#why a carrot? i don't know - maybe the snowman knows (nose) | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

raaorqtpbpdy · 7 months ago

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(Not so) Imaginary Friend

A young Tucker Foley befriends a yeti.

For the Prompt: A young Tucker has accidentally befriended a Yeti of the far frozen. As the years go by, the yeti keeps trying to leave messages for Tucker but Tucker's father tries to put a stop to their interactions, stating Tucker is simply "too old to be playing with imaginary friends" [from Shinx]

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[Warning for unsafe parenting on the Fenton's part, and uncompassionate parenting on the Foley's part. Basically questionable parenting choices all the way around.]

Tucker was six the first time he met the yeti. Even at that age, he'd known Amity Park wasn't a completely normal town. He was excited, because it was the first snow day of first grade, and his dad had agreed to take him over to his friend Danny's house to play.

When they got there, Danny's older sister Jazz had opened the door and let Tucker inside. She said her parents were downstairs and not to bother them, and Tucker said goodbye to his dad and sprinted in to find Danny. When they saw each other, the two of them ran full-force at each other, slamming into a hug at top speed. It probably would have been smarter not to do that on the stairs to the second floor, but they were none-the-worse for wait after tumbling down a few steps and laughed it off.

Tucker had been all but literally jumping up and down as he waited for Danny to finish putting on his warm clothes so they could go out into the back yard and build a snow monster. A snow monster was like a snowman, except way way cooler, and instead of a carrot nose, it had baby-carrot teeth. The Fentons never had full-sized carrots, anyway.

When they ran outside, they offered to let Jazz join in, but she said she would rather stay inside and read. Tucker and Danny had only gotten up to the letter M in their class, but they were in first grade, and Jazz was in third grade, so she knew all the letters already. Tucker was excited to learn all the letters, but he liked math even better.

The two of them played for hours. They built an awesome snow monster. They had a snowball fight. And then, there was a loud sound from inside the house. It was a sort of whirring humming noise that grew louder by the second, and green spots started to appear in the air.

Tucker was two distracted to see what happened to Danny, but when he looked over, his friend was lying in the snow, looking like he was dead. Tucker ran to him, but he couldn't decide if he should be more afraid of Danny passing out unexpectedly, or of the green spots in the air that were slowly but surely growing wider and wider.

He held Danny close against his chest, but didn't take his eyes off the nearest green spot. Soon, it was as big as Tucker was, and although it stayed green around the edges, Tucker could see more snow on the other side, but different snow. He could see mountains and rolling hills of white that were definitely not Danny's backyard.

Then, he saw a snow monster. A real one. This one was covered in white fur, its horns were bone and not sticks, and its teeth were definitely not baby carrots. Tucker's eyes widened and he held Danny tighter in his fear as he tried to scramble away.

The snow monster stopped without warning, and turned its head to look at Tucker.

"Please don't hurt me!" Tucker shouted at the top of his lungs. He didn't know if it would work, but his mom told him that if he said please he could get almost anything he wanted, and he really wanted the snow monster to not hurt him.

"Why would I hurt you?" the snow monster asked.

Tucker was surprised to hear it speak. It had a gentle, masculine voice that eased Tucker's fears almost as much as his words.

"Is something the matter with your friend?" the snow monster asked.

"I don't know what happened. He just fell asleep in the snow, and he won't wake up!"

"I know some medicine," the snow monster offered. "Maybe I can help."

"Are you a doctor?" Tucker asked, suddenly afraid again.

The snow monster laughed and shook his head. "No, I'm just a medic, and an apprentice one, at that. May I help?"

Tucker looked between the snow monster and his unconscious friend with apprehension. It didn't look like Danny was breathing, and he wasn't supposed to bother Danny's parents while they were working in the lab. That humming noise was so loud now that Tucker couldn't think.

"Okay, please help him!" Tucker shouted finally.

His mother always told him not to shout too much because it bothered people, but he didn't think the snow monster would be able to hear him if he didn't shout.

The snow monster didn't need to shout though. His voice cut right through the electronic hum like it fell silent the moment he opened his mouth.

"Alright, I will," he agreed, and stepped through the green spot.

Carefully, the snow monster took Danny away from Tucker and gently felt Danny's forehead and checked the color of his tongue, and so forth. Tucker wasn't really sure what he was doing, actually.

"My name is Blizzard," said the snow monster. "I live in a place called the Far Frozen. What's your name?"

"My name is Tucker Foley and I live at 2-2-1-7 Woodsboro Drive," Tucker recited. "And that is Danny. He lives in that house."

He pointed to the Fenton house. His parents had made him memorize his address in case he got lost, he also knew both their phone numbers, and the Fenton's home phone, just in case. Tucker was very good at memorizing numbers.

"It's nice to meet you, Tucker," Blizzard said kindly. "If I ever want to write you a letter, I'll know where to send it. As for your friend here, it doesn't seem like he has hypothermia, or anything like that. It looks as though he's reacting to all the ectoplasm in the air."

"The what?"

"All those green spots and the holes opening up to different places, they're releasing massive amounts of ectoplasm from the Infinite Realms into the air," Blizzard explained. "Ectoplasm is what gives ghostly beings like me strength. It looks like Danny has been exposed to ectoplasm before, but never pure ectoplasm like this, and it's causing a negative reaction with the stale ectoplasm already in his body."

Blizzard reached into the bag he was carrying and pulled out a twig with a few sparse leaves. He plucked a couple of them and pushed them into Danny's mouth.

"He would recover with time anyway, but this should help him recover faster," the snow monster explained.

Tucker looked intently at Danny, and already, he could see his friend's breathing getting stronger.

"I think it's working!"

Suddenly, the humming noise grew more high pitched, and Blizzard lifted his head, and perked up his ears.

"I should go," he said. "I fear these portals will not be open for much longer, and if they close, I will have no way to get back home."

"Will I ever see you again?"

Tucker asked.

Blizzard smiled at him and reached into his bag again, this time pulling out a piece of carved ice in the shape of one of Blizzard's horns, but hollow.

"If you blow in this, I'll hear you wherever I am," he said. "I may not always be able to get to you, but I'll always remember you."

Tucker took the frozen horn and blew into it, but it didn't make any sound.

He looked up in confusion when he hear Blizzard laughing at him. "You blow into the other end, silly."

"Oh." When Tucker blew into the other end, it made a low trumpeting tone.

"There you go!"

The humming noise became more high pitched again, and this time Blizzard looked genuinely alarmed.

"I have to go, he said," clambering quickly to his feet and running through the hole he'd come out of. His legs were a lot longer than Tucker's, and he could run much faster because of it.

The humming was replaced by a horrible shriek, like the school's fire alarm but somehow worse. It held for about three seconds, and while it did, the green spots and holes in the sky glowed so brightly, and spun and the edges got all warped and weird.

Then the only sound was Tucker's ears ringing, and the green things in the sky were gone.

A couple minutes later, Danny woke back up, and Tucker suggested they play inside for a while.

A grimace came across Danny's face and he spit out the leaved Blizzard had put in his mouth, and shuddered from laying still and unconscious in the cold.

"Yuck!" he said. His teeth chattered. "Yeah, I wouldn't mind going inside for a little while."

As soon as they got inside, however, the doorbell rang, and Danny and Tucker ran to answer it. Tucker's dad was there.

"What was that?" his dad demanded.

"I don't know," Tucker said.

"What was what?" Danny asked.

"I'm going to have to talk to your parents, young man!" Tucker's dad pushed his way inside and went straight to the basement door.

"No, wait! You're not supposed to bother Mom and Dad while their working!" Danny called out, running after him.

Tucker followed, too, mostly because he wanted to know what was going on.

The three of them all went down into the basement together, and gasped when they reached the bottom of the stairs. Mr and Mrs Fenton were both unconscious on the floor of their lab.

"Mom! Dad!" Danny shouted. He ran up to his mom, who was closer, and tried to shake her awake, but it didn't work.

Tucker's dad knelt down next to her and gently pulled Danny away before pressing his fingers into her neck for some reason, and then sighing with relief.

"She's alive." He got up up and walked over to Danny's dad to do the same thing. "Him too. What happened to them?"

"Maybe the same thing that happened to Danny," Tucker said with a shrug. "When those green spots started showing up, he just suddenly fell asleep. Then my snow monster friend gave him some leaves to make him wake up faster. He said Danny would have been fine without the leaves, though, so they should be okay, too."

"Well that's... very nice of your snow monster friend," Tucker's dad said, though his voice had a strange quality to it, like he wasn't really sure how to react.

"You have a snow monster friend?" Danny asked excitedly. "What's his name?"

"His name is Blizzard, and he came through one of the green holes when you were asleep," Tucker said.

"Cool!"

The two of them startled when Tucker's dad suddenly jumped to his feet.

"Wait, what about Jazz? Danny, where's your sister?" he demanded.

"In her room, I think."

Without another word, Tucker's dad started up the stairs and the two boys followed. They kept going up the next flight of stairs to the second floor, and Danny pointed out which bedroom was Jazz's.

Jazz was on her bed, asleep, with a book open on her chest. But she was abnormally pale, and if she was breathing, it was so shallow they couldn't tell looking at her.

Tucker's dad checked her neck, too and sighed again with relief. He put a bookmark in her book, and handed it to Tucker to carry. Then he picked up Jazz and carried her out of the room.

"Come on, into my car, both of you," he said.

Tucker and Danny ran down to the car, and strapped in, and then Tucker's Dad buckled Jazz in next to them before heading back inside for a moment to leave a note for the Fentons when they woke up.

Then he took them all back to Tucker's house, and Danny and Tucker played battleship wrestling while Jazz slept on the couch, and Tucker's parents talked to each other in the other room.

The Fentons had been very angry when they came to pick up their kids from Tucker's house. They yelled things like 'kidnapping', and Tucker's parents yelled back things like 'criminal neglect', and when Mr and Mrs Fenton finally stormed off, each of them holding one of their kids' hands, they shouted about never letting Tucker's parents anywhere near their kids again, and Tucker's Dad shouted back that the same went for them.

After that, Danny and Tucker weren't allowed to have play dates or hang out together outside of school for over a year. Tucker's dad said that he was never going to be allowed to go back to the Fenton's house, and as he understood it, Danny's parents had said basically the same thing to him about never being allowed to go to Tucker's house.

Tucker didn't have any siblings, or even neighbors close to his age, so he had to play alone a lot that winter.

He and Danny only lived a few blocks apart, so Tucker could see and even distantly hear when those green spots came back. His dad said that the spots were because of something Danny's parents were working on, which was too dangerous for kids to be around, and that was why he couldn't go back to Danny's house.

When Tucker saw those green spots start to show up though, he would get the ice horn out of his sock drawer—it never melted, no matter where he kept it—and blow into it, and sometimes, Blizzard would come and hang out and play with him. He would always leave when he thought the spots were about to go away though. He didn't want to be trapped away from home.

Tucker could understand that, but it still meant that he would have to play alone again. He missed having Danny over.

When winter started to give way to spring, Blizzard told Tucker that he wouldn't be able to come back until the snowy season started again, because it would be too warm for him, and he might melt.

This made sense to six-year-old Tucker, because all the snow monsters he and Danny had made melted during the spring, too. Even though Blizzard didn't seem to be made of actual snow, he was still a snow monster, and Tucker didn't want him to die.

Blizzard did promise to write Tucker letters though, and Tucker looked forward to that, and told him they'd see each other when winter came again.

Throughout the rest of the year, Tucker would occasionally receive letters. There was no sender address, but they were all addressed to Tucker Foley at 2217 Woodsboro Drive, Amity Park, Illinois. Blizzard's handwriting was not very good, but it was still readable. In his letters, he would tell Tucker stories about learning medicine, and all his yeti friends back in the Far Frozen.

Tucker learned that the technical name for snow monsters was yeti.

He couldn't write back, because he'd asked the mail lady, and she said that she'd never heard of the Far Frozen, and she was sorry, but she didn't think they could send mail there. So instead, after reading one of Blizzard's letters, Tucker would go outside and blow on the ice-horn to let Blizzard know that he was thinking about him.

When winter came again, the two of them played together some more. Tucker, hiving recently been made aware of the concept of 'too old for fun and games' by his older cousin during the summer, asked Blizzard if he thought he was too old to be playing with a little kid like Tucker. Blizzard said he was only an adolescent yeti himself, a young teenager, he clarified, but he never seemed to get any bigger, even though he commented on how much bigger Tucker had gotten in just one year. Apparently yetis aged much slower than people did.

Another winter passed, and Blizzard apologetically told Tucker they wouldn't be able to see each other until it snowed in Amity Park again. Tucker once again, understood, and through the rest of the year, Blizzard sent him letters every month or so, when he could get them through.

This continued for a few years. The Fentons stopped whatever experiment was making green spots appear, and Tucker was afraid that Blizzard might not be able to come back, but he managed it, though less often than previous years.

Gradually, Danny and Tucker's parents started to let the two of them hang out outside of school more, but even though Tucker eagerly told Danny about his yeti friend, and showed him the letters, the timing never worked out for Danny to be able to meet him.

Tucker never tried to hide Blizzard from anyone. He told his parents all about the yeti, and they seemed happy to indulge him for a long time.

Then, when he was eleven, and he got the first letter of the year from Blizzard in the mail, his parents started to look concerned. A few months, and two more letters later, his dad put the latest letter from Blizzard on the table between them and sat him down for a talk.

"Tucker... your mother and I have started to become... concerned about you," he said.

"What do you mean?" Tucker asked.

"Look, it was cute when you were seven years old and mailing letters to yourself, but you're about to start middle school now, and... well... don't you think you're getting too old for imaginary friends?"

"I don't have any imaginary friends," Tucker replied, openly confused by the conversation.

"Blizzard the yeti snow monster from the Far Frozen in the Infinite Realms?" His dad said flatly, raising an eyebrow. "None of those things actually exist."

Well... at least he knew now that his dad did actually listen to him. He'd always sort of wondered about that. Although not believing him was a new and different problem, obviously.

"He's not imaginary," Tucker said. "I see him every winter, and he sends me letters the rest of the year."

"Tucker, honey," his dad said in that overly sweet voice he used to tell Tucker things he knew he didn't want to hear. "Yetis are a myth. There's no such place as the Far Frozen, or the Infinite Realms. I'll admit you made up some pretty interesting lore for him, but Blizzard is not real."

"The Infinite Realms is another dimension," Tucker insisted. "The Far Frozen is just one of the realms in that dimension. And Yetis are real there."

"Seriously kid, you could write a bestseller out of this stuff," his dad said.

"It's not made up," Tucker insisted. "I still have the ice-horn he gave me when we first met, I'll show you!"

"No, Tucker. That's enough," his dad said firmly. "I didn't want to be bad cop, but your mother won rock-paper-scissors, so I will be. Blizzard is not real, and you're too old to be playing with imaginary friends. You have real friends, don't you? You have Danny! Play with him."

"I do play with him," Tucker said. "I play with Blizzard too, when I can."

"Not anymore," his dad said. "I'm putting an end to this."

He took the letter off the table as he stood up. Then he tore it up and threw it in the kitchen garbage can where it would have gotten instantly covered with the expired meatloaf Tucker's mom had just thrown away.

After that, Tucker's parents intercepted all of Blizzard's letters to him. Tucker tried to get the mail before they did, but every time he managed to, there was no letter from Blizzard in it anyway. They only came every six to eight weeks, after all. But now, he wasn't receiving any of them.

At his father's suggestion, Tucker made another friend once middle school started, a girl names Sam, who dressed in all black and scared most of his and Danny's bullies away.

Even so, Tucker still blew on the ice horn every once in a while, to let Blizzard know he hadn't forgotten him.

When winter came again, so did Blizzard. Now though, Tucker did make an effort to hid the yeti from his parents. He told Blizzard all about what his dad had said about him being too old for imaginary friends. He said it would probably be for the best if Blizzard stopped sending letters the rest of the year, because he wouldn't be able to get them anyway, and he'd probably get in trouble with his parents, too, since they thought Tucker was the one writing them.

Blizzard agreed, though he didn't seem happy about it. Tucker couldn't blame him. He wasn't happy about it either. Still, at least they managed to see each other about three or four times every winter and catch up.

Then, Danny's accident happened. When Tucker saw his friend come out of the portal, unconscious and visibly the wrong colors, his mind shot back to the first time he'd met Blizzard, when Danny's parents' experiment had caused him to suddenly pass out. He wished Blizzard was there to tell him what to do, but it was barely autumn, so there was no way to reach him.

He'd also never told Sam about the yeti, so if he had been there, she might've freaked out.

In the end, Danny turned out to be fine. Tucker never mentioned the incident to his parents. He'd only been allowed to come to the Fenton's house unsupervised again for a couple of years and had no intention of losing that privilege because of another one of Mr and Mrs Fenton's fucked up lab experiments. And Danny was fine.

More or less, anyway.

Tucker was more excited than any of them when Danny suggested they take his parent's specter speeder out to map the Ghost Zone. At that point, he was pretty sure the Ghost Zone and the Infinite Realms were the same place, and he thought if they searched enough of it, they might find the Far Frozen, and he might be able to see Blizzard more than just three or four times a year, during the snowy season.

They went into the Ghost Zone over a dozen times, and the more they tried to map it, the more they realized it was unmappable—or at least, Tucker realized. Everything on their map was in a different place than they'd last seen it. Everything in the Ghost Zone was constantly shifting and changing, and Tucker was pretty sure they'd never find the Far Frozen, especially not at the rate they were going.

Then, after months and months of exploring, they crash landed right in it.

Tucker didn't realize right away. He'd been only six years old the last time he'd seen the Realm of the Far Frozen, and he'd seen it through a wobbly glowing tear through space, and it didn't look all that different from any other icy wasteland. At first, all he knew was that it was cold and snowy and powder white as far as they eye could see. Then, they were attacked by a yeti, and instantly Tucker made the connection.

The yeti that was attacking them was not Blizzard. For one thing, he was a good few feet taller than Blizzard, and one of his arms was made of ice encasing bone. The way he was dressed also looked a lot more fancy than how Blizzard usually dressed. Based on all that, Tucker guessed that this yeti was Frostbite, the leader of the Far Frozen. Although, in the stories Blizzard had told him, Frostbite was a kind and compassionate leader, always level-headed.

None of those words really seemed to apply to the one attacking them. At least, until Danny plucked a thorn of ice from his paw and he regained his sense. Then he was calling Danny 'Great One' and enthusiastically offering to escort them all to the village.

On the walk over, through chattering teeth, Tucker asked Frostbite if he knew a yeti named Blizzard.

"Three, in fact," Frostbite replied. "Blizzard is almost as common a name as Tundra, or Glacier." After saying this however, Frostbite looked down at Tucker curiously. "Wait, you wouldn't happen to mean the medic apprentice, Blizzard?"

"That's him!"

"Amazing," Frostbite said, looking Tucker up and down with a look of awe. "To be perfectly honest, when Blizzard told us all he had made a human friend, we thought he was just telling stories. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"You t-too," Tucker agreed.

"What are you two t-t-talking about?" Sam stammered through the cold.

"C-can we save this c-conversation for s-someplace warmer?" Danny requested.

The three teens passed the rest of the walk in silence, though Frostbite had no such problems with the cold and told them all about the village they were going to, and what yeti culture was like.

Eventually, they got into a nice, warm cave, and Frostbite handed out blankets and hot chocolate. Then he left claiming he had some business to attend to briefly in the rest of the village.

"It's exciting that we actually found this place," Tucker commented. "I've been looking for it since we first started trying to map the Ghost Zone."

"You knew it existed?" Sam asked, sounding suitably shocked.

"Yup," Tucker said. "When I was little, I went to Danny's house where his parents were doing ghost portal experiments and they all passed out from some ectoplasm reaction or something, I don't really remember that part, but I met a yeti ghost from here named Blizzard. I'll make sure to find him and introduce him to you before we leave."

"Oh yeah, I remember Blizzard," Danny said after a moment of thought. "Your snow monster friend that you played with back when our parents wouldn't let us go to each other's houses. I can't believe there's a chance he might actually be real."

"What do you mean 'might'?" Tucker demanded indignantly, putting his hands on his hip, although the effect was diminished by the blanket hanging over his shoulders. "I talked to Frostbite about him and he's totally real. Not that I was in any doubt."

Sam shook her head and stuck a hand out from under her blanket before immediately pulling it back inside.

"Hold up," she said. "You mean not only did you already know this place existed, but you're already friends with one of the ghosts from here?"

"Yup, and as soon as we get the chance, I'm gonna make sure we can meet him," Tucker said.

A few moments later, before the conversation even moved on from the topic, Frostbite returned with a familiar young yeti in tow. Tucker perked up immediately and stood to greet his old friend.

"Blizzard! Hey!"

"Tucker, it's good to see you again," the yeti said, pulling him into a hug. Blizzard's fur had always been cool, but it was also so soft that Tucker had never minded it. Blizzard pulled him away and looked him over. "Ancients, humans really do grow quickly. You're taller every time I see you, but I haven't seemed to grow at all."

Tucker laughed. Even though that was true, Blizzard was still a good foot taller than he was, and Tucker sincerely doubted he'd ever catch up to the yeti.

"I can't believe you're here!" Blizzard said.

"Neither can I," Tucker admitted. "I've been looking for this place for a while but I kinda stopped expecting to find it." He turned to his two human friends with a huge smile that was only a little bit smug. "Sam, Danny, meet Blizzard. Blizzard, these are my human friends, Danny and Sam."

"I am honored to meet you both," Blizzard said, his tone strangely formal compared to how he usually spoke to Tucker. "I did not know that Tucker was friends with the Great One. It his humbling to be in your presence."

Danny laughed awkwardly. Frostbite had explained the whole 'Great One' thing earlier, but as cool as it was, Danny wasn't used to that kind of attention, especially from ghost.

"It's nice to meet you too," Danny said.

"Yeah," Sam agreed, though she seemed to be otherwise dumbstruck looking between Tucker and the Yeti.

They chatted for a while, and Tucker told Blizzard how they'd gotten to the Far Frozen, and about the Fenton Portal, excitedly telling the yeti it would would be a much more reliable way for both of them to visit each other, rather than having to rely on natural portals that opened unexpectedly and never stayed open for too long.

Eventually, though, the three human teens had to get going, Blizzard said goodby, promising to come visit once the weather was cold again, and more often than usual. For his part, Tucker said he'd come back to the Far Frozen to visit in the meantime—although next time, he'd be sure to dress warmer.

Tucker was smug as hell once Blizzard had left to get back to the medicine hut and the three teens were standing around the Infi-Map Frostbite had brought to take them home.

"So, is Blizzard the reason you're a furry?" Sam asked under her breath.

"Shut up!" Tucker hissed at her, though he could feel warmth rising into his cheeks.

She did shut up, but probably more because Frostbite had started to explain how the Infi-Map worked than because Tucker had asked her to.

#danny phantom #dp #danny fenton #tucker foley #dp oc #sam manson #maurice foley #Tucker's dad #fic #far frozen #things i wrote #phic phight #phic phight 24

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itssweetiedarling · 11 months ago

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Secret Santa

Day 3 of @12daysofchristmas - "If you don't have gloves, you can just hold my hand."

Fandom: Harry Potter Magic Awakened

Characters: Daniel Page/MC

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1036

Hogsmeade during Christmas time was a sight to behold, with its cobblestone streets adorned with twinkling fairy lights and the sweet scent of cinnamon wafting through the air. So, MC dragged Daniel out of the sixth-year dorm, eager to immerse him in the holiday spirit.

As they strolled through the snow-covered lanes, the storefronts of Honeydukes, Zonko's Joke Shop, and the other shops were decked out with festive decorations.

MC spotted an enchanted snowman dancing in the snow, they giggled pointing, “Look!”

Daniel followed MC's gaze and chuckled at the sight of the enchanted snowman, its carrot nose wiggling as it performed a lively dance in the snow. "I didn't know snowmen had moves like that! Must be the holiday magic," he remarked, joining in MC's laughter.

As they approached the Three Broomsticks, the inviting warmth and the scent of spiced butterbeer beckoned them inside. The tavern was decorated with festive wreaths and garlands, and the tables were adorned with red and green candles. They found a cozy corner booth, sinking into the plush seats and soaking in the holiday atmosphere.

MC, unable to contain their excitement, said, "I love how Hogsmeade transforms during Christmas. It's like stepping into a magical holiday card."

Daniel nodded in agreement, taking a sip of his butterbeer. "Absolutely.” He looks around, people watching.

Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of the tavern’s landlady, Madam Rosmerta, who greeted them with a warm smile. "Enjoying your visit, dears? Anything else I can get for you?" she asked.

"Just the warmth and cheer, thank you," Daniel replied, causing MC to giggle once again. He was always trying to make them happy. He didn’t necessarily understand why, but their smile made him smile.

Madam Rosmerta chuckled at Daniel's response, "Warmth and cheer are the specialties of the season, my dears. But if you fancy some more butterbeer or a plate of mince pies, don't hesitate to ask." With a friendly nod, she left them to enjoy their drinks.

MC leaned over the table, “So…who did you get for our Secret Santa?” Their friend group decided to do a Secret Santa this year, and MC is just being snoopy.

“I can’t tell you!” Daniel sips some more butterbeer.

MC raised an eyebrow, playfully persistent. "Come on, Daniel, you can trust me with your Secret Santa reveal."

Daniel grinned, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "Nice try, but a good man never reveals his secrets.”

The banter continued as they finished their butterbeer, the cozy atmosphere of the Three Broomsticks making their conversation even more enjoyable.

“So, where do you need to go to get your Secret Santa a gift?” MC asked.

Daniel pointed, “Honeydukes.”

MC's eyes lit up with excitement. "Ah, the sweetest place in Hogsmeade! Perfect choice. Let's head there and see if we can find the perfect treat for your special someone."

Daniel became flustered, “They are not a special someone!”

“Oh?” MC raised their eyebrow but chuckled and continued walking.

As they entered the sweet shop, the aroma of chocolates and candies enveloped them. Shelves upon shelves were filled with a tempting array of confections, and the festive displays showcased special holiday treats.

Daniel perused the shelves thoughtfully, considering the preferences of his secret Santa. "I know they have a sweet tooth, but I'm not sure if they lean more towards chocolate or something fruity."

MC, always ready to offer advice, suggested, "How about a box of assorted chocolates? That way, you cover all bases. And, of course, you can't go wrong with a few Honeydukes classics."

Daniel smiled, appreciating the suggestion. "You're right. A mix of chocolates and maybe some of those magical candies they have here. It's the perfect combination."

They gathered an assortment of treats, carefully selecting a variety of chocolates, fizzing whizzbees, and Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. They put them in a holiday box. As they approached the counter to pay, MC couldn't resist adding a few extra surprises to the mix for themselves.

Outside, the snow had intensified, creating a serene and picturesque scene. The glow from the shop windows reflected off the white-covered ground, enhancing the enchanting ambiance of Hogsmeade.

With their bags filled with magical sweets, Daniel and MC made their way out the door.

Daniel sighed, “Why is it so cold!”

“I told you to layer up!” MC looked at him.

“I did!”

“Did you?”

“Yes!”

“Do you have more layers like a scarf or gloves?”

Daniel checked his pockets, “No.”

“Well, your hands are pretty purple. If you don’t have gloves you can just hold my hand.” MC playfully winked. Just like how Daniel liked to see them happy, MC liked to tease him.

“I- um-” Daniel’s cheeks turned redder than they already were from the cold.

“I’m joking!”

Daniel gave another sigh.

- MC’s friends all gathered in the secret room behind the painting. “Is everyone ready to give out their Secret Santa gifts?” Everyone cheered, and MC smiled, “Let’s start then!”

When everyone started chatting and giving out gifts, Daniel walked over to MC. “So…you’re my secret Santa…I know you were there when we bought the candy, I just wanted your opinion without directly asking…” He handed them a box of all the different types of candy he bought.

“You know I’m a sucker for sugar!” They smiled, looking down at the box. “You know, you’re actually my secret Santa as well.”

“Really?” He looked at his feet.

“Mhm! I got you a journal for taking notes, writing down thoughts, or whatever! But this one is not just any journal, it’s special.” They handed their gift over, “Take a peek inside.”

Daniel opened it and inside was a note.

“Dear Daniel, I wanted to say thank you for being with me for six years at Hogwarts. You’ve opened up to me when I know you find it hard. You’re a sweetheart deep inside and I see that every day. You’re so smart and talented I can’t wait to see you do incredible things in the future. I love you. From, MC.” MC opened the box of candy, “Hope you like it!” They walked away before Daniel could talk about what was in the note.

“Wait MC-”

#12daysofchristmas2023 #harry potter magic awakened #magic awakened #daniel page #christmas fanfiction #christmas fanfic

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emma-elsa-0000 · 3 years ago

Text

Family is what you make it.

By @emma-elsa-0000 for @pogokitten for the @friendly-neighborhood-exchange

Rating: general audience

Relationships: Tony Stark and Peter Parker, Morgan Stark and Peter Parker, slight Peter Parker/Harley Keener

Characters: Tony Stark, Peter Parker, Morgan Stark, Harley Keener, May Parker, Pepper Potts.

My prompts were:

1. Peter, Tony, and any other members of the Ironfam you choose go ice skating.

2. Peter was really looking forward to spending the holidays with Tony but he got sick, so Tony does his best to still give sick Peter a good holiday.

3. Peter and Morgan build and dress up snowmen that look like their family members.

I only did the 1st and 3rd prompts as I'm not very good at writing angst or sick fics, I hope that's ok.

Also I don't have a summary. Mainly bc I can't think of one for it. :DD.

Enjoy!!

Tony looked up at the time again, wondering where Peter was. He usually wasn't this late, always eager to get started. So what was holding him up? He finally decided it was time to investigate.

FRIDAY had told him when Peter had made it in the building, so he knew that nothing could've happened on the way to the compound, but with Peter, who knows. That kid had worse luck than anybody else he knows.

Tony first decided to check with Morgan to see if maybe she had gotten ahold of him. It was the most likely option as no one, especially Peter, could resist Morgan. So when Tony found them in the field next to the compound, building snowmen that suspiciously looked like the Avengers he wasn't all that surprised. He just decided to put on his jacket and hat, and go out with them.

Peter noticed him first, "Hey, Mr Stark!" Morgan then looked up and ran to tackle him in a hug, "Hi Daddy!!" She said as Tony hugged her back.

He picked her up and walked over to where Peter was, "Hey kid, I was wondering where you got off to. I guess you like Morgan more than me." He said in faux offense.

Peter started to apologize, "Mr. Stark, I'm so sorry, it's just, Morgan asked me to-" Tony cut him off, "Don't worry about it, kid, I was joking. No one can resent Morgan, not even Pepper."

Peter smiled at that and got back to work on the snowman, adding two buttons for eyes. Morgan wiggled in his arms so he let her down, and, like the little Pepper she is, she started giving orders to him about what to do.

10 minutes later, they were standing looking at a completed snowman. Well…. almost. It was just missing one thing.

Morgan ran inside and came back out with a carrot for the nose. Tony picked her up and helped her put it on, then set her back on her feet, "There you go, Little Miss, what do you think?" Morgan nodded proudly, "It's perfect. Can we have hot chocolate now?" Tony laughed, "Yes, we can have hot chocolate now. Why don't you go inside and help mommy make some?" Morgan nodded and bounded off.

Tony looked over at Peter, "How are you holding up kid? I know this is a rough time of year for you, what with it being your uncle being shot on Christmas Eve." Peter nodded, "I'm fine. May is having a hard time though. Every time she tries to pull out any of his old ornaments she breaks down into tears."

Tony nodded, "And you?" Peter shrugged, "I just miss him, y'know? He was the only dad I remember, even if he wasn't my dad." Peter smiled slightly, "He used to take me to the soup kitchen on Christmas after we opened the presents. He would say, 'we may not have a lot, but they have less than us, so we gotta help them out.'" Peter looked Tony in the eye as he finished saying this.

Tony brought Peter into a hug, squeezing tightly. "He raised you well kid, I'm glad you had him."

Morgan ran out onto the porch, "Daddy!! Peter!! Mommy says that if you don't come in for hot chocolate, you don't get any marshmallows!!!" Peter gasped loudly and unattached himself from Tony, running inside, "She'd better put marshmallows in mine!!!"

Tony just smiled as he walked back slowly, thinking of how glad he was that Peter was bitten by that spider and became Spider-Man, bringing him into his life. Although he was fairly certain he would've met him either way, seeing how smart he was.

LINE BREAK

Peter was vibrating in his seat so much Tony thought he'd fall out, but he parked just in time for Peter to get out, that he didn't.

By the time Tony got out Peter had already gathered all his and Harley's skates from the trunk, and both were already halfway to the lake, leaving Tony with Morgan and Pepper and their skates.

Harley had suggested going out to the lake for ice skating after the rough time Peter was having during the Christmas season. Though he was sad when he heard that May had to work and couldn't join, he had promised her that he'd take plenty of pictures.

By the time he had gotten Morgan out of the car and gathered his and her skates, and gotten down to the lake, Harley and Peter were already on the ice, Harley holding onto his boyfriend tightly as he tried not to slip. Peter, being the agile Spider-Boi he is, had perfect balance.

Harley yelped as he went down, taking Peter with him. Both giggling as they lay there on the ice, Peter pecked Harley on the lips briefly, causing Tony to yell out, "Hey!! No PDA on the ice!!" Which made both boys roll their eyes.

Peter helped Harley up, Harley having a bit more balance this time, but still holding on for dear life.

Peter giggled again at the sight of Harley. Harley looked up at him with furrowed eyebrows, "What's so funny, Darlin'?" Peter grinned as he answered, "You." Harley tried to tackle him, only to miss completely and fall head first onto the ice, Peter cackling above him.

Tony finished helping Morgan into her skates, taking her hand to help her keep balance as he expertly glided over to the two boys, Peter helping Harley up again.

Morgan squealed as they reached them, "Petey look at me, I'm skating!" Peter beamed at his pseudo sister, "You are!! And you're doing so good too! Even better than Harls over here." Peter gestured to Harley clinging onto his arm, who glared at him.

Later, as they all sat by the fire drinking hot chocolate and warming up from their ice adventures, Harley sporting a few bruises from all the tumbles he took, Peter regaling to May his tales, Morgan adding in her own comment now and then, and Pepper reading quietly beside him, Tony felt content.

This.

This was his family.

Family isn't blood. Family isn't living with someone just because you can.

Family is what you make it.

#mcu #marvel #peter parker #spider man #spiderman #tony stark #iron man #ironman #morgan stark #pepper potts #may parker #parkner #the friendly neighborhood exchange

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oikawa-tuwu · 4 years ago

Text

Porch (gn!Reader x Kuroo)

Rated G, 1.6k words

Not Home for the Holidays Masterlist

"Have you ever made a snowman?"

It’s ten in the morning, and you are starting to get concerned.

There he is again, that man, lingering in front of the bay window facing the front lawn, gazing wistfully at the falling snow.

How long has he been there? Since breakfast, at least. Was he there last night, too? Watching those first flakes fall, dusting everything with a little bit of soft white powder. Either way, the man doesn’t look like he plans on moving anytime soon.

And, yeah, maybe there isn’t much to do otherwise. Most of the attractions of the local town were more summer-based, so many of your guests this time of year are just looking for an escape from their regular life, an excuse to do nothing and watch the snow fall. Writers on a retreat, hoping for a strike of inspiration for their next project. Business-men, on the search for a cheap escape from city life. People looking to spend the holidays somewhere that wasn’t their cold, empty apartments.

Still, watching that man sit, frozen, entranced by the snow outside, was definitely starting to get concerning.

Whatever. You have chores to do.

And then the man moved.

That was the last straw. A couple hours later, when you pass through the entryway, from the stairs to the sitting room to take a break, you notice the man is gone. After a glance outside the windows, you spot him on the porch. Outside. In the freezing cold winter weather.

You watch him for a second, as he leans against the porch railing, still staring at the falling snow.

With a resigned sigh, you reach for your jacket and boots, and follow him outside.

“Hi,” you say, as you sidle up next to him. “Kuroo, right?”

“Yeah,” he answers, but he sounds a little surprised to see you there. “And you… work here at the bed and breakfast?”

“I own the bed and breakfast,” you correct. “The name’s Y/n.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.”

It’s quiet for a moment. Peaceful, as you both watch your breath in the chilly air. However, you're thinking, trying desperately to perfectly enunciate the worries on your mind, but there’s no subtle way to inquire if your guest is doing alright, mentally, without sounding abrasive or like you're trying to be an armchair psychologist. Maybe you should just come right out and ask it? Hey, guest of mine, how's it going in that head of yours?

But, before you can, Kuroo murmurs, quietly, “Picture perfect snow. It looks like the opening to a Hallmark movie.”

“Or a horror movie,” you suggest instead, and Kuroo laughs. “A body, murdered in the study, with a blanket undisturbed fresh snow surrounding the isolated bed and breakfast.”

Kuroo, gleefully playing along, gasps, dramatically, “The murderer is one of the guests! Harrowing!”

“A real Agatha Christie.”

Kuroo laughs again. Not a polite laugh to ease the tension or to acknowledge the effort of the joke without condoning it either, but a full-blown, mirthy laugh, uncontained and a little on the side of cackle-y.

With some of the tension in the air cleared by humor, you find it a little bit easily to ask the question. “Is there a… particular reason you’re out here alone, rather than warming up by the fireplace?”

Kuroo doesn’t answer immediately, just stares out into the white expanse for a couple more seconds. Finally, he asks, “Have you ever made a snowman?”

That definitely wasn't what you expected him to say, but you nod your head anyways. “When I was a kid. Have you not?”

“No,” he says, eyes still on the falling snow. “My sister’s a lot older, so she never wanted to do stuff like that with me, and Kenma… well, Kenma doesn’t like going outside.”

“This Kenma sounds like a smart person.”

“He is,” Kuroo agrees, wholeheartedly. “Smarter than me at least.”

And there it is again, that flash of just a little bit of sadness, a little bit of gloom in the corner of his eye. Kuroo’s frowning, not with his lips, which are still in a polite narrow smile, but with his eyes, and the expression makes you frown.

It’s the holidays! Your guests can’t be sad! What kind of host would you be if you let him mope around about a missed childhood?

“Well,” you say, before you can think otherwise, “Do you want to build a snowman?”

Kuroo laughs, but quickly realizes that you aren’t laughing , and he gapes at you. “Oh, you were serious!”

You shrug. “Why not?”

“Because,” Kuroo starts, but it takes him a second to figure out an actual excuse. “Don’t you have things to do?”

“I just have to cook dinner. That gives us a couple hours to act like children again.”

Kuroo frowns, for real this time, and you can see the gears grinding in his brain, as he thinks, processes, argues between the two options. It’s a painfully long process, and your fingers twitch with anticipation at his response.

“Let’s do it,” Kuroo finally says, and you see that little frown break out into a full-fledged grin, one so infectious that you feel yourself starting to grin and then both of you are bounding as quickly as you can down the porch stairs without slipping on the ice, giggling as you start to gather the snow.

It’s been a while since you’ve done this, to say the least, so it takes a few minutes to re-acquaint yourself with the snow. Forming a little ball of snow in your gloved hands, you slowly start to roll it, gathering more and more of the white powder.

Kuroo is a quick learner, apparently, because after only a few minutes of watching you work, he’s started on his own, talking as he works.

It’s a little bit of a struggle to keep a conversation going, as most of your brain is focused on making the best snowman body ever and trying to ignore the cold biting into your nose and cheeks, but the both of you make it work.

Gradually, you learn about him. You learn that he’s a sports promoter that used to play volleyball, and his childhood best friend’s name is Kenma. You learn his favorite food is fish and he wanted to be a doctor until his first year of college when he switched majors, and you learn the reason why he’s spending the holidays alone at a bed and breakfast, hundreds of miles away from Tokyo.

“My family went on vacation abroad,” he says, as he leans against his sizable snowball, taking a much needed rest from your hard work. “I couldn’t go because of work, and Kenma is visiting his friend in Rio.” He shrugs, trying to appear more nonchalant about it than he clearly feels. “I didn’t want to intrude on the holidays of any of my other friends and their families.”

“I’m sure they wouldn’t see it as intruding,” you say, gently. “But, of course, you’re welcome to spend them here instead, if you would like. It’s probably not preferable to family or friends, but…”

“Who says spending the holidays with you isn’t preferable?” Kuroo asks, with a grin that makes your heart skip a beat.

What was that about a Hallmark movie?

Your snowman is done much quicker than you expected. Much quicker than you liked.

Kuroo, before you can even offer, assembles the snowman for you, grunting and heaving as he places his artfully-crafted snowball head on the torso. It’s a little crooked, and, in all honesty, a little pathetic, but you both smile at it.

“Wait,” you say, remembering the bag of carrots in the back of the vegetable drawer. “I’ll be right back.”

You’re certain that you’re tracking snow through the house, but it's fine, you’ll mop later. This is more important right now. In just a few moments, you have a carrot clutched in your hands, and you skid to a pause in front of the coat closet by the front door. Thankfully, you find a forgotten scarf from two seasons ago, and the hat you keep in there just in case of an emergency bad hair day, and bound down the porch steps towards Kuroo.

“Ta-da!” you announce, raising the accessories (and one carrot) like a hard-won trophy. “Would you like to do the honors?”

With you bracing the back of the head, Kuroo gladly sticks in the makeshift nose, and both of you are full-on giggling as you put on the hat and wrap the scarf around the snowman’s nonexistent neck.

You step back together, simultaneously, admiring your collective handiwork. Kuroo snaps a picture.

“He’s beautiful,” you say.

“Truly a masterpiece,” Kuroo agrees. "Who knew that the two of us could make such a beautiful son?"

You glance over at him, and he glances over to you, and then both of you are laughing again, laughing so hard your stomach hurts and you're wheezing, and just as you have the brief passing thought that you can’t remember the last time a single person has made you laugh this much in a couple hours, Kuroo’s phone rings.

He stops laughing, but still smiles when he reads the caller ID, sending an apologetic glance your way as he answers the phone.

“Hey Kenma,” he says into the phone. “Did you like the snowman? Well, that’s not very nice. We worked hard on him, you know.”

You snicker, which makes him snicker, but the expression fades as he listens to the voice on the other end of the phone.

“Yeah, I’m done with work for now, but I have to be back in Tokyo on the first. No, no, save your money. Okay, show-off . Truly Kenma, I’m okay here. Have fun with Shoyou.”

Kenma, on the other line, says something, but it's quiet and unintelligible. Kuroo cheeks, already flushed from the cold wind, blush a little more.

“I’m hanging up now,” Kuroo says. “Don't forget to get me a souvenir."

Kuroo laughs at something to quiet for you to hear, and hangs up, tucking his phone back into his pocket.

“You're not going to Rio too?”

“Nah,” Kuroo says, shrugging nonchalantly. You note, with a little satisfaction, that sad look in his eyes is gone, replaced with a bright grin. “I think I’ll be plenty at home here.”

Happy Hanukkah!! Thanks for reading, I hope yall have a great week. See you on 12/15 for Kiyoko's!

#haikyuu #haikyuu!!#haikyu #hq #kuroo x reader #hq kuroo #kuroo tetsuro x reader #hq!!#kuroo x you

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