After returning to the house, everyone gathered on the couch- except for Lisa, Lily and Carlitos, who all went to bed (or were put to bed, in the case of the infants)- and enjoyed a classic Christmas movie together, before everyone retired to their rooms. Due to the large amount of people that were now in the house, the Casagrande's and Santiago's had to share their rooms with the Loud's, so it was Lincoln, Bobby, Carl and CJ; Lori, Leni, Luan and Carlota; Lynn Jr., Lucy and Ronnie Anne; Lola, Lana and Lisa; Lynn Sr. and Rita, with Lily in her crib; Carlos and Frida, with Carlitos in his crib; and Hector and Rosa, with Maria being willing to take the couch, while Luna slept in a hammock Hector had found in the bodega.
In the room with the four boys, CJ and Carl quickly found themselves drifting to sleep in their beds. As for the Santiago and the Loud sleeping in sleeping bags, the former looked over at the white-haired boy. "Hey, Lincoln," he whispered. "You still awake?"
"Yeah," he replied, turning to face the older boy while resting on his elbow. "What's up?"
"You excited for tomorrow?"
"Kinda. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas, but this year just feels kinda weird, you know? I'm not used to spending Christmas away from home, and yet… it's almost like I am at home, what with everyone getting along in their own way."
"I hear you, little bro."
"So, what about you?"
"Oh, I am so psyched! My first Christmas with the extended family, and I get to spend it with your family too!"
"I'm sure it'll be chaotic."
"Wouldn't have it any other way."
"Me neither. So, I'm sure you'll have some kind of 'big, romantic gesture' for Lori?"
He smirked at the boy. "You say that like it's a joke, but it won't be too long before you're doing the same for someone special." Lincoln was thankful that the darkness hid his blush from Bobby. "But don't worry, it won't be too grand or affectionate, so you can relax."
"Okay…"
Bobby sensed Lincoln wanted to say something else, but didn't know if he should. "You okay, Lincoln?"
"I… Yeah, I'm just… just tired. I think I should get some shut eye. Night, Bobby."
Before the Santiago boy could respond, he was just able to see as Lincoln turned over in his sleeping bag and shut his eyes. Bobby sighed, before doing the same. "Night, Lincoln."
The next morning, as the sun rose high enough to peek through the curtains, the light flickered onto the eyes of the sole son of the Loud's, causing the white-haired boy to groggily awaken. As he wiped the sleep away, he sat up, looking around to see he was the only one awake.
'Might as well get up, I guess,' he thought, unzipping the sleeping bag he was in and getting to his feet. Going into his bag and grabbing some clothes, he quietly exited the bedroom and tiptoed into the thankfully empty bathroom, where he traded his pyjamas for fresh clothes. Once he was dressed, he looked in the mirror and saw his hair was a little unkempt, so he used his hands to fix it, smiling at his reflection once he was confident that it looked okay.
Leaving the bathroom, he quietly went down the hallway, looking into the living room as he passed to see that the tree was host to a huge collection of presents of all different sizes and colours. He smiled at the sight, but decided to leave them be so as not to wake the soundly sleeping Maria and Luna, let alone incur the wrath of anyone who caught him and thought he was trying to open his without the others. Walking further down, he entered the kitchen, his presence quickly becoming known to Rosa while she cooked at the stove.
"Good morning, Lincoln!" She greeted, happily yet quietly due to the opening in the wall between the kitchen and the living room. "You're up early!"
"Morning, Mrs Casagrande," he replied.
"Well, since you're up, would you mind helping me prepare breakfast?"
"Sure."
"Excellent! Just wash up, and you can help me with the eggs." He began to do as she said, walking over to the sink to turn it on. "So, are you excited for Christmas?"
"I am, though it does feel weird being away from home for it this year."
The elderly woman let out a soft laugh. "I'm sure it is, but at least you are with your family. That's what's important."
"You're right. Plus, it's going to be quite fun with all you guys as well."
"I'm glad you think so!" Once he finished drying his hands, she got out a few carton of eggs and placed them on the counter. "So, how do your family like your eggs?"
"Actually, my family are kind of particular with eggs, and they all like theirs done differently. It might be easier if I just handle ours." She allowed him to do so, the two of them quickly getting the eggs done, while also preparing toast and bacon, as well as putting on a couple of pots of coffee. "So, is that everything?"
"Si, Lincoln. Thank you so much for the help."
He smiled back at her. "Not a problem, Mrs Casagrande."
"Lincoln, it's Christmas- call me Rosa."
"Okay. Is there anything else I can do?"
"Actually, would you mind waking the rest of our families for me, while I finish the food and get plates ready?"
"Sure thing, Rosa." He walked out of the kitchen and headed into the living room. Seeing his rocker sister in the hammock gave him an idea, so he walked up to Luna first. "Morning, Luna," he said, gently shaking her shoulder. "It's time to get up."
Groggily groaning, the rocker opened her eyes, and smiled upon seeing her little brother. "Hey, bro," she greeted, "what's up?"
"Breakfast is almost ready, and I need your help getting the others up."
With an eyebrow raised, she carefully got out of the hammock. "How am I gonna help?" He motioned for her to lean forward, so he could whisper in her ear. When he did so, a mischievous grin appeared on her face. "Sure thing, bro! Though, you better let Mrs Santiago know so she doesn't have a heart attack."
He nodded, then walked over to the couch, where he quietly woke Maria up. Once she was sat up, he explained what was going to happen. Looking back at Luna, Who now had her guitar in hand, he nodded, both him and Maria covering their ears. Luna prepared to play the guitar, took a deep breath, and yelled,
"IT'S CHRIIIIIIIIIIIIISTMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS!"
As Luna began to play the guitar, everyone else groggily awakened, the kids quickly feeling the excitement that it was Christmas Day and the parents yawning. It didn't take long for everyone to get dressed and leave their bedrooms, wash up and sit down at the table, while Rosa and Lincoln served breakfast, with extra toast, coffee and orange juice there for those who wanted it.
"Luna, did you literally have to wake us up with your music?" Lori complained, shooting her a tired glare.
"Sorry, dudes," she replied, before smirking and winking at Lincoln, who chuckled before looking around the table.
"Hey, where's Ronnie Anne?" He asked, ignoring the smirks his sisters donned after he asked this.
"She's just freshening up," Lynn Jr told him, not even trying to hide her smirk.
"Morning, everyone," they all heard the Santiago girl greet as she finally entered, wearing the Royal Woods hoodie Lincoln got her a while back, with jeans instead of shorts, and her hair was down rather than in a ponytail. As the others greeted her, Lincoln- having finished serving his half of the food and sat down- couldn't help but blush but see her like this. She sat down next to him and smiled. "Hey, Lame-o."
He snapped out of his thoughts. "Uh, h-hey, Ronnie Anne," he greeted back, his cheeks heating up further.
She looked at him with a bemused smile. "You alright? You look like you slept next to the fireplace."
This, along with his sisters' giggling, only further caused his cheeks to heat up. "Yeah, I'm fine." He wanted to tell her, "it's just that… you look really pretty with your hair down," but he was afraid things would be awkward if he did. Instead, he simply said, "merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas."
This triggered a chain of festive greetings between the two families, back and forth across the table. As Rosa sat down and poured herself some coffee, she cleared her throat. "Everyone!" She spoke, gathering attention from all twenty four family members. "Today is a very special Christmas Day, and I wasn't certain that I would ever be able to host such a wondrous occasion. I thank my family for being as wonderful as ever, and I thank the Louds for being so gracious in joining us and accepting us in their lives. Most importantly, I thank Bobby and Lori, who made us see that our families could get along, and without whom we would not all be together under one roof." Everyone echoed these sentiments with the likes of "here here" and "to Bobby and Lori" and a "can we eat now" from Lana, which brought chuckles out of everyone. "So, what are we waiting for? Dig in!"
As was quickly becoming the norm, one breakfast was over, everyone was satisfied with full stomachs. The Louds still weren't used to the barrage of food that Rosa served, but thankfully they were a bit more comfortable this time, due to the fact it was the first thing in the morning.
"Alright, everyone!" Lynn Sr spoke up. "Now that we are all ready for the day, I think it would be a good idea if we opened up some prese-"
Before he could even finish the word, most of the kids screamed "PRESENTS!" Getting up from the table, they rushed towards the living room, with Lori, Bobby and the adults being the last ones to leave the table. Eagerly, the kids began to crowd around the tree, trying to figure out which presents were theirs. Some knew that they would be just adding to the chaos if they tried the same, so they held back.
"Everyone, everyone!" Carlos called out. "I know you're excited, but let's try and do this in an orderly fashion. We'll go from oldest to youngest and select the presents that we will be handing out. If you try and rush things, your presents will be held until after everyone else has opened theirs. Is that clear?"
Once everyone had calmed down, they one by one walked up to the tree and grabbed the presents they would give out, then sat in a circle-like shape, some on the couches and most on the floor. After all the presents were out from under the tree, they began to hand them out. Some of the Louds also got gifts for and 'from' Sergei and Lalo, to make up for the numbers and so that everyone received and gave out three gifts each. For the most part, everyone loved their gifts, even if Lola did receive an unwelcome lick from Lalo for what she had given him.
Towards the end of the gift giving, Ronnie Anne and Lincoln exchanged theirs, deciding to save them for last. Having opened his first, Lincoln smiled with glee upon seeing, "the Ace Savvy encyclopedia! This is so awesome!" His eyes practically glistened with childlike happiness as he looked up to Ronnie Anne, which she couldn't help but think was cute. "Thank you so much!"
"No problem, Lame-O," she replied, then smirked. "Though I'd like to see you beat that."
They both chuckled. "I dunno about that, but," he grabbed the gold and silver parcel, and placed it on her lap, "hopefully it can be just as good."
"Woah! You took a lot of care wrapping this!" She looked at him, and he simply beckoned for her to open it. Removing the ribbon, she tore through the paper to find a cardboard box. Opening the lid, she gasped, unknowingly gathering everyone's attention and worrying Lincoln. "Lincoln…" She pulled out a purple skateboard, with a flame decal one one side and a white skull at the other end. Looking at Lincoln with surprised eyes, she simply said, "is this what I think it is?"
Though his smile had faded somewhat, it was still there as he nodded. "Yeah, it's the one from Gus' Games And Grub."
Ignoring the cooing and the shipping eyes from the rest of their families, Ronnie Anne sat there, amazed by the gesture. "Lincoln… I can't believe you did this!"
"What do you mean?"
"I remember this being worth ten thousand tickets, more than any other in the arcade's history! I can't even believe you remembered that I wanted it."
"Well, I remember you saying that you would get it one day the last time we went to Gus', so I saved up so I could get it for you."
"Lincoln, you could have gotten yourself so much more with those tickets."
"Ronnie Anne, don't be silly!" He placed a hand on top of hers, causing a small spark between them as their hearts skipped a beat. "I wanted to do this for you."
With nothing more to say, she smiled and leaned into a hug which he happily returned. "I love it, Lame-o. Thank you."
"You're welcome."
For the next couple of hours, while the adults cleared up the paper and relaxed, the kids and pets enjoyed their presents, before they were to reconvene for lunch. Bobby, having left to go to his room, quickly returned and approached his girlfriend, gently taking hold of her hand. "Hey, babe?"
"Yes, Boo Boo Bear?" She asked.
"I've got a surprise for you."
She gasped, then smiled eagerly. "What is it?"
He wagged his free index finger. "You'll just have to see what it is. Come on." He helped her out of the chair, then led her towards the hall. When he reached the living room entrance, however, he instantly paled. "Oh no."
Her curiosity quickly became concern. "What is it?" When he didn't respond, she followed his gaze and had the same reaction. "Oh no."
"What do we do?"
"We have to move them before someone-"
"EEK! RONNIE ANNE AND LINCOLN ARE UNDER THE MISTLETOE!"
