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salenakingston · 1 year

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“White” Christmas

It might be the new year, but it’s never too late to receive a gift! Hey @viotti-violet you’re my second giftee. It seems your gift was lost in transit so another has been sent in its place. I apologize for it being late, but I hope it was worth the wait! I heard your call for some Vithur, Lewvithur, baking, and cuddles with blankets. Let’s go the whole nine yards shall we? I hope you like it!!

Winter was in full swing, snow fluttering down from the heavens. Earthen colors were replaced with a blanket of pure white, growing thicker with each passing second. A strange contrast to the way the weather usually was around these parts, though not entirely unwelcome.

An orange glow emitted from the windows of a nearby home, nestled in between two others on a strip of road. Night hadn’t yet climbed into the sky, blue still stretching as far as the eye could see, and yet orange mixed along the sills, not that one might notice right away. The once pristine blanket disturbed by the up kick of feet, footprints accompanying the thinner patches of snow along the walkway. Three girls were bundled up, flakes decorating their jackets.

A pair of soft gazes fell on them before they continued to the door, giving a knock. The door opened, Mrs. Pepper’s usual stoic look cracking a smile, “Vivi. Arthur. Glad you could make it. Please, come in.”

A smile formed on both their faces, passing Mr. Pepper. The man was just as bundled up as their daughters, likely either coming to join them in their play, or to watch them while the other stayed inside. With how much energy the children have, it might be a while before any of them were content enough to come back inside.

That’s fine though. The core trio had plans.

The orange glow came from the same source of a gentle crackle sound. A fire danced with life, a hint of smoke filtering into the whole space. Pine and spice in with the scents, the Pepper family going the extra mile when it came to their decorations. It made sense, they ran a restaurant after all. It was in the spirit of the season to assume it was just as decorated. In the more private setting of their own home, they weren’t always burdened by their son’s secrets. Better safe than sorry. A tree stood not too far from the fireplace, lights left off until later in the day, though ornaments made it pop for the time being. Lines of lights and garland were placed with care along the walls, a few knick knacks set up on their wooden furniture.

The smell of spice came lingering from the kitchen, a gentle hum following along right behind it.

Vivi and Arthur both shed their winter coats, the latter of the two probably not needing it as much as the former. The three of them thought it a cute idea to dress up for their get together… well… perhaps ‘dress up’ was a bit incorrect. Lewis was probably the only one with the dramatic flare to pull off anything like that, especially if it were for his sisters.

So something simple.

The concept of an ‘ugly’ sweater seemed subjective depending on who you asked. For someone that wore one just about every day, and one of just one color at that, she was much more picky about the one she picked out to wear. Or perhaps it was simply something that fell under ‘dressing to impress’ in a much more casual light. The color scheme was still the same, though traded out her usual light blue for something darker. White snowflakes ran all around the garment, rows upon rows of them.

Fitting for her.

Arthur’s wasn’t too different from her own, though clearly not as picky about his own. There was only one requirement when it came to his own… technically two if you counted something to match his golden scheme. He wasn’t complete without it. No, the core detail required for his own was some kind of pun. The man was infamous for them, so it was just something that fit him better than some complex design.

Coats hung and stray fibers brushed out lead them to join Lewis in the kitchen, guided by the humming heard earlier. As to be expected, he was adorned in his own sweater, deep purple with some traces of black along the borders. Hardly proper Christmas colors, but then again the same could be said for Arthur’s. There were snowflakes along his own too, but mixed in the monotone pattern were skulls and ghosts.

His golden heart jumped at the sight of them, his ‘human’ form being the one to greet them. Were it not for the black sclera, it would be almost as if nothing ever happened.

His smile was warmer than the fire not a room away, “Vivi! Artie! Glad you both made it safely.”

“‘Course we did, big guy. That van can tough through just about anything.” There was some truth to that, given that even when being chased and crashing into the side of a building… well it could have ended up a lot worse. That van was one of, if not the, man’s pride and joy.

“Right. Still with all the ice and snow, one can never be too sure.”

“Yeah I got you. But seriously, no need to worry. I’m being careful.”

“Didn’t doubt you for a second, Artie.” Ironic coming from him.

Vivi jumped in now, “Yeah yeah, we’re safe you dork. Are we all ready to get started?”

Lewis’ eyes brightened, his arms moving out to encompass the counters in front of him. An assortment of ingredients, food dyes, and decorative tools. Anything they could have wanted for baking, he had, not that it was that much of a surprise. Upon seeing stars in their own eyes, Lewis placed a palm over a recipe book. He prepared everything. Vivi was the first to flip the book open, looking through different cookies while Lewis passed over a box to Arthur, who took it with a confused look on his face.

Work gloves?

“For your left hand. Figured you wouldn’t want to get anything in the… spaces.”

Arthur gave a light chuckle at his choice of words before taking one, carefully slipping it over the metal hand, “Thanks Lewis.”

From there, the three of them broke off, having selected a recipe each to work on. At least that was how it started… First it was just a flurry of flour releasing into the air as it fell from measuring cup to bowl. A sneeze echoed through the kitchen, both men quick to ‘bless her’. She readily gave them both thanks, glancing down at the white streak along her sweater. The bluenette peered at it longer than she should have, a mischievous grin curling wider and wider along her face.

As she grabbed the next scoop of flour, her hand reached further than it needed to, powder, white lining her hand, not that either of her boys would be able to tell with how pale she already was. Her gaze trailed over to the closest person to her, making Arthur her target. He had already finished his dough, carefully shaping his cookies before they were to go into the oven. Her hands moved up, catching his shoulders as she latched on.

A surprised gasp escaped from the blond, his head spinning to look over his shoulder, “Vivi?!”

“Those look so good Artie.”

“O-Oh… Thanks Vivi.”

“No problem. Keep up the good work!”

Arthur watched her walk away, warmth filling his chest… and maybe a bit on his face… letting a smile form on his face. It was nice to let the more genuine smiles out rather than the false ones. He watched her all the way up until she got back to her side of the counter, going back to his work. Cooking… wasn’t exactly his forte. The other two were much better than him, so it only made sense he went with something simple for his choice.

Upon finishing his tray, he joined Lewis at the oven, no surprise his’ was already baking. Looks like he was going to have to wait another round. Purple eyes peered over to his friend, eyebrow raising as he caught the sight of something, “Hey Artie?”

“Yeah Lewis?”

“Why is there a white handprint on your shoulder?”

“White hand-” That snapped him into motion real quick, hands moving up to twist the back of his sweater more into view. Sure enough, there on his shoulder was a smudged, white handprint. There was only one person who could have done that. The blond’s eyes met with Vivi, who despite realizing she had been caught, held a sly grin with her tongue sticking out at him. That heat along his cheeks came back, “Vivi!”

Her reply was simply letting her tongue stick out more.

Before he could think much on what he was doing, Arthur’s ‘noodle’ legs and long strides carried him back over to the counter, finding his own hands dipping in the flour. The bluenette began to back away from Arthur, his own assault of powdery ingredient pointed in her direction. Both of them took turns patterning each other with flour… all the while Lewis stood there watching.

Some part of him couldn’t help but smile and shake his head at their antics… but the other part of him, the professional side of him, was threatening to boil over.

It wasn’t until Mrs. Pepper poked her head in, noting the change in color that her sharp gaze focused on the two offenders. Both of them met her gaze, each raising a hand to point at the other for the blame. That gesture alone caused another shake of Lewis’ head, though a light-hearted one rather than one of disappointment.

Of course they had to clean up their mess, and of course the two troublemakers were the ones taking care of it while Lewis finished the actual baking. They’d be returning to that task once it was time to decorate. Seeing as the cookies would take time to cool before some of them could be done, it was Lewis’ suggestion they took a small break.

The ghost lingered behind for a few moments, Arthur and Vivi enjoying one another’s laughter at their ‘flour war’. Vivi pulled him down in front of the crackling fire, heat pressing against their fronts as they were embraced in the same orange glow from the windows. The bluenette found her head leaning onto Arthur’s shoulder, watching the embers dance in front of them.

The spell was broken by a ‘clink’ sound, mugs resting on coasters along the coffee table resting near them. A couple blankets found their way wrapped around their bodies, Vivi and Arthur leaning back against Lewis once he sat down behind them. A content sigh escaped from them collectively, the scent of chocolate filtering in from the mugs.

They could enjoy those soon…

For now…

It was nice to just share in the comfort of one another.

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