A Holix Christmas. As per requested by you guys.
I do not own.
Six looked over at his wife who was humming quietly to herself as she hung ornaments on to the Christmas tree in their new home. After some negotiating, White allowed them to move out of Providence. It was easier than he thought.
He felt that White was hiding something, but he didn't know what. However, he did not look a gift horse in the mouth. If White was willing to let them move to the nearby town, than he wasn't going to argue with him. Both he and Rebecca felt that their child needed more space and to be away from the crazy happenings on base.
Shopping for a home was interesting. He got to see her taste in architecture and decorations. He was a minimalist modern man himself. Heck, he lived in his jump jet for weeks while the base was being rebuilt after that attack from Van Kleiss. But he knew that Holiday needed more than that. He just wasn't sure how he would handle living in the "real" world. They finally came upon this isolated house at the end of a street. To the left was a park and to the right was nature reserve. Their only neighbors lived across a wide street. It looked like it was made for them. The yard was even large enough for him to park his Jump Jet. They immediately put in a bid and were surprised they got it just as fast. He was suspicious that White might have had something to do with it.
A small cry came from upstairs.
"I'll get him." Six said getting up. He didn't care so much about the trappings of Christmas but he knew Rebecca did and whatever made her happy he was willing to do.
"Thank you." She smiled at him before returning to the tree.
Walking up the stairs to Kenji's room, he opened the door. Kenji stopped his crying as soon as he saw his father.
"Baba." He babbled. There was a bit of a debate as to whether this was his first word as Holiday insisted that baba was the proper term for father in Chinese.
Six wasn't sure where Kenji would have picked up Chinese unless Rex's friends from Hong Kong were teaching him.
Six picked up his son. Kenji immediately snuggled against his father's shoulder. Six sniffed. His son needed a change. He walked over to the changing table. No one would ever believe that he, a hard bitten mercenary was now a father… who changed diapers.
As with everything he did, he was quick, meticulous, and thorough. The diaper was in the bin, and his son was fully clothed in minutes. He placed Kenji back in the crib as he went to wash his hands. Kenji started to wail but one look from his father silenced him.
"I'm coming back." He told him. He quickly went to the bathroom and cleaned up before returning to the room. He retrieved his son from his prison and brought him downstairs.
Rebecca was putting on the final touches on the tree.
"There's mommy's big boy." She cooed to the baby. Kenji stretched his arms out to his mother. Six transferred the child to his mother. He grabbed a fistful of her hair and tried to eat it.
Rebecca laughed." Another reason to keep wearing my hair up." She gently extracted her locks from his fist. "Are you hungry? Well, I think there's bottle in the fridge waiting for you. Wanna go see?" She talked in that cutesy way that usually made Six cringe but for his own wife he made an exception.
He leaned against the mantle to look at the tree. White lights twirled around the tree while silver tinsel hung sparingly on every branch. He had to admit that Rebecca had elegant tastes.
Rebecca walked back in with Kenji happily sucking on a bottle. "Oh Six, can you put the lights up outside. I already put the hooks up. You just need to…" She stopped when he walked up to her.
"I think I can figure it out." He said giving her a wry smile.
Rebecca blushed. She hadn't meant to make it sound like he was incompetent. She concentrated on feeding Kenji. A finger under her chin made her look up.
"Don't worry, everything will be perfect." He told her before giving her a light kiss. She watched him walk out with the box of lights.
She was always surprised by how Six knew what she wanted. She did want Kenji's first Christmas in their new house to be perfect. She wanted the house to be beautiful. Looking down at Kenji who was now suckling an almost empty bottle, she gently pulled it from his lips. Lifting him to her shoulder she patted his back firmly until she heard a burp.
"Wanna go help baba string up the lights?" She asked him.
"Baba! Baba!" Kenji demanded.
Rebecca laughed and went to find his coat. After wrapping him up warmly, she brought him outside. She looked around. There was no ladder. Looking up, she gasped. Six was standing on the roof. He was already done.
"How did you get up there?" She asked.
He was down in two jumps. Kenji clapped his hands.
Rebecca bit her tongue. She didn't want to be critical of him especially since he was doing it for her. "Thank you for putting up the lights."
Six could tell she wanted to say something but was holding back. However, since he couldn't figure out what, he merely nodded and picked up the extension cord. The whole house lit up in a soft glow of yellowish lights.
Kenji giggled.
"Now let's go turn on the candles inside." Rebecca went inside with Kenji.
Six watched as a single candle in each window lit up.
He had to admit that all it needed was snow for it to be on the cover of a Christmas card. It didn't really snow in those parts but the house still looked… festive.
"Hey Six! Wow, Doc's really going all out." Six knew Rex was had just pulled up behind him. The roar of his Rex Ride could not be missed.
"Why are you here?" He asked curtly.
"It's okay, relax. Doc wanted me to bring a box she had forgotten back at base." Sure enough he had another box in his hands. How many boxes of decorations did they have anyway?
Rex sauntered up the walkway uninvited and kicked open the door. "Hey Doc! I'm here!" He walked into the house. Six sighed. He wasn't sure he was going to get use to this.
0o0
"Ken, buddy!" Rex scooped up the baby and bounced him up and down. Kenji laughed.
"Be careful, Rex." Holiday couldn't help saying.
"I know." Rex sounded hurt by the admonishment.
Holiday quickly added, "Thank you for bringing the box over. I had it in storage for so long, I completely forgot about it."
"Sure thing, Doc." Rex said forgetting the slight. "What is it?"
"It's my things when I was little." She said excitedly.
Six was curious as to what Holiday would have kept from her youth. He watched her excitedly slit the tape and pull the flaps back. She pulled out a microscope. "My first." She said as she dug deeper in the box. Out came some picture albums, yearbooks, and finally a small blue rocking horse with red hooves.
She held it up proudly. "This is my first Christmas ornament. See, it has my name on it. My parents got it for me for my first Christmas. She walked to the tree. She carefully hung it in the middle.
"I guess it looks a little out of place but it means a lot to me." She said.
"I think it looks fine." Six wrapped an arm around her.
"Yeesh, mushy stuff." Rex gagged. "Kenji and I are going to the kitchen to raid the fridge. Aren't we, buddy?" He left the two in the living room.
They stood silently in front of the tree.
"I'm out of place, too." Six said suddenly.
Startled Rebecca looked at him. He had meant it not as a condemnation or a complaint but as a matter of fact statement. She swallowed hard.
"No, you're not. You're a part of this family. We need you." Holiday wasn't sure what she wanted to say. "Six, I know this is different for you but we'll make it work. I know we can…" A finger to her lips stopped her.
"It's not going to be easy." He said spinning her around to face him. "But I'm committed to this and I keep my promises."
Rebecca smiled. Six lowered his head. Her eyes shut when their lips met. Her arms wrapped around his neck to pull him closer. His arms around her waist drew her in.
Rex was about to step into the living room when he noticed the silhouette in front of the tree. He immediately about faced and went back into the kitchen with Kenji.
He looked at the baby. "So how long do you think we'll be in here, 5 minutes, 10?" Kenji gave him a look.
Rex sighed. "I better check the pantry for cookies. I might be here a while."
Kenji giggled.
Yes, pure unadulterated Christmas fluff. Don't know if this is too cheesy but Christmas stories should be. More Christmas Cheese! Haha. Sorry, I blame my cold medicine. I've been sick with a really bad head cold. Hope this satisfies some Holiday Holix. (I know, there's never too much Holix.)
So I wish everyone the best and I hope everyone has a great whatever you celebrate and a wonderful new year! Let's hope next year will be even better!
God bless!
