#stitches!verse

Here’s day 9!

Alarik and Neta belong to @patricia-von-arundel. Set in @couragedontdesertme‘s Stitches!Verse, so Neta is six years old.

White Christmas

Rating: K

"Uncle Alarik?" 

He blinked, struggling to pull his mind from his notes and back to his lab. The use of "uncle", even seven months into his marriage (and well before that- Neta had given him that title when he moved into the castle permanently), still felt strange to him.

Neta was standing in the doorway, hands behind her back, bouncing a bit on her feet. There was a slightly uncertain look on her face, as if she wasn't sure she should be there. 

"What do you need, Neta?" 

She looked off to one side, bouncing a bit more. "Would you… would you play with me? Outside? Mama and Aunt Elsa are in a meeting, and Papa's working too. I… I don't have anyone to play with."

Not yet. Alarik thought to himself. But soon. He said nothing about that, of course, but instead gave Neta a smile. He could use a break- Elsa would certainly have agreed. And he didn't get to spend a good deal of time with his niece. 

"Let me put away my papers, and we can get our coats on."

Neta's entire face lit up, and she ran over to give him a hug. "Thank you Uncle Alarik! Thank you so much!"

It was definitely worth leaving the lab.

………..

Here’s to the first day of Elsarik week! A huge, HUGE thanks to @starkurt for this amazing commission! Alarik and Jenny belong to @patricia-von-arundel, the Stitches!Verse belongs to @couragedontdesertme. The italicized lines come from her story “Summer”.

“Anna, that blanket must be a decade old.”

“More.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to give her something else? I could commission the most beautiful new blanket for her, let me-“

“Elsa” , Anna said, handing her daughter, swaddled nice and warm, over to her wide eyed aunt. “It’s perfect. Always has been.”

"It always has been."

"What's that?"

Elsa looked over from the bassinet, a hand coming up to cover her grin when she saw Alarik, curls flying every-which-way, sitting up in the bed. He caught her look and ran a hand through his hair, though it did little to tame the mess. 

"I was just talking to myself." She picked up Jenny, who was beginning to fuss, and held her close, tucking the ends of the blanket around her. "Just remembering something Anna told me about this old blanket."

Alarik grinned, helping her settle into bed and holding Jenny as Elsa worked the buttons free on her nightgown. He traced a finger over the crocus pattern on the edge. "It's perfect. Especially since you made it." 

Her nightgown now pulled down, Elsa took Jenny to her breast, and after a few seconds of searching, Jenny latched on, filling the air with soft sucking sounds. Alarik eased in behind them, helping Elsa onto his lap. He rested his head next to hers, watching Jenny nurse, and even in her periphery, Elsa could see the wide smile he wore.