It's Christmas Eve, December 24th, and Ludwig Beilshmidt along with his wife, Feliciana Beilshmidt, and their two sons, Vincenzo and Leonardo Beilshmidt are all putting the finishing touches on their Christmas tree. There was a load of tinsel covering it like a fresh layer of snow. Ornaments of all shapes and colors were hung everywhere, and a string of fluorescent lights were strung around the tall tree. The glowing colors included red, yellow, and green. The blue lights were out, and Ludwig was trying to fix it. He was up on a step ladder trying to screw in the bulb at the top that was messing it all up.
"Please be careful, Luddy..." Feliciana pleaded softly as she watched her husband with wide and concerned eyes.
"Yeah, be careful daddy!" Leonardo squeaked standing next to his mother with the same look on his face.
"It's okay, I've almost got it..." Ludwig said as he grabbed hold of the tree for balance.
"I don't like our tree with just red, yellow, and green lights," Feliciana stated.
Ludwig froze. "What're you talking about? It's red, yellow, and blue. It's the green one that's out."
She shook her head. "No, it's the blue."
Ludwig gritted his teeth as he continued to try and screw in the bulb. "I'm pretty sure that it's the green one. I'm not colorblind."
Feliciana crossed her arms. "I'm not colorblind either."
Then Ludwig got it. He turned the bulb just the right way and all the other blue ones flickered on with it. "There, you see?" Ludwig said, getting off of the step ladder. "I told you it was the green one." Feliciana rolled her eyes.
All of a sudden there was a spark on the plug that gave the string of lights its color. Then there was another spark, and another. Then the whole room went dark. The kids and Feliciana screamed, and Ludwig bellowed above the noise, "DON'T ANYBODY MOVE."
The room fell silent. The only noise was Ludwig shuffling to the outlet, then to the fuse box. Within a minute the lights were back on. Ludwig saw his two sons clutching to their mother for dear life. Feliciana was pretty terrified herself.
As soon as the lights came back on, Vincenzo shoved away from Leonardo and Feliciana. "I wasn't scared, dad!" He pointed to himself.
Ludwig patted his head and Vincenzo smiled at his father's praise. "Of course you weren't," he chuckled.
"Dad?" Vincenzo started.
Ludwig looked down at his son whom was looking up at him. "Hm?"
"Do you think that Santa will bring me that Blaser R93?"
Ludwig smiled. "May-"
"Probably not," Feliciana interrupted. "You'll shoot you're eye out."
"But /mom/!" Vincenzo whined. He had been asking for the hunting rifle for the past month. He tried to be sly about it, other times he came right out. Even when he asked the Santa at the mall, or asked for it in his theme paper at school, he still got the same answer: 'you'll shoot your eye out!' But he didn't care. He just wanted the hunting rifle. It was what he had practically worshiped the entire year!
Feliciana placed her hands on her eldest son's shoulders. "I'm sorry, tesoro. It's just too dangerous."
Ludwig examined the tree. He narrowed his eyes and said, "That star is crooked." As he started to climb back onto the step ladder, Feliciana tugged at his sleeve.
"That star is fine! Come down!"
"No, it's okay, I'll just be a- ah!" Ludwig stumbled and fell into the tree. Feliciana tried to pull him back and so did the boys. With their combined strengths plus his own, Ludwig was able to regain balance before he damaged the tree. He stepped down from the ladder and looked the tree up and down, its star now perfect in Ludwig's eyes.
"Perfect," he breathed.
Feliciana shook her head then looked at the clock hanging on the wall. She gasped. "Oh goodness! Look at the time! I hope that Santa hasn't passed by our house just because /some/ little boys weren't in bed."
Vincenzo's eyes widened when she said 'some little boys' and Leonardo gasped.
Ludwig raised an eyebrow. He jabbed his thumb to the front window behind them and said, "Ja, I could've sworn that I had heard his sleigh bells down the street."
Leonardo and Vincenzo stood there and stared at their parents in shock before bolting up the stairs and into their beds.
"Come on! Gehen, gehen, gehen! Up to bed!" Ludwig called.
As they ran up, Vincenzo grabbed onto Leonardo so to slow him down. Vincenzo tripped on the stairs and caused them both to stumble. They immediately got back up though and continued to their beds.
"Good night~!" Feliciana called to them right before their doors slammed shut. She looked at her husband and smiled.
"What?" Ludwig asked her, also smiling.
Feliciana stepped closer to him and ran her delicate fingers along his chest. "I'm just so happy that our boys are so excited."
Ludwig felt a blush creep across his face as her fingers crept across his chest. "Well of course they are. It's Christmas." Ludwig pulled his wife into an embrace and kissed her tenderly. They smiled at each other before he kissed her again, this time with more force and passion.
Feliciana broke away and blushed. "L-Ludwig..."
He nibbled on her ear lobe. "Ja?" He whispered.
"We have to get the kids' presents out."
Ludwig released her. He wore a slightly disappointed face. "Oh. Right."
Feliciana kissed him once more. "But then we can get freaky~"
Ludwig smiled and kissed up her neck, his hands snaking around her tiny waist. "I'd like that~"
She pushed him away gently. "/After/ we get their gifts."
He chuckled and released her a second time. "Can we use the-"
"Yes." Feliciana smiled. "We can use the cuffs."
The next morning, Vincenzo blinked open his eyes to the morning light that pooled in from the window. He rubbed his tired eleven year old amber eyes and yawned. He sat up and looked through the window. What he saw intrigued him, so Vincenzo stood from his bed and pressed his face against the glass as he looked outside and into their backyard.
"Wow..." He breathed.
The ground was covered in a fresh new layer of powdered snow, and so were the trees, which were as bare as skinny as bones when they didn't have their leaves. The branches were covered in icicles. They were everywhere, and on every tree! The sunlight danced through each one, not skipping a single beat. It was a truly beautiful sight.
Just then, Vincenzo remembered what day it was. It was December 25th, Christmas Day. He leapt from the window and ran out of his bedroom and to his younger brother's. He shook his brother awake.
"Leo! Leo! Leo! Come on, it's Christmas! Get up, Leo!"
Eventually, the blonde obeyed, blinking his blue eyes open and seeing his brother's scruffy brown bed-head that was usually straight.
"Wha...?" He mumbled.
"It's Christmas!"
Immediately Leonardo shot up. "Really?!"
Vincenzo rolled his eyes. "Yes! I've been trying to tell you that! Now come on!"
Vincenzo and Leonardo ran down the stairs to find a glorious sight. Under their tree was a huge load of presents, all wrapped and awaiting for the eager little boys to rip them open. They ran down and knelt in front of the presents, taking it all in.
Leonardo pointed to several presents and said, "Wow! Hey, that's mine! And that's mine, too!" He spotted a firetruck with a silver bow taped on it. "Oh boy, that's mine!" Leonardo began to play with it, the bow still attached.
Vincenzo looked upon the presents ad exclaimed, "Santa came!" He started looking everywhere under the tree, examining each gift and wishing with all his heart that it was the Braser R93. When he reached the part that Leonardo was sitting in front of with his firetruck, he shoved the red truck out of the way and continued looking for his beloved hunting rifle.
"Hey!" Leonardo exclaimed, but then he just continued to play with it, making the appropriate noises that went along with the firetruck theme.
Ludwig and Feliciana walked down the stairs, his arm around her waist and both of them smiling at seeing their kids so overjoyed. Feliciana squeezed Ludwig's arm happily. They both walked up behind their sons and sat down on the couch.
"Frohe Weihnachten!" Ludwig cheerily greeted.
"Sì! Buon Natale!" Feliciana squealed, throwing her hands up in the air.
"Merry Christmas!" The boys replied with huge smiles on there faces.
"So, who's going to play Santa?" Ludwig asked.
"I wanna play Santa! I wanna play Santa!" Leonardo threw his arms in the air like his mother.
"Well, you played Santa last year. Vincenzo? How about you hand out the gifts?" Feliciana asked.
"Okay! Who should I start with?"
"Give Leonardo a gift first," Ludwig said, still smiling.
Vincenzo nodded. His brother looked like he had ants in his pants; he was squirming and quivering with excitement.
"Yeah, yeah!" Leonardo whispered loudly and excitedly.
Feliciana continued her husband's statement. "And I think I see Aunt Yekaterina's gift to you. She always sends you the cutest things~!"
Ludwig stared at his wife like she was insane for speaking such a statement.
Vincenzo thought the same thing, but didn't say anything as he handed Leonardo, his mom, and his dad their presents.
After a good hour full of opening gifts and not seeing a Blaser R93 later, it all came down to the last present. The one from Aunt Yekaterina.
Vincenzo reluctantly opened it. His face turned pale when he saw what it was.
"Vinny, what did Aunt Yekaterina give you? Show us!" Feliciana told him. She quivered excitedly in her seat on the couch next to Ludwig.
Vincenzo stared at the gift once more, then stared at his mother and shook his head quickly, his eyes wide. "I don't want to."
Feliciana's face turned serious. "Vincenzo, show everybody what she got you." Ludwig wore a sorrowful expression on his face.
Hating every second of it, Vincenzo stood and held out the fluffy pink horror in front of him. It was a rabbit costume, complete with huge floppy ears on the top. The hands had dark pink paw prints on them and the feet were two miniature fluffy pink bunny slippers. It was all one outfit. It even had a puffy white tail in the back!
Ludwig face palmed, feeling sorry for his son, and Feliciana smiled. "Oh! Isn't that just adorable? She always sends you the nicest things~!" She exclaimed. "You should try it on-"
"I don't want to!" Vincenzo whined.
Feliciana suddenly turned serious. "You go try that on right now! She went to all that trouble to make it!" All the time Ludwig still wore that 'oh mein Gott' look on his face as he face palmed.
Vincenzo sighed at his mother's demanding tone and shuffled up the stairs. His head hung low as he dragged the terror up the stairs behind him.
"While Vinny's changing, I'm going to play Santa," Feliciana smiled, suddenly cheery again. She reached under the tree and pulled out a small red box with a green bow. She gasped. "Leo! This is for you, tesoro!"
Leonardo excitedly took the box from his mother and ran over to his other toys to open it in their presence.
Feliciana giggled before looking under the tree again. This time, she pulled out a large, hard, ball that was wrapped in green tissue paper and tied up with a red ribbon. "Oh! And this is for daddy~!" She plopped it on Ludwig's lap; accidentally right on his manhood. Ludwig's eyes grew wide as he grunted and sat up straight from where he had been leaning back on the couch. "From me to you!"
Ludwig picked it up, his eyes still wide and his eyebrows raised. His voice was also raised up to a high pitched sound, somewhat like Feliciana's but with a German accent. He smiled. "Thanks a lot." He voice retuned to normal as he unwrapped it. "Oh, it's a bowling ball! A blue bowling ball!"
"Do you like it?" Feliciana asked him excitedly.
"Ja, ja!" Ludwig placed it down gently on the coffee table and hoped that his wife wouldn't notice the fake enthusiasm in his voice. She didn't.
Feliciana instead called to her son, whom was still upstairs. "Vinny! Are you done? Come down and show us!"
"Do I have to, mom?" Vincenzo groaned.
"Yes!" She yelled.
Vincenzo swallowed the last bit of pride and dignity that he had and walked out if his room and to the top of the stairs so that his mother could see him wearing the horrible creature costume thing that was the pink rabbit.
Feliciana squealed and clapped her hands excitedly. Ludwig looked him up and down with raised eyebrows and a face that said 'oh mein Gott sohn, I'm so sorry you have to go through this'. He looked like he was about to throw up.
"That is the most precious thing I've seen in my entire life~!" Feliciana smiled. Leonardo was laughing his head off and Ludwig still had that same expression.
"Shut up, Leo," Vincenzo whispered.
Ludwig spoke up. His voice was flat and slow. "He's looks like a deranged Easter Bunny." That only made Leo laugh more.
Feliciana slapped his arm half playfully, half seriously. "Don't say that! He does not!"
Ludwig turned to his wife. "He does too, he looks like a pink nightmare!" He turned his attention back to his son. "Are you happy wearing that?" Vincenzo shook his head, the bunny ears flopping about. "Do you want to take it off?" He nodded. Ludwig looked at Feliciana. "Tell poor Vinny to take it off."
Feliciana sighed. "Alright, you'll only wear it when Aunt Yekaterina visits. Go and take it off." She smiled again.
"Nehmen Sie es ab!" Ludwig called to him in German as Vincenzo happily darted up the stairs to remove himself of the horrid clothing.
Afterwards, Leonardo lay sleeping on a pile of old wrapping paper surrounded by his news toys. Wrapping and tissue paper lay everywhere; it was a disaster.
"Would you look at that mess," Ludwig breathed. "Who's gonna clean it up?" He asked.
"Not me!" Vincenzo informed from his spot on the couch between Ludwig and Feliciana. "What about Leo?"
"Leo did it last year."
"He can do it again."
Ludwig smiled, then took a drink of the new beer that he had gotten that morning. "Mm...this beer's good. Well, not good, but not bad." He gestured it towards Vincenzo. "Do you want a sip?"
"Yeah!" He smiled, reaching for the glass.
Feliciana pushed his hands away. "No you don't," she softly scolded. Ludwig pulled his beer away as his wife continued. "So, did you have a nice Christmas?"
"Yeah, it was pretty nice."
"Did you get everything that you wanted?" Ludwig asked him, taking another drink of his beer.
Sadly, Vincenzo shook his head. "Eh...almost." He never got his beloved Blaser R93...
Ludwig threw his head back. "Almost. Almost, huh? Well that's life." He looked back to his son. "There's always next Christmas."
"Yeah..." He mumbled. There was no way that his mother would let him have a gun next year if she didn't this year.
Ludwig looked to a specific corner in the room and sat up, his attention seemingly grabbed. "Hey...what's that over there behind the desk?"
Interested, Vincenzo sat up next to his father and looked with him. "What? Where?"
Ludwig pointed. "Behind the desk, by the wall over there." He looked to his son and Vincenzo looked at his father. The tiniest smile was forming on his lips. "Why don't you go check it out?" Ludwig smiled back. When Vincenzo made no move, his father lightly nudged him with his elbow. "Mache weiter."
Vincenzo then got up and slowly walked over to the desk beside the Christmas tree.
As he walked, Feliciana scooted closer to her husband and whispered in his ear, "What did we put over there, Luddy?"
"I-I, uh...S-Santa Clause probably put it there," Ludwig stuttered as he put down his beer and excitedly watched his son.
Vincenzo pulled out a long rectangular box, and a smile instantly reached across his face from ear to ear. He ripped the wrapping paper off, opened the box and saw it: a Blaser R93. His eyes were wide and he gasped upon seeing the item that he wanted most in the world in his hands. "Wow...!"
Ludwig had a huge smile on his face that was full of pride. He chuckled softly as he watched his son's reaction to getting his very first firearm. Feliciana gripped his arm tightly, wearing a joyful expression on her face. Yes, it was a gun, but she just loved seeing her children so happy!
"Do you know how to load it?" Ludwig asked.
"Yeah!" Vincenzo smiled. As he loaded the gun, Ludwig smiled from ear to ear like his son.
"Careful," he warned his son as he loaded it. "They'll run all over."
Vincenzo nodded as he finished.
"Close it up." Ludwig could hardly contain himself.
Vincenzo did as he was told and asked, "Can I go try it out? Can I? Can I?"
Feliciana smiled. "Okay, but outside. Put on your boots and your coat, it's cold out there!"
Vincenzo happily ran towards the back door, pulling his coat on and slipping his boots onto his feet in the process. Once the door slammed shut, Feliciana turned towards Ludwig and placed her hands on her hips. She wasn't upset, but she wasn't leaping for joy either.
Ludwig shrugged his shoulders and laughed. "What? I had one when I was eight years old."
"But what if he hurts himself?"
"Hey! He's got /my/ blood and yours flowing through his veins. He'll be fine, trust me."
Feliciana smiled and moved her hands from her hips to Ludwig's chest as she pulled him in for a deep and tender kiss.
"Ti amo."
"Ich liebe dich auch."