#this taking place the morning after the christmas party \o/

[jburrgf]

About you ||| — The Love Trope Series.

“Do you think I have forgotten about you?”

• pairing: ¡lsu!joe burrow x ¡ex situashionship!reader

° summary: second change trope, college relationships, slow burn love, right person wrong time.

o description: you and joe had a thing months before, but the things ended in a bad way. now, you see yourself stuck in something that requires you to be close to him every single day.

• playlist: About You - The 1975, Love Me Like You Do - Ellie Golding, Like Real People Do - Hoozier, I Bet You Think About Me - Taylor Swift, Called You Again - Lizzy McAlpine, Tolerate It, ImGonnaGetYouBack, Clean - Taylor Swift

PART THREE: I BET YOU THINK ABOUT ME

The fluorescent lights in the classroom buzzed faintly as I slipped into my seat at the back of the room, pulling my hoodie tighter around me, hoping to disappear into the fabric. Mondays were bad enough, but after the party on Saturday, the mere thought of facing the day made me want to crawl back under the covers and stay there.

Especially now, with the nagging suspicion that my life was about to take another unpredictable turn.

The group of students gathered for Media Strategies in Sports was small, a core requirement for my degree, and one of the few that worked directly with LSU’s athletic department. Normally, I loved it—brainstorming campaigns, creating social media content, and pitching ideas to actual professionals. But today, the room felt stifling, like the walls were closing in.

I sank lower into my seat, Maddie, seated beside me, shot me a knowing look.

“Morning, sunshine,” Maddie chirped, sliding into the chair beside me with her usual energy that somehow thrived even at 8 a.m.

I grunted in response, burying my face in the collar of my hoodie.

“Oh, come on. It wasn’t that bad,” she teased, nudging my arm. “You left before anything interesting happened.”

I shot her a glare, and she held up her hands in mock surrender. “Fine, fine. I’ll stop. “You’re being dramatic,” she whispered, nudging me with her elbow.

“I’m being cautious,” I muttered, keeping my voice low.

Professor Reynolds entered the room, a stack of papers tucked under his arm. He was a tall, wiry man with a gruff demeanor, but he loved his job. This class was his pride and joy, a hybrid course designed to give students real-world experience working with the university’s rising athletes

The professor, Dr. Reynolds, stood at the front of the room, a stack of papers in his hands and an overly chipper demeanor that felt out of place this early in the week. “Alright, class,” he began, his voice cutting through the low hum of chatter. “As you all know, this semester we’re diving into a hands-on project with the athletic department. Each of you will be paired with an up-and-coming athlete to develop a personalized media strategy. This is a big opportunity—LSU takes its athletics seriously, and these athletes are the faces of the future.”

I already hated this.

“Pairs will be assigned at random,” Reynolds continued, adjusting his glasses. “These are some of LSU’s rising stars, and this is your chance to prove you can handle the pressure.”

Dr. Reynolds began reading off the pairings, his voice steady and matter-of-fact.

“Anna, you’ll be working with Derek Stingley Jr. Jamie, you’ve got Clyde Edwards-Helaire…”

The names blurred together as I stared at my notebook, pretending to take notes. Maybe, just maybe, I’d luck out and get someone I could handle—a name I barely recognized, someone who wouldn’t make me feel like the walls were closing in.

“Justin Jefferson,” Dr. Collins called, glancing up. “Maddie Carter.”

Maddie lit up like a Christmas tree, her grin practically splitting her face. She turned to me, barely able to contain her excitement. “Oh my God, Y/N. Justin Jefferson. Can you believe it?”

“Lucky you,” I said flatly, my heart sinking further.

She didn’t notice, too busy already envisioning her project.

“Y/N L/N,” Professor Hart continued, scanning his list. “You’ll be working with Joe Burrow.”

I didn’t respond, hoping for some kind of cosmic intervention. Reynolds’s gaze found me anyway, a faint smile tugging at his lips as he looked at me.

“Joe Burrow.”

My blood ran cold.

Maddie audibly gasped beside me, clapping a hand over her mouth to muffle her reaction. I couldn’t even look at her. Instead, I ducked lower into my hoodie, practically melting into my chair.

My heart plummeted.

Maddie turned to me, her eyes wide. “Oh no.”

The words hit me like a freight train, and my body instinctively tensed. My heart sank, my pulse quickening as the room seemed to close in around me.

I slid further into my hoodie, wishing the fabric could swallow me whole.

“Of all the people,” I muttered, my voice muffled.

I didn’t respond, instead pulling my hoodie up over my head and practically disappearing into the fabric. My face burned as the rest of the class murmured, a few curious glances thrown my way.

Maddie leaned closer, her voice low. “Y/N, this is fine. It’s fine. You can handle this.”

I peeked out from the safety of my hoodie, glaring at her. “This is not fine.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re overreacting. It’s just Joe.”

“Exactly,” I hissed. “It’s Joe.”

Before she could respond, Dr. Reynolds clapped his hands together, pulling the class’s attention back to him. “Remember, this project is about collaboration. You’ll be working closely with your athlete all semester, so make sure to establish good communication from the start. Now, if there are no questions, class is dismissed.”

I stayed rooted in my seat as everyone began gathering their things, my mind racing. There was no way I could do this.

Maddie stood and slung her bag over her shoulder, leaning down to whisper, “Go talk to him. Maybe he’ll switch you with someone.”

“That’s the plan,” I muttered, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

I shot her a point and Maddie shrugged. I waited until the room had cleared out, then made my way to the front where Dr. Reynolds was organizing his notes.

“Professor?” I said hesitantly.

He looked up, offering a kind smile. “Yes, Y/N?”

I shifted awkwardly, clutching my notebook to my chest. “About the project… I was wondering if there was any chance I could switch partners.”

His brow furrowed, and he set his papers down. “Switch partners? Is there a specific reason why?”

I hesitated, my mind scrambling for a professional-sounding excuse. “I just think… maybe someone else would be a better fit. Joe and I… we don’t really have a lot in common, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to… um, connect with him the way someone else might.”

Dr. Reynolds studied me for a moment, his expression thoughtful. “Y/N, part of this project is about stepping outside your comfort zone. Learning to work with different personalities is a crucial skill in this field. Joe Burrow is one of the most promising athletes at LSU right now, and I believe you’re more than capable of handling this assignment.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but he held up a hand. “I understand this might feel challenging, but I’m confident it’ll be a valuable experience for you. Give it a shot, and if there are any real issues, we can revisit this conversation later in the semester.”

“Right,” I said weakly. “Of course.”

“Besides,” he added with a small smile, “working with someone like Joe is an incredible opportunity. I’m sure you’ll do great.”

I forced a tight smile, nodding as I backed toward the door. “Thanks, Dr. Reynolds. I’ll, uh, do my best.”

As I turned to leave, Maddie was waiting just outside the door, her arms crossed and a knowing smirk on her face.

“Well?” she asked.

“No luck,” I grumbled, pulling my hoodie back up.

She shrugged, looping her arm through mine as we walked down the hallway. “See? The universe wants you two to work this out.”

I groaned, leaning my head against her shoulder. “You’re not helping.”

She laughed, giviI glared at her. “This isn’t funny.”

“It’s a little funny,” she replied, linking her arm through mine as we started walking. “Come on, Y/N. You’ll survive. He’s just a guy. A very cute guy who just so happens to be your ex, but still—just a guy.”

But as we walked across campus, her words felt far from reassuring. Because deep down, I knew this wasn’t just about the project—or about Joe. It was about the way he still made me feel, no matter how hard I tried to forget.

“You’ll thank me later.”

I groaned, pressing my hands to my face. “Why do I feel like this is going to be a disaster?”

“Because you’re overthinking it,” she said, looping her arm through mine. “Come on. Let’s grab lunch. You’re gonna crush this project, and if he tries to make it weird, I’ll personally set Justin Jefferson on him.”

Despite myself, I laughed. Maddie always had a way of making things feel just a little bit lighter.

But as we walked out of the building, I couldn’t shake the sinking feeling in my chest. Joe Burrow wasn’t just any project partner. And no matter how much Maddie tried to convince me otherwise, I knew this was going to be anything but simple.

“When are you guys going to meet?” Maddie asked me, walking by my side down the streets of the campus. We were doing our way to Malone’s.

“Probably still this week. Joe has the hardest schedule, but I know he has some free days this week. I kinda Remember.”

Maddie gave me a quick look, but she didn’t say a word. And it was ok, cause I know her enough to know what 's going on in her mind. And it was the same way with her: she knew what was going on my mind right now.

"You are not going to do that," she told me, as if her demand would change something I had already decided in my mind.

I didn’t answer, my mind already spinning with ideas to get out of this. There had to be a way to switch partners. Maybe Jamar could help me—he was Joe’s best friend, and I’d worked with him before — kinda met him when I was with Joe. He was always good at reading Burrow, especially. Maybe, just maybe, he’d pull some strings for me, cause I know that half of the girls from my class would kill to be paired with Joseph Lee Burrow.

I pulled out my phone, dialing Jamar’s number quickly. The phone rang once, twice...

“Yo, Y/N, what’s up?” Jamar’s voice came through the speaker, relaxed but friendly.

“Hey, Jamar,” I said, trying to sound casual but feeling the anxiety creep in. “Look, I need a huge favor. You know that media project for class, right?”

“Yeah, I’m in that class too. You got paired up with someone tough?” He asked me. “I wasn’t in the class today, got early practice this morning.”

“Well,” I hesitated, glancing over at Maddie who was watching me curiously, “I got paired with Joe.”

There was a brief silence on the other end, and then Jamar laughed. “Oh, man. That’s gonna be fun.”

I didn’t share his enthusiasm. “I don’t want to work with him, Jamar. It’s... it’s complicated, you know? Any chance you can make a switch for me? Just... I don’t know, talk to the professor or someone? Talk to the girl that got you!”

Maddie, still walking beside me, leaned in with a mischievous grin. “You’re not seriously asking Jamar to pull strings, are you?”

I shot her a glare, but she just laughed, clearly knowing what I was about to do.

On the phone, Jamar chuckled again. “I get it, I get it. But nah, I can’t really do that. You two gotta work it out. Besides, Joe’s a good dude. You’ll be fine.”

I felt my shoulders slump. “You’re not helping here, Jamar.”

“Hey, I’m just saying, you’ve got this,” he replied, his tone warm but firm. “But you’ll need to face it at some point, right? Might as well be now.”

I groaned, my frustration mounting. “You’re all against me, huh?”

“Not against you, just keeping it real,” Jamar said, laughing lightly. “But look, I’m sure it’ll be fine. Besides, you’ll have some good stories to tell after, right?”

I wasn’t ready to accept that yet, but before I could say anything else, Maddie swiped the phone from my hand, holding it to her ear before I could protest.

“Chase! It’s Maddie. We’re going to Malone’s now, you in?” she said, all casual and confident.

“Maddie!” I protested, grabbing at her, but she pulled the phone further from me.

“Don’t worry, Y/N. You need to face Joe,” Maddie continued to Jamar, ignoring my complaints. “We’re going to make sure you do, and I’ll be there to back you up. You’ll be fine.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but Maddie just gave me that look—the one that told me she wasn’t about to let me off the hook.

Jamar’s voice came through the phone again. “Malone’s, huh? Yeah, sure, I’ll swing by. Should be a good time.”

Maddie grinned at me. “See? Jamar’s in. Now you just have to deal with the whole Joe thing, and we’ll all go get a drink. It’ll be a good distraction. You’re welcome.”

I sighed, defeated, knowing she was right. There was no avoiding Joe, and it seemed like I wasn’t going to get out of this project. “Fine,” I muttered, sinking into the nearest bench. “But you’re buying me a drink tonight, Maddie. I’m gonna need it.”

Maddie smiled, her arm linking through mine. “Deal. But remember, you’re facing your ex like an adult. No running away this time.”

I rolled my eyes, but there was no escaping it now. "You’re relentless, you know that?"

She just winked. "That’s why you love me."

[…]

The atmosphere at Malone’s was a mix of low chatter, clinking glasses, and the occasional burst of laughter. It was the kind of place where everyone on campus went to blow off steam, whether it was for a burger or a beer. Maddie, Jamar, and I had been sitting at one of the wooden booths for over an hour, nursing drinks and nibbling on fries while we talked about the media class project.

Jamar had been surprisingly helpful, giving me tips on how to navigate the project with Joe—though he seemed to enjoy teasing me about it at every opportunity. Maddie, as always, was in her element, sipping on her drink and chiming in with her unsolicited (but not entirely unwelcome) advice.

“I’m just saying,” Jamar said, leaning back in his chair. “Joe’s not that bad to work with. Once you get past his, you know... personality.”

I shot him a look. “Oh, you mean his stubbornness? His perfectionism? His tendency to completely ignore other people’s input?”

Jamar grinned. “Exactly.”

Before I could retort, the door swung open, and in walked Justin Jefferson. His easy confidence turned a few heads as he made his way toward our table, spotting us immediately.

"Well, well, well. Look who it is," Jamar greeted, sliding over to make room for him. "What’s up, Justin?"

Justin slid into the seat directly across from Maddie, his eyes flicking to her before settling on the rest of us.“Not much. Just got out of a meeting with Coach. You know how it is." Justin said, His eyes flicked to her drink. “You already started without me?”

Maddie smirked, raising her glass. “You’re late. That’s on you.”

Justin chuckled, settling in as if he’d been there the whole time.

Maddie perked up immediately, smiling at Justin as if the rest of us had disappeared. "Hey, did you see the assignment? I got paired with you for the project."

Justin leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table. "Yeah, I saw that. Guess we’ll be spending a lot of time together, huh?" His tone was casual, but the way he looked at Maddie made it clear he wasn’t just talking about work.

I couldn’t help but smile a little at their interaction. It was nice to see Maddie’s confidence in action, even if I wanted to shrink into my hoodie at the mere thought of working with Joe.

Justin turned his attention to me after a moment, his eyebrows raising. "So, who’d you get stuck with, Y/N?"

I hesitated, glancing at Maddie and Jamar for support. Maddie was quick to jump in. "She got Joe," she said with a grin, as if this were the most entertaining development of her week.

Justin’s eyes widened slightly, his smile turning into something more curious. "Wait, Joe Joe? As in, Joe Burrow? Your Joe Burrow? Didn’t you two have a thing?”

“He’s not my Joe,” I said quickly, my face heating up.

Jamar chuckled, and Maddie smirked into her drink, clearly enjoying my discomfort.

“It was a long time ago,” I muttered, wishing the ground would swallow me whole.

Justin leaned back in his chair, clearly amused. “Man, this just keeps getting better.”

“Look,” Jamar said, leaning back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest. “I’m just saying, if you don’t want to work with Joe, you better have a solid plan. Dude’s serious about this stuff when it comes to football, and he’s not gonna let you off easy.”

I groaned, stirring my drink with the straw. “It’s not about him being serious. It’s about—”

“History,” Maddie interrupted with a sly smirk. “We all know the elephant in the room.”

I shot her a glare, but Jamar chuckled. “Yeah, yeah. History aside, you’ll be fine. Just keep it professional. Joe’s not the type to hold grudges.”

Before I could come up with a response, Jamar’s phone buzzed on the table. He picked it up, his face lighting up when he saw the name on the screen. “Speak of the devil,” he said with a smirk. “It’s Joe,” Jamar announced, holding up the screen for us to see.

“Put it on speaker,” Justin said immediately, leaning forward with interest.

“No, don’t—” I started, but it was too late. Jamar had already hit the speaker button and placed the phone in the middle of the table.

“Yo, Joe, what’s up?” Jamar said.

“Hey, man,” Joe’s voice came through the phone, low and steady. “I just got out of practice. What’s up with this project? Do you know who I’m paired with yet?”

Maddie and Justin exchanged glances, their eyes twinkling with amusement. I sank deeper into my seat, pulling my hoodie over my head in a futile attempt to hide.

“Not yet, huh?” Jamar replied, grinning at me. “Man, you’re gonna love this one.”

Joe groaned on the other end of the line. “I swear, if it’s someone who doesn’t take this seriously, I’m gonna lose it.”

“Don’t worry,” Jamar said, his voice full of mock reassurance. “Your partner’s... super dedicated. Really invested.”

Maddie coughed, barely stifling her laughter. Justin was no better, leaning forward with his hand over his mouth to muffle his amusement.

Joe sighed. “Great. Anyway, where are you? I’m starving.”

“We’re at Malone’s,” Jamar said casually. “You should swing by.”

There was a pause before Joe replied. “Alright, be there in ten.”

When the call ended, the table fell into a quiet buzz of excitement. Justin leaned forward, his gaze flicking between Maddie and me. “This just got a whole lot more interesting.”

I shot him a look, then turned to Maddie. “You’re not helping.”

Maddie shrugged, clearly unbothered. “I told you, you need to face him. Now’s your chance.”

I glared at Jamar. “Why did you invite him?”

“Because,” he said, leaning forward with a grin, “I live for the drama.”

Maddie nudged me. “Relax, Y/N. It’s just Joe. You’ll be fine.”

I didn’t respond, my mind racing as I tried to mentally prepare myself for what was about to happen.

A few minutes later, the door swung open again, and there he was. He looked like he’d just come from practice, a hoodie slung over his shoulders, hair slightly disheveled, but his sharp gaze swept over the room like he was always in control.

I froze in my seat, trying to shrink into the background as his eyes roamed over the tables.

“Oh, this is going to be good,” Justin muttered under his breath, leaning forward with a smirk.

Jamar casually waved him over. “Yo, Joe, over here!”

Joe’s head turned toward the sound of Jamar’s voice, and then his eyes landed on me. He stopped mid-step.

He froze when he saw me.

His gaze locked with mine, and for a moment, everything else faded away. The noise, the people, the world—it all disappeared as we stared at each other.

Joe walked over slowly, his expression carefully neutral, but I could see the flicker of surprise in his eyes as he took the empty seat directly across from me.

“Sup,” Joe greeted. The space felt smaller now, the table between us an insignificant barrier.

“Hey, man,” Jamar said with a grin, clearly enjoying the tension that had settled over the table.

Joe’s gaze flicked briefly to Maddie, then Justin, before landing back on me. “Didn’t expect to see you here,” he said, his voice neutral, but his eyes betrayed a flicker of something—surprise, maybe.

Justin, ever the instigator, wasted no time. “So, Joe, you know who your partner is for the big marketing project yet?”

Joe frowned slightly, his eyes narrowing in curiosity. “Not yet. They haven’t told me.”

“Oh, really?” Jamar said, feigning surprise. “Man, that’s weird. I thought for sure you’d know by now.”

Maddie stifled a laugh, covering her mouth with her hand. I shot her a glare, but she just winked at me.

Joe glanced at Jamar, then at Justin, and finally back at me. His expression shifted subtly, realization dawning as he pieced it together. His eyes locked onto mine, and for a moment, the rest of the table seemed to fade away.

“You’re kidding,” he said, his voice low and edged with disbelief.

I looked down at the table, suddenly fascinated by the condensation on my glass. “Nope,” I said, trying to sound nonchalant. “Not kidding.”

Joe let out a quiet, humorless laugh, leaning back in his chair. “Of course.”

Justin chuckled, clearly enjoying the drama. “This just got a whole lot more interesting.”

Joe ignored him, his focus entirely on me. “So, it’s you,” he said, his tone unreadable.

“It’s me,” I replied, finally meeting his gaze.

The air between us felt heavy, the unspoken history lingering like a storm cloud. Maddie broke the tension with a cheerful, overly chipper tone.

“See? This will be great! You two already know each other. It’s a head start!”

Joe shot her a look, and she just shrugged innocently.

Jamar leaned forward, grinning. “Come on, Joe. Don’t look so worried. Y/N’s great to work with. She’ll probably carry you through the whole project.”

Joe didn’t respond immediately, his eyes never leaving mine. When he finally spoke, his voice was softer, quieter. “Yeah. We’ll see.”

Maddie cleared her throat loudly, cutting through the tension. “Alright, this is officially too much brooding for one table. Jamar, let’s order another round, yeah?”

Joe leaned forward slightly, his attention still on me, even as Jamar and Maddie launched into a debate about appetizers. “We should figure out a schedule for the project,” he said, his voice low enough that only I could hear.

“Yeah,” I replied, my throat dry.

“We’ll talk tomorrow,” he added, his tone leaving no room for argument.

“Fine.”

Maddie shot him a look, then turned to Joe. “Look, it’s just a project. You’ll survive.”

Joe didn’t respond immediately, his eyes still on me. There was something in his expression I couldn’t quite place—like he was trying to figure out how to handle the situation without making it worse.

“Yeah,” he said finally, his tone resigned. “I guess we don’t have a choice.”

“Exactly,” Maddie said, her voice overly cheerful. “It’s gonna be fine. Right, Y/N?”

I forced a tight smile. “Sure. Fine.”

Joe’s lips pressed into a thin line, and he reached for the menu in front of him, clearly ready to change the subject. But the tension lingered, thick and unspoken, as we all sat there pretending this wasn’t as uncomfortable as it actually was.

Jamar, of course, seemed determined to make things worse. “Hey, Joe,” he said, grinning. “Remember that time we talked about working with people you had... history with? Funny how life works, huh?”

Joe shot him a glare, and I kicked Jamar under the table, but he just laughed, unfazed.

Joe nodded once, then glanced at Jamar. “You’re paying for my drink, by the way.”

Maddie leaned over to whisper, “You’re doing great, sweetie,” and I resisted the urge to groan.

Jamar laughed, but the awkwardness didn’t fade. I knew this project was going to be a challenge, but sitting across from Joe now, with all the unresolved tension hanging in the air, I realized just how difficult it was going to be.

I couldn’t take it anymore. The awkwardness, the stares, the weight of his presence—it was all too much. Pushing my chair back, I stood abruptly.

“I need some air,” I said, not waiting for a response as I made my way toward the door.

Behind me, I could hear Maddie murmuring something to Joe, probably trying to smooth things over. But I didn’t look back. I couldn’t.

The cool evening air hit my face as I stepped outside, my breath shaky as I tried to collect myself. Working with Joe was going to be harder than I thought.

I leaned against the brick wall outside Malone’s, the faint buzz of conversation and clinking glasses filtering through the door behind me. The cool air helped calm the heat rising in my chest, but it didn’t quiet my thoughts.

What were the odds of being paired with Joe? It felt like the universe was playing some cruel joke on me, forcing me to confront something I wasn’t ready to face.

The reality of it settled in my chest like a stone, making it hard to breathe. I shouldn’t have reacted like that—I knew it. But seeing him, sitting across from me, brought back everything I’d tried so hard to bury.

The door behind me creaked open, and I turned my head slightly, expecting Maddie.

Instead, Jamar stepped out, his usual easy grin replaced by something softer, almost concerned.

“Hey,” he said, leaning against the wall beside me.

Hey,” he said, leaning against the wall beside me.

I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to look unaffected. “Hey.”

For a moment, neither of us said anything. The quiet between us was heavy, filled with everything I wasn’t ready to admit.

“You okay?” Jamar finally asked, his voice low.

I let out a shaky breath, my eyes fixed on the parking lot in front of us. “I’m fine.”

“Come on, Y/N,” he said, tilting his head to catch my gaze. “I’m not Maddie—I know when someone’s not fine.”

I hesitated, the words caught in my throat. Jamar wasn’t the kind of guy who pried, but he also didn’t let people off the hook easily.

“It’s just… a lot,” I admitted quietly, my fingers gripping the sleeves of my jacket.

He nodded, like he’d expected that answer. “Yeah, I figured. That’s why I came out here.”

He gave a slight nod, his face serious again. “Just don’t shut us out, alright? If you need to talk or need a distraction, we’re here.” He glanced back toward the door of Malone’s, then added, “Joe left, by the way. Said something about needing to clear his head. I think you both just need some space.”

I didn’t know whether to feel relieved or frustrated. Joe leaving only added to the uncertainty swirling inside me. “I guess that’s for the best,” I muttered, pushing myself off the wall. “I don’t know how much more I can handle right now.”

“Yeah, he’s complicated like that,” Jamar continued, his tone light, but his eyes were sharp, watching me closely. “He pretends he’s all chill and collected, but deep down? He’s just as messed up about this as you are.”

I laughed bitterly, shaking my head. “That’s comforting.”

Jamar bumped my shoulder lightly, his grin returning. “Hey, I’m just saying—he’s not some robot. You’re not the only one feeling weird about this.”

I didn’t respond, the weight of his words settling over me.

Jamar studied me for a moment, then sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I get that. I do. But listen, you don’t have to do this alone. You’ve got Maddie, and you’ve got me. And if you need me to keep Joe in check, I got you.” He smirked lightly, trying to lighten the mood. “He may be a little too quiet for his own good, but I’ll make sure he doesn’t make things awkward for you. And honestly, Joe’s not as scary as you think.”

“Debatable,” I muttered, earning a chuckle from him.

“Fair,” he said, stepping away from the wall. “But seriously, don’t let this eat you up. You’re tougher than you give yourself credit for.”

I watched as he walked back toward the door, pausing with his hand on the handle. “Oh, and Maddie’s probably in there plotting how to cheer you up, so brace yourself.”

Despite everything, I smiled. “Thanks, Jamar.”

He winked before disappearing back inside, leaving me alone with my thoughts—and a small, fleeting sense of hope.

As Jamar started to head back inside, I stayed a moment longer, trying to steady myself. I knew I couldn’t run away from this forever. Sooner or later, I was going to have to face Joe. And when that time came, I hoped I’d be able to handle it without letting everything fall apart.

But for now, I took a deep breath, and when I walked back through the door of Malone's, it felt like stepping back into a world where the past was waiting to meet me.

[moonlightkitties]

Christmas/Winter Themes Prompts

These are the fics I will be writing every day up in December until Christmas! Most of them are fluff but I have a few angst ones I'm going to write. I'm so excited to write these!

First Snowfall of the Year (Sean MacGuire x Reader) - Celebrating the first snowfall of the year in your new homestead, you and Sean sleep in and spend some time with each other.

Snowball Fight (Micah Bell x Reader) - After doing all your chores and just wanting to rest, Micah ruins it by throwing a freezing cold snowball at your face.

O' Christmas Tree (John Marston x Reader) - John is struggling to put the Christmas tree up while you sort through decorations.

Snowy Horse Ride (Arthur Morgan x Reader) - After a long day of chores, you and Arthur relax by taking the horses out in a cozy snowy ride.

Snowstorm Cuddles (Charles Smith x Reader) - After getting stranded in a snow storm while on a hunting trip, you and Charles share body heat to help warm up.

Christmas Movie Marathon (Michael De Santa x Reader) - Having nothing to do, you and Michael spend the day watching every Christmas movie you find.

Gingerbread Houses (Trevor Philips x Reader) - After getting gingerbread houses for both you and Trevor, you get home and ask him to make one with you. Trevor being Trevor, makes it into a competition and gets frustrated when the icing doesn't keep the walls up.

Christmas Cookies (Wade Hebert x Reader) - You and Wade make Christmas cookies and get flour everywhere.

Peppermint Mochas (Dave Norton x Reader) - Wanting to spoil your older, exhausted husband, you surprise him by making peppermint mochas.

Christmas Lights (Steve Haines x Reader) - You force Steve to take you to go look at Christmas lights.

Pretty Kitty (Lenny Summers x Reader) - You and Lenny find a cat in the snow and take it home.

My Big Strong Man (Bill Williamson x Reader) - You watch Bill chop firewood from the porch of your home.

Mistletoe (Dutch Van der Linde x Reader) - Going to a Christmas party at the Marstons place seemed fine and dandy, until Dutch tries everything he can to get you under the mistletoe.

It's Beginning to look a lot like Christmas (Michael De Santa x Reader) - Michael hasn't been spending a lot of time with you now that he makes movies. Feeling bored, you take the Christmas decorations down from the attic and start decorating.

Northern Lights (Charles Smith x Reader) - Celebrating your first Christmas in Canada, Charles takes you to see the northern lights.

Winter Blues (Arthur Morgan x Reader) - When Mary shows up, unannounced, at your and Arthur's snow covered homestead, what should have been a happy December day, turns into an anxious one as you wonder if Arthur still loves her.

Ice Fishing (Kieran Duffy x Reader) - It's your first time ice fishing with Kieran and he makes sure he has everything before the long weekend.

Christmas Dinner (Dutch Van der Linde x Reader) - You and Dutch go to your parents for Christmas dinner and he hits it off with your father.

Ice Skating (Jack Marston x Reader) - You and Jack have been dating for a few months now, when it starts snowing and the lake has been frozen over, you convince him to ice skate.

Sledding (Kieran Duffy x Reader) - After buying a sled for the kids, you and Kieran spend the entire day pulling them around and pushing them down hills.

The Fat Man (Trevor Philips x Reader) - Ever since he was a child, Trevor Philips was scared of Santa. When you and him have children, he swore he wasn't going to introduce them to "the fat man." After pouting and begging him to let you do Santa with them, he reluctantly agreed.

Twas a night before Christmas (Lenny Summers x Reader) - Lenny reads "A night before Christmas" to your kids.

Sick on Christmas (Orville Swanson x Reader) - It's Christmas morning, and instead of opening presents like you wanted to, you're stuck in bed battling a really bad cold with Orville to help you.

Christmas Eve (Arthur Morgan x Reader) - After putting the kids to bed and putting the rest of the presents under the tree, you and Arthur slow dance in the living room.

Surprise! (Bill Williamson x Reader) - Bill has been weird all week, very giddy and anxious for Christmas day. When it comes, he brings out the one thing you have been wanting for YEARS; a blue merle border collie.

[stars-n-spice]

Boys and girls of every age, wouldn’t you like to see something strange? Come with us and you will see–a family struggle to get ready for Halloween. Or the fic in which the Bad Batch holds their annual Halloween party at their ranch for all their friends and family.

Chapter Three: The Invitees

<< Previous Chapter

“RISE AND SHINE BOYS!”

Tup gasped, his eyes shooting open as he jolted in bed while on the other side of the room, Fives shouted in surprise and nearly fell out of his bed. Once they recovered from their scare, the two brothers groaned in sync at the rude awakening as Rex’s younger sister, Ahsoka barged into their room in her Nightmare Before Christmas pajamas, banging a drum stick against an empty Halloween trick or treat pail shaped like a jack-o-lantern. 

“Ahsoka-” Fives groaned, flopping back down in bed and pulling the covers over his head, “what the hell?”

“What do you mean, ‘what the hell’? It’s Halloween!” She exclaimed, moving further into their room to poke Fives with her drum stick, “C’mon, get up!”

Tup rubbed his eyes, his curly hair a complete mess as he looked over at his older brother and Ahsoka with a small smile, despite how much his heart was racing from being woken up so suddenly by the enthusiastic teenager. 

“It’s Halloween?” Five questioned, raising an eyebrow before he chuckled softly, “With how loud and excited you’re being right now so early in the morning, you’d think that it was Christmas or something..” 

Tup smiled and shook his head before piping up, “At least on Halloween you should be allowed to sleep in. Stuff doesn’t happen until later.” 

“So?” Ahsoka huffed, raising an eyebrow as she looked over at Tup, “C’mon, Halloween is fun when you can experience it to its fullest!” She waved her hands around, before adding, “Besides, Halloween means going to the Bad Batch Ranch and we don’t have costumes yet!” 

“Do we really need costumes?” Tup asked, tilting his head with a small frown, “it’s not like…a law or anything to not have one?”

“Fine, be boring,” Ahsoka replied, shrugging playfully, “but Rex is going to take me to Spirit Halloween to see if they’ve got any more costumes left. You can come with, or I’m just going to pick something out for you.” 

“Well, have fun, I already have a costume,” Fives responded, waving a hand in the air as he got comfortable again. 

Ahsoka frowned and started to tug the blankets off of him. “You can’t go in the maid dress again , Fives! It was funny the first time when you did it with the rest of em’ but now it’s just predictable and basic.” 

Tup laughed softly and Fives groaned, rubbing his face as Ahsoka successfully managed to yank the blankets off of him. As much as Fives loved having a place to stay at Rex’s whenever they were in town and on leave, that also meant having to live alongside Ahsoka and that was a whole other thing. 

“Fine, fine,” Fives huffed, giving in and swinging his legs over the side of his bed, “I’m up, I’m up.” As much of a morning person Fives wasn’t, he couldn’t deny that he was also pretty excited for the day ahead. Halloween was definitely one of his favorite holidays, after all, who didn’t like tricks and treats? But it was also one of his favorites because he could spend some time with Echo again and with the rest of their friends in a nice, relaxing environment. Well, somewhat relaxing. 

As Fives got up, so did Tup, the two men stretched and yawned as Ahsoka grinned, satisfied and pleased with herself and her ability to be the best surrogate younger sister. As they began to get ready, she left their room to give them time and space, shouting over her shoulder as she left,

“Hurry up! Rex made French Toast!” 

Right on cue, the sweet smell wafted into the room, making the brothers grin and their stomachs rumble. Maybe getting up wasn’t all that bad. 

“Oh! And Rex says the last one at the table has to wash dishes!” Ahsoka added, shouting down the hallway before the sound of her taking off could be heard. 

Tup and Fives both looked at each other, a silence filling their room before Tup suddenly took off to the door, pushing Fives to the side, causing him to shout before breaking out into laughter as he chased after his younger brother. 

“You little shits! Get back here!”

READ THE REST ON A03! >>

[unseenacademic]

3. What’s your favorite fic that you’ve written?

6. Are there any fics from others you reread all the time?

14. If you could see one of your fics adapted into a visual medium, such as comic or film, which fan fic would you pick?

3. Oh, this is hard! But I guess my favorite is Breathe. It deals with the aftermath of the MS scandal, from Abbey's perspective, because this is a plot I'm very passionate about and I'm also very upset with the inherent sexism of the society and the system, which enabled Jed to get away with a slap on the wrist, while Abbey lost her medical license in an act of sacrifice. It takes place the morning after the party in "Dead Irish Writers", it's Abbey's birthday and she's about to face NH Medical Board. Oh and it takes place in February, not March! A weird hill to die on, I know lol

6. Yes, there are! There are two series of fics that I return to all the time because they're so good!

There is a beautiful series which portrays Jed and Abbey's lives together from the moment they meet in college up to (currently) the late '80s. It's written by Abby J and Amber L and some parts of the series can also be found on ao3, this is Part One. The authors are meticulous about canon and Abbey and Jed deal with different challenges, raising three kids with very demanding careers and there's also smut, because it's Jed and Abbey.

There is also this wonderful, wonderful fic by Amanda, a post-ep for "No exit" (season 5) which deals with the aftermath of the drill and Jed and Abbey's strained relationship. They are perfectly in character, the writing style is beautiful and of course there's very hot smut, because it's Jed and Abbey. Actually there are many great fics written by Amanda, a couple of AUs where Jed deals with the world politics (I know, I know...), but mostly post-eps dealing with seasons 5 and 6. Masters of of their Fates (season 6), O, Canada (post-ep for "Dead Irish Writers"), No Syringe in the Night Stand (post-ep for "Abu el Banat") etc.

14. I know it's impossible, since it's been 25 years, but I would LOVE to see White Christmas as a Christmas episode/flashback. Imagine Stockard and Martin bantering and quoting Robert Frost at each other, Brad slipping on the stairs and earning himself a pink bandaid, Richard sulking and sipping his eggnog... aaaand we'd get to see the daughters and the granddaughter!

Thank you, friend! 💜💜💜💜

More Fanfic Writer Asks

[thedaveandkimmershow]

Our Christmas Eve day ends up being a highly focused Christmas preparation event. So I leave the house around 9, maybe later, whilst Kimmer embarks on baking and cooking.

Not just baking and cooking for tomorrow, though. She makes samples as she goes. Samples we get to eat on the fly across the day.

Nine-thirty I'm at the Alderwood 16 buying tickets for Wonka, the movie we're gonna see as a family tomorrow, Christmas Day, at 12:30.

Ten o'clock it's Trader Joe's. Ten-thirty it's the Neighborhood Walmart. Back home by 11:30. I tag out. Kimmer tags in. And now she's out 'n about shopping.

Me, I'm in the house wrapping presents for family friends who're coming over Christmas night, I'm doing a bit of house cleaning with guests in mind, and I'm hanging the final string of outdoor lights (the non-blinky kind) from the front door to the end of the west side of the house.

I think I prolly did the lights first 'cause Kimmer didn't want me up a ladder without her being there as well.

Not sure why. 🤨🤔

So I get the lights done, Kimmer goes out, Kimmer gets back, she tags out and I tag in to go out and get the cat food both of us forgot to buy our first time out. After that, I'm on the hunt for a single pint of whole milk Linzy wants for the Land 'o Lakes hot chocolate mix she brought. She actually shows up at our place right as I'm about to leave to get the cat food... then she goes into the house to help Kimmer by decorating the tree with her choice of ornaments and ribbon stashed in three big crates of Christmas ornaments we collected through the years from Kimmer's original collection she brought into our marriage, to ones we bought together, to a separate collection we got from a friend of ours, to ones Kimmer made when we lived at the apartment.

There's a lot of opportunities, a lot of ways to go decorating our tree from scratch, is my point.

By the time I'm back, that tree is good and done.

And gorgeous.

It really is a helluva thing Linzy did.

Her own little Christmas miracle, as far as I'm concerned. ☺️☺️☺️

So now it's passed five and we're all back in the house together. Linzy decides it's time for a coupla pre-Christmas gifts. In this case, gift bags filled with specialty mugs and Land 'o Lakes hot chocolate. Mint for me. Trader Joe's chocolate butter cups for Kimmer, which, I now realize isn't so much hot chocolate as it is straight-up chocolate.

I definitely indulge before Linzy leaves for the day. And I thank her profusely becsuse Land 'o Lakes is a family Christmas classic.

Our favorite flavor?

Raspberry.

Reminds us of Kimmer's dad.

After that, Kimmer continues her holiday baking and cooking as Linzy 'n I work on the garlands and, in some cases, the lights that go with the garlands. By the time we're done, the inside of our home looks a lovely kind of festive.

And it's Christmas in our home again.

At some point in there, probably between seven and eight, Linzy slips away for a Christmas party as Kimmer continues baking and cooking and I continue wrapping presents. By this point, I'm wrapping the presents I scored for Kimmer.

I also take a moment to write a few thoughts in the Christmas card I'm giving her Christmas morning.

By nine-thirty we're ready to go and out the door to St. Mark's in Seattle where we experience the fanfare of Christmas, the candlelight of Christmas, the carols of Christmas, and a message that hits home at Christmas.

These midnight services never wrap at midnight, of course, and this one's no different. By the time we're rolling out of the parking lot, listening to the smooth tones of Nat King Cole gently singing "O Little Town of Bethlehem", it's just passed 12:30 Christmas morning, which puts us back at the house around 1AM.

Christmas morning.

By the time we're in bed together courting sugar plums...

215AM.

Christmas morning.

Back in the day, back when I was a kid, that technicality of "Christmas" morning would have me all kinds of excited. As an adult, after a full day of transforming and preparing our home for Christmas...

Finally slipping into bed seems the proper reward for a job well done.

Merry Christmas!

☺️☺️☺️

[crappymixtape]

have yourself a merry little christmas

christmas is hard for steve, he hates it, any memories he has are of his parents out of town and spending it with his grandma or alone after she passed when he was 16, but with you it’s different | (  1.2k, sad, fluff, angst, friends to lovers, steve x you, steve x reader )

H A V E Y O U R S E L F A M E R R Y L I T T L E C H R I S T M A S

🎶 christmas makes me cry, kacey musgraves

“Whoever invented Christmas trees should have their ass kicked,” Steve grumbled from on the other side of the large, bristly pine he was begrudgingly helping you string lights around.

“Tell me how you really feel,” you quip back with a grin, peeking at him through the branches. His brows were knitted together in frustration, fingers fumbling with the tangled string of lights in his hands. You knew how much he hated Christmas and so you knew how much he must love you to be doing this on a Friday night instead of literally anything else.

Steve’s eyes flicked up from the mess he was holding and he set you with a look. He wanted to be mad, wanted to hate this, but when his eyes met yours he felt the heat in chest shrink. How could he hate anything that meant spending time with you?

Christmas, the most wonderful time of the year, right? Well. Not for everyone.

Almost every single Christmas at the Harrington household was far from wonderful. Steve’s dad always had some excuse: an extravagant party in New York for a client, a last minute meeting on Christmas Eve he couldn’t miss, or – the worst one of all – extending a business trip to spend time with the wife away.

At first, when he was just a kid, Christmas morning would roll around and Steve would clamber out of bed, hoping and praying he’d find his mom and dad waiting for him on the couch.

Surprise, Stevie! We’re home early!

But it was the same every single year. Grandma, smiling up at him with a fresh cinnamon roll and glass of milk. A small pile of presents would be waiting on the hearth of the fireplace next to the tiny table-top tree she’d bring over, tiny ornaments and lights trying to make it special for him.

Merry Christmas, sweetheart, and she’d snuggle him in close and they’d make the best of their little Christmases together.

He still holds these memories close to his heart, knows how hard she tried, how much she loved him, but when she passed just after his sixteenth birthday those happy memories cracked and faded with each shitty Christmas that followed. No cinnamon rolls, no little tree by the fireplace, no warm hugs against the fluffy pink of her bathrobe. His parents reasoned he was old enough, he could spend it with friends if he wanted.

It’ll be fun, son!

It wasn’t.

So he erased the holiday from his calendar. It was like any other day, just with snow on the ground outside, and he’d crawl through it suspended between anger, grief, frustration, and disappointment.

Until now.

“Listen, this is impossible,” Steve grumbled, shaking the ball of lights, not at all an effective way to untangle them, but you caught the wobble in his voice.

Moving around to his side of the tree, you took the ball of lights from him and placed them on the floor. “Hey, I can do this later,” your voice was gentle, and when you looked up into his eyes you could see tears welling along his long, pretty brown lashes.

Biting the inside of his cheek he tried to feel anything other than the sadness that was suddenly swallowing him whole and he squeezed his eyes shut, tears slowly streaming down his freckled cheeks. He was holding his breath, a tactic used only in the most desperate of times, hoping and praying that he could suffocate it.

“Steve…” taking his face in your hands you pulled his forehead down to meet yours and without hesitation he enveloped you in his arms tightly as if you were the only thing holding him together.

His shoulders shook as he buried his face into the crook of your neck and you felt your throat tighten with a sadness of your own, wanting more than anything to take away the hurt, the pain that gripped him, made him feel so small.

You didn’t say anything at all, allowed him to be in the moment. When he finally pulled away to look at you, his eyes, despite being bleary, were still so damn pretty. Long lashes holding onto the last little tears that hadn’t made their way down his freckled cheeks.

Lifting a hand up to hold the line of his jaw you brushed your thumb over his cheek to wipe away the tears as he tried to give you a smile, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. Clearing his throat he shook his head and pulled away a bit to run his hands over his face, letting out an exasperated sigh. “I’m sorry, I know how much you love Christmas and all the lights and ornaments and–”

Cutting him off you grabbed his face again and pressed a kiss to his lips, swallowing the rest of his sentence. It was soft, languid and sweet, as you caught his bottom lip between yours, and his arms wrapped around your waist, drawing you in tight. The scent of the pine tree mingled with Steve’s cologne, the feeling of his arms around you taking your breath away. You wished you could stay like that forever, but reluctantly you pulled away.

Opening your eyes to look into Steve’s, you were surprised to find a small, boyish smile tugging up at the corners of his lips. “Okay?” you ask softly, your noses brushing together lightly.

“M’yeah,” he replies, voice sounding sturdier, more confident, more Steve, and it encourages a smile of your own.

“I was saving these for later, but now is good,” you said softly, untangling yourself from his arms and hurrying to the kitchen for a minute.

Steve watched you scuffle away, a confused look on his face as he combed his hands through his hair, trying to gather himself back together. Vulnerability wasn’t his strong suit, he was always the rock, the steady hand, the lighthouse in the storm, but with you it was different. It felt safe. You didn’t need the reassurance, didn’t need him to be the knight in shining armor coming to save the day. Instead it felt like holding hands, pulling each other up when the other fell, shouldering the weight together, and when you came back out from the kitchen he felt the corners of his eyes sting with tears again.

Your nose scrunched up as you held the plate of cinnamon rolls, the frosting on the top messy and untidy looking. “Sorry, Robin helped me, and well–” you half sighed, half laughed, shaking your head, “–I think they’ll taste good!”

Biting in his lower lip Steve looked up at the ceiling, blinking away the tears that threatened to spill down his cheeks again, and when he brought his gaze back down to you he chuckled. “They look delicious,” he said, voice crackly for just a minute, but he recovered as he took the plate from you to put it on the coffee table.

Reaching a hand out to take hold of your waist he pulled you in close again, his other hand lifting to rest gently on your cheek. “Merry Christmas,” he said softly, pressing a kiss to your forehead. “Merry Christmas,” again, a kiss to your cheek. “Merry Christmas,” a kiss to the corner of your mouth. “Merry Christmas,” a whisper, and then his soft, warm lips pressed against yours as he wrapped both arms around your waist, the ball of tangled lights shining happily from the floor.

crappymixtape™ • steve harrington masterlist // stranger things masterlist

[trashiewrites]

All the HCs I’ve done but ALEJANDRO EDITION!!

All the head cannons ive done but our favorite Mexican man. Cause TBH who doesn’t love his goofy ass.

ALSO YES I AM ALIVE!! I have a lot of request and work has been killing me lately! So if you have a request you sent im still doing them i swear! Enjoy!!

Relationship:

+CAN AND WILL SERENADE YOUUU

+won your heart with his guitar. That is just the truth. You try to lie and say something more romantic.

+He gets offended that you think it wasn't romantic.

+Honestly, he's when he isn't working, HES A PUPPY! He's so happy to be around you and wants to get up and do things with you.

+It is not uncommon to see you two roaming the streets of Las Almas till dusk because he honestly wants to.

+HE MAKES THE BEST FOOD HAND DOWN!! IF YOU WANNA DATE A MAN FOR HIS COOKING YOU CAN NOT AND I REPEAT C A N N O T BEAT ALEJANDRO

+If you aren't a fan of Mexican food, he's okay with it. He would usually make you a separate meal cause you aren't stopping him from his Carnita Enchiladas.

+His family (if he does have any) Is very kind to you! If you don't speak Spanish, they try their best to speak English and you try to talk as much as Alejandro teaches you.

+Going through your daily chores doing Spanish lessons with him

+ Legit, your number one fan! in everything, no matter what. 

Sick

:+You wanna know the best thing about Mexican/ Hispanic foods? THERE IS A LOT OF SOUP!!!

+SOUP IS NEVER JUST BORING CHICKEN NOODLES! THIS MAN MAKES IT ALL; FIDEO, MENUDO, CALDO DE QUESO! AKA surprise soup every day.

+ Takes over all the chores in the house. All of them

+ *INSERT DEAFENING VOLUME SPANISH MUSIC* You already know he's doing more dancing than actually cleaning.

+ Vix... If you know, you know...

+He's not entirely against medicine, but let's say he's wary about it... Won't stop you from doing it tho. It's more of a personal thing. 

+ About him getting sick, "Si no te estás muriendo, estás bien." If you aren't dying, you're fine.

+You often argue with him over this mentality because he gets really bad sometimes. I mean he needs to go to the hospital before because of it

.+AKA Good luck trying to keep this puto in place. That will be the biggest challenge

. Christmas:

+1st day of November, He gives no fucks.

+Prob took out the tree the day after Halloween.

+you get new ornaments every single year, this year you found one from a series you like. Mister over here got a T-Rex with some skis.

+ He's not particularly too religious but he does have religious-based decorations. You know the usual, baby Jesus and the three wise men. You may have given some new decorations to the Virgin Mary you may not have.

 +He does go to church Christmas morning with his family. He always asks you if you want to come and if you don't that's okay with him.

 +There's a cookout at his family's place that lasts a bit, nothing too crazy! Lots of dancing, live music and of course, great food.

+THE REAL KICKER IS THE PARTY ALEJANDRO TAKES YOU TO WITH HIS SQUAD. Ooooh, THAT PLACE IS LIVELY!

+yall both drank so much you blacked out. Luckily you didn't drive home that night. Rudy did, but you wouldn't know that till later.

Wedding:

+The wedding was in Las Almas, no doubt. At least it would be tough to convince him for it to be anywhere else.

+if you had to pick anywhere if you didn't want a church wedding, then it would be in the woods nearby. Nice and scenic!

+He spent whatever to have it look the way you wanted. Any expense as long as he deemed it reasonable.

+The ceremony itself was amazing! Mystical and beautiful, felt as if you were in your little fairy tale.  AND TO BE MARRIED TO ALEJANDRO! oh, honey, you were in tears.

+Yall already know who his best man is. 100% Rudy, and if they could make it, Soup and Ghost.

+ The reception after was WILD! Not perfect though. 

+paid for a custom cake and umm... it arrived... a little lopsided but that's okay! A little melted too but it's okay, still edible!

+He slammed your face into your slice of cake. Soon after met with the same fate. Cake faced, he acted shocked and offended.

+didn't get absolutely shitfaced at your own wedding surprisingly. Everyone who was a guest, except the designated driver, got hammered. 

+overall 9.5/10 would marry again.

[jadedrrose]

Not Just Another Day

Mandatory Levi birthday fic, because I’m very in love with him rn :)

Warnings: none, sfw! Reader can be gender neutral, but they do wear a dress in this.

Christmas had always just had one meaning to you, up until you met your lover. But now it had two meanings, making it even more special in your heart.

Despite his indifference toward both occasions, you always wanted to do something special for Levi. It was a bit difficult to do elaborate things, being in the Scouts and all, but you always managed. This year, you settled on making dinner for the both of you, and taking it up to your quarters to privately eat together.

Luckily for you, Levi didn’t often stop by your shared room during the day. He mostly stayed holed up in his office or doing anything to keep himself busy. So you were able to have a table and chairs dragged up with the help of a few others, and you set out candles to light later.

This was all after your shared quiet moment in the morning. On the other hand, Levi knew the holidays were important to you. He always got you something special, and would try his best to be a little nicer to everyone. You found it rather endearing. But every year, without fail, he’d give you the present right after the two of you woke up. He never even gave you time to get dressed.

This year, you’d given him a “fake” present this morning. You’d given him tea that was more on the expensive side, one he hadn’t had in quite some time.

But tonight, your real gift was a tea cup you had made, with gold and green designs to outline it. And, a matching tea plate of course. You’d honestly struggled for a bit, trying to learn how to make them. But you were rather proud of how it all turned out.

The box which your work was wrapped in sat on the table, which you were now setting up in preparation for dinner. You placed plates and silverware in their correct spots, making sure everything looked neat and orderly. You placed two glasses beside each plate, just for some water. The idea was that Levi would ask why you hadn’t put out tea cups, and you’d then present the gift to him. Once everything looked good, you headed down to the kitchen to grab the food you’d prepared before setting the table. Hopefully someone hadn’t touched it…

To nobody’s surprise, a younger scout, Sasha, was eyeing the food with an odd face… one that was like a suppressed grin, of sorts? But you knew how this girl was. She loved food. And you knew she would most likely be the only person to steal it.

“Sasha, what are you lookin’ at there?” You asked, approaching her with your arms crossed over your chest.

She jumped, snapping her head to look at you. “I… haha, I was just… um, looking… heh.”

“…right,” you replied, suspicion written on your face. “Well, I need to get the food, so, if you could move?”

“It just… looks so yummy,” she said, the grin breaking. She was now drooling.

“If there’s leftovers I’ll bring you some,” you offered.

That seemed to get her off your back. With a small chuckle and roll of your eyes, you picked up the tray of food and headed out.

It seemed everybody was getting ready for the usual Christmas party. A lot of the younger scouts were in the dining hall, helping set up the buffet of food and getting presents for each other all lined up under the already falling apart, sparsely decorated tree. It was too bad you couldn’t afford even a mini Christmas tree for your quarters, you thought.

A few moments later, you had the dinner set up and ready. You just needed to change now. You opened up the wardrobe in your bedroom to find a nicer dress. Nicer than what you could afford, as a Scout.

The top was a pristine white, with some lacing around the neckline and sleeve cuffs. The skirt that went with it had the same lacing, only it was an off-black color. To feel a little fancy, you decided to add the only belt-corset you owned. Another thing that was hard to come by for a good price.

You quickly brushed through your hair and made it look nice, putting on a pair of gold earrings with a matching necklace. You were eyeing yourself in the mirror when you realized you hadn’t changed out of your uniform boots. You could hear soft footsteps coming closer to the room. Panicking, you yanked the boots off and threw them in the closet, quickly pulling out a nice lace up heeled pair, trying to pull the strings up as fast as humanly possible.

You were halfway up the second boot when the door opened. You shot up from your spot leaning against the wall with your foot raised on the vanity stool, leaving the laces dangling, trying to cover it with your skirt.

“What the hell are you doing?” Were the first words he said to you.

“I set up a dinner for us,” you stated, your awkward panicked face changing to a small smile.

“Yeah. But why the hell were you bent over on the wall with your foot up?” Levi kept questioning.

It wasn’t the most embarrassing thing ever, especially considering you were married to him. So why did you feel embarrassed?

“I uh… was putting on my nice boots, but I wanted to look nice when you walked in, so I stopped,” you awkwardly explained yourself.

“Uh-huh,” was all he said as he walked in your direction. You expected him to place a short kiss onto your cheek as he always did, but instead he grabbed your skirt to reveal your untied boot, pulling your leg up so he could finish tying it.

Your face turned red at the gesture. But why? It was so in character of him to do something like that. Maybe it was that you didn’t want to mess up his night?

“There. Now… what the hell is all this?” Levi asked again, nodding his head to the table and food.

“I made us dinner. And I wanted it to be more private this year, so…”

“But why?”

You looked at him funny. “Why? It’s your birthday, did you forget?”

“No. But I’ve told you before I could care less,” he stated. “It’s just another day.”

“But I care,” you argued, “and it’s not ‘just another day’! I wanted to do something especially nice for you. Especially with how the kids tortured you last year.”

You thought back to that. Stupidly, you’d decided that you could save time and just have dinner with everyone at the Christmas party. But then the younger scouts had chased Levi (and you) around all evening with a mistletoe. It made you wonder when they got so bold.

He simply hummed, looking over the table and changing the subject. “The food at least looks better than the shit down there,” he noted.

“I tried my best with what we had in the pantry… hope it at least looks edible,” you shrugged.

“I’d take anything you make over that shit any day.”

You giggled at his comment. “Well, we should go ahead and eat before it gets cold and then turns to shit.”

—

The two of you ate in a comfortable silence, but the dinner portion of tonight didn’t really take that long given the fact neither of you were trying to talk with food in your mouths.

Then, like clockwork, the big question came up.

“Why didn't you make any tea?” He asked, raising an eyebrow at you.

You couldn’t help but to let out a girlish giggle, face warming up again. It was exactly how you envisioned it.

“Well, I have a reason,” you started.

“It better not be a stupid one.”

You rolled your eyes, pushing the gift gently toward him with your fingertips.

Curiously, he opened the box carefully without ripping the paper to shreds.

You didn’t expect him to grin, or get excited, or anything that would be ridiculously unlike him. But he could’ve smirked, at the very least.

“Another tea set?” He asked, looking up at you. His gaze at least seemed softer.

“Mhm. But it’s not just another one,” you smiled. “I made it,” you proudly informed him.

Then Levi’s face changed. You could tell he was trying to hide a smile. It was so endearing and cute that you could cry.

“You… made it?” He repeated your words, eyeing the details along the glass.

“Mhm, I practiced a lot while you were busy. I think I did a pretty good job. But you’re the expert here, right?”

He nodded, not taking his eyes off your gift. “It’s… nice,” he commented. “Thank you.”

You smiled warmly, “you’re welcome. Do you want to go make some tea to put in it?”

He seemed to think about it, before shaking his head no.

“No?” You questioned, looking rather shocked at the answer.

“No. I’d rather not have to go down there where the brats are throwing another lame party,” he explained. “And… I think I’d much rather stay up here with you. Just us.”

“Just us…” you repeated, blushing all over again. “You’re so cute, I love you.”

Then it was his turn to blush, though it was much less noticeable than yours. If anyone else had called him cute, they’d be dead within the minute.

But you just had that special privilege.

He paused for a moment, clearly flustered by your comment. But then he looked up and smiled, a real smile, at you. “I love you too,” he muttered.

You’d say that this year’s celebration was a success, then.

[syxjaewon]

‘merry fucking christmas’

yang jaewon wakes to a cotton tongue in his mouth, a taste too sour on his lips, head throbbing, eyes stinging, and he hates literally everything about the entire universe almost simultaneously with his first sharp inhale of breath.

what the actual fuck happened last night and why did he do it and when did it stop? the last he can remember is noticing there was whiskey in his drink— as though it’s even possible to surprise-spike the cup of someone like the captain; lived on many moons, him, walked through many bars and traps and holidays. this is why he rarely ever comes around his crew when alcohol gets introduced, this is what he’s always feared would happen, events of the evening spiraling out of his control like marbles, and he can’t fucking stand it when things are out of his control.

he’s not entirely enlightened about what occurred last night, but he knows it was a mess and he knows he had too much of it. everything is heavy and dizzy and he feels gross inside and outside, cursing his past self for not stopping in time, for not just bidding them all goodnight, for not pulling his losses and calling an end to the whole thing. he wanted to wake up in his bed without the hangover, without the vague, gnawing sensation of having really ruined something important.

he shifts his arm slightly, and that’s when he realizes it’s not just the hangover that’s bogging him down, it’s also mina, her body draped over him, forehead pressed against his ear, hair spread out across his shoulder. this isn’t the first time he’s woken up with her, both of them clothed of course, friends even though the heartbeats in their chests sync up sometime during the night. they don’t tell you about ptsd when you’re in war, and jaewon hadn’t had much experience with the notion before turning seventeen, so in the years since the independent’s failure, the two of them have really had to rely on each other for comfort against nightmares and waking terrors. he’s used to the warmth of her, the scent of her, their legs tangled slightly in unconsciousness.

but not so tangled enough that he can’t shift and maneuver his way out from under her, and he knows she won’t wake up because he’d smelled the alcohol on her breath as well, remembered her drinking just as deeply as any of them. and he doesn’t want to stay here in her room this morning, doesn’t want to infect her with the scorched disease of him, the one he can feel burning through is veins, thick and unstoppable like lava.

he stands up and shuffles to her door slowly, carefully, as noiseless as he can while still feeling the bloat in his stomach, the ocean swishing in his limbs. he feels stupid, he wants to die, he wants to smash his face against the metal of serenity, or go into his bedroom and never come back out. he’s not wearing his coat and it’s freezing cold out here in the hallway, but instead of going to look for it in the mess hall, he ducks for his own bedroom, praying to high hell no one has tried to usurp it, to be funny.

jaewon would set them on fire if they had.

thankfully, no one managed to get in, so he can dress in peace, every movement a drag with stinging pain, every shift only bringing him more agony. his brow furrows, his eyes darken, his mind works and works and works to try to crack the darkness, the haze he’d draped himself in last night. so little comes back to him; drinks and singing and kafka saying something about mistletoe and?? had he fought with johnny? how had he and mina made it into her room? just how much whiskey had he downed?

he rubs slowly at his forehead, feeling a strange bruise forming there, tenderness in his gums, and the most god-awful taste in his mouth. he goes to brush his teeth, and then does so again, doesn’t bother with his hair, doesn’t bother with more sleep. part of him wants to stay in here, wrap himself up in his blessed blankets, only the dim lighting for company for at least the next two days, but his stomach rolls and he knows he’ll do well to get some food into it. plus, he doesn’t want anyone to think he’s hiding or anything. not that he knows whatever it would be that he might hide from, but knowing him, he did at least one embarrassing thing last night, one thing that everyone else will remember and he cannot.

he shuffles back into the hallway, nothing in his stride speaking of power or purpose, the boots still clomping, but with a messier tread, heading into the kitchen. he keeps his fingers sliding across the wall of serenity, helping him find his way, like how serenity always has, to save his soul. ephy isn’t here, but that’s okay too somehow. again: jaewon doesn’t really want to see anyone, doesn’t want to deal with them right now. he supposes he’ll have to though, so he ought to come up with some kind of battle plan.

but first, food. he makes something quick, something painless and soft, salty enough to encourage the massive glass of water he pours for himself, and then he relocates it all to the head of the table, his usual seat. the room is still a goddamn catastrophe, and he doesn’t know who’s going to clean it up, but it won’t be him. maybe sullivan can round some of this shit up, or get other people who will, if he’s not inebriated as well.

the peace and quiet lasts only a few minutes though, apparently the time being somewhere closer to afternoon, everyone else rising and wandering into the mess hall as well, either to see the damage or get something eat themselves. jaewon doesn’t begrudge them that, won’t bar them from that, but anything else is too much.

true to form, casta walks up, grin on, hair ruffled out, the light of him too bright for jaewon’s mechanically engineered eyesight. “well hello there—”

“shut the fuck up.” jaewon’s voice is loud and clear, despite the wince it urges to pull on him, the look everyone else in the room wears. usually he is all gravity and shine, but right now he is charred, blackened ground, singed and exhausted, gold irises dark and half-lidded, furious. his headache is the size of a planet and his temper is as small as a singularity, neck muscles tensing, teeth bared and clenched in a growl. he doesn’t know what image he portrayed himself as during the night, but here in the normal universe, yang jaewon is still a murderer, still just as quick with a glare as he is with a pistol.

and speaking of pistols, he pulls his out from its holster at his side, tucked familiar in his grip, the weapon held up and aimed at the ceiling for now, his elbow resting on the table. “anyone says one goddamn word to me ever about anything, and i’ll put a bullet in you.”

“oh come on, jaewon—”

he cocks the gun and aims it straight at casta’s left eye, the center of him steady and deadly and threatening in an absolutely serious way. he might not shoot him in the brain, but he could still injure the idiot, somehow someway that all his medicine couldn’t recover him from. they’d have to drag him down to jongsuk, and hope the good doctor is sober enough to operate on him. “try me.” his eyes burn shadowy, already picturing casta’s blood, already coming up with how he’ll explain things to mina later, curt sentences probably, very little sympathy or sorrow. he’s not kidding and he’s not bluffing.

casta, to his credit, lifts his hands up and shuts his mouth, heading away from jaewon again, towards the cabinets. the captain’s eyes watch him only briefly when he walks away but not far enough to turn his head, knowing only pain would be granted to him if he does that. he’s not here for this shit, he’s not interested in making nice with anyone on board this ship today. if they value their kneecaps, they’ll adhere to his silence, doing well to forget everything that had happened, just as much as jaewon has.

he waits for a beat before relaxing his gunhand a bit, sinking down further into his chair, blinking and leveling out. he lets the cold bite of the barrel’s end lean against his temple, letting it ground him, reminding him nothing ever lasts forever.

merry fucking christmas, jaewon hates everyone right now.

[tsugua-rebmetpes]

101 Cute dates & bucket list

Little fire pit on the beach (middle of the night, private)

Toasting marshmallows & making cute smores

Observing the night sky through a telescope together / watch the stars on a clear sky in the middle of no where

A midnight dip in water (lake, ocean, etc. As long as it's safe)

Skinny dip under a full moon & to kiss passionately on a platform on the lake

To go on a small camping trip just the two of us

To visit the candy shop and pick each other's candy bags for only us to share them between us anyway

Getting crepes with you and eating them side by side

Taking you lingerie shopping so you can see the outfit as I buy it and the level of excite I know you have knowing you'll get to tear it off later

Sharing a bath with you (where we both fit comfortably or just tucked in a little where we can laugh about it)

Baking cookies so we can have them with our coffee in the morning

Taking you to a coffee roaster hut so you can experience amazing coffee

Going to a little tea house & plantation so we can support local business and enjoy the joys of freshly brewed tea

Picking what the other person must eat off the menu at a new venue / a place we've never been to before

Throwing a dart on a map and going to where ever it lands for a small holiday / trip (could be a city map, regional, state, national or global)

Decorating and making a floating lantern to release into the night sky (a la tangle)

Icing biscuits to look like things we like (e.g. ourselves, frogs or whatever your heart desires)

Smooshing whipped cream onto your nose and kissing/licking it off ♡

Making something together in a pottery class for ourselves n one another

Volunteering at a farm to help around (muster, harvest, etc.)

Go fruit picking together recreationally

Go to as many different distilleries and breweries as we can

Try to make bread together

Have our own Minecraft world together

Complete stardew valley & cattails ♡

Take a cooking/pastry lesson

Take Polaroid photos of our time together (on a trip or small adventure)

Go for a little hike together

Go swim in a little unknown ish water hole and push boundaries of comfort

Go to a cinema late at night (last screening of the evening, maybe wear matching pajamas) and buy popcorn / sneak snacks in. Cuddle in the cinema and watch a cute film together (be one of the only people in the cinema)

Have s/o read my favourite book to me aloud before bed time

Make jam & preserve food items & dry ingredients to make tea, etc.

Make chocolates for you (home made)

Grow my own flowers for us to admire

Start a small veggie patch & harvest our own produce to have a "self sufficient" dinner night

Volunteer at an animal shelter

Go to a farmer's market together / local fruit market and buy ingredients we will make into a meal together that evening

Become animal foster parents & successfully get our lil foster a fur-ever home

Do a hot food challenge or some sort of food challenge together

Go to a day spa for a "couple's retreat"

Make your favourite food (lasagne) on your birthday 🥰 / a random day

Steal a shopping trolly and race around an abandon area of the car park thinking we are in go karts & take photos

Dress up as the cool ghosts in the "blanket ghost" trend and take cute photos in odd locations

Explore an abandoned building together and theorize about the past / research about it

Have a little picnic in a field / park

Take a dance lesson together (ballroom) and be clumsily cute on trying something "new"

Sleep next to you & wake up beside you 🥺

Make your lunch for work & wake up early to make an awesome meal!

Make a random meal really late in the evening spontaneously to satisfy a craving

Have a new years kiss

Look at Christmas lights on houses together

Watch all the Harry Potter movies one after another together

Finish a series that either person is interested more initially in but both like towards the end

Do a cute skincare date! (Face masks)

Go to a food festival and try as much food as we can, get creative - pick the other's meals out to switch it up a little

Go paint balling together and try it out (even if I may not be as good as you. :< I'll try!!)

Try laser tag if paint ball doesn't go so well, feel free to invite friends to both events for more fun :) or go karting (something I've never done before)

Go horse riding together sometime

Cook with a campfire / burring our food in the ground for it to cook (Like damper)

Volunteer to plant trees

Become regulars at a small bar

Play pool/billards together

Check out a timezone arcade and play as much as we can :3 see how many prizes we can win and be merry

Have a board game night (catan, uno, monopoly, dnd etc.) Together with friends or strangers

Visit movie world (theme park) and dress up a little! / usj / Disneyland

Play pinball and we swap between balls to see how far we can go together!!!

Have a little date with the power off (candles, moon lit dinner, board games and no electronics! Be cute and creative)

Donate blood, with moral support or together :3

Go foraging for edible fruits, vegetables, etc. And make a meal out of it :3 research and have fun

Make a little stone tower together and take a photo of the creation (balancing stones)

Plant sunflowers and look after them for a whole season ♡ alternatively pick said flowers when ripe and give them as a gift to love ones

Do a Lego / puzzle set together ♡♡

Capture a little froggy and set him free (clean him up and take him to somewhere safe)

Watch horror films or movies we haven't seen before even if it's silly (.e.g the room )

Visit an aquarium and stare at the little jellies in the jelly room

Go to see a musical, play or ballet together 🥰

Dress up and go on a spontaneous date around town, over dressed for the occasion but having fun

Sunset and nibbles planned date 🥺

Go on a theme crawl, e.g. coffee, tea, wine, pub, cocktail, ramen, etc.

rent bikes to travel around on whilst doing a theme crawl

Dinner theatre or dinner murder mystery event together! Something a little less tame and wacky but still just as fun (something I've never done before)

escape room (challenge ourselves to do it within the time set!)

Ice skate together, trip & fall and catch one another on the ice being cute (maybe rent the kiddy pusher to help you out and be dorks)

Mosh and go to A small band performing concert together / go to A concert for an artist one or both like

Hot air balloon ride ^-^ (waking up early and having our own "Up" moment)

Ride in a helicopter one day to see the world like the birds that fly in the sky

Buy a plant or two at a nursery and take them home to look after

Go roller skating, reliving our teenage years with a limited budget, eat old skool candy and slushies.

Surprise birthday party

Outdoor cinema, watch a film on a projector and have fun on some outdoor cushions

Have a little boho tent and lunch date set up as a surprise

Dance under the moonlight and shining stars together just swaying and holding one another

Overnight at a bed & breakfast together, sleep in and enjoy breakfast in bed whilst away from phones

Have a little bonfire moment at home, write down your deepest desire, secrets, fears and burn them

Take a personality test together just to see the results

Read books in a little book cafe & drink our favourite drinks whilst snuggled up in a book nook

Do a little tarot reading & see a psychic or medium

Raise a pet together

Buy some helium balloons & change our voices whilst doing something (e.g. a speak type board game)

Wake up with you kissing me / wake you up with kisses

Plan a vacation together

[alexglitches]

Twisted Wonderland Timeline

Aka. when the heck do things take place because this game is crazy o-0\

I know that some people don’t really count the events as canon but I do so here’s a timeline of how I think the story takes place

In the grand scheme of things, normally people would just let the timeline be everything that's ever been released in release order, but I just put canon chapters and events where I believe they fit

This is my personal opinion of how things go, you are free to have your own opinion as well

Now let's get to it ^^

Prologue : the first thing to ever happen in the game, get shoved into an old dorm, become a janitor for, like, 8 hours, make friends with the jerk that bullied you an some other guy that crushed him with a cauldron, fight a big monster with your fire cat, become a student and prefect/supervisor of your old, beat up dorm and let the chaos begin :)

The Crimson Tyrant : It’s probably about, like, 5 hours since you got back to the dorm and Jerky McJerkface (aka ace) shows up at your dorm, you talk to him at 3 in the morning then go back to bed and kick Ace to the couch. This chapter LEGIT begins the next morning at like 2-3 am and start school at (probably around) 7 am. The whole chapter spans over 2 days, the first day of school and the unbirthday party day plus overblot and takes place in september

Beans Day (Battle For The Golden Harp + Lyre-less Brawl) : Takes place after chapter one but before chapter two, possibly late september, before october. Both events happen on the same day, just focusing on different characters.

Rebel of the Savannah : Takes place after beans day in late September going into October. Takes about a week before the official magift tournament.

Ghost Marriage : All takes place in one day, sometime mid October.

Screaming Halloween Event : Begins on the first of October, but Halloween week officially begins on the 25th-26th, assuming that Halloween is at the end of the week on Friday/Saturday (it's stated that the party is at the end of the week so I assume it is on Friday or Saturday)

Endless Halloween Night : Takes place after the first Halloween event, before November 1st, time stopped at 11:59 (ngl, laughed my ass off when rook said it's been 11:59 for 6 hours o-o)

Dance and Wishes : I’m cramming it in November between October and December cuz it literally fits nowhere else, but at the same time also fits here o-O. Early November.

Master Chef Event : Same as Dance and Wishes. Late November.

Camp Vargas : Takes place during Master Chef, Silver and Riddle end up joining late. Late November.

Merchant of the Deep Sea : Takes place late December, around exams time, but before Christmas break. The chapter spans 3 days, 4 if you count the day you make the deal with Azul.

Tactician of Hot Sands : Takes place during Christmas Break and lasts about 4 days, counting Jamils overblot.

Harveston Kelkkartou : Takes place in winter, but just before VDC, so it's perfect winter sledding season ^^

The Beautiful Oppressor : Begins right after Christmas Break, auditions happen a few days later, camp spans 4 weeks, so it probably ends late February.

Keeper of the Underworld : Takes place literally the day after Vils overblot, the length is undecided cuz the chapter isn’t done yet.

Fireworks Festival : Probably takes place after chapter 6 as a way to calm down from the fact some students got freaking kidnapped.

Fairy Gala : Probably some time in late February or in March, since the gala welcomes the spring season (thanks or reminding me anon!)

NRC Anniversary : NRC's Anniversary is in March

Chapter 7 : Idk, probably skips to April or May, probs takes place before or during the inter school magift tournament.

If I missed anything let me know pls o—O

[kozu-chan]

under the mistletoe

kenma x reader, oikawa x reader, iwaizumi x reader

since it's christmas eve, here's some christmas headcanons involving mistletoe for my faves!!

content warnings: fem!reader, fluffy fluff, mentions of food, kissing, pet names (babe, baby, darling in oikawa's and my love in iwa's), i kinda sorta got super carried away with iwa's...

kenma

🎄since kenma's not a big fan of huge crowds, the two of you just spend christmas eve together at your place

🎄you're cuddled up on the couch eating popcorn and sipping hot chocolate while some christmas movies play

🎄kenma insists that "the nightmare before christmas" works as both a halloween and christmas movie so the two of you watch that too

🎄you bake cookies together and accidentally get dough on each other's faces

🎄you both cuddle up on the couch again and look at memes while waiting for the cookies to heat up in the oven and again when you're waiting for the cookies to cool

🎄at some point it transitions into a battle of who can take the most embarrassing photo of their s/o as possible

🎄kenma says that there's no way he could lose because he has the most beautiful girlfriend who's incapable of looking bad

🎄who taught this man how to be this smooth?!?!? i-

🎄the answer is akaashi. that man is secretly a smooth menace who gave kenma some tips but you didn't hear that from me-

🎄you gape at him, clearly flustered, and you take a picture of each other because yes, he also got really flustered and embarrassed because that was so out of character for him lol

🎄like this is the boy who never uses pet names and isn't the best at expressing compliments or his emotions...

🎄but of course, he still finds little ways to show you he loves you and make sure you know he loves you and it's so cute!!

🎄anyway, back to the story...

🎄the two of you eat some of the cookies together and save the rest for the morning santa

🎄when the two of you wake up in the morning you open up the presents you got each other and make breakfast

🎄you got kenma a new game and matching golden bracelets. he got you something that you've wanted for a long time.

🎄since the two of you put a lot of thought into the gifts, you take some time to admire them and try them out

🎄you and kenma spend a little extra time playing his new game

🎄pls it's so wholesome because you're both learning together and you get so competitive-

🎄he will never ever admit it even if it's kind of obvious to you, but sometimes he lets you win

🎄"you're the only one i'm okay losing to..."

🎄kozumekenmawhyareyousocuteomg

🎄then once the two of you calm down, you get breakfast

🎄well, he makes you pancakes and whatever else the two of you want and you make a quick run to the store to get some onigiri and apple pie since you both love it

🎄after breakfast, the two of you snack on some candy canes

🎄you look up and tap kenma's shoulder. "hey look! mistletoe!"

🎄kenma looks up and looks back at you. "there's no mistletoe-"

🎄"i'm just kidding! i don't need an excuse to kiss you!" you giggle and pull him close for a kiss

🎄best christmas ever if i do say so myself <3

oikawa

💙this man is super social. we already know this

🤍and because of this, he takes you to a christmas eve party that's full of a good mix of his friends, your friends, his teammates, and family.

💙he actually got one of his friends to throw the party at their place and invite a ton of people you know so you would be comfortable

🤍he's cute like that 🥺

💙he dotes on you the entire time

🤍and by the entire time, i mean the entire time

💙he waits for you when you have to use the bathroom "because someone has to hold your drink and it's gonna be me"

🤍he's so cheeky stop he's the most adorable, hopelessly in love dork ever

💙this man is SPOON FEEDING you because he wants to, and i quote, "show off his beautiful girlfriend and make everyone jealous from how cute the two of us are"

🤍"babe... isn't this getting too much?"

💙sweetie this is THE oikawa tooru. he is the opposite of subtle and to him, there is no such thing as "too much"

🤍but he's willing to tone it down if you get uncomfortable because even he knows that you shouldn't make anyone uncomfortable.

💙he just wants to romance you and make sure you love his present!!

🤍and boy oh boy does he deliver...

💙once you're both at his place, that's when the real cuteness begins

🤍you enter his home and find the entire place decorated with mistletoe and tinsel and presents and even a fake reindeer!!

💙"tooru you really did the most oh my god-"

🤍"but you love it, don't you?"

💙"of course i do! this is amazing!"

🤍"anything for you, baby"

💙this man is such a simp but like, the cutest simp i know-

🤍he gives you one of those professional looking photo albums with pictures full of the two of you and handwritten reasons why he loves you 🥺

💙me and who fr 😩

🤍this man is making you cry bc w h a t that's so sweet!?!?!?!

💙this man also finds every. single. possible. chance. to be under the mistletoe so he can get a kiss kiss

🤍"darling look! mistletoe!"

💙you roll your eyes. "tooru, babe, this is the nth time you've done this-"

🤍but you always give in because duh that's your baby, your gorgeous man, the love of your life!! of course you're still gonna kiss him!

💙now there's a happy, spoiled oikawa who's cuddled up to the most loved, beautiful, one and only love of his life <3

iwaizumi

🎁after knowing each other for so long, you've definitely turned iwa into a christmas lover

🎁he gets so excited about it now it's so cute-

🎁he doesn't even care about being teased by his friends because he's a man who's secure in his masculinity and knows he's can like what he likes and it doesn't take away from how "manly" he is 😌

🎁iwa's a surprisingly good gift giver unlike me and he always gives the most thought out gifts that he thinks knows that his friends and family would love <3

🎁this year, he gives oikawa a bullet journal and a new set of pens because he knows how much oikawa likes pretty, aesthetic notes

🎁oikawa kinnie moment 😚🤞

🎁he gives his parents super comfy matching sweaters with their family name on it since his mom likes matching things and he knew his dad wanted a new sweater

🎁he gives you a ton of kisses!!

🎁okay obviously he gives you something more than that because he loves you so much lol

🎁this man may not look like it, but he's an easily flustered, dorky, adorable simp when it's just the two of you

🎁i mean, it seeps into his personality around everyone else but it's a lot tamer because our man has a reputation to keep :)

🎁you're really impatient for gifts because you're excited to see what hajime actually got you and you really wanna see his face when you give it to him!!

🎁however, iwaizumi hajime is also a fairly traditional man so he waits for christmas morning to open presents

🎁and no amount of whining or pouting will change his mind. our man is sturdy and will!! not!! budge!!

🎁he tries a lot of things to take your mind off of it, and for a while, it works

🎁he invites oikawa, makki, mattsun, and some of your close friends over for a dinner, but once they leave and you're both cleaning up, you're eyeing the presents, causing your exhausted boyfie to sigh

🎁he takes your hands in his and looks you in the eyes "y/n, my love, i know you're excited to open gifts and give me mine, but we need to wait until morning, okay?"

🎁this man KNOWS that pulling out the "my love" makes you weak bc it gives me butterflies so you pout and nod, kissing his cheek and going back to cleaning up

🎁after the kitchen and living room is clean, hajime tries out a movie

🎁he cuddles up to you and watches your favorite christmas movie with you and pulls out all the snack, drinks, blankets, and pillows

🎁stop bc that's so cute haji where are you and why can't you be real?!?! 😩

🎁but after the movie you look at the time and ask if you can open presents now

🎁ma'am it's 10 pm?!?

🎁iwa just laughs and kisses your head

🎁"how about this? i'll clean up and then we can sleep so the time passes by faster. is that all right, my love?"

🎁"okay haji" you let out a yawn and make your way to the bathroom to do your night routine

🎁he follows behind you so you can do your routine together

🎁after he tucks you in with a kiss to your head because he's the sweetest, he cleans everything up and goes to bed with you

🎁when you wake up, iwa's already in the kitchen finishing up breakfast and you gape at the scene in front of you

🎁haji went ALL out

🎁 there's streamers and stockings and tons of decorations all over the living room and kitchen

🎁"merry christmas, my love! now we can open presents" he greets you with a peck to the lips and leads you to the couch with the presents

🎁you give him your gift first and you're super excited to see his reaction since you got him a limited edition godzilla figure that you found at a store

🎁"is this real?" he looks incredulously at you, then the figure, and then back to you. you nod and he sets it down so he can hug you. "thank you so much, my love! here's your gift..."

🎁you carefully take the gift and unwrap it to find a beautiful golden necklace with your name and his engraved on the heart shaped charm. "haji... this is beautiful!" you wrap your arms around him kiss him "i love it so much!!"

🎁iwa just can't help but smile as yours only gets larger once he shows you his matching bracelet. "i knew you would"

🎁this time, he's the one kissing you only to realize that you've been sitting under the mistletoe this entire time <3

[jamiewintons]

BBC Ghosts Masterlist

Fics

A Hard Day ;; It’s your first death day, and you’re not taking it very well. To try and cheer yourself up, you go and visit Thomas. (1335 words, ghost!reader, fluff, hurt/comfort)

Never Gonna Give You Up ;; Thomas has composed a poem to convey his feelings for you, though it seems that he once again isn’t as original as he believes. (798 words, fluff, ghost!reader)

Merry Kissmas ;; It’s Christmas at Button House, and Thomas is once again waiting under the mistletoe for a kiss. But this time, it’s not Alison he’s hoping to meet. (1446 words, fluff, ghost!reader)

The Perfect Gift ;; It’s Christmas Day, and you’re excited to give Thomas his gift. You soon find out that the two of you think very much alike. (810 words, fluff, ghost!reader)

There All Along ;; Three days after your fight with Thomas, Pat convinces you that you need to make the first move to fix things. A sequel to You Belong With Me. (1597 words, angst, fluff, hurt/comfort, ghost!reader)

A Wonderful Start ;; It’s nearly midnight on December 31st, Alison thinks you should get an early start on your New Years’ Resolution. (801 words, fluff, ghost!reader)

Together in Death ;; Hoping to protect Thomas from your father, you break your engagement and his heart in the process. A week later, Thomas perishes in a duel. You go to the place of his death to pay your respects, and find that fate might have more in store for the two of you. (1264 words, angst, fluff, character death, eventual ghost!reader)

More Than Friends ;; You and Thomas have been close friends ever since you died, but when you accidentally come across a poem he's written for you, you learn that his feelings for you are stronger than just friendship. (2314 words, lots of fluff, ghost!reader)

Things We Do For Love ;; Thomas gets into a duel for your honour, and you intervene. (1509 words, angst, hurt/comfort, fluff, blood cw, alive!au)

Married Bliss ;; Before your wedding, you had been warned of the difficulties of marriage. What a struggle it was, how it took a toll on your heart and mind. But, being married to Thomas, you have no idea what they’re talking about. (2606 words, smut, fluff, alive!au)

Drabbles

Closeness (259 words, pure fluff, touch starved!thomas, ghost!reader)

You Belong With Me (549 words, angst, unrequited love, crying, ghost!reader)

Starlight (227 words, pure fluff, ghost!reader)

A Most Pressing Question (628 words, pure fluff, ghost!reader)

Not Again (463 words, very mild references to spicy things, ghost!reader)

In Secret (252 words, fluff, alive!au)

Last Night (228 words, strong references to smut, ghost!reader)

Modern Flirtation (646 words, fluff, mild references to spicy things, ghost!reader)

The Happiest Day (415 words, fluff, ghost!reader)

That Would Be Enough (575 words, slight angst, mentions of injury & death, alive!au)

May I Have This Dance? (799 words, fluff, ghost!reader)

Rest (344 words, fluff, mentions of illness, one vague spicy reference, alive!au)

Finally (305 words, angst, fluff, alive!reader)

A Party? (352 words, angst, alive!reader)

Such Sweet Sorrow (903 words, pure angst, alive!reader)

Bundle of Joy (354 words, fluff, mentions of pregnancy/childbirth, alive!au)

Headcanons

Thomas Thorne Smut Alphabet

Thomas being affectionate headcanons

Kissing Thomas headcanons

Thomas remembering things about you headcanons

Thomas getting jealous headcanons

Cuddling with Thomas headcanons

Thomas telling you he loves you headcanon

Thomas being protective / protecting Thomas headcanon

More Thomas relationship headcanons

Thomas using pet names headcanons

Thomas with children / Mornings with Thomas headcanons

Domestic Thomas headcanons

Thomas flirting headcanons / Nighttime with Thomas headcanons

Dancing with Thomas

Meeting Thomas under the mistletoe

Thomas proposing / How Thomas would deal with you moving on before him

Thomas comforting you headcanons

Comforting Thomas headcanons

PDA with Thomas headcanons

Thomas with a dominant s/o headcanons (sfw)

Thomas with a dominant s/o headcanons (spicy)

Needy/Clingy Thomas headcanons

Emotional Thomas headcanons / Hugging Thomas headcanons

Thomas sleeping habits headcanons

Telling Thomas that you're pregnant headcanons

Even more Thomas relationship headcanons

Fics

TBA

Drabbles

TBA

Headcanons

Cuddling with Julian headcanons

Julian telling you he loves you headcanon

Dancing with Julian

Meeting Julian under the mistletoe

Various Julian relationship headcanons

Fics

TBA

Drabbles

TBA

Headcanons

Kitty with children headcanon

Dancing with Kitty

Meeting Kitty under the mistletoe

Fics TBA Drabbles

Back In One Piece (498 words, fluff, ghost!reader)

Headcanons

Dancing with Humphrey

Meeting Humphrey under the mistletoe

Various Humphrey relationship headcanons

Various Humphrey relationship headcanons #2

Various Humphrey relationship headcanons #3

[pregnant-piggy]

S E R I E S

- Dad!Marauders  (Remus x reader, Sirius x reader, James x reader)

Separate stories about the marauders as dads. Married to Remus, you enjoy your daughter growing up. New life is ahead for you and Sirius. James, as a single dad, meets you and he introduces you to his life with Harry.

- The Artist’s Muse   (Remus x reader)

After years of dreaming, you and Remus finally took the step and opened your own bookstore, Muses. Now, with every day that goes by you fall more and more in love with books and your store, and eventually, you realise, also with Remus. But after being friends for so long, admitting your feelings isn’t so easy.

- arts and literature   (Sirius x reader)

Sirius finds himself in a pit of despair after the umpteenth nasty letter from his mother, but when he meets you on the university’s campus his life turns upside down.

- A place to call home    (Sirius x reader)

The war is at its highest point, impacting everyone’s life. When you get attacked and are forced to hide in a safe place, Grimmauld Place seems like the best option. Its host, Sirius Black soon catches your admiration and you his. But with a house full of guests for Christmas misconceptions lurk around the corner.

- The Wedding   (Sirius x reader, James x Lily)

The story of James’ and Lily’s wedding. The preparations make emotions run high, especially when Peter is missing and with dangerous Order missions.

- Cursed  (Sirius x reader)

You get hit by a life-threatening curse and the marauders take care of you. Being so close to you makes Sirius wonder if there is more to your friendship.

- I’m having your baby   (Sirius x reader)

A drunken party leads to a passionate night. Three weeks later a positive test leads to you faking your period with Remus’ help. Scared of Sirius’ reaction you stay quiet, every attempt to tell him leaving you without any words.

M A R A U D E R S

- The Haunted Mansion

- A day on ice

- Birthday mornings

S I R I U S   B L A C K

- World Tour

- Both

- Nothing good happens after 2 AM

- Our little secret

- Motorcycle

- Dare

- Tangled in the sheets

- Learning how to fly

- Can I have this dance?

- pointe shoes

- Great, actually

- A gift from Santa

- Back again - part I, part II

- You’re not going home

- A glass too much…

- Hide and Seek

R E M U S   L U P I N

- Sweet dreams

- The Hidden Name

- A sweet smile

- Butterflies

- Both

- The colour of your eyes

- Lord of the Flies

- Courtyard secrets

- Oliebollen

- Lost

- The most wonderful time of the year - part I, part II

- On my list

- Five times

- Question...?

J A M E S   P O T T E R

- Summer revelations

- Don’t let me go

- Courtyard secrets

- Doll

- New hair

- Last minute gifts

- Take it easy

- I don’t wanna be your ex

- Cold

- Sledge ride

- Snowballs and tea

- Jealousy at the ball

MASTERLIST GOLDEN TRIO ERA

MASTERLIST HEADCANONS

[dc418writes]

•Say Yes•

✨Pairing✨: Colin SheaxBlack Reader

Summary🪄: Colin’s present for you can’t wait until Christmas morning

⚠️: mention of past naked hugging, use of a nickname (princess), pretty much all fluff

A/N🎙: Hi guys! So I’ve been seeing posts about the Soulful Hoeliday Collective created by @geminixevans​ @fineanddandy​ @cocobutterqwueen, @syntheticavenger​, @jamalflanagan​, @sunshinexsin​, & @afriendlyblackhottie and I wanted to participate (as to get out of my shy comfort zone and seeing that I’m finally in the Christmas spirit lol). Since I write using the mobile app, I’m not quite sure of the word count nor am I able to use the keep reading cut off (unless I’m just missing something) so apologies for that, and hope you guys like it☺️!

Lashes lazily fluttering against his lightly freckled cheeks, the corners of his mouth curled into a tired smile watching your shoulders sway to the low music as you neatly placed another present, along with some light blue tissue paper, in a separate gift bag covered in snowflakes.

Who would’ve thought Colin Shea; notable player, womanizer, himbo, whatever your term of choice would be smitten enough to actually be tied down? His friends and band mates definitely didn’t. Nor did the countless women expecting a call back the next day only to never hear from him again until they’d awkwardly meet in the grocery store, or at some party.

Even Colin himself didn’t think so, content with his bachelor lifestyle and having no responsibilities other than taking care of himself. That one night after bringing you back to his place though, something in him changed. Just as he was now, he smiled to himself waking up to your head on his bicep that next morning. Braids scattered along the wrinkled pillow and your pouted lips ghosting against his inner elbow. Instead of using Ally’s apartment to avoid your hopeful eyes as you suggested date ideas he knew he’d never agree to, he went over asking to borrow some of her coffee since he hadn’t gone to the store yet. Plus he knew she wasn’t using it with him having yet to replace her broken coffee pot.

Contrary to how she and most his friends thought, no this new Colin wasn’t because of the two hours you spent tangled in different positions and probably disturbing the other inhabitants on the floor—and maybe the floor below too. Well, not solely.

You had this infectious spirit that once you entered his life, he knew you’d be hard to let go. Not that he wanted to though. From your bright smile to the adorable way your nose scrunched when you laughed, Colin wanted you with him for as long as possible. He admittedly felt crazy having such strong emotions so early on, but he was addicted to what he knew about you so far and wanted to know so much more.

A year later and he was still addicted. Feining for you and your touch even if you were only apart for an hour.

“Look who’s awake,” you smirk over your shoulder hearing him groan as he stretched his limbs. “You know, when you suggested we wrap presents together I assumed you’d be helping too.” His tired chuckle hits you just as deep as his raspy voice.

“Sorry princess, guess I was still tired from the gig last night,” he replies moving to kiss up your neck to your cheek and finally tilting your head back to reach your vanilla lips before sitting beside you.

“It’s okay. You’re just in time for the actual wrapping portion,” you smile handing him the fresh roll of mistletoe covered wrapping paper. “I saved it for last since it takes up the most time.”

Carefully removing the glossy paper from its plastic covering, Colin watches you place the cream sweater and matching scarf you bought his mom in a cardboard box before effortlessly measuring, cutting, then folding the paper over the present until it was neatly wrapped with a shiny, red bow on top. You didn’t make it seem difficult, clearly it should be the same for him.

So just like you, he placed the plaid button up for his father in the box before cutting a long strip of paper he was sure would be long enough. Folding around the middle of the box was simple enough, but the ends left him ready to cancel the entire holiday after 10 minutes of trial and error.

How did you get the little triangles on yours again? And how was your paper so taut while his looked wrinkled and loose?

His frustrated sigh has you looking over from your third wrapped present to see him still struggling on his first. “Need some help?”

“We don’t have any more gift bags I can just put this in?”

“We do, but you’re halfway there! Your ends are just a tad bit long,” you reply cutting the ends so they were now about half the length they originally were. “Now you can press these in like this, then fold the top to sit on the bottom piece, and done! Think you can do the other half?”

“How ‘bout you take over the wrapping, and I’ll just hand you stuff when you need it?,” he suggests using the same charm that’s somehow gotten him out of trouble all these years.

The way you narrowed your eyes before softly laughing proves it still works.

“Next time you ask for my help with presents, I’m charging you plus interest.”

“Thank you princess, you’re amazing,” he smiles leaning over to peck along your jawline making your giggles strengthen.

“Yea yea, I’m only taking over because it’s already late and I gotta head back home.”

“You’re not staying?”

“Can’t. I’m supposed to hang out with Melissa tomorrow.”

Call him sappy, but he hated seeing you go. Especially when you’d have to leave late at night when anything could happen.

“She can pick you up here,” he states sliding behind you, wrapping his arm around your waist to slot you between his legs. “Orr, you can reschedule.”

“No that’ll be the third time I rescheduled—second because of you,” you laugh gently nudging his knee. “You can’t be the only person I hang out with Colin Shea.”

“Why not? I’m fun,” he whines tucking his face into your neck.

“Because your fun would probably include us never leaving this apartment if you had your way.”

“I mean…would that be so bad?”

“Colin-”

“I’m kidding,” he chuckles nipping your earlobe. “If I really had my way though, you’d be the first thing I see in the morning and the last I’d see at night.”

Finished with the last present, you turn to straddle his hips as your hands rest along the sides of his neck. Fingers gliding along the small hairs at his nape making him softly hum.

“Such the romantic.”

“And I’m not done yet,” he whispers, pecking your lips before his arm stretches under the colorfully lit tree across from you to retrieve a small grey box hidden behind one of your earlier gift bags.

“What’s this? Christmas isn’t until next week babes.”

“It couldn’t wait,” he shrugs watching your eyes twinkle untying the sparkly white ribbon to lift the lid. Lying on top of the square, cotton like material sat a red capital B with a silver baseball bat behind it making you softly gasp. Not in the way that you were surprised, but how a parent would react to their child gifting them a drawing of what looked like scribbles but was apparently something else.

Your quiet wow as you tried to appear grateful made it hard for Colin to hold back his laughs.

“Aw…um a Red Sox keychain! Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, but you should always look to make sure there’s nothing extra,” he chuckles. Your finger hooks in the clasp of the cold metal raising it until you see a silver key reflecting the overhead light as it gently twists back and forth.

“A mysterious key…”

“That opens my front door.” Your blank stare has him a bit nervous definitely expecting a different reaction. “I uh thought since you’re mostly over here that maybe you’d like not having to wait on me sometimes you know? Let yourself in. Get comfy. Maybe even have some stuff over-,”

“You’re sure?,” you ask. Eyes feeling watery holding the key in your lap.

“Of course I am. I meant it when I said I wanted to see you in the morning and at night. Plus I wouldn’t have to worry about you getting home safe since you’ll be here,” he smiles. “That is if you want.”

Of course with any big decision in your life, there was that anxiety filled voice of doubt that wondered if it wouldn’t work. If you both were moving too fast and this was a mistake. A catastrophic explosion of personalities waiting to happen.

But you loved Colin and knew he loved you too. Everything was great and you both were happy, so why not follow your heart?

“Okay.”

“O-Okay?”

“Okay, I want to move in,” you smile, thumb grazing over his plump bottom lip. “If you’ll still have me that is.”

“I’ll have you now. Later. Tomorrow. Three years from now,” he answers pecking your lips between each statement, pulling your body down to lie over his. “I love you too much to not.”

“I love you too Colin.”

Taglist: @fumbling-fanfics @honeydulcewrites @honeychicana @lady-olive-oil @themyscxiras @melinda-january @lovelymari4 @give-me-a-million-dollars-pls @bekinds @ladydmalfoy @maxcullen @curlyhairclub @plokyu23 @fullofmelaninsarcasmandepression @nunubug99 @felicity-x0 @ellixthea @jojolu @jnk-812 @captainsamwlsn @wildfirecracker @nina-sj @iammyownlover @chaneajoyyy @damnitaa @literaturefeen @bamondomesticity @scoop93535 @secretmysteriousperson @thesecretlifeofdaydreamss

If anybody wants to be tagged, has asked to be tagged but don’t see your name, only want to be tagged for certain people I write for (can be found in masterlist), or no longer wish to be tagged please let me know🤓!

[oddballwriter]

hi!! i`m very curios how guys from emh will celebrate christmas with s/o?^w^

꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦

Warnings: HABIT is here, mentions of a drinking game and getting wasted

I’ll shut up now. Enjoy!

꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦

I like to think that the whole main group would actually come together and do a white elephant party type of thing

If you don't know how that works, everyone in the group gets a general gift(s) and places them all in a group, then the participants pull a number and then thats the order the picking goes in. People people then have to open it once they get it. Meanwhile every person has one steal/trade move. Basically if you like someone else's gift then you 'trade' it but you can only use it once, and the person you stole from can 'trade' it back.

The game is slightly chaotic and I feel like that's their vibes

But that's sort of just a thought for the whole EMH crew and not just the guys

Vinny

You decorate the house and decorate the tree together

He doesn't know why but this just feels nice and wholesome to him

My family used to put up a Christmas tree when I was younger but it wasn't an actual tree, it was a fake one that you put together

I feel like if you have one of those then putting in together makes for fun banter

"This rod says that it belongs in part J, but I don't see a part J anywhere" "Are you sure." "I'm sure." "How sure." "83.6%"

Putting it together would take a while and so would the decorating so I feel like maybe some around the tree gossip would happen?? 👀👀

At least it would happen in my house when we would do it and that was the best part so maybe while decorating that would happen

Jeff

Would walk around the neighborhood and look at all the houses that are decorated or have displays

Also, I'm going to say it

In the game of white elephant and after you go home. He'd actually reveal that he got a present just for you but didn't put it in the pile just so that if you get it at any point, no one can steal it from you

The whole point of the game was that it was a free-for-all but it doesn't hurt anybody

He makes the best hot chocolate. I have no proof it's just vibes

Evan

I don't know why but I feel like he'd try and do a drinking game with something involving Christmas

Like watch home alone and take a shot for how many times the traps were just lowkey attempted murder

Or watch a bunch of basic ass Christmas romcoms and take a shot for all the clichés

Either way, he thought it was a fun idea but you guys will end up wasted

But if you aren't into drinking games that's fine, I think you guys would also make some treats like cookies or stuff like that

I also feel like he gets a present just for you but he actually puts in the game of white elephant

But he actually tries to be the one to get the present and then waits a while till you got a present and then he trades with you so that you get the gift

And he plays the long wait if he needs to just to make sure that you're the one who gets it in the end

HABIT

He doesn't really celebrate it at all

He doesn't hate it, he just doesn't participate in it

But he will get you a gift of some kind but just because that is a thing he likes to do in general

Like you could wake up the next morning after a Christmas party with friends and or family and there's just a single present on the table from HABIT but he's nowhere to be seen

Listen I feel like you can't ever take HABIT to a party, he has no self control over himself

There's no sense of censor in there and he knows this