#stitches!verse

[djarinsbeskar]

I just reread Antigen for the first time in six months and fucking hell what was I on 🤡

[frozenprocedural]

TDOE Day 9- White Christmas

Here’s day 9!

Alarik and Neta belong to @patricia-von-arundel. Set in @couragedontdesertme‘s Stitches!Verse, so Neta is six years old.

White Christmas

Rating: K

"Uncle Alarik?" 

He blinked, struggling to pull his mind from his notes and back to his lab. The use of "uncle", even seven months into his marriage (and well before that- Neta had given him that title when he moved into the castle permanently), still felt strange to him.

Neta was standing in the doorway, hands behind her back, bouncing a bit on her feet. There was a slightly uncertain look on her face, as if she wasn't sure she should be there. 

"What do you need, Neta?" 

She looked off to one side, bouncing a bit more. "Would you… would you play with me? Outside? Mama and Aunt Elsa are in a meeting, and Papa's working too. I… I don't have anyone to play with."

Not yet. Alarik thought to himself. But soon. He said nothing about that, of course, but instead gave Neta a smile. He could use a break- Elsa would certainly have agreed. And he didn't get to spend a good deal of time with his niece. 

"Let me put away my papers, and we can get our coats on."

Neta's entire face lit up, and she ran over to give him a hug. "Thank you Uncle Alarik! Thank you so much!"

It was definitely worth leaving the lab.

………..

Outside, the ground was covered in a good foot of snow, save for the paths that had been cleared- a blanket of white as far as he could see.

As soon as they stepped outside, Neta squealed and dashed into the snow, scooping a pile into her hands and packing it into a rough snowball. She tossed it into the air, watching its trajectory with fascination. When it landed on the ground, she trotted to Alarik's side and tugged at his sleeve. 

"Come on, Uncle Alarik! It's snowman snow!"

Before he could ask exactly what "snowman snow" was, Neta was pulling him to a relatively undisturbed patch of snow. She knelt down, indicating he was to do the same, and then began to roll another snowball. This one she kept on the ground, rolling it to make it larger. When she saw that Alarik was still kneeling there, she motioned to the ground.

"Uncle Alarik! Start rolling the middle!"

Alarik shook his head, but obliged, starting his own snowball. 

When was the last time he'd done something like this? Certainly not since his early childhood. He had forgotten the joy that could be found in a simple construction. 

Alarik lost track of time, and the number of snow-men, women, children and even reindeer (Neta's idea) they built together. He didn't notice the cold, or how soaked his clothes were. He was too caught up in the fun.

"Will there be any snow left on the grounds?"

Alarik looked up to find Elsa standing on the path, a smile on her lips and her eyes crinkled at the corners. 

"Aunt Elsa!" Neta leapt up, throwing her arms around Elsa's middle. Elsa's eyes went wide, just for the briefest moment, before she returned the hug. Neta didn't notice, but instead began to chatter about what they'd made. 

"Why don't you tell me more inside, Neta. You and your uncle must be soaked through."

Neta reached down to "help" Alarik to his feet, and together they walked back inside.

………..

"You looked like you were enjoying yourself out there today."

Alarik glanced over from where he was unbuttoning his shirt.  

"I was. Neta has a wonderful imagination. Did you know she had a story for each snow figure? Even the reindeer."

Elsa chuckled. "She has always been like that." 

They undressed in companionable silence for a while, until he heard Elsa sniffling. Then he was at her side in an instant- not touching, but there. 

"Elsa? What's wrong?"

She huffed a laugh, shaking her head and wiping a hand across her face. "I'm sorry. I just… it made me think of you… one day…" Her hand hovered over her stomach, over the tiny swell still hidden by her clothing. 

He felt tears of his own gathering. Alarik knelt before her, his hands out. "May I?" 

When she nodded, he reached out and pressed his hands to her belly, feeling that small bulge, the beginning evidence of their child growing within. 

"I can't wait for that day."

[frozenprocedural]

Here’s to the first day of Elsarik week! A huge, HUGE thanks to @starkurt for this amazing commission! Alarik and Jenny belong to @patricia-von-arundel, the Stitches!Verse belongs to @couragedontdesertme. The italicized lines come from her story “Summer”.

“Anna, that blanket must be a decade old.”

“More.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to give her something else? I could commission the most beautiful new blanket for her, let me-“

“Elsa” , Anna said, handing her daughter, swaddled nice and warm, over to her wide eyed aunt. “It’s perfect. Always has been.”

"It always has been."

"What's that?"

Elsa looked over from the bassinet, a hand coming up to cover her grin when she saw Alarik, curls flying every-which-way, sitting up in the bed. He caught her look and ran a hand through his hair, though it did little to tame the mess. 

"I was just talking to myself." She picked up Jenny, who was beginning to fuss, and held her close, tucking the ends of the blanket around her. "Just remembering something Anna told me about this old blanket."

Alarik grinned, helping her settle into bed and holding Jenny as Elsa worked the buttons free on her nightgown. He traced a finger over the crocus pattern on the edge. "It's perfect. Especially since you made it." 

Her nightgown now pulled down, Elsa took Jenny to her breast, and after a few seconds of searching, Jenny latched on, filling the air with soft sucking sounds. Alarik eased in behind them, helping Elsa onto his lap. He rested his head next to hers, watching Jenny nurse, and even in her periphery, Elsa could see the wide smile he wore. 

"Perfect." He murmured again. "Absolutely perfect."