Hey guys. I don't really have time to be writing, but I got an idea and I really wanted to get it down before it got cold. Anyway, I have a favor to ask of you. I really want to write one-shots because they are usually quick and easy and I don't have to worry about what comes next. So, what I need from you guys is ideas. I really want to do one-shots about when they are younger, like this one, but I'll take whatever you want. It can be for any story of mine, with limitations on Unexpected Odds. Just tell me what you'd like to read and for which story you'd like and I'll see what I can do.
Anyway, I know it's out of season, but this came to me and I'd thought I'd pick up a pen. It is Derek's first Christmas. The book never says what time of year Derek went to live with Kit and Simon, so I'm saying that he's been with them for about five months.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Darkest Powers
Derek's POV:
"We're gonna be late!" Simon called from the bottom of the stairs, bouncing around impatiently.
Pulling on my left boot, I paused to watch him give up waiting and run up the stairs. Turning back to my boot, I pulled the laces tight and tied them in a double knot. Repeating the process with my other boot, I stood up and brushed the dirt off my butt. Hearing a steady thumping, I looked up to see Kit walking down the stairs with Simon behind him pushing him forward. Laughing, Kit turned around and swung Simon up in his arms to stop him. I watched them for a second before continuing getting ready.
"Alright," Kit said, still laughing. "We can go now."
"Yes!" Simon said, wiggling his way down and out the front door.
"Careful!" Kit called after him. "Watch out for the ice!"
"He's not going to watch out," I pointed out as I zipped up my coat.
Kit leaned down and picked up my hat. Easing it over my head, he pulled it down over my eyes. Lifting it back up, I gave him a look and he smiled at me. He stood back up and lifted his down coat off the rack. I waited until he was fully dressed before walking outside, where Simon was running around the car. When he saw we were coming, he yanked the door open and pulled himself in. Mindful of the ice on the path, I slowly made my way over to the car with Kit behind me. Pulling myself into the backseat, I reached for my seatbelt as Kit shut the door behind me. As I locked the seatbelt into place, I felt the anxiety for a second before relaxing. Kit said I needed to where it for my safety, so I wore it… even if I didn't like it.
"You boys ready?" Kit asked, turning around to look at us.
"Yeah, Dad," Simon said.
I nodded and took a deep breath. As the car started moving, I gripped the seat and looked out the window. After a few minutes, I started to relax and watched the buildings go by outside the window. Kids playing in the snow caught my eye and I watched them until they were too far to make out. I'd never gotten to play in snow before living with Kit and Simon. I wasn't sure if I liked it yet. Simon seemed to have a lot of fun and it was fun playing with him. He like to throw snowballs and build snowmen that looked like piles of snow with sticks and rocks sticking out. He also liked to go sledding, which I discovered was something I liked to do, too. Kit tried to get me to try out ice skating, but I wouldn't do it. I didn't see how going around with knives on your feet could be considered fun. And then there was slipping on the ice and falling on your butt. What was fun about that?
"Are we almost there?" Simon asked, squirming around and fighting against his seatbelt.
"Five more minutes," Kit said, "You'll survive."
Simon sighed and dropped his head back. "He's gonna be gone before we get there."
"Who's going to be gone?" I asked Simon.
"Santa," Simon said.
"Who's Santa?" I asked.
He looked over me and his jaw dropped. "You don't know who Santa is?!"
I shook my head. "Is he famous?"
"He's the greatest person in whole world!" Simon said. "He lives at the North Pole and has elves who build toys all year round. And on Christmas, he goes to every house in the world and brings presents to all the kids. He knows everything you do and has a list that says how good you've been all year. If you've been bad, you get coal."
"If he lives at the North Pole, why is he at the mall?" I asked.
"So that we can tell him what we want for Christmas," Simon said.
"Then why have his elves been building toys all year?" I asked.
"Cause that's how long it takes to make them all," Simon said.
"But if he waited until now to ask what we want, then how did he know what to build all year?" I asked. I heard quiet laughter coming from the front seat and I saw Kit trying not to laugh. "What?"
I looked back over at Simon, who had gone silent. He looked thoughtful for a second before asking, "Dad, if Santa waited until now to ask what we want, then how did he know what to build all year?"
Kit cleared his throat. "Well, he had a hunch and now he's just double checking."
I still had more questions, but I kept them to myself. After another minute, the car stopped and I looked out the window to see that we were at the mall. As soon as Kit shut off the car, Simon unbuckled his seatbelt and bounded out. I took my time getting out. As soon as I shut the door, Kit locked the car and took both of our hands. We walked alongside him through the parking lot and into the mall, where I drew closer to him. I didn't like being around so many people.
We didn't have to walk far before we came across a giant line of people. Kit led us to the end of the line and we slowly made our way closer to wherever it was that the line led to. I noticed a lot of kids in line who were as excited as Simon was. As we got closer, I got a better view of what was at the end. There were people dressed in funny looking green suits handing out candy canes to kids. I watched one of the funny looking people take the hand of a little girl with blond hair who looked around my age. He led her over to a large chair where an old, fat man in a red suit was sitting. She was lifted onto his lap and smiled up at him.
"Who's that?" I asked, looking up at Kit.
"That's Santa Claus," Kit said.
I looked back to see the little girl lifted off his lap and handed a candy cane. She ran off to where a woman with the same blond hair was waiting. Taking the woman's hand, she walked with her towards the exit. As she passed us, she looked over at me and smiled. Kit's gentle nudge brought my attention back to where we were and I moved ahead in line.
After ten minutes, we were next in line. I held Kit's hand tightly as the man in green walked towards us. Simon was bouncing up and down and instantly took the man's hand when he offered it. He led Simon away and over to Santa. I watched as Simon was lifted onto his lap like the little girl. He talked to Santa for a minute before he hopped off and took his candy cane. When Kit nudged me toward the green man, I resisted and took a step back. The green man leaned down to where Simon was still standing by Santa and said something to him before handing him another candy cane.
Kit led me out of line and held his hand out for Simon to grab. Simon ran over and took his hand. He held out the second candy cane to me.
"Santa's elf said this is for you," he said.
I took it, thanking him and putting it in my pocket. As we walked back to the car and drove home, Simon talked the entire time about what he told Santa and every word that Santa had said. I listened quietly and sucked on my candy cane.
…,,,…
Turning the last page of my book, I read it down to the last period and shut it. Putting it back on the shelf, I didn't grab the next one but went to find Simon instead. So far winter was very boring. We couldn't go outside to play without putting on all those clothes and by the time we were dressed, Simon was already tired. And even when we did get outside, we always ended up cold and wet.
I found Simon in the kitchen at the table writing. I stopped outside the door, but I didn't go inside. If he was busy, I didn't want to bother him.
"Looking for something, bud?" Kit asked, walking up behind me.
"I was looking for Simon, but he's busy," I said.
"Oh, he's just writing his letter to Santa," Kit said.
"Why?" I asked.
"To make sure Santa remembers what he wants," Kit answered. Winking at me, he said, "And trying to get on his good list at the last minute. Why don't you write him a letter telling him what you want, too?"
I looked up at him. "You want me to write a letter to an old, fat man who spends all his time playing with toys?"
Kit stared at me before laughing. Ruffling my hair, he said, "Well, when you put it that way…."
I watched him walk into the kitchen to start dinner. Simon looked up from his letter to say something to him. Kit nodded and Simon grinned. Finishing his letter, folded it and stuffed it in an envelope. He left it on the table and hopped down off the chair. Seeing me standing in the doorway, he raced passed me.
"Let's go play outside," he yelled back.
Running after him, I stopped at the door and pulled on all my outside clothes. Simon opened the door to go outside when Kit called from the kitchen in his parental voice,
"Simon!"
Simon sighed and grabbed his hat off the rack. He pulled it on and raced outside, jumping in the snow. I followed him out, shutting the door behind me. I joined Simon in the snow as he continued the snow fort we started yesterday. As he ran around the yard gathering more snow, I fixed up the walls he had started yesterday before starting new ones. We had finished one wall and were halfway done with the second one when Kit called us in for dinner.
"We're never going to finish it at this rate," Simon groaned.
"We can work on it more after dinner," I offered.
"Nah," he said. "Dad said Andrew's coming over."
"Oh," I said.
It wasn't that I didn't like Andrew. He'd never really given me a reason to dislike him. I just didn't trust him. Simon seemed to like him a lot, but Simon also really liked our teacher who was constantly scolding me for reading when I was supposed to be practicing my letters. I tried to explain to her that if I can read a book was wasn't completely filled with pictures that I knew an A from a B. She didn't seem to understand and made me do the letters anyway. When I brought it up to Kit at dinner, he told me that she just likes to work at a slower pace than I did so the other kids wouldn't get behind and to just be patient. When I tried to persuade him to let me stay home until the others had caught up, he told me that I could stay home when Simon was completely caught up with me. I haven't stayed home yet.
After dinner, I pulled out my tub of blocks and set out to create the fortress I saw on TV earlier. I was working on the tower when the doorbell rang. Looking up, I watched Kit leave the room to answer it. When he didn't return after a minute, I went to check on him. Peeking around the corner, I saw the door open and Kit nowhere in sight. I started to step forward when I heard a grunt from outside. I ran to the door, expecting to see Kit in danger, but instead I found myself staring at the top of a pine tree.
"Derek, could you open the door a little wider, please," Kit asked.
I stepped aside and opened the door. Kit walked in first, followed by Andrew, who was holding the bottom of the tree. I watched them as they carried it into the living room and propped it up in the corner. Shutting the door, I followed them inside, mindful of the trail of needles. Something was clearly wrong with Kit's head. If he didn't like me getting mud on the carpet, why did he want a tree in the house?
"Hey, the tree is here!" Simon said, coming up behind me.
"What's it for?" I asked.
"It's a Christmas tree," Simon said. "We decorate it and Santa puts presents under it on Christmas."
He ran forward to check out the tree, but I stayed back.
"Thanks for bringing it over," Kit said to Andrew. "I know it's quite a drive."
Andrew shook his head. "Don't think anything of it. I was heading this way anyway."
They walked past me to the door and I waited until Andrew was gone before moving from my spot. Slowly making my way to the tree in the corner, I looked it up and down to make sure there was nothing dangerous about it. It had obviously been cut, so there was always the chance of it falling down. And the pine needles falling to the floor could be stepped on. Also, who knew what could be living in it.
"Well, I think this is everything," Kit grunted as he set down a large box with a thump.
He lifted off the top and whatever was inside shined in the light. Simon ran over and peered inside.
"Can we put the ornaments on now?" Simon asked.
"Lights first," Kit said.
He reached inside and pulled out a giant mass of wires. He grimaced as the knotted pile fell in his lap.
"This might take a while," he said. "Why don't you two go through the ornaments and pick out which ones you want to put on while I get this untangled."
Simon instantly dove into the box and pulled out colorful balls that glinted in the light and other strange things on hooks. Instead of helping him, I walked over to Kit and decided to ask him the question that had been plaguing me all day.
"What's Christmas?" I asked.
He looked up at me and stared for a second before speaking. "Oh. Well, uh, that's a hard question to answer, Derek."
"Don't you know?" I asked.
"Well, yes I do," he said, setting down the lights and drawing me into his lap, something he only did when he had something important to tell me. "Hmm, how do I explain this? There are many answers to your question. Christmas isn't just one thing. It's different for different people."
"How?" I asked.
He thought for a while before answering. "Do you remember when we had dinner with the couple next door? When they said a prayer before they ate?"
I nodded.
"Well, it's kind of like that," Kit said. "Some people pray before they eat and on Christmas, they go to church to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, who I will explain to you later on. Some people, like us, don't celebrate that part of Christmas. We get together on Christmas and exchange gifts and celebrate being together for the holiday."
"But we're always together," I said.
"We won't always be," Kit said. "When you boys get older, you'll move out and start your own lives with your own families and we won't see each other all the time. Does that help at all?"
I nodded and slid off his lap. I still didn't really understand it, but it helped a little. Looking over at the shedding tree in the corner, I frowned. Nothing he told me would explain why anybody would want a tree in the house.
When Kit was finished untangling the lights, we watched as he wound them around the tree. He then put on the shiny grass called tinsel. When he finally finished, he said we could decorate. I watched Simon put on ball after ball and did what he did. Walking over the box, I looked inside to see the only thing left was a star. Lifting it out to look at it, I gasped when Kit grabbed me and lifted me up. He carried me to the tree and lifted me to the top.
"Just put it over the top," he instructed me.
I did what he said and he lowered me back down. He fiddled with it before stepping back and walking across the room and shutting off the lights. We were immersed in darkness under he walked back over to the tree and leaned down to plug in a cord. As soon as he did, the entire lit up in lights, illuminating the whole room. Simon cheered and jumped up and down, but I could only stare in awe. Different colored lights danced over the tree. I had never seen anything like it before.
Kit kneeled behind us and drew us both into his arms for a backwards hug. Soon after, Kit sent us off to bed. I couldn't sleep, though. When the clock chimed midnight, I snuck downstairs and plugged the tree back in. I wasn't sure how long I sat in front of the tree, watching the different colored lights chase each other up the tree. I must have fallen asleep, though, because when I awoke the next morning, the tree was off and I was on the couch with a blanket tucked around me.
…,,,…
I watched out the window as cars drove past. I didn't, however, see the car I wanted. Kit was late getting home. Mrs. Reynolds, the old woman who lived across the street, was watching us while he was at work and she was driving me nuts. If she pinched my cheeks one more time…
I sat up straight as headlights turned into our driveway and stopped. Running to the door, I waited until the door opened the Kit walked through, carrying a box. When he saw me standing there and smiled down at me.
"Hey there, bud," he said. "Miss me?"
"You're late," I accused him.
"Sorry about that," he said, "But I have something for you."
He leaned down and handed me the box. "There are from the library, so be careful with them, okay?"
I nodded and carried the box into the living room. Opening it, my eyes went wide as I saw all the books. There were picture books and chapter books and even huge novels. And they were all on Christmas. Smiling, I dug through and found one to start with. It was on the history of Christmas. Laying down on my stomach, I laid the book down in front of me and was instantly engrossed in it.
When bedtime came around, I had a giant stack of book that I had finished and was currently flipping through a picture book. Kit had to pry the books away before I stopped reading and went to bed. This became a nightly ritual until I ran out of books and Kit wouldn't get me more because the library was closed for the night.
By that time, it was Christmas Eve and Simon was running around the house, too excited for Santa to come. I would have been excited, too, however no amount of books could convince me that an old, fat man could fly around in a sleigh pulled by reindeer. I was even more skeptical of how he could manage to squeeze down our chimney when the raccoon who died in it last month couldn't even manage to do that. I also didn't understand why Simon insisted we put out milk and cookies for him. If he was too big to fit down the chimney now, why would he want to make it harder? I was still asking these questions when Kit sent us to bed for the night.
I was almost asleep when I heard rustling. Peeking an eye open, I watched Simon push back his blanket and sneak out the door. Closing my eyes, I pulled my own blanket farther up and exhaled. After a few minutes, I heard the door open and I watched as Kit set Simon down on his bed and for the fifth time tonight told him to stay. Simon huffed and fell back against his pillow. Shaking my head, I rolled over to face the wall and fell asleep.
I woke up to someone shaking me and I turned over to see Simon sitting on my bed.
"Come on, Derek," he said. "Let's go see what Santa brought."
Before I could argue to being woken up so early, he was off my bed and out the door. Sighing, I pushed the blankets off and followed him out. I took my time getting to the living room, still too tired to understand what he was so excited about. As soon as I stepped inside, however, my eyes went wide. What was empty space beneath the tree last night was now filled with brightly colored presents. Simon was digging underneath, reading each one. I watched as he found one he was satisfied with and pulled it out.
"Don't make a mess," Kit said, walking up behind me with a cup of coffee in his hands.
Simon didn't seem to hear him as he tore open the present and tossed the paper aside. He grinned when he saw the fire truck inside.
Kit kneeled down next to me. "Why don't you go open one?"
I looked over at him in surprise. "There's one for me?"
He laughed. "There might just be more than one."
Smiling, I ran over and was surprised to see there was a lot with my name on it. I wasn't sure which one to start with, so I grabbed the nearest one and carefully peeled off the paper. When I saw what was inside, I grinned. It was the construction set I was looking at in the toy store a few weeks ago. As I opened every present, I could hardly believe it. I'd never gotten so many things before.
Running over to where Kit was sitting on the couch, watching us. I crawled up and threw my arms around him in a very rare hug.
"Thank you, Dad," I said.
Done. If you haven't read the authors note at the top, please do.