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durotoswrites · 2 years ago

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Winter Holiday Prompts part 2! Cliff x Claire Couple's First Christmas (for you) and Holly x Hector Baby's First Christmas (for me). 🎄

Thank you for the prompts!

I just finished writing the Cliff x Claire prompt and it turned into a full-blown fic. You can read it here:

Or read the full text after the cut! I'll be working on the Holly x Hector one and keep y'all updated! Thank you again for the prompts - they've been helping with keeping me creative!

Winter Themed Prompts - Asks are open!

Cliff remembered it vividly as a child. From what his sister, Ivy, had claimed, she would pretend to sleep at least an hour before he awakened on those chilly winter mornings, granting him a “sporting chance”, as she would call it. Cliff still wondered in what world the odds had ever been even between the two of them; his younger sister had an aptitude for snatching up the victory in any sort of competition when he was involved. Besides, on that particular morning of the year, minutes always felt like hours. It was likely she hadn’t been up nearly as early as she claimed. Either way, their matching deep blue eyes would snap open, the excitement in the air palpable as they exchanged challenging grins.

The race had begun.

Ivy would always manage to get out of bed first – she slept on the end and unceremoniously threw the heap of blankets and furs over her brother’s head, pushing off of him to spring up off of the floor for good measure. She was first every year, and it was because she took extra lengths to ensure it. Griping under his breath, a young Cliff would attempt to untangle himself from their bed dressings, trying his best to keep from waking his parents right beside them. In his younger days, caution had been thrown to the wind, and his parents would give the siblings a minor scolding at their rambunctious behavior so early in the morning. Ivy couldn’t care less, leaving the responsibility to her older brother.

Why their mother and father looked so tired was beyond the children. Who could possibly want to sleep in on a morning like this?

Ivy was usually rattling one of the wrapped boxes beside the tree – or rather, what they referred to as a “tree”. The sizable branch of a spruce was stabilized and decorated with home popped corn and berry garland, pine cone ornaments, and other various crafts the children had made. Not much more would fit in their small house, and with a hearth burning low at night, a large flammable tree wasn’t a wise addition to their home. But the tree, or lack thereof, wasn’t what they were focused on. There were packages of different sizes wrapped in parchment paper and old newspapers that had captured their attention. Typically a couple for the each of them, the joint gifts they had chipped in on to provide for their parents, along with the gifts they had made for one another all in one heap that attracted curious eyes.

“Do we really have to wait for Ma and Papa to wake up?” Ivy would always whisper in a voice that felt louder than speaking volume to Cliff.

He’d always nod in reply, despite the itch to tear into the gifts as well. Such was the burden of being the more responsible of the two, and attempting to be a good role model for his sister.

“Well, what if I open the one from you? That wouldn’t hurt anyone, right?” Ivy would ask a little louder this time. Whether she was actually attempting to waken their parents so they could begin on the festivities remained a mystery to Cliff, but it was typically after she begged for this a few times that both of their parents stirred in bed.

“It’s far too early, kiddos,” their father would groan, attempting to pull the covers over his head. “Sun’s not even up yet. Allow your old man to sleep in just this once.”

But his wife’s lips were already on his temple and she’d ruffle his hair with a soft giggle. Cliff liked that laugh – it was one of the few times she was the less uptight of the pair.

“Kids will be kids, Flint. It is Christmas, after all. Don’t you remember being excited when you were young?”

“I was born old,” he retorted, sitting up with a groan. Despite his misgivings, the corners of his mouth were tilted upward.

“You’re not allowed to say that, because that would make me old, too,” Katrina laughed, leaning in for a kiss.

The siblings looked at one another and rolled their eyes. As far as they were concerned, their parents were, and always had been, as old as dirt. Anything beyond the fabled double digits felt like a lifetime away to them.

“Can I open Cliff’s gift now?” Ivy asked, more impatiently this time, directing her question to their parents.

“Go for it,” Flint replied with a yawn.

Katrina pulled herself out of bed, stretching as she walked over to meet them. “Now, hold on for a moment and let us watch, too. Have just a little more patience, Ivy. Your father is getting up and will be right over. You can wait for him, can’t you?”

The girl pouted in reply, and Cliff was certain that his face didn’t look much different. After all, both children regularly gifted each other things they both enjoyed so they both technically doubled their gifts. His stomach twisted in anticipation as she tore a small corner of the package in her impatience…

“No peeking!” Cliff scolded, and his sister scowled at him. “Don’t ruin the surprise!”

The stirring in the soft bed caused Cliff’s thoughts to jolt back to reality. As he opened his eyes, he was met with a pair with closed ones in the dim light of the early dawn. A smile tugged at his lips. It had really only felt like days before when he would be screaming at himself to make a break for the presents and claim first place for once. The blankets were warm, and so was his wife’s sleeping form next to him. She was facing him, her tousled blonde hair sticking out in every direction – she had clearly been tossing and turning through the night. Whether from excitement or an unknown worry, he was unsure, but allowing her to rest felt like the kind decision.

He took a moment to trace his gaze over the soft features of her face. Claire’s expression often looked more relaxed in winter months when she wasn’t juggling as many farm chores on top of her other obligations. Her bangs were disheveled, revealing her brows resting in a relaxed position. Her eyelashes fluttered against her soft cheeks; the extra rest in the winter had allowed the bags and dark circles under her eyes to vanish. Her lips were set in a slight smile, rosy with warmth. Cliff longed to lean forward and give them a kiss, but knowing how tired she had been lately, to wake her felt cruel.

His stomach and heart felt a flutter that reminded him vaguely of his childhood excitement on the morning of Christmas, but it was different this year. It had been the first Christmas that he woke up next to someone’s side since he left his family’s house as a teenager. There was also a large difference in the type of excitement. Being curious about opening an enticing pile of presents and opening one’s eyes to the sight of their sleeping spouse were two entirely different matters. Cliff and Claire’s marriage had been near the end of the previous summer, and with each new holiday, the couple learned new things about the other’s family traditions and customs they decided to partake in together. As he looked down at her sweet face, his heart swelled at all the new adventures and possibilities that lay before them.

She leaned into him and bunted his chest with her forehead, giving it a nuzzle as she settled back in. Cliff held his breath as he pulled her closer, brushing his lips against her forehead. These little moments of quiet intimacy and reflection were precious and healing for him. It felt like he had only just been a child himself, and now he was holding his partner in his arms, mulling over the more recent wishes in his heart – his desire to become a father in the future.

It hadn’t felt that long ago that he had been the newest resident to Mineral Town, struggling to find his way in life, and unable to see much value in himself at all. It hadn’t been an easy process to see that he did indeed have much to offer, and it was a continual one that he battled with. The idea of producing a child would have terrified him in the past – after all, he figured that someone with as shaky of an outlook as his wouldn’t willingly want to invest in something so long-term. But as Cliff blossomed and grew under the watchful eyes of his loved ones in Mineral Town, he found that the place he had seen as the latest in his series of stops had become a dear and permanent home. And after this realization, he also learned that there was a particular young woman that he couldn’t imagine ever parting from.

A long-term commitment – a permanent one. He wasn’t sure what surprised him more: the fact that his affections were returned or that he wasn’t scared of pledging his heart to hers. He smiled at the memories of their blossoming love – hugs that lingered, special smiles reserved for one another. Cliff had always held some sort of affection for Claire in his heart, whether as a dear friend or as a romantic interest. As a young married couple, he knew they still had plenty of time to think things over when it came to having a child, but arriving at the realization that he had such hope for the future, he wanted nothing more than to hold his love closer.

He wondered if she could hear his thoughts. “Merry Christmas, Cliff…” Although muffled, Claire’s sleepy voice was content and honeyed.

He indulged himself, wrapping his arms around her tightly. “Merry Christmas, Claire.”

A weak chuckle. “How are you so alert?” she squeaked, cutting herself off with a yawn.

“Just getting nostalgic and thinking of childhood holidays.”

She smiled. “This was always my favorite time of year. Were you the type of kid to wake up right at the crack of dawn?” She nuzzled her head back into him, listening to the soothing beating of his heart.

“You know it,” he replied, stroking her hair. “We’d wake Ma and Papa against their will.”

Claire relished in the warm rumble of laughter rising up in his chest. “Ah, we’d all do the same thing! Mum and Dad said that we weren’t allowed to wake them before 8:00 am on Christmas. And I’m not a mum yet, so let’s sleep in some more.”

His breath hitched. “Yet?”

She looked up at him innocently, but her flushed cheeks betrayed her. “Well, we talked about it before we got married. I haven’t forgotten, you know, and I’d still love to have a child with you someday if your feelings are still the same.”

He squeezed her tighter. “My feelings haven’t changed. There’s no one else I’d want to raise a child with, but I’m content with it just being the two of us for a little longer.” He paused. “There’s… not anything you were wanting to announce to me, was there? I-I... didn’t ruin the moment?”

She could feel his heart pounding against her cheek and pulled herself up to meet his gaze. “Not at all, Love. I don’t have any other announcements other than how tickled I am to spend our first Christmas together.” She kissed him playfully on the nose.

“Our first Christmas married to one another. That sounds nice, doesn’t it?” He rested his forehead against hers. Her relaxed body was cozy against his, and Cliff’s eyelids started feeling heavy.

“Very nice,” she murmured, “and I have the perfect idea for a new tradition.”

“Oh?”

She snuggled into him, closing her eyes. “Yeah. Let’s get a little more sleep.”

His smile was doting as he placed a languid kiss on her forehead. He was already feeling the content post-excitement buzz he associated with childhood Christmases, and a nap sounded lovely.

She was sleepier than he thought. Her breathing was already slow and deep.

He was sleepier than he thought. His eyes fell shut as his breaths matched hers.

The sun slowly rose on the horizon, revealing two sleepy lovers huddled under the covers, sharing their first new Christmas tradition together – the first of many to come.

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