MGA PAKIWARI AT PAGMUMUNI-MUNI (An AlDub Collection of Poems and Short Stories)

Thanksgiving: A Prequel (A4Day25)

A/N: A prequel to my Thanksgiving drabble and His Eyes short fic. You wanted a little backstory on Alden. Here it is. I hope this delivered.

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Thanksgiving. He had always liked spending the Thanksgiving holiday. With the clanging of silverwares against plates, the smell of roasted turkey and stuffing as well as some pumpkin pie wafting through his nose and the occasional hum of talk as well as laughter of the people seated around him; it was enough to make him sigh in contentment.

This is how it should be. My family.

All of them. All of us.

Together.

He then looked to his side where she was seated, looking beautiful in the short red cocktail dress that she wore. She glanced at him sideways when she felt his gaze and gave him a small smile.

And the love of my life. My forever.

My Nicomaine.

He then wiped his mouth before standing up and clinking his fork with his wine glass, gathering everyone's attention. He grinned quite happily as he looked at everyone around the dinner table, his deep dimple appearing on his left cheek.

"I have an announcement to make!" he said as he took the hand of the lady seated beside him and gently pulled her up to stand with him.

"Alden," she whispered, even as she stood and smiled, quite confused. "What is this? What are you doing?"

"Sshhh... Love," he whispered back. "We need to announce our engagement. And what better way to do that when all of our family are already here with us."

"Engagement? What engagement are you talking--"

He looked around once more and when he was sure everyone was gazing at them expectantly - he ecstatically but smugly announced, "I'd like to make a toast! To Nicomaine - my future wife..."

A heartbeat of silence then a soft gasp followed by the sound of breaking glass. He frowned as he turned towards the sound, finding Marian, his future mother-in-law, with wide eyes and mouth agape; the wine glass she was holding slipping from her grasp and bursting into a million pieces on their marble floor. He watched for a moment, fascinated with the way the crimson liquid started to pool around their feet.

"No..."

He heard her whisper as his frown went deeper. He then turned towards his own mother and father and saw them with the same expression albeit a little more guarded.

"Mother? Why--"

He looked towards Nicomaine, the love of his life, for answers and found her pale, almost to the point of fainting as she gazed back at him with wide eyes, seemingly unbelieving of what he just uttered.

"My love?" he softly asked as he gently touched her arm to which she jerked away, sitting back down on her chair. "Nicomaine? What--"

"Son..." he heard the authoritative voice of his father address him.

"Father?"

"Please, sit back down. Nicomaine would not be your future wife," his father stated, staring at him straight, his no-nonsense tone giving no way for arguments.

"What do you mean she's not going to be my future wife? Of course, she is! She will be!"

"No, Alden. She won't."

He laughed. Loudly. As if he just heard the funniest joke ever conceived. With his head thrown back before bending over at the waist, wiping his eyes of the tears that he accumulated from laughing too hard.