@justmilah ilu merry krssmas and a happy new year 🎄 🐇⚓ 🎄
so apparently pre-solstice feast would be made of the bounty after thinning herds in preparation for entering months with low amounts of animal feed, and in order to accompany those feasts, people would make items from the excess of their harvests that might spoil, sell and exchange for one last full laden table
so christmas markets! welcome to the everyoneisalivebecauseisaidso!au where lots of marmalade is made and jones & co. jams is the hit market stall of the year.
alice is giving her papa some sass because he’s calling her out on opening half the jars that they finish (milah, putting the finishing touches on the stall sign, is infinitely amused by this). liam was kicked out of the kitchen for being a back-seat chef over killian’s shoulder (’really that much sugar?’ ‘ooo needs stirring.’ ‘mmm bit sharp, don’t you think?’) and was consequently put onto logistics and pricing so that he can get his type-a organisation kick without getting throttled by lil bro. robin is theoretically helping with the canning and jar-decorating, but has been deemed the official taste tester by alice. the kitchen smells divine.
SQUEAKING this in for KnightRook Secret Santa for my super, super secret giftee @leiandcharles! A Christmas meets New Year’s fic for you!!
“You know, in most of the world it’s already next year,” Tilly started suddenly.
Rogers chuckled as she carefully drew in the sketchpad he’d gifted her days earlier. For years he’d worked over the holidays, pulling long hours Christmas straight through to New Year’s Day to allow other officers the chance to spend time with their families. Often he’d kept the company of a radio playing on low, the DJs commenting every now and then about the joys of the holidays before another call came into the station.
He’d welcomed the calls then more than the commentary. At least the calls distracted him from his loneliness. On those days, the desperation for just one more drink pulled at him more than normal.
This year was different—he’d taken the holidays off. Well, more was forced to by Weaver rather than having requested them. His partner insisted that it would do him and Tilly some good to enjoy the season. Though the man didn’t outright say it, Rogers could practically hear it blaring with the looks he was given: now that you both have someone to share it with.
The scraping of pencil to paper provided a white noise to his thoughts. Someone to share it with. Rogers smiled to himself, grateful his back was to Tilly as he started on a late snack for the two of them. She was sitting on one of his bar stools in an oversized shirt he’d lent her as a pajama top and a pair of leggings she’d received from Goodwill, making broad strokes over the paper as he debated on how many vegetables to sneak into their meal.
Strange to think how worried he’d been in the days leading up to Christmas, practically breaking out in a cold sweat as he debated on how much or how little to do, what to get, what to not get, whether anything was appropriate at all.
His worries had been pushed aside Christmas morning when his whirlwind of a roommate laid eyes on the few modest gifts perfectly organized under a two-foot tree settled on the coffee table.
“Well,” he said, shaking away the warm memory, “since we’re still firmly in the last day of this year, what would you like to do to give it a send off?”
“Dunno,” she replied, looking up. “Haven’t quite figured this year out yet. Can’t remember another one like it, really.”
Neither can I.
“Hopefully it’s at least ending on a good note.”
Tilly beamed, cheeks flushing. “The best.”
Rogers cleared his throat and went back to his task, willing away the pleased look he felt pulling at the corners of his mouth and the crinkles around his eyes. The best. Damn it all, the day could end now and he’d still feel the same. Well, not yet. There was still one little thing that had to be done. Or, rather, given.
“You know, there’s no reason we can’t get out of the house.”
“You? Go out? For New Year’s? For fun? Detective, are you feeling alright?”
“Ha ha,” he retorted, rolling his eyes. “Funny. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying we go out to some nightclub where they have a forty dollar cover charge or somewhere with a mediocre prix fixe menu—”
“Ah, there’s Rogers, I was worried we lost him for a moment.”
“Funny, Til.” The nickname rolled off too quick to catch. He chanced a glance at her, resolving to shove past the awkwardness when he caught a fond glint in her usually mischievous eyes. Damn it, something about it reminded him of someone… “I was just thinking that maybe it would do us both some good to get some fresh air. Maybe see the fireworks if we can find a place that’s—”
“Secluded from drunk crowds?”
“I was going to say quiet, but essentially yes. If you don’t want to, though…”
Tilly hopped from her barstool and half-skipped toward her room. “You had me at ‘fireworks’. I’ll be ready fast, quick as a bunny.”
There were perks to being a police officer. Knowing where to go and which buildings had rooftop access. Rogers had come to know the center of Seattle like the back of his hand, and his years serving through the insanity of New Year’s Eve had given him a unique understanding of where was close to the action but away from stumbling twenty-somethings in gold glittering party hats.
While Tilly had been busy getting ready, he’d put a couple of camping chairs he’d never had the chance to use and some refreshments into the trunk of his SS Chevelle, finishing the Tetris-ed pile off with one last belated Christmas gift. He’d even allowed a smug, self-satisfied smirk to grace his lips before his roommate bounced out to join him.
“Ready to say goodbye to this year?”
“More ready to say hello to the next one, I think,” he replied.
The drive was filled with the mixing of Tilly flipping through cassettes he kept in his glove box and her chattering about everything from books she was reading to the unbelievable things she had witnessed while people watching. Though he could have gone the rest of his life without knowing Mr. Harris the florist had a habit of speaking seductively to the bushes outside his store, the noise was a welcome reminder that this year was different.
He drove to an old retail building that had been part of his route for years. Back when he’d first started, he’d learned the various security codes and, he was ashamed to admit, had used the roof as a place to drink in seclusion. No time like New Year’s to give it a better purpose.
Piling everything he could into his arms until Tilly insisted she grab her fair share, Rogers led them up the the freight elevator then up the final flight of stairs to the roof. Seeing it now with sober eyes, he could see now how perfect a view it was with all of Seattle twinkling below.
“I’ve never been up this high before!”
He chuckled at the excitement in her voice as they unfolded the chairs and he took out a bottle of sparkling apple juice and paper cups. “Just please don’t try to jump off this one onto anywhere.”
“Yeah, I don’t fancy starting the year off as a pancake.”
“Glad we’re on the same page with that.”
Any quip she may have had caught in her throat as the hum of the city began to change. He glanced down at his phone in time to spot 11:58.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Ready,” she said, grinning like a cheshire cat.
He counted down at first in his head as the seconds on is phone ticked down. Then, he could hear the hum change to a unified voice, fuzzy from distance as tens of thousands of people began to count down to midnight. As they rose higher and higher, memories of the past year began to rush through his mind like a flipbook, the highs and lows mixing together until they settled on the moment that had mattered to him the most.
10. 9. 8.
How about you come stay with me for a while?
7. 6. 5.
I’d like that. Very much.
4. 3. 2.
Come on, then. Let’s go home.
1.
He looked next to him to see Tilly’s wide-eyed, beaming face as the clock struck midnight and an indescribable feeling surged through him. It wasn’t finding Eloise or being promoted or anything else that had stuck to him in those last seconds of the year, but offering a home to the wild, mischievous young woman sitting next to him, taking in the revelry below.
The pop of the first fireworks sent a shock through him, and together they watched them dance and light up the sky. A new year, this one with friends and something that could maybe, possibly, almost, one day be considered something like family.
His hand landed again on the gift in his pocket, playing with the corners of the wrapping paper with each explosion of light and color. At long last, the crackles and pops died away, leaving behind clouds of smoke and a dizzying feeling of newness and second chance.
“There’s one more gift I didn’t have the chance to give you yet for Christmas,” he started, pulling it out and handing it to her.
At first she simply sat there, stunned, focus darting between the cloudy remnants of the fireworks and the small package in her hands. “Detective, you didn’t have to. I mean, you’ve done enough. More than enough. Really—”
“One more thing couldn’t hurt. Besides, I think you could really use this. At least, I hope you can.”
She grinned and gave a little nod before she turned her attention to the gift like a cat laying its eyes on a ball of yarn. As she had done on Christmas, she tore into the paper with the feverishness of a child. When the last bit of tape was stripped away, a set of keys fell into her lap, earning a quizzical look.
“Ummm…” Tilly’s face journeyed from confusion to panic to sadness concealed with humor. “Did you get me a better lock on the boxcar door?”
Bloody hell. Of course she’d think something like that.
Rogers quickly shook his head, hoping she could see his insistence in the city lights, all the more dim now without the sparkling of fireworks. “It’s a set of my apartment keys. I asked my landlord to get a new one for the front door, and the others are to the front door and mailbox. Just, well, it seemed like it was time for the place to feel like home to you, not just a place you were ‘crashing’ in, so to speak. I… well, I… I mean, if you want…”
He scratched the back of his ear, thinking and overthinking then analyzing his thoughts once again, when he felt a gentle hand rest on his left forearm. His eyes darted up, locking with hers that were glittering with emotion as her free hand toyed with the keys.
“Thank you. Really. Thank you so much.”
For a moment Rogers felt a lump settle in his throat then settle slowly into his chest, preventing him from speaking. Instead, he grabbed their paper cups and poured the sparkling juice, handing her one and keeping one for himself.
She took a deep breath, letting all the sounds and smells around them wash over her. Water lapped rhythmically around Killian’s houseboat while George Bailey danced the Charleston on TV. Warm bread, nutmeg-scented sweet potato casserole, and a glazed ham sat on the table, tantalizing her senses. Home, she realized. It all just felt so much like home.
Merry Christmas! This is part 1 of your gifts for @knightrooksecretsanta I really love this fic you wrote last year, it’s so sweet and comforting and just feels like Christmas, not to mention it just fits these three so well so when I was thinking of what to make for you this is one of the first things I wanted to do. I actually couldn’t decide between this one and a gifset so I have made both! I’ll be posting that one tomorrow. Hope you like it!
The Things We Do Today Will Be Tomorrow’s News (Knight Rook Secret Santa)
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Summary: Newsies AU: Detective Killian Rogers gets more than he bargained for when he agrees to help the charming Newsie Tilly Hatterson strike against their mutual enemy, Victoria Belfrey. What begins is a friendship between two lonely souls that reveals to them each a second chance for family in their lives.
Happy Holidays to my dear giftee, @allons-y-to-hogwarts-713! Getting to know you this month was a real treat. I enjoyed experimenting with AU’s again and putting together this fun little newspaper for you! Newsies is a spectacular musical that I know you love and it was a blast getting to work with the stage production in such a unique way. Creating a Knight Rook storyline based around the Newsies framework was so perfect and gave me a cool chance to tackle characters that I normally don’t use like Henry and Belfrey. It was such a fun project to put together because I’ve never tried something like this before!
...I guess you could say...I’m doing something no one’s even tried and yes, I’m terrified, but watch what happens! XD
One thing you oughta know about me giftee: I love puns and musical puns are the best kind of puns!
Also, serious shoutout to @hollyethecurious for her emergency beta work on this “pape” of mine! Seriously, Hollye-dew, I love you!!
Just in case you can’t read the articles, I’ll place them under the cut!
Article 1:
Newsies Strike Home: A Win for Our City’s Children
Mills, Henry - After two weeks, the Newsies' city-wide strike has finally come to an end. On Monday, December 10, the newspaper salespeople -- or Newsies, as they prefer to call themselves -- began protesting after it was announced that they would need to put an extra ten cents of their money towards the copies of The Belfrey Bombshell to be sold. Yesterday, property developer and editor-in-chief of The Belfrey Bombshell, Victoria Belfrey, met with the leader of the strike, seventeen-year-old Tilly Hatterson, as well as Detective Killian Rogers after the city wide Children's Crusade, wherein the three reached an agreement over the charges the Newsies were to incur regarding the price of the papers. While the Newsies will still pay the extra price to obtain the papers, Ms. Belfrey will now pay back the Newsies for the extra unsold copies. As Tilly claims, "No Newsie will break their back carryin' around papes they can't sell; but if they can take an extra few and have no risk, they might sell those, too." Tilly expects the circulation of The Belfrey Bombshell to increase as a result of the new policy.
As many of the Newsies are children, this issue has called into question the rights and treatment of children in the labor force. Thousands of children work in New York City daily, and this is the first unionized movement ever to be enacted on such a large scale.
When reached for comment, Ms. Belfrey had this to say: "It's a compromise we can all live with."
Article 2:
Strike Leader Gets Adopted
Mills, Henry - The good news for Newsies' strike leader, Tilly Hatterson, appears to keep on coming! Shortly after the resolution of the Newsies' strike in Victoria Belfrey's office, Detective Killian Rogers offered Tilly the chance to become a permanent part of his family, an offer Tilly responded to with a tearful hug and acceptance.
Detective Killian Rogers offered the following comment: "Tilly and I have worked closely together throughout the strike in order to keep all those involved, both directly and indirectly, safe and informed. Throughout that time, Tilly has brought a light back into my life that I haven't had in years. She's become like family, and I want to take the next step and make it official."
Tilly had this to say: "Well, he plays a good game of chess, so I'll keep him around." Killian responded to the comment by ruffling her hair.
The two of them were last spotted en route to get some marmalade sandwiches at the Tiana's Tastes Deli.
The adoption is expected to be finalized in the new year, but for now, just as we wish for all of our readers of The Mills' Mission, it seems like this pair are suited to have a Merry Christmas together!
Article 3:
Killian Rogers: The Detective Turned Father (Still Working on This)
Mills, Henry - How does a seasoned detective find himself becoming friends, and eventually a father, to a Newsie in the span of just two weeks?
As someone who was personally there, allow me to tell you the story.
Killian Rogers, born in 1866, is no stranger to loss. After his mother’s death, his father abandoned him and his brother, Liam. The two siblings clung to each other and despite hardships, grew into respectable citizens together. While Killian became a police officer, Liam got into contracting. However, tragedy struck while Liam was on the job. A weak support beam collapsed, and Liam was crushed to death.
Though stricken with grief, Killian could tell something was amiss. While examining his brother’s body, he saw chips of faulty wood. A bit more research led Killian to information implicating Victoria Belfrey with its purchase.
From there, Killian launched his own private investigation into Belfrey’s enterprises. While a struggle, one incident in particular costing the detective his left hand, Killian stayed determined to expose Victoria Belfrey’s injustices.
Enter Tilly Hatterson, a young orphan and Newsie with a taste for marmalade and a heart as big as Belfrey’s tallest skyscraper. When she and her fellow Newsies were overcharged for the papers that sustained their poverty-stricken lifestyles, Tilly started a movement to fight back on behalf of not only the Newsies, but all exploited working children.
Then, noticing their common enemy, yours truly decided to introduce these two individuals. And just like a bat cracking against a baseball, they hit it off.
As they worked together, sharing marmalade sandwiches and games of chess in between protests and talks of strategies, they began to trust each other with stories of their pasts and fears for the future. Additionally, Rogers gave Tilly refuge in his apartment when the stress of the strike and the harsh winter proved to be too much for her, supplied Tilly with a steady supply of her favorite sandwiches, and provided an element of safety for her movement. And in return, Tilly gave Rogers her light. She charmed him with her dedication to her cause and her observations on life. Tilly’s a quirky girl, but if you understand her, there’s no one who can put a brighter smile on your face.
So is it any wonder that Rogers found a second chance of a family with her? Is it any wonder that despite not being able to get justice for Belfrey’s sins just yet, he was still able to allow Tilly into his heart and make her his daughter?
While I can’t say I saw it coming, I think it’s fair to say that now that Rogers and Tilly have each other, this oftentimes lonely world that we live in just got a bit less so.
The Fourth Annual Rogers Christmas Eve Sculpting Competition and Candy Eating Party
A/N: Hello, @queen-mabs-revenge ! It's been a pleasure being your KRSS this year, even though I'm pretty sure tumblr ate most of my messages! It's still Christmas here, so I'm not technically late-- but here it is!
It's 300% canon non-compliant, since Liam's present, I sort of refuse to acknowledge any sort of timeline, and I take many, many more liberties with it. The Brothers Rogers have been given the cursed first names "James" (Liam) and "Matthew" (Killian) after J.M. Barrie, creator of Peter Pan, and of Captain Hook. Forgive me, it's just a big ole mess, but they're competitive and family and celebrating Christmas, what else do you want from me???
Summary:
It's that time of year again, time for the Rogers Christmas Eve Sculpting Competition and Candy Eating Party, a competition for the ages. But unlike the past three years, Margot is coming, sitting in with James as one of the “official” judges. What kind of shenanigans will ensue this year?
Rated G for general happiness, competition, and celebration - 2.5K words
Written for @knightrooksecretsanta
Also on AO3!
It’s been a tradition for three years now, the annual Rogers Christmas Eve Sculpting Competition and Candy Eating Party. It started as innocent gingerbread house building, but because they are both incredibly competitive, it quickly became much more. The first year, they were just houses— extravagant, meticulously decorated houses.
The next year, they were mansions, built in different rooms so they couldn’t see what the other was doing, items exchanged and requested strictly through James, able to go back and forth between the rooms and watch their technique. (Even though he has no idea what’s going on most of the time— there’s not an artistic bone in his body.)
It only went up from there.
Last year, Tilly built a landscape that came straight from her imagination. And Matthew continued on with mansions, building not only the house, but the entire property, complete with a pool full of vanilla icing dyed blue and little candy ducks.
He won that year.
And he knows exactly what he is going to make this year, and has been sure to buy enough rope-like candies to make it perfect. He's planned it all out, has drawn the blueprint out in his head one too many times (he can’t put it on paper, because then someone is bound to find it and realize his plan.)
He just needs it to work.
James shows up first, boxes piled in his arms that he sets down on the table.
"Thanks, brother, I really appreciate it."
His brother just smiles, shaking his head, then turns on his heels to get the rest of the boxes out of the car. By the time he makes it back up the steps, Matthew has started to dig through the boxes, finding the specific items he requested: pull-apart Twizzlers, bubble gum tape rolls, a bag of gummy bears, planks of chocolate molded to have wood grain, plus his share of the boxes of graham crackers and gingerbread that will be the main foundation of his piece.
Smiling, he pulls out his secret weapon, a special molded chocolate piece that he ordered on the internet. He hopes it's enough.
Tilly was not nervous. Absolutely not, no way.
She was a lot of other things-- excited, overwhelmed, thrilled, elated…
But nervous? Nope. Uh-uh.
Why would she be nervous? She's celebrated Christmas before.
So why is this year any different?
Looking down at her hand, her attention is caught by the sparkle of the multicolored lights strung around the doorway as they reflect in the bright diamond of the ring on her finger.
Right, that's why.
This isn't her first Christmas, her first holiday celebration. But it's her first holiday celebration that she's actually celebrating with Margot. Her first Christmas as a fiancee. The first Christmas where Margot will be celebrating not just with her, but with the Rogers brothers, too.
No, she is absolutely, definitely, positively not nervous.
That's probably why her hands are shaking so badly that the scissors slip out of her grip as they glide across the wrapping paper, somehow managing to spin around on the top of the table and slice open the pad of her thumb.
Great, just what she needs. Another injury, and on a night when she needs everything she has, a night when she has to beat Matthew.
After covering the cut with a band-aid to prevent the blood seeping from it from getting everywhere, Tilly adds the present to the box next to her.
She looks up at the clock: 3 o'clock, it reads. Margot will be home any minute, and then they can head to the Rogers' apartment. With her newly bandaged finger, she finishes wrapping the last of her presents and wedges them into the box.
Smiling, she turns towards one of the drawers in the kitchen, taking out the last things she needs for the competition tonight. She asked James for all of the basics: the boxes of graham crackers, a vat of vanilla icing and food coloring to make all the colors she needs. Edible grass. Crazy colored candy canes. Gummy worms. She even trusted him enough to ask for a deck of chocolate cards.
But the gummy mushrooms and little tiny white chocolate flower arrangement that she ordered off the internet? She would trust the Rogers brothers with her life— has done so in the past— but with the secrets of her plan for this year’s Sculpting Competition?
That might be going a little too far.
It came to her in a dream just before thanksgiving, as weird as that all sounds. She had just finished reading Alice in Wonderland and Margot insisted that they watch the Disney animated movie.
It amazed her. So much different than the book, but it was beautiful. So many things stood out to her: the hookah-smoking caterpillar, the singing flowers, the bread-and-butterflies, the Queen of Hearts and her men as the deck of cards.
And then, that night, she had the dream: all of her favorite parts of the movie, recreated with graham crackers and candy.
It’s perfect. And exactly what she needs to beat Matthew this year, after that whole mansion landscape from last year. She needs to win, not only for herself, but for Margot. It’s more than enough for her that Margot actually wants to be with her, a miracle that she loves her as much as Tilly does. Has accepted her for who she is, quirks and all, and the weird little family that she’s built herself with James and Matthew.
It’s absolutely crazy, thinking that Margot might love her more if she wins tonight. But that doesn’t change the fact that she still wants to.
She’s standing in the kitchen, staring down at her engagement ring again when Margot comes through the door, tossing her backpack onto the chair next to the door.
“Merry Christmas eve!” Margot greets her, quickly taking the few steps between the door and the kitchen to press a kiss to her cheek.
“Merry Christmas eve!” Tilly says back, a smile spread across her face.
“Just give me a minute to change, and then we can head to the Rogers’, okay?”
Still smiling as Margot heads back towards the bedroom, Tilly decides that whether she wins tonight or not, she’ll still be happy. Nothing could ruin the happiness that she feels in this moment, finally able to celebrate Christmas with all of her favorite people.
But, of course, winning would help.
Matthew is practically bouncing off the walls by the time Tilly and Margot arrive, far too much tea and adrenaline running through his veins.
Sure, he’s a cop, deals with adrenaline all the time, but the excitement that comes from the Christmas Eve Competition is different than anything he experiences at work the rest of the year. That doesn’t stop him from wrapping his arms around Tilly in a tight hug, then Margot once she sets down the box of presents, and James does the same.
Then, once everyone is greeted and set, Matthew sets Margot and James at the counter, going over the guidelines with them all. Matthew gets the kitchen, Tilly gets the dining room. Absolutely no going between rooms for the two of them. If somehow, they’ve missed a supply they need, Margot and James are the only ones to go back and forth between the rooms. They start as soon as they’re ready, but there’s no strict ending time— they’ve never gone past 8, but this year might be the year that they have to.
The two of them start to separate their supplies, James handing back the lists they gave him three weeks before, and the distribution begins.
This year, it takes five hours, the longest one yet. The last piece Matthew puts in place is the chocolate helm, the focal point of his masterpiece for this year: a ship , complete with a full set of correct riggings and tissue paper sails. Sure, he might be playing to the judge: he knows his brother and the love for ships that runs through both of their veins, but he heard about this town that decorates model pirate ships for Christmas.
And he knew. He knew what he was going to do this year.
James walks back through the doorway, laughing at Matthew as he dips the paintbrush to put the name on the other side.
“Where did the name come from, little brother?”
“ Younger ,” Matthew says between gritted teeth, focused on the cursive letters on the chocolate. “And it just… I don’t know, came to me the other night. I wasn’t even planning on giving her a name, but I discovered this one, and it just clicked.”
Taking a step back, he licks the rest of the icing off the end of the paintbrush, then smiles over his creation at his brother.
The Jewel of the Realm.
“Very regal. I like it, though.”
Margot leans back against the doorway, pushing her glasses back up her nose. “Well, it's interesting, to say the least,” she says with a smile.
“But… impressive?” Matthew asks, poking for some kind of compliment.
Margot and James both lean back, arms crossed over their chests, and stare at the ship in front of them for a few moments.
“It is actually pretty cool,” Margot says, but James just smiles, shakes his head, and leaves the room.
For the perfection in the detail and execution of Matthew's Jewel of the Realm , Tilly's Wonderland scene has eye-catching color and interesting creativity that it somehow lacks. Both James and Margot have spent much of the past five hours watching her rotate between brushes and different forms of icing in rainbows of color, painting each different piece with the same eye for perfection that Matthew has, from the delicate flowers to the half-painted white chocolate rose bushes held by some of the playing cards.
It really is awe-inspiring, the amount of thought and detail she put into the entire scene to make it as close to the animated movie as she could possibly make it. The last piece she adds, just after Matthew finishes the cursive lettering on the side of his ship, is the mushroom topped with the brightly-colored caterpillar.
Then, also just as Matthew did, she holds her hands up, taking a step away from the table as she raises her eyes to the judges, smiling widely.
“Finished?” James asks, slowly walking around the table with Margot to take in the whole scene that she has laid out.
“Yes!”
“Excellent,” he replies, then, without taking his eyes off the table, he calls out, “Matthew, she's finished!”
Wiping his freshly-washed hands on his apron, Matthew strides through the curtain they hung over the doorway, but stops dead in his tracks when he sees what lies before him on the dining room table.
“Bloody hell,” he mumbles, eyes wide. “Tilly, love, this is incredible.”
Though she probably wouldn't have believed it possible, Matthew's compliment makes her smile grow wider.
“Thank you!”
They all take a few minutes to try to take in everything in Tilly's creation, their silence only broken by one of them asking a question or whispering some kind of exclamation under their breath. Margot notices the small hedgehog used as the croquet ball. James is incredibly impressed that all of the little flowers have even smaller faces.
Then, once they've all circled the table at least a dozen times, James leads them into the kitchen, giving Matthew's ship the same treatment. Margot asks if all the rigging is completely correct, and Matthew says it is, backed up by James’ agreement. She seems incredibly impressed. James notices the Jolly Roger drawn on one of the smaller tissue paper sails and lets out a soft chuckle.
“We have to decide on a winner,” James says, cocking his head back towards the dining room, and Margot follows him into the next room.
“Your detail here is exquisite, Matthew,” Tilly says after a few moments, leaning in closer to the side of the ship as she softly runs her fingers across the wood grain in the chocolate.
“Thanks, love,” he says, a nervous smile on his face. “Did you paint those flowers yourself?”
Tilly's smile is far from nervous. “Yes, I did. I've been studying pictures of those flowers since Thanksgiving, trying to dedicate them to memory.”
“They're perfect. The colors were fantastic.”
“And all of these ropes are… are where they're supposed to be?”
“Aye, they are. I thought I was going to run out of Twizzlers near the end, but somehow I made it.”
“That's incredible, truly. It looks to realistic.”
Matthew walks over to the tea kettle, pouring more water into his cup of tea, then stirring it before taking a careful sip of the water.
Another few moments of silence pass between them before James and Margot come back through the curtains, and both Matthew and Tilly turn quickly towards them.
“So, there's a first this year,” James says, the words coming out slow.
“And it's all my fault,” Margot adds.
“The judges couldn't come to a decision.”
Amazed by the turn of events playing out in front of them— not to mention what it means— Matthew and Tilly turn towards each other, eyes wide.
“So you're… You're both winners.”
“And it never would have happened with just one judge,” James says, smiling at Margot as he wraps his arm around her shoulders.
“And Tilly, just so you know, without your fiance here, you would have won.”
All three of them turn towards Margot, whose face turns bright red faster than she can try to hide it with her hands.
“You voted against me?” Tilly asks, her jaw dropping, but a smile spreads across Matthew's face.
“You voted for me?”
Margot drops her hands, then gestures towards Matthew's ship sitting on the counter. “Look at it!” she yells. “It's perfect! It doesn't even look like it's made out of chocolate!”
Matthew smiles at her compliment, not for the first time tonight, but then snaps his head towards his brother.
“You voted against me? Your own brother?”
James’ response is much less emotional than Margot's. “Yes, I did. Her entire creation was impeccable. Yours was excellent, as well, but hers… it's perfect.”
Matthew turns around to face the fridge and leans his forehead against it.
“What do we do when we both win?” Tilly asks, taking one of the extra candy canes on the small table and unwrapping it.
James just shrugs, a smile spreading across his face. “Well, if it were up to me, we would just eat candy, forget about this, and open our presents.”
Matthew lets out a loud sigh, making sure everyone knows how he feels about the subject. Beating Tilly was apparently more important to him than he thought.
But once Tilly and Margot both agree with James, grabbing a few pieces of candy off the pile and following him into the living room, there's not much left that he can do. So, he grabs his flask out of the cabinet above the fridge, pours a generous dose in his mug with his tea, and, with another heaving sign and one last look back at The Jewel of the Realm, he follows them into the living room to continue on with their Christmas Eve celebration.
*a wild knightrook secret santa appears* Now that Thanksgiving is over I can try to see my shad... no, wait, wrong holiday. Thanksgiving is over so the Christmas season is definitely here, regardless of the weather. Do you live somwhere that you were able to stuff yourself with turkey a couple of days ago? ~ KRSS
HI SANTA!!!
Unfortunately, all the turkey face stuffing I do is on December 25th lol. The UK doesn’t really do thanksgiving.
(1/2) Tilly was not nervous. Absolutely not, no way. She was a lot of other things-- excited, overwhelmed, thrilled, elated…But nervous? Nope. Uh-uh. Why would she be nervous? She's celebrated Christmas before. So why is this year any different? Looking down at her hand, her attention is caught by the sparkle of the multicolored lights strung around the doorway as they reflect in the bright diamond of the ring on her finger. Right, that's why.
(2/2) This isn't her first Christmas, her first holiday celebration. But it's her first holiday celebration that she's actually celebrating with Margot. Her first Christmas as a fiancee. The first Christmas where Margot will be celebrating not just with her, but with the Rogers brothers, too. No, she is absolutely, definitely, positively not nervous.
HI MY DARLING I AM SORRY I WAS GHOSTING THROUGHOUT CHRISTMAS BUT I APPRECIATE YOUR MESSAGES AND THIS LITTLE NUGGET OF JOY AND I HOPE YOU HAD A GREAT FESTIVE SEASON AND I CAN’T WAIT TO READ YOUR THING AND PLS DON’T HATE ME BUT YOU’VE BEEN A DELIGHT AND AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
