A Falice Story

43. The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

"Gryphons and Gargoyles, FP?! That's what it has to be..." I sigh loudly, running a hand through my hair in frustration. "First, Minetta's severed head shows up on our doorstep and then Gladys and the Mantle kid get attacked by some freaks in masks?! Those sound like quests to me--" 

"Babe, breathe, okay?" he says, crawling into bed and pulling me down with him. "We don't know if there's any correlation between those two events."

I crawl under the covers with him, slinging an arm over his chest, "Forsythe! How can you be so calm? Do you not remember how dangerous this game is?!? The horrible things it makes people do?!"

He holds me close, rubbing my back to try to calm me, "I know, Alice. But at this point no one else seems to know anything about it, which is good. The most important thing is going to be making sure those game manuals don't get out."

I nod, absentmindedly running my hand across his scruff, "Yeah. I swear, our kids better not even think about touching it."

"I'll make sure of it," he says firmly, pressing a kiss to my lips before turning out the light. "Let's just focus on the kids and enjoy our first Christmas as a whole family."

"Okay," I breathe, resting my head on his shoulder again. "Goodnight babe."

*

"It's Christmas Eve you losers! What are you still doing in bed?!" I hear JB shout upstairs. 

I smile from the kitchen, happy that JB is still excited about the impending holiday, unlike the other two who deem themselves too mature. 

Isla is strapped to my chest in her carrier while I'm making breakfast. I feel her stir and I look down at her with a wide smile as she's waking up, "Hi, baby girl. Are you gonna help mama make breakfast?" She does a cute little stretch and I lean down to kiss the top of her head. She's been such an easy, happy baby so far, but neither FP or I want to jinx it. 

Moments later, said baby daddy enters the kitchen with a smile on his face, "Hey, honey," he presses a kiss against my lips. "And good morning to you, peanut," FP leans over and kisses his daughter's cheek, "Al--how is it that she gets more adorable every day?"

I laugh at how cute he is, "She definitely does. Must get that from you," I say with a wink.

"Nah, that's all mommy," he catches my lips again, breaking to pour himself coffee. 

"Do you want to take her, babe? I'll even let you wear this," I point to the carrier with a smirk. 

He gives me an unamused smile, "Al--I'm not going to wear that."

"Oh, come on! It'll be so cute--and she loves being in it."

FP sighs, "That doesn't exactly say 'I'm a badass who should be feared.'"

"Honey, you lost that title when you would tell her stories and sing to her when she was in my belly."

He stares at me in shock, "Wait--wait, you knew about that?!"

"Oh, please, Forsythe--did you really think I slept through all that?"

He turns bright red, eventually sticking his arms out with a sigh and I smile, taking the carrier off and strapping it to him, adjusting it so it fits him. "Awwww--look at how precious!"

FP tries to pretend like he's not loving it, but his face is proving otherwise, "This is kind of handy," he admits, sipping his coffee. 

"See! Told you," I stand on my tiptoes to kiss him. "Haven't you realized by now I'm always right?"

He smiles, squeezing my ass, "Oh you think so, huh?"

I nod, giggling, "Uh-huh..."

Jughead and Betty enter the kitchen with JB and we break a part, turning to face the kids. Jughead immediately bursts out laughing and FP rolls his eyes.

"I knew this was going to happen! Al, I'm taking it off--"

"No, you aren't! Jughead, cool it huh? Doesn't your dad look ruggedly handsome?" I coax.

Jug wipes the tears from his eyes, "Oh yes, very--" he puts some eggs on his plate, "You should wear that to the Wyrm, Dad. It'd be a big hit," he smirks.

Betty rolls her eyes, "Well, I for one think it's very sweet. I bet Jug would never be man enough to do it..." she comments, knowing it's going to get a rise out of him.

"Oooooo...." JB and I echo.

"Betts, whatever--I would so!"

She crosses her arms, "Then do it."

He sits down at the table flustered, "Well--I, I can't right now--dad's got her," he counters.

We all give each other smug looks and sit down to enjoy breakfast. Gladys enters a few minutes later, her face looking significantly worse than the night before.

"Oh--my--god."

She sighs, moving her bangs out of her face, revealing that the left side is even worse. "I know it looks bad--and trust me, it hurts like absolute hell. I just need more ibuprofen and I'll good as gold..."

"Mom, you need to go to the doctor!" JB exclaims.

"Angel, I am not going to the hospital on Christmas Eve. Seriously, I'll be fine."

I get up to grab her another bag of frozen vegetables to help relieve the pain, and hopefully reduce the horrible black eye and bruising she's got going on. 

"Thanks," she sighs, and I dump a few more ibuprofen in her hand. "So...what kinds of corny traditions am I gonna get stuck doing today?" she chuckles.

I roll my eyes, "For your information--the kids are going to go ice skating while FP and I finish wrapping gifts and then we all bake cookies, drink hot chocolate, and watch A Christmas Story," I say with a big, overly joyful smile.

"I guess 'You'll shoot your eye out' has a new meaning this year," FP jokes, referring to Gladys's shiner.

She glares at him, "Oh shut up!"

********

I hope you enjoyed this holiday themed chapter although it's June... 😂 I obviously meant to be a lot farther along with this fic than I thought at this point, but I've had a lot of things happen, preventing me from getting a chance to write. 

xx