The Convergence Secret Santa 2016
Name: Eva
Character: John Darling
Other Characters Used: Wendy Darling and Michael Darling. Also, a neighbour named Mrs. Mercedes.
Rating: K
Genre(s): Family
Message to your person: Dear Eva, I hope you enjoy this story. I admit, I was terrified of not doing your muse justice. Your writing is (though it may sound stupid) an inspiration for me. I want to write as well as you do. Have a very merry Christmas. Also:
My poems are bad;
My haikus are even worse.
Happy holidays!
Times Spent Together
After a little less than a century of being apart, the Darling siblings are finally reunited. Christmas comes around and John wants them to spend a good time together, the way they used to.
The Darling children—who were no longer children at all—sat around the newly decorated pine tree in a similar fashion to how they'd sat more than a century ago. Wendy, ever the storyteller, sat in the large chair that would've been claimed by their father, had he still been with them. In her hands was a worn copy of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, and she was reading it, quite dramatically, likely for the entertainment of Michael, who'd taken his traditional spot on the floor beside the tree, despite his age. Though both John and Wendy knew he looked ridiculous, they said nothing; it was his decision. Besides, pointing it out could cause an argument that both knew they couldn't win.
John leaned back against the wall, smiling softly at the sight of his siblings spending the holidays together again. He barely remembered the times they'd spent with their parents before the incident, though he very much would've liked that. Maybe Wendy remembered. He'd have to ask her.
The lights woven around the tree sparkled in a way one only heard about in stories and reflected off the glass ornaments that were scattered around the tree: simple bulbs, icicles, and snowflakes. John chuckled to himself as he remembered the decorating process; Michael had dropped at least twelve of the bulbs and who knew how many of the others, and the mess had been left for Wendy and John to discover upon returning from the store, where they'd gone to get a bit—a lot—more food for the Christmas dinner. They'd cleaned it up fairly quickly, but Michael had been forced to try and keep Nana Jr. in one of the emptier rooms for the rest of the decorating. At the end, Wendy had climbed up on a chair and had placed the angel at the top of the tree.
"John?" It was Wendy calling him. "Mrs Mercedes is on the phone. She wants to talk to you."
Mrs Mercedes was their neighbour. "Tell her I'm busy, but that I wish her a happy Christmas."
"Alright," she said before returning to the phone call. "She wishes you a happy Christmas, too."
Michael, impatient as ever, finally asked the question that seemed to be on his mind since that morning. "Can we open the gifts?"
Wendy smiled and chuckled lightly at his childish question. "I don't know. What do you think, John?"
At that, John paused. "I'm alright with it," he replied. "But only one. It's only eleven, and we should be saving some gifts for tomorrow morning. Christmas morning. Like we used to do as kids."
"Alright," Michael agreed after a second of deliberation.
They all stood and chose the present they'd be opening. Both Wendy and Michael chose the gifts from John, and John took the one Michael had bought him.
In the small box he'd been given by Michael sat a gunmetal grey watch; it appeared to be a designer watch, but John wasn't sure if Michael knew anything about designers, despite him having watched the fashion trends change for the past hundred years. He thanked his brother and immediately switched out his old watch for the new one. Though it was working, nobody had bothered to fix the time, and John made a mental note to change it before he went to bed.
For Michael, he'd gotten a new phone charger and a pair of dress shoes. Both were inside jokes, and when his brother opened the gift, he understood. His booming laughter drowned out poor Wendy's confused questions, and when Michael finally calmed down, he explained the jokes to her. Soon all three were laughing.
Wendy's gift was one of the more emotional ones. John handed her the small, carefully wrapped box, and as she opened it, he could see her expressions change. "Is this..." She trailed off, cradling the picture frame. "Is this really one of Mother's sketches?"
John smiled and nodded once. "Yes. Took me forever to find, but—" He stopped when she wrapped him in a hug, the frame carefully set aside.
"Thank you," she murmured. "I love it. Will you put it up in the living room? Maybe next to the bookshelf?"
"Of course."
Wendy thanked him again, and as she pulled away, he could see the tears in her eyes. Though he hadn't thought she'd cry, he supposed it was to be expected. They'd all been close to their mother; she'd been strict, but not in the way their father had, and always listened to them. She encouraged them to be who they really were and to follow their dreams. Wendy had watched her draw since she was just a little girl, and the hobby had almost been passed onto her.
The three didn't open any more gifts that night, but continued to share stories. Wendy re-read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas twice. She was the first to go to bed, and Michael quickly followed.
John sat in the chair his sister had just been sitting in. He studied closely his mother's sketch—it was the skyline of London from when they were children—and sighed. He could guess where she'd probably sat to draw it; in their old house, there was an empty room on the second floor with a large window. His mother had gone there often to sketch.
John sighed. He wished he'd tried harder to get their house back. He knew it was still standing and that multiple renovations had been done on the structure, but the person who owned it hadn't seemed interested in selling. Now he wished he'd gotten it back so that their first Christmas reunited could back in their real home.
...
As expected, Michael was the first one awake the next morning. Wendy was already awake by the time John crawled—yes, crawled—out of his bed. He wished his siblings a happy Christmas and together, each with a glass of hot cocoa and a plate of blueberry pancakes, sat around the tree to open the final gifts. Wendy mostly got gift cards to different stores from some of their friends, Michael was given a series of random items—some inside jokes that the rest didn't understand and some very serious gifts—while John received lots of little things—an event planner from Mrs. Mercedes, a phone case from a co-worker. He didn't mind the gifts—in fact, he was pleased with most of them—but was excited for Wendy's gift.
"Actually," his sister began when he asked where the gift was, as he couldn't see it under the tree. "The gift is from me and Michael. We have something to tell you."
Frowning, John nodded for her to go on. He could see the smile spreading across Michael's face, and was both confused but curious.
"We—"
"We got back the house!" Michael cut in, seemingly too excited to let her take her time and finish.
It was John's turn to hug his sister. He didn't cry, but none of them would've said anything.
"You know," Michael interrupted. "This is what I miss about us. Spending time with you guys. As a family. I miss the holidays we spent with our parents, sitting around the tree. This is nice, though. And next year we'll be sitting around the tree in our real home."
"I agree," John said with a nod. "I love spending the holidays with you. The way we used to do. Happy Christmas, both of you."
Disclaimer: The Convergence Roleplay and any themes related to it belong to Rhya (ALazyGeek) and Lena (links on profile). All OC's belong to their respective creators, all Canon Characters belong to their respective franchises and all credit for the fic itself goes to the Santa who wrote it.
The Convergence Roleplay: Trapped in a new world, with no way out. Characters from 19 different worlds have been brought together and must struggle in a world that constantly creates more mysteries than it solves. With no new answers ever coming to light, they must start to wonder - is there really a reason why they're here?
The Convergence is a multifandom roleplay, featuring Supernatural, Doctor Who, Sherlock, Harry Potter, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Vampire Diaries, The Hunger Games, Merlin, Once Upon a Time, Divergence, Fox MCU, Star Trek, The Maze Runner, the DC Extended and Television Universes, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, The Mortal Instruments and House M.D and the various spin-offs. Check out the link in the profile for more information!