Disclaimer: I do not own House of Anubis, the characters in it, and the locations used.
A/N: Not much to say here, just look out for a special message to all you guys at the bottom!
Happy Birthday to ViolinRocker12!
Nina POV
Half the Anubis crew had left by now, having been picked up by parents to spend the rest of Christmas day together. The only ones left were Amber, Fabian, and Jerome, and Eddie was still here, watching out the window so intently I was a little concerned. "What are you waiting for, kiddo?" I asked, sitting down beside him.
"Your Christmas present."
I tilted my head. Hadn't the mail already come today? "Um… Eddie, are you sure?" There was a scratch at the kitchen window, and Eddie went running for the back door. By the time I had reached the dining room, he was back, cat in hand.
"This is your Christmas present. I wanted to give you Sibuna. He liked you so much, and you liked him, and I thought it'd be nice. Dad says that you're allowed to have him inside for a few hours every day as long as he sleeps outside most of the time and doesn't have any accidents. You don't have to feed him anything, either. He finds food in the woods." He placed the feline in my arms and looked up at me. "Do you like him?" he asked hopefully.
A smile tugged on my lips, and I knelt down. "Of course, Eddie. Thank you very much. I'll take very good care of him, and you can come see him whenever you want to, as long as your parents say you can." The cat slithered up from my lap and wiggled his body into the front hand pocket of my hoodie. His head poked out the other side, and when he meowed rather sleepily, Eddie laughed.
"Eddison, it's time to go," Mr. Sweet called, getting up off the couch. I smiled when I saw him and Ms. Miller holding hands. Maybe there's hope for them. Maybe Eddie will get to live with both his parents someday. I think that's far too underrated sometimes.
I would know, after all.
Eddie groaned in exasperation. "You have to make sure you do what your parents say, or else you might not be able to come again," I advised, nudging him onto his feet. "You'll see us all soon, remember? The sooner you go, the sooner you can come back." Eddie sighed but ran off to his parents after hugging me tightly, and I blushed at his parent's approving gaze. "Bye, Eddie. Merry Christmas, Mr. Sweet and Ms. Miller."
In another few minutes, they were out the door, and Jerome was soon to follow. Amber, Fabian, and I spent a half an hour out in the snow until her father came, and then it was just the two of us. And Trudy, of course, who was inexplicably pleased when we offered to take over dinner since it was only for three. Trudy was celebrating Christmas with her family tomorrow, since one of her closer family members had to work today.
"When are your parents picking you up?" I asked while I scrolled through the directions for making croissants on my phone. "I figured they'd be here by now."
"Oh, I'm not going home."
I turned around, croissants forgotten. Fabian was sticking the ham in the oven. "What? Why aren't you going to spend Christmas with your family? It's Christmas." He smiled and closed the oven, only starting the timer before coming over to me.
"I've had 16 Christmases with my family so far, and I'm sure there will be many more to come. But this is my first Christmas with you in my life. You only get your first Christmas with someone once. I'm not going to spend it at home eating with my family like I do every year when that means leaving you here all alone." He pressed his lips to my forehead, and blood rushed to my cheeks. "I talked about it with them, and they supported my decision. They know how much you mean to me. Besides… your stepfather said he would be visiting you on Christmas, and he's yet to appear. I am going to be here to defend you when he arrives," he said firmly. "I will protect you if I have to die trying."
"Don't talk like that," I said just as strongly. "He may be a terrible man, but he's not a murderer. You're going to be fine."
Fabian took my hands and squeezed them. "We're going to be fine. This isn't going to be our last Christmas together, I promise." He looked over my shoulder. "Now, enough of that. I see you're having problems with the croissants?" I sighed and nodded, looking down at the dough rather tragically. He moved behind me and took my hands again. "Here. Let's do it together. This is okay, right?" My breath hitched at the position we were in, so close together, but I dipped my head. He guided my hands to the dough and pushed down lightly. "You're an artist. Think of this dough as clay. We're going to flatten it out and cut it into triangles, but first we have to make sure there are no air bubbles and that the dough itself is ready. Push in and away from you." I could barely focus on what was in front of me with his warm breath beside my ear, but with his hands guiding me, I managed to do as he asked. "Good," he murmured. "Just like that." I shivered, and it definitely wasn't from fear.
I'd be dead by dinnertime if this continued.
We 'wedged' the clay together, his hands wrapped around mine and leading me through everything. He handled the blade to cut the dough by himself, though, as I wasn't a huge fan of using could-be weapons, even if they were cooking utensils. Then we rolled them up together and stuck them in the oven with the ham. "What else do we have to cook?" I asked, almost eager to cook now.
"We still have the corn, mashed potatoes, salad, and the dessert. Have you had much history with cooking?"
I pulled out the corn cobs from the fridge. "Not much with this type of cooking. I always made the food for my stepfather and I, but it wasn't usually intricate stuff like this. It was more microwavable meals or less complicated oven dishes. Dough is something I've never worked with. Corn, though, yes."
"Well, I'm glad I'm getting to teach you. This is fun. You're my little protégé," he teased, flicking a bit of flour in my face. I rolled my eyes, but his voice gained a more serious note. "I never thought we'd end up like this. You were so scared of me back in the beginning… now here we are. You're talking as confidently as any person around me, your pronunciation is improving, you're sleeping in my bed even when there's another man in the room… you've improved so much. I couldn't be happier."
"Neither could I. Thank you for being here. I would've been rather lonely without you." I blew flour into his face in between preparing the corn. "And I wouldn't have been able to do that, either."
A devilish glint appeared in his eyes. "You're going down now."
"Try me."
An hour later, everything was being served and all three of us were seated at the dining table. I giggled into my hand for a moment when Fabian turned to look at the clock - there was a clump of hair he'd missed in his attempt to shake all the flour off. Trudy was eyeing the food, blissfully unaware of the fine layer of flour that was coating everything in the kitchen. We'd clean it up later, and she'd never have to know.
Fabian and I couldn't stop grinning all through dinner.
Which was, by the way, fantastic.
X
Mark POV
I wasn't sure how I found myself eating a shitty bowl of soup with Haru on Christmas night. But here I was.
Okay, yes, I was aware of how I'd ended up in this specific situation - Isis House was having a party. We were not interested in a party. So we'd escaped, instead taking a taxi out to the city. Restaurants were either packed or closed, and we couldn't find a place to eat. Haru had to push me and my heavy ass wheelchair (which magically started working again when we got home) seven blocks in the snow to find a relatively empty restaurant. So here we were, eating non-Christmas food at a hole in the wall diner.
But I was contemplating what twist of fate had landed me with this life. Mom was being the guilt-ridden, empty person she'd been since my accident who couldn't look me in the eye, and told me over the phone that I could spend my Christmas wherever I wanted. I'd chosen to be with Haru, who couldn't go home since his family was all caught up in their various different jobs. I was pretty sure my mother was at a friend's house for the night. I almost felt bad. Almost.
My father would've beat me to death if he'd known I was choosing to spent my Christmas with a gay man over my own mother. He was a hypocritical, homophobic asshole. He was insistent on me giving my mother respect even though he beat her when they were alone.
"You're thinking," Haru said, nudging me to pull my eyes away from the falling snow out the window. "Stop thinking so much."
My lips pulled down into something akin to a frown. "How can you tell?"
"You've got that brooding stare. You're tapping your foot incessantly. You keep scratching that damn spot on your head that you always itch. That right there is your main giveaway." I snatched my fingers away from my head and pressed my foot into the floor to keep from tapping. "What's got you thinking so much?"
"Just thinking about what we normally would've been doing on Christmas. We would've had friends over like we did every year. A nice ham. Rice. Green beans. Macaroni and cheese casserole. My father would've been all smiles, and my mother would've smiled but not spoken because she could never speak around dad. And then when everyone had left and the festivities were over, he would've made me wash all the dishes and clean the whole house while he beat my mom in their bedroom." I said this all with a calm, easy voice. Only Haru would be able to hear the tension grating at my insides. He was good at that sort of thing. "I wouldn't get beaten that night. Only that night. Merry Christmas for me."
I saw his eyes close in the edge of my vision. He always hated it when I spoke like that - like I was describing last night's television program rather than my abusive household. I couldn't help it. What was I supposed to do, sob my eyes out in the middle of a public restaurant? That was my life. I wasn't going to complain. "I wonder what my dad is doing now," I said. "Maybe he's writing me a Christmas card. Can you do that in jail?"
"Do we need to talk about this again? This didn't happen to some distant cousin you barely care about. This happened to you."
"Exactly. This happened to me. I've accepted that. I've accepted that for years now. This is my life, and I'm okay with that."
"Mark," he said, and I knew that he was serious. He preferred the fond term 'idiot' over my given name, and he rarely spoke so evenly. "That was your life. Your father is in jail, and he's not coming out for a long, long time. You don't have to go through that ever again. You don't have to go home expecting to come back with bruises under your clothes anymore. But that was your life, yes, and it's okay to admit that you aren't okay with that. No one is going to blame you. I'm the only one here, and I think I'm the last person on this planet who would ever judge you."
I laughed bitterly and shook my head. "You already do judge me. You judge me for what I said to you when you visited me, I know you do." I deserve it.
"I do not. I'm hurt, yes, and I still don't understand why you did that. I don't understand why you do half the things you do, you know that. But I don't judge you for it." He paused, and the silence lingered on painful. "If you could just tell me why you acted that way…"
I looked rather broodingly out the window again while I tried to find a wording that wouldn't reveal what I wanted to stay hidden. "I was delirious. I wasn't sure where I was, but I knew what had happened, and I wasn't sure if my father was in jail or not. All I could think of was that if you stayed any longer, I would crumble. If my father came in and saw me like that with you of all people… he would've killed you. And then he would've killed me." And you can't know why. "But mostly it was that in my delirium, I knew that I didn't want you to see me like that. I didn't want you to remember me like that. I'd always maintained a very strong, stable persona around you, and I couldn't break that. So instead I gave you something worse to remember me for, thinking in my twisted state that it was better. I was ashamed. I was embarrassed. I was stupid, Haru."
Silence. I didn't dare look at him. I didn't want to know what was on his face, but emotions lingered in the quiet.
"Yes, you were." Warm fingers tangled with mine and squeezed, and I tensed until they pulled away. My hand found that patch on my head again, but Haru wasn't done speaking. "But I forgive you for it."
"But-"
The waitress who'd served us before came up to the table, cutting me off before I could question his decision. "Sorry, but we're closing up." She rocked on her feet and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Look, um, I was wondering if you would want to hang out sometime soon," she said. At first I thought she was speaking to me - her eyes were directed at the floor - but then her gaze flickered up to Haru. She was young, maybe a year older than us, and she had gorgeous brown eyes. She was on the curvy side, and her heels must've been four inches high. She was pretty. And even if I knew he would never go out with her for the fact that she was a she, I couldn't help but get angry that she dared to try to steal him from me.
He was my best friend. My only true friend. I couldn't lose him to some person who would never appreciate him the way I did.
My knuckles turned white, and my head tilted in an almost animalistic manner. Haru picked up on it immediately, and he nudged me gently with his elbow. "I'm sorry, you're a very pretty girl, but I like someone. It feels unfaithful to hang out with someone like that if I hate it when he does the same, you know? Not that he knows I like him, but…" He shook his head.
By the time Haru had said he, she had gone cherry red and held her hands out in apology. "Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were straight." She smiled slightly. "Good luck with the boy you like." She scurried off, and Haru sighed, turning back to his food. I was still staring after her.
Not that he knows I like him.
Mark, are you sure there's nothing going on between you two? I was speaking of a more… romantic sort of thing. It's not like we're going to judge you for it. And Haru would be over the moon.
Haru would be over the moon.
"Mark, what's up?" he asked, his fork delicately balancing his last pile of noodles paused halfway to his mouth. "Your face just went white as a sheet." I was feeling a little lightheaded. When I gave no response, he set his fork back down. "Are you okay? Do we need to take you back to the hospital?"
That prompt finally got me to shake my head. I forced down my last bite and rolled out of the table, struggling to do it with only one hand. "I'm fine. Just thinking about my mom, that's all. Did you know she went to visit my dad in jail yesterday?" That last bit, at least, wasn't a lie. "She brought him a Christmas present, too. I don't know what it is, I only saw the bag, but the fact that she brought a present is enough."
"She still has to adjust to the idea that her husband is gone from her life. Who knows, she might've developed Stockholm Syndrome during this whole thing." I rolled my eyes at the idea. "Hey, that's totally reasonable. It happens to a lot of victims of abuse." As he spoke, he rose from the table and resumed his position behind my wheelchair, making sure he'd left the cash on the table before he wheeled me out.
"I just can't believe you're taking her side with this," I muttered. "She brought the man who nearly killed me a Christmas present. And she's barely been present during this whole fiasco. I swear, you care about me more than my own mother does." I tensed again, my temporary attempt to distract the both of us from the new information branching out in my mind flickering away.
Haru snorted, unaware of my struggle. "That's actually debatable. But no, I'm not taking her side. I will almost always take your side, and when I don't, I'll be Switzerland and I'll make both you and whoever you're fighting with see sense." I pushed at his arm - the only part of him I could reach - playfully, but quickly withdrew and shivered when we exited the restaurant. The snow had finally stopped, but the temperature was just as bone chilling. "Do you want my coat?"
"Hairball, you'll get hypothermia if you take off your coat. You only have two layers on underneath it."
"You've only just gotten out of the hospital. You're only wearing one layer under the coat. Your medical condition is questionable, thanks to your determination to get out so early, we have to deal with this crap."
"My coat is thicker than yours."
"You're an invalid."
"You're impaired in the head."
"So are you."
I shook my head. "Just keep walking."
And so he did.
X
When we got home, the place was silent. The downstairs was a wreck, but Haru and I had the foresight to block our door so no one would end up making out in secret on our beds. He carefully pushed the stuff out of the way and rolled me into the room. "Good. No one's been in here." I collapsed onto the bed, fighting off my lightheaded-ness.
I wasn't sure what drove me to ask the question. Later I would blame my rattled mind. "Who is the man you like? You've never spoken about him before."
I wasn't looking at him, but I could hear the shifting of his bed go silent. "I've liked him for a while. It's no big deal. You know how I get worked up over the smallest thing." He chuckled nervously. "Besides, I'm not one to gossip."
"Haru…" I trailed off. Don't let it be me that you like. Don't make me have to tell you that it's never going to work out. I reached up to scratch away the phantom pain of the long scar hidden underneath my hair. "Never mind. Good luck with the boy you like. Happy Christmas."
There was another pause, and then a slow exhale. "Happy Christmas, Mark."
I sacked out fully clothed within seconds, and sank into the dark dreams that tore at my mind.
X
Nina POV
Fabian and I watched the credits of Pitch Perfect roll, and I was still grinning like a madwoman, but for a different reason. Trudy had left after dinner to go and hang out in her room, and we'd decided to pick a movie from my trunk. Now I couldn't get over how cute the main couple had been.
"The Breakfast Club soundtrack is one of the CDs I gave you, by the way," Fabian said, smiling at the sight of me so happy. "Yes, I know, they were adorable. I take it you liked it, then?"
I nodded into his shirt before pulling away. "I did." I tugged on his arm. "Come on, I want to go outside. It's still snowing, and it's so pretty. We don't have to play or anything, I just want to sit on the porch and watch the snow fall for a few minutes. If don't mind, I mean-"
"Of course I'd like to come." He went over to the other couch and tossed me my coat while we put on our shoes. "I have another present I want to give to you," Fabian said as we walked toward the door. "Privately." My eyes shot to his, instantly wary despite my trust in him, and he rolled his eyes. "Oh, not like that, silly girl. I just thought this gift was something you'd rather have out of the public eye."
I stopped just as we were exiting the room and turned to face him. "If it's lingerie, I might slap you," I teased, blushing at my own brazen words. His cheeks colored even more than mine.
"No, it's not like that, either! It's perfectly G Rated. Now hush with the dirty assumptions - Christmas is a day of innocence. It's a good thing Eddie already left, or we'd be fired from any and all babysitting jobs ever again because of you of all people." A peal of laughter burst from me, and he rolled his eyes, only to freeze. "Oh."
My eyes flickered to his, and followed his spot of focus to above us.
Oh.
Above us hung an innocent little twig of mistletoe.
For a second we hung there, turned to solid ice by the sight of this little plant, before Fabian's eyes flickered down to meet mine. I could see it in the way his eyes glazed over slightly, in the way he carefully kneaded his bottom lip with his tooth, in the little gasp that ran through him. He wanted this. He wanted this kiss.
And I wanted it too. So badly it scared me.
Fabian's hand came up slowly to cup my cheek, his thumb sliding along my cheek. I could see the faintest tremble in his fingers, but I was still too shocked to do anything but stare at him. "Nina," he whispered, so gently that it made me sigh.
He leaned toward me-
I yanked myself from his grasp and ran for my life, out the door and down the front steps and clomping into the thick snow. My boots must've sunk two feet deep, and it slowed me down, but I kept on running until I was down the sidewalk. My lungs felt like they were about to collapse in on me, and my whole body shook with each breath. That just happened. That just almost happened.
When I looked back, the glowing lights in the house made it clear to see that Fabian was still standing there, likely wondering what the hell had just happened. I was kind of thinking that myself. I slowly made my way over to the snow-paved part of the sidewalk, trying to calm my rapid breathing that made little puffs of mist in the air every couple of seconds.
What had just happened?
And the answer was clear. I have over thought it. I had been ready to kiss him, I had been ready to let him kiss me. But my brain had said no, this is wrong, why would you want that? and it had backfired.
I had ruined everything. A few tears escaped my eyes, freezing almost instantly on my face, and when I sniffled, it wasn't from the cold.
"Nina?"
I jumped at Fabian's voice, looking up to see that Fabian had made his way out here while I was lost in thought. He'd taken off his cap, and his hair was whipping wildly back and forth in the wind. He kept a fair distance from me, probably worried that he'd send me into a shutdown for the first time in months, and the thought made me frown.
He's not going to hurt me. I have no reason to be afraid.
He rubbed the back of his neck, and his voice was worn to the bone. "I swore that I would never do anything you weren't ready for, and yet I just broke that promise without a second thought. I got caught up in the moment, and I thought you were giving me the go ahead for some stupid reason, and-"
I cut him off before he could ramble himself into oblivion. "You didn't break any promises." I stepped towards him, taking off my own cap and letting it fall. "I was ready for that."
He's not going to hurt me.
"You w-were?" he stuttered, biting his lip again. It warmed my heart to see the things we had picked up from each other during these past months. "Then why did you run?"
"Because I freaked out, and we both know what I do when I freak out." We shared a hesitant smile, but his quickly disappeared when I took another step toward him. "But I'm not running anymore."
I have no reason to be afraid.
"Nina?" he said, uncertainly, clearly hoping but not daring to believe.
I tried to smile, but my nerves twisted it into something else, and I put my hand on his chest. He hadn't zipped his coat yet, and I could feel the hard lines of his body through his shirt. Lean and limber, with a power underneath his skin that wasn't shown in his wiry muscles. I had to do this now, or else I'd over think it again. Slowly, ever so slowly, I went up on my tiptoes. I whispered a small, pleading kiss me-
He tilted my chin with two gentle fingers, leaned down, and did exactly as I'd asked.
Fabian's lips, I discovered, weren't as soft as I'd imagined, but infinitely gentle. My left hand slithered up to the back of his neck and pulled him closer to me, because I wanted him- no, I needed him closer, needed proof that he was real. That this was real.
"Nina," he said against my lips, but this time is a low groan that sent his warm breath across my cheeks. We were both inexperienced, but we made up for it with passion, and when his hand tangled into my snow-speckled hair, a noise rose from my chest that I'd never heard before. Not a moan, not a purr, but some mix between the two. Whatever it was, it made Fabian pull me ever closer.
When we finally separated, our cheeks were flushed and Fabian's lips were puffy in a way I hadn't seen before. I suspected mine looked much the same. My inhales were long, and my exhales came out in breathless, nervous flutters. I was shaking, and I realized I might've pushed myself a little too far, but I could worry about that later.
Fabian trailed his fingertips along my cheek, and tucked my hair back behind my ear. A second later he was grabbing my hand. "That was…" He shook his head, clearly not having words to describe what he felt. I smiled a little, squeezing his hand tightly as the snow continued to fall around us, trying to express everything in that simple grip that I couldn't explain in words. "Merry Christmas, Nina."
"Merry Christmas, Fabian."
And we kissed one last time, as gentle as our previous one had begun.
A/N: *RESOUNDING APPLAUSE FROM ALL CORNERS OF THE WORLD* LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, 48 CHAPTERS IN, WE FINALLY HAVE A FABINA KISS. *wipes brow* Took 'em long enough. Jeez. So, folks, how do you feel about this new development? Any tears? Excited squeals? Fangirl cries of joy? How did you feel about Mark's realization of Haru's feelings for him? That cute cooking scene? And where could the stepfather be?
Next chapter update will be anywhere from July 13th - 16th. We're skipping to the next day, folks. More kissing... sorta. Mark goes to see a certain someone. Haru gets a clue into what's up with Mark. Panic attacks. Shut downs. The long-waited for visit from the stepfather. And a shocking cliffhanger that will leave everyone speechless. :D
MESSAGE TO ALL SCARRED READERS: I've gotten several messages asking about various things concerning making things about Scarred. I've decided to go ahead and announce to everyone: you can make things about Scarred. You can post Scarred fanfiction in the HOA section on the site/Tumblr/etc and just tag it with Scarred's name or mine. Had a different scene in mind for their first kiss? Wanted Mark and Nina to happen? Write about it. Want to make a film version of Scarred (as someone has asked)? Do it. Want to write a song? Write poems? Make fanart? Make a fanvid with clips from HOA? Memes? Seriously, go wild. My only request is that you please let me know when you make something, and if you can, link me to it/send it to me. Not only would I love to see what you all make, but I'd like to keep a general list in case others are interested in peeking at it.
P.S. - Seriously, guys, seeing any of the things above would make my day. Just asking if you can gets me all blushy and stuttery because I'm so honored. Don't be worried about quality or my reaction or anything, because I will always think it's fantastic.
Reviews are love, dear readers. It helps that you get a you get a preview of the next chapter for reviewing... Tempting enough?
See ya soon, my little definitions!
