Together We'll Be (Freedom AU Christmas Special 2023) [FNAF/UT]

ᶜʰᵃᵖᵗᵉʳ ᴼⁿᵉ

It was very weird. The house was so silent at night, no sound from any slight movement. Except maybe the odd tree branch brushing against a window, or the sound of the cold, winter wind outside. Obviously, the house being this quiet in the middle of the night wasn't a shocking revelation for her, just that it was different being wide awake this late, and somewhere other than her shared room with her twin brother.

  (She didn't consider the occasional midnight trip for the bathroom to count, seeing as in those instances, she was almost always groggy from sleep.)

  She tiptoed quietly down the staircase, the pads beneath her clawed feet perfectly preventing any sound whatsoever. Well, aside from a creaky step she hadn't realized existed until now. The young fox froze, slowly lifting her foot off the step and hoping nobody heard it.

  Silence still.

  She continued the rest of the way, still treading lightly even after making it off the staircase. A quick detour was necessary, as her mom kept the ceramic bowl of candy canes on the breakfast table in the kitchen. It was no trouble reaching it, and grabbing a peppermint flavoured candy cane for herself.

  Now done with her brief side task in the kitchen, she swiftly went across the foyer, into the living room. While it wasn't as dark as the curtained rooms upstairs, she still found herself squinting a bit to make sure she wasn't about to walk into anything—like the coffee table, or footrests.

  Once she successfully cleared the room with no hiccups, she gently got down onto her knees, and began feeling the ground near the wall. Her hand grazed over a cord plugged directly into the wall. She slid her hand along the length of the cord, eventually finding the small switch that would turn on the power the rest of the way.

  Her fuzzy thumb flipped the switch. Her golden eyes looked upwards, the multicoloured LEDs twinkling before them. Her ears perked up, as she began staring at the well decorated Christmas tree.

  Jessie's tail had begun swaying, as she carefully looked at each of the ornaments which had been hung on the many branches with care. Christmas blinked. Before getting too lost in her staring at the tree, Jessie quickly went to grab the blanket folded over the back of the couch. Then, she wrapped it around her shoulders, and sat back down. She opened the wrapper of the candy cane, too, and began quietly licking it—smiling over its sweet, Christmassy taste.

  Every year, there was an unofficial Christmas tradition her and her siblings all followed. Waking up at an unashamedly early hour to wake up Foxy and Vixen—the four being excited to open their presents under the tree. Though the two weren't exactly the most fond of being awoken before the sun had even risen, this tradition was never met with any negative reactions upon seeing the pure, and simple intention of the four twins' excitement.

  And just as consistently—call it another unofficial tradition—the kids would fall asleep earlier than usual, a result of their early rise and excitement filled day. Falling asleep under cozy blankets, and cuddling together on the couch while watching a Christmas movie, was one of Foxy and Vix's favourite part of Christmas Day.

  This year, Jessie had taken it upon herself to start a new tradition. One for the days leading up to Christmas. Where, each morning, before the sun's rising, the young fox simply made the same trek down the stairs, to the kitchen, ending at the living room—cuddled in a blanket, sitting in front of the beautiful Christmas tree, and quietly eating a candy cane.

  Jessie very much liked this new tradition of her's. It had a calming effect on the young fox, especially given the scary events of not so long ago. Waking up as normal one morning, only for her and Junior to find their parents and adopted siblings gone from the house.