Merry Christmas, readers of Fanfiction!
And raise your hand if you've had difficulty getting onto your account to post or update your stories today, cause sure as hell I know I have! God, I am not even joking but when someone is looking to post a cheery, little story it pisses them off to hell and makes them twitch in anger until the damn system starts working again.
Enough with the holiday hate…
So yes, I've created a little story where Fisher Tiger has his brothers (mainly Arlong, Jinbe, and Marco) over for Christmas. Just a cute, little something on my part since it bugged me that I didn't do something like this last year- BUT hell it's Christmas so let there be stories!
Here you go!
"Those're mine, Marco".
"Tiger offered them freely".
Fisher's regard shifted from the pelican eel Fishman-whale shark Fishman standoff in his house's cramped living room to his little brother when Arlong chuckled from the couch. Arlong, settled comfortably into the corner of the grey couch, swung his sandals onto the squat coffee table, obvious amusement on his face. Tiger contemplated whacking him in the back of the head, but decided against it… for now. Nevertheless, he would probably be the one to break up the squabbling of his brothers, anyway.
In the meantime, Arlong had important things to do. In the kitchen. Far away in the kitchen. With rum and booze. Tiger wouldn't say he retreated from the living room just as Jinbe made an overture, stepping forward in an attempt to remove the dish of fresh taffy from the protective crook of Marco's arm, but he did leave rather quickly.
From the house's economical kitchen he swore he could hear Jinbe's calm words turning harsher by the second and then being countermanded by Marco's rough voice. The verbal seesaw over the taffy continued and Tiger rolled his eyes, pouring what might be considered to be too much rum into the collection of mugs rustled up from the depths of the cabinets. Taking a perfectly healthy shot from his chosen mug, white snowmen ringing the royal blue ceramic, he wheezed for a moment then set it back on the counter. The fridge worked fine, if you wanted everything frozen, so the quart of eggnog was in a cooler he'd hidden under the sink. Arlong's appreciation for the sweet drink was almost legendary and, Tiger discovered, with a resounding lack of surprise, he'd relieved the carton of nearly a pint of eggnog.
Swishing the half-empty carton, a rueful smile curved his lips as he added the eggnog to the mugs of rums. He grabbed a pre-cleaned spoon to quickly stir the contents and grabbed Marco's and Jinbe's mugs. Fisher then turned a little too quickly towards the door- he could no longer hear the intense noise of Jinbe and Marco quietly going at it- and some of Jinbe's drink splashed over the rim, wetting his hand. Screwing his face up, he sighed and walked out of the kitchen anyway.
He only just made it through the doorway before stopping dead.
Arlong had a fist stuffed in his mouth, barely able to contain the mirth twinkling in his eyes. Jinbe was in Marco's personal space, and the whale shark Fishman wore a determined glare that bored into Marco's narrowed dark eyes. One of Marco's hands was covering the taffy and the other curled possessively around the bowl. Jinbe's webbed hand moved in a flowing pattern at his side, readying to dart forward yet again, and Tiger moved forward hastily.
Loudly tromping across the room, he shouldered into the taut space between Jinbe and Marco with the eggnog raised as a peace offering. "Jinbe". He offered the sturdy black mug with red snowflakes dancing haphazardly over its surface. The middle brother eyed the mug and then regarded Fisher coolly.
"If you insist, brother," He said laconically, taking the eggnog. He didn't so much as step away as he was just abruptly farther from Tiger and Marco. Fisher then stomped down the urge to huff in exasperation and turned to his other brother. Marco silently took the mug in his free hand and then studied the candy canes scattered merrily across it.
"Come on you guys, drink up," Tiger grinned encouragingly. "Sure it has a bit of a kick, but that shouldn't bother you all". He left Marco to his eggnog and jealously guarded taffy and kicked Arlong's feet off the coffee table as he walked past. "You're making a mess and not helping out at all, Arlong".
His littler brother called lazily after him, "Bro, where's my eggnog"?
Hollering out of the kitchen, Tiger retorted, "You already had it, dumbass"! Arlong's chortle drifted in to him and Fisher snickered while he added another dollop of rum to his little bro's already brimming mug.
"Had to make sure it was still good". Arlong grinned to himself when he heard his oldest brother's removed snort, pushing up from the couch and walking over to the small tree propped precariously in the corner where the television had been. Marco made an abortive move out of his way but Arlong dropped a hand on his shoulder and kept him still.
"S'fine, Marc," He murmured and then promptly stole a piece of the taffy.
Marco and Jinbe's glares landed squarely between his shoulder blades while he knelt beside the lopsided tree and plugged in the Christmas lights Tiger had rustled up. The glass balls reflecting kernels of multicolored light over the car fresheners and handfuls of silver tinsel painted brilliant dots of red and blue on Arlong's face as he rose to his feet.
He rested his hands on his hips with a pleased crinkle around his eyes and tilted his head up when Tiger appeared beside him. "'Nog"? He grunted appreciatively and carefully took the drink from his brother's oversized hand, sipping hastily to avoid spilling.
He was onto his third sip when the burn kicked in and a sudden cough escaped him. Tiger then chuckled and settled on the couch, the opposite end of where Arlong had been situated. The almost empty bottle of rum was conspicuously tucked by his side of the couch and Arlong shot him a raised eyebrow.
"Hey, with the shenanigans you seem intent on spawning, this is just backup". Fisher's chin jutted defensively and a leg bounced to one side, concealing the tall bottle. Arlong dropped onto the couch heavily just to watch his oldest brother jerk and balance his mug with a muttered curse.
"Shenanigans, really"? He widened his eyes with the practiced expression of innocence. The flat stare Tiger gave him brought a smirk to his face. "No sense of humor, brother, I swear. You're worse than Jinbe sometimes".
Shaking his head, Tiger suddenly remembered what he meant to tell his little brother. "Oi, you told me that I should give Marco the taffy".
Two heads swiveled.
Arlong's smirk froze.
"Uh, no. No I didn't. That's ridiculous".
Twin glares sent from dark tinted eyes drilled into him and he half hid behind the green mug decorated with red trees. He huffed out a soft laugh, waving a semi-apologetic hand. "… Uhh… Maybe"?
Marco opened his mouth and was cut off by the whale shark Fishman. Yeah, Arlong hadn't seen that coming either.
"That's all right, brother. I can just give your gift over to Marco here and let him decide what to do with it". A tiny smile was instantly concealed by Jinbe's serious expression but his eyes glinted mischief-bright. He wore the slyest look that Arlong had ever seen not on Tiger's face as he sidestepped toward the front door, digging through a pocket of the black coat hanging from a hook on the wooden door. Withdrawing his hand, he tossed something small and wrapped in faded newspaper print in his palm before slipping it into two fingers not occupied with holding the container of spiked 'nog.
"Marco"? He walked directly to Marco and held out his empty hand. The younger man considered him for a long moment and then passed the bowl of soft taffy over. Dimples carved pleased lines in Jinbe's face. "Enjoy". He flicked the object toward Marco, who caught it easily. Neither of them broke eye contact until Arlong barked a laugh.
"You two are ridiculous, by the way". He could hardly contain the good natured mirth teasing at the corners of his mouth and pushed himself deeper into the cushions, staving off outright laughter with a hearty hit of rum with a side of eggnog. "Now play nice and sit-down, we have gifts to open, you guys".
Marco claimed the armchair next to Arlong and Jinbe sauntered around the coffee table to the high-backed chair shoved in front of the abandoned television. He set the taffy on the table as he passed and Marco immediately leaned forward to snag a piece.
A chuckle rumbled deep in the whale shark Fishman's throat for the breadth of a moment while he slumped into the wooden chair. "So. Who goes first"?
Tiger and Arlong pointed at each other with glancing, then snorted at the other's sheer ridiculousness.
"Arlong will go first". He grinned broadly at his little brother. "After all, we wouldn't want our baby bro throwing a fit over how he didn't get to go first".
"No way; Tiger should go first," Arlong insisted, dropping a long arm around the couch to snag the rum.
"Nuh-uh-uh, older brother dictates". Marco declared, taking a sip from his mug. "You're up, Arlong". The saw shark Fishman rolled his eyes, making Tiger's grin stretch into a smile, and reluctantly released the bottle. He leaned forward and dug beneath the couch to produce thin, properly wrapped boxes, tossing one each to the other three.
"One moment". Jinbe's low voice broke through the crinkle of Arlong's excited fingers already working on the wrapping paper, and he glanced over at his middle brother. He grinned expectantly.
"Yeah, brother"?
"I wish to propose a toast".
Arlong didn't miss the smirk that appeared on Marco's face nor the bemused sound from the other end of the couch.
"To brothers". Jinbe lifted his drink in a quiet salute.
"To friendship". A distant smile spread over Tiger's face and he nodded at Marco.
"May we have each other, no matter what the next day brings". Arlong touched his mug silently to Marco's, holding his gaze until the skin around his blue eyes crinkled in peaceful laugh lines. He then leaned back into the couch, holding the spiked eggnog aloft.
"To free will". He added softly.
Jinbe, Marco, and Tiger threw back a hefty draught of Tiger's concoction and Arlong watched them. Watched his brother, all in one place and not actively at each other's throats. He shook his head and buried his snort in the mug of eggnog.
Must be some of that Christmas magic.
Or the rum finally kicking in.
So once again… Merry Christmas and hope your holiday is joyous and bloody- I mean vicious- No, I mean… Oh whatever the hell you want your holiday to be…
That's it for this one-shot and one day of the year, so later!