This exists partially because it's oc day, but mostly because I promised the lovely dragonpearlninja that I'd write her something involving Cole and my oc Daphne for her birthday, which… Was actually several weeks ago. So. I was kinda behind, but I'm super excited to announce that I've finally finished your gift fic, sweetie! You're a phenomenal twin/brain/beta/Co conspirator and I can't imagine life without you! This fic might be considered a tiny spoiler for my upcoming story Twisted, as Daphne technically makes her debut in it. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this incredibly dorky fic featuring Cole's many questions about barbie. It was super fun to write!

"All I'm saying is that there are a few things that are never fully explained," Cole commented as he reached over to steal some of Daphne's popcorn. She pretended not to notice.

"Oh?" she said, raising an eyebrow. They had just finished watching Barbie in the Nutcracker for their weekly movie night and she was curious about which part of this cinematic masterpiece had inspired this comment.

"Well, for one, was the Nutcracker storyline itself just a story Barbie told her sister?" Cole asked through a mouthful of popcorn, "or did it actually happen?"

Daphne considered this for a moment before answering.

"I always kinda figured it was both? Like, maybe Clara was Barbie's great grandmother or something and the story got passed down to her and then she told it to Kelly?"

Cole hummed thoughtfully and took another handful of popcorn. He was lucky she had already eaten her fill or she would have stopped him by now.

"I guess that makes sense. There's nothing that says that's not what happened, at least." He allowed, though he didn't seem fully convinced by her theory. Oh, well. Mattel was never going to give them concrete answers, which meant she was free to use creative licensing as she saw fit.

"Another thing, how could Clara have been the Sugar Plum Fairy when she wasn't from Parthenia?" Cole wanted to know next. Daphne gave him a sideways look.

"Magic seems like the most obvious answer to that one. Somehow the magic of Parthenia chose her to be the Sugar Plum Fairy." She stated simply. He shrugged.

"Yeah. I guess magic can explain away pretty much anything, huh?"

"Like you have any room to talk, Mr. Spinjitzu Master Who Has a Pet Dragon." Daphne said, rolling her eyes.

"Hey. I'll have you know that Rocky Jr. isn't a pet. He's more of a… friend. A friend who acts like a giant puppy sometimes, sure, but that's irrelevant." Cole insisted, looking insulted. She laughed and threw a piece of popcorn at him.

"Okay, that's fair. Any other burning questions about Barbie you want answered?" the pink haired girl asked.

"As a matter of fact, yes," he answered almost immediately, "What is Aunt Drosselmeyer's connection to Parthenia. She obviously has one if she was the one to give Clara the Nutcracker doll and reunite her with Eric at the end of the movie."

"That's… something I think about a lot, actually. I've, um… never really come up with a solid explanation for that one?" admitted Daphne, feeling a little silly as she realized how much time she'd spent theorizing about this very thing.

"Well, then. I guess we'll have to figure it out together." Cole told her with a smile. Entertained by his dedication, she returned it with one of her own.

"Sounds like a plan to me," she agreed, giggling. They sat in silence for a few minutes, each trying to come up with a reasonable explanation for Aunt Drosselmeyer's role in the plot. Finally, Cole spoke.

"What if I was wrong earlier when I assumed that Clara wasn't Parthenian?"

"Huh?" Daphne murmured, not fully processing what he'd just said.

"What if… Clara's mother and Aunt Drosselmeyer are both from Parthenia originally but came to England because Clara's mother fell in love with a human? And that's why Clara was able to become the Sugar Plum Fairy, and how Aunt Drosselmeyer knew about Eric…" Cole continued, giving a more detailed explanation.

"That… works surprisingly well," Daphne exclaimed, nearly knocking the now empty bowl of popcorn to the floor in excitement, "it would explain an awful lot… do you think that's why Aunt Drosselmeyer travels so much? Because she's magical?"

He nodded in agreement.

"The lady's got connections, that's for sure."

"I think it's safe to say you're not wrong," declared Daphne.

They both laughed as she snuggled against him.

"This is really nice..." Cole murmured after a moment.

"It is," Daphne agreed, "maybe next time we should watch our version of the Nutcracker and see if we have any more unanswered questions to over invest in."

"After Jay found a recording at my dad's house and played it for all of us… I'm not so sure I can handle watching it again." Cole protested, much to her disappointment.

"It couldn't have been that bad…" she tried.

"Do you not remember how badly my voice cracked the entire time? They thought it was the most hilarious thing ever." He explained with a groan.

"I thought it was cute," Daphne told him matter of factly.

"it sucks that the others bugged you about it so much, though." She continued, but Cole didn't seem to hear her.

"You… you thought my voice cracks were cute?" he repeated, sounding surprised.

"Well, yeah. There was just something about the way your voice sounded that made me-" noticing the look on Cole's face, Daphne shook her head and flushed, "I'm gonna stop talking now."

"But what if I don't want you to?" the master of earth teased with a wink. She turned an even brighter red as she uttered a quiet "um…"

"Okay, okay, I'll let it go. I guess we can watch the recording if it really means that much to you. I'm beginning to wonder if one of the Oppenheimers took a bit too much inspiration from barbie, anyway." Cole relented, mercifully. Daphne's jaw dropped.

"You what?!"

"Think about it, Daph. There's no way Sergeant Sugar and Private Patty were just a coincidence." He insisted, looking completely serious. It was in this moment that Daphne realized that watching Barbie in the Nutcracker had simultaneously been the best and worst idea she'd had in a long time. She dissolved into a fit of laughter as she tried to process this latest revelation, happy to let herself get carried away with theorizing once again, as long as Cole was there to join her in the insanity.