I know you were all expecting another chapter but I thought since it's Christmas I decided to do something special for the viewers and make one, took a little longer than I thought due to so much with the decorations, the presents and preparing the food for the time of the year. I had to make sure it was done and hope you all enjoye this special chapter.
Enjoy the chapter!
It was at that time of the year when Christmas was coming, everyone was excited for the festivities, the food, parties, and presents. The heroes saw this as a chance to relax and spent time with their friends and loved ones, while the teens wanted to enjoy the time as well, Mickey offered the keybladers to work part-time at the House of Mouse, at least Ben suggested to convince his friends to help out.
Taren in the waiters' uniform had no problem with it to serve the guests… but it was the villains he had to watch out for considering who his parents were. All he had to do was to help the penguins carry the plates around, take some orders and avoid being around the villains too long while keeping themselves entertained watching the usual cartoons and comedy sketches.
"Never knew this was the trickiest part, wonder how his majesty and the others handle this lot." Taren muttered while handing the plate to the seven dwarves' table with Agumon's assistance "Here you go guys."
Receiving thanks from the dwarves and turned to find Max sorting out the orders for their guests. "Think that's all seven of them."
"And I got some for Gaston's grilled steak with rosemary potatoes, Genie's franks and beans, Mulan's great wall of chowder." Max reading all the orders and directions for the penguins, he and Taren yelped when they were almost shot by a bolt of lightning, caused by Jafa who looked impatient.
"Uh, not to worry Jafar, your Hot lava choco will be on its way." Max apologizes to him, even though they had to be nice to them as part of the job.
"As soon as that chef doesn't eat it first." Taren sighed knowing how hard it is to please these villains. "They're lucky to get a time off from the Isle, but have to be so annoying?"
"Ugh, tell me about it. But I kinda wonder how Ben would handle it."
BOOM!
The two jump when they hear the sound of gunshots fired, only to find Cruella De Vil and Clayton the hunter who held a double-barreled shotgun in his hand.
"Watch where you fire that thing, you imbecile! Do you realize how much this fur coat cost?!" Cruella proclaimed, jabbing her finger to his chest.
"Then you shouldn't be in the way when I was about to bag that creature!" Clayton argued and spotted what seemed to be Gabumon running between the tables. "Ah ha! There it is!" Clayton loaded his gun with bullets. "Now I got you!"
But she didn't seem to let him have the chance when she swatted her furred bag into his face. "Not so fast! That fur is mine!"
"Sleep!"
Before either of them could make a move, they suddenly fell to the floor sleeping and snoring. Ben sighed in relief to make it in time to stop them. "Think you guys had enough fun for one night."
Ben then sees Tarn and Max come over to them. "This has to be the busiest night ever."
"That's the third time this week, would it kill them to play nice?" Taren said.
"Would have been interesting to see." Max snickered and helped them carry the dishes that were finished before someone came to them.
"Hey, waiter, over here." Taren and Max turn around to see a tall mouse with a long nose and ears, given a more rat-like appearance. He is known to many as Mortimer and somewhat a rival to King Mickey back then who always tried to hit on the queen. They heard about him being arrogant, lecherous, charismatic, but most of all considered to be the opposite of Mickey Mouse. "Ah, your highness, nice clothes to wear. Got them from the costume dig?"
Ben resisted the urge to groan by his so-called jokes. "No, I'm working part time during the Christmas holidays."
"Anyway, by any chance some girls are around here?" Mortimer pulled out a mistletoe from his pocket. "I'm offering them a kiss from the lucky guy."
"And who would that be, Prince Charming?" Taren smirked to give a joke, earning a chuckle from his friends.
Mortimer narrowed his eyes at the keyblader. "Me. Who d'ya think, Johnny Depp? And I just got the first dibs, like Meg while she's alone." He walked past the trio to the table he had his eye on. "I'll show you boys how to impress a babe my way."
Max and Taren shared a glance to each other. "Meg? I thought she and Hercules left for home?" Max thought.
"Then who's the one sitting there?" Ben pondered as they watched to see what was about to happen.
Mortimer smiles and feels confident standing by the chair without seeing the face of who he thought was Meg, holding the mistletoe above him. "Say, Meg, how about a Christmas smooch from a Hero whose no Zero."
The woman he was trying to impress turned around and revealed to be none other than Clarabella Cow, the House of Mouse gossiper wearing a wig to make it look as if she was Meg. "Like my new hair?"
Mortimer was dumbfounded and taken by surprise with the mistake he made. "Ah! You're not the chick from Olympus!" He was grabbed by the gossiper and pulled in to receive a big kiss from her.
The teens watched and could not help but not feel sorry for his misfortune. It was one thing they learnt is don't be like Mortimer. Making their way into the staff with most of the things done.
Meanwhile Donald was passing through the crowd when suddenly a Christmas present with his name on it was on a table. "For me? Oh boy, oh boy!" The duck believed this could turn out to be a good Christmas after all. Too excited to wait and wanting to open it, curious to know who sent it.
And once he opened it… was an active bomb. "AAH!?" He quickly stuffed it into a jug to stop the fuse. "Phew." Thinking he was out of danger when the spark lit up as if it wasn't drenched. "WAH?!"
Realizing this was trickier than he thought, Donald tried another trick by using a water gun, fire extinguisher, or even used a can to make a mini rain cloud which worked… only for a spark to make it worse. In a state of panic, he couldn't throw it out when there were people and made an effort to run for it.
"Just glad it will be over soon, I gotta get myself ready as soon as my job is done." Taren smiled for a moment when he was getting ready to spend time with his girlfriends.
"Got invited by Bloom, no doubt." Ben brought up as he heard about their plans for Christmas.
It was going to be the first time with them and found out she really loves Christmas for finding it magical and making it special with her family. Bloom was almost surprised to find most other worlds celebrate traditional holidays, she wanted to invite him and their friends to her place for Christmas Eve which he accepted, receiving a wide grin and squeal to have their first time together. Taren had to explain it to Agumon about it as Digimon doesn't seem to know about it and also to get presents for them..
Just then entering the room were Mal and Mirta in their uniform as well, she looked exhausted and had the usual blonde hair to disguise herself from the guests with also the illusion magic. Mirta came along to do a job but also to spend some time with her friends for the holidays. "Ugh, I'm so glad it's over. How they managed to fit a giant into the clubhouse, I'll never know."
"Never mind the giant, that giant demon looked terrifying." Mirta couldn't help but feel spooked upon meeting the Chernabog and almost gave her nightmares by his devilish grin and haunting spirits. "How do they handle all this?"
None of them knew how to answer when Mickey came to see them. "Hey, everyone, great job on handling it out there and hope you all have a great Christmas."
"Thanks, Mickey. I can imagine my dad being eager to have the Christmas dinner soon, seeing that turkey like a hungry dog." Ben chuckled and could imagine his mom keeping him from getting excited or turning into the beast again.
"My dad told me all about it and sounds really exciting, he thought of taking me and my mom to Radiant Garden to celebrate it since it will be our first." Mirta explained since she never knew much about it until her father explained to her what they do.
"At least this one wouldn't be a turkey that grows so large and moves about. Not like the last one we had last year." Taren gave a remark and gave a deadpan look to Mal as if she was the guilty one. "Right?"
She looked at the two boys and held her hands up. "Hey! It was just one time!" Mal explained her reasons. "I was trying to make something special and used some magic to make enough for us, I didn't know it would start fighting back."
"Huh?" The king looked puzzled, as did the others of what was going on.
Ben decided to explain what happened. "When it came to Christmas, we offered to help Macbeth do the cooking and so much of it, he had guests over and had our own. Mal volunteered for the cooking… but then when having our own…"
"The turkey moved on its own and went full on berserker mode on us." Mal muttered. "Luckily no harm was done, and finished it off. Can see why it was one of the reasons why Auradon chose to limit the use of magic."
"I would have put off turkeys for a long time." Taren said.
"Mmm, sounds delicious." Agumon rubbed his stomach, picturing a large roasted turkey to eat. No doubt Gabumon would want some along with Gomamon, while Palmon was more of a plant-type and likely not interested in the meat flavor. But also the snowball fights and building a snowman they were told about.
"Trust me, you'll enjoy it." Taren promises him. "But gotta keep you out of sight while we are in Gardenia for Christmas Eve."
"I can imagine she has something special for you." Mal said. "I'll be getting my things to see my friends and-"
"Oi, what is it with mortals that find snow so much fun? I mean it's the opposite of hot and can freeze ya to death!
Mal was cut off and spun around trying to find the source of that voice, and then her skin turned pale. "Oh no."
"Mal? What's the matter?" Ben had never seen her this pale before, or even nervous for that matter and then spotted the Lord of the Underworld, Hades entering the clubhouse.
It was none other than Hades who was by the reception to get a seat from Daisy. "And don't get me starting on that 'Winter is Coming' catchphrase, or I'll make Summer come early this year. I know a lot of lawyers."
"Hey, buddy? Think you can turn down the heat?" An old man asked him, wearing a pair of shades, and walked past Hades. "It feels like summer already came."
"Oh, that must be Hades coming in now." Mickey noticed but then saw Mal acting strangely. "Hey, Mal, something wrong?"
"Nothing, just remembered to get the potatoes for my aunts. Gotta go, Palmon we better go!" She grabbed the startled Digimon by the arm and dived into the shadow vortex. "Have great Christmas!"
"Ah! Mal wai-" Palmon yelped as she vanished along with Mal, leaving the others baffled and confused.
"What was that about?" Taren scratched his head to know what got into her.
"This is the first time I've seen her act this way." For Mirta it was a first for her, only if it was something she got caught or wanting to avoid being noticed by the professors.
"Hey, Mick, how's it going?" Hades came over to greet him before noticing the teens and their Digimon. "Uh, what are they? Some sort of dino and a… dog who has a bad fur coat?"
"They're digimon. Short for Digital Monsters." Mickey introduced them to him to explain.
"That's right!" Agumon agreed.
"Yep." Gabumon confirmed.
The lord of the underworld looked confused to the mouse and responded. "What is that some sort of Japanese franchise? You might not wanna advertise that, sounds like some game of small monsters I've been hearing from mortals these days."
"Well, if you hurry, Professor Von Drake is about to perform his inventions." Mickey suggested to Hades as he made his way to take a seat for the show. "Boy, this is gonna be a swell Christmas. Should've been to the last year's when Pete thought he took all the presents and got them burned. Luckily we knew how his mind worked."
"We're gonna have to get going, gonna be ready for Christmas." Ben decides to go and find Mal before they leave with his digimon following him.
Taren agreed with him and wanted to be ready for the party with Bloom tonight. "Yeah, no doubt Bloom wants to know where I am."
"Same here, thanks for letting us work, your majesty." Mirta thanked him and was about to leave when she noticed something above them, tied up in a string. "Hey, what's that?"
Minnie came up to them and looked up with a giggle along with the king. "I think someone should know what that is."
"Huh?" Taren was not sure what they meant until he looked up and saw it was a mistletoe, right above him and Mirta. While the Alfean student remained oblivious of what it meant, Taren had the right idea when his face turned bright red and never knew it was there.
"Hmm, something the matter, Taren?" Mirta took notice of his flushed face and was still a little new to the customs.
Minnie decided to explain to Mirta what it meant. "Well, you see Mirta, a mistletoe on Christmas is normally a tradition to be hanged above anyone who's under it."
"And they have to kiss each other." Mickey finished the last sentence with a chuckle.
Mirta was completely blown away by what they meant and now felt her face and felt her heart racing. "W-Wh-what!? You mean… Me… and …that we…"
"Uh, you sure? I mean it looks too high, and I'm taken." Taren tried to get out of it and while it was only Christmas it was different when he was already in a relationship.
"Aw, come on, its only Christmas, nothing to worry about." Mickey encouraged them and saw no worries. "Besides, its only fun you can kiss the cheek."
"Yeah… I mean, sure. I'll… go for the cheek." Taren suggested as both the teens seem somewhat hesitant for a moment and while thinking it be just quick and get it over with as it was only for Christmas. Both took a moment and leaned in for her cheek while Mirta closed her eyes and leaned towards him to make it a quick one.
"WAAACKK! OUT OF THE WWAAAYYY!"
Running so fast, Donald swopped past the group with a live bomb in his hands. He shot past the two royals, causing them to spin around so fast and accidently knocked Taren to fall on to the startled Mirta when they fell to the floor.
Donald decided to pull out his staff to use his magic to make it vanish or contain a barrier around it but accidently encased himself inside with it. "Ah, nuts." Right before it exploded with him inside it.
KABOOM!
Groaning, Taren least had his bearings after that explosion while it was a distance that it didn't hurt anyone but didn't expect to be knocked over by the panicking duck, so far he seems to not have any bruises. "Talk about an odd timing." He muttered, then froze when he realized the position they were in and spotted a pair of gray eyes belonging to the startled Mirta with a flushed freckled face inches from his.
"Uh…s-sorry… that was ehh… not suppose to happen." Immediately pulls himself up before anything could have been more awkward between them.
Mirta managed to find a way to speak while not taking any offense to him when it was clearly accidently, while trying to keep her heart from beating so fast. "N-No, it's okay. Um, you could… maybe get up, please?"
Taren did so and pulled himself up before Mickey and Minnie came over to help her up on her feet and relieved they weren't hurt or anything. "Sorry about that, seems Donald just likes to have fun." At least that's what Minnie believed to be one of his stunts.
"He certainly sure knows how to make a loud bang." Mickey chuckled, upon seeing Donald walking… barely and covered in soot from the blast. "Gee, a little over done with the excitement, don't ya think?"
Donald responded with a cough and muttered the words. "Merry Christmas." Before he fell to the floor flat and knocked out.
Upon the stage was the title "The Science of Santa" on the screen with the professor Von Drake to make his performance. "Today the professor is going to explain how Santa can fly all over the world in one cute little nut! If there was milk and cookies waiting for me, I'd be flying all over the place myself!" Holds out a gingerbread-man cookie and takes a bite out of the head.
Oblivious to one of the guests who were actually gingerbread-men gasped and fainted upon seeing one being bitten.
"LUDWIG! HAVE YOU BEEN IN THE COOKIE JAR AGAIN?!"
A voice belonging to an angry woman startled the professor who remembered it was his mother and hid the cookie he had behind his back.
"Not now, mommy! I'm doing my little science demonstration!" Von Drake explained, almost terrified to get into trouble with his mother. "Oh ho! Now what was I talking about? Oh yes! Santa Claus is getting everywhere so fast because he is driving…" Presenting what appears to be a high tech and sporty looking sleigh. "His turbocharged Santa Sling with dual toy bags. This buggy goes so fast that Santa can be in more than one place at the same time!"
Out of nowhere came another professor riding another Santa Sling. "Hello there! Look what I bought for me." Pulls out a cookie jar in his hands. "The cookie jar!"
"LUDWIG!"
Alarmed that his mother had found out that the cookie jar was missing and in need to make a run for it. "Quick! Step on it!" The two flew over the theater to make their escape.
Before Taren could help them pick up Donald, his phone vibrated and picked it up to answer it, to his surprise it was from Bloom on it. "Hey, all set where you are?"
"You bet! I've got everything ready for Christmas this year." Bloom replied with a giddy tone through the phone. "I spoke with the headmistress and she agreed to let me spend time with my parents on Earth"
"That's good to hear."
"Yeah, and also got a call from my parents, they decided to invite the neighborhood kids so hope that's okay."
Not expecting this but didn't want to spoil it for her since it's their home. But the problem is to figure out how to keep Agumon hidden from the kids if they get spooked by his appearance. "I don't see why not, but gotta make sure Agumon stays out of sight."
"Why do I have to hide?" Agumon asked him.
"Because kids don't normally see a live dino that breathes fire." Taren pointed out the facts as not everyone is aware that magic actually exists.
"Yeah, that might be true. Sorry, but I promise on Christmas Day you get to spend time and get lots of food." Bloom promised to him.
The fire breathing digimon took the idea to a liking and came to an agreement. "Oh that's right, and I just hope the food is really good. We'll be on our way to the Ebon Hawk and meet you at Alfea."
"See you there!" Bloom hung up the phone, excited to spend Christmas with him as he was.
Mal emerged from the shadows, sighs in relief and came to the changing room to get into her normal clothes. "Boy, that was close."
"What was that about?"
Almost made a startled yelp and found Ben behind her with his arms folded in front of his chest, standing by the door when he somehow followed her. Almost annoyed by the stunt of catching her by surprise. "Sheesh, ever heard of knocking?"
Ben felt somewhat embarrassed for surprising her like that. "Sorry, just thought to wonder what that was back there."
"Uh, well when it comes to villains, many knew my mom when she was alive… they'd probably begin to wonder." Mal somewhat gave an answer to him, in which he noticed something else she was hiding but decided to put it aside for now.
"Guess that makes sense being keybladers and all." Ben could understand her reason. "I get a lot of looks from them for being a prince and son of the parents who put them in the Isle of the Lost." He stopped to see something above. "Well, that's unexpected."
"Huh? What?" Mal was puzzled until she looked up, only to know what it was and blushed. "Uhh... oh, I, uh… This is unexpected."
Ben spots the mistletoe and also felt nervous when it seemed new to her. "Well, it is the season of joy right?" Decided to try and step up his chances, gave her a surprise kiss on the cheek before pulling away from the somewhat surprised Mal who's face turned bright red. "Merry Christmas."
"Hey guys." Mirta made her way over to them. "We're just about to head off, you guys coming?"
"Yeah, we're coming." Ben responded and changed into his own clothes before they left.
Mal snapped out of her train of thought and quickly responded. "I-I'll go and get change and meet you there." She shut the door to get a chance, with no one around she made a silent cheer, thrusting her hands straight up and down, trying to maintain her excitement of getting a peck from her crush on Christmas Eve. "Don't get too overexcited, girl. It was just for christmas." But could deny how good that it felt from him.
Mickey smiled at the teens and wished them well. "Well, thanks for the help you guys, and have a merry Christmas! And to make it special, here's the presents for the hard work you did." Offering them wrapped up presents
They gave their thanks and appreciated the gifts he gave them. The four made their way to the kingdom's spaceport with the Ebon Hawk ready to take them home. As it was Christmas Eve they wanted to make it special and were walking up the ramp when they saw Riku waiting for them in the corridor.
"Hey, Riku, how's it going?" Taren greeted him when they came inside the ship.
"Been good and had our own party back home." Riku smiles at the keybladers and welcomes them. "Had a good time?"
"Yeah, it was fun." Mirta smiled and enjoyed it. "The shows they had were a lot of fun to watch."
"Yeah and also to keep out of the villains' way." Ben commented.
Riku nods his head. "Well, get comfy, we'll be heading to Earth and there's a little surprise down at the main hall."
Curious to what was in the main hall and find out what he meant when they found Winx girls, minus Bloom in the main hall sitting around the table.
"Hey, guys!" Stella waved to them with a bright smile.
They were surprised to find the Winx on board instead of being at Alfea. "Hey, what brings you all here?"
"We decided to come along to celebrate Christmas Eve on Earth with Bloom." Musa answered for being on the ship. "Bloom told us all about it, it sounded like fun and decided to spend it at her house."
"Oh, so you know about Christmas then?" Mal asked them when she figured it wasn't known in the Magic Dimension.
"Well, only through a quick research into it and decided to make some for our friends. I find this seasonal moment really interesting." Tecna pulled out a Santa hat.
"Yeah, especially for the outfits! She thought to invite us over and get into the Christmas spirit!" Stella puts on a red Santa coat to fit it on. "What do you think?"
"You look great, Stella." Mirta complimented her style. "I bet Bloom will be thrilled about it."
"Speaking of Bloom, where is she?" Taren looked around and saw no sign of her.
"Surprise!"
They find Bloom come into the main hall, dressed in a green santa dress and hat with it. She gave a bright smile and spread her arms wide to welcome them. "Merry Christmas! I wanted this to be a surprise for you all and brought our friends over. What do you think?" Showing them her outfit and making a twirl to see the rest of her outfit.
Taren stared at her with a surprised look on his face, he had to admit she looked really cute in a Christmas outfit and couldn't think of anything to say but. "Wow."
Stella couldn't help but smirk and giggle, whispering over to Bloom. "I can see why you wanted to surprise him with it."
Bloom giggled and flushed when she thought to see the look on his face of her costume. "So, I was wondering if the rest of you wanted to spend Christmas Eve at my place, there's enough space for you all and enough food around."
"Really? That's great, Bloom." Ben accepted the invite. "I could spend some time before heading for home."
"Eh, why not. Guess it would be nice and I'll be spending Christmas with my friends back home tomorrow." Mal nodded when she made plans. "And I bet Taren hoped to spend it with his girls."
"Hahah, very funny." Taren rolled his eyes and turned to the purple haired teen with a deadpan look. "And a little heads up, Bloom invited some kids from the neighborhood to have a good time. That means no magic or any of your tricks, Mal."
"Trust me, it will be great. And I also brought presents." Bloom brought a sack filled with wrapped up presents for her friends.
"I'll help out." Taren volunteered to help, he pulled out a present and walked over to Flora. "Here's something for you, Flora."
Flora saw the gift in his hand and smiled with a bashful look. "Aw, thank you, Taren." Eagerly accepted it and gave him a soft kiss. "I'll be certain my present will be as special as this."
"Gee, I wonder what that could be?" Stella gave a coy smile with ideas in the Fairy of Nature's mind.
"Nothing compared to what you would have with Brandon." Flora countered, earning a few laughs to the blushing blonde when she was told about Christmas and giving gifts, the Solarian Princess had some idea to give her boyfriend when she gets back to Magix.
Now interested in what he would get and decided to go with Bloom into the quarters to sort out the presents while they begin to set off. He had helped with the shopping and had to find some presents he thought would be special for both of them and his friends.
One thing they'll be looking forward to is no villains or monsters to spoil this moment, a break from all of it.
Bloom appreciated his help and also for coming over for Christmas Eve. "I hope your parents don't mind that you come over to my place on Christmas Eve, it's just that this is our first time being in a relationship and want to make it special."
"It's no big deal, they didn't mind spending it with their friends back home." Taren smiled and was not bothered. "Besides, my mom thought if you girls wanted to come over to mine tomorrow, if that's no big deal."
She was actually excited to be given an invite to spend Christmas with him on Destiny Island. It was nice for his parents to give them the invitation. "I'd love to! But I should check if Flora can come to make it fair."
"Don't worry I'd doubt she would turn it down." Taren then noticed his girlfriend giggling with a smile on her face with faint pink cheeks. "What?" Rather than say anything, she pointed her finger up to the ceiling where he looked up and noticed something. "Say, isn't that a mistletoe?"
"Mmm-hmm~" Bloom happily hummed, then without warning, reached out for his jacket to yank himtowards her.
"WAH!" Taren yelped when finds her arms around him and pulled to the nearest room for privacy, showered with kisses from the excitable princess.
On the top bunk was Kiko holding the mistletoe by the stick with the Aracuan Bird sitting beside the rabbit with a Christmas hat when he lowered it between the couple.
"I can just hardly wait to try the food they have on Earth, if only Brandon and the Specialists were with us." Stella sighed in dismay when she wanted to spend her first Christmas with Brandon.
"You know they have missions to perform, Stella. And it was just recently when we had no idea about it." Musa told her of their reason for absence when Bloom felt bad for not mentioning it earlier but were so busy at the time. Even if she could imagine her first Christmas with Riven, maybe she could get a present to give him when she gets back and also for the pixies. "So, any plans you guys have?"
"Yeah, spending it with my parents and our friends in the palace, I remember the story they told me about my mom getting my dad back into liking Christmas when he was cursed." Ben recalled the history from his parents when his father once banned it for some time.
"For me, be planning to spend it with my friends… provided to keep Jay from stealing them. Again."
"Jay?" Mirta asked, almost thinking of one of their friends back on Earth.
"One of the Villains' kids, a friend of mine from Auradon." Mal stated. But learnt that the two people have the same name, she would want to think about giving nicknames to tell them apart. "But we know about it anyway, so you can ask us about the stuff." She makes herself some drink and takes a seat back on the curved couch.
Ben decided to get up from his seat. "I'm gonna head to the cockpit to check on Riku, the others should be back soon."
When he was out of sight, the blonde princess smiles and turns to Mal who was taking her drink to speak with her for something. "Hey, can I ask you something, do you have a crush on Ben?"
Taken completely off-guard by Stella's surprise question, Mal spewed out her drink when she was asked a question about her growing crush on Ben. "Huh?!"
Seeing her reaction made Stella almost laugh at her startled look, even most of the Winx almost snickered along with Mirta while Palmon seemed oblivious of what was going on. "I might take that as a maybe, but so far what's the deal between you two?"
"Crush? What crush? Nothing's going on between us." Mal stuttered, unexpected to hear this question at all from any of them. Turns to Mirta with a narrow look if she had something to do with it, making her face the other way to act all innocent.
Flora couldn't help but snicker and has some experience when she first met Taren. "We just noticed how its been going on between you and Ben, come on it must be something."
"Your reaction and personality change whenever you're around him, plus your face flushes so it must have something to do with your emotions and affections towards him." Listening to Tecna giving an analysis upon knowing much about Mal and Ben's interactions between each other.
Mal tries to think of a way to escape this conversation and not let anyone else get the idea or hear this. "Look, I don't know what you girls are getting the idea, but Ben and I are clearly just friends and that's that." Continuing to deny them to pry into her personal feelings. "I'm gonna hit the showers before we arrive on Earth." Leaving the group in a hurry, not bothering to see the amused looks the Winx were giving.
"Wait, why is Mal acting that way?" Palmon seemed confused over why her partner was behaving this way.
Flora kneels down and pats her on the flower. "It'll be hard to explain, but nothing to worry."
"Yep, she certainly has the hots for him." Stella confirmed. "And personally, who can blame her, if I wasn't smitten by Brandon, I would have wanted dibs on him."
"If she heard you say that, she'd be after you all over Magix. But I think Ben certainly has a thing for her." Musa said and decided to ask Mirta a question. "So what about you, anyone you are interested in?"
Mirta had no idea how to respond to that question when she never thought of what to think of guys, some she met were friendly, others rude, but didn't think she would find one who would like her. Then came the sudden moment when she had a close moment with Taren and tried to hide that but not knowing her face was flushing, which caught Flora's attention in wonder of what was going on with the former witch's mind at the moment.
Before Mirta could come up with an answer, Musa turns around to see Bloom and Taren come in. "And speaking of love birds."
Bloom came back, adjusting her hat, trying to hold back the giddy look after making out with Taren, who was trying to clean his face of all the lipstick she gave him.
Stella obviously knew something happened when she spotted the marks on Taren's face. "Had some bit of fun, guys?"
"Uh, could say that." Taren responded while Bloom giggled and flushed when they heard Riku through the comm.
"Guys, this is Riku, we're just exiting hyperspace, so get yourselves ready to wear something warm."
With that, everyone else was getting themselves ready for the Christmas party.
Gardenia was covered in snow, which was common in winter and many houses with decorations displayed on the windows and houses. The Winx were in awe of the festive holidays the people of Earth put into and enjoy it with their friends and families. Bloom led her friends through the streets while wearing their winter clothes as advised until they reached her house, ringing the doorbell to let her parents know they were here.
The door opens to find Vanessa who answered the door, seeing her daughter and her friends she gave a warm smile to see them. "Bloom! Welcome home, sweetheart!" Both of them embraced each other and allowed them in from being left out in the cold. "Welcome everyone, we're happy you all could make it."
"With all the stuff that goes on this Christmas, I could do with some festive season." Stella smiled.
They walk into the living room to find Mike with four kids, two girls and two boys who were invited for the party. Mike sees Bloom come in and come to her to give a welcome embrace. "We were starting to think you were running late, Bloom. Wouldn't be Christmas without you."
"Hey, you know I wouldn't miss the best day of the year, so I wanted to invite my friends over." Bloom told him and waved to the kids. "Hey, guys!"
The kids waved to her and smiled.
"Hey, Bloom!"
"We missed you!"
"Are they your friends?"
Bloom listens to their questions and wants to answer what she's been doing for the past couple of months but doubts they would ever believe her. "Well, it's a new school I went to and a lot of new friends to introduce you all."
Introducing the Winx being her five best friends, along with Mirta, Ben and Mal, then came to Taren who she happily wrapped her arm around him to introduce as her boyfriend to the surprise of the kids, making Taren blush a little.
"Hope things haven't been boring while we were coming." Bloom spoke to her parents.
"Not at all, we had some help keeping the kids entertained." Vanessa told her.
"Really?" Bloom asked when she spotted a white fox playing with one of the girls, this caught Taren's notice when he recognised the fox.
"Wait a sec… isn't that-"
"Hey guys!" They find Hana coming in holding a tray to put on the table.
Taren was surprised to find his sister with them. "Hana? What are you doing here?"
"Should you be back at De-I mean back with your parents?" Flora almost gave away their secret but no one noticed, much to the Winx' relief.
"Yeah, but mom and dad decided to spend some time by themselves. I thought it would be nice to do it here. Couldn't leave Sapphire by herself." Hana explained while wanting to have fun.
"I think she looks adorable!" Stella picked up the white furred fox and nuzzled her cheeks against the soft white fur, receiving a wag and a lick from the fox to show her appreciation of the attention.
Taren sighed and figured something could happen but couldn't say no since their ride was gone now. The teens began to help with the food while Musa, Flora, and Layla offered to keep the kids entertained using Christmas songs for karaoke. Musa was great at singing. The girls asked Bloom questions about her relationship with Taren and how they met, they didn't know how they would take it being in an open romance as well but decided to let it adjust slowly with some customs on Earth frowning on.
They were even thinking of having a snowball fight out in the backyard
Bloom brought some movies they could watch and thought of something to decide on which first, they decided to choose HOme Alone 1 and 2.
"I would enjoy the Home Alone movies, seeing those crooks get messed up by a kid who looked amusing." Mal commented on the time she first watched the movies while eating a handful of popcorn.
"Especially the hotel escape in the second movie." Taren laughed at the part when the kid used the movie of a gangster and how the hotel manager fell for it. "But don't seem to think the rest were that good."
Bloom always enjoyed the movies as one of her favorites and did think the later ones were not as good as the originals, even liked the others like the father running around for a toy. Still thinking of something to let the kids have a Christmas they can remember but could not think of something.
"Wish we could let our digimon out to enjoy it with us." Layla would want to let Gomamon out but afraid his appearance might scare the kids and expose their secret.
Then it hit Bloom like a light bulb. "Well why not?" Received the surprised looks from her friends and boyfriend.
"Wha?"
"Huh?"
"Say that again?"
"I mean, sooner or later everyone on Earth will find out magic actually exists and maybe a good start would be for the kids. I've known some of them for a while and we can make this a magical Christmas for them!" She thought it could be a great idea to inspire the children and have something to remember. There have been some who were asking questions about where she went for the last few months and didn't like lying to them
Taren was uncertain about whether it was a good idea. "I dunno, we're supposed to keep this a secret."
She thought to get him to side with her. "Please, Taren? They're good at keeping secrets and it's only Christmas." Started giving the pleading look with eyes and the pouting lip as the ultimate trick to convince him,
"Taren, shield your eyes!" Mal warned him. "One look at the puppy love trick and you can't resist."
He immediately did so and covered his eyes up with his hands. "No way, that's cheating! You won't win, Bloom! My will is strong as steel. You can't make me look."
Confident that he can resist her temptation and could hold his ground as much as possible.
"'Strong as steel' you say? More like plastic." Hana retorted with a deadpan look after she heard what they suggested and thought it be against the rules of revealing the existence of other worlds.
"I couldn't help it! One simple glance at those blue eyes and you just feel yourself unable to resist her." Taren couldn't believe he lost to her and saw the sudden change of face she made when he gave in. "If I ever meet the person who invented that trick, I'll give them my personal thanks." Muttering under his breath with his girlfriends now knows a certain weakness to exploit.
"Bloom certainly has a way of convincing others." Mike could feel pity for him when she used it on him countless times since childhood. "But are you certain this is a good idea?"
Ben sighs and shares his concern. "We hope so, she thinks it will be a good step for some children to learn about magic."
"If not, we're gonna be in big trouble with the masters when they hear about this." Mal mentally groaned. "And if they find out, we'll say it was all Taren's fault."
"Gee, thanks for the support(!)." And it was not just the masters Taren was worried about, his parents would ground him for a lifetime if this gets out. But at least he won't summon Tatsurian whose appearance would give them nightmares for sure with one look at him.
Mirta came into the kitchen to find them. "Hey guys, you ready? We're outside the backyard."
Getting their winter clothing on to join the othersin the backyard.
"So what's the surprise, Bloom?"
"Well guys, I thought maybe to show you something that is a big secret and a surprise." Bloom explained to them, while also nervous of how it would go.
Mirta secretly casted an illusion along with Mal so no one outside would see. She gave the four a nod and pulled out their digivices. The children were curious about what they were about to do when they suddenly saw bright lights and stood before them for small creatures standing before the four teens.
"We would like you to meet their Digimon." Bloom introduced the surprised kids to discover they were real.
"Hey, this is Agumon." Taren patted his partner's head.
"Hi there!" Agumon waved his claw hand to them, only to find it was cold and shivering due to being more towards warm temperatures. "Ah! It's cold!" Causing Taren to softly groan, which caused a chuckle from the others.
"This would be Gabumon." Ben said to introduce his digimon partner.
"Nice to meet you." Gabumon nodded his head.
Layla kneels down to Gomamon's level. "I'd like you to meet Gomamon."
"Hi!" Gomamon waved his flipper. "Uh, Merry Christmas?"
"And this is Palmon." Mal came last with her partner twirled herself around with a bright smile on her green face.
"Merry christmas!"
The kids were completely blown away to see the living creatures called Digimon, instead of being afraid as the teens thought they would, they instead smiled and looked excited, they came closer and petted them, asking many questions about them.
"Wow, this one looks like a dino!"
"Is that a real flower? So pretty!"
"Hey, what's with the fur?
"Cute seal!"
They never expected this to occur, but Bloom was happy they introduced them to the Digimon and decided to make this more fun. "Alright, how about a game of snowball fight?"
"I'm game!" Musa gave a grin.
"Ha! I'll beat you all with many snowballs!" Taren proclaimed.
Mal rolled her eyes and sighs. "You wish, not gonna get me involved." She turned around to make her way back in the house when suddenly got hit by a snowball on the back of her head. "AH! Who threw that?" Wanting to know who was the culprit.
"He did it!" Hana instantly pointed to her brother when Flora caught on that she had snow in her gloved hand. Taren looked at his sister in shock to be given the blame.
"What?!" Unable to believe his sister would sell him out when he was not at fault.
Agumon nervously poked his claw on his leg to get his attention. "Um,Taren?"
He then noticed an annoyed Mal ready for war and started sweating beads. "No, Mal! It wasn't me this time! I swear on my life!"
Mal ignored his pleas when she began conjuring magic from her hands, snow balls began to take shape and hovered around her, surprising the awed kids but she took no notice.
"Uh ho." Ben knew this was not good and backed off as the others.
"Really? Then you don't mind if I don't do this for a little trick." She shot her hand forward and threw a dozen snowballs at him along with Agumon, both managed to dodge the first several until they were struck down and half buried in snow. Mal smirked and felt better as it seemed fun when a snowball flew towards her and ducked, finding out that it was thrown by Flora with an amused smirk.
"Sorry but I thought that was part of the rules." She thought it would be funny to get her to bury Taren up.
Mal smirked and held another to throw. "Alright, you asked for it."
"Yeah!" Palmon joined in and made her own and threw it at the nature fairy, but she missed and instead got Stella right in the face. Feeling embarrassed for missing her shot and got someone else. "Oops."
"Nice shot, Palmon!" Mal on the other hand applauded her.
Stella shook the snow off her face and glared at them. "Oh yeah? Well how about this?!" Scooping up the snow and trying to hit them but with lack of experience she ended up hitting some of her friends.
"Snowball fight!" Hana announced and joined in as she was the one who started it, pretty soon everyone started throwing snowballs at each other and began to have fun until the sun began to set.
The Winx gave a show to the kids with their magic and made some tricks to make their day more thrilling, telling them of their adventures and worlds they visited. KNowing it had to be a secret, the kids promised to keep it to themselves after having the best Christmas they had.
As it was getting a little late, Bloom's parents let friends spend the night, those that chose to stay took the guest bedroom and supplied them with sleeping bags. Ben and Mal had to head back to Auradon for Christmas Day with their friends and families. Hana stayed for the night for the siblings to be picked up in the morning, sharing the room with the others.
Taren thought to take the other, but Bloom didn't mind him sharing her room which made him turn red to thinking it but grabbed a sleeping bag he brought with him for spare.
In Bloom's bedroom she got into her blue pajamas and was getting ready for bed, getting the bags ready when she saw Agumon soundly asleep and her pet Kiko tucked up for the night. She hears the soft door knock and comes to answer it to find Taren.
"Hey, just checking to see Hana asleep, but she seems to be in good company." Last thing he saw was the young auburn pre-teen tucked up, almost spread out with her pet fox nuzzled to her side and with Stella on the other side for company, while Musa, Layla, Gomamon and Tecna were in their sleeping bags.
"That's great, I bet everyone was tied out." She let out a yawn and was getting tired as well. "This has been a great day, I'm just glad you guys came."
"Well, I didn't want to lose the chance to spend it with you for the first time." Taren told her, receiving a smile and a surprise kiss on the lips. He spotted Flora come in after using the shower, fortunately for him she just got into her nightgown and the first time he saw both of them in their sleeping clothes.
"Oh, sorry I didn't mean to uh, well I could just get into my bunk and better get in and hopefully Agumon doesn't try to eat me in his dream." Taren said.
"Uh, actually I just thought… well maybe…if… uhhh, that is…" Bloom started to blush and twiddled with her fingers trying to get the words out but thought it seemed weird. "Would you like to share the bed with me for the night?"
It was as if his brain just suddenly switched off and thought for the moment he heard the words "share" and "bed" in the same sentence. "…what? For the moment I thought you said… share the bed? With you?"
"Well, me and Flora actually." Bloom surmised. "After all, I thought it would be a chance to keep this relationship to work and not be selfish."
He spun his head to them and thought it was his imagination, true they were coming close to a certain age and he wanted things to turn out slow and natural then to do things they weren't ready. But this was entirely new and unexpected. "Wait, are you sure?"
"Well it is Christmas, right?" Bloom thought it was something new to try out, least to keep it to themselves as not to give her parents the wrong idea.
Flora shared the same ideat and agreed with Bloom to make this work. "I don't see why not, just us wanting to stay warm for the night."
Scratching the back of his head and trying all his will power to net let such perverted fantasies kick in. "Well… alright, but better keep this to ourselves. I don't want to give the wrong impression." Taren advised them not to be seen in bed together by anyone.
Bloom understood and used her magic to lock the door to be certain, she went into bed first and took the sides, Taren nervously came in next and took her in his arm before Flora took the other. All three fit in and snugged in together with the two girls resting their heads on his shoulders and smiled and wrapped their arms.
Bloom couldn't help but find this comforting and safe, it was all new to her and yet it feels so safe with the young keyblader who she met and fell in love. Hoping one day to free her birth parents, restore Domino and save Daphne while they confront the evil forces that threaten the worlds. Right now it was a time of peace, joy and happiness and couldn't be any happier with her friends and loved ones.
She glances over to them asleep and hears his breathing, leans towards his cheek to leave a soft peck and whispers. "Merry Christmas." Bloom whispers and falls asleep with a smile on her face, for tomorrow to be a big day.
Dreaming of what the future may bring in the new year to come.
Here's to a merry christmas and also wish all who don't celebrate christmas a happy holiday as well while also hope the new year be a good one.