Day 23: What is a Christmas Movie?

Bell sighed. All he had done was suggest that he and his housemates watch a Christmas movie for the holidays. They were all about to separate and head home for the holidays, so to him, it made sense that they all try to sit down and do something together. But he had unfortunately forgotten what his housemates were like….

"Well," said Welf for the twelfth time. "I still think that we should watch Die Hard!"

"Die Hard is not a Christmas movie!" screamed Lili. "It's just a dumb action movie!"

Welf gasped. "You take that back, Lil Bit! Die Hard is a Christmas classic!"

Welf waved his signed DVD copy in the air. Bell watched it wave, waiting for the inevitable moment that it would slip from his grasp. As he did so, he sipped from the glass of wine that Haruhime had poured for him. Usually, he didn't like red but tonight was a special case.

"Why don't we watch a real Christmas movie!" said Lili, pointing at her choice on Netflix. "How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a real Christmas movie and is way better than Die Hard!"

Welf pulled a face. "You think that a creepy, hairy, weird, Jim Carrey is better than a handsome and strapping, Bruce Willis?" He looked to the rest of the occupants. "Come on, you guys! Mikoto, you like action movies, right?"

From her spot on the love seat, Mikoto looked away and buried her face in Haruhime's sweater-wearing stomach. Apparently, she mumbled something since Haruhime laughed and pushed her face away.

"You're going to have to repeat yourself, dear," said Haruhime.

Mikoto blushed, not looking Welf or Lili in the eye.

"Actually, I would like to watch Home Alone," she said.

Lili and Welf frowned but then resumed their argument with each other. While that happened, Bell looked to Haruhime.

"Which one do you want to watch?" asked Bell. "I'm guessing it's something totally different from everyone else."

Haruhime nodded. "I would like to see the original Miracle on 34th Street. What about yourself, Bell?"

Bell shrugged, slouching into the couch. "Personally, I want to watch Elf, but I also don't care enough to try and insert myself into that argument." He pointed at Lili and Welf. "They can't even hear us right now."

Haruhime shrugged. "Maybe Hestia can be the tiebreaker?"

As if she had been summoned, Hestia backed through the swinging door. In her hands was a tray of freshly cut sandwiches. Bell's mouth started to water when he saw them. It was like Hestia was some kind of Goddess of food or housework. She just had a knack for it. And there, squished between the diminutive girl's ear and shoulder, was a cellphone.

"No, babe, you're not listening," said Hestia. "This is family night in the house. You can't just barge in." Loki, Hestia's girlfriend, responded. "No, not even if you're horny. Why don't you just do something with your housemates?" Hestia put the tray down and rolled her eyes. "Besides getting drunk with Gareth." Apparently, Loki finally said something that Hestia agreed with because she was nodding now. "Perfect, that sounds wonderful. Ok, I'm going to watch my movie now; I'll call you after. Uh-huh, love you too, bye."

Hestia put the phone away before plopping herself down next to Bell and picking up a sandwich. She took a bit and glanced over at Bell.

"So, did those two decide on a movie yet? Or are we debating if Die Hard counts?" asked Hestia.

Bell sighed. "Still debating Die Hard." He picked a sandwich up off the platter. "Do you have a preference?"

Hestia shrugged. "I mean, not really, but why don't we just watch something like the Charlie Brown Christmas Special? Who doesn't love that one?"

Bell smiled. Yeah, that one was pretty great. He had a lot of fond memories of that one, especially with Hestia. Back when it was just the two of them living together in a small rinky-dink apartment, they had gotten an honest to God Charlie Brown Christmas tree. It was horrible and everything. However, they had loved it and proceeded to sing carols and play the goofy little soundtrack for days. He felt his eyes almost getting wet at the nostalgic thoughts. They weren't the best of times, but they were good times. He looked over to find Hestia smiling back.

"Now come on," she said. "If you start to cry, I'm going to start to cry. And we haven't even started the movie yet!"

Hestia leaned her head on Bell's shoulder. Once upon a time, it would have made him nervous. The two had danced around some feelings for each other for a while, after all. But now, it made him happy. She had Loki, he had Ais, and they both had this tiny family of theirs. Bell looked over at Welf and Lili having one of their arguments (which they both secretly loved) and then over at Mikoto and Haruhime trading sandwich slices.

"Hey guys," said Bell, raising his voice. "Hestia wants to watch the Charlie Brown Christmas. Since she made dinner, how about we let her choose, yeah?" He looked around the room. "Besides, can anyone here say that they hate Charlie Brown?"

Welf just smiled. "No complaints here. I used to watch that one all the time!"

Mikoto smiled. "I remember, back when I was little, and I used to get Christmas dinner at the soup kitchen, the pianist was always playing the Charlie Brown theme!"

Lili nodded along, sharing the same memory. They weren't exactly happy, but they were part of the two young women's lives. And Bell could often feel the same way. Some of his only memories with his mother involved Charlie Brown music.

Haruhime clapped her hands. "I love Charlie Brown!"

Hestia went to get the DVD, and everyone settled in for a Christmas classic.

The End

The quilt of the boy and his best friend went down, and it was almost done. There were only two days left for Hestia to do. She smiled down at the story and the joy that it brought. After all, it was the holidays, and family was necessary for a reason. No matter what happened, if your family was found or forged, everyone could agree that the holidays were the time to spend with them.

Hestia looked at the empty room, where the fire was getting low. Yes, it was essential to spend time with family during the holidays.