Title: Collective Hearts
Author: only_because3 or jeytonbrucasnaley OR idontneedtobeforgiven
Word Count: 1780
Characters: Faberry + Puck + their children
Summary: "Merry Christmas my fellow Jew. Can you believe we do this every year just for this gentile?"
Author's Note: Yet another story set in my 'I Could Be in No Better Place' verse. I actually posted a Halloween one on my tumblr earlier this week but I'm not SUPER happy with the outcome so, I'll probably tweak it a bit before I post here. Anywho, just a small something I whipped up this morning. I hope everyone has happy and safe holidays! Oh, and everytime you read Santa in this story, know that I spelled Santana first before realizing my mistake.
Evan pokes his head outside his door and notices that no one else is awake. Holly's door is still closed and he can see his dad sleeping in the guest room. He looks the other way and sees his moms' door open, his momma turning over, and he smiles. She has to be awake. She's always awake super early and he's still a little leery of this whole 'time' thing, but he's pretty sure it's about the time she normally wakes up. He's halfway down the hall before he hears, "Hey," in his dad's heavy, sleepy voice.
"Merry Christmas, Daddy!"
"Sh," Noah says, wiping the sleep from his eyes as he pads over to his oldest son. "It's still really early, buddy."
Evan's eyebrows furrow. "I thought this was when Momma woke up," he says, looking up at his dad who simply shakes his head before picking him up.
"Still a little too early. Plus, your moms aren't getting a lot of sleep because of your brother."
Evan rubs his cheek over his dad's head. "Your hair is like a scratcher," he observes and Noah laughs as they head downstairs.
"How about you watch some cartoons while I make breakfast?"
"Can I watch the Grinch movie?"
Noah drops Evan off on the couch before turning on the TV and handing him the remote. "You got to be quiet though. No singing along really loud."
Evan gasps, climbing off the couch and around his dad. "Santa came, Daddy! Look at all the presents!" He has his hands on both sides of his head and Noah's almost positive he's starting to shake he's so excited. "That big one has my name on it! The big one!"
He starts bouncing and Noah chuckles, glancing over at the now empty plate of cookies near the fire place. "Why don't you go see if Santa left you a letter?"
Evan's face falls a little bit. "But can't I open the big present?"
"You know you can't open presents till everyone is up." Evan closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, his hands going back to his side. He's too much like Rachel some times.
"Fine. But they better be getting up soon."
His dad fell asleep shortly after he started some coffee and he really just can't help it. How did his dad expect him to sit there and watch the Grinch and not open up the present that was bigger than him. That's why he's currently looking down at his little brother, trying to be as quiet as possible. He's been told to make sure he doesn't wake the baby up a bunch of times since he came home and he's really only allowed to touch Matthew if someone is watching him plus he has to wash his hands before he can. But if he just touches the baby's belly, that can't hurt right? And it's not like he wants to hurt Matthew. It's just that he's noticed every time the baby wakes up he cries, and if Matthew starts crying, that means his moms wake up. And if his moms wake up, that means they can start opening presents.
He looks back at his moms once more before carefully poking Matthew in the stomach. The baby squirms, his face scrunching up a little more but he doesn't start crying. Evan sighs and is about to poke him again when he hears something behind him. His mom sits up, blonde hair covering her face, but she somehow still sees him. "What are you doing, son?" She runs a hand through the mop on her head and Evan quickly puts his hand to his side.
"Merry Christmas, Mommy!"
She blinks. "Were you going to touch the baby?"
Evan shakes his head so fast his neck hurts. "No, I was just looking."
She nods her head and then glances at the clock. She sighs, letting her eyes fall closed for one more moment before Matthew starts releasing these tiny little noises. "I'll get the baby. How about you crawl up and wake up your momma?"
They switch spots and Evan pushes back his mom's hair before patting her shoulder. "Momma."
"Hm?" Quinn cradles the baby close to her chest, pressing a kiss to his soft skin, as she watches Evan shoves Rachel lightly when she doesn't open her eyes.
"It's Christmas, Momma."
Rachel hums in the back of her throat. "I don't believe you. I think it's sleep time."
Evan rests on his knees. "But I'm not lying!"
Noah clears his throat from the doorway and Evan looks over at him wide eyed. "He wake you up, Q?"
Quinn shakes her head and slips in to her slippers, patting Matthew on the back. "Change him for me?"
He takes Matthew from Quinn's arms, grinning when he's met with two brown eyes. "Hey there, kiddo," he croons as he walks down the hall to the nursery.
"Evan, why don't you go politely wake up your sister and I'll get your sleepy momma out of bed." She can see a tiny smile on Rachel's face but she keeps her eyes squeezed shut.
Their son nods his head, waiting until he's just out their door to scream, "HOLLY, IT'S CHRISTMAS! YOU HAVE TO WAKE UP NOW!"
Rachel snorts, rolling on to her back in the bed. "Poor girl." Quinn lays back down next to her, tucking herself underneath the blankets again. "What time is it?"
"Little past six." Quinn's arm snakes over her stomach and pulls her closer.
"What were we thinking getting you pregnant so early in the year," Rachel muses, dropping a kiss on Quinn's cheek. "I don't think I've ever been this tired on Christmas morning before."
"At least he wasn't fussy. We actually got a lot more sleep than we have been getting." Rachel sees Holly push Evan out of her room and her boy is trying in vain to dig his feet into the wood to stop her from moving him, but ultimately, Holly wins, slamming the door behind her before Evan can go back in. He starts knocking on the door, not particularly hard, but the succession is quick and perfectly timed.
"This is why Santa didn't bring you the biggest present," Evan says matter-of-factly and Holly groans so loud, Quinn and Rachel can hear it from their bed. Noah walks past his two older kids, encouraging both of them to stay strong, before slumping down on the other side of Rachel.
"I think he could become a dictator someday." Quinn laughs and the baby squirms before settling in Noah's arms.
"Determination is an admirable quality," Rachel says, pushing herself up so she can sit against the headboard. She kisses the baby and then Noah. "Merry Christmas my fellow Jew. Can you believe we do this every year just for this gentile?"
"You'd think we'd be able to veto it 2 to 1."
"Give me my baby back," Quinn says, stretching her arms for the bundle. "I don't want you turning him against me." Rachel intercepts Matthew, cradling the baby to his chest when he starts to cry. Quinn's eyebrows drop when Noah starts to laugh. "Well that's just unfair."
"He's just hungry," Rachel says, patting Quinn's thigh before tugging her shirt open and undoing her bra. Matthew latches on quickly and Rachel lets her head fall to Noah's shoulder. "Do you guys think my boobs are going to stay bigger again?"
The two look down simultaneously and if she weren't tired, Rachel would laugh. Never in a million years did she think she'd ever marry someone who would be so okay with someone else staring at her boobs. But here she is, with Quinn on one side of her, their fingers laced together, and Noah on the other, his pajama pants not tenting in the slightest, the two of them having a very serious conversation about her boobs. "Do you think they're bigger than last time," Quinn asks and Noah grabs her free boob gently, weighing it in her hand before shrugging.
"I'd say they're roughly the same size." He looks over at Quinn's chest and points. "Those are definitely bigger than last time though."
Quinn grabs her own boobs. "I think they're about the same size they were with Holly."
Noah reaches over and holds one before tilting his head to the side. "That was such a long time ago. But these are a lot more full than they were with Evan."
"I feel bad for our kids," Rachel muses and the two look up at her as they settle against the headboard again. "'Oh your moms are lesbians? Then why is that man grabbing their boobs?'"
"I don't grab your boobs all the time. And I don't do it when other people are here," Noah says, watching as Quinn picks up Matthew, trying to burp him while Rachel covers herself back up.
"It's not like I have anything to worry about. If anything, you'd just be saving us a ton of money if you decided to have an affair behind my back."
Noah laughs as Rachel glares at her. "I would never cheat on you! Even if it would be a cheaper alternative to expanding our family."
"Chill out, Rachel. At this point, I may as well be gay in your eyes."
"Fair enough. Oh, was your girlfriend going to be joining us for dinner later?" Quinn looks at him just as expectantly as Rachel and he sighs.
"I thought it'd be better to wait till a non-holiday to finally introduce her to my crazy ass family."
"I resent that, Noah."
"Good call," Quinn replies and Rachel swats her arm just as Matthew burps. "Good boy!"
"Fine," Holly shouts, her bedroom door flying open. "I'm awake! Are you happy now?"
Evan nods. "Very."
"Come here you two," Rachel calls and pretty soon her bed is filled with everyone in the house. Evan plops himself on Noah's lap while Holly squeezes in between her and Quinn's legs. Over the years, she's decided that Christmas is definitely a holiday she'd never stop Quinn from celebrating because this is the best way she starts her morning all year. Her bed is full of her family and even though Holly and Evan are still bickering while Noah and Quinn try to talk them down, she feels like they've never been closer.
She leans forward and kisses Evan before tapping Holly's head so she can give her oldest a kiss too. "Merry Christmas my beautiful family."
"Merry Christmas," Holly says.
"Can we go open the presents now," Evan asks and Noah shakes his head while Quinn laughs.
"Go sit by the tree, son."