✮ Rockstar ✮ || A Lightbrush Fanfiction

Chapter 21 - Deck the Halls

Paintbrush hummed to themself as they idly fidgeted with silver tinsel. It felt like November flew by (totally not because I needed this fic to start going faster), and the Christmas season was right around the corner.

"Okay," Mr. Bright huffed, putting his fists on his hips proudly, "the tree is all set. Now, y'all can start-"

"Decorating!" Lightbulb interjected, rushing out of the storage closet with Christmas lights bunched up in her arms. She rushed towards the tree as Paintbrush placed the strand of foil down on the couch. They stood up and walked over to help her.

"Your ornaments and lights are very bright," they started, watching Lightbulb begin to skip around the tree. The lights draped over the branches, adding pops of dull color to the dark green background.

"What do you mean? Of course it's colorful! It's for Christmas!" She proclaimed, bending to the power socket. She plugged in the lights and the tree lit up an array of colors twinkling with energy. Paintbrush stared at it for a moment, admiring the lights of which they'd only seen in movies.

Lightbulb stood up with a look of disbelief. "Seriously? Have you never celebrated Christmas? How is your life this sad?"

They chuckled, turning their attention back to their friend, "I celebrate Christmas, I love it! I always watched Christmas movies with my parents on Christmas Eve, then I'd fall asleep on the couch and wake up to all the presents I could ask for. My mom would record the whole thing and my dad would sit on the couch and watch." Paintbrush explained, walking over to a tub labeled, "Ornaments."

"My decor wasn't as colored as yours, though. Mine was white and gold with forest green accents. My parents are minimalists, but it seems your family is the opposite." They finished, observing Lightbulb's very decorated living room. It wasn't necessarily cluttered, but more of an organized chaos. It felt more lived in than their house, which looked more like a hospital room.

Mrs. Bright giggled from the kitchen, handing Neon a cup of fresh coffee. "What can I say," she adjusted the flaps of her robe, "I like myself some pretty colors." They chuckled and picked up an ornament, one that particularly caught their attention. It was a photo of a young Lightbulb framed in a foam snowflake. She was grinning widely, showing off her braces with a variety of different colored bands attached.

"I didn't know you had braces," they commented, turning the ornament over in their hand. On the back, there was a date and a note scrawled in messy handwriting.

"December 2014, Merry Christmas mommy and daddy!" A smile stretched across their face as Lightbulb came to look at what they were talking about. They turned the snowflake back over and stared at the younger version of their best friend. They'd never seen her like that before.

Paintbrush had only seen her like she is now, not as her innocent younger self. She didn't seem all that different though, her hair was shorter and she was missing one of her K9s. However, something was just a tiny bit off the more they observed the picture.

Her eyes didn't sparkle like they did now. They seemed dull, almost unhappy about something. They couldn't quite put their finger on it, but as they turned to look at her coming up behind them, there that shimmer was. It twinkled with curiosity, then sparked as she realized what they held.

"Aw, you found my snowflake!" Lightbulb said, grabbing it from their hold. She inspected it, a smile splitting her face. They guessed seeing a younger Lightbulb made everyone smile, even herself. "I remember when I made this in art class when I was 7." She giggled and strung the snowflake onto a branch.

Paintbrush parted their lips to say something, but they quickly closed them as they went back to picking through the ornaments in the large storage container. She seemed so much happier just by a tiny change.

They wondered what that change was until they picked up a small trans flag out of the box. The edges were fraying, and the handle was stained with faint crayon marks. Despite the blemishes, it still was recognizable. Their eyes scanned the flag before they handed it to Lightbulb. She said nothing, only nodded in thanks, and stuck it between two high branches atop the tree.

A small sigh came from their left and their eyes flicked to see the source. Neon and LED were standing in the kitchen, watching their daughter display her flag on top of the tree. Something sparked in them. A realization. But, they quickly pushed it away. No. Not yet. I can't.

The pair worked to decorate the tree, weighing down the branches with each ornament added. After around an hour, they were finished. A lot of the decorations looked handmade, most likely by Lightbulb herself. Paintbrush's parents wouldn't allow any color or any stuff they made on their tree, especially if it wasn't perfect.

As they watched Lightbulb pull her parents over to proudly display their work, the corners of their lips turned into a small frown. They were overcome with thoughts of envy and anger once more.

They couldn't stop it seemed. All of it came back to their resentment of her, how much more lucky she was than them. They just wanted to live like her for one day. Just one day. Then maybe, just maybe, they'll be okay again.

"Painty?" Lightbulb's voice distracted them, "You good?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Just spaced out again." Paintbrush answered, walking over to the three of them. Lightbulb smiled and put her hand on their shoulder.

"Hey, you're family now. Stop leaving yourself out of it," she whispered. They sighed with a nod, looking towards her parents. The two of them smiled.

I need to stop being so angry, they thought, I have them, I just don't think I do.

Mrs. Bright giggled and held her arms out, offering a hug. They chuckled and hung their head down with a smirk. "Oh, alright," they murmured, lifting their head and accepting her hug. She wrapped her hands around them tight, doing a small spin with them in her arms.

A smile spread across their face due to the embrace. They relaxed their body, weakly hugging her back. Lightbulb squealed from behind them and grabbed her dad's arm. She brought him towards the hug and joined the other two already hugging each other.

"Group hug!" She cheered, giggling. Paintbrush sighed, feeling all their worries melt away. Just as fast as it began, it ended. They were disappointed, but it did reassure them.

Lightbulb and her family were there for them, even when their parents weren't.

A/N// can you tell I like christmas? i like christmas. anyway, sorry for no thanksgiving chapter, I really tried to come up with one but I have NO ideas 😭