"Nadei?" I feel around the bed reaching for Nadei but I find his side empty. Which is odd because it's Sunday, it's become the one-day Nadei stays home and we spend a normal day together.
"Nadei..." I poke my head into the bathroom but the shower isn't running. Panic is slowly starting to set in, where the fuck is he? I open the bedroom door and hear silence. Absolute silence.
As I take a step out into the living room I begin to hear some shuffling around, my mind enters survival mode I look around for the nearest weapon. A bronze statue standing on top of a pedestal is my only fucking choice, seriously. I roll my eyes and pick it up I walk closer to the living room and hear some mumbling.
When I turn the corner my jaw drops, I can't believe the scene before me.
"What the hell is this?" Still clutching onto the statue all eyes turn to me.
"Baby, what are doing with that?" Nadei points to the statue in my hand
"Oh...I was going to use it as a weapon?"
Nikolai and Aleksander just roll their eyes and Gerald chuckles before going back to his work.
"Nicole, that is a $10,000 statue and you were going to knock someone in the head with it?" He walks over to me and pulls the statue from my hand gently placing it on the table.
"Whoops. But anyways what the hell is going on here?"
Nadei sweetly smiles at me wrapping his arms around my waist.
"Well baby I thought it was time for some new traditions and you told me how you always loved decorating a Christmas tree as a kid. So, I bought you a tree to decorate"
My heart beats a little faster in amazement at how Nadei can remember the smallest things, holidays were always tough for me but showing that he cares to gives it a new meaning.
"I love it Nadei and it's so fucking tall too!"
"Good I'm glad, want to help us decorate?" He holds up an ornament to me and I snatch it out of his hand.
"Oh, you don't even know what you just did. Boys move aside mama is here and she's about to make this shit perfect! Gerald and Niko you're on light duty, Alek get the ladder you're helping me do the ornaments"
All the boys laugh and follow my orders and Jillian walks out just as confused as me.
"Jilly you can-"
"I'll make some spiked eggnog"
"Of course you will!"
"Oh fuck off Aleksander!"
Nadei wraps his hand around my waist and pulls me closer placing a soft kiss on my lips.
"And what is my job, my love?"
"Well, of course, you put the tree topper on when all is done, sir."
"Oh and after will you meet me under the mistletoe?"
"Oh don't worry Nadei I'll have a special gift for you"
"Zaika!" Nikolai who has been standing beside us drops the lights in his hand as I make an inappropriate gesture to Nadei.
"Oh bite me, Nikolai. Let's get to work boys!"
I watch as all the boys follow my orders and Nadei brings out a small ladder for me to use while I arrange the ornaments. After a few minutes I place the last couple of ornaments on top, I look down and take a second to appreciate the view before me.
Gerald is walking around the tree wrapping the lights, he keeps stopping short because Nikolai is getting caught trying to untangle the lights. They both playfully jab each other laughing, Aleksander and Nadei are arguing about where to place the ornaments. Nadei reminding Aleksander not to place the ornaments so close together. Jillian is pouring way too much rum into the eggnog.
But I stand there and watch my little dysfunctional family all come together in one calm moment. One moment where we have a normal day to just be... well normal. No worrying about threats, no weapons training, no planning our next moves. We are simply enjoying our time together.
"Are you ok my love?" Nadei voice and hand on my lower back bring me back to reality.
"I'm fine. I'm just....happy"
For once in a long time, I'm actually truly happy, I have the love of my life by my side. Three insane men I happy call my family and a new best friend. I am actually happy to finally have my home, though our family is small I know we will die for one another.
"All I ever want is your happiness printsessa I love you, angel"
"I know Nadei"
"EGGNOG IS READY BITCHES LETS GO!"
"Great we'll be drunk before noon"
"Oh fuck you Alek sit your ass down on the couch and take a cup"
Aleksander rolls his eyes but plops down on the large sofa, Jillian makes her rounds making sure everyone has their drink before snuggling between Aleksander and Gerald. Nadei wraps his arms around me and I stretch my legs on to an annoyed Nikolai's lap.
"Isn't this nice, warm fire going, sitting on the couch starring at our beautiful tree."
"The tree is perfect my love"
"Oh god but this eggnog...."
"It good I know"
"I don't know what you're complaining about brother. You must be a lightweight, this is delicious"
"I knew you were my favorite twin" Aleksander throws a pillow at Nikolai's head who quickly dodges before it can hit me Nadei throws his hand up swatting the pillow away.
Everyone bursts out laughing as for a split second Aleksander fears what would've happened if the pillow did hit me.
"I can't wait until we all put our presents under the tree!" The boys all raise brows to one another as Jillian and I get excited at the thought.
"Oh I know and then we can all take pictures in front of the tree!"
"Oh yes and hopefully it'll be snowing and we can see it from the giant windows!"
"Picture perfect"
"Keep dreaming ladies"
"We haven't celebrated Christmas here in years baby"
"You're fucking kidding me right!" I immediately sit up and slam my mug down onto the coffee table.
"Gerald when is the last time you celebrated?"
"When I was still a kid living in Brooklyn" He nonchalantly shrugs off.
"Niko Ale?"
"When our mother was alive, she loved Christmas" Aleksander looks away taking another sip of his drink and I watch Jillian try to console him by rubbing his leg.
"Nadei?"
"I haven't celebrated since I was just a teenager in Russia. My brothers all had their own families I never wanted to intrude."
"That's so fucking sad"
"Well this year we're changing things up I want presents under the tree! Let's see there 6 of us....so at least 2 gifts person?"
"Eh. I say more these men are millionaires Nicky."
"Ah very true FIVE GIFTS PER PERSON!"
"Seriously kroshka?"
"Hey come on it'll be fun! You guys have two weeks to start getting presents. And I'll tell you right now you better buy gifts for each other too! Don't just go buy me and Jillian gifts!"
"Or you know to each their own" Jillian shrugs as she collects the emptied mugs and waltz back to the kitchen.
"I'd rather not zaika"
"Oh come on boys please!"
They all shake their heads no, I look over to Nadei and he nods no in agreement. Okay, they want to play games time to pull out the big guns.
"Ok fine.....we don't have to. I just thought it would be fun to do something.....together." I begin to pout and snuggle closer to Nadei who has a grin on his face. "I just wanted to do something nice as a family...I mean it's because I think of you all as family. These last few months have been so hard on us...I just-I just want"
I drop my head down wiping away my tears.
"Oh fuck Kroshka don't do that"
"She's playing us don't fall for it!"
I whimper some more and snuggle back into the couch avoiding all eye contact. I hear Gerald let out an annoyed sigh and Nikolai huffing.
"Malishka....."
"No it's fine Gerald, Jillian and I can just exchange gifts we don't want to bother you boys"
Nadei continues sipping his drink ignoring my little show, but I know the boys are falling for it. Nikolai is still hesitant so I finally decide its time to give the best performance of my life and let the waterworks begin.
"Nikolai, you're next to her is she really crying?" Aleksander nudges his brother closer to me. Nikolai leans closer and I make eye contact with him for a second, my eyes filled with faux tears.
"Fuck me. She's actually crying, ok zaika I'll agree to whatever, just stop that I don't do tears"
"Would you fucking move it you heartless shit!" Gerald pulls Nikolai by his arm moving him off of the couch and takes his place. Aleksander just rolls his eyes as Nikolai sits next to him. "Malishka look at me please"
Nikolai is easy to trick but with Gerald, I need to actually give full-on 'I'm sad and nothing will make this better' mode. I throw in a few sniffles and wipe my eyes on my sleeves. He lets out a soft sigh hand drops his head before pulling me into his arms.
"Fine. We'll have a real Christmas, with presents, music, food, the lights. Anything you want I promise you!"
"Can we bake cookies too?"
"Oh fuck no!" Gerald darts his eyes to Nikolai as I cry more.
"Will that make you happy Nicole?" Gerald tilts my head up and I still have tears in my eyes.
"Yes. I want us to all bake cookies together and then watch Christmas movies. You too Nikolai pretty please?"
"Fine just stop fucking crying! Jesus Christ, I'll bake some cookies if you stop crying!"
Gerald sweetly kisses my forehead and I wipe away the last of my fake tears, I have accomplished my mission.
"Ok, boys how about you all start making your wishlist for Nicky. You have an hour, then we'll all go shopping together!" Jillian happily chimes in giving me a playful wink. The boys all huff and puff walking back to their rooms. Nadei pulls me onto his lap, I completely forgot he was behind me he's been so quiet the last few minutes.
"You make my men weak my love" he whispers in my ear.
"I don't know what you are talking about!"
"Baby. Do you think I would've actually let you cry real tears in front of me?" Nadei places some hair behind my ear and wipes away some of my tears.
Oh, fuck him.
"Well. I got what I wanted didn't I?" I devilishly grin taking Nadei's drink from him.
"Oh you are so naughty, let's go to our room, you can sit on my lap and tell me everything you want for Christmas babygirl"
"Oh, are you going to play Daddy Claus now?"
"Only if I can use a red ribbon to tie you to my bed as my gift"
"So festive!" I giggle as Nadei wraps my legs around his waist and carries me off to our room.
••••••••
One week before Christmas
"Come on Nikolai just one more store I saw something perfect in here for Nadei!" I hold Nikolai's hand and pull him into the store with me.
"How the hell did I get stuck with you!"
"Well, Aleksander is too busy making sure Jillian doesn't fight some lady over a shoe sale. Gerald and Nadei are trying to help each other the perfect gift for me. So that leaves me and you baby!"
"All I want for Christmas is a silent night away from you!" Nikolai buffs as I throw all my bags at him to carry.
"Oh, sweet sweet Nikolai. For Christmas, I'm going to find you a girl and get you laid already. Maybe then you won't be so fucking cranky!"
"Fuck you zaika. I don't need you to help me find a girl!"
"Oh no. Do you like boys? Are you a top or a bottom?" Nikolai flips me off and I smile. "You know I see you as more of a bottom man"
"What the fuck did you say?!?" Nikolai drops all the bags and I can't help but laugh. "Oh, you are going to fucking regret that comes here!"
He comes charging at me and I run as fast as I can pushing anything in my way.
"Excuse me out of my way PLEASE!" I try to dodge Nikolai by switching between aisles. He keeps trying to grab at me and by now everyone in the store is watching us.
By the time I reach a dead-end two security guards at standing there with their arms crossed. They're not scary by any means, I've been around actual bodyguards with guns and knives. These men look like children compared to them.
"Oh hello, boys, what are your names?" I tiptoe closer to read their tags "Oh William and Jeffrey. Hello, I'm Nicole, if I'm lost I was told to go to the nearest security guard and tell them I'm-"
Before I can finish my sentence Nikolai swings me over his shoulder.
"I'm sorry fellas seems my little kitten got away from me. Don't worry I'll keep her on a tighter leash next time go back to your work" Nikolai turns around and I wink back at the security guards.
"Bad kitty" he playfully slaps my ass marching us back to our stuff.
"Are all you Romanoff men so dominant?"
"Oh, you have no idea baby."
"Ooh, I would like to know!" I reach down and squeeze his butt as shoppers continue to watch us.
"NICOLE!"
"My love I leave you for one hour and here you are causing all this chaos"
"Nadei!" I try to lean up and look back at him. "Hey Niko turn me around will ya?"
He spins around so I can face Nadei who has an unamused look on his face. Gerald is standing behind him trying not to laugh.
"Hey there sexy, I promise I was a good girl! It's all Nikolai's fault!"
Nikolai slaps my ass again and I laugh in shock.
"Bad Kitty"
"Excuse me ma'am but we are going to have to ask you and your men here to leave."
Nikolai places me down on the ground and rolls his eyes at the man. I hurry to Nadei's side and he looks down at me for a moment.
"I'm sorry Mister-"
"Mr. Bailor sir. I am the manager of this establishment and it seems your daughter here caused a lot of ruckuses and some damage. We are going to ask you all to leave" I interlock my fingers with Nadei and feel his anger building up, he twitches at the mans claim. Mr. Bailor raises a questionable look at us. Nikolai lets out a snicker and Gerald walks over to the man whispering something into his ear.
"Oh-I am. Sorry Sir, your wife? Here and.... this gentleman we running throughout the store. And some of my people claimed that he....." the man is tripping over his words and I can't help but laugh. This may be so horrible of me but I just can't help myself.
"Please Mr. Bailor what did my little Nicole do?"
"Well, sir you see some clients claimed he threw her over his shoulder and spanked her in front of everyone. We find this behavior to be highly inappropriate, many of my clients do not feel comfortable in their presences"
Nikolai and I both let out a soft laugh, Nadei pinches my hips annoyed.
"I'm sorry daddy, Nikolai was being so mean to me so I ran away from him. I promise to be a good girl"
I swear Mr. Bailor now looks like a ghost, his skin loses all its color as Nadei evilly grins at me. I have never called him daddy so publicly but he obviously enjoyed it.
"Moya printsessa I'm sure you were a good girl. Now Mr. Bailor, perhaps we can discuss this in a more appropriate way."
"Yes well Mister-"
"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself. Hello, I am Nadei Romanoff" Nadei extends his hand for the man who takes a loud gulp before returning.
"Mister Romanoff, I-I am so sorry. Please don't worry about this, it was all just a misunderstanding I'm sure your beautiful wife didn't mean any harm"
Why does everyone keep calling me his wife? Fucking Gerald.
"Oh no here please take this blank check to pay for any of these damages and we will be on our way. I'm sure Nicole can find somewhere else to shop"
As the man tries to stop us from leaving Nikolai and Gerald grab all our belongings. Nadei wraps his arm around my waist and holds me tightly by his side.
"You naughty girl" he growls in my ear.
••••••••
Two days before Christmas
"If I were a present where would I hide?" I walk around Nadei's office slowly, peaking at the shelves before I set my eyes on his wooden cabinet where he stores some guns. "Ah-ha!"
I swing the doors open and.....nothing. Absolutely nothing but some pistols and bullets. And a fucking sticky note that says "nice try baby" that bastard he's good.
"Whatever. I'll look somewhere else" I quickly close the cabinet back up and tiptoe out of his office.
"What are you doing my love?"
"Fucking hell Nadei!" I turn around and jump right into his bare chest.
"Nicole, what were you doing in my office?"
"What me? Oh nothing, I was just—cleaning up. Yeah it gets so dusty in there I was just cleaning up a little before Christmas you know"
"I see. And what were you cleaning with exactly?" Nadei looks me over, my lie obviously doesn't believable because I have no cleaning supplies on me.
"Um....oh well. Why are you asking me so many questions I have things to do! So much to do before Christmas good day, sir!" I push him out of my way and stomp off to Jillian's room.
"Too close"
"Um....hello there" I face Jillian who is sitting on her bed wrapping some gifts.
"Oh....are any of these for-"
"Nope I hid your gifts a long time ago"
"What the hell! How did you even know to hide gifts from me!"
"Gerald warned all of us after he caught you sneaking into his closet and finding one of your gifts"
"Oh," I roll my eyes and hop onto Jill's bed. "Well, It's his fault. He's such an amateur who hides gifts in their own closet!"
"Well do you want to help me wrap some shit?"
"Sure what did you get the boys?" Jill hands me a pair of scissors and a box full of stuff.
"Well I went a little extra and got each of them personalized whiskey glasses engraved with their initials"
"Oh....that's so fucking smart"
"Yup then I got them each little stuff, some ties, cuff links. And I got Nadei a special gift that is meant for the both of you so you'll have to wait for that one!" She winks at me as she continues to wrap some boxes.
"What about you?"
"Ok, so I decided to do a gag gift for each of them. Like I got each of them one stupid gift to make them laugh, but then I tried really hard with the rest but they are all so fucking particular! Like what do I get Nadei the man who has everything and asks for nothing? Aleksander the man who spoils his damn self, Gerald the OCD ass who likes things a certain way or Nikolai who hates the world"
"We got some difficult ass men to deal with don't we?"
"Eh, we do. But I love them so." I shrug her off and we continue wrapping gifts.
•••••••
Christmas Day
I shuffle around the bed as my alarm goes off, Nadei is still passed out. He has had a long couple of days in the office, between Misha and running his business he's been so tired. Poor guy, he gets into bed past midnight and just knocks out. He laying on his stomach and head under the blanket blocking out all the light.
But unfortunately for him today is Christmas and I am really excited. For the first time in a long time, I feel like a child impatiently waiting for Santa.
I hop on my knees pull the blanket off and start bouncing on the bed.
"It's Christmas It's Christmas WAKE UP NADEI!"
"Nicole please for the love of God"
"NADEI ROMANOFF WAKE UP IT'S CHRISTMAS!!! TIME TO BAKE COOKIES AND OPEN PRESENTS!!!"
Nadei's arm reaches out for me and he pulls me down to the bed, he squeezes me to his side.
"Five more minutes"
I wiggle myself around and face him.
"IT IS CHRISTMAS. GET UP OR I SWEAR TO GOD I WILL START THROWING THE BIGGEST TANTRUM YOU HAVE EVER SEEN"
Nadei pops his head up and rolls his eyes before kissing my forehead.
"You are too fucking adorable, I love you"
"I love you too now move that ass"
I hop out of bed throw on my slippers and make my way down the hall.
I freeze in front of the Christmas tree that is already lit and all the gifts are perfectly placed. Gerald peaks his head from behind the tree smiling.
"Do you like malishka?"
"It's perfect Gerald! I love it! Merry Christmas"
"Merry Christmas babe" Jillian calls from behind me as she and Aleksander are setting the table with a buffet of breakfast.
"Where is Mr. Scrooge?" I look around expecting to find Nikolai crouched down on the couch with his coffee.
"Oh he's still in bed he refused to wake up"
"Of course"
I roll my eyes and march my way to his room, he's passed out on the bed just like Nadei. The blankets are covering just to his waist and he's shirtless. This little bitch, he's sound asleep while everyone else is setting up for the day. I slowly enter his room and climb on top of his back straddling him with my legs.
"NIKOLAI ROMANOFF THIS IS YOUR WAKE UP CALL"
"ZAIKA IM GOING TO MURDER YOU"
"No, you won't. You love me just fucking admit it, Nikolai!"
"Nicole get off of me"
"Are you going to wake up?"
"If you stop screaming in my ear I will."
"Well let's go then it's time for presents" I roll off of Nikolai and lay beside him.
"What do you want now?"
"I'm not leaving until I see you get up!"
He wickedly smiles as he sits up on his elbows, he leans closer to me and whispers "That'll be hard babe because I sleep in the nude unless you want to see-"
"EW YOU PIG" I jump out of his bed and make my way back to the living room.
•••••
Later that night
"Alright, boys here are my gifts. Boss this one is for you as well" Jillian hands each of the men a small square box. They all unwrap to find the same whiskey glasses that have been engraved with their initials.
"Thank you, Jillian, this will do well in my collection"
"Holy crap did I just get a smile out of Nadei"
"Well look at that my little Grinches heart grew three more sizes" Nadei rolls his eyes and takes a sip of his drink.
"Ok, Jilly this is my gift to you." Aleksander hands Jillian a rectangular box that looks like a child wrapped it.
"I don't know this doesn't feel like money" she laughs as she unwraps the gift. "Holy shit ba-Ale these are awesome!"
"Oh hell, why would you get her throwing knives!"
"Line up boy's let's do some target practice!" She playfully aims the knife at Alek who just flips her off.
"Alright. My turn malishka this is for you" Gerald hands me a small box that is of course neatly wrapped with a large pink bow. I unwrap it to find a velvet box underneath holding a white gold bracelet with malishka engraved on it.
"Gerald it's so beautiful I love it thank you." he takes the bracelet and gently placed it on my wrist.
"I'm glad you like it" he smiles at me for a moment before Nikolai interrupts.
"Well damn Ger making us all look bad"
"Shut up Niko. Oh, wait for my gifts!" I quickly hop off the couch and grab five presents all of the same sizes. "I wanted to get you guys all something meaningful! So I thought personalized custom guns were the way to go!"
"Holy shit babe" Jillian's jaw drops as she finds her MMM pistol with a purple handle and some white gold inlays and "Gattina" engraved on the side.
"Kroshka, this is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen"
"God damn it zaika this is so beautiful"
Aleksander and Nikolai both have matching black matte Smith and Wesson revolver with the Romanoff family tattoo engraved on the handle.
"Each of your guns has your names on them too!"
"Malishka thank you it's amazing" Gerald gun is a dark matte navy blue pistol with his name and the Romanoff family tattoo engraved.
"You're family too Gerald of course"
"Nadei....do you like it?" I turn myself to Nadei who has been silent and inspecting his gift.
"I love it, angel, thank you."
"Did you see the engraving?" Nadei raises a brow to me as he turns his gun on its side. He smiles as he reads the words 'Mine' on the side.
"Baby-"
"Wait I got myself something too!" I pull out a matching box from under the couch to reveal my light baby pink handgun with 'Yours' engraved in white on the side.
"Oh fucking no!"
"NICOLE YOU DIDN'T!"
"Babe, why would you do this to us!"
"Oh fuck yes Nicky we can do target practice!"
I watch as the boys start to argue amongst themselves on how dumb my idea is. When Nadei pulls me towards him and places a rough kiss on my lips.
"Mine."
"Yours" I whisper
"Now that they're distracted let me give you your gift"
"Nadei.....we can have sex later can we at least finish the gifts first"
He rolls his eyes and takes my land leading me to our bedroom where there's a small velvet box on the bed. I open the box to find matching sapphire stoned earring surrounded by diamonds and white gold.
"Nadei. It's-oh my god"
"Here let me put them on"
I'm completely speechless as Nadei places each earring on.
"They're so-Nadei. You're too much"
"Nothing is too much for you. Now come one let's join the others again"
Nadei takes my hand and leads me back into the living room. My mind is still processing the diamond earring that match my sapphire necklace and Geralds bracelet. I am so blessed and loved, it's unbelievable to me at this point.
•••••••
"Did you enjoy you Christmas baby?" Nadei and I begin to clean up while everyone else has taken the gifts to their rooms.
"I did Nadei it was perfect, thank you for everything"
"Anything to see you smile"
"Oh, Ale forgot one of his gifts let me bring it to him" I pick up a box with a pair of cuff links and ties in them. As I walk to his room I notice Jillian's door open but she isn't in, weird but I continue to Ale's
"Hey Ale I got a-what the actual fuck is this"
"Oh....hey kroshka...." Aleksander's standing with a mistletoe hanging over his dick that is currently down Jillian's throat.
"Oh my god."
Jill tried to quickly move her mouth off but Aleksander holds her down.
"Sh don't worry gattina I got this. So Nicky do you like mind? We're kind of in the middle of something."
"I'm so telling Nadei"
"What no! kroshka.....oh fuck....."
I run back to the living where Nikolai, Gerald, and Nadei are all drinking on the couch.
"JILLIAN AND ALEKSANDER ARE FUCKING!"
They all stare at me with confused eyes and smiles.
"Oh, fucking hell you guys knew didn't you! Why does no one tell me anything! WHAT THE FUCK!"
"Well this is why no one told you, you make a big deal out of everything!"
"Well fuck all of you!"
"You love us now let's watch some movies malishka"
I roll my eyes and plop myself down on the couch snuggling next to Nadei who hands me a cup of hot cocoa.
••••••
"Baby why are the lights off?"
"I got a little special treat for you daddy"
Nadei slowly makes his way to the bed my voice leading him closer.
"That's it stop right there"
I lean over the bed and plug in some white Christmas lights that I wrapped around the headboard. I position myself in the middle of the bed on my knees, wearing a red sheer teddy with white faux fur trimming and a Santa hat.
"Merry Christmas sir-oh wait for one more finishing touch." I put a red bow on my head and smile.
"My my my seems I got exactly what I asked Santa for. Now if only we had-"
"Some red silk ribbon?"
Nadei devilishly smiles at me as I hold one of Jillian's last presents for us.
"Jillian bought us some red silk ties with your monogram embroidered on them. She also got me these red lace thigh-high tights. Do you like?"
Nadei crawls onto the bed with me pulling me into his arms as I wrap my legs around his waist.
"I fucking love them. Merry Christmas babygirl"
"Merry Christmas Nadei. I love you"
He smiles as he throws me back on the bed pulling my hands above my head. He reaches for the silk ties and bounds my hands to the headboard.
"I love you too angel"
••••••••
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays
From the Romanoff family to you all💕
For those who follow me on Instagram you already saw this but for those who don't here's a little gift!
An Episode visual representation of my boys 😍 I love them so damn much.
Thank you for all the love and support over the last two months. I couldn't imagine this story would receive this much love and attention. I love being able to speak with my readers directly, thank you and I can't wait to come back with new chapters in the new year. And perhaps some new stories as well 🤔🤷🏻♀️
Special thanks to JillianRose85 for proofreading this ridiculously adorable chapter. 🤣