#when toddlers started rambling about their favorite tv show while barely stopping to breathe and then asking for a hug

[virtualplushy]

the more time i spend w my friends and their kids the more i realize i am not a toddler but i believe in their beliefs

[sgtbellamyblake]

not a very good santa claus

Summary: Bellamy deals with the responsibilities of being Santa Claus.

Word Count: 1,655

A/N: Hi again! So I decided to write another Christmas drabble one-shot thingy because I couldn’t get the idea out of my head and the lovely Emily made a really cute moodboard for my other Christmas one-shot and it really inspired me. I’ve had a rough day and these holidays have certainly not been the best for me but writing these little things have really given me something to work on, something to feel productive about… I don’t know maybe this is dumb but it’s been a distraction for sure. I’ve written about the kids once again, really excited to keep writing about them! Already kinda know what they look like and everything… working on the personalities. I love me a good family fic can you tell? Sorry for rambling. Merry Christmas!

[AO3]

For the first time in a while when Bellamy wakes up he feels well rested. There isn’t an annoying alarm clock, no cold little feet pushing against his ribs and when he turns to lay on his back in bed he realizes there’s also no Clarke. The room is bathing in sunlight streaming through the window and when the smell of cinnamon, sugar and vanilla hit him he remembers it’s Christmas Eve.

With each step he takes down the staircase he can hear there’s a lot going on, but then again when isn’t there? He can hear a familiar film playing on their TV, high pitched voices talking over each other and his wife’s trying to create some sort of order and peace amongst the cheerful caos.

He tries to peek into the kitchen quietly to watch them from the outside for a bit longer but two year old Levi shrieks as he sees him. “Dada!” He lifts his arms up, one of them holding a soggy cookie and Bellamy lifts him up from where he sat on the counter. Clarke breaking her ‘no sitting on the counter’ rules on Christmas Eve… as if they haven’t sat on the counter and done worse things before.

He kisses the little boy’s dark curls and leans over to peck Clarke’s lips before she’s turning around to look at the clock on their oven. “Almost eleven in the morning. That’s a record… at least for Bellamy post-kids.” She raises her eyebrows. He used to be a heavy sleeper until he became a dad. Sleeping in on the weekends nowadays meant seven in the morning, eight at most.  

“Merry Christmas Eve, Daddy!” Rory smiles enthusiastically and he kisses hers and Jack’s head. It still astounds him how much she looks like Octavia when she was Rory’s age.

Said little girl and five year old Jack are quick to jump in and try to show him all he’d missed while he was asleep, starting with the mess of green, red and white frosting all over their hands, scattered throughout the counter top and clumsily scribbled over the gingerbread man and tree-shaped cookies.

“They’re for Santa Claus.” Jack says as he licks his fingers. “And we’re watching The Grinch.” He says, pointing his food coloring stained finger at the TV playing in the living room. It’s Bellamy’s favorite Christmas movie.

“And you couldn’t wait for me to watch it?” Bellamy argues playfully and Levi giggles. “You’ve watched it like a million times, Daddy.” Rory tells him and Clarke chuckles.

“Fine, fine. I’ll let it slip this time… but only because it’s Christmas Eve.” He says.

“We’re also tracking Santa.” Rory tells him, dropping her makeshift piping bag and running over to the dinner table where Clarke’s laptop is set up. Jack follows right behind her and Bellamy has to put Levi down so he can toddle behind his siblings. He follows them everywhere now.

Just when Bellamy’s about to wrap his arms around Clarke she trails behind the kids and he’s left on his own.

“Okay, let’s clean our hands before touching the computer.” She grins nervously and hands Rory and Jack baby wipes before leaving Levi with his cookie in hand, otherwise he’ll scream his head off. He isn’t going to touch the computer anyways, or so they hope. Kids and technology these days…

Bellamy’s drinking orange juice straight from the carton when Clarke comes back into the kitchen and catches him red handed.

“Bellamy!” She scolds him and he shoves the orange juice back in the fridge. “Shit, sorry.” He laughs lightly and pins her against the counter before she can say anything else, peppering her neck with kisses as she tried to push him away. “Bell, I love you too but the kids are right there.” She tells him, and he shrugs. “They’re busy following Santa…” He’s quiet for a moment after that, as if trying to figure out how to word the next question. “Why gingerbread cookies, though?” He frowns. He’s not the biggest fan of gingerbread cookies.

“Because they wanted to make those.” Clarke smiles and turns to start putting the cookies on Santa’s designated plate. “This was my last job as Mrs. Claus.” She whispers. “Yours was to wrap the presents and later tonight eat these cookies.” She reminds him and Bellamy freezes in his place. Wrap the presents. Santa has to wrap the presents because Santa doesn’t have elves to wrap them for him. His three little elves believe Santa’s real so they can’t wrap their presents themselves and Mrs. Claus had bought all the presents already. Her job’s done. His isn’t. Santa’s screwed.

Clarke’s wiping the counter and talking to him when he focuses on her again and has to shake his head. “Sorry?”

“The kids are calling you.” She repeats.

“Right,” He nods and walks out of the kitchen to Jack and Rory hovering over the laptop, the Santa Tracker on the screen. He had no idea that was even a thing. “He’s in Australia right now, Daddy.” Rory tells him and Jack speaks up. “But why? It’s not time for bed yet.”

“That’s because depending on where you are in the world the hours of the day change because Earth is turning. Right now our side is facing the sun so it’s daytime for us but Australia’s side is facing the moon so it’s nighttime for them.” Bellamy tries to explain as best as he can to the five year old. At least he’s not in Australia right now. It’s still not even midday… he can manage to find some time to wrap the presents.

____

So he doesn’t manage to find the time to wrap the presents. It’s kind of impossible when he’s got a house full of kids and a wife who thinks he’s already done the only job he had. He couldn’t possibly sneak off, not even for half an hour. Not that half an hour would be enough for all the presents he had to wrap but it was something.

Then they have to get the kids and themselves ready for dinner at Octavia’s and actually go to Octavia’s. The whole time they’re there he can’t stop thinking about the bags full of unwrapped presents hiding in their closet. What if they don’t have enough wrapping paper?! Or tape?! Octavia gets him some tape just in case, and he still hasn’t told Clarke about it because she’ll freak out. He’ll wait until she’s asleep to get to work.

They leave Octavia’s after spending the evening with her, Lincoln and the kids and arrive home with a sleeping toddler and two half asleep kids, who aren’t ready to give into sleep until they change into their Christmas pajamas, track where Santa’s currently at and lay out a glass of milk and cookies for Santa, carrots for the reindeers.

An hour later Clarke and Bellamy are lying in bed and Clarke’s putting up an alarm for one in the morning to put the presents up under the tree. He panics because he’s not sure he’ll be done by then but he prays she falls asleep fast. It doesn’t take her long, never does (mother of three) but she’s a light sleeper. Getting out of bed feels like mission impossible but when he manages to he slips into the closet and gets to work.

He wraps Clarke’s presents first just in case she wakes up and then starts on the kids’. He’s halfway through Levi’s when he hears someone clearing their throat and he feels like a deer in headlights.

“What are you doing, Bellamy?”

Bellamy takes a deep breath and speaks “First of all, it’s Santa Claus and second of all, I can explain.” He raises his arms up in defeat.

“You forgot.” She crosses her arms over her chest and he nods. “You should’ve told me. It was unfair of me to leave them all for you to do.”

“No, I could’ve done it. I just forgot and I didn’t wanna-“

She doesn’t let him finish before she’s leaving him in the closet alone. Yikes, he’s not gonna hear the end of it in the morning. He keeps wrapping in silence and a few minutes later she’s back… with a bottle of wine and two glasses in hand.

They toast to another Christmas together and spend the night wrapping the kids’ presents. ____

“You have to eat at least one and a half so it looks realistic.” Clarke whispers, as she finishes setting up the presents under the tree. She snaps a quick picture of the lit up tree in the dim living room while Bellamy sits in front of the plate of cookies. “You’re Santa Claus and you forgot to wrap the presents so at least do this.”

“I told you it was an accident. And why do I have to eat them? Can’t we just… hide them away and then you can eat them some other time?”

“No, they’ll get gross.”

“They’re already gross.”

“The kids made them with love.” Clare tells him and he stops arguing.

“Just do it! At least one cookie!” She adds in a hushed voice. “And half a carrot.” ____

They’re woken up barely a few hours after they went to bed and had a little too much wine.

“Daddy! Daddy!” Rory shakes his arm and he feels two other little humans crawling over the covers. “Santa came!” The seven year old tells him and even if his eyes are closed he can hear the smile in her voice.

“And he ate our cookies!” Jack cheers and Clarke turns in bed to look at her son. “Santa ate all of the cookies?” She asks groggily and he grinned with a nod. “All of them!”

Clarke raises an eyebrow and shifts to wrap her arm around Bellamy’s back. “Santa ate all of the cookies?” She whispered, kissing his jaw.

“All of them.”