Work Text:
Fox wiped his brow. The heat radiating from the grill elements, mixed with the dry wind from the desert nearby, made it nearly unbearably hot, but he was used to the climate. He lifted his gaze from the sizzling sausages. The heat haze shimmered above the sand dunes, and the Great Saline Lakes glittered in the distance.
Miyu shuffled across, her fur dishevelled and her tongue hanging out, and took a bottle of water out of the cooler box. Cracking the cork and throwing her head back, she gulped down half of it in one go. Fox took a swig from his spiced ginger beer, the drink really too sweet for the weather, but you did what you could to get into the festive spirit. He raised his drink for a toast.
“Merry Christmas, Miyu!”
“Whose idea was it to spend the holiday here?” She rolled her eyes. “And why is it so damn hot?”
“It’s because Papetoon’s has a different orbit around Lylat than Corneria.” Slippy appeared by her side, as often wearing a big grin on his face. “The year here is longer, so the seasons don’t align.”
“Just my luck that it’s in the middle of summer then.” Miyu drained the rest of the bottle. Fox bit his tongue to not tell her that it actually was early summer and that the weather was gonna get even hotter.
“Why don’t you come have a swim?” Slippy suggested.
“Did you miss the part that I’m a feline?” The lynx pointed to her long tuft-adorned ears. “I hate getting wet!”
“Yeah, I’m with you.” Katt looked over her shoulder where she sat on the edge of the pool with her feet in the water. “I prefer a sonic shower any day, but it is nice to cool off your paws a bit.”
“Nuh-uh!” Miyu shook her head before yelping and jumping sideways to avoid the splash from Slippy returning to the pool with a cannonball.
Fox looked around. It wasn’t a bad setup though; the spacious hacienda they’d rented on Space BNB had a large pool covered by a translucent roof that captured the condensation to be recycled—an important feature on the arid planet—as well as a large seating area under a sunshade complete with a fire pit for cold desert nights. The leaves of palm trees dressed in colourful light chains rustled in the breeze, and a plastic snowman baked in the sun.
Fay the spaniel played with Ruby and Rose—Fox and Krystal’s twin daughters—in the shallow end of the pool, and the toddlers squealed as they played with an inflatable Dodora. Marcus did his best trying to keep up with the four Toad children, swimming laps around Amanda and Slippy and playing keep-away with a beach ball.
Krystal walked out of the house carrying a tray full of prawn cocktails, each carefully dished up in a glass. While the entrees looked tempting enough, Fox only had eyes for Krystal’s hips swaying under her loincloth.
I know what you’re looking at, dirty old fox , she scolded in his mind as she walked past him, but her wagging tail betrayed her. All these years after they first met, she still looked as gorgeous as ever, and she liked when he checked her out.
“Is anybody hungry?” She held up the plate to lots of cheering from the pool.
“Perfect timing,” said Fox and grabbed a pair of tongues, flipping burgers and sausages once more to check that they were ready before plating up.
“Well, come and eat then!” Falco emerged from the house balancing two trays with bread and nibbles in his hands before putting them on the large stone table.
The kids quickly scrambled out of the pool, soon followed by the adults. Fay returned the twins to their parents, placing an orange-furred bundle of mischief each in Fox and Krystal’s laps. Fox had to check the patch of white in her daughter’s head to see which child he had; they were identical apart from being mirrors of each other.
“Sosig,” said Ruby and tried to crawl up on the table.
“Yes, sausages,” said Fox. “Would you like one?”
“Sosig!”
Putting one in a slice of bread for his daughter, she soon had ketchup all over her little muzzle as she munched away. The noise level reduced as the children stuffed their maws with ham, sausages and fruit mince tarts, while hardly touching the greens. Meanwhile, the adults enjoyed fresh seafood from nearby Port Halite. Someone popped the cork of a bottle of sparkling wine, and Falco cracked a beer can with his beak, while Fox tried to be a responsible parent and stick to the non-alcoholic ginger beers. The adults chatted about everything and nothing. With his belly filled, Fox leaned back in his chair and enjoyed the shade, feeling quite content.
“Are you finished, children?” Slippy asked.
“Almost!” Bella, whose skin was as green as her father’s and grandfather’s, shoved another burger patty into her wide mouth.
“Then you’d better head back to the pool before your skins dry out,” said Amanda in a stern voice.
She didn’t have to ask twice, since their daughters Gemma, Bella and Phoebe immediately bolted towards the water—swimming directly after food obviously not being an issue for amphibians—while their orange-skinned son remained at the table.
“Is Santa Paws gonna come?” Skippy asked with an expectant look in his eyes.
“I don’t know,” said Slippy. “Papetoon in summer might be too hot for Santa, okay?”
Skippy’s face dropped.
“We’ll just have to wait and see,” said Fox with a gentle smile and cast glance towards Marcus, who had a cheeky smirk on his muzzle. The boy’s psionic abilities grew by the day, and he had long sussed his parents out.
Fox picked up Ruby and moved to one of several banana lounges under a palm tree.
“Here, take Rose as well.” Krystal put their other daughter in Fox’s lap before heading for the pool. With a graceful dive she disappeared into the water and resurfaced on the other side of the pool with her fluffy tail floating behind her like a bundle of blue kelp. Fox put a beach towel over the kits and soon they were both snoozing peacefully on his stomach. Falco took a seat on Fox’s right and opened another can.
“Aah, this is life,” he whispered as to not wake the kits up.
“It’s nice to have the old team back together.” Slippy laid down in the banana lounge on Fox’s left. “But I miss Peppy.”
“Heh, he’d make a good Santa Paws.” Falco grinned. “Although I’m sure Corneria’s head of state is a little too busy to play dress-ups.”
“He did send a message,” said Fox. “He’s having a quiet Christmas with Lucy and her family.”
Fox closed his eyes and relaxed, just listening to the afternoon sounds: wind in the palm trees, children’s laughter, the hacienda’s air-conditioning humming, a lone cicada chirping—a prelude to the evening’s cacophony they’d all be in full swing—and… an electric wine of some sorts.
He opened an eye and gazed towards the desert. A dune buggy flew over a sand dune in a cloud of dust, skidding this way and that, before coming to an abrupt stop outside the low stone wall surrounding the garden.
“Ho, ho, ho!” The driver laughed as he picked up a large sack from the passenger seat and walked through the garden gates, revealing himself to be a grey-furred dog with sagging ears. His white beard was slightly askew, and he wore dark shades, red board shorts, and flip-flops on his paws. His bulging belly moved with a suspicious lightness when he walked, as if a pillow had been tucked under his floral short-sleeved shirt. “Are there any good children here?”
“SANTA PAWS!”
Five children hollered and scrambled out of the pool. The twins woke up as well, their little ears perked up, Ruby pointed towards the visitor, and Rose’s tail thumped against Fox’s chest.
“Let’s see who’s on the Nice List.” The dog dropped the bag on the ground and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket. “Now, where did I put my reading glasses…” He patted down his pockets before throwing the paper over his shoulder, drawing giggles from the kids. “Must’ve misplaced them. So, who of you have been good this year?”
“Me,” said five voices in unison.
“Are you sure?” Santa tilted his head and pointed towards Marcus, who had a wide grin on his muzzle. “Even you, Blueberry? You look a bit rascally to me.”
“Hang on,” said Gemma—the oldest of the Toad children—and stared at Santa. “How do you know Marcus’s nickname?”
“Umm… I know everything!” The grey dog shrugged. “I’m Santa, so I have to know, you know. Gotta know who’s been naughty and nice an’ all that.”
“I’ve been good.” Marcus modded frantically and cast a glance towards his mother, who gave him a wink. “Mostly.”
“Alright then, I’ll trust y’all.” Santa bent down and opened the sack. “Now, who wants a water blaster to cool down with?”
He handed out the toys to cheers and laughter. The kids started chasing each other around the lawn, the squirts of cold water giving them a sudden energy. Santa walked over and handed the twins two plushies of Stellar Lynx and her side-kick Danger Dingo, receiving big hugs in return.
“I think Ruby and Rose are starting to like that show as much as Marcus does.” Fox smiled watching his daughter’s happy faces.
“They’re cute kids, bud,” said the dog.
“Would Santa like some milk and cookies?” Katt approached carrying a tray with a glass and cookies.
“I don’t mind if I do.” Santa took a sip from the drink, which looked more like a daiquiri than milk to Fox.
An angry yell pierced the air.
They all turned towards the voice, seeing Miyu barely dodging a stream of water from Marcus’s toy blaster, her sidestep bringing her dangerously close to the edge of the pool.
“Don’t you dare!” She hissed and pointed at Marcus. “One more squirt and I’ll make sure you end up on Santa’s naughty list next year.”
Marcus lowered his blaster, and his ears drooped briefly before perking up again. Miyu glared at him, but then cocked an eyebrow in surprise as Marcus’s tail started wagging, oblivious to Fay sneaking up behind her.
“What are you up to, little cheeky—“
Miyu’s eyes bulged as Fay grabbed her by the waist, then shrieked like a banshee as the spaniel hoisted her friend up, hurling them both sideways… straight into the pool.
Water cascaded onto the pavers from the impact. They disappeared for a terrifying moment, before they resurfaced, Miyu’s arms flaying until she got a hold of the pool’s edge. Fay shook her head, and Krystal kicked her legs for good measure, sending even more water Miyu’s way; not that it made much of a difference, since the lynx already looked like a drowned rat. The twins squealed and giggled on Fox’s lap, Katt doubled over in laughter, and Santa’s beard nearly fell off.
“I hate you!” Miyu had a manic look in her eyes.
“Aww, but you love to hate me.” Fay threw her arms around Miyu and gave her friend a big, sloppy lick on the cheek.
“Stop it!” Miyu hissed. “You smell like… wet dog!”
“Aah, schadenfreude.” Katt smirked. “I’m glad it’s not me though.”
“Just like old times.” Falco chuckled. “Never a dull moment.”
Fox agreed. It was different, but Papetoon wasn’t a bad place to be, at least not at Christmas.