Just a little holiday one-shot to get everyone in the spirit of things! :)
I would just like to wish everyone here a very Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Happy Kwanzaa, and whatever else you celebrate, I hope you have an amazing holiday.
~Dianna
DISCLAIMER:
I own nothing but my OCs and this plot line.
Of Snowball Fights and Mistletoe
"How are you related to so many people?" Fabian asked in astonishment.
It was Christmas Eve, and he was sitting with Giana, her brother, cousins, Tori, and the rest of Anubis House in Giana and Nico's cousins' basement, all talking about one thing or another. There were about fifty different conversations going on.
"Again I say: It's because we're Italian!" Nico answered. He was in the middle of racing Alfie in Mario Kart for the Wii.
"I'm winning!" Alfie shouted.
"You're looking at the wrong screen, stupid," Patricia replied. She sat with the boys while one of the cousins, Adrian, constantly tried to trick her into taking a walk with him so he could have her under some mistletoe. She blatantly kept refusing.
"Patricia, just go with him!" Nina urged. "I'm tired of hearing his persistent questions and your persistent, rude answers."
"And maybe you'd like to go hang out with Carmine?" Carla, one of the other cousins, teased. She and Carmine were siblings, and their other sister was Camilla. They were the three cousins Giana was closest to.
"Um, no," she answered.
"Then why are you blushing?" Tori prodded.
Nina shifted awkwardly. "No reason."
Just then, Amber came running down the stairs, squealing for some reason or another.
"Guys!" she exclaimed. "Come outside! Giana, Nico, your uncle has a small ice rink in the back garden! Why didn't you tell us?"
"We did," Giana clarified, standing up. "I'm in the mood to go skating! Come on!"
"You skate?" Fabian asked her as they all went upstairs to grab their coats, hats, and what-have-you. Even Alfie and Nico had abandoned the game, arguing all the way out to the backyard, trying to figure out who was the real winner.
"Yeah, I used to take lessons," she answered him.
He smiled. "That's awesome!"
"Will you two stop fighting?" Adrian practically shouted. "I'm about to throw you both into a bank of snow if you don't shut up!"
"Okay, Scrooge," Nico countered. He bent down, scooped up some snow in his gloved hands, and made a snowball, throwing it at his cousin when he wasn't looking. It hit him square in the back of the head.
"So," Giana started off, "I'm guessing we're not skating."
Instead, a full-on snowball fight had erupted, and everyone from Anubis House, as well as Giana and Nico's cousins, had joined in at some point, throwing snow at anyone within their range.
Inside the house, Jerome was feeling a bit down. He sat on one of the window seats on the main floor, looking out at the darkening sky and all his friends having a good time together.
"Are you alright?" a familiar voice asked. Shifting his position so he was facing away from the window, he noticed it was Mara.
"I'm fine," he answered simply.
"No, you're not," she argued, taking a seat next to him. "What's wrong, Jerome?"
He paused, looking into her eyes for a moment. Should he really pour his guts out to her? He asked himself.
"It's just…" he trailed off, playing with a loose thread on his cardigan. "This time of year's never really been… cheerful for me."
"Oh," her face fell. "I'm so sorry, Jerome. Is it because of your parents?"
"Partially," he answered. "And because of the holidays. I'm Jewish, Mara - we celebrate Chanukah, not Christmas. I'm having a lot of fun with Giana and Nico's family, and I'm grateful that they've invited all of us to stay with them for the winter holidays, but I've just never really been happy. My parents always work, so it's just myself and my little sister. I'd always light the candles on the menorah, do the prayer, and we'd unwrap presents together each of the eight nights."
"I'm so sorry, Jerome," she replied, reaching out and taking his hand. "I'm sorry your parents were never around, and that this time of year is always so sad for you. But you know what? You have us. And… You have me."
"Hmm?" he asked.
Mara pointed at the ceiling. "Look," she said. "Mistletoe."
Sure enough, the plant was hanging above their heads, glittering in the overhead lights.
Jerome looked at Mara, smiles on both their faces, as they leaned in slowly and shared their first kiss.
He thought it was perfect.
"Okay," one of the uncles started off. He was a part of the family whose house they were all staying at. "Dante, this one's for you…"
Gifts were being passed around, as was the tradition on Christmas Eve: Exchange gifts with the extended family, as well as joining in a few gift swaps and eating a lot of food.
"I am so full," Mick groaned.
"Funny," Tori started sarcastically. "You've never been full before. Are you okay?"
"So much food," he answered. "So much good food!"
"Welcome to the family," Carmine teased, sitting down on the other side of them. "Hey, Nina-"
"No," Nina answered hastily. "I mean… Uh, hi, Carmine."
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"I… Yeah. You?"
"I'm fine," he answered awkwardly. "Um, is there a reason why you've been avoiding me all night?"
"I haven't been avoiding you!" she answered, laughing nervously. "What would give you that idea?"
"Maybe because you deliberately haven't been talking to him all night?" Patricia cut in.
"Patricia," Giana, Nico and Fabian said warningly in unison.
"Carmine," Nina started off, "I… You're… Um. Merry Christmas!"
He looked at her, confused. "Merry Christmas to you too, Nina."
"Okay, I'm sick of this!" Giana exclaimed, standing up. Out of nowhere, she grabbed a headband with fake mistletoe attacked to an antennae, handing it to her cousin. "Carmine. Nina. Mistletoe. Now."
The couple looked at her, both of their faces turning deep shades of crimson as the headband was forced onto Carmine's head by Camilla, while Carla and Giana sat on the sidelines giggling intensely.
Nina looked at him. "You don't have to if you don't want-"
She was never able to finish, because Carmine had leaned in and caught her in a kiss. It was short and sweet, and enough to cause a large amount of teasing from the surrounding teens, both of friends and family.
"So what does your family do for Christmas Eve, Fabian?" Giana asked, turning to face him. "Is it as crazy as this, or…"
"Well, we have a lot of our relatives over and exchange gifts, eat a lot of food… It's pretty much like this, except on a smaller scale," he answered, putting an arm around her.
"Gia!" one of her younger cousins, Marcella, called out. "Are you and Fabian in love?"
The pair looked at each other, smiling brightly.
"Yes, Marcella," she answered. "We are."
The younger girl beamed as she ran forward and hugged her cousin.
"Hey," she started, "why don't you go ask Nico how Adelaide is?"
"Okay!" Marcella exclaimed. "But who's Adelaide?"
"You'll find out," Fabian answered, stifling a laugh.
A few moments later, Nico came over, slumping down on the other side of Fabian.
"You are going to pay for this, sorella," he stated, pointing at his younger sister. "Marcella just bothered me about Adelaide, who I'm not even dating yet, and it was really embarrassing, and now Alfie and Jerome are mocking me."
"I'm sorry, but who's the older one, here?" Giana answered. "You can handle it, Nico. Plus, I think Mom said something about the younger kids going to bed anyway. Once Marcella's gone, Alfie and Jerome should cool it."
"Besides, they're too busy with their own love lives right now to really take notice," Fabian pointed out.
Sure enough, the boys were sitting together with their girlfriends - Alfie with his arm around Amber and Jerome with Mara, all talking about one thing or another, exchanging presents and laughing at each other's jokes.
"Christmas is a time for family," Nina said. "And thanks for including me in yours."
"And me," Jerome chimed in.
"All of us," Amber clarified.
"No problem at all, guys," Giana answered. "No problem at all."
"Merry Christmas everyone!" Nico exclaimed, now dawning a Santa hat.
"Merry Christmas!" they all responded.
And the night went on without a problem.