It's the most wonderful time of the year

[both_neither]

Who: The Family With No Name. Vicious, Gren, Equius, and Nepeta
What: Stepford Plot and not so domestic bliss
When: Throughout the plot (15th to 21st)
Where: Their home
Rating: pg-13 because Vicious and a man in a dress. idk.

Christmas was the time of year to bring out all the stops. The tree was fresh and just waiting to be decorated and hung with mounds of tinsel. The stockings were hung and the linen was pressed and the house smelled almost constantly of some kind of baking. It's the setting for an ideal family holiday, even if the family might not be all that ideal in reality.

Comments

Day 1 - waking up

[both_neither]

Another holiday morning dawns. Time to get up and enjoy the day. Assuming you have any idea of where you are that is. Certainly nothing can be wrong here...

[both_neither]

Gren, or "Grace" as he knew himself here, was an energetic and fastidious soul. She was always up early to complete her beauty regime - hair curled and lips painted and dressed in her favorite button down dresses well before her family was up and moving. As it should have been. Grace was devoted heart and soul to her family, after all, despite the fact that she was really a man. The fact that her kids couldn't really be hers were not an issue to be discussed or acknowledged.

Breakfast will probably be on the table soon, and the radio is already on in the background. Grace loves to listen to radio as she goes about her day, after all.

[cant_breathe_no_heir]

Drawn to the sound of a radio, Equius makes his way to the kitchen, still dressed in his pajama clothing and deeply, deeply confused.

When he gets down there, he notes the human in a dress with a confused look.

"Uh..."

[both_neither]

Grace glances over her shoulder as Equius walks in, smiling up from the cooking.

"Good morning sleepy head. Where's your sister? Breakfast is almost ready," she said in a voice maybe a shade too deep to really belong to a woman.

[cant_breathe_no_heir]

Equius is frozen to the spot. He looks down at his human hands, and even pinches himself to be sure. Nope, it's not a dream.

"My... sister?" He regarded the person in a dress who may or may not be female, which wasn't judged in Troll society. "What is going on?"

[both_neither]

"Somebody's still a bit sleepy, I see," 'she' answered with a tiny smirk.

[nothingtobelieve]

'Vic' was downstairs shortly, dressed sharply in suit and tie. His entire contribution to the daily routine consisted of a brief detour to fetch the morning paper before he took his customary seat at the head of the table.

There was, however, a brief pause before he unfolded the paper, a frown flickering across his face. Something felt decidedly... off, though he couldn't seem to put a finger on what it was.

This dilemma was solved easily enough by spreading out the paper and promptly hiding behind it, focusing on the news rather than the vague incongruities of the morning.

[both_neither]

Grace responded quickly as possible by sliding a cup of coffee onto the table next to him, used to Vic's customary lack of greeting one way or the other. Her husband's silent nature raised some eyebrows here and there in the neighborhood, and even a few whispers about darker things between them, but Grace paid no attention to any of that. They worked because they understood each other, and that was all that mattered.

"Anything planned for today?" Grace asked, placing a featherlight kiss at Vic's temple before swishing back to the stove.

[nothingtobelieve]

He reached for the cup of coffee without bothering to look at it, or even lower the paper. This was routine. No matter how much that nagging feeling in the back of his head tried to tell him otherwise. Things were always this way.

"I have some business later." No particular need to elaborate. It was men's business, nothing to do with the quiet domesticity of home life. "It won't take long." This close to the holidays, even he would not absent himself for longer than was necessary.

[both_neither]

"Well, don't be late for dinner. I'm making meatloaf, and we're finishing up the tree afterwards," she said with a soft tone of quiet excitement. It seemed like the whole year led up to this holiday, when she could bake, clean, and decorate to her heart's content.

[nothingtobelieve]

"I won't delay your plans." Though he might otherwise point out that he could do whatever he wanted, on his own schedule, it was the holidays, and he knew he simply needed to be present to keep things harmonious. As long as he didn't actually have to help when it came to tasks like decorating the tree, it was fine.

mid-week - decorating the tree

[both_neither]

It's evening, and the industrious lady of the house is busy laying out the items for the much-anticipated family activity of decorating the tree. Large bowls of popcorn sit next to rolls of thread and needles. The ornaments are set out and the tinsel is safely stored away for last. A faint smell of chocolate drifts in from the kitchen.

"There you are. Now be careful with the needles. You don't want to prick yourself," Gren said, smoothing down 'her' apron as she stood back up from setting down one last bowl, smiling, "and there'll be fudge when you're all done."

[cant_breathe_no_heir]

Equius picked at the bowl of popcorn, holding a kernel up to his face and inspecting it.

"What a ridiculous human custom." He muttered to himself.

[both_neither]

"What was that, honey?" Gren said, a beatific smile plastered on his lips.

[cant_breathe_no_heir]

"Oh, uh, nothing, human parental-" he coughed, "Mother."

He grabs some string, and after a moment of confused staring, begins tying string to pieces of popcorn.

[both_neither]

"Good," Gren said, sitting primly on the arm of the couch and smoothing down his skirts.

"The tree is going to look so wonderful when we're done."