Foundations
Disclaimer: Sadly, Glee is not mine and needless to say I do not get any profit from this. (The characters are not mine either, well one is :D.)
AN: I'm so forgetful! I was supposed to put this at the start of the last chapter!
Guys, thank you so, so much for all of your reviews, and adding my story to your alerts and even favoriting it, it's the best praise a girl can get.
Now excuse me while I go and gorge myself on chocolate and watch Bridget Jones for the bazilianth time this Christmas; Enjoy! And Happy Boxing Day!
Four
Her eyes open widely and a grin lights her face as soon as she registers that it's actually here. December the twenty-fifth. It's Christmas day!
Never letting her grin drop, she wiggles in her covers for a moment, looking a lot like a worm, and then she rubs her eyes, making sure she's properly awake (just in case). When she's decided that she is very much awake and it's still Christmas day(!), she kicks her covers back and sits up straight, looking around her dark room for any signs of Santa, bouncing in anticipation.
Hanging off of her bottom bed post, lit up and just visible by the glow from her night-light, was a very full, overflowing, stocking. She squealed loudly and scrambled over her ruffled quilt to grab it and look inside with wide, excited eyes. Seeing the presents stuffed inside it she jumped down from her bed, a dull thud accompanying her landing.
"Come on Rupert!" She shouts, running to her door and yanking it open, her stocking gripped tightly in her right hand.
A ginger head appears in the mass of quilts, blue eyes wide and kitten-like as he jumps up and stretches, before following his owner's footsteps and leaping from the bed, not a sound as he lands on his paws, and slinks out, following the blue blur down the hall.
The loud thud of feet could be heard echoing down the hallway before a head of dark blonde charged around the corner at full speed. She didn't stop or slow, instead she sped up as she caught sight of the little gap in her parent's door. Fixing her gaze to it determinedly, she lowered her head and ran, moving her arms back and forth as she tried move faster than light. Rupert's ginger head following behind her in long, agile strides (for a kitten).
She's getting closer to her destination now, and her hands come out to stop her, her feet planting on the wooden floor in precise, practiced movements. She slides on floor and, once close enough, she grabs the door frame and pulls herself in, toppling onto the soft carpet at the door of her parent's room.
She hastily picks up the presents that had fallen and throws them back into her stocking – proof that Santa had been! And there's no way they can send her back to bed to wait a little bit longer! – once she's done, she hops up and sees Rupert sat beside her, waiting for her to make the first move, with a lazily flick of his tail it seems like he's egging her on.
"Good boy Rupert." She pets his head with soft strokes for a moment before she realises she's wasting good present opening time and pats him heavily once more before she makes rapid movements to the side of her parents bed.
Once she's there a frown mars her face and her hands come to rest on her hips in confusion. In a few years she'd find it funny and laugh, and then a few after that she'd cringe and wince and tell them to stop because it's embarrassing; now, she just wonders why Mami is holding Mommy like she cuddles Rupert.
Shaking her head and leaving the question until after she's opened her presents she leans in to her Mami's side – seeing as Mommy's head is resting on Mami's chest and Mami's arms are cuddling her.
"Mami." She whispers loudly. "Mami." There's no movement as both of her parents sleep on peacefully. "Mommy." She tries, moving her head closer to the top of her Mommy's. "Mommy, it's Christmas!" There's still no movement and she looks to Rupert helplessly.
"Mow." He offers in assistance as he licks his paw and settles himself at the foot of the bed, watching her with lidded eyes.
"Santa has been!" She says loudly, giving up whispering. Don't they know her gifts are waiting?
There's still no movement and all that seems to happen is that Mommy snuggles into Mami's chest. She huffs in disappointment, and walks to the end of the bed, picking Rupert roughly into her arms before walking back to the head of the bed with a disgruntled kitten. "You have to help me Rup. They won't wake up and Santa. Has. Been." She emphasizes her point by bouncing him, hoping he'll think of a way to wake them up.
He seems resigned to his fate as he allows the movement to shake his body and bob his head, his tail flicking in the gap of her hands as he looks down on the bed – a part of him wishing for them to wake up so he can go to sleep, and a part of him loving the little human for her own, special way of loving him.
When he spots a pair of sleepily amused brown eyes looking at him he meows and looks to the tiny blonde haired human holding him.
"Mami!" She shouts excitedly, beginning to jump again, loud thuds reverberating around the room and a high meow escaping Rupert in his shock. "Santa has been! Look!" She holds up her stocking as proof, nearly throwing it at her Mami in excitement. "We have to go and see if he liked the cookies!"
"Shh! Shhh!" Her Mami says, holing a finger to her lips as she strokes the hair of her wife down gently when she snuffles and frowns. "Mommy is asleep, Erin. Be quiet."
"I know." Erin huffs. "But she needs to get up! It's time open presents!"
"Shh." She warns sharply, giving her a warning look as she holds a finger firmly to her lips. Erin's excited bouncing immediately stops and she looks dejected as she tries to hide her upset in Rupert's fur. "Hey." Her Mami says, letting her stern expression drop and her hand drop from her mouth, reaching out to stroke her daughter's bed hair back before cupping her face. "Mommy wasn't well last night, baby. That's all."
Erin's brown eyes – exactly her Mami's shade – look to her Mommy worriedly and her mouth forms an 'O' as a little "Ohh." escapes her lips. She forgets about her presents in worry for her Mommy.
"She's fine." Her Mami reassures, drawing her wide gaze back to hers. "She just had a funny tummy last night. Nothing to worry about." She wonders why her Mami is grinning widely at the fact that her Mommy had a poly belly, and her brow forms one, just like her Mommy, as she tilts her head. "Hey!" Her Mami says suddenly. "Why," She draws out the word and grabs her daughters attention immediately as she looks up expectantly, "don't you go and get your robe so we can go downstairs and see what Santa brought?"
"Yes!" She shouts excitedly, forgetting about her sleeping Mommy as she jumps up and races out of the room, Rupert still bouncing along in her arms.
She runs as fast as she possibly can and resigns herself to the fact that without her cape she just isn't fast enough. But when she gets to her room she wastes no time in tearing it apart in search for her monster robe. Not finding it on the back of her door, where it normally is, she turns around desperately and dumps Rupert unceremoniously on the bed. She rushes to her draws and pulls them open but when she's unsuccessful in finding it there, as well as in her toy box, her wardrobe, and her quilt she looks to Rupert sat primly on her bed as he watches her.
"Help me Rup!" She says desperately.
He licks his paw for a moment, and then, deciding to help the tiny human, he jumps from the bed and crawls under her bed carefully, lying on top of the fluffy garment.
"We can't play hide-and-seek now Rup!" She shouts desperately, hands coming up to push her hair back as she looks towards where the cat disappeared. "Rup!" She shouts, hoping to get him out to continue helping her, but when all she gets is a simple "Mow." in return, she resorts to dropping on her knees and flattening her cheek to the floor to see what he's doing.
When she sees his blue eyes watching her from amongst a mass of grey, she squeals loudly, reaching an eager hand under to grab it, pulling it out with him still resting on it (he wobbles and digs his claws in in a desperate bid not to be thrown off of it.).
"Well done Rup!" She shouts, picking him off of it and cuddling for a moment before putting him on her bed, where he sinks in the quilt before emerging worse for wear, and pulling her arms in as she races from the room, her grin once again back. Rupert follows obediently.
As she skids to a stop, holding her monster robe on tightly, her head tilts in confusion again. She wonders for a moment why her Mami has her lips against Mommy's tummy when it was being naughty last night and why Mommy is smiling like she does when Mami dances silly with her. Then she sees as Mami looks up and kisses Mommy on the lips gently. Then they're smiling again as they look into each other's eyes and she sees Mami's hand rubbing Mommy's tummy and it all makes sense.
Mami is trying to get rid of Mommy's bad tummy. Though that doesn't explain kissing it, she realises. She thinks that if Mommy and Mami were looking at her they'd tell her they could hear her thinking too hard as she tries to think of why Mami and Mommy are so happy when Mommy isn't well: Maybe Mami was loving the bad out.
Taking pity on his tiny human Rupert meows loudly, gaining the attention of the humans who feed him.
"Good morning!" Her Mommy shouts, sitting up from her lounged position as she pats the bed beside her, and her Mami sits by her side, her hand almost unconsciously still resting on her Mommy's stomach and her thumb making soothing circles.
"Merry Christmas!" They both say together as Erin jumps onto the bed and sits Rupert on her knee, pulling her stocking closer to her and fiddling with it.
"Merry Christmas." She replies and grins excitedly. "Are you still poly Mommy?" She asks worriedly, her little forehead creasing as she worries and looks between her parents for an answer.
Her gaze flickers between her parents as they look at each other and smile widely – in a few years she'd remember it as them smiling lovingly and happily and as though everything was right in the world. She watches as her Mommy's hand comes to rest on top of Mami's on her belly and their fingers interlock, she's very confused again but looks up as she hears her Mommy laugh freely.
"Perfect, baby." Her Mommy says. "Everything is just perfect." She grins widely, which immediately dissipates her worry and she looks back towards her stocking and Rupert, who had nestled down to go back to sleep on her knee, as her parents kiss briefly.
"Now, why don't we open these and then we can go see what Santa left in the room?" Mami asks excitedly, pulling Mommy to lean back and into her as they both look to her with wide grins.
"Yes!" She shouts excitedly, ripping the paper form her first present.