#happy bull family

[ekary]

Several people asked for a translation of the post with a happy villainous family.

But for an understandable translation, you need to see this mini-comic in full.

It was my headcanon.

The Red Son was not afraid of his father's screams and growls, on the contrary, he calmed down.

[adisillusionedauthor]

Could you do fic for Checo with wife reader where she's Max's older sister and she just worried for them because of how the races could turned badly in a matter of second? Add something you'd like though. Thanks! :)

Fearful Velocity - Sergio Pérez and Max Verstappen

Requested by: Anon

Masterlist<3

Pairing: Checo x spouse!GN!reader, Max x Sibling!reader

Warning: OOC Checo, OOC Max, fluff, sweet, concern about loved ones, Max being a sweetie, Checo being a sweetie and bad english

Word count: 713

The team always tries to make everything very comfortable for me when I go see the races in person, being the married and related to their drivers I get some sort of princess treatment, but it somehow doesn’t help the aching feeling that something is going to happen, I shake the thought off of my head once i realize Checo is walking towards me, I start to smile at him opening my arms for him, hoping he’d hug me. 

Of course he obliges and pulls me into a tight hug, since I’m sitting down my head rests comfortably on his chest and he rests his on top of my head, not before giving the top of head a kiss: “You’ve got that look on your face…” He says into my hair softly, I let out a sigh, nothing happens to me without this man noticing: “Is it the usual?” He asks with a knowing look on his face, I’ve shared my concerns with him, even asked him to retire once Sebastian said he’d be leaving F1, but it didn’t work, he wants to race longer; “Yup… It’s like this every weekend that there’s a race, but this time… It feels different, like something is going to happen…” I say, sharing this strange feeling makes my chest somehow feel lighter, Sergio pulls me even closer if that’s even possible, but before he could say something we could hear my younger brother’s voice saying “Ew!” from behind him, Checo turns with an more serious look which makes Max realize I’m worrying over them again.

He comes hug me for a while on Checo’s place while he goes get ready for today, Max keeps telling me that serious accidents barely ever happen, that there’s no need for me to get so stressed over this, today is supposed to be a day where I can take a breath and see my boys enjoy themselves on the track and he’s right, it feels weird even thinking about this: “I’m sorry for worrying so much, it’s just… I still see you as that boy who still raced in a kart, it’s weird seeing the little boy I held in my arms accomplish so much… I’m proud of you Max, truly proud” I say smiling at him proudly, in my heart he’ll always that baby my parents brought home when I was still two, he’ll always be my little brother, no matter how many championships he wins or how many podiums he gets: “Don’t you dare say stuff that’ll make me tear up right before a race, I can’t cry now, Y/N” He says while his eyes get glossy with tears, i hug him even closer and then Checo comes back to get Max to get ready for the race: “So… Feeling better about today, mi amor?” He knows that nickname is my doom, I melt into his arms as his fingers run into my hair soothing me even more: “You’re a very unfair man, Mr. Pérez…” I say resting my head onto his shoulder and he laughs gently: “Oh really? Or maybe I just know exactly what I need to do to calm my wife, Mrs. Pérez.”

I blush softly at his words, I’ve been his wife for four years, but everytime he calls me that I feel like I did on our first date, my smile turns even more soft and I answer him: “Maybe… But just maybe, you’ve helped a lot, darling” He smiles back at me happy that he could help me feel a little more safe about him and my brother racing, he gives me three kissed like he always does when he’s about to go race, one on  my forehead promising to keep me on his mind during the race, one on my cheek promising to never let me go and finally one on my lips promising to always love me, I kiss him back showing just as much love as he is into the kiss, when Max comes to call him so they can enter the car and go to the line up, I don’t feel as anxious as I did on the beginning of the day, because I know that they’ll both be okay and if something does happen they’ll have me to take care of them and nurse them back into healthiness just so i can scold them. 

[buglaur]

i'm so excited for the new packs features i had to build something from scratch for the first time ever. can't wait to play with row houses omfggg

[fcb-mv33]

He’s so happy with his little family I cannot😭😭😭😭😭

[bottom55cs]

The sun.

[samadhifired]

You know what? Princess Iron Fan kinda reminds me of one of those "strict military dad" stereotypes.

Those who are bad at showing affection. Who keeps putting their kids down to "toughen them up". The ones who thinks that just by making sure that their child isn’t lacking anything in a material sense will keep them happy.

A parent who often falls back on treating the child like the soldiers they used to command because that is what they are familiar with.

It’s not that she doesn’t love her son. She just doesn’t know how to act like a good, loving parent.

Demon Bull King, on the other hand, is the emotional parent.

He is the one who used to laugh the loudest. The one who fell in love on the battlefield. The one who looked at his sleeping baby son and could do nothing but smile. A parent who, despite his own feelings of failure and regret, agreed to try his son’s plans for a new start in a job he saw beneath their status.

A parent who probably spent months yrying to accept the fact that the small child he had left behind was gone. That his child was now a young adult; so different that they were essentially a stranger. Logically, he must have known they were the same person. Logically, he must have known that he hadn’t lost a child, so there is no reason to mourn, to be angry or to be bitter…

It’s not that he doesn’t love his son. He just doesn’t know how to let go of the years he lost or how to recognize this stranger he found as one.

[devestatedutterlydevestated]

shoutout to lego monkie kid for being the only lego show to have the demon bull family in it

manifesting more of them and their interactions in s4 🙏

[dr3smile]

He’s home. 🥹

[snowe-zolynn-rogers]

Now that I’m thinking about it. I really wanted Monty’s first meeting with Solar to be Monty mistaking Solar for Eclipse.

Like Monty doesn’t realize that Solar is a good person and goes into a rage and Monty just immediately tries to kill him. He gets stopped, of course, from killing Solar but it leaves Solar retraumatized and having a PTSD flashback about his Moon and the abuse he suffered in his home dimension that the others have to try to help him talk about and work through with therapy and support.

Just let us have a cohesive and proper arc about Solar’s (undoubtedly tragic) backstory and whatever happened in his dimension that finally made him so desperate he left it. I want answers dammit!

[sonia-the-hedgehog-2369]

Originally posted on 05/13/2024

I love this silly goober 💖

[neiich]

okay yeah we all know and agree that Jos never was the best father Max...

but when I look at this pictures.. and the way Max is looking at Jos.. all I see is a son, than loves his dad so much!

[adisillusionedauthor]

Could you do fic for Checo with wife pregnant!reader? For his birthday she surprise him with the news? Just something fluff and cute. Add something you'd like though. Tag me later! Thanks!! :)

Baby on Board

Requested by: @pear-1206

Masterlist<3

Pairing: Checo x Pregnant Wife!Reader

Warning: OOC Checo,, fluff, sweet, concern about loved ones, Max being a sweetie, Checo being a sweetie and bad english

Word count: 789

As the party’s time was getting closer and closer I could feel my heart beating even faster, I try to calm myself down by remembering that this, this baby was something me and Sergio were planning on having, but after so many failed attempts we sort off gave up and tonight I’m going to give him the most important news on his birthday nonetheless, we decided to not do anything huge, he invited a few of his colleagues over and we were going to do a small dinner, as I finished the last thoughts on how I was going to tell him that we are going to have a baby there was a knock on our bedroom door, as it opened  I could see a very happy looking Checo, he wasn’t wearing anything too fancy, just some simple jeans and a normal plain shirt, but he made it look so good like he always does: “You should take a pic, mrs. Pérez, it’ll last longer.” He said, smiling at me teasingly, I let out a soft chuckle: “Am I not allowed to appreciate your good looks mr. Pérez?” I ask, teasing him back: “Of course, but our guests are going to be arriving soon, I just wanted to make sure you were okay, since you were feeling a little under the weather earlier.” Always so caring, he’s worried cause I spent most of the morning puking on the toilet. I smile at him and guarantee that I’m okay and I tell him to go down, that I was just going to get his gift and that I’d met him downstairs: “I don’t need a gift, I already have the best gift life could get me, a loving and caring wife like you” He says with a huge smile, closing the door behind him.

Once I hear him opening the door to his friends I reach under the bed and pull out something I prepared for him, my plan is to tell him I’m pregnant by giving his this small Red Bull onesie, our last name and his car number on the back, I put the onesie on the box I bought, taped a small card saying that we are pregnant and together with those things I put the last few things, like the positive pregnancy test and a miniature of the car like it was a toy for the child. Once it’s all wrapped up I hide the gift behind my back and go downstairs to give it to Checo.

Finally downstairs I said hi to his friends, a few from Red Bull and some who aren't, I believe he invited Carlos, Daniel, Max, Alonso and Vettel, and they all brought their girlfriends or wifes. Once everyone was greeted, I asked Checo to sit down so I could hand him his gift. He sits down on the couch a little confused but obliges by closing his eyes and putting his hands out, I place the gift box a little nervously on his hands. Then he opened his eyes and looked at me confused, I shrugged and he started undoing the bow I made, once he removed the cover and read the words “We’re pregnant!” in bold letters I could see small tears forming in his eyes, he took the onesie from the box and started yelling from happiness: “I’m going to be a dad!” His friends all patted him on the back as congratulations and their WAG’s came to hug me congratulating me as well. Once the initial shock from the news passed we continued on with dinner as we had planned, after everyone left.

Me and Checo laid down in bed before going to sleep, he insisted on talking to the baby before sleeping even after I explained that the baby wouldn’t hear him to which he responded with: “I’m her father, she’ll listen to me” I giggled gently, running my fingers through his hair as he spent the next hour talking to the baby, I didn’t have the heart to tell him that it was too early for him to be so certain that they’d be a girl, but surely enough once I was with 18 weeks and we managed to schedule the ultrasound to know the gender, the doctor told us that the baby was a little girl, that day Checo spent almost three hours online looking for cute outfits for the baby and a few merchandise that he could get for her, the baby wasn’t even born but she already had her father wrapped around her finger, one thing I’m certain of is that she’ll love him very much, every time she hears his voice she starts kicking like crazy, these two will be inseparable.

[doodle-list]

I'm genuinely So sad about the path Mando is taking like. I enjoyed some moments of course, but the way they're completely taking the spot light from Din's and Grogu's relationship (which is the literal premise of the show and what got me into it in the first place) to focus on another character we had little to no connection with in the previous seasons, and also make her completely let go of her past goals for what? To become an ambassador of something she wasn't even apart of??? Also completely ignoring her past and turning her into this shallow innocent princess. Sorry for the rant, I'm just really sad about the new season

No dont be! You’re so valid for that and I agree completely :/

A lot of people have already put it into words better but season 3 baring all shitty writing just doesnt feel like The Mandalorian anymore

The main part of the show of din and grogus relationship is just not there anymore, and the fact that we spent two seasons building up these really lovable characters that had so much more potential and places to go and just dulled them into a purely merchandising object and a cardboard cutout yes man is so disappointing

I got into the mandalorian for the characters because I love character driven stories. I can’t care less about bigger plots on their own and the new season being this wide galaxy thing insgead of a funky show where we get to see this guy politely fail to decline every side quest ever and try and take care of his son, I just. Dont care anymore

Like nothing about season 3 feels character focused. Sure bo katan is There but all her flaws and faults that make her an interesting character get brushed under the rug and completely ignored in favor of propping her up to be this sympathetic hero, even though we canonically have evidence of the complete opposite. There is no attempt to even give her character development so when she gets the sabre handed to her Again, the expectation that her rule is going to work this time is just poor writing

Its basically that phrase “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”

I just feel like the writers this season somehow are completely unaware of their characters and how they would act in situations. It feels like they created the plot first are forcing the characters to complete their checklist of wants with complete disregard of whether it makes sense for them to do it at all

Season 2 gave us really wholesome moments between Din and Grogu and I dont think I’m wrong for saying that we all expected the latter to increase as seasons and episodes went by

They clearly understand that we all love Din since they baited us in the promotional material so I literally cannot fathom why they decided to nix the direction they were going to for practically a completely different story

The story of a man who’s trying to find his place in the world and learns to become a father is just not there anymore. And that just… sucks

And well, this probably sounds really nit picky to some or like “why are you so focused on this shlt just enjoy the show and have fun” but when you love the show for two reasons only (din and din and grogus relationship) its very very hard to like something that has so blatantly carelessly pushed that aspect aside. And when you’re not interested in whats happening because the reason you love the show isnt treated well, you kinda start to see all the flaws behind the curtains

[fcb-mv33]

Back home🧡

[the-toasted-teacake]

[acacia-may]

First Christmas

Description: This year the Black Bulls are going all out for the holidays because it's their nephew's first Christmas! Charlotte may still be getting used to her chaotic new family, but she and Yami agree that it's very sweet the new "aunts and uncles" are going out of their way to make the holiday season truly special for their son.

Rating: G

Warnings: Mentions pregnancy. Otherwise, just fluff.

Fandom: Black Clover

Genre: Holiday Black Bulls Family Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Christmas Fluff, Babies, and Slice of Life. Totally self-indulgent, but I hope you will like it too.

Relationships: The major emphasis is on the Black Bulls squad as a family and secondarily some YamiChar domestic fluff & babies. Other relationships included are Rill/Charmy, Vanessa/Finral, a little bit of Asta/Noelle and Gauche/Grey are teased also mentioned.

Characters: Charlotte Roselei (POV Character), Yami Sukehiro, Charmy Pappitson, Rill Boismortier, Vanessa Enoteca, Finral Roulacase, Asta, Noelle Silva, Zora Ideale, Magna Swing, and the Black Bulls

Word Count: 3578

Link to original post on AO3. Please do not repost to another site.

Happy Holidays everyone! Story below the cut!

The Black Bulls’ hideout was as busy and bustling as Charlotte would have expected, but it was far more festive than she had ever seen it before with colorful holiday decorations in every nook and cranny. Magna had told her that he had gone on an expedition with Luck and Zora to find the biggest tree in the woods behind their base, and now that they had brought it back home, Gordon, Gauche, and Grey were busy hanging tinsel, ornaments, and strings of popcorn on all the branches. Charlotte had always known that the Black Bulls enjoyed celebrating around the holidays, but they had been super insistent on going “all out” this year since it was their nephew’s first Christmas. 

The thought brought a warm and gentle smile to Charlotte’s face. Of course, she and her husband wanted the holidays to be special for Katsu, but it was so sweet that all of his Black Bulls uncles and aunts wanted this as well. Uncle Gordon had been showing off some of the shiny ornaments to him earlier before Aunt Charmy and Uncle Rill had whisked him away for a tour of the kitchen, filled with all kinds of delicious holiday treats he wasn’t old enough to eat yet. Uncle Magna had him now and was walking him around to look at all the twinkling lights while Uncle Luck prattled on about having a snowball fight once he was old enough which, he was promptly reminded, would be a long time since Katsu was only a few months old. 

Katsu’s big, blue eyes were wide—almost mesmerized by the lights which seemed to please his Uncle Magna who had been responsible for lighting all the candles in the first place. When his Uncle Asta tried to take him, however, he started to fuss and cry, and Magna looked over at her almost helplessly.  

“Sorry, Charlotte,” he said as he handed the baby off to her. She shrugged and patted her son’s back until he calmed again, nestling into her shoulder. 

“It’s okay. He’s probably just tired.” 

“Or he wants his mom,” suggested Asta with a good-natured smile. “He looks pretty happy now.” 

Asta was right. Though Katsu still had a tear in the corner of his eye, he looked as content as could be now that she was holding him again. Yami often teased that he was sure their son was a mama’s boy. Maybe he was right about that. 

“He’s probably just tired of being passed around all the time,” huffed Noelle, and Charlotte supposed she had a point. Ever since Katsu had been born, it seemed like his Black Bulls aunts and uncles were fighting over who got to hold him. When they were all together like this, he tended to get passed around faster than even his parents could keep up with. “That’s a lot of strange people holding him.”  

“We’re not strange people,” said Asta, giving Katsu a gentle pat. “We’re his family.” 

“Noelle has a point though,” Secre interjected. “Maybe we should let Charlotte have him for a while. You can hold him afterwards.” 

Zora huffed looking up from the string of popcorn he was putting together. “Wait a second—I was next.” 

“I thought I was next…” protested Finral. “We need to write this stuff down or something.” 

“Calm down. You’re all gonna get a turn to hold him”—Yami shook his head with an almost-affection—“you knuckleheads.” He sighed before he raised his glass. “Now I’m gonna go get some more mulled wine. This is the best year yet, Vanessa.” 

Vanessa smiled. “Glad to hear it. Unfortunately, I won’t be having any.” Shrugging  her shoulders, she ran her hand across the small bump which had only recently popped out of her abdomen. “You had better be worth it,” she teased, giving her stomach a pat. 

“You can always have some next year. I’m sure it’ll be even better then,” Asta reassured her with a bright smile. 

“Unless she’s pregnant again,” quipped Charmy without even looking up from the cookies she was currently decorating with Rill.   

Vanessa rolled her eyes, but Finral choked out a shaky, “Don’t even joke about that!” 

“She’s got a point though,” quipped Yami with a lopsided, teasing grin. “You’re gonna have been married what—9 months when this brat is born? If you keep this up, you’re gonna have a whole hoard of them.” 

“You’re terrible, you know that?” huffed Vanessa though there was a playful twitch of a smile in her the corners of her mouth.

“Well I think it’s great,” chimed Rill. “Congratulations!”

“You would,” Charmy teased, playfully wiping frosting on his nose. Rill merely laughed. 

“Who knows? Maybe it’ll be you and Charmy having a baby next.” As Vanessa winked at her, Charmy wrinkled her nose. 

“We just got married a couple months ago,” she protested crossing her arms as Rill’s cheeks flushed pink. “I don’t expect that to mean anything to you but some of us actually want to wait awhile before having kids.” 

Vanessa blinked at her but sighed, rubbing her hand almost absentmindedly across her belly. “This wasn’t exactly planned, Charmy.” 

“Yeah we figured,” quipped Zora who had finished his popcorn string and was handing it off to Gordon to put on the tree.

“Even if this one was a surprise, babies are awesome,” exclaimed Asta with a bright smile. “And with two of them around we won’t have to fight over who gets to hold Katsu nearly as much.”

Vanessa ruffled his hair affectionately. “Thanks, kiddo.” She turned back to the rest of her squad mates. “I’ve decided Asta gets to hold my baby first.” 

“What about me?” asked Finral pressing his hand to his chest in a somewhat playful outrage that made Vanessa shake her head and stifle a laugh. 

“Don’t be such a goofball. Of course you’re going to hold our kid first. Then Asta and then the rest of you.” She paused before she winked at Charmy and teased, “Except Charmy, unless she starts being nicer about it.” 

Charmy huffed but bantered, “You’re the one who decided to marry Finral—we get to tease you about it.” 

“She’s got a point there, little birdie,” quipped Yami twisting his mouth to one side. 

“Hey!” protested Finral, but Vanessa just sighed. “You guys are so mean to me. You’re both married and no one ever gives you a hard time about it.” 

“That’s because Rill is wonderful”—Charmy beamed at him—“there’s nothing to give me a hard time about, and we were all waited for years for the Captain and Charlotte to get together. When they finally did, we were just so relieved that they had stopped being so dense.”

“Charmy, Rill didn’t even know who you were for how long…” bantered Vanessa. “We actually told him that you were his ‘food goddess,’ and he still didn’t get it. I don’t think you get to tease anyone for being dense.” 

“That was a mistake,” said Rill apologetically. “But I know who she is now, and we’re very happy!”

Finral patted him on the shoulder. “It’s okay. These things happen.”

“He’s still not as dense as Captain Yami,” said Zora dryly.

“Listen, I got married before any of you morons so I don’t think I’m the dense one here.” The room grew suddenly quiet as the entire squad just blinked at him. Yami frowned, as Charlotte’s cheeks flushed. She had learned pretty quickly that the Black Bulls had been waiting for her and Yami to get together for almost as long as she had, but she was still getting used to getting teased about it. “She was sending me a lot of mixed signals, okay? I was just trying to be respectful.”  

Vanessa snorted a laugh before she rolled her eyes. “They weren’t mixed signals. She was totally into you—even Magna noticed.”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean? I notice things!”

“We were honestly starting to get worried it was never going to happen,” teased Vanessa with a wink, completely ignoring Magna’s protests. “But you figured it out, and now you have this little one.” She turned to Charlotte with a smile, and as ran her hand across Katsu’s back, he turned to look at her with wide blue eyes that looked far older than his years. “And he’s such a cutie! Do you think he’s ready to be held again?”

Charlotte nodded as she held Katsu out to her and said, “Sure. Go ahead” to the wide-spread protestations of the rest of the squad who were promptly told to wait their turns.

Smiling brightly, Vanessa took the baby and began walking around with him to show off the decorations. “Hi Katsu. Aren’t you just the cutest little man? You look just like your dad—especially with all this messy dark hair. If only we could get him in a Christmas sweater like this.” 

Yami frowned. “Don’t even think about it.” 

Charlotte laughed, and her husband tilted his head at her. “What? It might suit you,” she said with the slightest twitch in the corners of her mouth. 

“We should all wear matching sweaters next year,” suggested Gordon. 

Gauche huffed. “We’d look ridiculous.” 

“We should have worn them this this year for Katsu’s first Christmas,” Asta interjected.  

Noelle bristled. “He’s not even going to remember this, Bakasta…”  

“But that doesn’t mean we can’t get him presents.” 

“Oh that reminds me. I have a present for you,” cooed Vanessa as she walked with Katsu over towards the tree. As she walked back with the gift, she paused. Laughing, she pointed up above her head. “Ooh, mistletoe. Do you have kisses for your Aunt Vanessa?” She chuckled and kissed Katsu’s forehead causing his little brow to furrow at her as he frowned. “Now you really look like your dad.” 

“I’ll trade you,” said Finral playfully, reaching out for Katsu. “A kiss for the baby.” 

Vanessa hummed thoughtfully. “I’m not sure that’s a fair trade,” she teased, but she gave him a quick kiss and handed Katsu off to him. 

“You guys are gross,” mumbled Gauche with a shake of his head. 

“Oh yeah…you sure you don’t want to get caught with Grey under the mistletoe?” As Vanessa winked at them, Gauche’s cheeks flushed a faint pink as Grey turned bright red, buried her face in her hands, and muttered something incoherent but unmistakably mortified. 

“Well I for one would love to get caught under the mistletoe,” declared Rill as he grabbed Charmy hand—spinning her until they were both in the perfect spot. Then, he dipped her and kissed with the kind of dramatic flourish they had come to expect from him. This earned him a prompt round of applause and laughter, especially from Charmy who was wiping frosting off her face. 

“Alright, Captain, you’re next,” Vanessa teased him. 

Charlotte’s cheeks blushed red, but Yami frowned, “Isn’t the whole point of this stupid tradition that it’s supposed to be spontaneous?”

Vanessa shrugged. “No one ever said that dragging someone over there wasn’t allowed.”

“And pushing people together is always an option,” chimed Charmy. 

Charlotte’s cheeks flushed. She had been the victim of this rule during her first Christmas with the Black Bulls when she and Yami had only been newly dating. She had never been so mortified as when his squad had teamed up on them and casually corralled them until they were basically cornered under the mistletoe. Though Yami had told off his squad for being “knuckleheads” and had insisted that they wouldn’t need to kiss because of some stupid tradition, Charlotte had said it was fine—albeit she was bright red in the face and barely managed to choke out the words. He had just barely brushed her lips, but it had earned oohs and ahhs from their companions as well as a few whoops and whistles from some of the rowdier members of the bunch. Neither before nor since had Charlotte ever seen such a concerted effort to trap two people under the mistletoe, though they still hung it up every year, if only for tradition’s sake. 

“Well with all you knuckleheads pairing off already, you don’t really need to do that this year, do you?” 

“It’s for Noelle’s benefit. Since somebody is still dragging their feet…” Vanessa winked at Noelle, and Charlotte could have sworn she glanced over in Asta’s general direction as well—though he was cheerfully oblivious to it. 

Noelle’s face flushed a deep red, and she spluttered, “Wha—what? Why? Why would you—? Take it down!” She quickly stood up from her seat and rushed over towards the mistletoe—jumping up and down and grasping at it even though she was, unfortunately, too short to reach. 

“Oh, Katsu, please don’t cry,” pleaded Finral, pulling Charlotte’s attention to the baby who was squirming and fussing in his arms. “I think he wants mom—unless he just hates me,” he added with a sheepish chuckle as he handed her son back to her. 

“I’m sure he’s just tired,” Charlotte tried to reassure him. 

“Or he needs changed,” suggested Yami taking Katsu from her with an “I’ve got it” before grabbing their bag and stepping out. 

Gauche shook his head. “You couldn’t pay me to change a baby.”

“What are you going to do when you and Grey have kids?” teased Vanessa.

“What? We’re not… um… what?” stumbled Grey burying her face in her hands. Gauche frowned, but his cheeks flushed pink.

“I’ll do it. I could be the nanny,” said Gordon excitedly.

“I can help too!” interjected Asta.

Huffing, Noelle shook her head. “Bakasta! They’ve barely even been dating. They’re not having kids right now.”

“Th—thank you,” choked a particularly red Grey.

“I’m sure they will someday, and so will you…and Asta…” As Vanessa winked at her, Noelle huffed and crossed her arms despite the beet-red color of her face and her incoherent spluttering.

“That would be great! I love babies!” said Asta with a bright, beaming smile.

“And the most dense man award goes to…” muttered Zora under his breath with a roll of his eyes.

Before Noelle could jump into more protestations, Yami appeared in the doorway with a much happier Katsu in tow. “Who wants him?” he quipped dryly to an exuberant chorus of volunteers. Eventually, Katsu was handed off to his Uncle Henry, probably on the merit of Henry not being nearly as loud or persistent as the others.

“Now that Katsu’s back, here.” Vanessa handed Charlotte a wrapped box with a pretty bow. “This is for him. He’s so little he probably won’t remember it,” she chuckled. “But I still hope he gets a good use out of it.” 

“This is so sweet. Thank you, but you really didn’t have to—” Charlotte began, but Asta cut her off. 

“Oh is Katsu going to open presents?” 

“He’s a baby. He can’t open presents, dumbbell,” Zora quipped, but he still reached for a wrapped gift under a few of the tree branches. 

“We’ve got one for him too!” exclaimed Charmy as she and Rill made a dash for the tree. Everyone else, it seemed, followed suit and started grabbing their gifts and excitedly throwing them at Charlotte and Yami to open on Katsu’s behalf. 

Yami shook his head. “More presents? You already gave us a ton of sh—” He stopped himself as Charlotte glared pointedly at him. “stuff when he was born. How many presents does he need? He’s not even gonna remember any of this.” 

“It’s his first Christmas. We had to get him presents,” Finral insisted. 

With a sigh, Yami shook his head again, but the lines of his face softened and Charlotte could tell that he was genuinely moved by the gesture. Charlotte and Yami took turns unwrapping Katsu’s presents as he was passed around by his uncles and aunts. He got two more hand-knitted sweaters from his Aunt Grey, a hand-carved wooden rattle with his name on it from his Uncle Gauche, a cute but somewhat frightening set of plush farm animals his Uncle Gordon had clearly sewn together himself, and a handmade magic knight doll from Uncle Zora.  His Uncle Magna and Uncle Luck had teamed up to get him a tiny broom that Magna had decorated himself, and Uncle Asta, Uncle Henry, and Uncle Liebe had jointly purchased multiple sets of wooden blocks: some with numbers painted on the sides, the others with letters or pictures of animals. Aunt Secre had bought him a tiny pair of shiny, leather boots, and Aunt Noelle had purchased several complete outfits including a tiny vest that Charlotte thought was particularly adorable. Uncle Nacht’s gift was an incredibly practical set of bottles and several pairs of tiny socks of varying sizes for Katsu to “grow into.” Rounding out the haul was a wool coat, a painting of him, and several empty jars with a promissory note for homemade baby food as soon as he was old enough to eat it from his Aunt Charmy and Uncle Rill, and a silver ornament in the shape of a bird, a collection of illustrated children’s books and a beautiful, hand-embroidered quilt from his Uncle Finral and Aunt Vanessa, who Charlotte was sure, must have completed all the sewing and embroidery herself. 

“Well now my son is officially spoiled,” said Yami with a lopsided grin as he folded the quilt back into its gift box.  

“We’re his uncles and aunts. That’s what we do,” Charmy insisted, and Yami chuckled with a certain softness in his eyes.

“Thanks you guys. This was real nice.”

Charlotte nodded in agreement. “Very thoughtful—thank you. Though Katsu seems more excited about the wrapping paper.” Chuckling, she glanced over at her son who was playing with a large piece of shiny paper from one of his presents as his Uncle Asta held him on his hip and swayed back and forth.  

“You look like you’re dancing,” laughed Luck.  

“Ooh that’s a good idea,” said Rill reaching out and taking Charmy’s hand.

“There’s not even any music,” she chuckled with a shake of her head as he spun her around.

“Finral, why don’t you play something for us?” suggested Vanessa, rubbing her hand across his back.

Sighing, Finral sheepishly ran his hand across the nape of his neck. “I…don’t know…” After being begged by his squad mates, however, he took a seat at the piano and began to slowly pick out a familiar carol. Charlotte’s brow furrowed, and she began to wonder if he had forgotten the tune until he slid his hand across the piano keys and began to play at a jaunty, lively tempo that was perfect for dancing, much to the delight of his laughing companions.

“Show off…” muttered Yami with a shake of his head, but the corners of his mouth with turned up into a slight smile which widened when he turned to her and held out his hand. “What do you say, Prickly Queen? If we don’t get out there and dance, they’re just going to make us like Gauche and Grey over there.”

Charlotte chuckled as she watched Gordon and Vanessa practically pushing the two together over by the tree. Meanwhile, it appeared that Charmy and Rill were trying to corner Noelle and Asta under the mistletoe. Noelle let out a squeal that reminded Charlotte a lot of herself back in the day, but Asta gave her a quick kiss on the cheek that stunned her into blushing, sheepish silence as he pulled out into the middle of the room to dance. Charlotte smiled. Maybe they were both a lot like her and her husband after all.

“Alright,” she said taking Yami’s hand with a smile. Her husband had never been much of a dancer, but he tried his best especially when they got their son back after he started fussing for his Aunt Secre. Katsu seemed to like the swaying motion of dancing, and he soon nestled into his father’s shoulder and began to drift off though Charlotte wasn’t sure how he could even think about sleeping with all that music in the background.

“You’re under the mistletoe!” Vanessa’s teasing voice pulled Charlotte out of her thoughts. Her brow furrowed as she looked around the room, wondering who she was talking about. A blush filled her cheeks as Yami twisted his mouth to one side pointing above their heads. He smiled at her; then at their son before he kissed the top of Katsu’s head; then he leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss to the—albeit quiet—applause of their companions…no, their family who had made this a wonderful holiday.

Charlotte was suddenly struck by a warm feeling radiating in her chest at the thought. Somewhere along the way Yami’s chaotic knuckleheads, as he would probably call them, had become her family too and now were an amazing group of aunts and uncles to Katsu. As Yami met her eyes and smiled at her, she knew he must be thinking the same thing. Sure, the Black Bulls were all a little zany and quirky and more than a little chaotic, but looking around at them now, it was so clear that they cared and that was what mattered—to Yami, to her, and to their son who had just been given the best first Christmas thanks to them. A smile tugged at Charlotte’s mouth. She hoped the holidays to come would be just like this one.