First Christmas
Summary: It's the Clive family's first Christmas as a trio!
Disclaimer: I don't own
AN: Cana is roughly two and half to three months old. I just thought it was sweeter with her being younger. I tried to stuff in as much family fluff as I could!
"Gildarts this is absolutely ridiculous." Cornelia pointed out from where she was putting ornaments on the tree. "I get wanting to get presents that she'll use but this is insane- "
"No its not." Gildarts interrupted, childishly sticking his tongue out at his wife," Cana is reaching a crucial stage in her development and it is our responsibility to get her toys that will both enrich her education and development and be safe! I don't want our little girl having anything but the best!"
"I don't disagree." The brunette said coming over to give her husband a peck," I'm just saying you're going a little overboard."
Actually, it would be more accurate to say he had gone completely overboard and was now treading water in the seas of 'You have GOT to be kidding me.'
Not that Gildarts was even aware of this.
"But Conny-!" He protested, pulling one of the charts closer to her," Look- the top selling children's toy this year for babies three months and under is the 'Jingle Kitten Rattle'." He said pointing to a picture of a brightly colored rattle that apparently meowed every time it was shaken." But you see here-" He pointed to a different chart," This toy had to be redesigned twice due to choking hazards- even if we assume its safe now, not that I plan on taking any chances, Dr. Navin said that at her age we should focus more on developing her motor skills and helping her learn to roll over- this toy is useless for that!" He said indignantly, as he stared at it in barely veiled disgust.
The brunette just stared blankly between her husband and the dozen or so catalogues and charts he had laid out on the kitchen table," Okay- you know what? You're done." She said definitively and manhandled him out of chair and shoved him towards the Christmas tree," You can do that later- for now you're helping me decorate."
"But Conny-!"
"No buts." She said firmly," I want her safe just as much as you do, but all that's going to do is drive you crazy- well," She amended," Crazy-er."
The red head pouted and sweat his wife up into his arms," I resent that last." He said pecking her on the nose. "I am perfectly sane."
"I'm sure." She said playfully, giving him a kiss back," Now let's hurry up- I want to have everything done before we head to see Master- "
"I think you mean Santa darling." Gildarts corrected lightly with a goofy grin.
Cornelia stifled a laugh and nodded," Santa." She agreed.
It was a tradition in Magnolia that Master Makarov be the one to dress up as Santa to entertain the children- not that the old man minded. On the contrary- he took it more seriously than any complaints from the council. He always made sure everything had the perfect holiday magic for the little ones and came down very, very hard on anyone that tried to cause trouble.
The old man had been dropping hints for weeks about how he couldn't wait to see his new granddaughter sit on 'Santas' lap.
Subtle he was not.
"Seriously, though." The father said quietly while they finished the tree," Conny… this is our first Christmas with Cana and after everything that happened… I just want everything to be perfect."
She smiled softly and wrapped her arms around her husband," Gildarts- you don't have to go overboard. As long as we're all together- we could be celebrating in a ditch and it would still be perfect." She said gently," I love you so much Gildarts."
"And I love you too Conny."
The moment was broken by a loud cry from the fussy infant.
The brunette laughed once the spell of the moment was broken," Feeding time- you keep going, I'll feed her and then I'll get her dressed. We can leave after that. Sound good?"
"Sounds perfect!" He agreed with that goofy grin she loved.
As soon as she was out of sight though, Gildarts was immediately back at the table: cross referencing the list of the season's most popular toys with recall notices, the list from Cana's pediatrician, and the graphs he'd thrown together that properly ranked everything in a way that was easy to understand.
He could probably get through a few more toys before he'd have to stop and do the ornaments. At which time his wife would bring down their beautiful baby girl who would be wearing her pretty little holiday dress! She was going to look so cute!
Conny was right- as long as they were all together, every moment was the perfect moment, but that didn't mean he couldn't do his best to throw in some holiday magic. This was their first Christmas as a family- they had to do something to make it memorable!
oOOOOo
"MY GRANDBABY DOESN'T LOVE ME!" Makarov wailed as the parents of afore-mentioned little girl tried not to laugh as they soothed the baby.
Everything had been going great- after years of this tradition Magnolia had developed a seamless system for the children and their parents. Everybody took a number when they arrived so no one had to wait on long lines that would inevitably result in some kind of tantrum.
So, Cornelia and Gildarts arrived at the park, took a number, and settled down in the section of the play area reserved for babies under one. Laxus had come over to greet them before quickly running off to keep playing with the other children while the parents settled down.
Then when their number finally got called, they brought the baby over and handed her off to her disguised grandfather.
And Cana lost it.
The second her mother put her into this strange person's arms she started screaming bloody murder. Which was heartbreaking for her poor grandfather, who was distressed at being the reason his granddaughter was unhappy and had done all he could to calm her down before admitting defeat.
Cana had settled down as soon as she was back in her mother's arms, albeit with the occasional sniffle and poor Makarov had been inconsolable ever since.
Both parents felt bad about it, but it was kind of hilarious.
"Grandpa?" A heartbroken voice asked, causing everyone to look over to where a devastated little Laxus was standing," But… what about Santa?" He asked with tears in his eyes.
Shit.
Immediately the little boy had his grandfather by his side.
"Don't cry Laxus!" He said hurriedly," You see he wanted to be here but there are so many children in the world- so he has to ask people to stand in for him from time to time. He got called away to deal with a problem at the last minute and he didn't want to let anyone down, so he asked me to help out!"
Laxus looked hopefully at the old man," Really?"
"Really." The guildmaster said sincerely," Now- if you tell me what you want I'll make sure to let him know and I'll make sure you get extra hot chocolate, that sound good?"
The little boy looked at him suspicious," With extra marshmallows?"
"And extra whipped cream."
A firm nod," Okay."
Crisis averted.
Cornelia breathed a sigh of relief and looked over to where her husband was snickering at something," What's so funny?"
He held up the photo that had been snapped while Cana had been on Makarov's lap," I think this one is a keeper."
She took a look and almost burst out laughing, it almost looked like she was trying to jump out the old man's arms. Actually, it looked astonishingly like the cover of a bad romance novel- with Makrov as the clingy ex-girlfriend who refused to let go.
"You know- I think we should make this our Christmas card this year." She said lip quivering before she finally gave up and both of them started howling.
They weren't forgetting this one anytime soon!
oOOOOo
Gildarts wasn't pouting.
Really- he wasn't!
So what if Cana wasn't interested in any of the toys he'd gotten her- it wasn't like it was personal or anything. If she was having fun playing with the wrapping paper, then that was what she would play with.
Of course, it was more than a little frustrating- when surrounding with new stuffed animals, a water play mat that encouraged her to move her arms, a rattle that passed all required checks, a few dolls for when she was a bit bigger, and a new mobile that projected images of stars all over her walls- and all she wanted was the torn wrapping paper.
He totally wasn't hurt by this dismissal of his efforts to get her the perfect gifts.
Behind him he heard his wife stifle a laugh as she wrapped her arms around him.
"Honestly we both should have seen this coming." Cornelia pointed out in amusement at her pouting husband. "Will you stop being upset?"
The Ace glared reproachfully at the discarded wrapping paper that his daughter was so enamored with," I'm not upset." He protested," I'm merely… annoyed. That's all."
The brunette laughed and stood up on her toes to give him a proper kiss, after which she consoled him," I'm sorry it didn't go like we planned, but I'm so proud of you for going to all that effort to get her the perfect gifts."
His ego was mended at the compliment. "Really?" He asked hopefully.
Cornelia smiled," Really. Now, are you ever going to open your present?" She asked holding up the thick box wrapped in neat green paper and tied with a red velvet ribbon.
"I'd love to." He said honestly as they sat down on the small couch against the wall, each keeping one eye on the baby. Gildarts carefully pulled the ribbon to loosen it and then pondered on what he should do about the paper.
The brunette stifled a laugh at the lost puppy look on his face," Just rip it." She advised, watching as his face lit up as he gleefully tore apart the paper and pulled the lid off the box to reveal an unmarked, leather-bound book inside.
Gildarts looked up at his wife in puzzlement.
She smiled gently," Open it."
And when he did, it only took him a second to realize what he was looking at.
"Conny…" He breathed in shock as he flipped through the pages.
Love letters.
Every page the book contained was one of the love letters he had written to her over the years. Every last one: from the first one he had ever sent to the last one the day before they'd gotten married.
"You kept- "
"Of course I did." She said with a loving smile and tears in her eyes. "They were from the man I loved after all."
Gildarts just stared at her in awe before he sniffled trying to stem the happy tears," Well, I think you may just have outdone me." He said with a choked laugh as he reached for the white-wrapped box he had prepared for her.
The brunette laughed as she ripped the paper off with an enthusiasm that mirrored his own and opened the box to reveal an oval-shaped golden locket.
"Open it." He advised, mimicking her from a second ago.
She did so and as soon as it was open, a miniature lacrima projected a photo up into the air. Cornelia felt her heart melt as she recognized the first picture that had been taken of all three of them the day Cana had been born.
"I have a matching one." He quietly informed her," They're also communication lacrimas- so no matter how far apart we are, we'll always be right there with each other.
"Gildarts…" She said in a choked-up voice as she was overwhelmed with emotion," How did I get so lucky?"
He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead," I think a better question is how did I get so lucky?" He corrected," I must have done something good in order to have you two in my life."
Before she could say anything, their attention was turned by a small, gurgling coo from the baby on the floor. Cana was smiling up at her parents from where she laid on her back and reached her arms out towards them.
"I understand Little Miss." Gildarts said playfully as he scooped up the baby. "Wrapping paper is nice and all, but you want to be with Mommy and Daddy."
Cornelia smiled and laid her head onto his shoulder, fitting perfectly into the crook of his neck.
"Merry Christmas Gildarts."
"Merry Christmas Conny."
AN: Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight! Yeah, I feel like I would be letting everyone down if I didn't say it at least once. I thought about doing a New Years one, but with the year we've had I feel like it would be better to just go with my original plan of hide and pray the planet doesn't explode.
That said: happy holidays everybody!
