Happy Thneedmas, dear @midzurugi !!
I found out about your oc's that related to Once-ler, so I decided that I can write a story about them!! It was a real challenge for me and it took more time than I expected so I'm very sorry it took so long. Happy New Year and hope you’ll enjoy this (◠‿・)—☆
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Summary: it's a short and simple story about Christmas, the Once-ler and his two adorable reception kids Twice and Thrice. Here is the link to post with information about them.
(Maybe OOC? I think that Once-ler is a bit too sweet here, and I'm sorry if the kids are too OOC, I tried to stick to the information I knew about them).
***
“Hey kids, wake up!” Once-ler said enthusiastically, as he looked into each of the children's rooms. Then he quickly moved to the kitchen.
Shortly after they entered the hallway, sleepy footsteps were heard, followed by the sluggish "good morning" from both of them.
“Good morning, wash up and get ready for breakfast, today we will prepare for the holidays,” he said, watching the children perk up and head for the bathroom.
Once-ler walked over to the table, where the dough was ready. He slowly began to prepare both children's favourite dish, pancakes.
Soon, the door to the kitchen opened abruptly, and the children happily entered the room. They heard Once-ler humming something like a Christmas carol and smiled at that.
“Father, do you need help with something?” Twice asked as she and her brother sat at the table.
“No, sweetheart, don't worry, I can handle it myself,” he smiled at her and took the first pancakes off the pan. He put them on two plates and placed them on the table in front of the children.
“I just want you to help me decorate the Christmas tree and the house.”
“But father, it's only the beginning of December,” Thrice said.
“Dear, if I had a day off earlier, we would have started preparing for Christmas on the first of December,” he laughed. “But the demand for our products always increases during the holidays, so I don't have much free time now.”
He took out the honey and syrup and put it all on the table. “But... I want to spend every free minute together with you two,” Once-ler also took out milk and two glasses and smiled again.
The children smiled back and finally started eating their breakfast, while Once-ler continued to bake. “Then of course we'll help,” Twice said.
One-ler looked at them with satisfaction. It seemed that his calm smile didn't leave his face today. In fact, on days like this, he was especially aware of how much he wanted to give these children all the things he had missed so badly. One of those things was an excellent holiday.
A tall, fluffy Christmas tree stood in the living room, waiting to be taken care of. A pile of large cardboard boxes covered the fireplace.
“Father, this Christmas tree is just incredible!” said Thrice when he entered the room. He walked over to the tree, touched a branch, then took a breath. “Oh, and it smells great.”
“Yeah, I know,” Once-ler looked at his son warmly and chuckled. “I'm sure you won't find a better Christmas tree in the whole town. It was delivered and set up while you were still asleep.”
After that, Once-ler went to the TV and inserted an old cassette into the player. Some old cartoon started playing.
“Could we put on something... newer?” asked Thrice, looking at the screen.
“Hey, it's a classic! And it's not that old, actually,” he muttered and went to unpack the toy boxes.
The jangly soundtrack played softly. Twice laughed and shrugged her shoulders at this as she looked at her brother. The teens walked closer to the boxes.
“You know, when I was little, we couldn't have a Christmas tree like this. We haven’t had many decorations either, but all of them are extremely beautiful as far as I remember. We haven’t decorated the house much, but we cooked a lot of different dishes. I really loved it," he took the garland out of the box and smiled warmly, a little lost in his memories.
“Actually, your grandmother wasn't a fan of Christmas, so we don't have any special traditions…”
Once-ler glanced at the children, who were listening to his story in confusion. A little surprise was clearly visible on their faces. Their father rarely talked about his past, especially his childhood. Every such moment was worth its weight in gold. Once-ler smiled and easily tossed Twice a skein of garland. She did not expect it, but she caught it skillfully. He took the end of the garland and climbed on a chair.
“You should hang the garlands first,” he explained. “So that you can hang the Christmas ornaments later easily.”
The children hung on his every word as if it were vital information. Once-ler wound the garland in a circle starting from the top, while Twice supported and helped wind it from the bottom. He plugged it into the extension cord and the whole tree shone with bright-colored lights. Now the excitement and festive mood began to fill the whole room.
At this time, Thrice sat down on the floor and opened the box, which contained a bunch of different Christmas decorations. He picked up a blue horse and looked at it with admiration.
“All these Christmas ornaments are new, you didn't bring any from your family home, as you were going to?” Thrice asked.
“Well no... I decided that we need new ones. The old family ornaments have no value, and as I said, there weren't many of them. But we will give value to these new ones once they are on our Christmas tree," he went to the box and took out a green bauble decorated with gold patterns. He carefully hung it on a middle branch.
“And there it is. The first ball on the tree and now the decorating has officially begun,” he said playfully.
“There are many similar baubles here,” Twice said, looking into the box. "We should start with these and hang them symmetrically, and then we can take on the others.”
“You're right as always, dear,” he put his hand on her shoulder. "Let's start with these.”
Gradually, more and more coloured baubles appeared on the tree. Then the little reindeer ran around it, glass icicles and cones grew on it. All three of them were jokingly arguing about where to hang which ornament and lively discussing the upcoming holidays and their plans for them. A pleasant family atmosphere filled the room, while the music from an old movie added its own charm to the situation.
“I have something else,” Once-ler said when they were done with the tree. He reached into one box that stood apart from the others, as if it were hidden. He pulled out something of a deep red colour.
“Oh, it’s Christmas stockings!” Thrice said with delight and took a stocking with his name neatly embroidered on it.
“They're so beautiful... Are they handmade?” Twice asked as she took her one.
“Yes, of course... I actually made them. For the three of us,” Once-ler said and laughed lightly. The children's eyes widened with surprise and some joy.
“That's very cool, thank you!” Thrice said zealously.
“Yes, thank you,” Twice said softly.
“You're welcome, darlings. I was very happy to make them,” Once-ler slightly blushed at the children's reaction. He looked at his stocking and slowly read his name to himself.
“Well... We also have to wrap presents for all relatives. But I haven't bought them yet, we'll have to postpone that,” he thought out loud. Then he thought about when he would find a free time to do that.
“I could draw some little cards,” Thrice suggested. “As a nice addition to the gifts we've given them.”
“That sounds nice, I hope they'll appreciate it,” Once-ler realized that in fact each of them was expecting an envelope with some money in it, so usual gifts would be just a traditional formality.
“Do we have to invite all of our close relatives to Christmas Eve?” Twice asked, a little displeased.
“Yes, of course we do. They're waiting for an invitation, and they'll never turn down a dinner,” he smiled a little irritated. But he quickly calmed down. “Maybe one day one of them will invite us as well.”
“I doubt that very much,” Twice hummed.
Thrice looked away awkwardly, but deep down he agreed with his sister.
“I know that you think they're not the best people. But they're still my family. And that means your family, too,” he sighed and thought as he sat down on the floor by the Christmas tree and took some tinsel out of the box. “And there are certain values and principles that must be upheld in a family.”
He picked at the tinsel, squeezed it in his hands, trying to gather his thoughts together.
“I would like to convey these values to you,” he looked up at the girl and then at the boy. "For example, about Christmas. This holiday is not only about decorating a Christmas tree, gifts, or the birthday of Jesus Christ. It's about a family coming together. Just how we are now. And this holiday encourages you to do something good for your neighbour, especially for your relatives. Do you understand?"
“Yes, of course... It's obvious,” Thrice answered and sighed to himself.
Twice nodded when Once-ler's gaze settled on her.
“These words seem like very simple truths, but it still should be said out loud. I would have been grateful to my mother if she had told me that,” he smiled a little sadly and finally got up from the floor, with the tinsel in his hand. “Well... Let's finish with the stockings.”
Twice looked at her socking and carefully ran her thumb over the golden embroidery. “We can hang them on little hooks and decorate them with the tinsel,” she said, glancing cautiously at Once-ler.
“Yes, my dear, that's a wonderful idea,” he smiled gently at her. “I've taken care of that, too.”
He left the tinsel and reached into the same box where the stockings were. He took out three small hooks and began to carefully attach them to the mantelpiece. Thrice jumped up and hung his stocking on the leftmost hook. Once-ler and Twice followed suit. Then Twice decorated the fireplace with bright green tinsel. Once-ler looked at the fireplace with smile and then proudly at both of his children.
***
A loud laugh suddenly filled the room. The children were listening to another strange story from their father. They didn't believe some of his words, how ridiculous it sounded. But it was definitely true. Classical Christmas music was playing from the old record player. Outside the window, the snow was still falling calmly, preparing the entire valley for winter.
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