Private Merry Memories

[Yugam]

There was a look of confusion on Ari's face as Nico pointed a fist at him, crumbs of flakes flying into the air. "What? Why me in particular?" the man asked with a note of fear beneath all the confusion. She poisoned his gift or something. It was a trap, it had to be. What other reason would Nico be so excited to watch him open her gift?

"A-Ariii…!" And for the second time in less than an hour, Ari had managed to make his girlfriend blush like a tomato. 'This day is off to a good start,' the man thought to himself as he began to laugh, the apartment feeling less and less like the ramshackle place it actually was.

"Yeah! C for Cocksucker, that's his third C."

Oh, the feeling was gone.

The sound of Ari's forehead smacking the table accompanied the rattle of ceramics and cutlery as the man groaned. "Alright. I ran into that, I'll give you that one," the man said, admitting defeat.

And as if Ari's defeat wasn't enough, the two gremlins continued to attack the sacred arts of food, spitting upon them as if they nothing. "Pffft, nonsense, everyone knows the best part of cooking is being able to experiment and discover new combos," Valeria said.
"Yeah, combos, not biological weapons of war," Ari countered. Nico pushed the bowl of cereal towards the man. "Nah my guy, you just didn't try it. Give it a shot!" Ari stared back at the pinkorilla with a look of 'you're fucking insane if you think I'm going to touch that.' "Listen, at worst it tastes like shit to ya' and you wash the flavor away with some coffee. You can't do that with the spice nightmare Dayeon came up with, probably stole it from fucking Satan's personal cookbook."

Ari held Nico's gaze for a moment longer before finally giving in. He spooned some flakes onto his toast before lifting the monstrosity to his mouth and taking a bite.

The look of distaste sat on his face the entire time he slowly chewed, then swallowed, then put the toast down and sighed. "...I am thoroughly disappointed. That was neither good, nor bad enough to use an excuse to further insult you. My day is completely and utterly ruined."

@Luthien | @Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Luthien]

The smug smirk on his lips told Val all she needed to know, he’d chosen his words carefully and managed to fish out the exact reaction he’d wanted from the blonde. His laughter filled the air just as the girl responded in true gremlin fashion, childishly sticking her tongue out at Ari, before Nico decided to swoop in for the kill.

"Yeah! C for Cocksucker, that's his third C."

It was her turn to laugh now, an airy melody that managed to mask part of the rattling caused when the ceramic on the table shifted—all courtesy of the man that had decided to headdesk right into it.

Between Val’s totally foolproof logic and Nico’s coaxing they had finally managed to convince Ari to give the pinkett’s experiment a try, amber eyes fixated on his face to not miss a second as the man sprinkled some of the sugary cereal atop his toast and finally took a bite. Part of her wished she’d thought of bringing her phone over just to record this moment, unable to hold back the chuckles as his face shifted into one of distaste as he slowly chewed.

"Hey , I never claimed it was good—" A light shrug accompanied her words. "—but it’s an interesting play of flavors and textures."

Not one she’d be repeating anytime soon, but credit was given to the pink gremlin when it was due… and, speaking of said gremlin, it seemed like Nico still hadn’t been able to let go of that buldak experience back in Hawaii.

"C’mon, it wasn’t nightmare-inducing Nico. You'd probably like it if we toned down the heat a bit… or maybe with a bunch of mozz cheese over it?" A light smirk pulled at her lips then, the mischievous glint on those amber eyes hard to miss as the blonde stared back into the sharp blue gaze of her friend. "Cutting fettucini with a knife though? Yeah, that’s some Satan behavior right there—it’s a miracle the mafia hasn’t come for your head yet."

@Fiora Di Angelo | @Yugam

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

For a moment she thought on giving him the weirded out stare, but instead she smiled. Serene, benevolent, off-putting. Like she knew something he didn't, and by all means that was the case. For some reason he decided to fall prey of fear to her machinations,

fufufu

"Relax, it will make sense once you open it." Nico reassured him.

But not before plunging him to the depths of hades, all by his own hand. He provided the tools, and she used them, in the shape of a C word in this case. All he could do was accept defeat and rise a white flag, which pulled a satisfied look onto the pinkette's expressions. "Yup, that's exactly what you did." She confirmed, just in case there wasn't enough salt in the wound, if Val's cheeky laughter didn't brought enough of it.

God knows why, but Ari finally gave in to the persistence of the gremlins, letting his mouth be made whole with the taste of frosted flakes and breakfast alike, a combination that, in her eyes, is the ambrosia of modern times. Nico didn't miss a beat of the scene, unblinking for the whole time, aching for a review upon it's taste.

What he answered though didn't seem to fall under either line, perhaps edging a bit on the negative, but he certainly didn't have enough words to describe why. Her smile was proof of her self-proclaimed victory at that point.

"See? Val gets it. It's all about trying things out, and finding the flavors that you like." Her eyes blinked with realization, as her head quickly turned back to Val, placated by her choice of words "Wait did you just said you didn't like it?!" She gasped, pulling a frown back to the blonde who just betrayed her all of a sudden, fork aimed like a trident towards her.

"You'd probably like it if we toned down the heat a bit…"
"Bullshit like your coquitos." She put down the fork, only to bring a verbal knife into the battle. "Although I do pride myself for being a demon, so thanks for the compliment." Nico smirked, folding her arms against her bust, back straight and chin up to bask in the glory of her satanic behaviour. "Why indeed didn't the mafia come after me. Maybe -I- am the mafia. And where's your mafia, huh? Bet they would call it sacrilege for you to be with mr worldwide over here." She pointed back at the fuckboi.

@Yugam | @Luthien

 

[Yugam]

Just as Nico had suggested, Ari washed down the strange mixture of tastes in his mouth with some coffee, the overpowering taste and aroma blissfully bleaching his senses of whatever it was that he'd just put into his mouth. No more experimenting, Nico, please.

When Val also pointed out that the combination wasn't particularly good either, merely 'interesting' Ari couldn't help but start laughing as Nico pointed her fork at the blonde in a threatening manner. "See, not all combinations are good, Nico," the man said with a grain before taking another bite of toast.

"Bet they would call it sacrilege for you to be with Mr. Worldwide over here."
"I think in Val's case, it'd be a drug cartel. And they'd probably try to exploit us for money or something, so..." Ari pointed lazily at Nico. "Family disgrace," then at himself and Val, "Business opportunity." Not that they'd be the ones profiting from that arrangement.

"Anyways, lets finish up, and we can get to gifts. The sooner I find out how Nico is planning on trying to kill me this time, the better."

@Luthien | @Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Luthien]

"See? Val gets it. It's all about trying things out, and finding the flavors that you like."

Valeria had just tilted the cup towards her lips for another couple of sips when Nico’s words reached her, and it was nothing short of a miracle that the blonde didn’t spat out her beverage or choked on it as she watched the pieces of the puzzle finally click together and connect within the mind of her friend. It was the small break she’d needed to properly swallow her drink, before a muffled chuckle escaped the girl when Nico finally whipped around to stare at her with a frown and a fork brandished in Val’s direction.

"Wait did you just said you didn't like it?!"
"Well, I didn’t dislike it... just not my cup of tea, y’know?"
"See, not all combinations are good, Nico."

There was a roll of her eyes as the pinkette dared to insult her coquitos, though it wasn’t exactly unexpected given the particular gremlin she was dealing with. "I feel sorry for your tastebuds, unable to appreciate true ambrosia when it graces them." ANother bite of her toast disappeared into her mouth as she listened to the exchange between the man and his roommate, making sure to not speak with her mouth full when she rejoined the conversation.

"Nah, my nonna already told her mafia family to fuck off when she married my granddad~" Another sip of her mocha caused a pleased hum to escape her for a fraction of a moment, enjoying the play of flavors that the smooth drink carried before continuing. "If anything I think my Spaniard ancestors would approve, being the adventurous sort that they were."

A nod of agreement was given when Ari suggested they should do less talking and more eating, after all the presents had already waited underneath the tree long enough, before she popped the last bite of her own toast into her mouth happily.

@Fiora Di Angelo | @Yugam

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

"This is a scam and you two are plotting against me clearly." She threw the accussations there and there, her fork/trident pointed back at Ari now. "Also this combination is lit, that's a big L take you are doing, coffee boy." She waved a little her weapon just to add extra power into her argument. Be it true or childish. But oh the laughters from her 'friend' didn't go unnoticed.

She was just preparing a counter, if only she had any- Oh look at that, now she does, as soon as her tastebuds were given criticism that got her brows to rise, puzzled. "You can't talk about tastebuds, you ate that toxicity Dayeon created and call it good. Ari and me were witness of that." The pinkette added, having halted all eating operations for the time being as she was forced to DEFEND her honor against Val and her drug cartel.

Hands raised in defeat for but a second as she dropped the fork. "I dunno chief, you call it 'business opportunity' more like non-consenting organ donators for the black market. Meanwhile me? I eat so much trash my organs would probably kill someone instead of saving them. That ain't disgrace that's called survival instincts." Confident in her argument like this would make them both gasp in shock and make Ari bite his lip in anger.

But in one thing they were right, and it was that the gifts had been waiting for too long. Her appetite, however, had died there and then. "Nah fuck that." She called, pulling the chair back as she hopped back on her feet and headed over to the tree, having to drop on all fours and stretch a hand down (Because of course she put her gifts way at the back to make them be the last, but she's grown impatient to see their reactions).

The boxes were particulary large. And long too. Nico's grin 'almost' confirmed it had to be something malicious, until she put both gifts stacked on her side of the table- After neatly pushing her empty coffee mug and plate closer towards them, obviously-

"Alright. Since Ari here is thrilled to find out what his is, you are going to go first when you are ready." A shit-eating grin plastered over her face, sticking to her act through and through.

At least until the inevitable would happen and Ari would have to open his own gift, only to reveal another wrapping inside the box itself, this one far more translucent. The colours struck a certain palette mixing blacks and golds, yet most of the latter was lining and adornments. It didn't look like anything that would fit his style, at least until he actually pulled the thing out of it's wrapping and revealed more clothes were underneath.

And if he were to unfold it, he would find exactly why: This outfit wasn't of this world exactly, but rather, a faithful version of Yugam's attire, minus any tears or blood after a day's worth of fighting monsters.

"This one was a pain in the ass to do compared to Val's"

@Yugam | @Luthien

 

[Yugam]

"This is a scam and you two are plotting against me clearly."
Ari rolled his eyes and lifted his mug as Nico jabbed her fork in his and Val's direction. He hid an amused smile whilst casting his gaze over towards Valeria. Would there ever be a day that Nico just admitted she was wrong? Sure, when Hell froze over.

"You can't talk about tastebuds, you ate that toxicity Dayeon created and call it good. Ari and me were witness of that."
"She's got a point there," Ari said as he set his mug back down. "It tasted great, while I could taste it. Shit was so spicy it killed all my taste buds after the first bite."

The man counted help but cast a 'what the fuck?' look towards Nico though as she showed off her 'survival instincts', eyes following her all the way to the tree beneath which Nico crawled and retrieved a couple of rather large packages.

"Uh, Nico, what the fuck? How much did you charge my card?" Ari asked, more impressed than actually upset in any measure. The man pushed aside what was left of his breakfast and slid the box over towards himself before starting to unwrap the present. What started out as carefully trying to preserve the wrapping paper quickly devolved into him simply tearing the paper apart as soon as the smallest little tear appeared along it's edge.

A mixed look of awe and skepticism sat on his face as he looked through the translucent box and at it's contents, speechless. "What...how?" Ari murmured as he opened up the box and lifted the fabric. It was his coat in Terrasphere, brought to life. "What the fuck, Nico, did you make these?" the man asked, thoroughly impressed as he turned the jacket over and ran his fingers gingerly over the pristine fabric, completely unmarred, unlike the beaten down version he wore in-game. "This is incredible."

@Luthien | @Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Luthien]

"Nonsense," Sure, Dayeon’s fried chicken had certainly carried heat with every bite, but not to the level these two pretended it had been. She would know, having done the nuclear buldak ramen challenge once—live on stream too—and hated every minute of it. "It was only a bit hotter than some jalapeños, and that straight-out-of-the-jar alfredo cut down most of the heat."

Had it been anywhere near that nuclear buldak abomination the blonde would’ve been compelled to agree with the two in front of her, but thankfully Dayeon had the decency to not try and outright murder them while cooking. The mug was lifted to her lips as she listened to Nico brag about her trash organs—not quite sure this was actually the flex the pinkorilla thought it was—before the pinkette’s patience finally reached its limit as Nico went to fish her presents underneath the christmas tree.

"... just how far back did you put them, Nico?" The last of her mocha was finished before the blonde shifted her plate and mug towards a corner of the table as she watched half of Nico disappear under the tree, stacking Ari’s and Nico’s plates over her own out of habit when they also moved them to make space for the two large boxes that the pink-haired gremlin brought over.

The first of presents was nudged in Ari’s direction, the space on the table just enough to hold it so the man could open it, before his inquiry about how much Nico had charged to his card caused one eyebrow to raise in a silent question. It was soon forgotten though as he finally tore through the wrapping once the first accidental tear happened, before the black and golds within the translucent box caused Valeria to gasp as their familiarity finally struck her.

"Is that…?" She held back her tongue as Ari continued to open his present, not wanting to spoil the moment, but sure enough the man was left holding a perfect copy of the black coat his avatar wore within the game. "Damn Nico, that’s some amazing needle work."

@Fiora Di Angelo | @Yugam

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

It was her turn to be the one grinning and not the blonde's, as Ari gave her the upperhand with what should be a simple fact. The food wasn't exactly bad per say, but the spice destroyed any redeeming quality it might have. "How is it in spanish, Val? 'Excusas'?" Pearly teeth flashed with a cheshire smile that held back no small amount of smugness. But she would let that sit instead, because her interests were whimsical and now they all pointed towards the tree, which earned her questions such as:

"... just how far back did you put them, Nico?" Or- "Uh, Nico, what the fuck? How much did you charge my card?" Both which were answered with nothing more than a very neutral all-knowing: "Yes."

It was all a matter of playing the waiting game until her first victim opened their present. His reaction? Expected, of course. But it didn't make it any less impactful to her, and behind a solemn smile Nico bowed to keep her happiness a secret. It's funny how easily her mood could change when her hardwork pays off. Specially for someone she cares about.

"Yeah, I do sewing just like a grandma." She commented. It was a nice change of pace to sew something she wanted, for someone who would appreciate it the way they did. "Y'know I'm not unemployed right? I just choose to use it on things like this." All in due moderation. Of course, it came extra cheaper when the work is done all by yourself and you get the tools from someone else. "Pink Claus also got you the same." She pushed the remaining box in Valeria's direction, standing up if only to get a better view from the pair, albeit with a slight rose tint over her cheeks.

"It was either this or a sword and a bow, but I wouldn't been able to hide these. A-and well, way cheaper to get my hand stabbed with a sewing machine." Besides the fact that it would find more use, specially in Val's case with her unholy patreon.

@Yugam | @Luthien

 

[Yugam]

For once, Nico was actually quite for a moment, as she bowed her head to hide her face away from them. Of course, it didn't last long, but it was impossible to miss the sense of giddy pride that Nico exuded. It was almost like a child's barely contained excitement.

"Yeah, I do sewing just like a grandma."
"Really?" When the hell had Nico managed to do all this without Ari noticing? Maybe while he'd been at work, or diving in the evening? "Color me impressed," the man said as he tried the coat on. It fit just right. "Should I be concerned that you know my measurements?" the man joked with a cheeky smile before looking over at Val to watch her open up her gift. "C'mon, open it up," Ari said to Val, nudging her with his knee.

@Luthien | @Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Luthien]

"Ningún ‘excusas’, just accept that your palates are weak~" A roll of her eyes accompanied her words upon seeing the pearly whites that Nico flashed in her direction, before the pinkett had graced them with her gifts.

"Yeah, I do sewing just like a grandma."
"Grandmas are the best teachers~"

Sewing hadn't been a skill she’d thought Nico to have, but it was easy for her eyes to see that the stitches had been made with care and attention—it definitely wasn’t the work of a beginner, and suddenly it made sense why the pinkorilla hadn’t seemed to need Valeria’s help when it came to making any last minute modifications to a certain maid outfit.

"C'mon, open it up." She watched with a content smile as Ari tried on his coat, before space was made on the table so the blonde could open her gift next. "Pink Claus also got you the same." Despite being given a heads up by the pinkorilla, and already having witnessed her work, Valeria still couldn’t help the gasp of surprise as she carefully opened her present and her eyes finally caught sight of the ranger vest perfectly sitting within.

"Thanks Nico, it’s absolutely stunning."

Her fingers carefully traced some of the Yladian runes that adorned her in-game attire, quietly appreciating the craftsmanship that had gone into making it for her, and the wide smile on her lips showed how happy the blonde was to receive it… though she couldn’t help the wave of guilt that crossed her chest, the gift she’d gotten for Nico suddenly seemed so trivial and inconsequential when compared to this.

"R-Right, my turn next." Unfortunately there wasn’t much that she could do about that now, and after carefully placing her gift to the side the blonde stood to gather her own presents from underneath the Christmas tree. The first was of a rather decent size, perfectly rectangular in shape and covered by mostly red wrapping paper with a golden box finishing it up.

"This one is yours, Nico." Her nails tapped the surface of the box rhythmically, and if the pinkett was observant enough she might’ve been able to catch the smirk that threatened to curl the edges of Valeria’s lips—the gremlin was definitely up to something. "And this one is for Ari."

The shape of it was pretty iconic to anyone that had ever stepped into a Build-A-Bear shop, though this one was custom made in its entirety. The designs around it mimicked the architecture style of the buildings found within Astorea, though whatever laid waiting inside was completely hidden from view by the green, red and white tissue papers that Valeria had used to cover up her present.

@Fiora Di Angelo | @Yugam

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

"Yes Val and yes Ari." She replied one to each, wearing the same innocent smile while doing so. But the former... She couldn't really tell, other than to follow the flow of the conversation. She never met her grandmother afterall, but sewing was one of her skills apparently. "Although it ain't too difficult to know your measures when I can just take stuff from your wardrobe to use for reference. Though if it don't fit that well just lemme know." The one thing she worried about, and moreso now that he tried it on and had a better picture beyond the mental one. The lack of complains helped her ignore the perfectionist mindbug.

She felt underserving of Valeria's reaction all the more, despite not showing it much when kept in mind her smile. It left her unsatisfied to know she didn't pick more than just one piece, even if this was possibly the most elaborate article Luthien wore.

Still, couldn't she have gotten some shorts to pair, no matter how simple these were..?

"Eh?" Her mind snapped out of these questions as soon as her name poked out on her ears, baby blues darting over to Valeria, and from gremlin to gremlin they understood eachother perfectly fine-- That smile was up to no good, but was it for Ari or herself? She couldn't tell at first glance, and that made her all the more anxious to get through the box.

But not without giving it a throughful examination from the 'outside' first. "Woah this is pretty complex stuff here, Val." She pointed out, turning the box from side to side before finally letting her hands dig into the 'meat' of the gift, which wasn't just a fancy looking representation of Astorea, even if that would for certain sit next to the couch on the living room.

Her hands pried open the first wrapping and-

"Okay this is pretty heavy stuff." She added. No wonder it had more than one, but once the second and third came down, all she found herself was with the disappointment of a never-endless stream of papers all over the table, and a vein popping on her neck. "...Hey Ari do you have a chainsaw." She looked over to him and giggled to herself.

And many groans and tears away later she finally saw a cover and her fingernails touched something different than overused gift wraps.

"What-" She had the set of books stacked one next to the other, and frantically begun to slide them aside to read each title, shocked by not only the quality, but the choice of author Val had gone over, as if she had taken a hint from the barista man himself about her tastes. "What the fuck Val you bought the FULL B.S saga?!" Her voice a little raspy from the constant yelling, but that was quickly ignored as she lifted the first entry, The Amulet of Samarkand and opened over the first pages, with not so much but a glance to confirm this was real (not that she ever thought Val would get scammed or anything) "This is so damn expensive, you didn't have t- Even just the first entry was enough!" She said, with a wide smile slowly growing larger.

It almost pumped her up full of adrenaline to get right away with them, and a part of her wanted to go and tackle the blonde, but her legs refused to get up and so she had to conform with a: "Thanks Val. This is exactly what I needed nowdays with all my books being left at home..." She let the books on a pile and put them aside, careful not to leave them near the edge. "But uhhh, open up yours Ari. Gimme a second though." Her legs finally answered, but only after sufficient convincing went to them.

In this case, Nico pulled her phone and stood still, towering over her gift, to take a picture of them and send them straight to Ronja.

@Yugam | @Luthien

 

[Yugam]

"Well that's not creepy at all..." Ari muttered as Nico so casually mentioned that she'd just been rummaging through his closet to figure out what his measurements had been. Although, the fact that she routinely stole his credit card shouldn't have made that surprise. But at least she was somewhat obvious about that.

Val pulled over the next pair of gifts and set them in front of their respective recipients, and Ari let Nico open hers first. "...Hey Ari do you have a chainsaw."
"Yeah, it's right next to the woodchipper," the man replied in a flat, semi-serious tone. Finally though, the girl managed to tear away the trappings of the wrapping paper to reveal the gift underneath. Book after book after book. "You read?" Ari said in genuine surprise. Not because he was surprised that Nico was literate (although it probably came off that way) but rather that that was one of her interests at all.

While Nico took a picture of her gift, Ari pulled his gift a bit closer. He vaguely recognized the shape as being one of the boxes that typically housed a Build-A-Bear but...did Val really think he needed a teddy bear? The man masked his skepticism with stoicism as he tore away at the wrapping paper, not bothering with trying to preserve it this time.

The man cast a 'what exactly is this?' look over at Valeria as he opened up the box and peered inside. For a moment, the man's face struggled not to grin, his desire to not let Nico know he was a big softie inside combating his child-like joy and wonder. "There's no way..." the man said as her lifted the item from out the box and finally, the child inside won. A broad grin spread across his face as he turned the plushie to face the others. A perfect replica of Yugam's Tubby in game, complete with the train costume it wore.

Ari didn't say anything. The man sat there quietly in silent joy as he squeezed the plush a little too tightly. "You're an ass," the man said jokingly towards Val.

After basking in the presence of his own real life tubby, the man stood and went to pull the last two gifts from beneath the tree. The first, he set before Valeria, an oblong wrapped box. The second was similar, rectangular in shape, though not nearly as long. But unlike the first of the two, when Ari lifted it, it was clear it took him a great effort to do so, and when he set it down in front of Nico, he did so with a heavy thud. "Alright. Go!"

@Luthien | @Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Luthien]

She’d returned to her seat shortly after distributing her presents, those amber eyes almost glimmering with excitement as she watched their initial reactions. Already Nico seemed to be on high alert, something that caused the blonde’s impish grin to widen, before she noticed the pointed look of Ari after the man realized that the box in front of him was very much of the Build-A-Bear design variety.

"Tear away~"

Nico was the first to attempt unwrapping her present, but as the pinkette removed the first layer of gift wrap she was met by another and then a third. Finally there was a box, though no sooner than her friend had opened she'd been awarded by yet another gift wrap design that gazed right back at the pinkette.

"...Hey Ari do you have a chainsaw."
"Yeah, it's right next to the woodchipper."

A part of her did try and failed to give Nico an apologetic look considering the extra steps Valeria had taken to keep the girl’s gift a surprise for just a bit longer, but eventually the pinkette's perseverance finally paid off as the full Bartimaeus Sequence was revealed—and by the way Nico cursed she could assume her friend was delighted by the gift.

"You sounded intrigued by it when we talked about books before," A light shrug of her shoulders accompanied her words when the pinkette commented about their cost, while hardcover could be pricier it also ensured books lasted longer… and Jonathan Stroud’s work was certainly worth the little extra anyways. "That said I wanna hear all your thoughts on it when you finish them~"

Her attention returned to Ari while the pinkorilla was busy taking pictures of her books to share with Ronja, and after the man got over the initial surprise of Nico actually reading for fun he’d finally begun to unbox his own surprise. Her cheek rested against her palm, the blonde’s face propped up by her hand as the elbow rested on the table, and the smile on her lips hadn’t lessened as she watched her boyfriend trying to get a good glimpse of his gift.

"There's no way..." The child-like joy that sparkled in his eyes was enough to cause her smile to broaden into a cheeky grin, the blonde clearly delighted upon seeing his initial reaction to the bloodwurm that stared back at Ari from within the box. A part of her had worried he might’ve figured it out just from the shape of the box alone, the girl having spent copious amounts of time cooing and cradling Tubby in-game for the last month if not more, but Valeria knew it had been well worth it when he squeezed the plushie tightly against his chest.

"You're an ass."
"And you love it~"

Only two presents remained under the christmas tree now, both retrieved by the barista after he’d had some time to bask on having a replica of Tubby in the real world, before the boxes were set before each girl—Nico’s own seeming of considerable weight considering the sound it made. Her eyes looked over her own present, noticing the rather oblong shape of the box, before her nails tapped against it softly in curiosity. Finally, as Ari gave them the go ahead, the blonde carefully turned the box around to find where the wrapping paper ended, carefully unwrapping it in one piece before it was set onto the ever growing pile (one she’d heavily contributed to with Nico’s gift) of discarded gift wraps.

The box that now stared back at her offered no hints as to the contents within, and she couldn’t help the eyebrow that rose questioningly as she looked back at Ari. With no hints to allow her a guess the blonde finally gave in as her fingers gently pried the top away, before it dropped to the ground as an audible gasp escaped the girl. "N-No way…!" Her words were slightly muffled considering her hands were currently covering her mouth, wide eyes looking up and down the instrument that stared back at her.

There was zero doubt as to the make and design of this particular violin, and it was certainly one Valeria would’ve never expected to greet her here of all places. A hand finally reached towards it, the fingers softly caressing the spruce body before they traced some of the light scratches and dents on its surface. She couldn’t help the smile that pulled at her lips then before her hands carefully brought the violin out of its box for a better look—each of the small little imperfections occasionally found along it hinting at the history this particular piece had undergone since its making.

"Ari… this is amazing."

The same blemishes that would’ve made it useless as a collection item only endeared the blonde further, glad to see the violin had actually been used for its intended purpose instead of just sitting pretty for others to admire. Her hands finally returned it back into its box carefully, the matching bow placed at its side, before the blonde stood up and rounded the table in Ari’s direction. Her arms wrapped around his neck and shoulders in a hug as a kiss was tenderly planted on his temple, before her whispered gratitude reached his ears. "Thank you, I absolutely love it~"

@Fiora Di Angelo | @Yugam

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

If she hadn't thought Ari was half-joking, she would have actually gone for a chainsaw for the gift back then, but Val's permission and her nails were enough to get the job done, enough to get the prized books out of their multi-coloured trap to pick it up from.

"Huh?" She arched one brow once Ari questioned if she reads. A bit obvious what the answer is, given she just got a whole book collection as a gift. "You don't play golf, so why would I gift you a golf club if you don't play golf. See the logic here?" Nico smirked, pushing the collection to the side in a painstaking manner. "I mostly read webtuuns stuff. Got a subscription and all. Books are super expensive nowdays, but I didn't have a chance to find a Vbook of this, so Val's a life saver this time around." She giggled, letting the blonde fill in the gaps for Ari.

Then the pinkette winked back at her when tasked with a review. "We can do that when we log-in. Probably in a day or two, yeah. Could even send you voice mails..." She pondered over that for a moment, but that wouldn't be as fun as to have a live reaction from Val herself. And with how long travels are in Terrasphere, a bit of chit chat to fill in the less exciting parts of the game would do wonders.

Nico went quiet once Ari had the opportunity to open the gift Valeria prepared for him, and for a second he seemed to hestiate on showing it off, which prompted her to tap the table with an open palm. "Dude come on what is it?!" It almost made her feel like she was the one receiving a gift with how much she wanted to see what was it that the man felt so happy about, only for then to reveal the plushie for both of them to see...

She squinted her eyes with a noisy 'Huh?!' expression on her face, lips parted a little as she tried to understand what this odd plushie was meant to be... "Wait wait, is this the thing you jumped in back at Camp Hope when I saved your ass?" It all started to click now, so her face went for an 'ooooh' instead. "Wait wait, how did you do that Val? And since when did it have an outfit?" She had so many questions, and most of them were in disbelief at the deed itself, which had to be titanic on it's own. It's one thing to make costumes from the friends you see every day ingame, but this worm they probably seen a few times..? It just left her out of words.

And the chain ended with Val's gift, who clearly wasn't getting socks or a t-shirt for a gift, since that wasn't the standard this group had in the first place. But it almost looked concerning to see so much wear and tear on an instrument, and her own motherly instincts (or musician instincts?) were compelled to throw a wallet that wasn't hers in hopes of repairing it... Wait.

"Hold on, you play the violin?" Nico couldn't remember quite well if this conversation already happened or not, but her memory has always been goldfish tier with certain details. "Huh, it's pretty old for a violin though. Quality must be top tier if it lasted this long I guess?" She couldn't for the life of her figure why he chose a well-used one instead of a brand new one, but prices were maybe one of the reasons. "You could have told me we would have bought her a new one if we piled up some money together..." She turned over to Ari, casually going to drag closer her own gift, only to realize the damned thing didn't budge at all.

"What- Oh right I'm not in the game anymore." It was easy to forget how weak she could be out of Terrasphere, but when she actually put her focus on it, it moved a few inches at best, forcing her to stand up and roll her sleeves. "This bitch..." Resisting her attempts?! Insolent box...

So she helped herself to pull the gift open, at least the 'lid' of it just to check what was so heavy about it, only to realize the strange shape and the plaque inside of it. Her hesitance had to shine more than the stars right now as she gave it another read over and broke into a hysterical laughter, hard enough to hurt her tummy a little. "F-fuck I can't even lift it now..." She spoke between chuckles, gripping what's inside in different ways before finally pulling it out for both to see, specially Val who didn't know what exactly it was, only to be...

A giant fist aimed upwards the size of Nico's torso, made completely out of bronze and with a shiny new plaque that reads:

"in commemoration of the start of a horrible friendship"​

"Holy shit this thing is heavy Ari... What is this supposed to mean even?! You enjoy getting punched?!" The pinkette exhaled a chuckle at that, and for a second the idea to use this new fist to punch him felt tempting, with the sheer weight being a deterring argument for her not to. "Thanks dude, you didn't have to go that hard for this... Neither of you two." She almost felt like chastizing them for it, only to point a finger back to the bathroom. "...Bathroom break!" Nico quickly turned her back over to them and headed over towards her excuse destination, closing the door behind her just to get a glance at herself on the front mirror above the sink.

Between the teary eyes and red cheeks she looked like a mess, and she just couldn't let them see her like that just because she got a bit happy and sentimental about a christmas morning.

@Luthien | @Yugam

 

[Yugam]

"Wait wait, is this the thing you jumped in back at Camp Hope when I saved your ass?"
"Yes."
"Wait wait-"
"You already said tha-"
"How did you do that Val? And since when did it have an outfit?"
"Since it got blown up into a bunch of little Tubbies." Who cared about the details Nico? Little Tubbies were just as good as one giant, rideable Tubby, and if they were dressed as a little bullet train, even better. Don't ask questions. Just accept everything as it was.

After Ari had brought over the girls their gifts, Val was the first to start diligently peeling away at the wrapping paper. Ari's subdued expression did little justice to the excitement he felt as he watched, eager to see his girlfriend's reaction when she finally saw her gift. He was not disappointed. "N-No way…!" Val gasped before reaching out and picking up her gift.

"You could have told me we would have bought her a new one if we piled up some money together..."
"Nah, I didn't wanna bother you with something like that," Ari said. Especially when he could have definitely afforded a new one on his own if he'd been able to find one. "They've been outta production for a few years, and that was the only one I could find anyways," the dark-haired man said, shifting his gaze to Val, "I hope you don't mind." She threw her arms around his shoulders and planted a kiss on his temple. "Thank you, I absolutely love it~" Why had he even been worried in the first place?

Ari's fingers slipped between Val's as they settled back down to watch Nico open the excessively large wrapped box in front of her. Ari had to admit he had probably gone a little overboard with both of their gifts but, to him, they were worth it. Even if one of them was loathe to admit it, they'd become two of his closest friends in the short time since he'd met them.

Even still, the man couldn't help but chuckle as he watched Nico struggle with the gift. The broad grin that slowly spread across his face though should have told her that she was in for something of a surprise. And the full-bellied laughter that filled the room indicated that the surprise was well worth it. "What is this supposed to mean even?! You enjoy getting punched?!"
"About as much as I enjoy getting stabbed, shot, and otherwise seriously injured. I think you broke my jaw then," Ari laughed in response. "Thanks dude, you didn't have to go that hard for this... Neither of you two."
"Yeah, and you didn't have to punch me so hard either."
"...Bathroom break!"

Nico rushed off suddenly, almost slamming the bathroom door behind her. It didn't take a genius to figure out why. "Well, I'd say this morning was a success," Ari said with a smile. "Think we should give her a minute?"

@Luthien | @Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Luthien]

”Could even send you voice mails...”
"That’s… actually not a bad idea, Nico."

It hadn't occurred to her before, perhaps because she’d never bothered to see if any of her friends shared her taste in stories, but now that the pinkette had brought forth the idea Valeria found herself nodding in agreement. Besides, amazing as TerraSphere’s immersion truly was, traveling could be quite boring from time to time… being able to pass the time spent in those uncomfortable wagons by hearing Nico’s latest takes, or recording her own for the fellow gremlin, would definitely improve the experience.

"Wait wait, how did you do that Val?"
"With a needle, some thread, and a looot of patience~"
"And since when did it have an outfit?"

Nico’s own excitement as she’d watched Ari unveil his gift had been almost as amusing as the man’s own reactions, and a cheeky little grin remained on the blonde’s lips as she watched them both. To the pinkette’s second question she could only shrug lightly, all she could do was speculate considering she had been nowhere near the original Tubby when they’d exploded.

"Dunno, I think Yugam said they were already wearing it when he found lil’ Tub-Tubs? " Perhaps it was an Easter egg of sorts from the game devs? Sometimes it was quite easy to forget that it was just a virtual game, at least until these little random things happened and there was no logical explanation to be found behind it. "Who knows, maybe but Tubs was impressed by Ari so much that it unlocked an exclusive pet?"

Delighted as she was to speculate on the origins of Tubby’s choo-choo costume she still had a present to open… and what a present it had been. "Hold on, you play the violin?" A soft chuckle escaped upon hearing Nico’s incredulousness in her voice, the girl nodding as she set down the instrument carefully.

"Nico, you’ve seen me play in-game so many times now... did you think the system just randomly played cool music out of my bow?" A soft nod followed as the pinkette commented on the age and quality of the violin, surprised that Nico was able to pick up on that so quickly before either of them had commented on its origin, before almost having a mini heart attack when Nico mentioned they should’ve pulled resources to buy her a brand new one. "A-Ari’s right, this particular model isn’t made anymore." Sure, if one tried hard enough perhaps they could find someone willing to try and recreate it, but it would never be the same as the real thing… not to mention how costly that would be as well.

"I hope you don't mind."
"Hmm hmm, it’s perfect just the way it is."

Finally it was time for the last present to be revealed, the blonde happily scooting her chair closer to Ari’s as their hands sought each other out. She gave him a soft squeeze, her shoulder resting against his, even as those amber colored eyes remained fixed on Nico and the rather heavy sounding gift that Ari had gotten her. A soft giggle echoed when the pinkette attempted to drag the box closer to herself, the attempt an absolute bust, before Nico remembered she didn’t possess Fiora's strength in the real world.

Eventually Nico’s stubbornness was rewarded, before it seemed the girl had about enough of it all as she began to roll up her sleeves. "Hands down the best gift of the day… she hasn’t even opened it yet and I’m already amused." Her words were quiet whispers that she shared with her boyfriend as they watched, the look on Nico’s face being priceless as she insulted her gift. It didn’t take long for the pinkette to finally reach the hidden contents within and, between Ari’s broad grin and Nico’s sudden burst of laughter, she could feel her curiosity growing more and more.

"Well…? C’mon, show me what it is Nico!"
"F-fuck I can't even lift it now..."
"Time to start hitting the gym then, gotta impress Ronja next time you see each other~"

Nico managed to finally pull the bronze fist and its plaque out of the box, a heavy thud resounding as the base hit the table, and as her eyes gazed over the inscription on it everything finally clicked within Val’s mind. "Oh my god, is that…it is, isn’t it?!" A hearty laughter finally escaped now that the mystery was unveiled, only made better by the small exchange between the two “siblings” that happened soon after.

"Thanks dude, you didn't have to go that hard for this... Neither of you two."
"Look, it’s a kettle calling the pot black~"
"Yeah, and you didn't have to punch me so hard either."
"...Bathroom break!"

And just like that the pinkette suddenly disappeared towards the bathroom, the sound of the door closing echoing down the hall louder than Nico had intended as she made her quick temporary escape. "Well, I'd say this morning was a success." The blonde nodded in agreement as a hand reached to wipe away some of the moisture around the corners of her eyes after laughing so much. The last time she’d enjoyed herself this much on Christmas morning felt like a lifetime ago, and she was thankful that Nico had kept her from second guessing the idea of flying out to Philly for a surprise visit.

"Think we should give her a minute?"
"Make it at least five, she might need some time to recover after the fist~"

@Fiora Di Angelo | @Yugam

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

About five minutes later, Nico made her exit from the bathroom as if nothing had happened, her face a bit soaked while her hands dripped one or two motes of water, quickly wiped away against her shirt before she reunited with the pair with a singular clap & clasp from her hands.

"Alright first of all, I didn't know you played the violin 'couse like... It's inside the game, do you see me breaking people's jaws out of the game with a punch..?" She asked with one smug yet curious brow rised, as if the question didnt' answer itself, something the pinkette caught on a second after and her tongue lolled out in an attempt to pick up her defense once again. "Okay I do punch people and Ari out of the game but... Shit's not the same, okay?"

Nico pointed out, both figuratively and literally, given her index finger aimed back to Ari. "Dude deserved it back then, he trashtalked Ronja!" Yet rather than mad, it simply amused her how easily her fuse got triggered back then despite her and the magia not being that well acquainted that one time.

"Anyways... I think both Ari and me can agree on one thing: We wanna hear you play that thing." Nico stepped closer to the barista, wrapping an arm around his shoulder like the pinkorilla sister she is, with the squeeze of one and all to better persuade him into agreeing without letting the puerto gremlin figure that one out.

@Yugam | @Luthien

 

[Yugam]

"Make it at least five, she might need some time to recover after the fist~"
Ari looked at Val with an expressionless face, but the eyes that bored into her were full of disappointment. "...Really? Couldn't find a better way to phrase that?" the man asked, masking the amusement in his voice. "I'm revoking your kissing privileges for that one." Woe be the girl who poorly words her sentences and ruins perfectly heart-warming and wholesome moments.

The next five minutes were probably filled with Valeria arguing with Ari about aforementioned revoked privileges or something.

When Nico came back out, she did so as if nothing had happened at all, and resumed a conversation that Ari had pretty much entirely forgotten about. "It's inside the game, do you see me breaking people's jaws out of the game with a punch..?"
Ari began to raise his hand.
"Okay I do punch people and Ari out of the game but... Shit's not the same, okay?"
Ari lowered his hand. "I dunno how I'm supposed to feel about that special mention..."
"Dude deserved it back then, he trashtalked Ronja!"
"She speaks in the third person 24/7 in game." It wasn't trashtalking if it was the truth. And Yugam had yet to hear Ronja speak like a normal person in-game.
"Anyways... I think both Ari and me can agree on one thing-"
"This'll be a first then."
"We wanna hear you play that thing."
"Oh...yeah, actually, we do agree on that," Ari said, vaguely surprised before turning towards Val and gesturing. "So? Gonna play for us?"

@Luthien | @Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Luthien]

"...Really?"
"Mmm...?"
"Couldn't find a better way to phrase that?"
"Whatcha mean—oooh..."

The confusion on her face soon gave way to realization as she thought back on her words, a light rosy hue beginning to color her cheeks as the blonde tried to defend herself. "A-Ari, that’s not what I meant—heeey!! That’s not fair!" Valeria’s whines of protest were undoubtedly the first thing that Nico could hear upon exiting the bathroom five minutes later, a poutful look on the blonde’s face as she tried to get her kissing privileges reinstated until the singular sharp clap brought their attention back to the returning pinkette.

”It's inside the game, do you see me breaking people's jaws out of the game with a punch..?"
"Actually…"
"Okay I do punch people and Ari out of the game but... Shit's not the same, okay?"

It didn’t take long for Nico to try and reverse her initial line of defense, though the next parts had Val tilting her head lightly to the side in new confusion. "Nico… how many people have you punched?" She felt compelled to ask, curious as to what the overall tally would be.

"Dude deserved it back then, he trash talked Ronja!"
"She speaks in the third person 24/7 in game."
"I think that’s kinda cute~"

While she couldn’t deny that Ronja’s habit of referring to herself in third person ingame had been odd at first Valeria had quickly become used to her speech pattern—and if Ronja ever decided to switch that up the blonde was sure she’d look at her friend as if she’d grown a second head.

"Anyways... I think both Ari and me can agree on one thing."
"... you sure about that?"
"This'll be a first then."

Something about the look in Nico’s eyes caused her gremlin senses to tingle as the pinkorilla’s sus meters suddenly rose. "We wanna hear you play that thing." Despite all odds Nico had actually been right, she’d truly found something both pseudo-siblings could actually agree on.

"So? Gonna play for us?"
"F-Fine…! Just gimme a moment to tune it up first."

She couldn’t help the light stutter as all eyes were suddenly upon her, momentarily excusing herself as the blonde left to retrieve her phone from within Ari’s room. Before long she was sitting down with the violin on her lap and an app displayed on her phone’s screen as it rested on the kitchen table, carefully going over each string and adjusting their tightness when necessary. "Which one should I play…" Quiet mumbling accompanied her work as Valeria tried to pick a song to play for her friends. She knew exactly from which artist it would be, but narrowing the choices was always the hardest part.

"There we go," One last check was given to each string as Valeria confirmed they had been tuned up appropriately, a smile on her lips as she nodded to herself—the choice finally made as she stood from her chair. "Only one song though."

Her gaze first landed on Ari before finally moving towards Nico as the blonde set her singular restriction, though the smile that tugged at the edges of her lips betrayed the serious look she tried giving them both. One fluid motion soon had the violin gently pressed against her collarbone, her face tilted as it rested against the provided chinrest of the instrument, before the bow softly gilded against the bridge as the tune was brought to life.

Snow Waltz
(Lindsey Stirling)

​

She could barely remember the last time she’d played for others in such a state, still wearing her pajamas while her hair was loosely collected into a messy bun. It was one thing to play her violin while she was cosplaying or even within the confines of TerraSphere, and the existence of a character usually afforded her a layer of privacy that she’d become accustomed to.

Perhaps that’s why her steps and movements hadn’t been as marked at first, even if the instrument sung loud and clear with a tune she’d played many times before. Abuelo had found it fascinating and unique, and even her nonna had eventually come around to enjoy it despite the reservations she'd held towards the original music video Valeria had showed them. Before long it had become part of the repertoire of songs she would play and dance for them on Christmas morning, a small tradition she had enjoyed despite the brevity of their company.

It certainly wasn’t a performance she’d expected to give again so soon, but it didn’t take long for the reservations within her to slowly melt away with each note and plucked string. Soon she was dancing around the living room in time with the tune as a genuine and carefree smile settled onto her lips, one that remained even after the final notes had faded away as the song came to an end and the blonde gave a practiced curtsy to her audience of two.

@Nico | @Ari