Christmas One-shot! Enjoy!
I pick up a gray bulb from an overflowing box of Christmas ornaments. Then I grin as I read what's scratched into the side. I wrap my arms around Annabeth who's woefully unprepared and drops a metal star on the ground. Turning, she begins to chew me out, but I raise the bulb to her sight line and instead she laughs.
"Wise Girl and Seaweed Brain," she reads. She faces me, still trapped in my arms, and pecks me on the cheek. "You still are a Seaweed Brain."
I chuckle and kiss her cute nose. "So I've been told."
I reach up, using my six feet to an advantage and hang the gray bulb proudly where everyone can see. Then I pick up the star Annabeth dropped and place it beside the bulb. Annabeth rolls her eyes at me and breaks free of my arms to hang more ornaments.
The spindly tree probably has enough ornaments as it is. Some of its branches are already looking droopy and I can't help but wonder if it's even going to make it until tomorrow for Christmas. Then I shrug because who the heck cares what it looks like and watch as Annabeth climbs a foot ladder to place a star at the very top.
"Perfect," she declares, resting on the top step.
"Yes, I do believe it is, Mrs. Jackson," I reply, looking right at her.
She rotates around to regard me and when she sees that I'm in noway referring to the tree, she rolls her eyes yet again. However, her spreading blush tells an alternate story.
I help her down and we just stare at the bizarre Christmas tree, filled with multi coloured lights and cheap dollar store ornaments. "Merry Christmas, Annabeth," I tell my wife, squeezing her middle.
She leans into me. "Merry Christmas, Seaweed Brain."
A yawn comes from behind us. We turn in synch and smile at the little girl in pyjamas dragging a teddy bear. I unwrap my arms from Annabeth and sweep the little tyke into my arms.
"Mewwy Chwistmas, Daddy," she mumbles, snuggling closer.
I chuckle as she yawns once more. "Merry Christmas, Bianca," I respond, kissing her small forehead.
I feel Annabeth's hand pressing against my back, steering me into the kitchen. "Come on, let's set out a snack for Santa and then tuck you in bed."
We reach the kitchen and Annabeth's opens the fridge and takes out a couple of my mom's famous blue, chocolate chip cookies. Laying them on a plate, she pours a glass of milk as Bianca tugs at my collar. "Daddy, what about the reindeer?"
I arrange my features into a look of disbelief and smack my open palm against my forehead. "Of course! How could I forget about the reindeer!"
Bianca giggles as I smile at Annabeth and take out a few carrots. I lay them beside the cookies on the plate and the three of us march back into the living room to place the plate on the coffee table.
"Okay, Honey. Bed time," Annabeth says. She shoos us upstairs in front of her and Bianca curls up tight against my chest. I smile down at my four year-old daughter who's already falling asleep.
At the top of the stairs, I walk into the first room on the left and lay my little girl down on her bed, pulling the covers up to her chin. I sit down on the side and Annabeth winds her arms around my neck, leaning her head on my shoulders.
"Goodnight, Bianca," she whispers, leaning past me to pat our daughter on her back.
"Merry Christmas, sweetie."
Bianca mumbles something incoherent as Annabeth and I slip out of the room. We close the door silently behind us and Annabeth wraps an arm around me. "She's beautiful isn't she?" she observes as I pull her closer to me.
"Yeah. We did good," I assure her.
Annabeth smiles up at me. "I love you, you know that?"
I kiss her, like really kiss her. Pulling her close and tugging at her lip. "I love you too," I reply when we break apart.
When we descend the stairs, she jostles me slightly. "Come on, we got a ton of gifts to wrap."
I sigh. "Ah, yes. The wonders of being Santa Claus."
As we enter the living room, I immediately start for the wrapping paper lying in the corner. I spread out a sheet and raise a hand for the first present. When Annabeth doesn't reply I turn around to see that she's already chowing down on Santa's cookies.
"Noooo!" I exclaim, still making sure to keep my voice low.
My wife laughs. "You snooze you loose." She shoves the last bite into her mouth.
"You suck," is the best insult I can come up with.
She laughs at me before offering out one of the reindeer's carrots. "Here's your compensation."
Hungrily, I take the dam carrot and bite off the pointed end, pouting as I chew. Then I grab her waist and pull her down on my lap, presenting her with my carrot. "Eww," she shakes her head, pushing my hand away.
"Aww come on, Annabeth," I whine, knowing perfectly well that she can still see the orange mush of carrot circling around my mouth as I talk.
"Percy, stop." She physically closes my mouth.
We continue like this for a while, Annabeth getting all the wrapping done as I tease her. When we finally have the last gifts wrapped, she climbs off my lap telling me she's going to go get my gifts.
I raise an eyebrow at her. "What did you get me?"
She smiles wickedly. "I'm not telling you," she taunts.
"Aw, come on, Wise Girl. I'm a child at heart. Please tell me?"
She giggles again and it's all I can do not to pull her back into my lap and just hold her forever. "Not in a million years."
I feign being stabbed in the chest. Annabeth ignores my antics and continues on her way upstairs. When she finally disappears from sight, I stand and make a dash to the front hall closet. There I pull out a few very nicely wrapped presents - if I do say so myself - from the most cliche hiding spot in history. The top shelf. Then again, Annabeth probably had mine hidden under the bed, so that makes me feel a little bit better.
Quickly, I shove the presents under our sad tree and flop down on the couch to wait. My beautiful wife finally appears, boxes and boxes of blue wrapped presents in her hands. My eyes literally pop out of my head. I hurry to her side, asking if there's any I can carry. She instantly spins away from me.
"You are not touching these until the morning," she declares.
"But, Wise Girl," I complain.
"Uh, no." She waggles a finger in my direction as soon as she deposited her gifts.
"But-"
"No," she cuts me off. "Now sit." She points at the couch and I let myself fall into the cushions. Annabeth perches on my lap and leans into my chest. I envelop her in my arms, drawing a blanket across our legs.
Once she's comfortable and I can tell she's on the verge of sleep, I ask, "So what's in the boxes?"
"Stuff."
I grunt. "My stuff?"
I feel her shrug on top of me. "Perhaps."
Even though she can't see my face, I glare at her. "You suck.
"You've already used that one," she yawns.
"Well then..." I trail off, searching for another quality insult. "You doubly suck."
This makes Annabeth sit up and turn to look me straight in the eyes. "You're such a Seaweed Brain."
She leans over and plants a kiss on my lips before snuggling into the crook of my neck. As her breathing steadies and her arms grow limp, I allow her to drift off. I can't believe how happy and perfect my life ended up being. I can almost pretend like we're a normal, suburban family. Christmas cards lined up on the mantle and stockings hung by the fireplace; my gorgeous wife in my arms and my beautiful daughter asleep upstairs on the most magical night of the year. Life is finally perfect.
MERRY CHRISTMAS or HAPPY HOLIDAYS cause I don't know what people celebrate. I hope today's perfect for all of you amazing people. After sticking with me through all my stupidity and hopelessness, y'all deserve it. So, happy holidays guys. Enjoy the break. And ps if you liked this, please vote and comment, it'd be the best Christmas present.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
~omgitshappenning 🎄 😜 🎄