The First Day of Christmas
~Christmas in the Danny Phantom Phandom~
"I really can't stay…"
"Sa-a-am, c'mon!"
"I have to go away…"
"Sam, jeeze!"
"This evening has been…"
"Sam. It's not even Christmas yet. It's barely past Thanksgiving. Is it really necessary?"
"Danny, lighten up! 'Tis the season!"
"Tucker, it's ridiculous. I know I'm supposed to be more cheerful… but is it really necessary to start so early? I don't think my nerves can last over a month."
"You thought we'd only be celebrating for a week?"
"Try three days, Ms. Paradox."
The girl dressed in black only laughed at her raven-haired friend's huffy demeanor. He got like this every holiday season, and the other two had learned to deal with it. She turned her purple irises to her other friend's black ones. Humor was written in them, dancing within the centers.
"Danny," he whined playfully, "I thought you learned from last year! Do we need to get Ghostwriter here again?"
The halfa sighed dramatically. "It's just… I have to ease into it. It's not gonna happen like magic, guys. You should know that."
"Sure, Danny," Sam replied soothingly, laying a mittened hand on his arm. "Don't worry, we'll help you. That's what friends are for, right?"
Danny blushed maddeningly, praying that it would pass for a side-effect of the blustering, biting wind that had picked up.
"Uh… right. Thanks, guys. It means a lot." He stared straight ahead, not noticing the look that his companions shot at each other.
They walked for a few more paces, Tucker holding a hand up behind Danny's head, ticking off a countdown.
Five Fingers up. Four fingers up. Three fingers up. Two fingers up. One finger…
"I REALLY CAN'T STAY!" sang Sam loudly, linking her arm through Danny's. The skinny boy nearly jumped out of his coat at her volume. His protests were lost among the melody.
"BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE!" Tucker's singing had improved drastically from what it once was (he had never really gotten over that first incident with a certain blue haired rocker) and though no one would call him great, he provided the second part of Sam's duet, joy and humor making up for his semi-lack of talent.
"Guys! Stop it!" The two ignored Danny as they continued to merrily stroll down the street.
"I've got to go away!"
"Baby it's cold outside!"
"This evening has been,"
"Been hoping that you dropped in,"
"So very nice!"
"I'll hold your hands, they're just like ice!"
"Ugh…" Danny tried covering his face in shame as passerby on the street shot them all curious looks. "Damn you people…"
"My mother will start to worry…"
"Beautiful, what's your hurry?"
"I can't stand you two right now. Just can't stand you!"
They paid no heed to him as they continued to drag the teen along. The singing was incessant, persisting through an hour of window-shopping, an hour of actual shopping, an hour of persuading Danny and Tucker to keep shopping and, finally, fifteen minutes beating a cold, tired, and dusty trail home.
Tucker was just finishing up "Silver Bells" as they neared his place. Danny's eye was twitching by this point.
"Oh God, Tuck. If you don't shut up this second, you're going to be wearing my Christmas tree decorations!"
Tucker only laughed, wiping happy tears from his eyes. "I still can't believe I kept that up the whole time."
"We, Foley. We kept that up," Same reminded him as they stepped into the warmth of the Foley residence.
"No way, Sam. You gave up halfway down the block and I had to finish the last song on my own. Ergo, I kept it up the whole time."
"That's just luck, Foley. I hate Silver Bells."
"You just don't have as much Christmas spirit as I do!"
"Oh you did not just go there, Foley!"
Danny back away slowly from the feuding friends, eyes a little wary, praying that this wouldn't escalade into a rally rivalry yet again (he refused to forget that unfortunate diet incident).
Rather than making him bitter though, Danny just stood and stared at their arguing frames on the porch. He stood still for quite some time, simply observing, the cold biting at his face and freezing him to the spot. And within his stomach and chest and knees he felt something building. Something… something…
Funny?
And he started laughing. It was only a chuckle at first. Then a giggle. A snicker. Louder. A full belly laugh, doubled over, tears in his eyes, hands on his knees, knees on the ground kind of laugh.
Tucker and Sam glanced over at him, looking as if they'd seen him sprout three more heads. But the sound was infectious, like bells ringing out through the encroaching dusk, and soon the two found themselves joining in.
Then I thought, maybe this is the moral,
In the same way my folks loved their old Christmas quarrel.
Everyone celebrates in their own way of choosing.
I was so busy whining I started abusing
The ones I loved most and I ruined their cheer.
I'll try to be better, come Christmas this year.
A/N: It is officially 12 days till christmas :) I know this is rushed, but I busted my ass (not literally!) to get htis out. One fic per fandom per day of Christmas =D Day 1 is Danny Phantom in a little moment one year after the Fright Before Christmas. Fluffy, fluffy goodness. Pardon typos, please and thank you. I had not time to edit ;)
No angst, no drama, (very little) sadness for the next twelve days.
Next Fandom: D. Gray-Man
3 Holiday cheers, Happy Haunakkah (sorry if I butchered that spelling Oo), Happy Kwanza and all the other lovely ways we celebrate love, peace and good will towards men. Because no matter the religion or cultre or creed, isn't it nice to set aside a litte time as the days get shorter and the cold set in, to remind us that warmth will return. And that it resides year-round in all of us =)
~UGA~