❝ On Christmas Day, I hope to make every child happy. That feeling when they tear apart at their presents with their little hands And then take out a brand new box of video games with delight in their eyes The feeling of the paper plastered around the keep case running smooth at the fingertips. And then you open it. There it is. That fresh old dvd smell... ❞
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➷ TW: n for nostalgia
➷ set in modern times. maybe mid 2000s
➷ happy new years :) ik y'all need to recover from the last epilogue so here's a gift.
w.c.: 1.2k+
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LOCATION home.
—— LIKE SLOW MOTION, you could've sworn you lost your hearing for half a second. the humming of the christmas lights on the tree was in negative decibels. a pin could've dropped from a sewing kit, yet it was utterly quiet outside.. set up for this very moment.
you and parker let out small gasps only heard under your breaths. you both turned to each other in shock, mouths agape as the big screen tv slowly shrouded in white, making you forget what a night time sky actually looked like. you had to gain a grip on your controller, swallowing with a slightly parched throat while you and your little brother looked like deer in headlights.
as if on cue, parker's lips trickled with the widest grin you've ever seen. it was a type of grin that felt so warm and bubbly — not the type that was like going into a candy shop for the first time. the type of grin where you knew that this moment was precious. priceless. that this moment is where you were truly happy. he made a core memory for his entire childhood.
parker didn't realize that he set his controller back on the coffee table, still staring at you in pure euphoria and ecstatic eyes. then the slow motion stopped. you felt everything switch back to normal, watching him jump up high on his heels. "DID YOU SEE THAT Y/N/N!? WE BEAT THE ENDER DRAGON!" parker exclaimed, you laughing while the two of you ascended into peals of celebratory cheering. after all the minecraft youtubers the two of you would binge on — pat and jen, ihascupquake, ldshadowlady, dantdm, stampy, captainsparkles, skydoesminecraft — the list goes on.
the two of you would always watch them during long car rides or even when you got caught in the kitchen at late night, bonding over them at the most random times that felt like every second of the day — every second well spent. every second that parker was smiling. when you two started jumping and cheering, you scooped up the kid in your arms, hearing him erupt in giggles. you never wanted to let him go, spinning him around in a bear hug on the living room floors, the screen behind you flickering to a dirt background with the iconic end poem on display in all its glory. even then, you didn't let go of the controller in your hand, not wanting to pass by the coziness just yet.
it was one thing to wake up this morning and watch parker rip open his present, lighting up upon getting minecraft for console. it was a completely different feeling hooking up said console and sitting on the couch, eyes hooked on the screen, controllers at the ready, playing all day. you two taught each other along the way, laughing at dumb deaths, cheering each other on whenever one of you reached diamonds, and managing to build a huge fortress. all of that work and hours of fingers pressing at buttons and joysticks, of joints and wrists aching, and erupting in laughter led to here: beating the ender dragon.
in your fit of loud noise, pops stumbled into the room, standing within the hallway to see you spinning parker around in your arms, grins etched upon the chaos. he smiled at the site, chuckling at you two. he heard parker's grand announcement roughly a minute earlier. your volume kind of concerned him until he realized you've been hooked on that video game all day. pops slowly advanced to the living room space, shuffling as quietly as possible as to not interrupt you.
when your giggles were dying down, parker wrapping his arms around your neck tightly to cling onto you, you glanced to the side at the sense of a new presence lighting up the room, witnessing pops staring at you with a wide smile. "you two made it big huh?" pops playfully remarked, putting his hands on the couch's back frame. parker whipped his head around and gazed back at pops with beaming eyes. you giggled again and put him down, letting him scramble around towards pops' side while you placed your controller on the coffee table next to his.
"yeah pops! we beat the ender dragon! you should've seen-" parker went on an excited tangent, his heels still bumping up and down from adrenaline. you watched the kid ramble on, his smile not faltering. pops stayed attentive and patient, nodding along with everything he was hearing despite him not fully understanding. he picked up on some things that he remembers parker talking about from youtube, making him look just as excited when he did understand the tidbits, clapping his hands a bit. all that truly mattered was that his kids were happy. he loved seeing those grins.
you just stood around with a smile, still watching with crossed arms. the feeling in the moment didn't seem to die out as pops finally cut in with some childishness in his eyes, hearing parker's voice begin to trail off from how fast he's been talking. "could you teach me how to play? i gotta see this if it's such a good game." pops said, gesturing with his hands as if attempting to convince a businessman. pops instantly beamed, more adrenaline coursing through him than a 5 hour energy bottle. parker let out a loud giggle. "yes! yes i can! cmon!" parker exclaimed, taking pops by the hand and dragging the two of them towards the front of the couch facing the tv.
for a split second as parker was setting the game back up, handing the older man your controller, pops glanced back at you with glossy eyes and a cheesy smile. you smiled back just as wide, giggling under your breath. pops might be there for a while. you perked up slightly and pointed towards the coffee machine on the kitchen counter in the background. "i'll make hot choco." you said, seeing pops nod. when you reached the miniature brewing station, retrieving a k-cup for hot choco and placing a mug under the coffee machine dispenser, pressing a few buttons, you tuned into parker's passionate rambling, this time hearing the kid explain the concept of minecraft and how it works slowly for pops to keep up.
the smile on your face only widened, letting a sigh of happiness escape your lips. you turned your head and glanced out the window, looking past the healthy houseplants encompassed in orange flowerpots sitting on the windowsill. there displayed a luminous, orange-yellowish sunset, bronze lighting falling upon nature's green meadows, mountains, deserts, waters — any biome or climate. the yellow disc in the sky had enough power to rivet vibrant oranges and pinks upon cotton mattresses called clouds, signaling the day's end into a long night of pro-gamer moves. maybe you should've made pops a coffee for this one.
