Yuletide Lessons
Chapter 2
December 12th
The trio burst through the door of Lucy's apartment in a flurry of bags, all heaving a collective sigh.
Rogue grunted as he set the bags on the table smiling as Frosch settled next to them, sifting through the contents humming one of the many holiday songs she heard in the store. Lucy shucked her boots and hung up her coat, scarf, and mittens approaching the bags, bringing things out and examined them.
As Lucy sorted the groceries, Rogue stood by the table and studied them more closely now that he was able to.
"Hey, how about we make that hot chocolate now Fro?" Lucy asked, patting the little exceeds head.
She smiled up at Lucy and at Rogue's nod she nodded as well.
"Fro would like that."
Alrighty then." Lucy moved to the cupboards and brought out two normal sized mugs and one small child sized one, then brought out a small jug of milk from the fridge and turned back to the two watching her movements. "You guys wanna help me make it?"
"Fro does!" She said jumping up on the counter beside the mugs with a paw in the air.
Rogue shook his head with a small smile moving to stand next to the exceed. "I'll just observe."
Lucy nodded as she turned back to the excited cat. "Ok, so the first thing we do is pour milk in each of the mugs." Lucy contemplated what she could have her do and thought the milk jug looked a little big next to her small body and would probably be a little awkward to handle. Her eyes landed on the box still in the cats hands and a light bulb went off in her head.
"How about I pour the milk and after we heat it up you can put the mix in?"
The cat nodded as Lucy placed the mugs in the microwave and punched in a minute on the timer. The blond smiled as her reflection was joined by a smaller one on the microwave door, Fro's little mouth hung open in an adorable 'o' as she watched the mugs go round and round. At the sound of the ding, Lucy popped open the door and placed the steaming mugs down, reaching for the box the cat set on the counter. She tore open 3 packets and handed them each to the cat along with spoons.
"Ok, all you have to do is pour each mix into the mugs and then stir until it's all dissolved in the milk."
"You can count on Fro."
All the while Rogue stood back watching the two interact with each other, barely containing a smile at the concentrated look on the cats face as she stirred the mix in. She looked so entranced with the steaming liquid for a minute and then squeaked as she pointed, noticing something.
"Fro wants to know what those white things are." Lucy giggled as Rogue bent over to observe.
"I do believe those are the mini marshmallows the box listed." He said.
"Oooh."
Fro clutched the candy cane absently in her hands, sniffing at the liquid bringing another idea to Lucy.
"Oh, hey guys." They both turned to look at her as she rummaged through the bag containing various candies she picked up and brought out two candy canes. "These will give the cocoa a nice minty taste."
Lucy unraveled the clear wrapping on one and slipped it in one of the mugs, stirring the liquid a little and did the same to the other. Fro looked from what Lucy was doing to the candy cane in her hands and started to mimic her actions, albeit a bit more clumsily. After a few minutes she managed to get it unwrapped and slipped it in carefully, looking up to smile proudly at her accomplishment.
"Very good Frosch." Rogue stated, stroking the cats head softly.
"Good for you. You've made your first cup of hot cocoa you two. Your first step towards your very first Christmas."
Both Rogue and Fro smiled in response.
Lucy clapped her hands in delight. "Now, for the fun part." At their confused faces she giggled, placing each mug into their hands. "Drinking the yummy concoction of course."
Grabbing her own she blew gently on the still steaming mug and watched as they both did the same, their noses twitching at the interesting smells. Lucy took a small sip and sighed in delight as the hot liquid warmed her insides and the cool peppermint floated over her senses. Lucy gestured to the two in front of her. "Go ahead you guys, it won't bite."
They both looked at the other uncertain for a minute and then took small sips, both jerking back at the myriad of tastes on their tongues.
Fro's eyes were huge as she stared into her mug and then looked up.
"Fro loves it!"
Rogue chuckled thinking along the same lines as Lucy giggled in response. "Glad to hear it Fro." She turned to Rogue in question. "It's very good." He replied.
"Excellent."
"Now," she said setting her mug aside as she dug out another box, opening it and brought out a package. "I think I'll make us some popcorn so we can munch on it while we watch movies."
"Sounds good." Rogue replied.
She popped the package in the microwave, pushed the button marked popcorn and made her way into the living room, kneeled on the floor and proceeded to dig through her rather large collection of dvds.
"I didn't realize I had so many Christmas movies," she muttered absently hearing the ding of the microwave, she stood up and walked past Rogue and Fro as they looked at the pile on the floor. "Go ahead and see which of those you guys wanna watch, while I put the popcorn into a bowl."
Fro set her drink down and hopped over to the pile, her little paws picking up the cases and turning them over, studying them. Rogue sat down next to her and picked up a few of his own to look at. One with a huge white tree caught his eye and peered at it curiously, the title 'White Christmas' stared back at him as he noticed some people dressed in white and red in various positions around a rather large tree decked out with various ornaments. His vision was obscured by another case being shoved in front of his eyes.
"Rogue?" He looked down to see Fro presenting another movie to hm. "Fro wants to know what this says."
Rogue took the DVD and looked at the front seeing a green sort of being dressed much like some of the men on the one he'd just been looking at. This red sort of suit with white trimming and matching hat seemed to be some sort of trend and therefore important to the Christmas holiday. Fro settled into his lap and he turned it to the back to read the description.
"Well, it looks like the green fellow on the cover is the star and he's called the Grinch. He lives in a cave high up above who-ville.."
"Rogue, what's who-ville?"
Scratching his head he tried to explain from the details on the back.
"Well, I'm guessing it's a village of some sort with people called 'Whos'. Once a year they celebrate this thing called Christmas making the Grinch jealous and angry that he cannot join in the festivities and vows to 'steal' Christmas as it were so they won't be able to celebrate."
Fro frowned and crossed her paws across her chest, tilting her head to study the pictures on the case. "Oooh. So what happens then?"
"That my little one is a secret and you'll have to find out by watching it." Lucy said settling the popcorn on her coffee table joining the duo on the floor. "That was an excellent explanation of the movie Rogue, especially since you're only going off what the case says." She complimented and noticed the other one in his hand.
"Oh, that one is one of my absolute favorites," she said, studying the front. "It's about this duo of singers who met while in the military and formed an act after they got out and were tricked into meeting another singing duo along the way, this one of two beautiful women. While on the road they find the general they served under who ended up owning a lodge after he retired and they all find themselves at the same lodge. But you see the lodge wasn't doing so well on account of there hardly being any snow so they were suffering financially, but the general is too proud to ask for anyone's help."
"So the duo tries to help the general out behind his back, but a lot of things go wrong along the way. Anyways, the explanation isn't as good as really watching it, so we can watch this one after the Grinch." She looked up and started laughing at the two confused looks they were giving her. "Come on, lets just watch these movies and I'll answer any questions along the way, ok?"
Rogue nodded as he scooped Fro in his arms and settled on the couch, both with their mugs as Lucy popped the first movie in, moving to sit next to them, pressing play.
The Grinch wasn't a long movie but it was rather entertaining how engrossed Fro seemed to get with every minute and even though it was geared more towards children Rogue still paid attention to everything.
"So the moral of the story was that it isn't about the presents or the feasts or having big parties. It's about spending time with the ones you love. That's why the Grinch's heart grew at the end and he became a nice person. He realized the true meaning of Christmas."
Fro nodded as Rogue contemplated her explanation, adding more and more to the list of things that revolved around the holiday called Christmas.
"Alright onto the next one!"
'White Christmas'
"Fro thinks the costumes are really pretty!"
"They are indeed something to behold."
"Yeah, that's just how fancy dance numbers seemed to be in the old days. It's one of the things I adore about that time period."
'It's a Wonderful Life'
"Oh wow the pool was under the gym the whole time! Fro loves swimming!"
"So, this angel in training is showing this man how the world would be if he'd never been born?"
"Yeah, I know I've always been curious as how different everything would be without me. This way, the angel gives him a sort of shock treatment and saves his life in the process."
'Christmas Vacation'
"Fro wants our tree to be that big."
"So, am I to assume that cat is no longer..." He paused seeing the frown on Fro's little face. "He certainly put a lot of lights on the house didn't he?"
"Would certainly say so since he blew out all electricity in the area. Oh yeah, my favorite part has to be the chase with the squirrel and the dog through the house, classic."
'Frosty'
"Can all snowmen get up and walk around just because of a hat?"
"Ahh, so that's the 'Frosty' you mentioned earlier."
"It's so sad when he starts melting away, but then I remember that he always comes back next Christmas."
'The Nightmare Before Christmas'
"Oooh, look at all the scary monsters. The skeletons doggy is see through!"
"Oh I see. Behind each door is a different town based on other holidays. I never knew there were so many."
"I love how the Halloween people try to make Christmas presents with scary stuff. It's definitely different from the norm."
'The Muppets Christmas Carol'
"Hey, there's other animals walking and talking just like me in this one!"
"Most definitely an unpleasant gentleman to be around. I can see how the spirits have their work cut out for them."
"My most favorite spirit is the present. His jolly attitude is so infectious."
'Home Alone'
"Wow, that's a pretty big family. How come they are all so mean to the little guy?"
"So, in their rush they overlook the child and don't even realize it until halfway to their destination? Not exactly good examples of parenthood."
"You've gotta love the elaborate plans the little boy makes to utterly own these crooks. Nothing like being bested by a little boy to really make you feel like a man."
'A Christmas Story'
"Wow, how many coats does that little boy have on? Fro is surprised he can even move."
"So, the young man is wishing for a BB gun for Christmas and at every turn is someone saying no for various reasons. I've got to say giving someone of his age a pellet gun would make me nervous as well."
"Fraaageeeleeeey… Hahaha. I love how important he tries to make that lamp seem just to show it off to the neighborhood. One of these days I want to get one for myself and put it in the window."
It went this way 'til the wee hours of the early morning, popping in movie after movie, Rogue devouring each tale eagerly. But Lucy stated they had more than enough time to watch them all before the fateful day, and they couldn't possibly watch them all in one day, she said jokingly. She had fallen asleep halfway through 'A Christmas Story' along with Fro, cuddling on the sofa under a big blanket while Rogue's attention stayed riveted on the flickering screen. It was coming close to dawn as he flipped the tv off and turned his gaze to the two with a smile. He moved to tuck the blanket in around them and settled in against the other arm of the couch figuring he should get a few hours of rest before the next days events. The last image flickering across his vision was of Fro burying her face in Lucy's neck as she dreamed of the many things they watched on tv that night. The happy contented smile of the cat mixed with the serene one on the blonde filled his mind and calmed his soul.
'That's a sight I wouldn't mind seeing everyday.'
(¯`¥´¯`·.¸.:¨NIchiki ¨:.¸.·´¯`¥´¯)
