"... And then mom chased him around the house with the other slipper, swearing that dad would replace them or else," Raven laughed along with everyone present; the group had been exchanging funny stories in the blanket fort for half an hour now and there seemed to be plenty more to go around between Palette and the Afterdeath family.

Wiped his sockets, Goth exhaled as he calmed himself, "So that's why mom was wearing his old slippers last year."

"Hey, that was a very nice plush orthopedic slipper he disintegrated," Geno shouted from the kitchen where he was making a stew with Sorell's help, "it took me forever to find that p-AIR?!"

"Aww, I found ya brand new ones, didn't I?" Reaper's voice cooed from the kitchen, signaling that he had just arrived. Goth untangled himself from his blanket cocoon and headed for the kitchen, followed by Raven and Shino. Joining the group in the doorway, Palette watched as Geno flailed around with his friend's dad draped over their shoulders.

"Get off, you overgrown popsicle!" Geno squirmed, trying to remove him to no avail.

"But it was so cold without any heat in my office; can't ya warm me up?" Reaper nuzzled against their skull.

"At least wait for the kids to fall asleep before you act like this!" the glitched skeleton spat.

It was at that point that Reaper looked up to see the crowd they had garnered. "Heya kiddos," he waved, taking on a conversational tone, "ya get home okay, Goth?"

Seemingly unsurprised by the scene, Goth casually responded, "I ended up in a snowdrift at one point, but I floated out of it and made it home alright."

Reaper sagely nodded his skull, "Good, good; how about you, Pal? Your mom here?"

Palette grimaced at the reminder; luckily, Geno responded so he didn't have to, "Dream's away this year."

"Of course he is," Reaper's ever-present grin twitched; it looked like he wanted to say more, but was holding back for some reason.

"Anyways," Geno tugged at Reaper's robe in an attempt to dislodge him, "you should make yourself useful and help bring the stew out to the living room."

Shino was nearly vibrating with excitement as she whisper-shouted, "Are we eating in the blanket fort?!"

"Aww, but I just got home," Reaper sagged to the side, giving Geno a sad puppy face while still clinging to them.

"Don't pull that face with me; we both know your habits," Geno chastized, giving up the fight to pull a stack of bowls from the cabinet, "If I'm going to have an ice cube stuck to my back for the next hour, then I might as well get some help out of it."

Palette felt Goth grab his hand, looking up at them as they announced, "We'll stay out of your way; we'll be in the living room if you need us."

Leading Palette back into the living room, Goth pulled him into the fort and murmured, "Are you alright? You got quiet."

Putting on a half-hearted smile, Palette reassured them, "Of course, I'm getting to spend time up my best friend and his family for Christmas." While he was upset that his mom had once again prioritized their job over spending a holiday with him and a little jealous that Goth's dad still made time for their family despite having an equally demanding job, he wasn't alone either; the last thing he wanted to do was bring the mood down when there was no reason for it.

Goth made a face, then grabbed a blanket and tossed it over Palette's skull; searching for the opening, he felt a body lean into his side, "You're allowed to be sad or angry; you don't have to hold it in, you know."

"I'm-"

Shino latched onto him as she cheered, "We're here for you!"

"I mean, you're around enough that everyone pretty much considers you family already," Raven pointed out somewhere to his right.

Now realizing why Goth threw the blanket over him, Palette expressed his gratitude as he cried, "Thanks... you guys are the best."

He felt Goth lean their skull on his shoulder, "You're always there for everyone else, it's only fair you get a turn too."

Scrubbing at his sockets with his sleeve, he surfaced from the blanket and pulled Goth into a hug, "I'm so lucky to have you!" Raven let out a sharp laugh behind him, prompting him to look back, "What was that for?"

Raven wore an odd smirk as he leaned back on his arms, "Nothing much; just amused by the situation." Palette stared at him, not understanding what he was talking about.

Shino giggled, "Onii-chan looks like a grape." 

Following her gaze, he noticed Goth's face was flushed a bright purple. "Stars, are you okay?" Palette fussed, his sockets furrowing as he released his friend from the hug to give them space.

"Y-yeah," Goth squeaked, taking a gulp of air before trying to speak, "you just squeezed a little too tight."

Palette frowned, looking the smaller skeleton over, "Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't hurt you, did I?" 

"N-No, I'm fine," Goth waved their arms in a placating gesture.

A nagging feeling told him otherwise, "Are y-" 

But he was prevented from finishing the sentence when Reaper announced, "Sup's up!" The parent appeared past the blanket wall and set down a tray with three bowls; Geno followed behind him with four more bowls and a sour expression while Sorell trotted behind them with a handful of spoons. 

"Oh come on, I know you wouldn't put up with it if you didn't like it," the taller skeleton chuckled, handing out two of the three bowls he had been carrying.

Rather than give a reaction, Geno merely ignored him in favor of scooting inside the fort beside Shino and set down his tray while admiring the blankets "You all did a good job here; it's big enough for everyone to fit, but it still feels comfy."

Sorell blushed at the praise while Shino cheered. Grabbing a blanket, she threw it around her mom's shoulders and crawled underneath with him, "Now Okaa-san can be warm too!"

"Thank you, that's very thoughtful of you," Geno gave her a hug before releasing her to pass the remaining bowls around one by one while Sorell handed out the spoons.

As Palette was about to dig into his stew, he noticed Sorell staring at his mom and not eating, "Hey Sorell, is something wrong?"

The question drew Geno's attention, and he seemed to pick up on the issues, "Do you want to join Shino and me?" The younger monster gave a subtle nod, scooting toward the open spot in the blanket and snuggling next to their mom.

"Can I join?" Reaper inquired with a hopeful lilt to his voice.

Geno rolled his eye light and turned his attention to his meal, "you'll get your turn later."

Satisfied that the problem was resolved, Palette returned to his own food. Ladling some meat and vegetables onto his spoon, he popped it in his mouth and mumbled, "Mmm, this is as good as your cooking, Goth." Goth blushed, pointedly looking down at their bowl as Raven nudged him.

"Did I say something wrong?" Palette frowned at the odd reactions; he thought he was giving a compliment.

"No, I wasn't expecting you to say that...," Goth mumbled, offering him a smile.

"Oh, okay then," Palette watched as Raven nudged their older brother again and got a dirty look for it, feeling like he was missing something. 

The rest of the meal was peaceful as Shino and Sorell made small talk about what they thought Santa would bring them. "They both still believe in Santa?" Palette whispered; he had learned about Santa being fake when he was eight, and everyone here was either an adolescent, a teenager, or at least close to their teens as far as he knew.

Goth pitched their voice so only he would hear, "Sorell knows he's not real, but we all pretend for Shino."

"Huh...," Palette hummed, scraping up the remaining bits of meat from the bottom of their bowl as he smiled, "you're good older brothers."

"T-Thanks," he heard Goth fumble the word, and while he couldn't see their face from the angle they were facing, he thought he saw a lavender blush on their cheeks; he guessed they weren't expecting a compliment again, even if he was only telling the truth.

***

Word Count: 1,410