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I wanted to write a story for the holiday season, so have this short wholesome read. This story features my own character, as well as my lovely boyfriend firefox18 and some of his characters. It also features our sweet fox friend from Discord who unfortunately doesn't have an FA. Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and I hope your holidays are great.
Music was blaring from the television. A cacophony of noises were emitting from the handheld systems. Dishes were clattering from the kitchen. Anyone from outside the house would have thought there was a riot going on.
The Cross house always had a tendency to be hectic with five male children, but it was especially so around Christmas. While the boys’ father was busy with work, many responsibilities fell on them. Typherius, a gracious elder dragon who had adopted all five of them, was working hard in his den (literally and figuratively). The humble home he and the boys resided in was built into a steep hill, and his home office happened to be the deepest in. He was determined to get his work done before the holidays, though the noise outside did not help at all. Typherius rubbed his temples, trying his best to focus.
The oldest two boys, Kinani the dragon and Leo the tiger, were doing their best to prepare some of the food for the upcoming Christmas dinner. It was hard enough since they didn’t often get along, but the incompetency was infuriating the dragon brother.
“For the last stinking time, Leo! One-third is BIGGER than one-fourth!” Kinani bopped his tiger brother over the head with one of the plastic measuring cups. “Even you should know this! You were in school too!”
Leo shrugged and laughed. “We’re on break, my bro. You think I’m gonna remember any kind of crap from school right now?”
Winston the wolf and Ethan the bunny only listened to the banter in silence as they decorated the tree. The Douglas fir already had plenty of presents underneath it. It just needed to look the part. Winston gave a concerned look to Ethan. “Do you think we should help them?”
“Nope. Knowing them, they’ll think of some crazy method of getting everything done. They’re so weird together. Could you hand me some more ornaments?” Ethan a.k.a Anahi was the first of the batch to be taken under Typherius’s wing, though he was blood related to Leo and Kinani. When the father dragon saw that the three were really inseparable, he generously took all three of them home. Having been with his brothers for so long, Ethan knew exactly how they operated. Winston on the other hand, being rather introverted, got surprises from them practically every day.
Knowing there was basically nothing he could do about it, Winston handed Ethan more ornaments to hang higher up and tried to change the subject. Working without talking bored him to no end. “So, um, you’re all done with Christmas shopping, right? What have you gotten?”
“Winston…” Ethan tugged on one of the wolf’s ears to tease him. “You know I can’t answer that. You’re part of the family too, silly wolf.”
Winston whimpered in pain a bit from the tugging, then rubbed his head. “Yeah yeah yeah, I know. Well… what about our dad? Can you at least say that?”
Ethan thought on it for a moment, then smiled. “Okay, I’ll fill you in. The other day, I was rummaging in our attic and I found this really old spellbook. I think it belonged to Dad, but he’s never told us anything about that. I think he forgot it existed. I did some work on restoring it, and… yeah, that’s what I got him.”
“Wow…” Winston was in amazement. “You always get the best stuff. I just got him a cheap necklace with a shark tooth to wear.” Now that he was on the topic, Winston felt like he should keep going. He looked to the couch by the wall where the youngest of the five, Josh the fox, was slouching while playing Animal Crossing: New Leaf on his Nintendo 3DS. “What about you, Josh? What did you get him?”
Josh looked up at his older brothers, then looked down at his lap. “I… I haven’t gotten him anything yet.”
Josh was not only the youngest, but the newest of the bunch. It was his very first Christmas outside of the orphanage. He was actually going to matter for once because he had a family now. But he didn’t feel too thrilled at the moment.
Winston was surprised once again. “Nothing at all? But…” he looked at the calendar. “Today is the twenty-third! You only have tomorrow to get something for him, and even then everything is gonna be closing early. What have you even been doing?”
Josh’s ears and tail drooped, and he slouched even more on the couch. “Well, I was… getting stuff for all of you guys. But I don’t know what to get Ty. I don’t know him like you guys do and besides, he didn’t even write a list.”
“Yeah, you’re gonna have to get used to that.” Ethan said bluntly as he hung up a small ornament that looked like a tiny sleeping dragon. “Dad NEVER writes a list. I don’t think he even knows what it is. All I can say is trust your gut and find something you think he would appreciate.”
Kinani interrupted the conversation from the kitchen. “Trust your gut? Good advice and all, but not so great for the striped butt here.” He said as he glared at Leo. “Stop putting your fingers in the dough!”
Leo responded, sounding a little giddy: “It’s not my fault you made it so good, hehehe!” The tiger was busy dipping his finger in the mixing bowl and licking it clean, then going right back to doing it again. The noises from the brothers arguing, as well as the rest of the noises around the house, finally warranted a response from the old dragon in the den.
“All I want for Christmas is—“
“BOWWWWOWOWOW!” The family’s pet Yamper, Bolt, suddenly leapt up from its bed, barking and howling as it dashed to the window and saw a wild Espeon running along the street. The barking went on for a good while until Winston finally managed to calm down the excited corgi and give it some gentle loving care. Then he looked over at Ethan. “Did you hear what Dad said?” he asked. Ethan just shrugged.
Josh continued playing his game in silence. He had a golden opportunity to get that gift idea and it was stripped away.
The next day was Christmas Eve, and it was just as hectic. Typherius informed the kids that he was nearly done with his work, but he expected everyone to behave all the same. Despite their best efforts, the sons couldn’t really follow through. They were still being pretty noisy, music once again blaring from the television and Bolt barking with excitement. Ethan was trying to teach Bolt to do some tricks and rewarding him with Christmas cookies. Even outside, neighbors were setting off fireworks and celebrating an early Christmas. In the middle of the day.
Having finished his responsibilities early, Josh was once again on the couch watching videos on his phone. He was hoping to find inspiration but only got distracted from the various people he was subscribed to.
Winston saw Josh sitting there and decided to sit down next to him. “So, got any ideas yet?” he asked. Josh just shook his head and sighed. Winston scooched closer and rubbed put a paw on the fox’s legs to comfort him. He wasn’t good with these things, but he knew he wanted to help in some way. “Well… what about something more generic? Do you know what dragons usually like?”
Josh shook his head again. “No, we never had any dragons at the orphanage. I thought they were just myths until Ty showed up.”
“Oh…” So much for that idea, Winston thought.
Leo turned the corner from the kitchen into the living room, overhearing the conversation. “Hey kit, it’s your first Christmas here, right? I know it’s probably hard. Maybe you could just piggyback off one of my gifts. We can say it’s from both of us.” Leo gave an optimistic toothy smile at Josh, but Josh didn’t even seem to acknowledge it.
“Thanks, but no thanks.” Josh set down his phone and looked at Leo. “I want it to be special. It should be unique, something that… comes straight from me. Something that I know he’ll love because it’s from me. He took me in, and I wanna return the favor.”
“Dang.” Leo was kinda stunned that this young fox wanted to put in so much effort. The problem was figuring out where to start. “Sounds like you have pretty high standards for yourself. You sure you don’t need help?”
“No, I’m sure I’ll figure it out.” Josh said. He sat up on the couch and looked at his brothers. “Thanks for the offer though.” Meanwhile, the noise inside the house and outside kept going and going. Eventually, so did Ty’s voice.
“All I want for Christmas is—“
“~FA LA LA LA LA~” The music from the television suddenly increased in volume. The brothers covered their ears.
“Oops…” Josh said as he got up. “I think I sat on the remote.” He turned the volume back to normal, then sighed and decided to turn off the TV. He was getting sick of that music.
Winston looked to the den again. “That’s the second time. What do you think he’s saying?” he wondered.
“Beats me,” Leo replied. “Josh, what do you thi…” His question was interrupted when he saw Josh wasn’t there anymore. “Hey, where’d he go?”
Josh was up in his room, his ears having perked up. He heard it that time; it was unmistakable. He knew what he had to do, but he couldn’t go out to a shop to get this gift for Ty. He had to add his own personal touch to it. But first… he had to wait till night.
Once everyone was asleep that night, Josh snuck out of bed and went downstairs. The house was silent even though people were still partying outside. He headed into the kitchen and got to work. He was tired since he had to stay up so late to make sure everyone was asleep, but he was determined to make Ty happy.
Christmas morning came. No one rushed around the house waking everyone up. The house was quiet, and slowly but surely everyone woke up, got dressed, and went downstairs. Breakfast was great thanks to the forced collaboration between Kinani and Leo once again. After that, the family went into the living room to open presents. Many smiles were given and many videos and pictures were taken that morning. Soon, there were no presents left under the tree. That was when Josh knew it was time.
“Ty… I mean Dad…” Josh said a bit timidly. “I have a gift for you too. I made it myself.” The fox’s cheeks turned a little red, contrasting nicely with his green fur. He wasn’t used to everyone’s attention on him. The elder dragon only sipped on his morning coffee when he heard about this last surprise gift. Ty said, “Oh? Well, I don’t see it here. Why don’t you go get it for us?”
Josh’s embarrassment turned to excitement as he leapt from the couch and ran to the kitchen. He found the cardboard box with a bow on it, with the gift inside. The fox’s tail swished from side to side as he eagerly brought it out to Ty. “Here you go, Dad. It’s what you’ve been wanting. Merry Christmas.”
Typherius opened the box from Josh, and a very delicious smell filled the room. What was inside was a familiar circular food, covered in melted cheese and tomato sauce, as well as a few different kinds of meat. Typherius tilted his head. He liked the gift, but he was also slightly confused. “I… this is a…”
Josh nodded. “Yeah yeah. I heard your shouts from the den. You’ve been saying all this time that all you want for Christmas is a pizza. So I made one for you. I put a lot of work into it. And I know you love beef and chicken.”
Behind Josh, the other four brothers all looked at each other. They were just as confused as Ty. A pizza? That’s all he wanted? It couldn’t be.
Typherius was silent for a brief moment, then he let out a hearty laugh, nearly knocking over his coffee cup. Josh became worried. Did he mess it up? Was he about to become a laughingstock? No. Typherius calmed down and smiled at the kit. “Josh, I am very thankful that you put so much into this gift. But I think there’s been a miscommunication. You see, what I actually said was that all I want for Christmas is some peace and quiet. You know how crazy this last week has been, especially the last couple days. Honestly, I was about to lose it, especially since I also wanted so badly to spend more time with all of you. After all, that’s how family works. Nothing is more important than the bond between a man and his boys.”
Josh’s tail drooped a little. “So… you don’t want this gift?” For a moment he felt like all his hard work was for nothing. But Ty wasn’t about to let him get away with that thought. He raised his hand and rubbed Josh’s cheek.
“Of course I want it. I can’t let this kind of effort go to waste. Josh, thank you so much for this.” Then Ty smiled. “And better yet, I know exactly what we’re having for lunch now.” Ty looked to the rest of his children. “How about we meet again in an hour? Go enjoy your gifts, boys.”
The other four smiled brightly, gathered their gifts, and went to their rooms to enjoy them. Josh did the same, but not before giving his father a very tight and loving hug. He may not have gotten his dad the perfect gift, but he knew that he had still made this Christmas worthwhile for everyone. That was good enough for the young fox.
Music was blaring from the television. A cacophony of noises were emitting from the handheld systems. Dishes were clattering from the kitchen. Anyone from outside the house would have thought there was a riot going on.
The Cross house always had a tendency to be hectic with five male children, but it was especially so around Christmas. While the boys’ father was busy with work, many responsibilities fell on them. Typherius, a gracious elder dragon who had adopted all five of them, was working hard in his den (literally and figuratively). The humble home he and the boys resided in was built into a steep hill, and his home office happened to be the deepest in. He was determined to get his work done before the holidays, though the noise outside did not help at all. Typherius rubbed his temples, trying his best to focus.
The oldest two boys, Kinani the dragon and Leo the tiger, were doing their best to prepare some of the food for the upcoming Christmas dinner. It was hard enough since they didn’t often get along, but the incompetency was infuriating the dragon brother.
“For the last stinking time, Leo! One-third is BIGGER than one-fourth!” Kinani bopped his tiger brother over the head with one of the plastic measuring cups. “Even you should know this! You were in school too!”
Leo shrugged and laughed. “We’re on break, my bro. You think I’m gonna remember any kind of crap from school right now?”
Winston the wolf and Ethan the bunny only listened to the banter in silence as they decorated the tree. The Douglas fir already had plenty of presents underneath it. It just needed to look the part. Winston gave a concerned look to Ethan. “Do you think we should help them?”
“Nope. Knowing them, they’ll think of some crazy method of getting everything done. They’re so weird together. Could you hand me some more ornaments?” Ethan a.k.a Anahi was the first of the batch to be taken under Typherius’s wing, though he was blood related to Leo and Kinani. When the father dragon saw that the three were really inseparable, he generously took all three of them home. Having been with his brothers for so long, Ethan knew exactly how they operated. Winston on the other hand, being rather introverted, got surprises from them practically every day.
Knowing there was basically nothing he could do about it, Winston handed Ethan more ornaments to hang higher up and tried to change the subject. Working without talking bored him to no end. “So, um, you’re all done with Christmas shopping, right? What have you gotten?”
“Winston…” Ethan tugged on one of the wolf’s ears to tease him. “You know I can’t answer that. You’re part of the family too, silly wolf.”
Winston whimpered in pain a bit from the tugging, then rubbed his head. “Yeah yeah yeah, I know. Well… what about our dad? Can you at least say that?”
Ethan thought on it for a moment, then smiled. “Okay, I’ll fill you in. The other day, I was rummaging in our attic and I found this really old spellbook. I think it belonged to Dad, but he’s never told us anything about that. I think he forgot it existed. I did some work on restoring it, and… yeah, that’s what I got him.”
“Wow…” Winston was in amazement. “You always get the best stuff. I just got him a cheap necklace with a shark tooth to wear.” Now that he was on the topic, Winston felt like he should keep going. He looked to the couch by the wall where the youngest of the five, Josh the fox, was slouching while playing Animal Crossing: New Leaf on his Nintendo 3DS. “What about you, Josh? What did you get him?”
Josh looked up at his older brothers, then looked down at his lap. “I… I haven’t gotten him anything yet.”
Josh was not only the youngest, but the newest of the bunch. It was his very first Christmas outside of the orphanage. He was actually going to matter for once because he had a family now. But he didn’t feel too thrilled at the moment.
Winston was surprised once again. “Nothing at all? But…” he looked at the calendar. “Today is the twenty-third! You only have tomorrow to get something for him, and even then everything is gonna be closing early. What have you even been doing?”
Josh’s ears and tail drooped, and he slouched even more on the couch. “Well, I was… getting stuff for all of you guys. But I don’t know what to get Ty. I don’t know him like you guys do and besides, he didn’t even write a list.”
“Yeah, you’re gonna have to get used to that.” Ethan said bluntly as he hung up a small ornament that looked like a tiny sleeping dragon. “Dad NEVER writes a list. I don’t think he even knows what it is. All I can say is trust your gut and find something you think he would appreciate.”
Kinani interrupted the conversation from the kitchen. “Trust your gut? Good advice and all, but not so great for the striped butt here.” He said as he glared at Leo. “Stop putting your fingers in the dough!”
Leo responded, sounding a little giddy: “It’s not my fault you made it so good, hehehe!” The tiger was busy dipping his finger in the mixing bowl and licking it clean, then going right back to doing it again. The noises from the brothers arguing, as well as the rest of the noises around the house, finally warranted a response from the old dragon in the den.
“All I want for Christmas is—“
“BOWWWWOWOWOW!” The family’s pet Yamper, Bolt, suddenly leapt up from its bed, barking and howling as it dashed to the window and saw a wild Espeon running along the street. The barking went on for a good while until Winston finally managed to calm down the excited corgi and give it some gentle loving care. Then he looked over at Ethan. “Did you hear what Dad said?” he asked. Ethan just shrugged.
Josh continued playing his game in silence. He had a golden opportunity to get that gift idea and it was stripped away.
The next day was Christmas Eve, and it was just as hectic. Typherius informed the kids that he was nearly done with his work, but he expected everyone to behave all the same. Despite their best efforts, the sons couldn’t really follow through. They were still being pretty noisy, music once again blaring from the television and Bolt barking with excitement. Ethan was trying to teach Bolt to do some tricks and rewarding him with Christmas cookies. Even outside, neighbors were setting off fireworks and celebrating an early Christmas. In the middle of the day.
Having finished his responsibilities early, Josh was once again on the couch watching videos on his phone. He was hoping to find inspiration but only got distracted from the various people he was subscribed to.
Winston saw Josh sitting there and decided to sit down next to him. “So, got any ideas yet?” he asked. Josh just shook his head and sighed. Winston scooched closer and rubbed put a paw on the fox’s legs to comfort him. He wasn’t good with these things, but he knew he wanted to help in some way. “Well… what about something more generic? Do you know what dragons usually like?”
Josh shook his head again. “No, we never had any dragons at the orphanage. I thought they were just myths until Ty showed up.”
“Oh…” So much for that idea, Winston thought.
Leo turned the corner from the kitchen into the living room, overhearing the conversation. “Hey kit, it’s your first Christmas here, right? I know it’s probably hard. Maybe you could just piggyback off one of my gifts. We can say it’s from both of us.” Leo gave an optimistic toothy smile at Josh, but Josh didn’t even seem to acknowledge it.
“Thanks, but no thanks.” Josh set down his phone and looked at Leo. “I want it to be special. It should be unique, something that… comes straight from me. Something that I know he’ll love because it’s from me. He took me in, and I wanna return the favor.”
“Dang.” Leo was kinda stunned that this young fox wanted to put in so much effort. The problem was figuring out where to start. “Sounds like you have pretty high standards for yourself. You sure you don’t need help?”
“No, I’m sure I’ll figure it out.” Josh said. He sat up on the couch and looked at his brothers. “Thanks for the offer though.” Meanwhile, the noise inside the house and outside kept going and going. Eventually, so did Ty’s voice.
“All I want for Christmas is—“
“~FA LA LA LA LA~” The music from the television suddenly increased in volume. The brothers covered their ears.
“Oops…” Josh said as he got up. “I think I sat on the remote.” He turned the volume back to normal, then sighed and decided to turn off the TV. He was getting sick of that music.
Winston looked to the den again. “That’s the second time. What do you think he’s saying?” he wondered.
“Beats me,” Leo replied. “Josh, what do you thi…” His question was interrupted when he saw Josh wasn’t there anymore. “Hey, where’d he go?”
Josh was up in his room, his ears having perked up. He heard it that time; it was unmistakable. He knew what he had to do, but he couldn’t go out to a shop to get this gift for Ty. He had to add his own personal touch to it. But first… he had to wait till night.
Once everyone was asleep that night, Josh snuck out of bed and went downstairs. The house was silent even though people were still partying outside. He headed into the kitchen and got to work. He was tired since he had to stay up so late to make sure everyone was asleep, but he was determined to make Ty happy.
Christmas morning came. No one rushed around the house waking everyone up. The house was quiet, and slowly but surely everyone woke up, got dressed, and went downstairs. Breakfast was great thanks to the forced collaboration between Kinani and Leo once again. After that, the family went into the living room to open presents. Many smiles were given and many videos and pictures were taken that morning. Soon, there were no presents left under the tree. That was when Josh knew it was time.
“Ty… I mean Dad…” Josh said a bit timidly. “I have a gift for you too. I made it myself.” The fox’s cheeks turned a little red, contrasting nicely with his green fur. He wasn’t used to everyone’s attention on him. The elder dragon only sipped on his morning coffee when he heard about this last surprise gift. Ty said, “Oh? Well, I don’t see it here. Why don’t you go get it for us?”
Josh’s embarrassment turned to excitement as he leapt from the couch and ran to the kitchen. He found the cardboard box with a bow on it, with the gift inside. The fox’s tail swished from side to side as he eagerly brought it out to Ty. “Here you go, Dad. It’s what you’ve been wanting. Merry Christmas.”
Typherius opened the box from Josh, and a very delicious smell filled the room. What was inside was a familiar circular food, covered in melted cheese and tomato sauce, as well as a few different kinds of meat. Typherius tilted his head. He liked the gift, but he was also slightly confused. “I… this is a…”
Josh nodded. “Yeah yeah. I heard your shouts from the den. You’ve been saying all this time that all you want for Christmas is a pizza. So I made one for you. I put a lot of work into it. And I know you love beef and chicken.”
Behind Josh, the other four brothers all looked at each other. They were just as confused as Ty. A pizza? That’s all he wanted? It couldn’t be.
Typherius was silent for a brief moment, then he let out a hearty laugh, nearly knocking over his coffee cup. Josh became worried. Did he mess it up? Was he about to become a laughingstock? No. Typherius calmed down and smiled at the kit. “Josh, I am very thankful that you put so much into this gift. But I think there’s been a miscommunication. You see, what I actually said was that all I want for Christmas is some peace and quiet. You know how crazy this last week has been, especially the last couple days. Honestly, I was about to lose it, especially since I also wanted so badly to spend more time with all of you. After all, that’s how family works. Nothing is more important than the bond between a man and his boys.”
Josh’s tail drooped a little. “So… you don’t want this gift?” For a moment he felt like all his hard work was for nothing. But Ty wasn’t about to let him get away with that thought. He raised his hand and rubbed Josh’s cheek.
“Of course I want it. I can’t let this kind of effort go to waste. Josh, thank you so much for this.” Then Ty smiled. “And better yet, I know exactly what we’re having for lunch now.” Ty looked to the rest of his children. “How about we meet again in an hour? Go enjoy your gifts, boys.”
The other four smiled brightly, gathered their gifts, and went to their rooms to enjoy them. Josh did the same, but not before giving his father a very tight and loving hug. He may not have gotten his dad the perfect gift, but he knew that he had still made this Christmas worthwhile for everyone. That was good enough for the young fox.
Category Story / All
Species Unspecified / Any
Gender Male
Size 50 x 50px
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