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°o° °o° °o°
DECEMBER 24TH
"I can't help but notice we have lost track of all of our children." Primrose craned her neck above what she could of the people around her in search of the band of 20-somethings she and Hazel had hauled down to Florida the day before.
Everyone had easily agreed to spend Christmas Eve exploring Epcot. The park was drenched in Christmas cheer-garland, lights, and holiday-themed decorations were strung up along the buildings, and beautifully intricate topiaries carved into the shape of festive Disney characters dotted the front entrance. There were people in Santa Mickey hats absolutely everywhere (The Cat in the Hat had already purchased at least three Christmas-themed ear hats and shoved Thumbelina's Mother into one by some miracle of the season), and the smell of gingerbread was only drowned out by the mouth-watering smell of pastries coming from multiple pavilions in the World Showcase.
"They said they had a surprise planned, and to meet them at the World Showcase." Hazel replied, grinning slightly. "I saw them sprinting out of the hotel an hour ago just so they could beat us here."
"Why did we bring them all, again?" Primrose asked. Hazel threw an arm around her shoulders and pressed a kiss to the side of her head.
"Because we love them," he said into her hair, squeezing her shoulder as they made their way past the massive, dancing fountain at the centre of Epcot's Future World and headed towards their true destination: the food and drinks.
Hazel wasn't wrong. What was once a flicker of an idea in Primrose's eye had become one massive, pseudo-family vacation for Christmas. While Primrose had arranged for Dimitri to bring Vladimir, Hazel had the frankly Herculean task of organizing his adopted (adult) charges and their significant others. Primrose was secretly thrilled Anastasia and The Cat in the Hat were accompanying David and Thumbelina's Mother, respectively-she liked David's boyfriend and his kind, strong soul, and obviously had more than a soft spot for Dimitri's longtime friend and Thumbelina's Mother's new girlfriend. The whole lot of them had formed some strange, mashed up family over the years, and so what had started with just Primrose and Dimitri after Jake's death had bloomed into a network of misfits somehow headed up by Primrose and Hazel (even if Primrose and Hazel had only officially gotten together a year and a half ago, and even if their "kids" were all grown into their 20s and definitely no longer the rowdy teenagers they'd once been).
The flight there had been largely uneventful (save for The Cat in the Hat shouting "DISNEY WORLD!" every chance she got), and their arrival at the Animal Kingdom Lodge both easy and massively impressive, thanks to the tree sitting in the lobby that was higher than Primrose could even begin to guess. Primrose and Hazel had checked everyone in ahead of time and immediately headed for their room with a king-size bed that rivalled their one back home, and promptly collapsed in a tangled heap within its sheets to sleep a solid eight hours straight after their day of travel and trying to keep track of seven different adults through two different airports.
Now that their first official day at Disney World was here, Hazel and Primrose handed over the planning reigns to the kids and let them run wild. No one was particularly interested in the rides in Epcot (Soarin', which both Anastasia and Vladimir wanted to ride, was closed for refurbishments and thus off the list from the start), but everyone was aggressively interested in taking on the tried and true Disney Challenge: Drinking Around the World.
And apparently, they even had t-shirts.
"Oh my god!" Primrose burst out laughing as she spotted the lot of them all assembled and ready to take on Epcot. Now she understood why they'd insisted on meeting inside the park instead of at the hotel: this visual was much funnier. "I can't believe you got everyone in those."
"This is the greatest shirt I have ever owned," The Cat in the Hat said, pulling the tank away from her stomach to read the words "drink, drank, drunk around the world" written in a sparkling, silver Disney font over its front. Dimitri, Vladimir, and David all sported matching ones, too, and even the boys had a slightly toned-down version on (heather grey with a plain white font). Dimitri and Vladimir had both tucked theirs into high-waisted pairs of black shorts-which Primrose suspected were David's design-with Dimitri's finished off with a thin gold belt Primrose had never seen before.
"I'm so glad we missed this particular fashion memo." Hazel looked relieved that he was safe in his faded navy v-neck and jeans.
"Are you kidding? I got one for you both, but Dimitri said Primrose would never go for it." The Cat in the Hat narrowed a glare at both Griffin women. Primrose didn't feel an ounce of regret at Dimitri's executive decision to let Primrose off the t-shirt hook. She was unbelievably happy in her casual, flowing black jumpsuit and flats...although, yes, a tiny part of her thought it may have been fun to just dive into The Cat in the Hat's shenanigans head-first. She wasn't going to tell her that, though. "You do look cute in that jumpsuit though, Primrose. Very Disney chic."
"It has pockets!" Primrose exclaimed, shoving her hands in the soft fabric's pockets and showing them to the girls. All four looked incredibly jealous (David's black leather trimmed leggings were definitely without pockets, but she'd made up for it by shoving everything she needed into some sleek-looking black and gold clutch). The five women had once spent a rousing night debating the merits of fake pockets while they helped David design the next set of ready-to-wear pieces for she and Thumbelina's Mother's design house, and thus had bonded fiercely over the subject.
"And I'm fun sometimes," Primrose added.
For some reason, Vladimir started laughing.
"I have heard that exact protest from Dimitri." Dimitri immediately glared at her girlfriend.
"Like mother, like daughter, yadda yadda yadda," David said, bouncing on her toes with an unending well of energy inside her. "Start walking, and someone explain the rules."
Canada
They started in Canada. Primrose was immediately puzzled why they were walking counter-clockwise, but Thumbelina's Mother explained easily as he passed around Labatts for everyone.
"This is how some of the Cast Members do it. Start in Canada, end in Canada. We'll head for Mexico next, then Norway, China, Japan, Germany, Italy, America, Morocco, France, England, and Canada again." He held his beer up, and all 8 raised their plastic cups of beer in a silent toast before they all took long pulls from the golden liquid.
Primrose sipped hers and immediately wished for wine. She not-so-slyly farmed the rest of her beer off on Hazel, who was happy to carry hers as he sipped at his own.
"Right," The Cat in the Hat said, chugging hers down in three deep swallows and crushing the cup in her fist. "Next."
Mexico
"Next" was tequila in the dark, crowded tequila bar in Mexico. Primrose eyed the small shot in front of her warily for a moment, steeling herself until she was truly prepared, and then easily knocked it back before Hazel had even received his. Beside her, Dimitri was doing the exact same to Vladimir's own astonishment.
"See! We can be fun sometimes!" Dimitri announced, handing a lime over for Primrose to suck. Hazel leaned over and kissed Primrose's hair before taking his own.
He coughed immediately.
"Griffins hold their liquor better," Primrose shrugged, grinning as she rubbed Hazel' back.
"Griffins have a higher tolerance for shitty tequila," Anastasia said, squinting along with David as they eyed their own shots with suspicion.
The Cat in the Hat slammed her glass on the table. "They were five bucks, and I had to use each of your twitter accounts to follow La Cava del Tequila's account to get that discount. DRINK."
Norway
Norway had wine. Primrose liked Norway.
The outdoor eatery she was sitting in was thankfully shaded from the sun and offered a bit of quiet from the din of the crowd wandering past the pavilion in search of booze and food. The others were all still inside, ordering what the menu informed her were called 'glacier shots'. The name alone made Primrose doubt their little group was going to survive the day in one piece.
"I got us a...thing." Hazel came up behind her carrying some sort of pastry, as well as a Viking Coffee with Bailey's in it.
"Does the thing have chocolate?" Primrose asked, sipping her chardonnay happily. She accepted his kiss as he sat down and slid a pretzel at her. It was covered in chocolate and icing and dotted with glazed raisins. It was perfect.
"The thing has chocolate," Hazel nodded. He pulled off a chunk and bit into it, then nodded to himself as he took a gulp of coffee to wash the pretzel down. "Raisins ruin perfectly good pastries."
"Bite your tongue." Primrose pulled her own chunk off and popped it in her mouth.
It was sweet and salty at the same time, and the chocolate melted on her tongue like butter. If she hadn't already tried the cream cheese pretzel in the Magic Kingdom, she'd have declared this her new favourite pretzel of all time. Alas, the pretzel from Tomorrowland still had her heart.
"I'll bite something," Hazel smirked, voice low. Primrose felt herself flush even as she rolled her eyes; the man was insufferable, especially when he knew he could rile her up and not have to face the consequences for ages. She was interrupted by the voice of her daughter bursting out into the warm air.
"SHOTS!" Dimitri's voice called out as they filed into the patio and scattered around Primrose and Hazel. Primrose's pretzel disappeared into The Cat in the Hat and David's mouths while Thumbelina's Mother and Anastasia stole sips from Hazel' coffee.
"Buy your own food!" Hazel yelped, retrieving his coffee from the boys. He sighed and downed the little that was left as Primrose watched the rest of them toast with their glacier shots and down them as one.
"I don't know why we brought you." Hazel sighed. Thumbelina's Mother slapped him on the back and grinned down at him with a look that told Primrose he was about to be a smart ass.
"You needed someone to look after you, old man. You gotta keep up with the young 'ins if you wanna play this game."
Primrose laughed at the look on Hazel' face for a solid two minutes.
China
The Jeweled Dragon Acrobats stepped into the pavilion just as they arrived. Primrose, Anastasia, and David all stopped to watch the gathered performers flip, spin, juggle, and jump underneath the beautiful, intricate arch of the China pavilion, awe on their faces as the acrobats topped act after act in front of their eyes.
"Have you ever tried plum wine?" Primrose heard Hazel ask as he slid up behind her, handing her a plastic wine glass full of a deep red liquid. He slipped one arm around her waist and Primrose settled against him as she sniffed the wine and took a tentative sip.
"No, but I like it. Try," Primrose held the glass up for Hazel to take a small sip. He grimaced.
"Nope." He took a drink from the beer in his hand to wash the taste away. "Not my favourite."
"You are so picky today," Primrose laughed. Hazel was usually the one diving headfirst into whatever new food they'd found, but today he seemed a bit...off. "What's wrong, Hazel?"
Hazel looked down at her upturned face and smiled, softly, planting a kiss to her lips in what she figured was meant to be reassurance.
"Absolutely nothing, Primrose. I promise."
Primrose was about to call him on it further when The Cat in the Hat sidled up beside them holding a beer identical to Hazel'.
"Just get married already," she sighed, not even making eye contact with them as she drank.
Primrose tried hard not to tense while tucked underneath Hazel' chin-they hadn't had the marriage discussion properly, not really. Yes, Primrose had stopped wearing Jake's ring, and yes, Hazel had said he saw them getting married and growing old together and getting into arguments in the old folk's home they were apparently destined for at some point, but they hadn't really talked rings, or...god, even talked to Dimitri, or Thumbelina's Mother and David. Primrose certainly wanted to marry Hazel, that much was clear after a year and a half of dating (and five of trying to bizarrely co-parent the brood they'd found themselves with). He was it, he was the only man she wanted to be with. But did Hazel want to marry Primrose? Sure, he'd talked about it, but he'd been very good at being stunningly single for so long…
"Beers, beers, beers," Thumbelina's Mother's voice declared, and then drinks were being passed to those who chose to stay and watch the acrobats flip through the air at dizzying speeds. Primrose shook all marriage thoughts from her mind. Now was not the time. Now was Christmas with her (drunk) kids and spending time with Hazel. She'd save the slightly stressful, future-deciding thoughts for when they weren't all on vacation, maybe.
Or maybe not at all.
Yeah, that sounded good.
Germany
Germany had the following things: caramel, a Christmas store, Oktoberfest snacks, and tiaras.
The tiaras were the most important, or so The Cat in the Hat said.
Second to the drinks.
"Who wants jaeger?" Anastasia asked, standing at the front of the cart just inside the pavilion and counting hands as they went up. "Okay, so four of you are interested in dying, that's good to know. David, The Cat in the Hat, and I will have the Oktoberfest...thing-yeah, the beer, and-Primrose! Kane! What are you drinking?"
Primrose quickly catalogued her current state - a few sips of beer and two wines down, with a bit of pretzel to line her stomach. So, barely buzzed, but needing food.
"Water!" Primrose called. She turned to Hazel, who nodded the same. "Two waters!"
"CHICKENS!" David yelled. Primrose rolled her eyes at the girl and took Hazel' hand to lead him to wherever the delicious aroma of caramel was coming from.
It was a Werther's pastry shop, packed to the brim with both people, and every delicious, sticky, sweet smelling caramel treat imaginable. Primrose almost went weak in the knees at the sight of the milk chocolate and salted caramel square sitting so perfectly framed in gold foil in the display window.
"Hazel," Primrose breathed, looking around the warm shop with bated breath. "I'm never leaving this place."
"Well, we had a good run." Hazel dutifully followed her through the line, letting her hand pull him along past the cast members tossing popcorn and drizzling caramel onto chocolate-covered s'mores. "You know what, scratch that. I'm happy staying here forever, too."
Primrose hummed happily as she scanned the case in front of her for the little slice of heaven she knew she wanted. She quickly ordered the square from the smiling girl behind the counter, then waited for Hazel to make up his own mind. He finally landed on the dark chocolate bacon square (Primrose could have seen that coming a mile away) and paid for them both with the MagicBand attached to her wrist.
"Let them warm a little outside," the cashier said while wrapping both treats in a clear plastic box. "They will be easier to eat."
"We promise," Primrose smiled.
They wandered back out into the sunny pavilion, where their group of charges were all chattering away around a large sitting area lined with bushes. The girls had all apparently acquired intricate tiaras in their brief absence-even Vladimir, normally so serious, was happily sporting one over her wild curls.
Primrose and Hazel sat down next to Thumbelina's Mother, and Hazel became immediately engrossed with whispering to boy in a way that Primrose figured he thought was subtle, but was decidedly not. She chose to ignore his attempted sneakiness and reached over for the waters Thumbelina's Mother had gotten them, instead-
"Mom," Dimitri whined. Primrose looked up at Dimitri's tone at once and sighed as she saw Dimitri attempting to adjust the thin leather of her gold-plated belt. "Help."
"What have you done, kid?" Primrose pulled Dimitri over by her belt loops and went about undoing the back of the belt while her daughter took another sip of beer.
"I wore a tight belt on a day I planned on doing nothing but drinking and eating." Dimitri danced away from the belt as soon as she was free of it. "Thank you!"
Primrose held the belt in her hand, letting the gold and leather dangle as she watched Dimitri move further from putting the thing back on.
"Well, what am I supposed to do with it now?" Primrose asked her clearly pleased daughter. Dimitri froze and looked at Primrose with "duh" written quite obviously across her face.
"You wear it. It'll look better with your jumpsuit, anyway." Dimitri declared.
Primrose sighed and handed the package of chocolate off to Hazel, who was now apparently done gossiping with Thumbelina's Mother and extremely interested in the treat waiting for him within the container. The belt went around Primrose's waist with the gold metal glinting in the front; Primrose was momentarily distracted from fastening it by Hazel pulling out her chocolate square and holding it up to her mouth for her to take a quick bite of.
"Mm," Primrose hummed, finally securing the belt and liberating the rest of her dessert from Hazel with a quick, caramel flavored kiss. "Thank you, my love."
"Hey Bell," The Cat in the Hat's voice was mockingly cloying as she watched Primrose and Hazel pull apart. "You wanna put on some gross displays of affection and feed me some chocolate?"
Thumbelina's Mother's freckled face broke out in a grin. He yanked The Cat in the Hat forward until she fell into his lap, and proceeded to take a healthy sip of the beer she'd opted for in place of the jaeger Thumbelina's Mother had chosen.
"No, but I will steal your beer." The Cat in the Hat grinned and leaned her elbow against his shoulder.
"See kids? That's love."
ITALY
Italy had a wine bar.
"Okay," Primrose said, staring up at Tutto Gusto Wine Cellar with something like longing. "I'm going in here. Whoever wants to join me is more than welcome to, but I am stopping here right now."
"Primrose," The Cat in the Hat sighed, looking at her watch. "We have a schedule to keep."
Primrose turned around to meet The Cat in the Hat's raised eyebrows with her own.
"We do?"
"Kinda," Dimitri said. "We wanna be drunk before the fireworks crowds start to flood in."
"And we wanna beat Murphy's time," Thumbelina's Mother helpfully supplied.
Primrose rolled her eyes. That explained a lot.
"You keep going, then. I'm stopping for wine and appetizers. Hazel?"
"Where you go, I go," he said, smirking. The Cat in the Hat and Thumbelina's Mother rolled their own eyes and grabbed the others to drag after them, even though Anastasia and David looked lured by the idea of hanging out and eating food in a cozy wine bar.
"Hey, Primrose?" David asked, waving The Cat in the Hat off for a moment. "Can you hold on to my clutch for a while? I get the feeling I'm gonna lose it after another beer."
Primrose smiled and accepted the black and gold clutch from David, squeezing her hand as she did.
"Of course I can, honey. Do you have your ID?"
David pulled it from her bra.
"And your money?"
She stuck her green MagicBand out (which Anastasia had carefully hand-painted to have vines, flowers, and butterflies all circling an 'O' surrounding Mickey's silhouette on it) to indicate that her credit card was stored on it.
"Okay. Have fun." Primrose felt Hazel' hand slide to the small of her back as they watched the tiny, fierce girl run after the others. "Be good!" She yelled after her.
Hazel chuckled and steered Primrose inside the bar.
"They're adults, Primrose. They're not going to destroy the place."
"I beg to differ, Hazel!" Primrose replied, indignant as they slid into a corner booth away from the main seating area. "Or do you not remember them almost burning your house down when they were sixteen?"
"Of course I remember that. I also remember you saving me by marching in with a fire extinguisher and a cross face and sending them all home while my kitchen gently smoked." Hazel leaned over and kissed Primrose, gently. She lifted a hand to cradle his bearded cheek and melted into his kiss happily.
Hazel lightened his kisses to place tiny, fluttering ones against her lips. "My hero."
"Mm, damn straight." Primrose finally leaned back and picked up a menu. She glanced down at David's leather clutch and smiled slightly at the gold metal studs running across the edges of it. "I know she didn't plan it, but David's clutch sort of matches my outfit."
"Does it?" Hazel asked, carefully perusing the menu. "You both must have good taste."
Primrose flipped the studded bag over and felt her eyes go wide.
"Christ, Hazel, this is Valentino!" Primrose ran her hands over the gold logo embossed onto the smooth leather. "I knew she and Thumbelina's Mother's line was doing well, but my god."
"I like the studs," Hazel supplied, helpfully.
Primrose agreed, actually. She wasn't usually one for labels, but she'd been learning more and more as Thumbelina's Mother and David climbed higher and higher as a designing duo. Their fashion house donated 50% of all of its proceeds to charity, including one that Anya, Vladimir's step-sister, ran for orphaned girls.
Primrose volunteered to help whenever they ran a charity drive, and thus had been introduced to a whole world whose only draw in Primrose's first forty-odd years was inspiration for outfits she could put together using clothing that didn't run she and Dimitri out of house and home.
Hazel ordered them each a glass of wine from the Italian server who greeted the cheerfully, as well as some sort of meat and cheese board that Primrose declared her intent to marry as soon as she saw it.
"Buy it a ring first, at least," Hazel laughed as Primrose scooped some jam onto a cracker she'd already loaded with prosciutto and cheese.
"Happily. Do you think it prefers, white-gold, or platinum?" She savoured the taste of real food like a starving women who had...well, who had only feasted on a bit of pretzel and a ton of alcohol, actually. A liquid diet was definitely not for her.
"Mm, yellow gold, I think." Hazel snagged a bit of cheese from the board and popped it in his mouth. "With diamonds down the band."
"God, screw the board, I want that ring," Primrose said, almost absentmindedly.
She froze as the implications of the accidental bomb she just dropped settled over the table. A quick glance over at Hazel found him smirking slightly in some unreadable way that Primrose both wanted to dwell on, and call him on at the same time. Did he think she was joking about wanting to marry him? Or was he hiding something? He was usually so goddamn easy to read that this secretive veneer he'd been wearing lately was wearing her patience thin.
"I think your marriage to some meat and cheese might be a bit shorter than one to a living, breathing human, but I support whatever strange decision you decide to make, my love. I promise to be jealous." Hazel leaned over and planted a swift kiss to her mouth before raising his arm and asking for the cheque.
Well, what the hell did that mean?
AMERICA
"It's weird that America has a pavilion," Hazel remarked as they left Italy and entered the large walkway that spread across to a small amphitheatre. Primrose spotted Christmas trees and garland everywhere-this must be where the Candlelight Processional was held, which Primrose desperately wanted to see (but didn't want to wait in line 3 or more hours for, because she was not a crazy person).
"It would be weirder if there wasn't one." Primrose slipped her hand into his and wandered with him over to the Fife & Drum Tavern. "Are you going to get another drink?"
Hazel perused the menu (Gigantic turkey legs! Root beer floats! More beer!) for a moment before shaking his head.
"I don't think I can put another drop of alcohol in my system for a while. I am not as young as I used to be."
"Oh, thank god," Primrose sighed, and slumped into his side in relief. "I can't finish this whole drinking around the world thing. I'd be blackout drunk by the time the fireworks started."
Hazel laughed and kissed the side of her head, slinging his arm over her shoulder and steering her away from the Tavern.
"Okay. No more drinking for us. Just snacks and walking."
"I don't hate that idea at all."
They split a funnel cake, instead, and Primrose took great delight in the chocolate she dabbed from Hazel' nose as they walked.
Japan
Japan easily had the best shop in all of the World Showcase. It was full to bursting with bright toys and candy and memorabilia, and there was an entire area dedicated to pearl discovery containing an open tank scattered with oyster upon oyster. A gong would ring every time one of the Japanese cast members unearthed a pearl for a tourist, and a chorus of laughter and clapping would follow. It was loud, and happy, and maybe a little cheesy, but Primrose couldn't help but smile as they made their way through it.
She and Hazel perused a colourful display of silk bags before turning a corner and entering an area full of brightly lit trees.
"Hazel!" Primrose gasped, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards a wall full of boxes. "Look!"
It was bonsai trees-a whole load of them, of all types and shapes and sizes, with peaceful-looking display models sitting proudly out for kids and parents alike to look at and touch. Hazel stared up at the largest tree for a long, long time with something unreadable on his face.
"You remember?" He said, quietly. Primrose looked up at him, squeezing his hand with her own.
"Of course I do. It was her favourite thing to look at."
Vera Kane was one of the kindest people Primrose had ever met. Even though she and Hazel hadn't become proper friends until a few years ago, they'd known each other for a very long time-and so Primrose, by extension, knew Vera even from childhood. She'd loved the older woman's compassion and generosity, and often found herself delighted to be in her presence whenever she'd run into her over the years. In fact, it had been Vera who had persuaded Hazel to take Thumbelina's Mother and David in when their mother-his neighbour on the small block they also shared with Primrose-had been killed in an accident. It was Vera who the two Blakes cottoned onto as a surrogate grandmother immediately, and it was Vera who guided both Hazel and Primrose through the process of grieving while trying to raise teenagers; Primrose lost Jake the year before, and had been stumbling blindly forward before Vera came along to gently usher she and Hazel on the new frontier they were somehow facing together.
Primrose's brightest memories of her were of sitting on the front porch of Hazel' old victorian style house and drinking tea while Vera tended to a beloved bonsai tree that had been with her since her own husband's death when Hazel was a child. The tree came to represent a great deal to Primrose: acceptance, healing, and a sense of comfort and familiarity from the slow, gradual bonding of not only Primrose and Vera, but Primrose and Hazel, as well.
And then Diana Sydney had taken hostages in a local charity fundraiser that President Jaha was supposed to be attending, and Vera was just...gone.
They never found the tree. It wasn't in her home, or in Hazel', and none of the kids-try as they might-had been able to track it down. Primrose suspected the tree had gone with Vera (as it had before) to sit by her side as she spoke of mindfulness and caring to potential donors of the shelter she ran, and so it would have been among the debris of the shooting and easily thrown away by the police.
"I haven't thought about that in a while," Hazel said. His voice sounded a little melancholy, like the memory hurt, but not in the way that it used to.
Primrose reached forward and slowly slid one of the smaller tree boxes off of the shelf. She held it carefully in her arms and looked up at Hazel with a soft smile on her face.
"Let's get one for her. To honour her. She'd be so pleased all those talks led to...well, this."
"Me and you?" Hazel asked, smiling. His eyes were a bit glassy with tears he hadn't shed. Primrose held the box in one hand and reached up to cradle his bearded cheek, letting her thumb sweep gently under his eye to catch one of the falling drops.
"Yeah, me and you. And the kids. She knew where all of that was leading. She used to tell me that you and I would surprise each other one day." Primrose laughed. "I don't know if she envisioned us taking a drunken brood of twenty somethings to Disney World, but I think we got some of it right."
Hazel was silent. He just looked at her, with that smile on his face that said more to her than his words ever had-it was the "I am completely in love with you" look (according to The Cat in the Hat), and Primrose felt a flood of happiness warm through her under his gentle gaze.
"Babe," he said, taking the box from her and leaning over to press a kiss to her forehead. "We definitely got some of it right."
MOROCCO
"Hazel," Primrose said, slowly, as they slipped into the main arching walkways of Morocco and she ran her hands over the beautiful stone. "I want to go to Morocco. It's decided."
They'd had the tree sent back to their room in Japan, which left them free to wander over to the next pavilion and disappear into its incredible corners and shops package-free. The only thing in Primrose's hand (David's outrageously overpriced clutch hung from a helpful loop on her wrist) was Hazel' own. She preferred it that way.
"Hm," Hazel hummed. They passed a small, gently lit shop with all kinds of traditional cloths and jewelry in bright oranges, blues, and yellows. "I've never been."
"We'll have to go one day." Primrose said. She brought them to a stop at the back of the pavilion and took both of Hazel' hands in hers. "If you could go anywhere, where would it be? And here doesn't count."
Hazel chuckled. He squeezed her hands and leaned back against one of the stone posts behind him, bringing her into his body so they could wrap their arms around each other's waists.
"Spain." Primrose looked up at him with her chin propped on his chest. How had he known that fast?
"Why Spain?"
"I loved it when I visited it in my twenties. It was warm and vibrant, and full of personality. It reminded me of you, even though you drove me nuts. You'd love it."
Primrose smiled up at him.
"I'd love to go. Dimitri and I only ever made it to France."
"I'll take you." Hazel pressed a kiss to her forehead, tenderly. "We'll go, just you and me. See the world."
"See Morocco?" Primrose asked. There were happy flutters in her stomach at his words. So, maybe they didn't have to get married. What did a ring matter, anyway? She had him. They had each other. Nothing was going to change that.
"Definitely see Morocco."
It was enough.
FRANCE
The first thing Primrose spotted in France was her daughter.
Well, more specifically, it was her daughter kissing her girlfriend. They were both attempting to take a selfie at the same time while The Cat in the Hat and Thumbelina's Mother ruined the shot behind them with obnoxious faces and flailing hands. Primrose was incredibly happy to spot that bright pop of blonde amongst the relatively calm crowd scattered along the pavilion and bridge around France. She hadn't seen much of Dimitri today (though the trade-off of getting to spend time alone with Hazel was, admittedly, quite pleasant), and missed her after spending the last few months apart while Dimitri was at school.
"Dimitri!" She called out. Dimitri reluctantly pulled her lips from Vladimir's to look around for the source of her mother's voice. She honestly didn't look too drunk, despite hitting four more pavilions than Primrose and Hazel had. Primrose was almost impressed.
"Mom!" Dimitri stood and dragged Vladimir along with her, looking immediately irritated. Primrose braced herself for whatever drama was about to go down. "You're late!"
"I...what?" Primrose asked, flabbergasted. She looked over at Hazel for confirmation that she wasn't going insane, but he'd somehow disappeared into the crowd. Anastasia and Thumbelina's Mother were missing, too. What the hell was going on?
"You. Are. Late!" Dimitri declared. And then she grabbed Primrose's hand and pulled her all the way towards the back of the pavilion, where a small shop containing Guerlain and Dior beauty products was hidden away next to a pastry shop that smelled absolutely divine.
Dimitri went to work. She pulled David's clutch from Primrose's hand and opened it like a woman on a mission; a brush, a travel-size can of hairspray, and an assortment of pins came out of it and were pushed into Vladimir's waiting hands. "Hazel said he'd have you here at 6, and it's 6:15, and you are already so late and you know how much being late drives me crazy-"
"Dimitri!" Primrose interrupted, eyes wide as her daughter wielded the brush and lifted some of Primrose's curls to spruce them up after a day of wandering outdoors. "What on earth are you doing? What am I late for?"
"Everything!" Dimitri declared. She reached around Primrose's shoulder for Vladimir's neck and deftly plucked the open-ended gold collar off of it, sliding it easily around Primrose's while Vladimir used the can of hairspray to fluff up Primrose's roots. The whole thing was overwhelming in its coordination. "Stay still!"
"What is going on?!" Primrose was completely flabbergasted and more than a little flustered as her own personal makeover apparently got underway.
She didn't get an answer. Instead, The Cat in the Hat and David came out of nowhere wielding mascara wands and lipstick (obviously newly purchased, as the sales girl was looking at them with a twinkle in her eye, and not incredible amounts of suspicion, as Primrose would have expected). Somewhere in the tornado of her girls, Primrose lost her flats and was placed in a pair of sleek black heels, and subtle black liner was added to her lids while a simple, neutral lipstick went on her lips. Her hair was more full and vibrant than it had been a few minutes ago, and somehow David's diamond earrings went from her ears to Primrose's own. Dimitri finished the whole thing off by pinning two curls back from the sides of Primrose's hair and twisting them into an elegant knot, letting the ends fall to blend in with the rest of Primrose's hair.
"I...what just happened?" Primrose asked. She bent over to look at herself in one of the mirrors-she didn't look too different, really, just freshened up and glittering a bit more with the added jewelry and re-styled hair. She liked it, even if she was extremely confused by it.
"Glam squad." The Cat in the Hat nodded, looking Primrose up and down with approval. "Girls, we did good work here today."
"Yes we did," Vladimir nodded. "Even if we're fifteen minutes behind schedule."
David was nodding along with Vladimir's words as she pulled the last item from her clutch-a smaller clutch, which made Primrose absolutely insane-and handed the large, envelope-sized one back to Primrose.
"That's yours, by the way. Little gift from Hazel." She shoved all of the beauty supplies Dimitri, Vladimir, and The Cat in the Hat held into her own smaller one and hooked it on her wrist matter-of-factly. "You like it, right?"
"I-" Primrose stumbled, staring down at the soft leather she'd been carrying around all day. "I love it, David-Hazel bought it?"
"He picked it out. Said the studs were rebellious like you, or something. I don't know what he was doing trying to find meaning in a Valentino rockstud, but that's Kane for you. Anyway." David nodded to someone over Primrose's shoulder. "You're late."
"For what?!" Primrose asked, turning around-
It was Hazel. He was standing in the setting sun of the pavilion in crisp, black pants and a white dress shirt with the top few buttons undone, dress shoes shining in the dying sunlight. He'd somehow cleaned up really well in the few minutes that Primrose had been essentially glam-attacked, and he was waiting for her with his hands in his pockets and a smile on his lips.
"Get going, mom!" Dimitri hissed, pushing Primrose a little. "I had all this scheduled perfectly, don't keep messing it up!"
"Dimitri!" Primrose heard The Cat in the Hat laugh, but she wasn't paying attention-not really. Something important was happening here, something big and romantic, and she couldn't focus on anything but Hazel, her Hazel, standing there waiting for her like he'd planned this whole thing.
Which he...definitely had, come to think of it.
"Hi," Hazel whispered as Primrose finally approached him.
"Hi," she whispered back. "I was afraid I wouldn't see you again for a minute there."
"I had those fears myself, what with the way Dimitri dragged you out of here." He looked at her, then, properly, taking in the jumpsuit and the heels and the curls. "You look beautiful, Primrose."
Primrose raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms, leaning back to look him up and down again, even though she'd already healthily appreciated his form in those trim pants and snug shirt. "And why are we both dressed up, Mr. Kane?"
Hazel held a hand out towards the restaurant behind them-Chefs de France, one of Disney's best-and shrugged nonchalantly. "I thought you'd want to get a little dressed up for dinner and the Candlelight Processional, that's all."
Excitement burst like fireworks in Primrose's chest. She reached out and grabbed Hazel' arm, tightly, glancing back at the full restaurant with unabashed giddiness.
"Are we really going?" She asked.
Hazel nodded. He took her hand in his and led her around the centre of the pavilion to the green and glass front of their intended destination.
"Dinner, then reserved seats. Then fireworks. That sound good to you?"
"It sounds perfect."
°o° °o° °o°
Dinner was beyond any expectations Primrose could have had. The bouillabaisse was full of fresh scallops and mahi-mahi, and Hazel' grilled tenderloin was one of the richest Primrose had ever tasted. They drank wine-good wine, proper, not served-in-a-plastic-cup wine-and swapped bites from each other's plates like the cliche couple they sometimes were, and shared a creme brûlée Primrose was absolutely ready to die for, if it came to it.
They meandered slowly, bellies full of incredible French food, back towards the center of the World Showcase. Hazel kept his arm wrapped securely around Primrose's waist and Primrose happily wrapped her arms around his own, feeling him place kisses to the crown of her head as they walked.
Primrose was irrefutably, quietly, comfortably happy.
AMERICA (again)
The Candlelight Processional was something of a gold and green blur. Four different choirs serenaded the assembled crowd as darkness descended over the park and millions of brilliant Christmas lights glittered all around the stage, setting an indescribable feeling of festiveness through the whole showcase. There were singers in heavy, ceremonial robes, and men in sharp suits and white scarves, and the whole place almost glowed with the feeling of Christmas.
Primrose stifled giggles into Hazel' shoulder as the celebrity speaker (Edward James Olmos, who apparently had been doing the Christmas Eve and Day readings since...well, ever) went on and on in his dramatic, gravelly voice about how Jesus had not left home until the age of thirty.
"Is he trying to reassure kids that it's okay to live at home with their parents for as long as they want?" Hazel whispered. Primrose broke into a fresh set of giggles that actually earned her a few glares from some of the more serious Processional-goers next to them. "Because that would be a great way to convince David to stay at home a little longer. We should invite Edward James Olmos over, have him give her a lecture."
"I never want to hear another Christmas service, lecture, or speech if it isn't dramatically read by Edward James Olmos." Primrose laid her head on Hazel' shoulder and continued to laugh, quietly, through the rest of his monologue.
The Processional wrapped up with a gorgeous choir singing carols, which brought happy tears to Primrose's eyes. Hazel quietly wiped them away with his thumbs and kissed her cheeks until she was smiling under his lips.
"Come on," he whispered, taking her hand and leading her with the exiting crowd back into the pavilion. "It's time for fireworks."
ENGLAND
The Rose and Crown pub was without doubt the most famous location amongst the veterans of Epcot drinking adventures. Primrose heard it before she saw it: an English-style pub, sitting just after the bridge from France, bursting with the loud chatter of voices and a live piano player floating out onto the softly lit street.
Hazel led her around the classic building to an outside, almost garden-like entrance. A sign out front said "closed for a private event", which almost stopped Primrose short before Hazel quietly spoke to the cast member standing at the reservation podium, and then he was gently directing her past the sign and down onto the concrete terrace that looked out across the whole lake of the World Showcase.
They were alone. The vined and wrought iron terrace was completely empty, save for a single cloth-draped table with a chilled bottle of champagne and two flutes sitting on it, waiting for them.
"Hazel…" Primrose breathed. That feeling of that undefinable something was back, big and momentous-something larger than a surprise dinner and the Candlelight Processional. She had no name for the feeling or what it could be, but it caused a kind of excited nervousness in her that kept her holding tight to his hand as they walked.
"I thought you'd like a special spot to watch the fireworks," Hazel said. "And champagne, of course."
"Of course," Primrose laughed, a little watery. She wasn't sure what had prompted Hazel to pull out all the stops just for Christmas Eve, but the warmth and affection and absolute love she felt for him made it all so completely worth it.
Hazel popped the champagne top easily and smirked at her as he poured them both a healthy dose of the bubbling alcohol. It tickled Primrose's throat pleasantly, warming her further until she was fit to burst from happiness. What an incredible man Hazel had become; what an incredible man to surprise her so thoroughly, to make her feel so loved after the hope of ever being loved again had died with Jake. Primrose quietly slipped into his arms and looked up at his bewildered face.
"I love you," she said, softly. "Thank you. For all of this."
"Anything for you, Primrose." Hazel kissed her sweetly.
They were interrupted by the final announcement of the night: the fireworks were about to begin. Hazel pulled Primrose around until she was standing wrapped in the cradle of his arms, his champagne forgotten as they both turned to look in the middle of the lake, where the iron globe of the Earth lit up with the start of the Illuminations fireworks.
Primrose was enraptured: the fireworks were spectacular display of light and sound. They showed off the very best of the countries Epcot represented, showcasing places from around the world on the globe as each pavilion's lights glowed along with the exploding colours of the fireworks. Primrose leaned her head back against Hazel' shoulder and just watched them for a long time, letting her mind focus on nothing but the man behind her and the feeling of contentedness washing over her with each awe-inducing performance.
One of Hazel' arms disappeared from around her for a moment. Primrose immediately missed the warmth, but then it was back, like he'd never left, and Primrose went to settle back against him, except-
"Hey," Hazel whispered in her ear. And then a firework exploded in bright blue in the night sky to illuminate their little terrace, and there, in Hazel' hand, was a velvet box.
Primrose felt her knees go weak.
"Hazel!" She had no other word in her head but his name. Primrose clapped her hand over her mouth and let his sturdy frame support her as he opened the box with his thumb to reveal a glittering ring set in the richest yellow gold she'd ever seen, with delicate diamonds around the band and an absolutely stunning, larger diamond sitting snugly at its centre.
"Primrose," he said, and he let tried to let go of her, probably to do the whole thing properly and kneel, but she wouldn't let him-she couldn't let him go, just now. For some reason, she needed it to happen like this, with both of them pressed tightly together. "Primrose-"
"Do it like this." Primrose turned in his arms with tears in her eyes and looked up at his bearded face with a lightness in her chest that she hadn't felt in years. She slid her hands up his lapels and rested them on either side of his thumping heart. "Like this, Hazel."
"Okay," he laughed. She heard the box close behind her and felt him pull her tight into him as he brought his hand up to hers and grasped it tightly, speaking easily over the fireworks. "Abigail Griffin, light of my life and pain in my ass-"
Primrose laughed.
"-these past few years of leading this pack of kids with you have been the highlight of my life. You have become the highlight of my life. We've been through a lot, and we'll probably go through a lot more, but I want nothing more than to do all of it by your side." He let her go to open the box again and pluck the ring from its cushion, holding it between them like a prayer. "Will you marry me?"
All the air left Primrose's lungs. She stared at the ring, glinting with every firework that burst overhead, and she stared at Hazel, looking at her so tenderly and so happily. How could she begin to articulate what she was feeling? How could she tell him yes and contain every single one of her emotions in those three simple letters?
Primrose drew in a deep, cleansing breath.
"Yes," she whispered, and then she kissed him.
Hazel laughed into the kiss as she threw her arms around his neck, letting her toes rise to press herself against him as close as she could. If she couldn't tell him with the words that were stuck in her throat, then she could tell him with her lips, and her body, and hold on to him so tightly that he'd just know she never wanted to let go.
She kept kissing him even as he reached backwards for her hand. Her chest rose and fell with happy flutters when she broke away to watch him take her left hand in his and slide the most beautiful ring she'd ever seen onto her finger. It fit perfectly. Hazel smiled down at the fit, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles, before lifting both hands to cradle her jaw to kiss her absolutely senseless as the fireworks crescendoed and then fell silent.
And then there was yelling.
And cheering.
And whooping.
And the kids were there.
They swarmed around Primrose and Hazel like excited bees, jumping and laughing under the night sky. Primrose let Hazel slowly pull away from her lips with a small groan and opened her eyes to grin up at him.
"Hi, kids," Hazel said, looking only at Primrose. Primrose smiled with kiss-roughened lips and kissed him one last time before letting herself fall mercy to the men and women she'd helped raise.
"How many of you were in on this?" She asked, tucking herself under Hazel' chin.
Conspiratorial grins were shared all around. All of them, then, the little schemers.
"Obviously Hazel had the engagement idea." The Cat in the Hat helped herself to Primrose's champagne flute and took a sip. "I was on planning, Dimitri was on dinner, David was on accessories, Vladimir was on wrangling the boys, and the boys were on the whole 'run back to the hotel and get Hazel a suit and then get back here before you guys made it to dinner' thing."
"She was extremely scary." Anastasia tipped his head at a smug-looking Vladimir. "I've never run that fast in my life."
"Bell almost died," David added. Thumbelina's Mother nodded.
"And the jewelry? The belt? The clutch?" Primrose glanced at the clutch she'd left on the table. "How did that happen?"
"Christmas presents. Hazel bought the clutch, as you know, and your necklace and earrings. Dimitri found the belt, and I picked out your heels. We just slipped them on you throughout the day."
"Oh my god!" Primrose laughed, burying her face in Hazel' shirt as her shoulders shook. "You're all ridiculous!"
"Ridiculous geniuses," The Cat in the Hat said, raising Primrose's glass to toast her cohorts. "To the future Mr and Mrs Kane! Long may they think they can tell us what to do while remaining adorably clueless!"
"The Cat in the Hat!" Primrose sighed, but her protest was drowned out under a chorus of "here, here's!" and tipping of the glasses of beer they all must have brought in from the Rose and Crown.
"Seriously, though," Dimitri said when the noise died down a little. "Congratulations, mom. Kane. You've come a long way, and you deserve this a lot."
"Dimitri," Primrose whispered, and reached for her daughter to fold her into a tight embrace. She kissed Dimitri's head and murmured for only Dimitri to hear, "thank you, kid. For everything."
Dimitri nodded her head under Primrose's chin and squeezed her one last time before releasing her mother to wipe some sneaky tears from her flushed cheeks. Primrose kissed her forehead gently.
"So, Kane," Thumbelina's Mother said, slinging an arm around The Cat in the Hat with a smirk on his face. "What did you get the rest of us for Christmas?"
"I got you a trip to Disney World!" Hazel protested immediately. "What did you get me, Blake?"
At that, everyone exchanged grins. Primrose narrowed her eyes at every single one of her kids with suspicion creeping up her chest again. Honestly.
"We got you a day off." Dimitri said.
"Tomorrow is just for you two," Anastasia added. "No kids and no interruptions for the whole day."
"We even got you pre-ordered 'we just got engaged and probably won't leave the room for reasons none of us want to think about' room service," The Cat in the Hat chimed in.
"And we got you that Christmas tree package." David leaned into Anastasia and raised her beer at Primrose and Hazel. "There's a tree and mistletoe and decorations waiting in your room for you. No visit from Mickey and Minnie, though. Vladimir was clear on that one."
"Very clear." Vladimir nodded. "We'll all meet for dinner at the hotel restaurant tomorrow night. Seven fifteen. Don't be late this time."
Primrose felt tears well in her eyes. She looked around at the amazing men and women she and Hazel had helped shape. They'd all become such incredible people, despite the pain and suffering they'd all endured; beside her, Primrose felt Hazel pull her a little tighter as he, too, silently observed their small army of do-gooders.
"We love you guys," Primrose said, finally, and if her voice was a little watery...well, that was only to be expected on Christmas, after all.
All seven of them raised their beers once more.
"Merry Christmas, Hazel!"