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crowskulls-art-and-fandoms · 4 months

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Christmas at Tidmouth

(eyyy, I did it. First fic I've finished in a long time. Hope you enjoy it, happy holidays. 💕🎄🎁)

Christmas Eve on Sodor, and the Tidmouth household is bustling as the engineers prepare for a get together. Edward and James are working hard in the kitchen. Edward dipped a wooden spoon into the pot of stew, tasting it.

“Mm.. Not quite ready..”

He looks over and sees James pull the ham out of the oven, his nose scrunched up in discomfort as the heat of the oven hit his face. But he toughed it out. Pulling the dish out of the oven and setting it on the island counter, then he took the casserole and quickly put it in the oven after, closing the door before turning back to the counter and getting the aluminum foil to cover the ham so it stays warm for later. After that was done, he paused and sighed dramatically.

“Shouldn't we ask for some help from the others..?”

Edward asked, and James huffed.

“Nope, I don't trust any of them in this kitchen, and they have a ton of stuff they need to do to get the party ready. I just need everyone to stay out of the kitchen and out of my way-”

James added with a frustrated tone, but his expression softened when he heard Edward's little chuckle.

“What am I then?”

“The exception.”

James replied confidently, and slightly flirty, and he immediately calmed down. Edward’s smile grew warmly and he looked back to the stove. Straining a bit to reach the dishes on the back burners. The various vegetable options all looked great, almost ready. Then Edward stepped back and looked through the glass of the oven in front of him, multiple trays of Christmas cookies he had put in a bit ago. Right on time, the timer on his phone went off and it was time to take them out. He turned off the alarm then retrieved his oven mitts from the drawer. He opened the oven, stepping back a moment to avoid the wave of heat, then he leaned back in to get the trays.

“James, can you make sure there's some extra room on the counter for these?”

“Sure thing.”

And James moved any dish towels or dishes on the countertops, allowing Edward to take the cookie trays out of the oven and set them down. There were about five trays to make sure there's enough for everyone. James took up the counter space left so he could finish the salad bowl. Edward checked the stuff on the stove one more time to make sure it wasn't burning before he turned his attention to the hoard of freshly made cookies. There were multiple kinds; chocolate chip, oatmeal, nut, and Christmas decorated sugar cookies. Edward took a paper plate and began fanning the trays to cool them down faster so that he could plate them and put the trays away. It didn't take long for them to cool off enough to be moved. Edward got the ornate Christmas plates and placed the cookies very nicely on them, then he put the finished product in the dining room, on the designated dessert table with the other sweet dishes. He returned to the kitchen and went straight to the stove to turn off the burners, stirring the different pots then letting them sit to enhance the flavors. He leaned against the island with a sigh, taking the moment of calm to relax.

He glanced to the side when he noticed James coming out of the dining room, chocolate chip cookie in hand. Edward let out a soft chuckle.

“James, those are for later!”

He said light heartedly, James immediately smiling.

“C'mon, Eddie, you know I can't resist your cooking.”

He teased, meeting Edward on the other side of the island. He leaned his hip against it then broke the cookie in half, offering a piece to Edward. Edward accepted and gently took it from James' hand, taking a bite. He couldn't help but laugh a bit when he saw James eat the whole half in one bite, groaning softly with satisfaction.

“I swear, you're the best cook I know. Well.. Not better than my mom but still, heh. Might even be better than me.”

“Hehe, thank you, James. That's very sweet of you.”

Edward smiled, and James smirked.

“Well… Not as sweet as you..”

James purred, his smile widening when he noticed Edward's cheeks turn pink.

“Awe, James..”

Edward cooed and leaned closer to him, James warmly wrapped his arm around his waist.

“Merry Christmas, Edward..”

“Merry Christmas, James..”

The moment was quiet and comforting as the two stood together. Then they flinched as they were interrupted by a loud bang from the living room, and Gordon yelling.

“Thomas, we told you we need this furniture out of the way while we're getting stuff from the attic!!”

“Sorry, Gordon!”

Edward sighed.

“Oh boy…”

Meanwhile in the sitting room, Gordon and Henry were struggling a bit to keep balance with the large Christmas tree in their arms. Thomas and Nia rushed to try to move chairs out of their way so that they could get it down the stairs, Percy cleared a spot near the TV then moved so that they could set it down. Gordon grunted and stretched his arms when they finally had it in place. Emily was making her way down the stairs with her arms full of Christmas light rolls, Toby coming down behind her with the box of ornaments.

“Why do we always wait until Christmas Eve to put everything up?”

Toby asked.

“We never had the time because of work, so we've just gotten into the routine of doing it all on Christmas Eve before the party.”

Emily replied, handing Henry a roll of lights for him to hang up.

“Do we still need to do it all on Christmas Eve though? Our schedules are different now, we have the time to do it earlier.”

Gordon groaned as he plugged in the Christmas tree, its lights turning on and casting a beautiful glow around the room.

“It’s kind of fun! All of the hustle and bustle and doing everything together, it's like our own family tradition.”

Nia responded. Gordon couldn't help but smile.

“I guess you're right..”

Thomas and Nia pushed the chairs and sofa into the right places, moving the coffee table in correspondence, just in time for Gordon to sit down for a bit. Toby took up the job of putting the ornaments on the tree, Emily and Henry lining the lights on the stair railing and shelving, Henry lining the edges of the ceiling. James and Edward came into the living room after finishing up in the kitchen.

“Everything looks great in here!”

Edward beamed.

“Surprising, after hearing that ruckus a minute ago.”

James teased, Thomas rolling his eyes.

“Soooorry, we can't all be as perfect as you.”

Thomas snarked, but James just smirked.

“A shame, isn't it?”

He laughed a bit. Edward lightly elbowed him.

“Come on, no arguing, it's Christmas Eve.”

Edward stepped around the sofa and sat down, sighing softly. Gordon leaned back and relaxed, almost dozing off after a few minutes, until he jerked awake from sudden noise.

“I found the board games!”

Percy shouted from down the hall. Gordon just groaned and rubbed his eyes. Edward patted his shoulder comfortingly. Percy happily came into the room with a couple boxes in his arms. James cringed a bit.

“We really have that many board games..?”

“What's wrong with having a lot of board games?”

Percy sat the boxes down and sat on the floor, taking out every game and stacking them up next to him.

“Is it really necessary for a household to have like twenty board games??”

James pressed. Percy rolled his eyes.

“Twenty-three. And yes, it's good to have a lot of options, especially for the holidays!”

James just scoffed and smoothed his hair back.

“Sounds just foolish.”

“You sound just foolish.”

“I do not!”

Edward rubbed his temple as James and Percy bickered.

“James, can you start taking the food to the dining room, please?”

“No problem.”

James said with a suspicious smile.

“And don't eat all of the cookies!”

Edward yelled after him, hearing a groan of annoyance from James. Edward leaned back with a sigh, sweet silence once again. Then he opened his eyes and looked around, and smiled. The room sparkling with lights, the sounds of small chatter and decorations being hung up. And soon soft music started playing as Nia had put on one of the records. Edward loved this feeling, and it seemed Gordon did too as Edward caught him smiling a bit. Edward placed his hand on Gordon's.

“Y'know, every year you say you find Christmas irritating… Still think that..?”

Gordon was silent for a while, looking around, and he didn't notice how his expression warmed at the joyful sight. Especially seeing his little brother so happy. Edward just smiled and patted Gordon's shoulder.

“Merry Christmas, Gordon..”

He said softly, and Gordon looked at him.

“Merry Christmas.. Dad..”

Across the room, Nia was placing little figurine decorations on the shelves and hanging up the tinsel. Then she heard James call to her.

“Hey, Nia! Can you give me a hand with this?!”

“Sure thing, James!”

She finished up what she was doing then went to the kitchen to help James set everything up.

“Can you get the table set up?”

“No problem. Do you need any help with the food?”

“I got it for now. I'll let you know if I need help though.”

“Okay.”

Nia turned away, but James placed his hand on her shoulder.

“Hey.”

“Hm?”

James pulled her closer and rustled her hair.

“Merry Christmas, girly.”

He teased and Nia laughed.

“Hahah! Merry Christmas to you too, James.”

She leaned in and gave him a strong hug before they finally parted and got back to work. Nia retrieved the tablecloth, napkins and table decorations from the closet, placing everything perfectly. Her and James perfectly weaved between each other as he brought in the platters and she went to get the plates and utensils. The plates sat on their respective napkins, the silverware placed neatly. She double checked everything, crossing off her mental checklist, and stepped back with an accomplished sigh as she beholded her work. Then she caught sight of James trying to sneak into the chocolate cake.

“Get out of that!”

She ordered with a small laugh. James groaned and sat the glass dome back down.

“Come on, just one piece!”

“You have to wait until after dinner!”

James crossed his arms with a huff.

“I made half the damn dinner, I should get to have some dessert before it.”

He grumbled, and Nia nudged him playfully.

“Let's get you out of here before the sweets mysteriously disappear.”

She joked. Her and James left the dining room into the kitchen to prepare the beverages, the last thing to make and then everything for dinner is done and ready. Meanwhile in the sitting room, Gordon was still sitting on the couch, his joints getting the best of him as he groaned in pain. Edward tried to help a bit by soothingly squeezing his knee. Henry paused what he was doing as he saw Gordon's plight. He thought for a moment then quickly went upstairs, retrieving Gordon's arthritis medicine from his room then coming back downstairs. Edward noticed what Henry was doing and reached over to pick up the cup of water from the side table, holding it to Gordon. Soon Henry sat down on the other side next to Gordon.

“What are you two doing..?”

He asked, Henry sighed quietly.

“Your arthritis is flaring up, I can tell. You should take your meds.”

He said, and Gordon grumbled, begrudgingly taking the pill bottle from Henry's hand.

“Did you eat lunch?”

Edward asked. And Gordon's silence said everything. Edward's expression faltered.

“Gordon..”

“What?? I just wasn't hungry, it's not a big deal!”

Gordon rebutted, quickly taking his medication and taking a few swigs of water, sighing heavily afterwards. He tensed up a bit feeling a hand on his thigh, Henry's expression concerned but still affectionate.

“You'll eat a full meal tonight, right..?”

Gordon was hesitant, but his expression softened and he sighed.

“Yes..”

“Promise..?”

“... I promise..”

Henry smiled, and Edward smiled as well. Then his smile turned sly and he stood up.

“I'm going to see how Nia and James are doing.”

He said before walking around the sofa and into the kitchen, leaving Henry and Gordon on the couch. Gordon suddenly felt his cheeks warm and his shoulders tensed. He cleared his throat and Henry laughed quietly. He laid his arm on the back of the couch around Gordon, which only made him turn more red. Henry looked around the room, seeing Emily finish up the tree decorations while Toby was picking up and putting away the boxes. Thomas and Percy were sitting on the floor, both equally excited about all of the board game options, talking about the movies they could watch, good snacks to have. Henry couldn't help but smile as he watched them, and he noticed Gordon was smiling too. Henry chuckled softly and nuzzled against Gordon's hair.

“You look nice tonight…”

He murmured, Gordon shocked by the sudden compliment.

“O-oh- uh… Th-thank you..? Um… You look nice too..”

He awkwardly replied, trying to hide the grin on his face, but Henry saw right through it. Then he slowly removed himself and stood up, adjusting his sweater. Gordon looked at him with a questioning gaze.

“Can I show you something?”

“Uh.. Sure.”

Gordon stood up, grunting a bit, though his joint pain was fading a bit and he felt better than he did a minute ago. He followed Henry out of the living room to one of the hallways.

“What'd you want to show me?”

Gordon asked as Henry stopped and turned to him, gently taking his hands. He glanced upward, and Gordon followed his gaze. Turning bright red when he saw the mistletoe hanging above them. His gaze met Henry's again, Henry couldn't help but laugh a bit at the deer in headlights expression on Gordon's face. He brought one of his hands up and gently caressed Gordon's cheek, and Gordon relaxed a bit more, leaning into Henry's hand. Henry's expression warmed as he gazed in awe. Then he leaned in and planted a soft kiss on Gordon's forehead. The two slowly embraced, basking in each other's comfort. Henry didn't need a full kiss, this moment was more than enough for him. They decided to step away from the preparations for a bit, given they finished everything they needed to.

Back in the sitting room, Thomas and Percy placed all of the board games in a neat stack by the sofa for later. Percy went and got the coffee table decorations. Just a couple figurines and the candle display, placing them neatly, almost obsessively trying to make them symmetrical. He leaned back and squinted, trying to make sure it was right.

“Hey, Thomas, does this look right to you?”

“Does what look right?”

“The coffee table stuff, I'm trying to make it perfect.”

“Hmmm..”

Thomas examined it for a moment. Then he rearranged them a bit.

“Wh- what are you doing-?”

“There is such a thing as being too perfect. It shouldn't look so.. Static. More casual. See? Like this.”

He leaned back and held his hand towards it in presentation of the display. Percy looked at it for a moment and tilted his head curiously.

“Oh, you're right, that does look better.”

Percy looked around, seeing the decorations the others put up. He smiled, everything was just so beautiful. Then his expression fell once he remembered something, then he jumped up.

“The presents! We need to get the presents!”

“Oh, crap, you're right!”

Then the two rushed off down the hall to the big closet to retrieve the gift boxes. Toby couldn't help but laugh a bit and Emily shook her head lightheartedly.

“Told you they forgot.”

She said with a soft chuckle. Then Toby looked to her.

“Will Caitlin be coming tonight?”

He asked.

“No, she's in London with family for Christmas, we'll do something special together sometime this week though.”

Emily replied, helping Toby place ornaments on the tree where he couldn't quite reach.

“That's nice, hope you two have a good time.”

“Thank you, Toby. Suppose we'll just have the usual rowdy crowd coming over.”

“Heh, yeah, the twins always seem to get riled up during the holidays.”

Toby replied, he and Emily shared a small laugh at the memory of how excited the twins tend to get at the party, especially Donald. They always got super competitive with each other with the games, Douglas was always the one to hold more of a grudge when he lost. Regardless of who won any of the board games they'd always have a drinking contest after to determine the ‘real winner’. They'd always get equally hammered and it was always a random chance of who'd pass out first and be declared the loser. At least in recent years the drinking games have toned down a bit, now just to who can finish a certain amount of drinks in the shortest amount of time. Donald was the most frequent winner of this game, and Duck always seemed to say scandalous jokes about why that was. Regardless it was all in good fun. It was a good idea to keep Gordon away from the alcohol though, he always got really moody and whiny when he was drunk. Everyone can recall the times he'd fall asleep on the couch after drinking too much and waking up with a hangover that made him ten times as grumpy as he usually was. Admittedly for good reason.

Emily and Toby suddenly heard a crash from down the hall. It was silent for a moment before Percy called out.

“Can someone give us a hand-??”

Emily stepped away from the tree and headed down the hall, Toby stayed behind to clean up the trash and boxes to make sure there was a clear path while the three of them walked in with arm-fulls of presents. Percy made sure they were all organized and placed neatly so they could be easily picked up. Thomas got a bit distracted, shaking his presents to try to figure out what they were. Emily light heartedly smacked his arm.

“No looking until tomorrow, you know the rules.”

She said, and Thomas grumbled.

“Yeah yeah yeah, I know..”

He handed the boxes to Percy and pouted a bit, but smiled again when Emily gave him a hug.

“Okay, okay, I'm smiling, are you happy now?”

He teased and Emily laughed.

“Yes, yes I am. Merry Christmas. To both of you.”

“Merry Christmas, Emmy.”

Thomas replied, rustling her hair. Percy hadn't replied, and they saw it was because he was too focused on the sorting. Thomas poked his arm to get his attention.

“Huh? What? Oh- Merry Christmas to you too!”

He said, but his attention quickly returned to the gifts. Wasn't long until everything was placed just right, and Percy was very proud of his organization. Emily got up and helped Toby finish cleaning up the living room. And finally, everything was done. Edward, James, and Nia exited the kitchen, and Edward was in awe.

“Oh, everything is beautiful!”

He beamed. The lights, the decorations, the tree, everything was perfect. James just smiled at Edward's reaction. The holidays were beautiful and all, but the best part of it was Edward's excitement for it, especially Christmas. His smile and the way the lights sparkled in his eyes, it made James' heart swell with joy. Suppose that is the point of Christmas after all. Nia joined Percy and Thomas, and Gordon and Henry returned from down the hall. They were in awe of the decorations as well. They sat down on the couch, James went to the kitchen to get a drink, and Thomas, Nia, Percy, and Toby struck up some conversation. And it all seemed to be right on time as they heard the doorbell ring.

“I’ll get it!”

Edward said, walking away with a bit of a pep in his step. Before he even opened the door he heard familiar chatter behind it. And once he opened it, it was a more than welcome sight. Duck, Oliver, Toad, Donald, and Douglas. Donald was first to enter.

“The party's here!”

He announced. Douglas shook his head before following. Edward just chuckled. Oliver and Toad entered afterwards.

“Thanks so much for inviting us, Edward.”

Oliver said.

“Of course, it wouldn't be the same without all of you. You're a part of the family.”

“Awe, thanks, Edward!”

Toad commented. Afterwards Oliver and Toad walked down the hall to the sitting room, where the twins were already getting rowdy. Duck was certainly more calm, stepping through the door and out of the cold before dusting the snow off of their suit.

“They already said it but, thank you again for inviting us, Eddie. I always look forward to this time of year because of your amazing party.”

They said, them and Edward sharing a hug.

“Well, it isn't just me. Everyone pitched in. I really only did a fraction of it, heh.”

“In that case, I think it's safe to say that the Tidmouth household throws the best Christmas parties.”

Said Duck, and it only made Edward's smile grow. Duck gestures down the hall for them to walk.

“Shall we get to it?”

Edward nodded in response.

“Absolutely.”

And the two walked down the hall, joining the chaos already rising in the sitting room.

Routine chaos and joy that happens every year, during truly one of the best times ever for the Steam Team. Everyone getting together on the lovely snowy night, the house gorgeously decorated and the food made perfectly. With movies and games to last the entire night, and presents and fun still to be had the next day.

Christmas at Tidmouth was always a joyous time.

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