missing Kidnapped by the fae moments (dunno if u still create for it) so here i am asking for some crumbs
Okay so you know the fae probably Went Hard on stuff like the summer and the winter solstice. Even though time moved differently over there.
So when the boys are back in the human realm, there's a bit of an adjustment. For one, LA doesn't have seasons the way the fairy realm did. And Reggie and Luke came from places in the US where winter was a thing, so they're kind of adjusting too. Though Luke is pretty fine with it, since he wears a beanie and no sleeves no matter what.
Willie and Reggie kind of miss the snow. I think Willie didn't care much for snow until Caleb stole Luke, who taught him the Joys Of Snowball Fights and Snow Men and Sledding.
Snowball fights were very much only a 'Caleb and the other fae are Out Hunting' thing after the first time a snowball went wide and hit one of the fae it was Not A Fun Time For Luke And Willie for several months.
So yeah, the boys are lamenting how they miss snow and sledding. Making sand-men on the beach is just not the same. Throwing sand at each other is Bad actually.
But, they get the bright idea, they could totally make a sled out of two skateboards and some cardboard, right?
Ray has a Very Bad Day after that. At least there were no broken bones this time but Reggie's on crutches for a week (it should have been more, but well, the boys aren't fully human yet) and Willie is Grounded from Skateboarding for just as long. Ray didn't even take his skateboard away, he just used the 'I'm not mad just disappointed' voice and explained it was unfair if Willie could skate when Reggie couldn't even walk
First time Reggie tried to walk through a wall with his crutches (what? his hands were full and doors are hard to open like that!) he went through fine... the crutches did not.
The boys do embrace other parts of the season, though.
Alex and Reggie really like baking. It's soothing, the steps are all laid out, everything smells nice, and there's food at the end. Julie and Ray and Carlos supervise the first few times just to make sure they understand the oven, but after that, they have free reign.
Reggie is the one who discovers the TikTok Baking Twink and starts trying more out there recipes. Some of which, Alex put his foot down to say no. He already lived through the horrific things that did with aspics and pineapple once, thank you. He has no need to relive it.
Luke of course is obsessed with modern Christmas music. Because he hasn't heard it seventeen billion times before, he really loves 'All I want For Christmas Is You' and he sings it to Julie once, really sincerely. Julie is utterly charmed.
He doesn't get why Flynn laughs at them.
When they try to explain Santa to Willie, he just nods sagely. Ah yes, he says, like the fae. You leave him offerings, he decides if you are a good person or a bad person, and rewards or punishes you as he sees fit. And he uses magic.
They are all very creeped out about Santa after that.
Willie does love the idea of gifts, though. Being raised by fairies, he has a very warped relationship with them, but when they explain that you get people you care about gifts for Christmas, he is all on board. Especially when Flynn introduces him to Sparkly Wrapping Paper.
(Yes, Ray has a conversation with Willie that if he wants things from stores, he must use money to buy them and not ask his crow friends to steal it.)
When Willie starts leaving them gifts, it's at random, in the weirdest places. But the right person always discovers them.
It starts normal enough, with some Fun Socks for Alex. Julie gets some sparkly glitter pens. Flynn gets some really weird soda she's never heard of before that has the same effect as seven sodas.
Luke and Reggie get rocks he found that look like a guitar pick and a dog, respectively. They are just as touched and excited as the others, though.
Carlos gets a videogame. It's a game that isn't supposed to be out until next year. Ray is starting to get a headache but Willie earnestly tells him it's not from a store.
Ray gets sweets he loves and misses from Puerto Rico. He has never mentioned these in front of Willie or any of the kids. He knows for certain they're not available in the states. He is scared to ask.
The gifts only get weirder but just as heartfelt from there. Food appears while Julie is studying that she didn't even realise she was craving. Sheet music for long-forgotten songs Luke only remembers snippets of.
Dogs appear whenever Reggie is sad, and once he's cheered up, they happily trot off to wherever they came from. Ray keeps checking the local facebook pages but nobody seems to notice their missing dogs.
Ray is almost relieved when Christmas comes around because hopefully it will stop the ever-increasingly-weird gifts.
He sits through the kids opening their stockings first. His new 'foster kids' are very easy to buy for, because there's so much they've never had and they appreciate just about everything. And yes maybe he did get them all little puzzles in the hopes of distracting them long enough that he can have a quiet afternoon.
Thankfully, the gifts on Christmas seem pretty normal. He maybe gets a little teary-eyed at the World's Best Dad mug the kids all got him together. And everything was bought in stores with money, just like Willie promised Ray.
Until the solid gold barbecue tongs.
