December Prompt #23: Nutcracker
Paul rolled onto his front and looked down at his imprint, who was still sleeping. She was wrapped tightly in the blanket they'd been sharing—well, she had been hogging it all night because Paul didn't really need it as he ran at a higher temperature than most people—and she was even drooling on it.
If it had been anyone else other than his imprint, Paul would have laughed and taken pictures of them to send to the rest of the pack later. But because it was his precious Bella, he only snickered at the sight before leaning in and kissing her forehead.
She mumbled something in her sleep and rolled away from him, the blanket now wrapped around her like a burrito. Paul shook his head good-naturedly and wrapped his arms around her to pull her against his chest. He threw his leg over her waist and snuggled against her back, his chest reverberating with the instinctual rumble his wolf let out.
He tucked his head in her hair and closed his eyes, intending on going back to sleep when the front door squeaked open. Paul's ears pricked at the sound, and he waited for the intruder to enter. He was ready to defend his mate if required, but then, he recognized Collin's and Brady's familiar scents and relaxed.
The boys were probably just going to grab something to eat like they usually did every morning after their patrol. Paul didn't bother waking Bella up because he knew the boys would find something to eat and then leave them in peace, but then…
One of the boys stumbled and crashed headlong into the wall. A high-pitched yelp was followed by a loud crash that immediately woke Bella up. She sat upright, clutching the blanket to her chest. Her eyes were wide with fright, and Paul's hackles rose for a moment before he quickly turned to soothe her.
"It's just Collin and Brady," Paul said, running his fingers through her hair. He knew the action always calmed her down, so he repeated it until Bella's shoulders relaxed and she let out a sigh of relief. He leaned in to kiss her forehead. "I'll go see what the fuck they're up to now."
Bella hummed and lay back down, pulling her legs up to her chest in a fetal position. "Okay," she mumbled and closed her eyes. "Tell them there are cookies on the top shelf, but they need to clean up after themselves when they're done."
"Will do, babe," Paul said, smiling at her before walking out the door.
He found Collin and Brady on their knees trying to pick up the broken pieces of a nutcracker, and he stopped dead in his tracks. "Wait a minute…"
Collin and Brady's heads snapped up as if they were being controlled by puppets, their eyes wide with fear. It was pretty eerie, come to think of it. They glanced over his shoulder towards the bedroom he had just come out of and whispered, "Please don't tell Bella!"
Paul stared at the mess on the ground and his eyes widened. "Was that… the Santa nutcracker Bella loves so much?"
Collin whimpered but nodded, his hands trembling as he tried to scoop up all the pieces. "I didn't mean it—I swear it was an accident!"
Paul reached his hand up and rubbed his jaw, shaking his head slowly. "Yeah, it was an accident, but you do know how much she loved that thing, don't you?"
"What do we do?" Brady whispered, leaping to his feet. "Can we glue it back together?"
"She'll know the moment she lays eyes on it," Paul said pointedly. He leaned against the wall and watched the boys panic. They wrung their hands and trembled on the spot, looking like they were about to phase any second. Paul rolled his eyes and leaned over to flick their ears. "Hey, stop worrying, alright? Just give her the puppy dog look I taught you guys and she'll be fine."
"But she loved this nutcracker," Collin whispered sadly, gazing down at the broken pieces in his hands. He straightened his shoulders and stared up at Paul. "I'll fix it for her right now."
Paul scratched the back of his neck but only shrugged and remained silent. No matter what the boys attempted, Paul knew they wouldn't be able to repair the nutcracker, but he didn't want to break their hearts. At that realization, he grimaced and scowled at himself. When did I become such a wimp?
He stood there, his ears trained on Bella to make sure she was still sleeping while he kept an eye on the boys as they ran around the house in search of tape, scissors, and some glue. They quickly gathered the items before returning to the scene of the crime.
They crouched down and began trying to piece the nutcracker back together. Collin held up a small wooden shard and stared at it in confusion. "Where does this go?"
Brady pointed at Santa's face. "I think it goes over there? I'm not sure though…"
Collin groaned but tried to shove the shard into Santa's face. It fell off, and the boys stared at it like it was a packet of chips that was half-filled with air. After a few more minutes of floundering and panicking, Collin finally looked up at Paul and asked, "Could you help us? Please?"
Paul pretended to think it over, amused by the dread on their faces. When Collin actually crawled on his knees and gripped Paul's calves, Paul laughed and said, "Fine, I admit I like seeing you idiots panic, but this was too much. Come on, I'll do something about this."
Collin and Brady shot to their feet, huge smiles on their faces. Collin whisper-yelled, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Paul rolled his eyes and stepped away from him. "I haven't done anything yet—"
"But you will!" Brady said pointedly.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. But I need you two to do me a favor in return," Paul announced, crossing his arms and waiting for them to agree first.
"What's the favor?" Collin asked, squinting at him suspiciously.
"It can't be anything illegal, otherwise Bella will be mad at us, and we don't like seeing her mad," Brady added.
Paul snorted and shook his head. "Nothing illegal—I don't want Bella to get mad at me either. Now," he said, rubbing his hands, "I need one of you to go to buy Bella her Christmas present—"
"But it's the day before Christmas," Brady said, his eyes wide with horror. "How could you have forgotten to get her a present? She's your imprint! Your mate! You're supposed to love her."
"I was a bit busy, alright?" Paul snapped.
He didn't want to tell the boys he and Bella had been talking to the tribal council to let them adopt the boys even though they were barely twenty-one years old. Collin's and Brady's parents had skipped town when they had found out the boys turned into furry protectors of the tribe, and the boys had been living with Paul and Bella ever since. The boys already looked up to Paul and Bella, so the imprinted couple was just going to make it official on Christmas.
Paul glared at Brady and said, "And for that attitude, you're going to buy me the present now."
Brady opened his mouth to whine but closed it when Collin elbowed him in the ribs and said, "The nutcracker needs fixing, remember?"
"I didn't break it, so it's not—"
"You're the one who bumped into me and sent me flying into the wall," Collin reminded him, scowling as he crossed his arms.
Brady was about to retort when Paul clicked his tongue and said pointedly, "Either you guys help me buy Bella a Christmas present at such short notice, or else I'll leave you two here with the expensive as fuck nutcracker that Bella loves so much because it was the only Christmas present her rich ass grandmother gave her and it's the only way she can remember the good times they'd had together before she died…"
Collin and Brady groaned and nodded their heads. "Fine, we'll do it."
Paul smirked. Bingo. "Her wishlist is on the table in the living room," he said, looking for his wallet. He handed Brady a few notes and looked at Brady's ripped jeans. "Buy yourself some jeans, kid. Yours have holes in them."
"This is the latest fashion, Paul! You wouldn't understand," Brady whined, already halfway out the door.
Paul rolled his eyes and thought, 'Teenagers.' Wait, he had been a teenager just a couple of years ago. God, he felt so old.
He turned to Collin and said, "You, on the other hand, are going to make breakfast for Bella. Eggs, toast, those tiny burrito thingies she likes so much, everything. And while you're cooking, don't leave the kitchen, or else I'll be distracted and won't be able to finish fixing the nutcracker."
"Awesome!" Collin said happily, strolling towards the kitchen. He called out over his shoulder, "Thanks, Paul!"
Paul shook his head good-naturedly and bent over to scoop up the pieces. Once he was sure the boys were nowhere in sight, he tossed the wooden shards into the trash can and went to the attic to find another Santa nutcracker.
Making sure Collin was still in the kitchen, he slipped back into the bedroom and climbed up onto the bed. Bella groaned and buried her face in her pillow when Paul began peppering soft kisses on her shoulder. She mumbled, "What happened? Are the boys okay?"
"They're fine," Paul whispered against her skin, inhaling her scent. He smiled as he reached down to wrap his fingers around her thighs and opened her legs for him. He nibbled on her ear and murmured, "You're fucking brilliant, you know that?"
"I am?" Her eyes were still closed, but a small smile was playing on her soft lips.
Paul couldn't help but kiss her sweetly before pulling away. He rested his forehead over hers and whispered, "How did you know they'd break something?"
"I didn't," Bella murmured, opening her eyes a little. "I knew Quil would be coming over for lunch, and you know how excited he always is… He was bound to break something or the other—supernatural reflexes for him is a myth."
Paul chuckled and kissed her again. They probably had about two hours before the boys disturbed them again—or before Collin came to check on him 'fixing the nutcracker.' Paul swore he could get in a quickie before that happened, and so, he got to work.