#she's a mean one mr grinch

[eldstunga]

Jog on, pissant.

[shoobysims]

[warriorprincesstramp]

sabrina carpenter allergic to using her voice to her full potential

[royalarmyofoz]

Ana Gasteyer 12.09.23 Evanston SPACE (images 1-8 early show, images 9-12 late show)

[skautism]

on my moms old itunes account is the playlist i made when i was like, 3 years old. it’s like, “oh yeah a three year old would like this” immediately followed by “elliot smith?????”

[the-commonrose]

🎁🎄Miss Greta Grinch Whovier🎄🎁

Was feeling festive n had the thought pop into my head on what the possible child of the iconic Christmas couple The Grinch and Martha May Whovier would look like. And well here she is! As a child she was kinda of a gremlin but like after hearing Jim Carrey absolutely pop off on “You’re a Mean One Mr Grinch” I’d like to think Greta would grow up and become a singer and subsequently the next It Girl of Whoville✨✨

[toji-bunny-girl]

𝐆𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐇’𝐒 𝐁!𝐓𝐂𝐇

CHARACTERS— Grinch!Toji Fushiguro x sexy goddess goofy fem!reader SUMMARY— The thief of Christmas joy, the thief of children's gifts, and this time, the thief of your boyfriend's slutty surprise. WORD COUNT��� 3k+ CONTENT WARNING— slight angst, swearing, goofiness, smut, porn with plot, adultery, bondage, size difference, orgasm denial, NTR, spanking, fingering, blowjob, oral sex, no protection, noncon A/N— I wanna get fucked dumb by Toji too (hope yall don’t notice the obvious bias in smut between this and the other two Kinkmas fics 🤭 this man just makes me 100000x hornier)

“You sure you can breathe in there?” Miya questioned your sanity, a frown etched upon her face as she stared at the way you shifted on your knees, tied up with red ropes in a Santa lingerie.

“I mean, there’s a few small holes I made at the back,” you pointed with your eyes, an awkward laugh skipping out of your throat.

“You’re fucking insane, (Y/N),” your best friend sighed, shutting her eyes to take a rest from your ridiculous sight. “All this for what? You’re not even sure if Mr. Vanilla likes kinky aah shit like this.”

“Never back down never what…” you softly mumbled, trying to keep yourself focused on what you’ve prepared for your boyfriend this Christmas. He’d return home from work to find a giant ribboned box on his bed. Inside would be you, all tied up in your new erotic red lingerie.

You’ve managed to convince yourself that this was all a wonderful erotic surprise for Seiji. When in reality it was nothing but a catalyst to excite your sexual relationship with him. The thing is—your boyfriend is the most vanilla partner you’d ever have, while without his knowledge; you were the kinkiest slut your friends had ever known.

Throughout your 9 months of dating, sex was infrequent and soft. To put things truthfully, the act with your boyfriend is boring. You’ve tried encouraging him to be more experimental with you—to lightly chock you or even slap your ass when he’s fucking you. But he just couldn’t bring himself to do it, and maybe that’s part of the reason you fell for him.

He’s gentle and kind, ever so careful to handle you like you’re a fragile piece of art. Seiji was nothing like your past lovers, with him you learned true romance. With the price of your sexual satisfaction and ardour.

So this Christmas, you thought of a plan to surprise him—his sexy girlfriend all tied up for him to use however he wanted. It’s every man’s dream come true to have a fervid hottie on their bed. But when it comes to Seiji, you could never be sure of it; he’s different than the others but he’s your Seiji.

“What’s the time now,” you raised your eyebrows as Miya peeked at her phone screen.

“6:56.”

“How’s my makeup? How’s my hair?” you dubiously asked, needing everything to be perfect as if you had just popped out of a Playboy magazine.

“Very sexy,” Miya assured under her breath as she brushed a wild strand of hair away from your face. Her eyes scanned your face to spot any smudged makeup, “As always, so pretty.”

“Thank you so much, Miya. Once Seiji fucked the shit out of me and get me pregnant—I’m naming one of my kids after you,” you frivolously said, leaving the girl chuckling at your words.

“Alright, I have to leave before Vanilla Man comes back,” she checked the time once more before grabbing the lid of the giant box. “But I gotta give it to you, this shit is low-key weird but original.”

“Thanks for your compliment,” you grinned at your friend, before feeling the light over your head gone and replaced by darkness.

“Bye, (Y/N). Don’t die in there!” Miya’s voice muffled through the cardboard as she tapped the box goodbye. Silence ensued and soon, you heard the front door slam close.

Seiji had better not be home late if he didn’t want his prurient surprise to turn into a horror documentary on YouTube.

Your joints were starting to ache within a minute of waiting, the kneeling position you chose obviously backfired. Sure, the pose is cute and all—but is it worth the growing pain in your knees? If you’re getting absolutely ravished by tonight; then yes.

By the next few minutes, you began to lament about the choices you had made. Your knees hurt so bad it felt like someone was flaying their whip onto your skin, and you were busy chanting your mantra just to stop your tears from flowing out and ruining your hours-spent makeup.

Never back down never what…?

“Fuck it,” you cried, leaning your weight sideways against the cardboard just to lessen the burden on your joints. But as much as you regretted everything, the box toppled to the side along with your body. “Shit! Oh my god, what the fuck do I do?! Help!”

You tried to wriggle yourself out of the giant box but with your limbs bounded tight, you could do nothing but writhe like a worm. You must’ve looked like a clown.

Then, you heard it. The soft shutting of the door and the floorboard slightly creaked with footsteps. Though, each stride seemed to be a thump—were Seiji’s feet ever so heavy?

But you don’t ruminate over that, you have a bigger problem on your hands right then. Your boyfriend was going to walk in on you awkwardly lying on your side, what seemed to be a lewd surprise became a scene of embarrassment; you looked as if you were kidnapped and tied up, and it wasn’t in any sensual form you desired.

The bedroom door creaked open and your pulse began thumping fast in your ears. You could feel your face scorching into scarlet red, and you squeezed your lips shut, trying not to make a sound. Perhaps you were drunk off the hot embarrassment, you thought perhaps if you were silent enough, he wouldn’t notice the giant Christmas-themed box sitting in the middle of his bed, right?

Then you felt yourself being hoisted up into the air, and confusion struck your being. What was Seiji doing? Did he know about you hiding inside the box? Now was he fooling around with you?

“Seiji…?” you softly mumbled, and you were met with long silence as a reply. What exactly was going on? Feeling yourself put down on the wooden floor, you heard shuffling before you were propelled backwards from a harsh kick. “Hey!”

This wasn’t Seiji. Never was he one to ever act so rashly upon anyone or anything. And your skin began to crawl with a newfound fear. If a burglar were to find you helpless and unable to defend yourself…you were lucid with what could happen to you.

Fuck, man. You internally cursed, God was obviously making fun of your dumb little idea. Fuck the originality, you wanted out more than anything.

“One of ya’ fairies stuck in there?” the stranger spoke gravelly, his voice gruff like the rough bark of trees. Then he let out a deep laugh, slamming a palm atop the box. “You guys should start tellin’ Santa he can’t be throwin’ all the hard jobs to the tiny elves and fairies.”

The lid of the box lifted open and you squeezed your eyes shut from the sudden prickling exposure of bright rays. Slowly, your sight adjusted to the light and you peeked your eyelids open to look at the intruder.

A Christmas suit, and a marked face of animosity—the male squatted over your tied form with a look of uncongenial nonchalance. “Not a fairy…nor an elf. A human?”

“No shit, you crazy bitch. My boyfriend’s coming back any second now, and he’d beat the shit out of you!” you tried to daunt the stranger, though with a single look at him—you knew it was improbable that Seiji could take on this guy.

“You can see me?” he sounded amused, hands slightly waving around his sides.

“What do you mean ‘I can see you’? You’re a ghost or something?”

“Not quite,” he sighed, and you could smell burnt tobacco from his breath. “You ever heard of the Grinch?”

“Yeah…?”

“Well, turns out Christmas isn’t fake,” you stared as he gave you a slight smirk, the dark scar down his lips rising.

“And you’re telling me you’re ‘grinch’?” your eyes narrowed, scepticism in your features.

“Smart girl.”

“When really, you’re breaking into people’s houses and trying to convince them you’re a Christmas character whenever you’re caught red-handed.”

“Mm, yer’ ain’t wrong,” his eyes wandered to the side.

“That makes you a burglar, man.”

“One that no one can see… except for you’,” his eyebrows drew closer into a frown. “How odd.” His features shifted all of a sudden, and he relaxed into a sigh. “Fairy dust?”

“What?”

“This,” he pointed at the glitter on your eyelids.

“Oh, this? I found them on my dressing table so I thought why not,” you shrugged, rendering the hulking male to crack into a chuckle of disbelief.

“These are fairy dusts. The fairies leave them the night before Christmas to spread joy and wonders to people, ya’ get me? Anyone who touches ‘em would be able to see us,” he spoke apathetically. “And my job…” his hand reached out towards you, thumb swiping over your eyelid, “is to steal these.”

“My makeup!” you shouted, trying to wriggle yourself away from him. “I spent 2 hours doing them!”

“Why would ‘cha put random glitter on yer’ eyes anyway,” he retorted, grabbing your much smaller face with his large hand and using the other to wipe the fairy dust off of your skin.

“I hate you, bitch!”

“The name’s Toji, sweetheart,” he purred, the lowest cadence of his voice scratching the itch in your eardrums. Your eyebrows knitted into a glare, trying to mask the dark heat on your cheeks with that lour look of yours.

“You’ve got your stupid ‘fairy dust’ now. Happy?”

“Nope.”

“What more do you want?!”

“I haven’t picked a present to steal yet…” something in his eyes coruscate, a sharp ray of emerald green hared by in volant flash. In that moment, you could feel something stormy, so wild and barbaric in him—something you’ve missed since Seiji.

“I-I’ve got nothing here,” you huffed, stammering over your words as you shifted your gaze away.

“Ain’t you one?” his eyes raked over your figure, cleavage pushed up for view, and soft thighs presented like a toy. You felt naked underneath him; and for for some reason your nipples began to perk against the thin fabric of the scarlet red lingerie, panties beginning to dampen with arousal.

This man looked like a good fuck—and boy did your body needed one. Your lips paused open to say something, but you were simply cut off by a sudden shock when you felt your body lifted into the air once more. Toji was carrying all your weight with a hefty arm, pulling you out of the box and settling you onto the floor.

“Gee, thanks. Shit was starting to feel claustrophobic,” you never knew you were holding so much breath in when the male began to untie the ropes that held you. To be more specific, the ropes around your body except your hands. “Think you missed a spot, buddy.”

“Didn’t miss it,” he stood, watching as your legs wearily crumbled onto the ground. “Never intended to free ya’.”

You raised a brow, tilting your head upwards to look at him. And now from your height, you’d never imagine the male to be this huge. Even through his clothes, you could visibly spot the bulking muscles underneath, and the undeniable bulge in his pants.

Toji let out a low chuckle when he caught your eyes, showing the whites of your orbs as you stared; your tongue wet from salivating what could be under those stupid Christmas pants, a quiet gulp as your clit throbbed.

“Like what ‘cha lookin’ at?” his hot palm rested over your head, slightly messing up your hair but you couldn't care less anymore. His thumb tucked down all the restraint over his cock, and the sight of it made your breath hitched.

Dark tip with a prominent vein running down the bottom of his shaft, your lips almost instinctively opened to fit what you could into your mouth.

“Good girl,” he grinned, feeling the way your saliva coat his cock, tongue flickering and flattening against his throbbing tip. You gently stuffed your mouth with his member, before hollowing your cheeks and bobbing your head around his length.

Toji sharply sucked the air through his teeth, one hand fisting your hair and the other pumping the part of his shaft where you couldn’t reach.

“Such a fuckin’ slut,” he groaned under his breath, peering down at the way your eyes closed shut in silent contentment, slowly inching more of him through your lips until his tip was bumping against the wall of your throat.

You threw your head back after gagging a while on his cock, a string of saliva connecting his member with your tongue. Your jaw was getting sore and you had to take a quick breather until you were forced down again by Toji’s palm.

“Didn’t say you could stop,” he spat, thrusting his hips forward and stuffing your throat full of him. He was so big, too much to handle and tears began to well around your eyes; yet you’re moaning to the thought of his size, how it’ll just reach perfectly deep in your hole.

“Mmhp!” you whined, muffled by his member but Toji didn’t pause until after a few long, deep pushes into your swollen throat. Stuffing your mouth full of his cum, leaking out from the edges of your aching lips.

You spat his semen onto the ground before he grabbed you up onto the bed, spreading your thighs open with his breath still unstable from his previous ejaculation. “Fuckin’ whore,” he laughed, a thick thumb rubbing over your pulsing panty-covered clit. “Suckin’ dick got ‘cha wet?”

“Speak for yourself,” you breathed, “staring at my body got you hard?”

“How ‘bout you fill that mouth with my name instead of yer’ smart words?” his eyes were like green gems under shades; dark, sensual emerald. Slipping your panty off, Toji clicked his tongue when his eyes settled upon your glisteningly wet pussy, a smirk riding the edge of his mouth up.

You let in a sharp inhale when he stuffed two thick fingers into your cunt, your essence already coating his digits within a few pumps, the calloused skin of his fingers spurring on tingles in your pussy walls. He was a maven with his hands, fingers ably searching for the spongey spot inside of you, long enough to reach where you couldn’t—nor Seiji.

Seiji. Your mind began to plague with guilt for your poor boyfriend, you didn’t want to do him wrong but fuck—you just couldn’t stop when Toji had your sweet spot; rubbing over your clenching walls with a thumb busy swiping over your swollen clit.

Your pussy tightened around his digits as you cried for release, moans and whines filled the room as you buckled your hips. But as much as you wanted it, Toji refused to lead you through; a raffish smirk on his face as you swore at him.

“I was about to cum, asshole!” you gasped, visibly annoyed with the frown on your face. You raised a leg to facetiously kick him, but he caught your ankle in his grasp before dragging your body closer to him.

“Didn’t catch ‘cha beggin’,” a deep chuckle rumbled out of his lungs as his hands trailed up your thighs.

“I don’t beg for nothing,” you tried to play bratty.

“Oh, yea?” your body jumped up when he slapped the tip of heavy cock against your clit, your eyes seemingly dripping with desperation over your mask of a twisted frown. You wanted him inside of you so bad, and he could see it right through you.

Slipping a few inches his member into your folds, you could feel your cunt burn from the stretch, gripping onto his girth as he slowly forced himself in.

“Shit—” Toji swore under his breath, watching the way your pussy sucked him in, needy for him to fill your insides. You let out an exhale when his cock brushed over your sweet spots, your abdomen tingling when he reached deep.

He placed his arms on both sides of your head, hovering over your body with his, hips thrusting in and out of you. You could feel his warmth radiating towards yours, heating up your cheeks as you blinked up at him. His head dipped down to kiss you, sucking on your lips before sinking his teeth down, a hand slipping up to rest on your throat.

Your face began to turn red as he tightened his grip on your neck, his pace starting to roughen, the bed frame hitting against the wall so hard you doubted it wouldn't leave a mark. Your head was starting to get light, eyes blanking out with each blink and you could see stars popping in your sight.

You clenched your teeth as you shut your eyes, focusing on the pleasure building up in your womb, hugging Toji close with your thighs.

Just a little more, you thought as you peered down at where the two of you connected, his cock disappearing down your pussy and slipping out. Instead of filling your cunt with his length again, he let his hands hugged his girth, jerking himself off in front of you.

“Haah—fuck!” you swore, biting down your lower lip. “I was close, again!”

“What d’ya say?”

“Need your cock, please?” you cried, tired of the second orgasm he refused for you, and you were met with Toji manhandling you onto your knees, glistening cunt for his view as he stuffed a finger into your folds, teasing you with light stimulation.

That was until your phone buzzed with a new notification from your boyfriend, panic set in your being as you stared at your phone.

Sorry I’ll be a little late home, I had a quick meeting with the team :/ Don’t worry tho I just got out of the station. On the way home rn :) Miss you! 

“W-Wait! My boyfriend’s coming back…!” you tried to crawl away from him, but it was all in obvious futility as he held your hips, sinking his throbbing cock into your needy pussy.

“Shut yer’ mouth up and cum for me. Would ‘cha, pretty girl?” he groaned into your ear, his fingers sunk into your cheeks as he gripped onto your face, hips fucking deep into your sloppy cunt and fat tip kissing your cervix.

Your nerves were dancing upon fire, and you could do nothing but roll your eyes to the back of your head, your lips pausing open in pleasure as you let out croaked moans. Toji’s hips were positioning harder in and out of your sore pussy, his fingers swiping fast against your clit.

He could feel your walls clenching tighter than ever around him, and he shoved your head into the bedsheets to muffle out your screams, your bounded hands fighting against the restraints, and your back arching down towards the bed.

With his cock brushing over your G-spot and hitting your cervix for the nth time, your essence came squirting out of your core. You were silent for a second, sent to a heaven of pure ecstasy and your body twitched in pleasure you had never felt before.

Toji was still busy chasing his own high, simply using you as a fucktoy to be roughened up however he wanted—disregarding your overstimulated cunt and continuing to shove his cock into you. You could hear his groans starting to grow louder, feel his hips fastened and soon, warm spurts of thick cum filled your womb.

Your thighs shook in overstimulation as your whole weight fell onto the bed; sweat sticking your lingerie onto your skin and the bedsheets dirtied with your makeup. Toji had ruined you as he fucked, yet you’ve never found such contentment in sex.

“Merry Christmas, sweetheart,” he whispered, pasting a kiss onto your drooling lips, watching in satisfaction as your eyes blanked out from the fucking. “Tell yer’ lil’ boyfriend I said welcome.”

“(Y/N), I’m home!”

@coolpizzazonkplaid @byhuenii @idkmanimreallysleepy @stainednailpolishremover @jxnyi @peachtreexoxo @yaygurist @lalaloverss @aexlime @naruucore @sathavious @guillermowhatwedointheshadows @mistygrovesarchive @glittercums @altmoo @lollixgoddess @victoriak01 @kimminjulvr @ghostlyluminarycloud @satorminniett @someonewhotendstowrite @buhdussy @ichirasblog @kokomisworld @magiouu @bobbicore @xxshiino @urmommyzhot @jjkwhor3 @erostaeyong @tojisprincesa @edgyficuselastica @clemianna @fromthechaoticmind @idkcoolise @fallinlovewithbeelzebub @sirshitsalot12 @kuraa01 @awyunh @lxvegojo

[wileys-russo]

you’re a mean one mrs grinch II a.putellas x reader

you’re a mean one mrs grinch II a.putellas x reader

"more?" alexia sighed in disbelief as you returned from your shopping trip, bags of decorations in hand. "yes. its december!" you rolled your eyes, reaching up to peck her lips hello ignoring her grumpy mumblings at your holiday habits.

"it looks like a shopping store window in here." alexia crinkled her nose in disgust as you had already started to put out your new decorations.

"well not everyone hates the holidays as much as you amor." you quipped, the girl rolling her eyes and helping you hang the north pole sign you had in your hands as you were just not tall enough to reach the hook.

"i do not hate christmas." "well you don't love it." "because it is all about money and presents and lies and flashy things. it is corrupt!" "sure sounds like you hate it."

"oh! wait here." you held up a hand cutting her off before she could speak, the catalan rolling her eyes and checking you were out of sight as she rushed around hiding a few of the ornaments sat around on the tv cabinet and mantle.

"look, matching!" you beamed happily holding up the matching sets of pyjama pants and tank tops, alexia grimacing at the sight of them. "princessa i am not wearing that." she refused stubbornly with a shake of her head.

"just during the night when we watch movies. no one has to even see them! they're just for me and you." you smiled softly as alexia sighed and you perked up as it looked as though she might give in.

"...no." the midfielder decided, taking a seat on the lounge.

"please alexia!" you groaned, no amount of pouting or puppy eyes getting your girlfriend to even budge an inch. "no." the girl replied bluntly, arms crossed over her chest as she leaned back into the lounge staring up at you.

"why? you're being unreasonable." you huffed, crossing your own arms and staring right back. "no." was all you got back, the older girl unwavering in her firm stare. "baby." you tried again, moving to sit down on top of her with a smile as she raised an eyebrow.

"no."

you threw your head back and groaned loudly, standing up and storming off to the bedroom. alexia watched you go, contemplating going after you but instead deciding to give you a little space and time to cool off.

"amor." you glanced up from your book with a sour glare around a half an hour later, eyes flicking back down to the pages in front of you. "bebita." she took a seat on the edge of the bed as you huffed and continued to ignore her.

"hermosaa." alexia sang out, hand reaching out to gently tug the book away and place it on the nightstand, shuffling closer to you. "no." you mocked her word from earlier sarcastically.

"you know i do not go all out for christmas." alexia's hand settled on your knee, giving it a gentle squeeze. "but it is my favorite holiday and you will not even meet me halfway." you protested. "ugly matching clothes are not halfway amor." alexia chuckled, missing the way the hurt flashed across your face at her words.

"fine." you felt a surge of anger replace the pang of pain in your stomach, pushing her hands off and storming out of the room. "hey cariño what-" her eyebrows furrowed into a frown as you began to yank down the decorations and toss them into a pile on the floor.

"what? you hate it anyway, you think it is stupid and meaningless and-" you struggled through your waves of emotions to get your words out, instead huffing and now turning to the tree continuing to pull things down, alexia's eyes widening in shock as your destruction continued.

"hey bebita no, stop por favor." alexia frowned moving to take your hands in hers, trying to pull your body in for a hug as you harshly shoved her away. "i need some air." was all you managed out, grabbing your jacket and shoes by the door and suddenly it was slamming closed and you were gone.

alexia tried calling you over and over, her worry increasing as you declined her calls again and again and the magnitude of just how much she upset you began to sink in, immediately followed by the guilt.

her hand was on the front door ready to try and find you when her phone rang, the device falling from her grip and clattering to the floor in her haste to answer, the brunette dropping to her knees and rushing it to her ear.

"hola? amor?" she breathed out without bothering to check her caller ID. "hola, grinch." alexia frowned at the unfamiliar term. "mapi?" the midfielder sighed, standing to her feet and shifting the phone against her ear.

"you have really upset her ale." the brunette wincing at the serious tone from her normally playful best friend. "is she with you? i will come now." alexia grabbed her keys and flung open the door, two steps down the hall before mapi discouraged her.

"she has gone for a drive with ingrid to see the lights display down main street. something i know she wanted to do with you!" mapi's tone softened a little as alexia sighed, retreating back into her home, yanking her jacket off and dejectedly making her way back to the sofa.

"there are a lot of things she had planned to do with you, she showed me a list she has on her phone. have you done anything for the holidays with her since the break started?" mapi questioned as alexia winced.

"...no."

"alexia." mapi sighed in disappointment from the other end of the line as the midfielder sank down into the sofa. "she is from england capi. christmas is a very big deal there and she has grown up always celebrating, always with her family, probably doing their own special traditions." mapi started to remind her friend in a warning tone.

"but she chose to stay here with you this year, to spend time with you and your family. but you cannot expect her to just forget everything she has grown up with and knows. this is not easy for her, i am sure she misses her family and how they spend the holidays together." the defender lectured as alexia sighed, body now wracked with guilt.

"she could have gone home! i told her that." alexia sighed rubbing a hand against her face tiredly. "bah ale! that girl loves you amiga and she knows how much your family mean to you. especially during the break in season when you get to see them more, and we both know how much your mami loves her." mapi laughed as alexia finally cracked a small smile, the fact truer than she often cared to admit.

"so i am not asking you to lead a christmas parade or dress up like santa clause and hand out gifts. but at least try to make sure there are things she does not need to miss during the holidays." mapi finished, the two chatting for a few more minutes before alexia ended the call and tossed her phone aside.

she had some serious work to do.

"and you know you are welcome to our house anytime yes?" ingrid asked for what felt like the tenth time this evening as you laughed, pushing her lightly and assuring you understood.

the two of you had bonded over both choosing to remain in spain for the holidays, missing the typical snowy white winters you were used to for the women you loved.

"i should get inside. i need to apologise for leaving and not even answering her calls, she is probably worried sick." you sighed, unbuckling yourself as ingrid pulled you into a tight hug and you kissed her cheek, thanking her for listening before you stepped out of the car.

sending your girlfriend a text that you were on your way up you bounced nervously on the balls of your feet as the elevator seemed to take even longer than usual to reach your floor, your hands playing with the hem of your jumper as finally the doors opened.

your eyebrows raised in surprise to see the taller girl already waiting for you outside your shared apartment, relief flooding her face at the sight of you as she met you halfway in a bone crushing hug.

"i'm sorry for leaving and ignoring you." you mumbled into her chest as she cradled your head and firmly shook hers. "i am sorry for being unreasonable hermosa." the catalan rasped apologetically, the two of you embracing one another for a few more silent but needed moments.

"did you enjoy the lights?" alexia asked once the two of you pulled away as you gave her a curious look. "mapi called, let me know you were okay." you nodded in understanding at that. "they were really nice." you smiled in response to her previous question.

"maybe we could go? take alba and mami?" alexia asked hopefully as now you really gave her a look of surprise. "but i didn't think-" she cut off your words by leaning down and pressing a kiss to your lips. "close your eyes please." she pulled away and requested with a smile of reassurance.

you were aprehensive to do so but you followed her orders none the less, alexia moving behind you and covering your face with her large hands 'just to be safe'.

you heard her key rattle around in the lock for a moment before she guided you inside, steadying you as you tripped over once of her shoes and almost lost your footing. a kiss to the cheek and a soft apology murmured in your ear she continued to guide you as you tried to work out where in the house you were right now.

"open." you felt her hands drop from your face as your eyes opened, blinking a few times to adjust before your hand flew to your mouth and you looked on in awe. "alexia..." you trailed off, not just the living room but now your whole apartment decked out in various matching christmas decorations.

you melted seeing the stockings hung up, making your way over to them and tracing a singular finger over the letters on the bottom of each one indicating one was clearly yours and one was alexia's.

"i am stubborn cariño, i know that." you turned as the brunette in question began to speak, nervously playing with her fingers.

"but you have always loved me and stood by me. you gave up christmas with your own family to spend time with mine and i appreciate that more than i have allowed you to see, which is unfair." she paused as you moved closer, grabbing her hands in yours with a squeeze.

"i still do not love christmas, i never will. but i love you and i do not want you to have to give things up that you love and find special because i am a...how do you say it?" you frowned at her obvious struggle, the girls broken english though not perfect had improved since meeting you, as had your spanish.

"ah mierda mapi said it before! a gringo? no. a gri-" she continued to struggle, huffing in frustration. "a grinch?" you guessed as she exlaimed happily and nodded. "si! a grinch."

"do you even know what that is?" you laughed, moving to wrap your arms around her as she shook her head, lips moving against yours sending your head into a spin. "its perfect ale, and i love you too." you smiled resting your head against her chest.

"you are perfect hermosa." she smiled charmingly, kissing your cheeks with a grin as you blushed. "i would like to watch a movie." you stated suddenly, brushing away her hands and gesturing for her to sit down.

"one more thing. stay here!" alexia gently pushed you to sit down instead, holding up a finger and hurrying away. you busied yourself texting mapi a thank you, not hearing her return until she cleared her throat.

"good?" alexia asked, your hand covering your mouth as she stood dressed in one set of the matching pyjamas you'd gotten the pair of you, a santa hat sitting lopsided on her head. "very good." you beamed, alexias heart melting at the way your eyes lit up, silently promising herself she would never let them dim.

once you'd hurried off to change into your own set the two of you had cuddled up together on the lounge, your back settled against alexia's front as you flicked through trying to find the movie, her hands massaging your shoulders as she laid soft kisses to your neck.

"this one." you beamed, clicking play and laying back down into her more, her arms snaking around your torso and settling on your stomach as your own fingers interlocked with yours.

"how the grinch stole christmas?"

[keelt9]

Paper 1

Masterlist

The first time Max saw her, she was sitting with her legs crossed in front of an old clockmaker's workshop writing in red paper as the snow kept falling slowly all over the small town. 

Max’s family had the tradition of going to Benasque, in Spain, every Christmas and New Year, keeping far away from the busy world of racing and enjoying some time with family.

“What are you doing?” Max approaches the girl who didn’t bother to lift her eyes from her paper as she writes like her lifes depends on it.

“Writing.” Max bluffs rolling his eyes, but he insisted.

“Kinda obvious, what are you writing?” He tilted his head trying to read whatever she’s writing. 

This time the girl with a red beanie lifted her face, rubbing her hands trying to get rid of the cold. “A Christmas wish.”

“For?” Max couldn't avoided, she had something that triggered his curiosity. 

“For?!” Like Max just asked the most terrorist question, the girl sits properly and points to the big Santa Claus in front of the clockmaker's workshop, next to a red mailbox. “Kind of obvious too.” 

“Really?” Max looked at her like he was observing the most outrageous person. “He’s n…”

The girl stood flooding his paper and got his pen on her big red cape. “Are you a Grinch or something like that?”

Max laughs purely following the girl who carefully walked waiting for the cars stopped to cross the street. “It’s an old clockmaker's workshop with an old mailbox, what makes you think that could even work?”

The girl opened the mailbox where, to his surprise, had a considerable amount of papers and letters, the girl looked at him with a self-sufficient smile.

“You’re kind of sourpuss for having what 6 year olds, maybe 7?” Max opened his mouth in total disbelief, who the hell was this girl.

“6 and half.” The girl nods, walking back to the bench unconsciously making space for him to sit.

Max sat next to her. “Now what?” 

The girl laid back her head with a smile but didn’t look at him. “Well, I like to sit here and watch, from time to time you find interesting people who actually believe in Christmas magic.”

“I don’t say I don’t believe, it’s just I have my reserves.” Max stretches his neck and relaxes his body. “Let’s see if you have the right.”

For 4 hours they waited outside as they were covered in white and their faces turned red, spoke about every little thing like they were friends of life, and one more time the mysterious girl confirmed her theory. They saw little kids walking along their parents, teenagers who observed side to side of the street fearing someone could catch them doing something wrong, adults that simply stood longer like if closing the mailbox means as prayer and old people that after came across the street and gave them a small candy or coins for they bought something nice for these holidays.

When the few sunlights started to disappear, the girl stood and waved her hand to the other side of the street. 

“Well, Mr. Grinch, it's been a pleasure, I have a lot of fun.” Max felt overwhelmed but happy. “Thanks for joining me.” 

The girl extended her hand which Max gladly accepted and shook. “Oh my God! You’re freezing, you forgot your gloves or something?”

Max didn't forget them, it’s part of his training, resist the cold temperatures, hoping in a few years all these things bring thousands of joys for him and his family.

His lack of response made the little girl narrow her eyes but let it pass. “Put it on the fire as soon as you get home.”

Max chuckled. “Thanks, little elf.” He pointed to his beanie and her red black boots. 

The girl laughs purely nodding her head. “Same time tomorrow?”

“Count me in.” Max walks away but he notices he doesn’t have a name. “What's your name?!” He screamed as the girl kept walking backwards.

“I’ll tell you later!” 

As the years passed, that’s how Max spent every last two weeks of December, before parting ways the 2nd of January, walking around the small town, eating candies and spending hours in front of an old clockmaker's workshop; loving the company of a little girl with a red beanie and black boots. 

Their name never comes and honestly they never needed it. 

The year Max finally joined Red Bull he could barely wait for Christmas holidays to begin, he had big news to share.

But Christmas wasn't nice all the time, that year knowing he could turn in the main driver of Red Bull, his father strictly denied him to move far away from Milton Keynes, he must be there.

Max obedient waited at least for the 23rd of December hopping his father could change his mind, still he hasn't, so in a last attempted he asked to his sister Victoria, that please, at least she went there before New Years Eve searched in front of the old clockmaker's workshop for a girl with a red beanie and black boots, and told her he would go next year.

“Max, how would I know I found the right girl?” Victoria asked as they said goodbye in the airport.

Max shook his head and hugged his sister. “Please, just tell her to wait a little bit.”

The pleading eyes of his brother was all Victoria needed to agree and looked at the Christmas girl.

Unfortunately she didn’t get her goal, her mother and her flight connection delay a couple of hours by the time they arrived to Benasque, it was the first hour of the 4rd of January, even when Victoria went to the old clockmaker's workshop the owner told her the girl came like every year and go, last night.

“A little defeated, she waited for his little friend.” The owner said taking the red mailbox of the entrance. 

Victoria left her number in case the girl came but the owner was cleared, like the snow, she and her family only came that three weeks every year.

The next year Max started to make his own powerful path, fearing he could miss an important moment, he started to write all the special moments in a red notebook, he didn't want to miss any little detail for sharing with his little elf. 

The next year with a victory between his hands, and the support of his mother Max went to Benasque,  just maybe his elf could be already there. 

Until the day before Christmas she didn’t appear in any of the places they used to go. 

The old man came outside of the clockmaker's workshop with a cup of hot chocolate and gave it to him. “It’s weird for me too.”

Max took a sip seeing the marshmallow floating. “She came like always?” 

The old man smiles and nods softly like he could picture the scene of last year, a teenager girl coming in the last hours of Christmas eve with a folded blue paper for leaving in the mailbox.

“She waited a little bit longer that night.” Max felt his heart squeeze. “She waited for a last minute Christmas miracle.”

Max saw the mailbox and took a piece of paper from his notebook, leaving the cup next to him. “Do you have a plan in mind, young boy?”

Max smiled, writing as fast as he could. “Helping the big guy with a miracle.”

Max didn’t notice but the old man has a proud smile and the certainty that this bound is for life. 

With a folded piece of paper Max crossed the street, opened the mailbox and put his wish and understood why the adults years ago closed the lid carefully, fearing that their wish would not come true.

His first championship came and the little elf didn’t, like every year he waited for hours every day as he kept writing in his second notebook, but she didn’t come, and every Christmas Eve he left his same wish on the mailbox.

When his third Championship came he walked the street covered in snow with a backpack, now with 4 notebooks in it. 

However this time, the old man reached him before he even got to see the bench. 

“She’s here!” The old man's face is bright beside the cold wind. 

Max opened his eyes ready to run but he was stopped. “Wait boy. I heard from the woman at the bookstore that she was already here but she hasn’t come…”

“Thanks.” Max didn’t let him finish; he grabbed his arm before running to the bookstore three blocks away.

The woman repeated the same words, she was there, bought a book and left, without saying another word.

Max's blood froze but he had to ask. “Did she look sick?”

“Oh no, she is beautiful and healthy as always, the red cape is switched for a navy blue coat but stunning as always.” The woman smiles remembering how the small girl turned into this beautiful woman. 

“Did she have a ri…” The woman smiles tenderly at Max and grabs his frozen hand.

“Any man or ring with her, boy, she just seems anxious.” Max breaths out feeling his chest doesn’t hurt.

He tried to think where she could be but for years, they spent all their holidays around the town, she could be anywhere.

Following his ritual he took a piece of paper from his notebook with his wish and left it in the mailbox, just this time in the next morning, in the mailbox a blue piece of paper appeared.

“Take it.” The old man said take it out and give it to him. “Maybe it’s your miracle.”

Max with shaking hands and holding carefully, he unfolded the paper.

<Merry Chrisymas Mr. Freeze hands!>

She was there, she definitely was there.

“Are you nuts?!” Daniel said almost choking with his dinner.

Max has a plan in mind, using all his resources for having his wish come true.

“It’s just a few words in the air.” Max rest importance cleaning the corner of his mouth. “Besides it’s on the SIM, isn’t  harmful.”

Daniel rolls his eyes. “Harmful? No, but come on Max! Everything you said in a blink will be on X, instagram, facebook, and other platforms.”

“Exactly! More diffusion, more reach.” Daniel shakes his head knowing trying to change his friend's mind, even if it is useless.

“You already talked with your team? Redline team.” Max didn’t answer, just kept eating. “MAX!”

Max laughs. “I’m planning to do it tonight!”

His team agreed with the strong belief that Max won't get it, not because they didn't want it, just because he's trying to find an old friend with any name and just barely any information that could be used to find someone.

“Ok Max, your turn.” Crane mentioned preparing the next race.

Max feels nervous, he giggles before speaking. “I would love to get some help from all of you.”

The chat immediately went crazy saying they would be glad to help.

“I lost contact with an old friend, so I was hoping you can help me to find that person one more time.” The chat lights on asking for the name or country. “Well, keeping things private I’m only going to tell you, I’m helping Santa Claus just this year.”

Max reads the comment that it’s like finding a fish in the ocean, impossible. “We used to spend Christmas together, in front of an old clockmaker's workshop.” That’s useful information, Crane laughs reading the comment. “So, can you please tell; little elf, I’m giving a hand to the big guy with red costume.”

The moment quickly goes viral, all the people are moved by the fact a triple world wide champion lost an old friend and he’s trying to find it for Christmas. It's so tender.

What wasn't tender was how the season is going, the first races all point to another brilliant season for the team until it isn’t.

Max constant researcher is paused everytime, and by the middle of the year the only useful information he gets is that the team is using this research to make more people know about it. 

But Barcelona took him by surprise.

With another win Max is fully focused on celebrating until before leaving the paddock one of the girls in charge of liaison, runs to get him before he goes.

“MAX!” The girl looks like she's seeing a ghost, pale and with wide open eyes. “You must see this.”

She gives him what a plain sight looks like and an old photo, he takes it as they keep walking until the car.

Finally inside he takes his time, or that's what he planned to do until he notices he doesn't have to, he recognises the girl in the photo.

Standing in front of a big Christmas tree as another girl hugs her looking at the camera, the other girl older and taller, wearing a white cape and black boots is laughing; his little elf is standing there with that beautiful smile, her red cape, black boots and rosy cheeks.

“Where is she?” Max asks, grabbing the seat ready to open the door and go wherever she tells him she is.

“That’s the problem.” She moves her head indicating they're ready to go. “I don’t think she’s here.”

“What?” Max looks through the window in panic as the car keeps moving. 

The girl gives him a piece of paper, as a number on it. “The girl who gave me the photo is the older one, she said the girl in red is her little sister but…” Max notices the hesitation on his teammate.

“But…” The girl turns around to see him in the back seat, as she narrows her eyes, Max is going crazy every second.

“Well, she isn’t that confident you’re looking for her sister at the right moment.” Max didn’t mean to explode, however it’s hard to control his emotions. 

“What the fuck?!” He takes his cap rubbing his face in his hands. “Sorry, sorry, I just… What else did she tell you?”

“Call her, both of you need to talk.” 

Max's mind surrounds for endless questions. Where is she? Did she know he’s looking for her? How is she? Why isn't it the right moment? What the hell has to do her sister in all this? 

Arriving at his hotel room before going to celebrate he dialed the number, concreting a meeting tomorrow in the morning at his hotel. 

“This isn’t true!” Daniel screams so Max could hear him among all the noise. “Come on Max! You’re not that foolish to believe this.”

“It’s the only coherent clue I had!” Max takes a sip of his drink.

“Or maybe it’s the sign for you to give up.” Max looks at him with cold eyes. “It’s been 6 months Max, let’s be real we’re not in a movie.”

Lando finds them on the table. “Are you planning to stay here so I can bring you a cup of tea or have fun?”

Next morning Max wakes up earlier than usual, his mind full and confused with Daniel words and the photo in his hands, when the hour they meet approaches he walks more than 10 times to the door and back to his bed. 

Slowly he remembers when she turned 10 years old, and arrived before him. By the time he got to the bench she had in her lap a cheesecake.

“What is this?” Max pointed as she smiled, taking out a candle making space between them to put the cake. 

“It’s my birthday, well… it was, but I’m making my own wish come true.” She carefully put the candle in the middle of it.

“Weirdo.” Max smiles at the ways she is so excited. “Wishes don't tell unless you don’t want to make it real.”

“Reason why I’m making it real, duh.” The girl lights the candle carefully as crosses her hands, closing her eyes. 

Max immediately starts to sing a happy birthday song softly observing how her smile grows bigger, when it ends the girl blows her candle.

“Now, what was your wish?” Max asked, grabbing the spoon the girl gave him. 

“Spending my birthday with my best friend.” Max froze in the moment a spoon stuck on the small cheesecake and a girl eating like she just said the most casual thing of the world.

Max smiles softly seeing the photo one more time, fuck everybody, he’s follow his little elf steps, making his own wish true.

[thriftedtchotchkes]

you're a mean one, mr. miller

pairing: joel miller x f!reader

summary: you and ellie decide the solution to joel's grinch-like approach to the holidays lies in finding him the perfect gift

warnings: jackson era, grumpy old man!joel, significant other!reader, fluff, mild angst, gift giving, christmas at the miller's, so many polaroids

word count: 3.8k

12 days of pedro masterlist - ty to @hellishjoel for organizing this project <3

The Miller household always gets a little tense around the holidays. When the days shorten and snow begins to fall, Joel throws himself into patrols and plans for winter-proofing Jackson, and it's all he'll talk about for months. It's obvious he does it on purpose. 

Christmas is basically an unspoken no-no under his roof, and there might as well be a swear jar for the word if his reaction is any indication. He refuses to acknowledge it and only tolerates the day itself because he knows it makes you and Ellie happy. 

You just wish it made him happy, too. You know it used to. Every year, Tommy regales stories about their Christmases in Austin as kids, and later with Sarah. Joel loved Christmas. 

They used to visit the tree farm, pick the tallest, fullest tree they could fit in their living room, and decorate it the very same day. Their attic and even parts of their garage were home to lights and tinsel in every color you could think of, and ornaments Sarah brought home from art classes and the yearly holiday fair at school.

All of that changed after the outbreak. It wasn't just her passing that did it. It wasn't even the threat of death or worse lurking around every corner. It was time. 

Joel just got used to life without it. After 22 years of missed holidays, he decided he didn't actually miss them at all. He couldn't afford to spare precious resources or energy on anything that wasn't necessary for survival. But that isn't the point of Christmas, is it? 

You celebrate your loved ones and their joy. You celebrate life. Here in Jackson, he finally has all of that, but if Joel is anything, he's a stubborn man set in his ways. You can tell he's still resistant to the idea because he genuinely believes there are better uses for his time.

You can also tell he's afraid to let his guard down. You just haven't figured out a way to show him he doesn't have to be. No one's safety is guaranteed in the world you live in, but you're protected now. And that responsibility isn't solely on him anymore.

If you could give him anything for Christmas this year, it would be peace. One day, even just a few hours of tensionless shoulders and a wrinkle-free brow would be a gift for all of you. He deserves to enjoy something merry and cheerful again, just for the sake of it.  

So, you ask the person who knows him best in the world for help.

"What do we think about getting Joel a Christmas gift this year?"

Ellie glances up from her guitar with the most incredulous look you've ever seen on her face. 

"Depends. Do you have a death wish?" she jokes, draping her arm over her instrument so she's sitting more comfortably. She's settling in—you both know this is about to be a painful conversation.

"No, but—," you sigh, leaning against the door behind you. It's still chilled, even through your coat, from when you barged into the shed and interrupted her practice. "I don't know. He wouldn't make that big of a deal, would he? It doesn't have to be anything flashy, just something small. Something nice."

"So, you wanna get Joel something nice for a holiday he hates? That makes total sense," she says, rolling her eyes.

You don't appreciate the sarcasm, but you expected it. She knows as well as you do that Joel won't be thrilled by the gesture, if he even accepts it.

"El, come on. I could really use your help here," you try to appeal to the part of her that usually can't say no to you, and thankfully she's starting to cave. "If there's anyone who can come up with a present Joel will actually like, it's you."

She sighs. Her fingers drum an arrhythmic beat on the wood grain while she thinks, a habit she must've picked up from Joel.

"Look, Joel's not really a 'thing' kinda guy," she replies, and she's probably right. He's never been the kind of guy who has physical attachments. "When's the last time he actually gave a shit when something broke or got lost? Even his watch is broken."

"Yeah, but that's different. You know it's different," you counter softly. But you can see the point she's trying to make. "Okay, so we don't get him a 'thing'."

She nods, waiting for you to offer another idea, but you're even more stumped than you were when you got here. 

"Maybe you can draw him something?" you grimace, grasping at straws now.

"His house is full of shit I've drawn," she deadpans. "Plus, I thought this was an us gift. That sounds like a 'me doing all the work' gift."

You let out a frustrated groan, and your head thunks dully against the door. You knew this wasn't going to be an easy task, but you thought it would at least be possible. Joel's a complicated man—it's one of the things you love most about him—but his wants and needs are surprisingly simple. 

He loves a home-cooked meal, especially meat and potatoes. He enjoys cold beers with Tommy on the porch during the summer and walking Ellie through complicated picking patterns when she's stuck on a song. He likes relaxing on the couch and watching old Westerns or cheesy action movies, and craves your body, soft and pliant, under his after a frustrating day on patrol.

But you want this to mean more than any of that. A special something that goes beyond the norm to loosen some of the springs that keep him wound up tight and constantly in motion. 

You glance around Ellie's space as your hope begins to dwindle, and the corkboard above her bed catches your eye. It's always been there, covered in doodled-on scrap paper and photos of her family and friends, and you're positive you've seen it hundreds of times since you've been in Jackson. But this time, it gives you an idea. The idea.

"That Polaroid camera you found in Eugene's basement—the one in the library. Does it work?"

Ellie's brows furrow at your sudden question. She clearly didn't expect it, but you're hoping she'll be on board once she finally catches on.

"Uhh, yeah, Cat and I were messing around with it the other day. Worked pretty well for us," she replies hesitantly, pointing at the entertainment console next to you. "It's next to the PlayStation."

Humming in response, you squat in front of the shelf to inspect it. It's in great condition, even better than you expected. Even the flash button lights up and whirs just like you remember. 

Before she can protest, you whip around and snap an extremely candid, brightly lit photo of her. If the look on her face is the same one you just caught on film, then you're already off to a great start.

"Dude, what the fuck? What was that for?" she groans in annoyance, blinking the bright spots out of her vision.  

"A scrapbook," you grin. "For Joel."

She's still glaring at you as she rubs her eyes, but she bites back whatever retort she was about to say. You watch her expectantly as she chews on the idea, relief blooming in your chest when she finally nods.

"I guess that could work," she says slowly, still thinking over the logistics in her head. But then she frowns. "When exactly did you plan on taking all those photos? Not to be a downer, but Christmas is in like, a week."

Damn, she's right again. It'll be hell in a handbasket to fill an entire scrapbook in that amount of time, and even if you manage it, it'll be a half-assed attempt at best.

No, if you're going to do this, then you're going to do it right. No rushed or slapstick presents for the man who already hates Christmas—Joel deserves better than that.

"What if we let Joel do his bah-humbug thing one last time? That's probably his idea of a perfect gift, anyway. Then next year, it'll be this," you hand her the fully-developed Polaroid.

It shows Ellie hugging the guitar Joel made for her, but there's no sign of the shocked annoyance that followed the camera flash. Instead, she's smiling. She has that rare, unguarded expression on her face, the one reserved only for people she trusts. It's a tender moment of peace, forever frozen in time.

She looks up at you, and you can see it in her eyes. She gets it, now.

"You do realize it's still a 'thing' present though, right?" she interjects playfully, and you have to resist the urge to grab the wood polishing cloth on the table next to you and swat her with it.

"Yeah, but it's a sappy thing. Admit it, Joel's a huge sap and you know it. You said it yourself, his house is basically a glorified fridge with your art magnetized to the walls."

She rolls her eyes again, but you can see the smile tugging at her lips. She knows it's true.

"So, you'll help me?" you ask, daring to hope that she'll agree.

"As long as you don't pull this shit again, I'll do whatever you want," she lifts the Polaroid, shooting you a dirty, but affectionate look before handing it back to you.

A grin breaks out across your face, and you bolt across the room to hug her awkwardly around the instrument still sitting in her lap. She places it down so she can wrap her arms around you properly. 

Physical affection has never really been Ellie's thing but if you catch her at the right moment on the right day, you might get lucky. Today, you do.

"So, when do we get started?" she asks, pulling away.

"Right now," you reply, unable to contain your excitement. For the first time in over two decades, Joel Miller might actually have a merry Christmas, and that's something to celebrate. 

"Now?" she gapes at you, looking over her shoulder longingly at her guitar as you drag her out of the shed. She barely has enough time to grab a coat before you're out in the cold with nothing but each other, a camera, and a plan.

"Now." 

ONE YEAR LATER

Jackson in the spring is one of the most beautiful things you've ever seen, even among your memories of the world pre-outbreak. Snow remains on the mountain peaks in the distance, but the foliage below blooms with the promise of warmer weather. Somehow, you managed to capture it all—fresh flowers in the shop windows, friends and neighbors shedding their coats and congregating in the streets, and the post-winter excitement that spreads more and more with each sunny day. 

You hid the stack of photographs in an empty jumbo box of tampons in the hall closet, positive they’d be safe from Joel’s prying eyes while you and Ellie continued your mission.

In the summer, two new foals were born, and Ellie and Maria spent almost every day at the stables to help out where they could. They even named them—Shimmer was Maria’s choice, and Ellie named the other Callus just to piss off Joel. Not only did it work, but it resulted in some of the cutest pictures of the season. 

Joel and Tommy built a porch swing for Maria and their rambunctious toddler and spent countless balmy nights drinking Tommy's extra-strength whiskey and shooting the shit. They even broke out their guitars every so often and managed to bully Ellie into playing with them once or twice. You caught that on camera, too. 

Slowly but surely, the memory box filled up, and the photos were transferred to a scrapbook you and Ellie made yourselves—with a little local help. One of the school teachers happened to be a former librarian with a bookbinding hobby, and graciously gave you a treasure trove of old, tattered books that were perfect for your project. 

By autumn, everything was falling into place. Ellie adorned those pages with painted leaves in shades of red, orange, and yellow to complement the photos you took at the town’s annual Harvest Festival and Thanksgiving potluck. You hopped around from booth to booth, table to table, and thanked your lucky stars that Eugene was a hoarder and held onto every pack of film he found over the years.

Now, it's the night before Christmas and you have a single shot left. One last photo intended for the final page, but you can’t think of anything you haven’t already documented. Looking around Tommy’s living room, there are plenty of moments you’d love to capture, and yet none of them feel like the moment. 

How the Grinch Stole Christmas plays in the background while you sit on their couch, curled into Joel’s side with Ellie’s head on your lap, but you’re barely paying attention, still lost in your thoughts. Joel isn’t paying attention, either—he was unsurprisingly averse to the movie to begin with—so when you don’t laugh along with everyone else at the Grinch’s antics, he immediately knows something’s up. He kisses your temple, careful not to jostle Ellie.

“What’s got you so in your head you’re not even laughin’ at Jim Carrey? I thought you loved this movie,” he murmurs against the shell of your ear. His familiar Southern twang somehow warms you up more than the fireplace crackling next to the television. 

“I do. I think I’m just getting a little sleepy, is all,” you reply softly, sagging into him. “Winter dance prep sucked this week. It’s like everyone conveniently forgot they volunteered to help.”

He nods, mumbling an apology into your hair.

“Guess that makes sense. All that runnin’ around you’ve been doing with that camera of yours probably ain’t helpin’ either,” he says offhandedly, and your brows furrow in response.

It’s not the first time he’s mentioned your sudden interest in photography, but with his gift sitting less than 10 feet away under Tommy and Maria’s Christmas tree, it seems more than a little suspicious. You catch Ellie glancing up at you in your peripheral, and you meet her gaze as discreetly as you can.

“Yeah, maybe,” you laugh it off, hoping it doesn’t sound as tense to Joel’s ears as it does to yours.

“What are you doin’ with all of those photos anyway? I swear, you take ‘em and then they disappear into thin air,” he presses on, none the wiser.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” you joke, shaking your head as if that’ll shake off all of his incoming questions. But it doesn’t work nearly as well as you hoped.

“Y’know, I was wonderin’ that myself,” Tommy interjects from the recliner to your right. “You’ve been takin’ photo after photo for almost a year, and I don’t think I’ve seen a single one.”

Maria scoffs next to him, coming to the rescue before you’re forced to come up with a believable explanation. 

“Mind your own damn business,” she smacks him in the chest, then shoots you a sympathetic look. 

You asked for her help not long after you and Ellie started planning Joel’s gift, so she knows how important this is. The last thing she’s going to do is let her husband’s need to stir the pot ruin it. But Tommy’s not the type of guy to give in that easily.

“I’m just sayin���, might be nice take a look at ‘em. You probably got some good ones of the kids in there, ‘specially from birthdays and holidays—,” he manages to get out before Ellie cuts him off.

“Can you guys have this conversation somewhere else? Some of us are actually trying to watch the movie,” she sits up from her spot on your lap to glare in his direction. 

Then, Tommy abruptly stands like something just occurred to him and strides across the room to the mantle above the fireplace—right where you set the camera down earlier. Your heart leaps into your throat. 

“Hold up. This thing’s still got one shot left, don’t it?” he asks excitedly, and you’re not sure how to shut him down without drawing too much attention to yourself or sounding mildly hysterical.

“Well, yeah, but—“

“Oh shit, s’got a timer and everythin’,” he continues, fiddling with its limited settings. He turns back towards the rest of the group and holds up the camera with a grin. “C’mon, everybody get together. We’re takin’ our first official Christmas card photo.”

“But, Tommy—,” you try again, but you’re drowned out by Joel’s sad attempt to leave the room.

“Look, I said I’d watch the movie, but I sure as hell didn’t agree to take a damn Christmas photo,” he grumbles, moving to stand, but you latch onto his flannel before he gets too far. He softens at your downtrodden expression and settles back in.

“Just to be clear, m’doin this for her, not for you,” he amends his previous statement gruffly, throwing an arm around your shoulder. You kiss his cheek gratefully, and Ellie pretends to gag as she shuffles to sit between your legs.

“Whatever you say, big brother. All you gotta do is sit there and look pretty. Think you can handle that?” Tommy teases him, making one final adjustment to the camera's placement. “Alright y’all, here we go.”

He sets the timer, then runs to the couch, squishing into the only available spot between Maria and an armrest. Everyone huddles together with varying levels of smiles and grimaces on their faces while you wait for the camera to go off. Except, it doesn't.

“Wait, how long did you set the timer for?” you peer around Maria to see Tommy looking genuinely dumbfounded.

“…Does it not just go 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, shoot?” he asks sheepishly.

"Oh my god, are you kidding me?" Ellie groans, leaning back against you, and the entire couch bursts out laughing. 

And in that moment, the flash goes off.

Yeah, this is the one.

The photo in your hands feels like the culmination of every memory you made and preserved in the past year. Five faces—and one tiny sleeping one—look up at you, fully developed and as happy as you've ever seen them.

Tommy and Maria sit side by side with their son in her lap, their heads thrown back in laughter. Next to them, Ellie sits between your legs, mid-knee slap, as you cackle with your chin resting on top of her head.

And then there's Joel, grinning from ear to ear as he looks on at the family he's fought so hard to protect. The family that's safe and sound, and enjoying an ordinarily special day, just for the sake of it. You can only hope that a book full of photos and everything it represents will be enough to convince him once and for all that it's the truth.

As you slide the final Polaroid into place, Joel sidles up behind you and wraps his arms around your waist.

"What's all this?" he watches curiously as you close the book and swipe your hand lovingly across the cover. Then, you pick it up and turn in his embrace, leaning back against the kitchen counter. 

"A gift," you reply carefully, hugging it to your chest. 

You glance over to where Ellie's still sitting in the living room, but she shakes her head and offers you a small smile, her delicate way of telling you that you're on your own. You take a deep breath before continuing.

"It's a Christmas present from me and Ellie," you explain, hoping to convey even a fraction of what this means to you. "Look, we know this isn’t necessarily your favorite day, but...we still wanted to do something nice for you."

He nods, his expression frustratingly unreadable. But then he does something unexpected.

"Y'gonna keep huggin' it or are you gonna show it to me?" he drawls jokingly, and your brows shoot up in shock.

"You wanna see it?" 

His face falls, and you immediately feel terrible at the brief wave of hurt that crosses his features. You didn't mean to sound so surprised, but you didn't anticipate this easy acceptance.

"'Course I do. The two of you spent a whole year workin' on this thing, why wouldn't I?"

That grin you know he loves lights up your entire face, and you turn to place his gift back on the counter. Flipping to the first page, you step aside and let him explore it for himself.

He takes in each moment of each season slowly, running his fingers across Ellie's doodles between photos and in the margins. Spring is framed by butterflies that you're somehow just realizing are painted in all of Sarah's favorite colors. 

Ellie added so many painstaking details you'd never talked about. You're not even sure how she knew something like that, but you're grateful it's there. Joel notices it too, and reaches down to take your hand, gripping it tightly for the rest of the book. 

He's silent as flips through summer and fall, and when he finally reaches winter, you feel him begin to tremble beside you. 

The last page sits open in front of you, the photo from earlier flanked on either side by notes from you and Ellie. As he reads, then rereads them, you can see the cogs turning. He's starting to understand why you did this—and how something as simple as a photograph isn't just a look back on a life well-lived. It's a reminder to keep living.

“This is…,” his brows furrow as he tries to find the words to express the conflicting thoughts racing through his head.

“I—I’m sorry, I didn’t get you anything," is what he ultimately settles on, but when he looks up at you, his eyes are wet. You immediately drop his hand to cup his cheeks.

"You didn't need to. I have everything I've ever wanted right here," you tell him gently, brushing away the tears threatening to fall. 

You glance over at the familiar faces in the living room, the same ones looking up at you from the page below, and he follows your gaze. The tension in his body begins to bleed away the longer he watches them, and you learn the wrinkle in his brow isn't actually the permanent fixture it always seemed to be.

He reaches up to cover one of your hands with his own, and you can feel his heart racing through his fingertips. In the back of your mind, you wonder if this is the moment it happens. If his heart grew three sizes bigger today, and if he's finally ready to give himself the gift of peace.

“Merry Christmas, Joel Miller," you whisper, kissing him deeply as the sweet voice of Cindy Lou Who brings the movie credits rolling in the distance to a close.

thanks for reading and happy holidays!

dividers by @saradika-graphics

[jujuscrolled]

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ: 𝒋𝒂𝒆’𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕 ⋆｡˚⋆ ⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅*̩̩͙‧͙ ‧͙*̩̩͙❆ ͙͛ ˚₊⋆

Grab yourself some hot chocolate, a pair of cozy socks and sit with me by the fire as we listen to the best Christmas hits!

Last Christmas

A year after your break up with Suguru, your mutual friend Satoru decided it was the perfect time to bring everyone together, so he begged and pleaded for you to help him decorate for his yearly Satoru’s Spectacular Christmas Spirit Bash (yes, he thought of the name) and for some reason, you agreed. You just hoped you’d manage to leave in time before you do something you might regret.

▷ play now

It’s Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas

Shoko never let Satoru drag her into any of his shenanigans. So why did she find herself in one of the ugliest christmas sweaters she’d ever seen, standing on some poor unsuspecting family’s front porch singing Christmas carols of all things? Well, that’s easy really, it’s because you’re there too - looking mighty adorable sporting the second ugliest christmas sweater in existence right alongside her.

▷ play now

Baby, it’s Cold Outside!

Your best friend Satoru Gojo had a bad habit of hogging you all to himself - especially around the holidays - but he always knew when to share. That being said, despite you telling him about your very important date with the guy from on of your classes, he seemed to be abnormally clingy (which you didn’t even think was possible.) Hopefully your hot date won’t mind the messy hair and rosy cheeks you’d probably show up with…

▷ play now (dec.7)

Santa Baby

Your boyfriend Kento always made sure you had whatever you needed (and some!) So when he asked you to write him a Christmas list - you were at a loss for what to ask for. You already had everything that you could possibly need, so what could possibly be missing? Oh, right, you supposed there was one thing you wanted most…

▷ play now

Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree

The Christmas party Higuruma’s law firm would throw to “boost morale” always seemed to have the opposite effect; deflating his coworkers instead of cheering them up. He knew most of them were only attending because they had to but this year seemed different - and it was all because of the pretty little bartender dressed in a ridiculously cute red dress and santa hat.

▷ play now

Silver Bells

Santa’s Workshop was only open for two months out of the year - and they’ve been your favorite two months for the past decade. Seeing the smiley faced, rosy cheeked children accompanied by their equally bright-eyed parents always sparked joy within you, after all, Santa’s Workshop was all things merry. That was at least until your boss decided that hiring Ebeneezer Scrooge to be Santa was a bright idea. But, no need to worry, it was your job to turn frowns upside down after all! All in the name of Christmas spirit, of course!

▷ play now

You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch

Sukuna doesn’t get the appeal of any holiday but especially not Christmas. In fact, he hates it! Or, at least, he did. Then he stumbled across silly little you; a self proclaimed Christmas connoisseur that came into his nephews life and flipped it upside down. Follow his (mis)fortune as you introduce him and his adorable nephew to the true spirit of Christmas!

▷ play now

All I Want for Christmas Is You!

Both you and Yuta adored all things Christmas so it was no surprise that you and him were paired to decorate Jujutsu High for the upcoming Christmas dinner (courtesy of Satoru Gojo, of course). Now, where the hell did all that mistletoe go?

▷ play now

Mistletoe

After being paired with Yuta and his crush to cover Jujutsu High in Christmas cheer you and Yuji are making it your own personal mission to finally get Yuta and his crush together. Thankfully, with the holidays rolling around, mistletoe is far too easy to come by! Wait, why is it that you two always end up stuck in your own trap?

▷ play now

Winter Wonderland

Nobara and Yuji don’t know where Megumi keeps disappearing to every night after class and the excuses he’s been giving them are starting to get ridiculous (they refuse to believe Megumi is trying out meditation) Their solution? Follow him into town, of course!

▷ play now

Santa Tell Me

Spending the months cleaning up vomit that nervous children would leave you in the most ridiculous places (you could’ve sworn the fake presents didn’t even open) wasn’t your ideal pastime and neither was arguing with the ridiculously cute elf that you always seemed to be paired with for your shifts… Well, maybe the latter wasn’t so bad… Especially not when he would go out of his way to get you your favorite hot chocolate before every shift.

▷ play now

A/n: so super excited to get these out n posted <3 i’ll probably also be posting drabbles for other characters (choso my love im begging for ur forgiveness) in between posting these so please keep an eye out for those as well ! <3 (side note; take a shot every time I mention drinking hot chocolate … wld u believe me if i said it wasn’t my drink of choice…? hehe)

[catghoststories]

Unscripted Kiss - A Sally x Julie One-Shot

Summary: Frank and Eddie like each other. Sally doesn't know this. She also doesn't know that she has a crush of her own.

Words: 1,576

Pairings: Sally Starlet x Julie Joyful, Eddie Dear x Frank Frankly

Characters: Sally Starlet, Julie Joyful, Frank Frankly, Eddie Dear

⭐ AO3 Link Here, and You Can Also Read the Full Story Below! 🌺

~⭐🌺~

~ Unscripted Kiss ~

“Me?  And Frank?  Kiss?”

Sally groaned, throwing her hands up into the air.  “Yes, Julietta!  It’s the romantic climax of the entire play!"

Julie sat on the ground, her pink and white dress fluffing up around her.  “But Frank just ate a cough drop!  I don’t want that to be my first kiss.”

Sally’s eye twitched.  “Julie…”

“I'm not kissing her.”  Frank crossed his arms, looking equally unimpressed.

"Franklin, you must!  It’s in the script!”

"I mustn’t do anything," Frank snapped.  He fiddled with the buttons on his suit jacket like he had all afternoon, before finally yanking it off over his head.  "And for the twentieth time, it's Frank!"

A chuckle from behind Sally snapped her last bit of patience like an old violin string.  “What's so funny, mailman?”

“He has a name, you know.  Do you know any of our names?  I'm beginning to think you don't.”

Sally glared at Frank before turning her ire back onto Eddie, who didn’t notice.  He sat cross-legged on the grass between their houses, Sally's manuscript in one hand, the costume he was sewing in the other.  “Miss Starlet, I was just thinkin’.  Wouldn't it be better if the princess professed her love to the prince before kissin’ him?  Seems a bit outta nowhere otherwise.”  He licked his finger and turned the page.  “Just thought it'd be a bit more romantic-like.”

“Aww.  That'd be cute!” Julie agreed.

"If it delays the inevitable," Frank sighed.  Julie giggled.

“Ugh!”  Sally threw her script onto the ground.  "You peon!  As if you know anything about the theater!”  But she knew for a fact that Eddie did.  Annoyingly, the mailman was the most well-read out of all them—excluding herself, of course.  “You do it, then, if you're such an expert!"

Eddie's grin evaporated.  "Ma'am?"

"You heard me.  You be the princess.”  Sally curled her lips, feeling smug.  “You kiss Frank.”

To her utter satisfaction, Frank looked mortified.  "What!  Why me?"

"Why not?  You’ve been complaining about this scene since I cast you.  Perhaps Edward can make it better for you, hm?"  Sally wielded her rolled-up script.  "Go ahead, mailman.  Show us how it’s done."

"All righty, then."  Eddie stood and dusted himself off.  He approached Frank, stopping a respectful distance away.  He took off his blue mail cap and held it in his hands, as if about to enter his house of worship.  "This okay with you, Mr. Frankly?"

Frank lowered his eyes.  "It's fine."  

He can barely speak! Sally thought with glee.  It wasn’t often that she got a leg up on both the mailman and the neighborhood grinch.

But her attitude changed when Eddie brushed Frank's bangs out of his eyes.

"You had some glitter on ya."  Eddie gave a lopsided smile.

Frank snorted.  "Did I?”

"It was probably from me.  Y'know, from the papier-mâché flowers I was makin' earlier?"

Frank’s sour look dissipated, replaced with a light flush.  “Oh yes.  I think you did a wonderful job.  You always have such nice color choices, Mr. Dear.”

Sally watched this exchange with a frown.  They’re awfully friendly, all of a sudden.  “Edward, if you're going to do this, get on with it.  We don't have all day!"

"Kiss kiss kiss!" Julie cheered, her tiara toppling off her head.

That got Eddie's attention.  “Right!”  Despite Sally’s request, he yet again arranged Frank’s hair, then stepped closer.  “Mr. Frankly—I mean, Mr. Prince—I want you to know that I love you.  Always have, always will.”  He touched Frank’s cheek, then leaned forward, gently placing his mouth over Frank’s.

Sally was sure it would be over in a second.  But Eddie’s free hand found enough time to make its way down to Frank’s slender waist.  She was sure Franklin would push him off, but he didn’t.  Instead, he held onto Eddie's large shoulders.  They didn’t kiss just once, either.  Eddie pulled back and returned two more times, once on the lips and once on the cheek.

Sally got the strong impression that this was not their first time doing this.

"All right, cut!” she said.  “That means stop!”  But the two paid her no mind.  They had entered a scene of their own, in a different time, a different place.

“Was that all right for you?” Eddie said softly, when they were finally done.

Sally didn't hear Frank's answer, because Julie interrupted.  "Wow, that looks fun!  I wanna try!"  She jumped up and straightened out her dress.  "Sally, now you be the prince, and I’ll kiss you!"

That shocked Sally even more than the previous display.  She stumbled over her words like she never had before.  "What?  Why me?" 

Julie looked at her as if she'd grown a second head.  “Well, I can’t kiss Frank, and I can't kiss Eddie now, either, because I bet he also tastes like cough drops.  So you!”

“I can’t!"  Sally crumpled up the script in her hands, her last line of defense.  "It’s not in the play!”

“It’s okay to improvise sometimes,” Eddie said, his hand still wrapped around Frank's waist.  Frank's were still on Eddie’s shoulders, but when he saw Sally watching, he quickly removed them.

“But I'm the director!”

“Isn't the director supposed to know how to do everything?” Eddie suggested helpfully.

"Yeah!" Julie agreed with aggressive cheerfulness.  "Oh please, Sally?  I really, really, really need to practice!”

Sally now entered a scene of her own.  The lights dimmed, the audience went silent.  The other actors left the stage.  A monologue.

Are you being foolish again, Starlet? an old voice whispered.  Are you cracking under pressure?  Are you thinking with your heart instead of your head?  That was always your problem, wasn't it, Sallinda?

Sally placed a hand on her stomach and exhaled.  She then ran a finger along each of her sixteen star points, making sure they were all on straight.  "Come here, Julietta."

“Yay!”  Julie gathered up her oversized dress and ran towards her.  Sally couldn’t help but be flattered by her enthusiasm.

Julie stopped in front of her and patted down her hair.  To Sally’s surprise, she seemed fidgety, nervous.  She then remembered that this would be Julie's first kiss.  Well, she'd have to make it a good one.

Sally flitted aside Julie's blonde locks before realizing it.  “It was all over your face.  I didn’t want it getting in the way!”  But she felt embarrassed as soon as she said it.

Julie laughed, a perfect sound, as if ripped straight from a recording.  “Thanks!”

"Hurry up.  We don’t have all day," Frank heckled.  Sally scowled at him.  She noticed Eddie’s hand still hadn't left his side, despite the return of his grumpy demeanor.

Sally shook out her shoulders.  "Could you please close your eyes, Julietta?"  She didn’t want Julie to see how nervous she was, either.

"Okie dokey smokey!"  Julie did so.  Now she looked calm, at peace, like Sleeping Beauty.  Sally took her in, her green eyelids, her button nose, her wide mouth that said so many funny things.  She knew she’d probably never be this close to her again.

“Don’t forget your confession,” Eddie said.  Sally’s heart stopped before she realized what he meant.  Oh.  The play.

“I…really like you, Julietta.  Princess.”  She couldn’t bring herself to say love as easily as the mailman had.  

Sally waited for Julie to move first, per the script, but she didn’t.  So Sally closed her eyes and kissed her instead.  They didn’t open their mouths, but that was somehow better, since Sally could draw closer, hide in Julie’s long bangs.  She waited as long as she could, taking solace in her beauty, her heavenly warmth.

When she pulled back, Julie's cheeks were rosy.  She looked at Sally like she was a star, not just in name only.

“Are you all right?”  Sally grew worried at her uncharacteristic silence.

Julie fluttered her delicate lashes.  “Yes!  Thank you, Sally!  That was really nice!”

Sally smiled, but of course Eddie shattered the moment with his loud voice.  “Say, that was pretty good!  Although Julie's the one who's supposed to make the confession.  An’ she’s supposed to kiss you first.  But I liked your version, too!”

Sally turned to sass him but was caught in Frank’s fierce gaze.  He didn't say a word, but he didn’t have to.

Sally stared back, hoping to match his intimidation.  Do you know what I am, Frankly?  Just like I know you?

Frank watched her a moment longer.  Then he plastered on a fake smile and chirped, "Was that fun for you, Sally?"

Sally gritted her teeth at his annoying falsetto.  "No!  It was all wrong!  All of you, start over again, from the top!"  She went to snatch her script from the ground but paused, staring at the words on the page.  She thought about Julietta’s hair brushing her cheek, a golden curtain, behind the stage, where she could finally feel like herself.  But she shook her head and smoothed out the pages.  “Don’t just stand there!  Act one, scene one!”

Julie startled to attention, but she still hugged Sally before hurrying back into place.  Frank gently removed Eddie's hand from his side and accepted his suit jacket with a sigh.

They returned to their roles, Frank the prince, Julie the princess, Eddie the stagehand, Sally the director.  But as the play went on, Sally couldn’t focus.  All she could think about was how she wished she had cast herself as the prince instead.

~⭐🌺~

Thanks for reading! Stay warm out there!

[thehollywoodnecromancer]

YELLOWJACKETS CHRISTMAS HEADCANONS!!

- Van absolutely LOVES Home Alone (partially because she relates to it) and makes everyone sit through it three times every December

- Lottie hates Home Alone for the same reason, only Nat knows why she cries every time they watch it

- Laura Lee goes super Catholic about it, need I say more

- Shauna loves those morbid “fun facts” and will not shut up about how St Nicholas resurrected butchered babies and punched a guy in the face

- Jackie’s Christmas tree is really stuffy and white so she always goes to Shauna’s place and the two of them decorate a chaotic little shrub in Shauna’s attic

- Tai’s favourite Christmas movie is 100% Die Hard. Travis doesn’t think it’s a Christmas movie but he still loves it, and Jackie does too because of her “secret” thing for Bruce Willis (and let’s be honest, Bonnie Bedelia too)

- Jackie always gets super competitive over the Wham game

- Misty makes Coach Ben a hand-painted bauble every year, he just has a box of them at Paul’s place labelled “fuck no”

- Misty pretends to still believe in Santa Claus for attention

- Javi is still bitter Travis told him that Santa isn’t real (which Travis only did bc he’s bitter Bobby Farleigh told him)

- Nat is 100% a Nightmare Before Christmas girlie, she & Kevyn always have some sleepover with popcorn to watch it

- Mari knows the lyrics to You’re a Mean One Mr Grinch off by heart

- Misty has a thing for Michael Bublé

- Jackie keeps her own personal naughty & nice list in her diary and gives gifts accordingly. Shauna is always on the nice list and Jeff is almost never, which Jeff is silently so devastated about, like he cries in his room over it

- Lottie always gets the most insane shit for Christmas but it’s literally never what she asked for— she’ll be like “hey can I get a record player” and her parents will be like “I know!!!!! Have an ice sculpture which melts immediately and some million dollar earrings which you will never wear because they clash with your complexion”

- Misty loves the snow, her entire yard is filled with snowmen. There’s lore. It runs deep

[vinylfoxbooks]

25 Days of Jegumas | Day 1 | Day 7 December 8 - Holiday Music | @noblehouseofgay | wc: 657

“We’re home,” Regulus hums, walking into the room with his son in his arms. James doesn’t respond verbally, but there are some sounds coming from the living room, and words that he can’t quite decipher.

There are a myriad of things that Regulus can walk in on with his partner, and most things he has seen already. So he’s not shocked when, of all things, he walks into the living room and James is playing Christmas music loud enough to not be heard from the entryway, but absolutely loud enough for James to be nearly belting too -- which makes sense what he was hearing upon walking into the house. They’re dancing around with a broom, singing into the end of it and twirling around the living room. 

He watches them for a while, smiling gently at their partner’s antics fondly, before he clears his throat to make himself known. James pauses in the middle of their dramatic rendition of White Winter Hymnal to whip themself around to see him, grinning brightly, “Hello the my favourite people in the world.” They do a funny little shimmy dance towards them, bringing their arms to wrap around Regulus’ waist, “My love, light of my life, my star.” They kiss him softly, pulling back and pressing a kiss to a very sleepy Harry’s head, “My world, my baby.” And they bring one of their hands to push little curls out of the way so they can kiss his temple. 

Regulus laughs softly, “You’re in a good mood.” 

They grin, “Christmas music always gets me in a good mood, my love. Was the playdate good?” 

Regulus nods, “Draco is definitely more haughty than Harry, but they warmed up to each other well.” 

“That’s good,” they smile, “It’s been so long since the last time they’ve seen each other. How was Narcissa?” 

“She’s doing well, I can’t tell what’s going on with Lucius, but that’s not my business.” 

They hum, “I see that it tuckered the boy out.” 

Regulus nods, “Mhm, I’m not sure if we should let him nap though, since it’s so close to bedtime.” 

James nods and gently runs their fingers over the little boy’s brow, “We can figure it out. Did you have fun, Haz?” Harry gently nods, eyes lidded with sleep, “Well, we don’t want you going to sleep right now…” they think for a moment before humming, “Do you two want to dance with me?” 

Regulus rolls his eyes but nods, and James moves to his side, wrapping an arm around his waist and pulling him into the center of the living room just as the song switches. Deck the Halls. Where James starts bouncing around and singing loudly, Regulus just bounces a bit, singing as well and trying to keep Harry as awake as possible.

They go through songs like that: You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch, Here Comes Santa Claus, Joy to the World, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Up On the Housetop, the list goes on. And eventually Harry begins to perk up, squirming to get out of his dad’s arms and be let down so he can dance as well with the two. They take a break to eat some of the leftovers that Effie left when she came to visit earlier in the day and go back to their listening to music, though they all settle down with a board game that Harry can play.

And when the boy is in bed, after passing out as soon as his head hits the pillow, James and Regulus settle on their couch, the fire roaring. James has turned down their music and switched to the softer Christmas music, playing it low enough that they can hear it but loud enough that it can fill the silence between them. 

“You and your little obsession with Christmas music is something special…”

“Hey, it helped keep our son awake, didn’t it?” They push him with their shoulder.

Day 9

[nerdinabook]

Okay I have a thought....

Marauders and their fav Christmas songs...

Remus: Santa, Can't You Hear Me by Kelly Clarkson and Ariana Grande (Remus would also love Christmas Shoes but can't listen to it without thinking of his mom and crying so he only listens to it once a year)

Sirius: Holidays by Conan Gray (duh it's Conan of course Sirius is gonna eat it up)

James: When Christmas Comes to Town from the Polar Express (you can't tell me he doesn't cry listening to this)

Peter: Wrap me up by Jimmy Fallon and Meghan Trainor (Peter would end up forcing everyone to duet with him at some point through the season)

Lily: Where Are You Christmas from The Grinch (mainly I think her vocals would sound so good at this)

Marlene: Buy me Presents by Sabrina Carpenter (the sass!)

Dorcas: Santa Tell Me by Ariana Grande (the year before she and Marlene got together she would listen to this and think about her the year after when they were together she would sing a slowed down version to her)

Mary: Christmas Tree Farm by Taylor Swift (all the girls would love it but Mary was the one busting it out the most)

Regulus: Merry Christmas, please don't call by the Bleachers (uurggg this song is just so Regulus coded!!!)

Evan: You're a mean one Mr Grinch (people think it's because he is trying to say he is like the Grinch and is mean but he can't not listen to it and think of the happy times in his childhood with Pandora)

Barty: Carol of the Bells (its giving prestige its giving hauntingly beautiful)

Pandora: You're a mean one Mr Grinch (people think it's because she is kinda quirky and so of course hut really the same reason as Evan)

Tbh I'm still learning about Evan and Bartys characters so forgive me if you think differently.

[shadowedoracle]

A Valentine's for Mr. Gold

Summary: In a cursed Storybrooke the town Grinch Mr. Gold visits the Storybrooke Library on Valentine's Day.

Rating: G

A/N:

Happy Fluffapalooza! Or Skin Deep Day! Which ever term you prefer.

I am one of the most cynical people about Valentine's Day you'll ever meet. But apparently that didn't stop my brain from coming up with this. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Oh also FYI, this is set one year before the events of S1. It's not really relevant. But just FYI.

[AO3]

***

If Mr. Gold had to say why he hated Valentine’s Day, he would have said there were three main reasons: 1. The rampant commercialism made even the mercenary business owner in him cringe; 2. It was the date his ex-wife had walked out on him and their five-year-old son two decades ago; and 3. It had been the date of the car crash that had taken his son from him and left him the crippled husk of a man he was today.

So he did not acknowledge that February 14th was any different from any other day. He did not sully his shop by making a holiday display or changing his hours (not that he did that for other holidays either) and he most certainly would not give discounts or loan forgiveness to those who had overspent their means to impress the object of their desires. In fact, he added a hefty fine to those who tried to use Valentine’s Day to justify any late payments on their loans. Everyone in the town knew he was -- as he’d heard Ruby Lucas once say (along with a load of expletives) -- ‘A Grinch’ but that didn’t stop a number of them every year thinking their sob story of a romance or broken heart would stop him fining them.

Normally on Valentine’s Day he’d head straight home, drink as many glasses of whiskey as he could stomach to drown thoughts of the shoebox in the attic with handmade valentines ‘To Papa’. But this year Valentine’s Day fell on a Monday which was library day. And nothing would come between him and library day. Not even Valentine’s Day.

Monday had been library day ever since Miss French had become the town librarian what felt like forever ago -- but could only have been several years at most. Mr. Gold didn’t need to go to the small town library for his reading needs. He had a very well-stocked library at home. But… Miss French was the only intelligent person in this town he could have a conversation with about books (or anything for that matter). She was shy, but very charming and he couldn’t resist going back week after week; letting her pick out new books for him to discover.

When he opened the library door he stopped dead. The library was covered in chains of red paper hearts draped from the ceilings. He strongly debated turning around and walking out but Miss French had already seen him and waved cheerfully at him so he moved reluctantly towards the large wooden Circulation Desk.

Miss French was dressed in a simple blue dress that brought out the color of her eyes and those eyes sparkled up at him as she grinned at him and she took his finished books from him. “Not a fan of the decorations, Mr. Gold?”

“No,” he said through gritted teeth -- although whether they were gritted so he wouldn’t comment on the decorations or her dress or her eyes he couldn’t say.

“It’s not really my thing either -- well, Valentine’s Day, that is -- it’s too superficial and too commercial for my liking,” she said as she scanned his books back, placing them on the trolley beside her. “But a holiday is a good excuse for a children’s craft project -- that’s where most of the decorations come from you know. Plus it means I can put up special quick-pick displays and I love putting those together.” She smiled as she paused for breath, after her somewhat gabbled speech (not that Mr. Gold minded that -- he was no conversational maestro either). She leaned forward towards him and said, conspiratorially, “Guess what I did this year?”

Despite himself he couldn’t help leaning forward in response. “What?”

“I took a copy of each Jane Austen novel and wrapped them in paper covered in hand-made Valentine’s wrapping paper. Then wrote descriptions such as ‘Mystery Enemies-to-Lovers Epic Romance’ on each of them to get people to check out something different.”

Mr. Gold laughed (Miss French was the only person capable of eliciting his real laugh). “So you’ve been tricking Storybrooke’s residents into improving their reading palates?”

“Well…” She blushed, Mr. Gold studiously ignored how it nicely it brought out the color of her lips, “When you put it like that I almost feel bad.”

Of course she did -- Isabelle French was goodness personified, whereas he was the opposite. That was the reason why, despite being tempted, he would never act on his attraction nor give any indication of it. There was no chance in the world his attentions would be welcome. If he said something, she’d reject him and then he’d have to stop going to the library and seeing and having these little chats with Isabelle French. He couldn’t -- wouldn’t -- do that. So instead he just quashed his feelings down and allowed these weekly interactions to be enough.

“You shouldn’t. Feel bad, I mean,” he said softly.

“That’s kind of you to say.”

He shrugged, schooling his face to give no indication of how her words affected him. “It’s just the truth.”

They stood there in silence for a few moments while Miss French bent to retrieve his new books ones from under her desk. “I hope you’ll like these,” she said. “They’re not quite your usual fare but I think you’ll like them based on what you’ve enjoyed previously.”

He looked at the books wrapped in newspaper -- at least she’d known better than to use Valentine’s wrapping paper. “Are you sure you’re not tricking me into reading Jane Austen?” She giggled. “No! Besides you’ve already read all her books and I’m pretty sure you own your own copies of them. I just thought surprise might be fun.” She blushed.

“I see.” He allowed his lips to curl up slightly. He couldn’t be annoyed at her. Not now, not ever. Besides, he trusted her taste. Her recommendations were always interesting, even when they took him outside his comfort zone. He stared at her wanting to stay there longer to open the package and see what she’d chosen for him but there was the sound of footsteps behind them and he became painfully aware they weren’t alone anymore. He didn’t want to be caught acting like a love-struck idiot with Miss French so he picked up the wrapped package with a nod and left the library.

He had meant to walk home directly from the library. But the temptation to find out what Miss French had chosen for him was too strong; so he let himself into the back of his stop and, after fumbling with the lights, tore open the package.

There were two books inside and something sticking out in between them. He didn’t even glance at the titles before pulling out a square envelope, ripping it open he stared down at the obviously handmade card with a wobbly drawing of a heart on the front. Opening the card up, he read:

Dear Mr. Gold,

Happy Valentines Day! I know you probably think it’s stupid and don’t celebrate but everyone ought to know there are people in this world who care about them.

Your friend,

Isabelle x

P.S. You don’t read much poetry but I like this collection poems about love-- it covers a lot of different eras with many different poets and many kinds of love. The novel is The Left-Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin. You told me you’d never read much Sci-Fi/ Fantasy and this is a modern classic for a reason. Let me know what you think of these books next week.

P.P.S. The Card is an example one I made with the schoolchildren. Please excuse how poorly drawn it is.

Mr. Gold stared down at the card, and in particular the little ‘x’ after Miss French’s name. Maybe his feelings weren’t so one-sided after all. Should he go back and tell her how he felt? No. No. That was insane. He couldn’t risk that. Besides, she was probably just being kind. She’d used the words ‘care about’ not ‘love’ and she had probably meant it in a friendly way not a romantic way. He was not someone anyone -- but especially someone as perfect as Isabelle French -- could love. But perhaps it was enough to know that someone out there saw him and didn’t turn away in disgust, but rather cared.

As he locked up his shop again and headed for home he felt a lot lighter and reflected as he walked that perhaps, Valentines Day wasn’t so bad after all.