I do not own Hetalia okay? I know it's a long story so far, but I thank all of you for reading so far. Honestly one of the best things of my day is when I see that you read it and even better for kudos, reviews, faves, alerts and so on. So yeah. Anyway, enough of this A/N, on with the fic!
"Okay, Santa's over the ocean now, so you had better get to bed right away." Alfred said as the twins watched the television in their pajamas, trying to keep an eye out for Santa. It was the NORAD tracks Santa that had fascinated Alfred since he was a child which eventually led him to want to get into aerospace engineering as he got older, since because of his vision he was denied the dream of flying fighter jets himself. But he eventually came to terms with the fact that if he couldn't fly them, he could design them and work on better ways for them to fly.
"Awwwww, do we have to?" Nikita asked.
"What if we want to meet Santa? We'll be extra good and help grand pear do the dishes after baking! He's bound to like the Butterbeer cookies that grandpa wanted to make. Just like that grand pear made them rather than grandpa." Dimitri said while Arthur looked defeated.
"You can only make pumpkin bread mon cher. Which is baffling to me why you cannot bake anything else…." Francis mused.
"Oh, bugger off." Arthur said. "If you knew anything about scones." He scoffed. As the end of the Grinch played. "Well, as your fathers said it is time to go to bed children."
"Awwwww Grandpa, do we have to?" Nikita begged. She had pleaded this before, wanting to stay up and meet Santa, but Alfred and Ivan had decided the only holiday being they were going to meet was Ded Moroz. It was planned well to keep the illusion. Ivan and Natalya were going to "get a headache" and then change into the outfits. Katyusha tailored the costumes so that they would fit better and look less like a cheap mass-produced costume and more like a real outfit. It was easy to hide that that "Ded Moroz" was played by Ivan by slapping a fake beard on. But for Natalya to play Snegurochka, and not look like Natalya in a Snegurochka costume, Katyusha added a scarf that went up to her nose.
"No, and even though he's still flying over the Atlantic, Santa's still watching. No trying to sneak anything in over him." Alfred said scooping her up.
"Da," Ivan nodded. "Now it is bedtime for you both."
"Okay Papa." Dimitri said as Nikita followed his lead, not wanting her brother to get better gifts than her because he acted better. As they headed to the bedroom, Dimitri looked over Ivan's shoulder. "Don't forget the milk and cookies!"
"Of course not!" Francis said as he had a plate of the cookies that he and the twins had baked in one hand and a glass of milk in the other. "Now you two, go place this over here by the tree." Dimitri took the glass and Nikita the plate and placed them on a stand near the tree. "And now, like your fathers said, off to bed."
"Okay grand pear!" Dimitri and Nikita said as Alfred and Ivan scooped them up.
"I swear, the way those two can talk simultaneously like that, it amazes me." Alfred smiled.
"Oh, you and Mathieu did this a lot as children." Francis said. "It's something that twins do."
"I don't remember that." Alfred said as he looked over at Ivan who was smirking. "What's that look for?"
"I knew it." Ivan said. "It is a twin thing."
"Whatever." Alfred sighed. "Let's go get you two to bed." He said as they took the twins to bed. "Sleep tight so that Santa will come." Ivan took Nikita and put her in the top bunk as Alfred did with Dimitri. "I have a feeling Santa will bring you something you really really wished for."
"Can you tell us Papa? Did Santa or Ded Moroz tell you what we're getting?" Nikita asked looking at Ivan hopefully that he would let something slip that Alfred did not.
"No, I cannot." He said as he tucked her and the bear in the Cubs jersey in. "It would spoil the surprise. Santa and Ded Moroz tell us so we don't get you two of the same things, but makes us swear under utmost secrecy that we will not tell you, right?" He asked Alfred.
"Oh yeah." Alfred added. "It's a super special secret that can't be broken at all. Couldn't tell you even if we wanted to." He added ruffling Dimitri's hair.
"Besides, it's not too much longer." Ivan smiled placing a kiss on Nikita's forehead before bending down to do the same for Dimitri, "It will be tomorrow before you know it once you go to sleep."
"Okay Papa." The twins said at the same time as Ivan laughed.
"Spokoynoy nochi malyshi. Priyatnykh snov." He said as he took Alfred's shoulder and headed out the bedroom, turning off the light.
Walking a distance from the room, Alfred smiled and thumped Ivan on the back knowing that they were out of hearing range of the twins who might not be fully asleep yet. "So, Ded Moroz, got the kid's gifts."
"Well Santa," Ivan said playing along with the theme. "You will recall we asked Francis and Arthur to keep the children's gifts here so we could easily put them out."
"Indeed." Alfred said as he headed back to the living room to find Francis and Arthur sitting there.
"The twins are in bed now?" Arthur asked as Alfred nodded.
"It's quite a nice idea you two had to have the bunk bed in there." Ivan said.
"Well, your papa and I have grown to rather enjoy grandchildren and hope they spend a lot of time with us as they grow up." Arthur said.
"You get to spoil them then leave us to clean up after." Alfred joked.
"Yes…" Arthur scowled. "But anyway, tomorrow Matthew and Katyusha will bring Charlotte over and Lucille will be visiting as well."
"Cool." Alfred said.
"And I was able to obtain some Christmas Crackers. It has been a while." Arthur smiled as Alfred looked excited. Ivan looked confused as he saw the box Arthur had nearby.
"These aren't actual crackers, more like mini firecrackers," Alfred explained. "And they pop and have little toys, stupid little paper crowns, but they are fun, and Dad couldn't always get ahold of them. They're from England so it's not an easy thing to get ahold of."
"Exactly." Arthur explained. "But with the internet, I can order these things and I figured the twins would have fun with them." He noticed Ivan's concerns. "Don't worry, if you don't stare directly at it, it won't hurt the children. Alfred never hurt himself with them and you know he can always find a way to do something like that."
"Dad!" Alfred blushed as Ivan laughed.
"You're right with that one." Ivan smirked as Alfred looked on annoyed. The next few hours were spent talking about what Christmas was like when Alfred and Matthew were little and Ivan explaining what his family did for their traditions but at the same time after his great uncle had died, the occasions were smaller and done with what often could be bought cheap at discount and secondhand stores or even if it could be done, just handmade. Ivan's favorite scarf was one that Katyusha had made for him one year, and knowing how he had been disruptive to her in the year and she still, despite how long and hard she had to work, found time to make things for both him and Natalya made the scarf special to him. They were all extremely excited for Christmas and were hoping that everyone would like what they had gotten for each other, and wondered what Lucille might bring, after the fact that Francis said she told him that she was bringing gifts for everyone.
Looking up at the clock, Arthur jumped up, seeing it was nearly eleven at night. "Oh, dear god!" he said as he got up and headed to the bedroom where he and Francis had stored the gifts to leave out, balancing the Molly doll on top of the box that had the remote controlled Trex in it. "Can one of you bloody help me?" Arthur said as Francis got up and grabbed the box with the doll and placed it by the tree. "I already labeled them from Santa."
"What about the gift from Santa for Charlotte?" Francis asked.
"Bloody hell…." Arthur said as he ran back and grabbed a toy called Sophie La Giraffe. "Here."
"Merci." Francis said as he added a tag from Santa and bow and set them out. "And Matthew and Katyusha will be over about seven so we will open gifts about eight or so. So, get the twins up around then."
"Can do." Alfred said as he took a bite from the cookies leaving a little bit to show Santa had been there, and downed the milk quickly. Ivan sighed. "What?"
"You ate most all the cookies….." Ivan said.
"There's more in the kitchen if you want some Ded Moroz." Alfred teased. "But if I don't eat these, then they won't know Santa was here or think that their grandpa made the cookies and then they think there will be nothing but coal for them."
"I swear Santa…." Ivan sighed as he headed to the kitchen and got himself a cookie. "The twins are good bakers with your help Francis."
"Told you they were Ded Moroz." Alfred laughed.
"I was wrong to doubt you Santa…." Ivan sighed.
Meanwhile, Nikita had her ear to the door after waking up in the middle of the night, and sneaking to the bathroom unnoticed by her fathers and grandfathers. She thought she heard something about Santa and Ded Moroz. "Dimitri, he's here and I think Ded Moroz is helping Santa."
"Come on Niki, I don't want Santa and Ded Moroz never to come again, get back to bed." He said as he got up and tugged on his sister's arm.
"But Dimitri….." She whined.
"Niki, we'll know in the morning." He said. "Remember what Daddy and Papa said."
Sighing, she turned to her brother, who looked at her seriously, something he hardly did as he often went along with her ideas. But he had wanted that Jurassic Park truck so badly and was not about to let his twin sister ruin it for him. "Come on Dimitri" She moaned. "We can listen."
"Well….." He began to think that there was nothing that they were told against that. He placed his ear to the door next to his sister and listened in. ""But if I don't eat these, then they won't know Santa was here or think that their grandpa made the cookies and then they think there will be nothing but coal for them."
"Santa likes the cookies." Nikita said. Pressing their ears harder, they heard more. ""Told you they were Ded Moroz. I was wrong to doubt you Santa…."
"They're both here." Dimitri said.
"I guess Santa needed some help. I mean that's a lot of gifts he has to bring…." Nikita said.
Hearing footsteps, he grabbed his sister and dragged her back to the bunk bed. "Get up there! They might be coming this way and might take back our gifts if they check and we're not asleep. Or it could be Daddy and Papa and Santa and Ded Moroz might ask them!"
"They wouldn't do that….." Nikita asserted but started to doubt herself as she did recall Alfred telling her that Santa called the house and told them the gifts they were getting. Would Santa call to ask about how they were behaving? Was that how he knew about if they were good or bad? Thinking on this, she ran to the bunk bed, climbed up the ladder, got under the blankets, and closed her eyes tighter than normal, hoping it would put her into an extra sleepy state so that they would not be caught. As soon as her eyes were closed, she heard the door open.
"Nikita? Dimitri?" Ivan asked as he and Alfred headed into the room.
"See, they're asleep," Alfred said. "Like we should be."
"You're right." Ivan said as he kissed Nikita and Dimitri on the forehead as they 'slept.' "Good night little ones." He said following Alfred out the door.
Once they were satisfied that the door was shut and thought no one would open the door, Nikita woke up and shook Dimitri. "What?" He asked annoyed.
"Was it just me or did Santa and Ded Moroz sound like Daddy and Papa?" She asked nervously.
"Might be because we were listening though the door." Dimitri suggested. "Now go to bed." He said.
Seeing her brother's explanation made some sense to her, she nodded. "Okay." She said as she got up and climbed back into the bed and began to slip off into a dream wondering what the morning would hold and if Santa and Ded Moroz would bring what they wanted.
The next day, Arthur and Francis woke up early to make sure they were ready for their guests. Lucille had not been able to quite give them an exact time that she would be there, but would try to get there before they had planned to open the gifts. Arthur had gotten up earlier than Francis and headed to the kitchen to make his usual breakfast tea when he heard a knock at the door. "Bloody hell….." He moaned as the kettle was put on the stove to heat up when he headed to the door and opened it up.
"Oh, you weren't expecting me this early were you?" Lucille asked as she noticed Arthur's messy hair and bags under his eyes with his pajamas still on.
"Nope." Arthur said. "But come in." He sighed. Looking over at Lucille, he couldn't imagine how she could look so well put together this early in the morning. She was a business professional and worked in tourism and travel, so he assumed there would have been times she needed to be up early and look good.
"I have the gifts in the car." Lucille said. "I can go get them if you want."
"I'll help in a few minutes." Arthur said. "Francis is getting ready. Once the gifts are opened, then I we will have breakfast. He's making pancakes. Easy enough and the twins and Matthew love them." He heard the kettle whistle, and he poured it into the cup with a sigh.
"I brought Matthew some Maple Syrup from Quebec." Lucille said. "I know how much he loves maple things, and that Canadian Maple is his favorite. He claims that he can tell what's from Canada and what's from Vermont."
"Yes, that boy can be picky on that." Arthur said as he took a sip of his tea. "I do hope you do not mind, but I need to freshen up if you are here. I am not quite dressed for the occasion."
"Go ahead," Lucille said as she sat down and picked a magazine from the rack to look at while she waited for Francis and Arthur to spend some time with her before the twins were going to unwrap the gifts. Francis headed out of the bedroom, dressed ready for the holiday occasion, and saw Lucille sitting on the couch. "Oh! Bonjour!" She waved at her older brother.
"Oh Lucille," Francis jumped in surprise. "I was not expecting you this early."
"Everything aligned perfectly for me to come when I did." Lucille smiled. "I also am surprised the twins are not up yet. I see Santa has been here." She smiled pointing at the gifts.
"We set the time at 8 so that would allow Katyusha and Mathieu to come at 7 like they said they would." Francis said. "And Alfred and Ivan are going to make sure they get up and get dressed."
"Can you help me get the gifts from the car? I have one for everyone." Lucille said.
"Sure." Francis said as he got up and followed her to her car, where she handed a bag with some smaller gifts to him and grabbed a bigger box. "Is this all?"
"Not quite…." Lucille said. "The bag has gifts for Mathieu, Katyusha, Alfred and Ivan there, and I have another bag for you and Arthur and the twins, but I got an activity table for Charlotte and it's a little big…." She said as she pulled a large, wrapped box out from the back seat. She carried it in, using her Chanel pump to open the door, and walked inside.
"Geesh taunt Lucille," Matthew said. "What do you have there?"
"Something that is for Charlotte." She smiled as she placed it by the tree. "And I see Papa Noel was here last night for her and the twins…." Reaching out, she took Charlotte from Katyusha and smiled as the baby giggled. "I see you're ready for Christmas, are you not?"
Meanwhile, Alfred and Ivan were helping Dimitri and Nikita get dressed in their Christmas outfits, with Nikita growing to like the dress that she once despised when she was told she was a Christmas princess. Alfred adjust the headband with the green bow and ran after her while Ivan was still helping Dimitri finish getting dressed himself. While normally the calmer twin, the allure of Christmas gifts was making it harder for him to stay still. He wanted to tell his daddy and papa what he and Nikita heard the night before, but it was not worth the risk. Ded Moroz and Santa called them, he remembered. Daddy and Papa might tattle on us when we didn't try to catch Santa and Ded Moroz, but we weren't asleep. But Santa wouldn't want Nikita wetting the bed. He tried to justify it to himself. But the worry was eating him up. "Papa?" Dimitri asked.
"Yes?" Ivan smiled.
"If one of us had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, would Santa skip the house?" He asked worried.
"Why do you ask?" Ivan smiled as Dimitri looked down.
"Nikita went to the bathroom in the middle of the night." Dimitri said.
"Oh, you." Ivan smiled. "No, Santa has ways for you to not notice him if you are going to the bathroom. He won't get mad you had to go potty." Dimitri went from worried to a wide smile. He still wasn't going to tell his fathers what he and Nikita heard, but it made him feel better that her having to go to the bathroom, which started her eavesdropping wouldn't be punished in Santa's eyes. He then ran from Ivan's arm to where Nikita and Lucille were munching on a butterbeer cookie that she was proud she had helped make.
"So, looks like the family is all here!" Arthur said as Nikita and Dimitri looked over at the gifts under the tree. "And you see Santa came here last night." Arthur said as the twins looked enviously at the gifts. "Now, let's start the celebration….." He said as he heard a knock at the door. "Who would that be now?" He asked as Francis and Matthew shrugged.
"Natalya was spending Christmas with Toris and Feliks." Katyusha added.
"Well, I don't know who it would be….." Arthur said as he opened the door, stunned in silence. A tall man with mahogany brown hair stood looking at him. "Allistor?" he asked.
"Ummmmm…..surprise! Merry Christmas…..didn't know everyone was here….." Allistor said. "Took a bit to find the place, what using the return address on your Christmas card…."
"Come in…." Arthur said, startled his least favorite brother made such a long journey to surprise everyone. "I am sure we have enough for an additional person, right Francis?"
"Oui…." Francis said in surprise.
Translation Guide:
(Obtained via google Translate)
Spokoynoy nochi malyshi. Priyatnykh snov. -Russian- Good night little ones. Pleasant dreams.
So how was that? Good? Bad? Short? Long? Let me know in a review. Yeah it just hit me to add in that bit at the end, but hey this story is all about family. We met Lucille, so let's throw in one of Arthur's brothers. I don't know how fast I can update, what with work and school going on right now and it's busy so hard to juggle both. But I will update, don't you worry. Anyway, that aside, remember to read (well you just did) and to review. Ciao for now,
Otherrealmwriter
Aka
Realm.