shimmerandsing | Tis the season!

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Tis the season!

The only thing better than Christmas at home with her husband and family was Christmas at home with her husband, family, and friends. Alison had been eagerly awaiting the return of Rogue and Dakota's bunch to the castle for the holidays. She had already picked out a Christmas tree, which Longshot and John hauled home for her. It had lights on -- mostly Miyuki and Lisa's doing with Alison's supervision -- but, no ornaments yet. She figured that Gloria Jean and the boys could help with that when they arrived.

And they were coming early! That made it even better.

Despite her decreased mobility, Alison had been up early on the day they were scheduled to arrive. The castle was generally kept pretty clean, but she straightened anyway. And then... the baking! She hadn't felt such a strong urge to bake since the early months of her pregnancy. But, now, it was back in full force. By the time she finally tired of it, she had sugar cookies, gingerbread men, a gingerbread house, snowball cupcakes, and chocolate dipped pretzels.

She sat down in the kitchen to rest her feet and nibble on some gingerbread. Her little tea pot sat on the stove, happily brewing some peppermint tea. It might not be Christmas yet, but it sure smelled like Christmas.

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Longshot walked back into the kitchen to see his wife hugged from two sides. Well, he wanted in on that action! So... he hugged all three females at once. It was a little stretch with his arms, but he managed. Even squeezed a little.

Miyuki smiled and walked beside Robbie. She gave his hand a small squeeze.

Rogue chuckles at the mass of hugs with Alison in the middle. Sometimes, she gets a little jealous. She has Dakota who she can touch any time she wants, but sometimes being able to touch other people would be nice. Though she is working on it.

"Yay! My favorite girls!" Alison grinned and squeezed each girl with one arm. Then she laughed when Longshot got in on the fun. Her favorite girls and her favorite guy. Life was good.

She kissed Lisa on top of the head and then Gloria Jean. "You two gonna help me decorate some cookies and build gingerbread houses?"

Dakota smiled to himself and shook his head slightly. It was definitely good for his kids to be here for the holidays. Instead of being stuck with him. Though, that bathroom sounded like a good idea. He quietly got up from the table. Just so those industrious females weren't interrupted.

The boys ignored the hug-fest and went for more cookies. Though they did notice that their sister and her friend were without Silly String accouterments.

"Yes, ma'am," Gloria Jean answered happily. "Got enough gumdrops?"

Gumdrops were important parts of decorating. According to her.

"She's got lots of gumdrops. I seen 'em! And cande canes, and sprinkles, and M&Ms and marshmallows..." Lisa's eyes went a little glazed at the thought of all that sugar. Mmmm. Candy.

"Can we make a gingerbread castle, Ali?" She bounced excitedly.

Robbie reluctantly dropped Miyuki's hand before they walked into the kitchen. He smiled at everyone and grinned at Alison. "Careful how you answer that. Better find out to what scale she's talking about."

"How about a stable?" Longshot suggested as he flopped back into his seat. "And horses for all those gingerbread men to ride?"

And if Alison had a hand in decorating there would be cowboy hats on those cookies soon. The Mojoworlder just knew it.

Miyuki kept her disappointment from showing. She did not want to let go of Robbie's hand. Though they never knew when Asuka would get home. "Hello, everyone."

Rogue chuckles at the girls' enthusiasm. At least Alison could keep them honestly occupied from what she figures. Because two sets of trouble hanging around makes for an interesting holiday.

"Gingerbread cowboys or knights, sugah?" Rogue asks Longshot. He has been both. It's only fitting to ask.

Robbie and Miyuki get an amused well, well look what the cat dragged in look.

"We can make stables and castles. Anything we want." Alison nodded and finally let go of the girls. If she had a lap, she'd have offered them a seat. She missed her lap.

She reached over and squeezed her husband's hand. "And horses for them to ride."

She laughed at Robbie's suggestion and smiled at him over her shoulder. "Let's say we won't build anything that doesn't fit on the kitchen table?"

Dakota slipped quietly out of the kitchen as Gloria Jean took a seat on Longshot's lap. It was as close as she could get to Alison's lap anyway.

The twins seemed to be ignoring Robbie and Miyuki for the most part. Though they did at least attempt politeness by nodding to Miyuki. Will was just following Rodney's lead. Who better to stick by then your brother?

Gloria Jean rubbed the edge of the table top as she eyed the size. "Where we gonna eat when the table's full of gingerbread?"

Lisa stayed leaning on Alison's side with one arm draped lightly across Alison's belly so that she could feel the babies being squirmy. She grinned over at Gloria Jean. "We'll just have'ta eat the gingerbread first. Then we can eat dinner."

Since the table was getting full, Robbie chose to lean against the counter instead. He snagged a cupcake off one of the many trays and began to peel off the wrapper. If he noticed any impoliteness, he didn't seem bothered by it.

Miyuki frowned ever so slightly before pushing the confusion away for later contemplation. They had parted on good terms...

Longshot wrapped an arm around Gloria Jean and reached for an undecorated sugar cookie. He held it out to her. "Before you get all gingerbread-y, can you decorate this one for me?"

Rogue finally notices that her husband is missing. She looks around the kitchen before getting up from the table. "'Scuse me, y'all. Ah'll be right back."

She looks over at Miyuki. "Y'all can have my seat, sugah."

Being oblivious to other people's tension is just one of Rogue's many charms. She's more concerned that her mopey husband has done a fair interpretation of a ninja.

Alison's toes curled involuntarily. Her husband was being adorable with a small child around her. It wasn't fair! She had so long to wait before her children were born and she could watch him holding them.

To distract herself, she went back to hugging Lisa and looking over the baked things on the table. "He's right. Those cookies look kind of naked. Wanna grab that bowl of icing off the counter for me, sweetie? We can start fixing them up right now."

Indoor plumbing was not one of the normal installations in medieval Japanese castles. Dakota was glad some had been installed in the castle. It meant he could flush before leaving the bathroom.

Gloria Jean took the offered cookie and nodded. Then she had to wait for Lisa and the icing. But she could be patient! For she was grinning and sitting on Longshot's lap. The latter lead to the former.

The boys were courteous enough to stop eating cookies and go back to grazing cupcakes.

Lisa scurried over to the counter and grabbed the bowl and some butter knives to spread it on with. She brought it back to the table and set it down between Alison and Gloria Jean.

"I'll go get the candy an' stuff to put on 'em." She grinned and ran back to the cupboards to gather the fun bits.

When Miyuki sat down in Rogue's empty seat, Robbie moved closer to the table and stood beside her. He could almost pretend to be interested in the cookie decorating.

Longshot grinned back at the little girl on his lap and handed her one of the butter knives. "My cookie awaits!"

Miyuki settled down and eyed the festive baked goods. She wasn't particularly hungry. Though she was a little baffled as to why Rodney was not even looking at her. Surely, the cupcakes weren't that interesting?

The flush of the toilet leads Rogue to exactly where her husband disappeared to. Since the door isn't open, she leans back against the wall across from it and waits for him.

"The trick is lots of icing, sweetie." Alison winked at Gloria Jean and then turned to her two brothers. They were handily demolishing the cupcakes. There would need to be a second batch, soon.

"Any particular sweet things you guys like that we might be able to come up with?" She smiled at them and then at Miyuki and Robbie. "Or you two? Any suggestions?"

Dakota blinked when he opened the door. His wife was staring right at him. He gestured over his shoulder with his thumb. "Uh, you need to use it?"

Gloria Jean nodded and began industriously icing up Longshot's cookie. She did try to leave some cookie visible.

Will looked thoughtful for a moment before answering Alison. "Something with almonds, please."

Rodney shrugged. "Sounds good. Maybe almond candy or something."

Lisa had acquired an armload of different candies and other decorations for the cookies. She set them down on the table and then climbed up into the chair on Longshot's other side. There were lots more cookies to decorate.

Robbie blinked and thought for a moment. "Cheesecake?"

All his time spent living with Alison had given him ample opportunity to develop a taste for it.

Longshot would have reached over and ruffled Lisa's hair if he knew he would have survived the experience. Instead he eyed Gloria Jean's frosting with a tiny bit of cookie. Man, was he going to by hyper later.

Miyuki looked away from Rodney and squinted in thought. Then she grinned. Well, Alison asked. "Daifuku with strawberry filling."

Christmas wasn't her holiday really, so she did not expect to get it. Until Momoko made some around New Years.

Rogue shakes her head and steps forward. She hopes she manages to block him enough to keep him in place. "No," she replies softly. "Ah need to talk to you."

Her voice has to be soft so it doesn't carry down to the kitchen, but she isn't sure her husband will keep his voice low. She carefully places a hand on his chest gives a gentle push back into the bathroom. "We need a minute outta the hallway."

Wow, that was quite a list. But, she had asked. She smiled and nodded, making a mental list of what she would need to make those treats. A recipe for the last one would be in order. She'd heard of daifuku in passing, but never how to make it. Hmmm.

"Well, I'll see what I can come up with then." One way or another, she would manage.

Gloria Jean looked up from her masterpiece at Miyuki. "What's Die-funk-ew?"

That did not sound tasty to her. It ended in an ew!

Rodney snorted in laughter. Will tried not to choke on his cupcake.

Dakota, meanwhile, was looking quite confused. His wife should have been having the holiday cheer with everyone. So he could sneak away and get lager. This was not going according to plan. He backed up at being pushed. He was glad he had done nothing aromatic while in here.

Lisa was not too impressed with the sound of Miyuki's request dessert, either. In fact, she'd found that a lot of Japanese food was not to her liking. Although, her brother seemed right at home with it all. Boys were weird.

"Does it have squid?" She asked without looking up from her tree-shaped cookie that she was icing an electric blue color.

"It's a rice cake," Robbie spoke up, amusedly. "It usually has a filling of some kind. In this case, strawberry. But, there are other kinds. It's a good luck treat for New Years."

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