the numerous Christmas lights still strung up and around the space, crinkling his nose a bit. “When are you gonna take it down?”

“When I feel like it.” You deadpan, going back to search up the latest performance video.

“Do you want me to burn it down for you?”

That causes you to snap your gaze up, eyes narrowing in warning. “Don’t you dare.”

All you’re met is a devilish smirk, eyes challenging before he turns and seats himself on the opposite side of the couch, preening. You only puff up in annoyance but then forgo getting worked up over the light bantering. It’s a common occurrence between the two of you now; a strange, love-hate, dynamic that though you may yell and complain about how much you find him absolutely irritable, a very, very, very deep part of you admits that he’s grown on you…. like a rash.

“So are you really just going to spend the remaining part of your year binge watching BTS related content, drinking wine?” You hear him ask. You spare him a glance over the top of your laptop, finding him doing the same except he’s scrolling through his iPhone X (which you have no idea how he even got). He’s got the judge-y eyes but you see the underlying teasing glint in them that only causes you to roll your own.

“We’ve been over this; the only thing that can melt my glacial heart now is seven beautiful and talented Korean men whom one of which, might I reiterate numerous times now, you stole their identities to.”

“Details, details.” He says unconcernedly, making show of stretching his neck and working out the kinks. “Ever heard of how there are actually at least six people in the world that look almost exactly like you? So it’s not that big of a deal.”

You could only shake your head (because low-key yes, he’s right but you won’t admit it), opting take a generous gulp of your wine.

“Careful darling; wouldn’t want a repeat of six days ago.”

“Hey at least I didn’t throw up on you.” You say defensively, cheeks heating up slightly when you recall what he said you did after getting home from the Christmas party (as payback, he made you hand-wash his sweater). You set down your glass to pour yourself more wine, feeling him watching with eyes piercing though that does not deter you at all (you will assert your dominance here). He scoffs but does nothing to stop you from filling your glass three-quarters of the way and taking another sip so you take it as a small victory in proving that you’re right.

It continues on like this; a comment made here and there, some back and forth before you both settle rather comfortably, just sat across from each other in actual companionable silence. You’re halfway through your bottle before you had the conscious to stop, feeling the buzz hitting you in growing waves. By then, you’ve settled onto browsing through your phone, much like how he’s doing right now but even after a few minutes, you had to rest your head against the back of the couch, too tired to keep it up. The strength in your hands is the next to go and soon, you had to resort to taking mini breaks in between.

It gives you the chance to really look at Jimin, or more like this entity that has taken the form of Jimin. You take in the way the lights bounce off of his face; all soft yet sharp angles at the same time, the way his lashes flutter at the tops of his cheeks when he blinks, and the dainty mole right at the edge. You see how the dangling silver earring catches the light at the slightest movement of his head, but also notice the helix stud that is shining as well. It’s such a small detail, however one that you find most profound; the real Jimin doesn’t have a helix piercing anymore.

Now, as the more you look, you’re starting to find other things that the real Jimin would have that the one in front of your doesn’t; like the faint dusting of freckles you would see when real Jimin isn’t wearing makeup and when the Jimin in front of you brushes his hair back from his forehead, you don’t see the moles that should’ve been there.

Half of you thinks that this shouldn’t be that big of a deal, given that a major difference between this Jimin and the real one is that he’s fluent in English (and you have a sneaking suspicion other languages too), but there’s just something about actually seeing the differences physically now with your own eyes makes you feel….

“Your eyes are going vacant darling; is it way past your bedtime?”

His voice snaps you from your thought and the familiarity of it in contrast to what you have discovered seems all the more jarring. You blink to focus, the spitting image of the idol coming back into your view.

“I’m not old enough to start falling asleep before the countdown happens.”

“But you are old enough to miss it completely.” Jimin’s voice is laced with hints of laughter bubbling at the edges but his remark makes you whip your phone up to your face, checking the time to see that indeed it’s 12:01.

Well, damn.

The laugh he’s no doubt been holding back finally bursts out, a raspy sound that’s just the slightest bit airy. It’s probably from the look of utter disbelief on your face but you don’t really care, eyes too transfixed on the way he’s thrown his head back, Adam’s apple bobbing and after he calms down to just grinning do you see—

That his teeth are perfectly straight.

“I guess we should say, 'Happy New Year’ yes?”

He’s smiling at you so brilliantly, eyes almost turning into crescents as they twinkle at you with this boyish charm, cheeks rounding a little more the same way that Jimin had made your heart stutter. It makes your own smile tug onto your lips, and you have half the mind to marvel at how easily swayed you are by him.

This Jimin, that is so like him—

Yet not at the same time….

The feelings tug at your heart again, except this time you think you might be able to pin what it is.

You feel…. relieved.

But for what?

Your smile falters for a split second at the revelation, but you swiftly pull yourself together, covering up by reaching for your forgotten wine glass. It’s empty, however you raise it all the same to him.

“Happy New Year.” You breathe out softly as if you’re afraid to disturb the peaceful atmosphere between you two, all the while the words have you feeling like a small weight has been lifted from your shoulder.

He smiles in response and for a split second; his face softens almost endearingly as he replies to you with an equal softness in his voice, “Happy New Year.”

In the quiet of your living room, with only the twinkling lights of Christmas past, you find you're less alone than you would be welcoming in the New Year.

And somehow, you don’t quite mind that it’s thanks to him.

Bonus

“You owe me a new Jesus candle holder.”

“…How about no?”

New Year, and he’s still insufferable. It was worth a shot.

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daisyxbuckley · 5 years ago

Photo

Christmas is my FAVORITE holiday, besides Halloween of course. So when I saw that @galaxy-mindsxx had this beautiful prompt list I knew that I needed to participate. So Lex’s 25 Days of Prompts is open! From December 1st to December 25th I will be posting prompts from this list with different fandoms. If you would like to see one written then please message and tell me! Again thank you so much to Faith for letting me use your list.

If you’re unsure about a fandom, just ask!

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

1. Person A and Person B wanted to make a gingerbread house, except Person B keeps eating all the candy they both bought and Person A debates over whether or not they should buy more or just finish eating the gingerbread.

2. Person A is having a snowball fight with their friend/sibling and they accidentally hit Person B with a snowball instead. The main problem is that the snowball had a lot of ice in it and now Person A and B are at the hospital.

3. Person A and Person B got drunk at a mutuals Christmas party and they both thought it would be funny to “set up” everyone they thought looked cute together by moving the mistletoe around, except now everyone’s done it to them.

4. Person A watches their mutual friends teach Person B how to skate, to which they’re reminded of a baby deer. It’s from this where Person A realizes they may just be a little in love with Person B.

5. Person B catches Person A singing their favourite Christmas song and now Person B keeps trying to start a duet of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” with A everywhere they go.

6. Person A works at one of the hot chocolate booths on Main Street for the towns/city’s Christmas Parade and they’re rather concerned for the fact that Person B has come up for their third cup of hot chocolate in the past half hour.

7. Person B’s parents wanted to host a Holiday Party but they left it up to B to decorate so they call Person A for help because B doesn’t even know how much garland is supposed to go on a Christmas tree.

8. Person A and B always argue, but they’re at a good friends Christmas party and they have to remain somewhat civil and—is that mistletoe???

9. Person A and B’s mutual friends organized a Secret Santa and Person B suspiciously got Person A. Their friends help B pick the perfect gift.

10. Person A and Person B (a mysterious stranger who looks incredibly sad and alone) are stuck in a snowed-in airport with both of their flights delayed.

11. Person A invited Person B over to watch Christmas movies ‘cause it’s officially socially acceptable to. Miraculously however, it’s the first snowfall of the year, and Person B can’t stop staring at their best friend.

12. Person A and B’s friends are all going to a ski lodge for the week. All is good and fun until everyone realizes that they all have to share rooms, and somehow, A and B got paired together.

13. They just released the new Christmas Rentals at Family Video and Steve is in charge of stocking them. But after seeing you outside trying to catch snowflakes on your tongue he accidentally knocks over a shelf. The stores a mess, but Steve only cares about talking to you. (Specific to Steve ‘cause I felt this was too cute of an idea to not do.)

14. Person B gets drunk and won’t stop singing Christmas songs at the top of your lungs. Luckily, Person A thinks they’re cute.

15. Person A and B’s friends take them sledding and since the two of them are both competitive af, they challenge each other to a sled-race.

16. Person A and Person B decide to bake Christmas cookies and they kind of have a “moment”. Person A gets nervous and throws flour at B’s face, triggering a food fight.

17. Person B’s best friend convinced them to write a letter to “Santa” of what they wanted for Christmas. Except, Person A now has B’s letter and…Person A is Person B’s greatest wish.

18. Person A invited Person B to help them decorate their tree and B’s shocked that A has this many ornaments.

19. Person A works as an elf for the town’s/city’s yearly out-door “North Pole Festival” and Person B keep smiling at A for a reason unknown to them.

20. Person A teaches Person B how to wrap presents. Correction: A teaches B how to wrap presents properly.

21. Person A and B attend their friends Christmas Party and the way B is looking at A makes them feel things.

22. It’s Person A and B’s first Christmas as a married couple, and Person A has a special surprise for B.

23. It’s Christmas Eve and Person A’s car breaks down in the middle of a snowstorm. Luckily, they’re practically in front of their best friends house/apartment. A decides to stay there the night and the two of them watch Christmas Specials all night.

24. Person A and B go Christmas tree hunting together. It’s fun, but extremely frustrating because Person B has their eyes on the biggest tree in the lot which A guarantees will not fit in their apartment. (Just imagine that scene in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.)

25. This Christmas marks Person A and B’s fourth anniversary of being together. At their Christmas Party, B plans on giving A a gift that they hope A will say yes to.

26. No one will take Person A to drive around and look at the Christmas light displays, so A asks Person B to come with. A spends the whole time looking at the displays, but Person B seems to be focused on something else entirely.

27. Person A brings Person B home for the holidays and B is panicking because they’re trying to make the best impression.

28. It’s a snow day, so out of boredom Person A and B decide to play a joking game of making the other blush/speechless with Christmas pick-up lines. Needless to say however, neither of them are joking.

29. Person B isn’t a huge fan of Christmas because they always end up being left alone. So, Person A goes all out to make sure this Christmas is the best.

30. Person A and B are neighbors and throughout the past week, every day, Person B asks if they can “borrow” Person A’s sugar; and A can’t tell if B is simply making a shit ton of cookies, or if they like A.

31. Person A needs a date to their family’s Christmas Dinner and Person B just happens to be at the right place, at the right time.

32. Person B tries to bake Person A’s favorite Christmas cookies, except B calls A over because B burnt them all and they don’t know what to do.

33. (This one is Steve specific.) It’s the first year that Hawkins High is trying out Candy Grams. You’ve gotten a few from your friends, however it’s the excessive amount of candy canes from a “Secret Santa” that truly confuses you.

34. Person A and B are hanging out when the power suddenly goes out and they’ve long since finished their hot-chocolates and they’re both cold so Person A offers to cuddle. For warmth. Obviously.

35. Person A and B are helping decorate their work place. Except the two of them get a little too carried away with the tinsel.

36. (Steve specific, again.) Steve and Robin work another job during the holidays to earn a little extra money. It sucks though because wrapping presents isn’t fun. Until you burst into the store on Christmas Eve with bags full of presents that need wrapping. Steve thinks you’re cute, though, so he doesn’t quite mind.

37. A friend of Person A’s family is having a Christmas wedding. Person A isn’t that interested until they spot a Groomsman (Person B) who has great hair and won’t stop drunkenly singing Christmas songs at the after party.

38. Person B finds Person A’s secret stash of Christmas presents. A lot of them are for B, and A can certainly tell Person B is having a hard time trying not to take a peek.

39. Person A and B’s friends arrange a get together with them at their local diner. Except, the two of them are there before them, and there’s a huge snowstorm that traps A and B and a few patrons in and so Person A and Person B have to try and amuse themselves.

40. Person A and B get slightly tipsy off the eggnog while they’re decorating A’s tree and some sober thoughts are shared through drunken words.

41. Person A and B are best friends who just happen to be neighbors. There’s a house decorating contest going on in their neighborhood, and the pair are determined to beat each other.

42. Sword-fighting is fun with candy canes…until someone’s gets stabbed in the arm.

43. It’s Christmas Eve, and as you read “The Night Before Christmas” to the party, Steve internally laments on how grateful he is to have you. (Steve specific.)

44. Person A and Person B’s families have been friends forever. A would always go to B’s house for Christmas Eve but the one time A and B got into a huge fight and thus the tradition stopped. Now, the tradition is being started up again and holy shit, when did Person B get hot?

45. Person A’s best friend rigged the Secret Santa so now they have to get B a present. The worse part? Person A has a huge crush on Person B.

46. Person A and B work as elves at “Santa’s Workshop” in the mall. It’s Christmas Eve and instead of cleaning up, A and B play around with the wrapping paper and bows.

47. It’s Person A’s best friends yearly Christmas Party and she just drunkenly dared A to kiss the cute, mystery stranger under the mistletoe by the end of the night. And Person B just so happens to be the cute, mysterious stranger.

48. Person A and B go on their first date to the skating rink. The only problem is that A is terrible at skating and keeps falling on their ass. B still thinks Person A looks cute though with snow falling on them.

49. Person A burns their tongue on hot chocolate and Person B’s first instinct is to spray a shit ton of whipped cream into A’s mouth to “soothe the burns”.

50. Person B got caught up with work on Christmas Eve and now there’s a possibility they won’t be home in time. But it doesn’t end up as bad as A thought. Actually, it ends up being one of the best Christmases of their life.

51. The Christmas Song Prompt (Wild Card). Pick any Christmas song as your prompt and I’ll write something around the basis of the song. This is the only prompt I will do multiple of, as long as they are different songs.

#25 days of prompts #prompts #borrowed list #these are seriously amazing and I love them.

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ofharrie · 6 years ago

Text

tied down

Summary: Y/N wants a relationship, Harry doesn’t. Until jealousy got to him. Word count: 3.7k Warnings and themes: smut, swearing, angst

masterlist / request

(A/N: A big thank you to @sweetdaisys and @playmelikeacello for helping me out with the concepts as well as proofreading and a massive thank you to @alwaysjacked-up for taking the time to edit, review and provide me with lots of very helpful feedback you’re a legend Sarah! Hope you guys enjoy this one!)

Harry was seated on an old recliner right next to the Christmas tree, flickering blue and yellow lights were giving him a small headache that wasn’t being eased by the mulled wine he’d been nursing all night. It was Christmas Eve and everyone was busy in the kitchen preparing for dinner as well as Christmas Day dinner. He was meant to be in there, too; giving a helping hand with the baked goods or even just checking on the pots so they don’t boil over, but his mum insisted otherwise.

“Have some wine and put your feet up, love,” She told him after handing him a glass. “You’ve been busy all week. Just look after the kids in the living room, keep them entertained and out of the kitchen.”

But his nieces and nephews were all already pre-occupied, colouring in their drawings with a heavy hand, whilst munching on gingerbread cookies that Gemma baked for them earlier. He wanted to busy himself, try and distract himself from the fact that his phone still hadn’t buzzed in his pocket. This thought often spiraled into him wondering if she’s with him and what they were doing. Although Harry knew deep down, it wasn’t his place to wonder.

He’s had his chance and he blew it. Y/N has dropped many hints before that she had romantic feelings for Harry. But Harry didn’t know if he could commit to anyone. Back then he was 23, exploring his first time as a solo artist, trying to find his place in the world. For the first time ever, Harry felt free and the thought of being in a relationship evoked feelings of being trapped and starting again from square one.

But, at the same time, Harry did reciprocate those feelings. He was sure of it. But the nagging thoughts in the back of his mind that lingered everytime he was having difficulty falling asleep (which happened to be almost every night) prevented him from ever pursuing anything with Y/N. And yet, the ugly feeling of jealousy crept up on him but he knew it was selfish of him to continue wanting to be the only man in her life and at the same time, not want to commit to her.

“I can’t give you what you want, Y/N,” He finally admitted, partly to her but mostly to himself. “You deserve better than some guy who doesn’t know what he wants.”

”Then you have to quit being a jealous sook,” She spoke softly through tears falling from her cheeks. ”You can’t have both, H. It’s either just me and no one else, or you can’t have me at all.” Their argument broke Harry’s heart and he knew that he couldn’t keep doing that to Y/N.

They’d forgotten about the argument and decided to completely move past it. It was never spoken about again and for a brief period of time, Harry felt relieved. They were fine again and were back to talking every single day like they always have. But a few months later when Y/N introduced him to some guy named James, who wore too much cologne for his liking, he’d never wanted to talk about the unpleasantries of their complicated situation more than he did now.

When James came along, the daily text messages, snapchats and random drop-bys came to an inevitable halt. It seemed like Y/N was just a distant friend and Harry was beginning to miss the smell of her perfume that usually stuck around the decorative throw pillows in his sofa, or the banana pancakes that she made for him but never ate herself because she wasn’t a fan of the texture, or even her laugh that would interrupt his sentences whenever he tells her about something funny that happened to him.

So he left her a voicemail, asking her to come to Christmas Eve dinner in hopes that they could talk about it. It had been two days since he called, and not once had she replied. It was safe to say he was epically losing the staring game with his phone.

It was when the timer for the apple pie started rattling against the marble countertop that Harry jolted; the buzzing in his pocket mimicking the timer’s motions. His haphazard movements almost made him spill his drink on to the faux fur carpet that laid underneath the recliner, frantically reaching for his phone from the tight confines of his front pocket.

Y/N 3:02PM

Sorry for the late reply I only just heard your voicemail. I’d love to come!! Need to catch up with Gem and Anne anyway. What time did you want me there? x

Harry 3:05PM

No worries. Around 5 maybe? Altho you won’t get ahold of mum until maybe after dinner lol

Y/N 3:10PM

Alright I’ll see you then

Y/N was, in fact, not with James. Instead, she was cooped up in her apartment, watching Love Actually, wrapped up in her duvet with a cup of tea in her hands. She had ended things with James a few days back, politely telling him that she didn’t see their relationship going any further due to her not seeing a future for the two of them. That’s what her mouth said, anyway. Her heart, however, knew that it was because she’s still hung up on Harry and there’s no way she could pursue a relationship without moving on from him first. Hence, her avoiding him.

Harry and her haven’t spoken since she broke up with James and she wasn’t planning on breaking that streak until she finally listened to Harry’s voicemail. Y/N supposed that it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to spend Christmas Eve with Harry’s family, as she’s done so for the past five years that they’d been friends. But, then again, the thought of seeing Harry made her stomach flip.

A reply was eventually given, however, as Y/N heart finally caved as she found herself curating a message for Harry. Before she could think about just what she has done, she caught her thumb pressing on the blue arrow and sending her message.

Y/N threw her phone across the room, her actions surprising herself, but she didn’t dare move to pick it up. A few minutes passed and the phone eventually vibrated twice, indicating an incoming message. She hurriedly crawled off the couch and on to the carpeted surface on which the phone (luckily) landed on. There were no scratches or damages on the screen, instead just a reply from Harry.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid!” She whispered to herself, pacing back and forth around the room with her phone in her shaky hand. “What do I do? What do I say to him?”

A whisper-scream burst out of her lips (being wary of disturbing her neighbours) as she typed a second message to Harry. She still wasn’t sure if she’s ready to see him or not, but what’s done is done.

The next two hours were spent in contemplation. Harry didn’t know if it was right of him to invite Y/N to dinner, despite knowing that she was most likely trying to avoid him. He knew her like the back of his hand, Y/N always tried to distance herself from him (even more so than she already has) whenever there was something wrong and the lack of conversations between them the past thirteen days had taken its toll on Harry. He had no idea what was going on but if he had to guess, he’d say it was something to do with that James guy she was seeing.

He was furious just from the thought of him being anything but an absolute gentleman to Y/N. His Y/N. Harry knew he should be with her but, at the same time, he knew he couldn’t give her was she wanted. The doorbell rang ten minutes before 5PM, alerting Harry, as he was sitting in his spot in the recliner, and placed his drink down on the coffee table before hurrying off to answer the door, knowing exactly who was behind it.

“Hi!” Y/N greeted accompanied by a big smile on her face. Harry embraced her into a hug, reciprocating his actions with her arms wrapped around his waist.

“I’ve missed you,” Harry mumbled against the crook of her neck, his voice coming out muffled.

“Missed you, too,” She replied, pulling back from the hug and letting herself into the house.

Much to Harry’s dismay, Y/N went straight into the kitchen, looking for his mum and his sister. Before he could steal her away from them, she had already agreed to help Gemma set the table for dinner, so Harry decided to go back to his babysitting duties instead.

The dinner went well, everyone got along as per usual and the food tasted amazing. It’s exactly what Harry’s been missing all tour long, what he wishes he could bring along with him wherever he goes. It was nearing 11PM when he finally had Y/N all to himself. Deciding to step away from the large group indoors, he took her to the backyard with a space heater running and a couple of blankets, pillows, and bean bags spread out on the patio.

“How’ve you been?” He asked, sitting across from her. “Haven’t annoyed me with your lame jokes for weeks.”

“Hey!” She scolded, playfully throwing a pillow at Harry. “My jokes are funny, Styles. You’re the one whose jokes are lame.”

Their shared laughter faded and instead was replaced by Harry’s voice. “But, seriously, Y/N,” He said. “Where have you been?”

“Just my apartment,” She replied, avoiding his gaze. “Haven’t really been out much.”

“Thought James would have taken you on a few dates,” Harry sneered. “Especially since I’m not around.”

Y/N knew that Harry would soon pester her about James so she quickly tried to change the subject in order to not cause any arguments between the two of them. She didn’t want to ruin the night, after all. “Your hair’s getting long again,” She commented, nodding towards his disheveled curls that were barely touching his shoulders.

“Yeah, been wanting to grow it out again,” Harry replied, running his fingers through his hair. “D’ya remember what happened last time my hair was this long?”

She could see the evident smirk on his face and knew exactly what he meant. Neither of them intended for it to happen. Y/N was just mindlessly playing with Harry’s hair, admiring how it looked cascading down to his shoulders and in the heat of the moment, accompanied by a few glasses of champagne, they found themselves caught in a feverish kiss with the sound of their lips moving against each other echoing throughout the empty hallway as they made their way to Harry’s bedroom.

It was Harry’s shirt that was discarded first, the faded and worn out fabric of his Rolling Stones shirt hitting the carpeted flooring of his bedroom. One of his hands roamed around the small of her back, slithering down to squeeze her ass and causing her to moan against Harry’s lips. His other hand was cupping her jaw, desperately trying to deepen the kiss as they made their way to his bed.

She pushed him onto the bed and Harry leaned back on his hands, using them for support as he watched Y/N rid herself of her own clothing, leaving only her bra and panties. They were mismatched; her body adorned a simple black t-shirt bra and coral undies but Harry didn’t mind, he adored her nonetheless.

Y/N straddled him, continuing their frenzied kissing. She was dizzy from it all, a good kind of dizzy. She never thought any of this would happen, and yet there they were, about to fuck on his bed. She tried pushing those thoughts aside, instead focusing on unzipping Harry’s jeans.

“Can I?” She whimpered against his lips. “Please?”

“Can you what, love?” Harry asked, moving from kissing her lips to proceeding to sponge kisses all over her neck.

“Want to, uh,” She stammered, feelings Harry’s bulge rub up against her centre. “Wanna suck you off, H.”

“Yeah?” Harry asked mockingly, smiling against her throat. “Want my cock in your mouth before I fuck your pretty little cunt?”

She couldn’t help but pull at his long hair as he purposely thrusts up against her, almost soaking her panties with his actions. “Can I?”

“Of course you can,” Harry replied followed by a lingering kiss on her lips. “Anything for my girl.”

She stood up, removing her bra before getting on her knees in front of Harry. He lifted from the bed, helping Y/N remove his jeans and boxers before throwing them off the side. She’d be lying if she said it didn’t make her mouth water; Harry was so big and thick, she was almost scared to suck him off in fear that she’ll disappoint him.

“You’re so big,” She whispered, diverting her gaze towards Harry’s eyes. “Don’t know if I can take all of it.”

“Don’t have to take it all, love,” He said, stroking her hair. “Just do what feels right to you.”

She placed a hand around his shaft, giving him a few slow strokes before sponging kisses along his length. Harry was already a mess. He watched as her tongue darted out to give his hard cock a few kitten licks, paying special attention to his leaking tip. She hollowed her cheek as she sucked on his tip eagerly, letting out a sigh of content. Her tongue returns to the base of his shaft, licking a fat stripe all the way to the head of his cock.

“Such a good girl,” Harry whimpered, giving her a lazy smile.

She took him back into her mouth, gliding her wet lips along his tip before taking half of him into her mouth, feeling every ridge of his length against her tongue. Harry watched intently as Y/N bobbed her head, the light sound of her gagging as she eagerly tried to take all of him in her mouth. He could feel her swallow around him every so often and Harry knew he would cum soon if she kept going.

“Y-you have to,” Harry stammered, his jaw dropping as she eased more of him into her mouth. “Gotta pull off, love. Need to be inside you.”

She obeyed eagerly, slowly pulling off him. Harry almost let out an embarrassing whine after seeing the sinful look of Y/N, with her lips all puffy and shiny with a string of spit connecting them to the head of his cock.

“On the bed, love,” Harry ordered, his hand on the back of her neck gently guiding her up from her knees. Y/N sat on the bed, leaning against her forearms as she watched her best friend’s fingers curl around the waistband of her panties and slowly slide them down her thighs, leaving her completely naked for Harry to admire. He was quick to restart their kissing, wanting nothing more than to be inside her.

Harry began to tap gently on her clit, eliciting a small gasp from Y/N. He then proceeded to play with her throbbing clit, his fingers softly grazing along the button that was slippery from her wetness.

“Harry,” She moaned, feeling very sensitive. “Just want you inside me. Please.”

“Need to open you up first,” He replied, his fingers wandering lower to her opening. “Don’t wanna hurt you.”

“You won’t,” She replied surely, looking up at Harry whose long hair has been disheveled from their activities. “I can take it.”

“You sure about that?” Harry teased, giving her a smug smirk, before sliding two of his fingers knuckle-deep inside of her. She let out an audible gasp, surprised by his actions. Harry groaned, feeling her juices coat his fingers. His thumb began rubbing against her clit all the while his digits were gliding in and out against her wet walls.

“Get inside me, please,” She begged again, giving Harry a pleading look. He didn’t listen, instead pumped his fingers faster and deeper until he reached that special spot and had Y/N writhing underneath him. But before she could cum, Harry removed his fingers and put them in his mouth, savouring the taste of her juices.

“Taste so fucking good,” He muttered, giving Y/N a deep kiss and letting her taste herself on his tongue. Harry took his length with one hand and the other pinned Y/N’s thigh against the mattress. Slowly, he guided his leaking cock towards her entrance, pushing in inch by inch and watching as Y/N’s eyes roll back and her jaw drop in pure ecstasy.

“Feel so full,” She whispered, grabbing onto Harry’s biceps. It was a surreal experience, finally fucking Harry, bare and raw nonetheless. It was dizzying, the feeling of his hard cock inside of her and stretching her out like no man ever has before. Her legs were wrapped around his waist, occasionally pushing him closer towards her as an involuntary response to how good his throbbing cock felt inside of her.

“You’re so tight, love,” Harry moaned, jaw going slack as Y/N pulled on his hair. “Have no idea how long I’ve wanted this.”

Y/N let out a small and breathless laugh as she felt Harry’s curls tickle her neck, followed by a loud moan as his thumb began rubbing her swollen clit. “So warm and tight, wanna be inside you all the time,” Harry whispered, his voice muffled as he pressed kisses all over her neck and chest. His thrusts were growing shallow, desperate for a release from the both of them.

“I’m gonna-“ Y/N’s words were cut off by Harry grinding against her spot, making her see swirls of colour as her eyes rolled back. “Oh, fuck, Harry! I’m so close.”

“C’mon, Y/N,” Harry begged, his brows knitted as he continued fucking Y/N, still continuing to play with her clit that was slippery wet with both their juices. “Cum for me, cum around my cock.” A loud moan came from her mouth as Y/N came, her walls tightening around Harry’s cock triggering his own orgasm.

That night was never spoken of again, especially after Y/N started seeing James, and neither parties knew if the other one regretted it. Until Harry brought it up again. “Was a fun night, huh?” Harry said suggestively, giving her a smirk. “Bet you haven’t had a night as fun like that with James.”

“We’re actually no longer seeing each other,” Y/N quickly replied, looking away from Harry.

“Oh,” Harry quietly spoke. “Why’s that?”

“We didn’t want the same things, I guess,” She turned her gaze towards her twiddling thumbs.

“And what is it that you want?” He asked, a hopeful look on his face.

“You know exactly what I want, Harry,” She replied followed by a humourless chuckle. “But apparently that’s too much of me to ask.”

“Y/N…” Harry trailed off, not knowing what to say to her.

“It’s okay,” Y/N dismissed. “I know what you said before and I understand. It just really fucks me off that you have the audacity to be angry and jealous because I’ve decided to quit pining over you and instead start seeing other people. Just doesn’t seem fair to me.”

“I’m not angry nor am I jealous,” Harry scoffed, shaking his head. “That’s not at all how I’ve been acting. Was just teasing you, love.”

“Really?” She deadpanned, raising an eyebrow. “You expect me to believe that? I mean for fuck’s sake, Harry, you’ve been acting like a child about this whole situation. You don’t get a say in who I date. You’re just my friend.”

“Well maybe I don’t want to just be your friend anymore,” Harry rebutted.

“No!” She growled, standing up from her beanbag. “You’re being so unfair and you can’t even see it. You don’t just get to choose when you want me because it benefits you. You either want me because you do, or you don’t want me at all.”

“I do! I love you, Y/N!” Harry argued, also getting up from his seat and leveling with her. “Fuck, of course, I love you. You’re my best friend!”

“That’s exactly it!” She groaned, rolling her eyes at him. “You only love me as a best friend and yet here you are, constantly giving me shit for dating other people.”

“No, Y/N,” Harry interrupted as he moved closer, cupping her cheek and looking directly at her eyes that were welling up with tears. “You don’t get it. I’m in love with you. I know I haven’t been the best at dealing with my feelings, and I know I don’t deserve another chance with you after I made it very clear that I don’t want to commit to anyone. I also know that I broke your heart and I never apologised for it.”

“Harry-“ Y/N began to speak but was cut off by Harry’s words.

“I’m sorry,” He spoke quietly, followed by a kiss planted on her forehead. “It’s true when they say that you don’t realise what you have until it’s gone. Because every single time you weren’t with me and you were with James instead, it made my heart ache. I didn’t realise that you filled the void inside me until it was dug out again.”

There was a brief pause, a calm silence blanketing over the two of them outside the chilly patio with the orange burn of the space heater radiating a faint illuminance. Y/N wrapped her arms around Harry’s waist, bringing him closer to her. Harry’s heart was hammering against his ribs and he knew that Y/N could probably feel it with her cheek pressed to his chest.

“If we’re going to do this,” She began to speak, looking up to meet Harry’s gaze. “Then you have to be serious about it. You have to commit to the relationship. Are you really willing to do that, Harry?”

“I’d do anything for you, my love.”

#writing #harry styles #harry styles smut #harry styles imagine #harry styles blurb #harry styles fanfic #harry styles drabble #harry styles oneshot #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles angst #harry styles fluff #harry styles fic #harry styles fandom #one direction #harry styles writing #harry styles prompt #harry styles prompts

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kurosarium · 6 years ago

Note

Just gonna be an early bird for a Christmas themed request;; soo~ headcanons (separately) of how the Seijou third years (bc we all love em)+ Futakuchi + Taichi: would spend Christmas Eve (indoors/outdoors/dates/etc) with fem reader? Thanks!

Yay, right on time!! I wish everyone a merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday 💞💞 Thank you for requesting, I hope you like the outcome ~

Seijou third years, Futakuchi and Kawanishi spending Christmas Eve with their girlfriend

Oikawa

Okay first of all, you would have most likely to remind him that Christmas was happening. He’s really busy and looses track of time easily when he's stressed, and let’s be honest, we know what it is that is keeping him busy and apparently distracts him from reality. So when you ask him, if he wants to spend Christmas with you he reacts surprised at first, talking about how it couldn't be Christmas already. Oikawa ponders at first, but ultimately agrees upon seeing the look on your face that’s telling him that there’s no way you would let him ditch you on Christmas for a sport.

Of course he’s excited to spend the holidays with you, no doubt. Sometimes it might seem like he prioritizes volleyball over you, and he definitely has done that before, but he’s also very understanding and acknowledges that he’s too focused on his it and shouldn't neglect you.

He quickly thinks of various ways you could spend the holidays together. He wants it to be perfect, especially since he almost forgot about you it, and therefore plans everything thoroughly.

Oikawa usually spends Christmas with his family so he would simply ask you, if you'd like to join them, and even if it gets late, he wouldn't prefer not to stay over night.

The two of you only stay for a few hours, exchanging gifts and having a little chit chat with everyone before you bid your goodbyes and leave. Oikawa takes you to your favorite restaurant/café/bar etc. and after your stomach es are filled with delicious foods you slowly make your way home, or his place to be precise.

He surely enjoyed seeing his family and talking with everyone, but at the end of the day he want to spend the last few hours or minutes of his Christmas Eve with you, and only you.

Iwaizumi

He, too, would invite you over to spend the evening with his family, but unlike Oikawa he would want do do something different before heading over to his parents place. Like, eating out or meeting up with a group of friends. If it gets too late he might suggest for the two of you to stay over night (his family would be delighted) .

Usually Iwaizumi is a little embarrassed about his family, because they’re sometimes very eager and overly friendly, so he wouldn't really make that suggestion until he is assured that you feel comfortable around his family.

After a cheerful dinner comes the night and the two of you end up laying in bed, talking about the evening's event and other topics for a while before you eventually fall asleep.

The breakfast the following morning is just as cheerful and Iwaizumi's family doesn't fail to make you feel like you're a part of them, even if you haven't visited or seen them a lot before.

Hanamaki

While he does want to spend most of the day with you, it’s not until 3 or 4pm that you get to see him. Hanamaki's time management isn't the best and he looses track of time almost every year, forgetting about Christmas and therefore he has to do last minute present-shopping only a few days before Christmas Eve. If it's really bad he might even have to go on the 24th. Hanamaki will ask you, if you would be interested to tag along (because he trusts in you taste in literally anything), but would understand if you didn’t want to go or would like to spend your time otherwise.

Hanamaki would rather have an outdoor date with you, knowing that most people prefer to stay at home and spend the evening with their families and/or beloved ones, he sees it as an advantage. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of activities you can do outside on Christmas Eve.

Your outdoor date is only short-lived, spending your time walking around the city, talking and laughing together, and sitting down in one of your favorite cafés, and if possible he will most definitely take you to the local ice rink.

If there’s something like a Christmas-market in town, even better. The booths are open until evening and you could comfortably take a stroll down the market, enjoying various sweet and savory snacks and watching all the pretty light decorations.

After your little outside adventure you would be heading back to either of your places, letting the evening end with some delicious takeout food, your exchange of gifts, a cringy Christmas rom-com and lots of cuddles.

Matsukawa

I imagine that M has a pretty big family, which usually gets together on special occasions like Christmas, New Years Eve etc. so I think it really depends on Matsukawa and if he’s mentally ready for a noisy holiday. If you’ve been in a relationship for a while and already met his family he would probably invite you to spend the holidays with them, but if you weren’t familiar with them yet he definitely wouldn’t use Christmas Eve as an opportunity to introduce you to them (way too risky).

If he decides to spend Christmas with his family (including you) he makes sure you know what to expect from a Christmas dinner at the Matsukawa’s and that would be loud cousins, arguing uncles, nagging moms etc. With that in mind you head over to his aunt’s place, where most special dinners and celebrations are held (don’t ask me why). The journey is exhausting, because you traveled with an enormous amount of presents, but every struggle is forgotten when you’re warmly welcomed by the whole family.

So you spend your Christmas Eve inside, chatting and dining with your lover and his family, and while the evening is a lot of fun and the gift exchange makes you as excited as a little child, by the end of the night you realize just how tiring it was. Ultimately the two of you bid your goodbyes after a long and tiring, yet fun evening and head home to end Christmas Eve with some wine (it’s gotta be fancy ok) and lots of kisses.

If Matsukawa would prefer to spend Christmas even with only you it would most likely be inside your home, the cozy and familiar environment Matsukawa feels most comfortable in.

I'd say a home cooked meal (made by the both of you because cooking together is cute) and a broad selection of Christmas movies would do it.

Kawanishi

Just like Hanamaki he does some last minute Christmas shopping, not because he forgot about the time, but rather because he was simply feeling too lazy and therefore delayed it, day by day, until it was already Christmas. You probably would have to remind him to buy presents and get ready for Christmas, otherwise it the holidays might just completely pass by him.

Instead of spending Christmas Eve with his family or friends Kawanishi would much rather have it be only the two of you. He really doesn't need Christmas, or any other holiday, to be a big, special celebration. He's just low-key like that.

He’s open to any ideas on how to spend the evening together though. Because as long as it’s time spent with you, it doesn’t really matter what you do. He's just in for some quality time with his beloved girlfriend.

One thing he would totally be up for it baking. Cake, cinnamon rolls, cookies, gingerbread, you name it. He just loves baking Christmas goods, it's something he did a lot with his parent as a child and it somehow stuck with him. Whenever Christmas time comes around the corner he will bake tons of cookies and other delicious goods. He doesn't really want anyone to know about it though, because he finds it embarrassing, so he tries to avoid mentioning it around his friends.

Futakuchi

He would definitely take you out on Christmas Eve. Though visiting his family is an option he prefers to spend Christmas Eve with you alone or with a small group of his closest friends.

Futakuchi would totally be up for a secret Santa event, actually he would be the one proposing it, but only because he want to get people gag presents, something funny or even slightly disgusting.

You didn't make any plans for the holidays beforehand, mostly because whenever you asked Futakuchi, if he had any suggestions or if he wanted to do anything in particular you got “I don’t know, let’s talk about it later.” as an answer, and guess what, you didn’t talk about it later.

Still, Futakuchi is a very spontaneous person to begin with so he will definitely come up with something fun to do (yeah he's not really the most romantic person). So he suggests to hang out with some of your guys friends, eating out and chatting with them. Cause the more the merrier, right?

The two of you arrive at home way past midnight so there's not really much time to do anything, not that you necessarily would want to, considering that you two would probably be tired as hell after a bustling evening with your friends. Thus you head for the bed almost immediately, lazily throwing your clothes into a random corner and hastily washing up before slipping under the warm comfort of your blankets.

#Oikawa Tooru #Iwaizumi Hajime #Matsukawa Issei #Hanamaki Takahiro #Kawanishi Taichi #Futakuchi Kenji #haikyuu!!#hq!!#haikyuu #haikyu!! headcanons #hq!! headcanons #haikyuu headcanons #haikyuu imagine #hq!! imagine #headcanons

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little-fandom · 6 years ago

Text

The Full Christmas Experience

Magnus and Alec want to make Christmas magical for their sons. They’re not going to deny them any of the festive traditions, and when it comes to baking the gingerbreads, Alec insist on them to do it without any help of magic. To enjoy the Christmas experience in full.

Turns out, Christmas can be magical without the help of Warlock’s magic.

Or, Christmas baking with the Lightwood-Bane family.

read on ao3

Magnus sighs with a content smile as he watches Max and Rafe running around the loft. Sometimes, especially in just simple, normal moments like this, it’s hard for his mind to grasp that he actually gets to have this. Have a family with the love of his life and just enjoy the simplicity of it.

“Okay, boys!” He calls out, rubbing his hands together. “Dad’s gonna be back soon, so stop running around and come help me prepare the kitchen.” He orders gently, to which Max whines.

“But papa, you can just snap your fingers and it’ll be ready!”

Rafael chuckles at his brother’s words and Magnus lets out a groan. They really need to work on Max’s dependence on his magic, so he won’t just use it every time he has to do something he doesn’t like. Being only six years old, he quickly starts to pick up on simple spells that Magnus often uses. One day he even managed to summon some toys from his room to the living room.

Magnus truly fears the day he learns to create portals.

“No, he can’t.” Alec’s voice sounds from the doorway and they all turn, Max and Rafael running towards him, as he drops the shopping bags on the floor and squats, opening his arms to hug his children. He drops kisses on top of both of their heads as Max clings onto his neck, so standing up Alec brings the little Warlock with him, holding him up with on arm. He smiles down at Rafael, ruffling his hair to which he giggles.

And Magnus just stands enchanted, watching this beautiful scene he saw so many times before, but he’ll never get bored of it. Then, his fiancé finally makes his way to him, and kisses him lightly on the lips, still holding their son in his arms. Magnus can’t help but smile.

“Why can’t papa use magic, daddy?” Max asks then, his face scrunched up in confusion.

“Because,” Alec begins to explain, addressing his whole family. “Tonight, there’s one rule: no magic,” He looks at Magnus, receiving a nod at the statement and then continues, “no runes.” His gaze switches to Rafe and the boy nods too, even if looking a bit confused. “Just normal Christmas baking.” Alec states casually with a shrug.

Max whines again, which earns him a laugh from the rest.

“But why?” The Warlock pouts. “It would be easier!”

“Do you want it to be easy?” Alec asks looking at his son. “Or, do you want it to be fun?” He taps his finger on Max’s nose and the boy giggles.

“Max just wants to eat all the cookies already.” Rafe states with a grin and they all laugh again.

Rafael has been with them for almost two years now, and both Alec and Magnus couldn’t be happier with how he has adjusted to the family. How comfortable he is around them. Considering Rafael’s childhood back in Buenos Aires, the fathers made it their personal mission to show him how cared and loved he is by them with every little thing they do. To provide him with everything he needs, so he would never thought that they would ever deny him anything.

“All right, boys.” Alec begins as he puts Max back down on the floor. “Go get these to the kitchen.” He points at the bags full of all the ingredients they will need tonight, for their gingerbreads. “We’ll join you in a minute.”

The boys quickly obey, and when they’re out of the room, Alec brings Magnus closer, wrapping his arms around his fiancé’s waist and kissing him deeply.

Soon, they both smile into the kiss and when they part, leaving only a few inches of space between them, Magnus asks.

“How was work?”

“Tough.” Alec replies honestly, letting out a long sigh. “But let’s not talk about it tonight. I just want to enjoy some time doing Christmas baking with my beautiful family.”

It’s been hard for Alec recently, since he’s still preparing to face the Clave on a trail about getting Downworlders and Shadowhunters a right to marry. They’ve been engaged for a year now, and Alexander has begun his arrangements to this trail right after that. Still, there’s a long way ahead, but with his family’s support, there’s no way he won’t make it.

“Couldn’t agree more, angel.” Magnus approves with a kiss to Alec’s cheek.

His fiancé just smiles back at him, but then he asks.

“Okay, but have you ever actually done that?”

Magnus just raises a quizzical brow at him, feeling slightly confused.

“The baking, I mean.” Alec explains.

“Sure, darling. Lots of times.” Magnus’ voice sounds just a tad bit too high, but of course Alec picks up on it.

“You just always used magic, right?” He resolves with an annoyed expression. Alec doesn’t like when he uses magic on everything. Seems not only Max has a problem with that. But Alexander can’t change the time before they met, and Magnus admits, that after getting together with him, he became a bit less dependent on his magic. Sure, he still uses it. Constantly. But such things as making breakfast, or cooking dinner, doing shopping… he finds joy in those things, when he gets to do them besides Alexander.

“Oh, you’re to one to talk!” Magnus just mocks, which basically confirms Alec’s words. “Have you ever done that?”

“A few times.” Alec shrugs. “Back in Idris, when I was really young. Shadowhunters don’t really celebrate Christmas all that much.”

Magnus nods understandingly, but his arms tighten a bit around Alec. It’s truly sad for him, that Alexander hadn’t really experience the Christmas magic as a child. Magnus actually hadn’t either, but Alec has always had a family he could do that with. Shadowhunters are truly interesting creatures…

“But, that’s just one more reason, why we should enjoy our Christmas experience in full tonight.” Alec states then, as if reading Magnus’ mind.

If they both hadn’t had this when they were children, then they need to make sure their sons will have to most marvellous and incredible Christmas of all times. This time of the year is just magical, and they both want for Max and Rafe to feel it every year. Last Christmas Rafael was still getting accustomed to the family, so he felt a bit overwhelmed with this whole thing. This year, however is much better, so they can actually engage with all the festive stuff they missed out on the last time.

“You’re right.” Magnus simply resorts with a quick peck on Alec’s lips to which he smiles and nods. “Let’s get started then.”

You can just feel the Christmas spirit in the loft. Magnus made sure of that. There’s a huge Christmas tree in a living room, that they decorated only a few days ago. The balcony, even though it’s freezing and no one will dare to step outside, is decorated with lots of fairly lights, a mistletoe is hanging in the hall, right before the front door, which Magnus always uses when Alec enters the apartment. Look, a mistletoe, what a funny coincidence, Magnus says then and Alec rolls his eyes. Like he would ever try to find an excuse to kiss him. Alec doesn’t need mistletoe for that.

There are just more garlands of lights draped up around the whole loft. There’s even a small Christmas tree in their bedroom, on Magnus’ desk. Christmas stockings are hanging on the walls, along some decorations that the boys made themselves. And there’s this scent, the pine mixed with oranges, cinnamon and cloves… it just feels warm. It’s perfect. Alec knew his fiancé has a thing for redecorating, but with this, he has truly outdone himself.

The kitchen is not different. There are oranges with cloves set around the counter and a kitchen table. There is Christmas headdress with a candle in the middle of it. Alec finds himself actually admiring it all just now, since this week as been hectic at the Institute. He had been coming back home late, in fact only seeing his family briefly in the mornings, plus Magnus at night, when he crawled up into their bed. He’s glad to finally let go, and enjoy some quality time with his family.

The boys are putting all the ingredients on the counter. With no magic or runes, as promised. Max is standing on a stool, since he’s still a bit too short to reach it. Rafael pulls out the bowl, spoons and the rest of equipment they will need.

“What now?” Max beams enthusiastically as they’re both done with the preparations.

“First, we need to make the dough.” Alec states and reaches with his hand to his pocket, pulling out a piece of paper and waving it in the air. “Grandma gave me our family recipe.”

So they starts. Putting all the ingredients in a bowl, with the boys bickering about who wants to add which one. Soon they’re all partly covered in flour, some eggs land on the floor, but it’s not like Alec, nor Magnus cares. It’s fun, that’s all that matters.

“What are you the most excited about Christmas this year?” Magnus asks them all, standing next to Alec who’s currently kneading the dough.

“The presents! And the Santa Claus to come!” Max shrieks and grins form his spot, as he’s sitting on the counter on Alec’s left, dangling his legs.

“That was expected.” Alec just shrugs turning to Magnus who chuckles briefly. “What about you, Rafe?”

“This is fun.” The boy states as he’s watching Alec’s movements precisely, leaning against the counter. “Decorating the tree was awesome too.”

“I’m glad you’re enjoying this, mijo.” Magnus kisses Rafael’s hair gently, to which the Shadowhunter blushes slightly.

“What about you?” He asks then.

“What about us?” Magnus prompts, running a hand through his son’s hair.

“What are you the most excited about.?” His sight hoovers from Alec to Magnus, clearly addressing the question to them.

Magnus seems to think a little, so Alec decides to speak first.

“Just spending some time with you.” He says softly. “I know I’ve been away a lot recently, and I really missed you guys.”

“We missed you too, daddy.” Max reaches with his hand and taps it lightly on Alec’s forearm, so the Shadowhunter leans in and places a kiss on his cheek.

“But we get it.” Rafael nods and then adds. “Your work is important.”

Alec can’t help the smile creeping onto his face. His family is so understanding and sincere, but no matter what, he will do everything to be with them as much he can. He doesn’t want to become this kind of a father that his father was too him. He was still away at Clave’s meetings, or busy running the Institute and at some point Alec forgot how it feels to actually have a father. Family is more significant than any kind of work, and Alec thinks that maybe if his dad acknowledged it, things could have been completely different between them.

“I know.” He resorts, still smiling softy. “But you all are more important than that. You are the most important, ever.” He spots Magnus easily returning his smile and then he pushes away from the counter to stand behind Alec and wrap his arms around him, kissing his cheek.

“As you are for us, love.”

Alec feels his smile from widening, sometimes still finding it hard to believe, how he deserved such an amazing family.

“All right, it’s done.” He states a bit later, as he puts the dough on the counter and rolls it. Magnus moved to spread out all of the various shaped cutters around, and then the both step away from the counter, creating a space for the boys.

“We’ll let you do the fun stuff.” Magnus winks and their sons giggle as they get work on to cutting out the shapes from the dough.

“Just watch out for the sharp side of the cutters.” Alec warns. “We don’t want anyone to lose their fingers.” He adds in a lower voice to which Magnus chuckles. “Let’s make some icing.”

They move away a bit, still keeping an eye for the children. Alec does most of the work, since Magnus basically has no idea what to do.

“That’s what happens when you only use magic.” Alec teases as he stirs the icing in a bowl, wrapped in his fiancé’s arms again. “What would you do without me, huh?”

“I don’t think I ever want to find out.” Magnus answers in a light, playful tone, which is followed by yet another kiss to his cheek.

“Try this.” Alec turns in his arms, holding a spoon full of icing in front of him.

“It’s sweet.” Magnus states simply after getting a taste, and then his smile widens a bit. “But not as sweet as you.”

“You sap.” Alec laughs and spats him lightly on the arm, which only makes him hum.

“But I’m your sap.” Magnus resorts, and Alec just can’t resist the urge to kiss him. The Warlock seems to have the same idea, so they meet half-way, softly connecting their lips together.

“Papa why don’t we have a dog shaped cutter! I want to make one for uncle Luke!” Max yells from the other side of the kitchen, and they break their kiss chuckling.

“Use the reindeer one.” Magnus replies. “I’m sure you can make it a dog somehow.”

Alec rolls his eyes, but laughs as they make their way back to join their sons.

When the gingerbreads are in the oven, boys back in the living room watching some TV, Magnus and Alec clean up the kitchen a bit, and as Magnus puts out various sprinkles on the counter, his fiancé speaks, from where he’s seated on Max’s previous spot on the counter.

“What would you like to get for Christmas?”

Magnus thinks a little, trying to come up with some answer, but he decides to reply with another question.

“You’re saying, that you still haven’t got me anything?” He says in a teasing tone, as he turns to face him.

But Alec looks slightly guilty, as he doesn’t look back into Magnus’ eyes. His gaze is focused on his hands, as he’s playing with his engagement ring, twisting it around his finger.

“Yeah, I’m sorry… I-“ He attempts to explain himself, but Magnus swiftly interrupts, as he comes to stand in front of him.

“Alexander, there’s nothing to be sorry for, angel. There’s still a bit of time. Besides, I know how hard work has been recently. It’s a miracle you got some time to go shopping with me for the boys’ presents.” They bought them gifts a bit earlier, when one day Alec somehow got of the Institute at a reasonable hour. If they only knew how frantic it would become for Alexander later on…

Magnus gently sweeps his hands on Alec’s thighs, coming to stand between his legs. He then cups his fiancé’s face, and places a kiss on his lips, to which Alec finally looks up and smiles.

“I don’t really have any preferences.” Magnus shrugs lightly, answering Alec’s question. “As long as I get to spend Christmas with you, the boys, and the rest of our family, it’s enough.”

Alec nods, smiling wider as his hands wander to settle around Magnus’ neck.

“Yeah, that’ll be the best gift.” They kiss again, and when Magnus pulls away, he speaks.

“But actually, I already got you your present.”

“What is it?” Alec asks, truly curious.

“I’m not telling you Alexander, Santa Claus will resort if you’ve been good enough to get it.”

Alec laughs, the sound vibrating through Magnus’ chest as they’re pressed so close together. He places a kiss to Alec’s palm, as his hands wander to cup his face.

“Then, I hope he’ll consider me good.”

“I might have whispered him a thing, or two about you.” Magnus follows his words with another kiss to his mouth, and they both smile into it. Soon, Alec pulls away, creasing his fiancé’s cheeks lightly.

“We should check on the cookies.” He says as he hops down from the counter. “I don’t want your little make out session to ruin our hard work.”

“My make out session?” Magnus growls with faked offense, dramatically putting his palm on his heart. “May I remind you, that you were also a part of this?”

“I don’t recall.” Alec states teasingly, as he moves to the oven.

But Magnus quickly tugs at his hand, till he is pressed flush against his chest again and kisses him deeply, hooking his arms around Alec's neck to bring him even closer.

“Does it ring a bell now?”

“It might.” Alec connects their lips again, and the stumble together to the oven. “Oh, I think I remember now.”

Magnus rolls his eyes, but can’t help the amused smile painting his face.

Soon, the whole family is back in the kitchen, the boys standing at the counter, both amazed with the collection of sprinkles and icings their fathers had prepared.

Rafael takes the first gingerbread man and puts some blue icing on him, then he turns to his brother and says.

“Look Max, just like you!” He exclaims and they all a laugh.

Sometimes Magnus recalls the feeling he and Alec both had when they decided to take Rafe in. How scared they were of his reaction to Max. They were worried he might be terrified of the little Warlock, his growing horns, and blue skin. But of course, Rafael has surprised them. He never mention Max’s appearance in a bad way, never made fun of it, or was scared of it. Magnus’ hearts swells, of how much their sons have got along. All worries forgotten.

“I thinks he’s missing something.” He states as he leans in and places two chocolate chips at the gingerbread’s head, so they’re resembling Max’s horns.

The little Warlock beams again, as they place Ginger Max on a tray, claiming that he needs to be eaten the last.

So the production begins. There are more Ginger Maxes, angels, sparkling Christmas trees and a few of Santa Clauses. There’s even a reindeer that Max tries to transform into a wolf. Rafael draws a deflect rune on one of the gingerbread men, insisting that it’s Alec. Later following with another one, whose eyes are made of two drops of yellow icing. That one is Magnus. They even cleated Ginger Clary, with red icing resembling her hair, and Ginger Jace with blonde ones. After some time, the counter is spread with their little gingerbread family.

The boys hands are all covered in icing, and they end up smearing it onto their faces. Alec and Magnus are not left out of the attack and soon, the whole kitchen becomes a mess, with the family laughing in the middle of it.

“Okay,” Magnus starts as the laughter dies down. “I think we did quite a great job today.”

The rest nods in agreement.

“See, you can have fun without magic, Max.” Alec states, ruffling his younger son’s hair.

“It was so fun!” Max exclaims. “Now I want to eat the cookies!”

“Tomorrow, Blueberry.” Magnus resorts, to which Max pouts. “It’s too late now, and besides, the gingerbreads need to survive till Christmas eve. Some of them, at least.”

Max tries to whine, but it turns into yawn, only showing of how tired he is, and how late it has actually became now.

“What was your favourite part?” Alec asks the boys then.

“The decorating!” They both call out in the same time.

Magnus hums in answer and then he ushers the boys out of the kitchen.

“Go get cleaned up and get to beds.” He says. “Dad will come soon to read you a story.”

The boys are clearly too tired to object, as the adrenaline from the day seem to float out. They lazy nod and pad out of the kitchen, in the direction of the their bedrooms.

Magnus’s gaze lingers on them for a bit, and then he turns to Alec, who is wiping up the counter, where the icing has already dried out.

“Can I use magic now?” Magnus asks, trying to spear Alec all the hard work, but his fiancé just shakes his head.

“No. Full Christmas experience. Remember?”

“That also includes the cleaning?” Magnus questions, still hopeful a bit that it won’t.

Alec just gestures at the cloth in his hand.

“Well, what do you think?”

Magnus sighs, but comes closer to Alec, with an intention of helping him, but then he spots a heart shaped gingerbread and grabs it from a tray on his way.

He stands in front of Alec, and when he looks up, Magnus gives him the cookie with a playful smile.

“What?” Alec asks, with a hint of laugh in his voice, accepting the cookie and clearly noticing the smirk on his fiancé’s face.

“Seems like I’m giving you my heart.” Magnus states and they both burst out into laughter again. Alec shakes his head at his antics, but can't help the amsued smile on his lips.

“I think you did that some time ago.” He drops the cloth and pulls Magnus closer, with his arms around his waist. “And that you stole mine in process.”

Magnus chuckles and brushes Alec’s hair out of his forehead.

“You’ve got some icing here.” He sweeps his finger at the corner of Alexander’s mouth. Next he leans in and kisses the place lightly.

“Really?” Alec asks playfully when he pulls back to look at him.

“No, I just wanted to kiss you.” Magnus states with a shrug.

“Babe, you never need an excuse for that.”

And when Alec connects their lips again, it’s barley a kiss, because their smiles are becoming too wide.

And even without any help of magic, Christmas has never felt more magical.

#malec #shadowhunters #malec fanfic #my writing #fluff #christmas fluuf #christmas baking #Alec Lightwood #Magnus Bane #Max Lightwood-Bane #Rafael Lightwood-Bane #christmas #Merry Christmas #family feels

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