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“‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a– wait! I read the line wrong. Can I try agai– yeah okay, redo.”
“Ahem.”
“‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the apartment, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. Really? That's the line? We couldn't find anything that rhymes with apartment?”
“Lani, just finish the narration.”
“Should I redo–”
“No! Just… we’ll edit it or something. Finish the narration.”
“Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. Except for one girl, snug in her bed, with visions of Sugarplums dancing through her head.” Lani stepped away from the mic, tilting her head to catch the eye of a very annoyed-looking Tommy. “That doesn't flow super well,” she informed him.
“I don't care.”
Lani huffed, and stepped closer again. “...I forgot my line.”
______
An hour later, the intro to the Christmas Special had finally been recorded.
“Six lines. Six! How did that take so long?” Tommy groaned, slamming his head down onto the counter.
Lani huffed, brushing her hair over her shoulder and rolling her eyes. “Someone else could've done that intro. I’m sure people would have loved to hear Techno doing the voiceover for once.”
“The fans love everything Techno does,” Tommy relented. “But you're the main character. You manage to get through the recap at the end of every episode. Why can't you read the stupid Christmas poem?”
“Apartment doesn't rhyme with mouse!”
Tommy sighed, and turned his attention to the two figures standing in the doorway. “Phil! Hire a new actress! This one's a dud.”
“If you can find another girl willing to work for free, and well enough to pull a fan base like Lani can, be my guest.” Tommy glared at her.
Lani smirked at her brother. He glared.
“Nepo baby.”
Kristin laughed. “You're both nepo babies. And neither of you are getting paid until Tommy sends me those intro lines.”
“You don't pay us.”
“We're paying you in Christmas presents!” Phil shouted from the other room.
Tommy turns to Lani and whispers, “We should tell your teacher that your parents are exploiting you.” A hand came down on Tommy's head from the side and ruffled his hair.
From around the corner emerged Wilbur, who laughed at Tommy's yelp. “You little brat. Stop poisoning Lani.” He rearranged his grip and pulled Tommy out of the chair.
Tommy allowed it, falling back into Wil’s arms sleepily. “Oh Wilbur, she's torturing me! I think she likes to make my job difficult.”
“Wilbur, do you think the fans would be okay with rhyming apartment with mouse?”
“I think they're more likely to notice your god-awful line delivery.” Tommy muttered.
“Aren't you a charmer?” Lani huffed.
Tommy groaned, and let Wilbur half-drag him to the couch. “She lives to see me suffer. And for the record, I think fans would appreciate the creative risk of rhyming apartment with mouse. Call it modern poetry.”
“More like a cry for help,” Wilbur quipped, earning a pillow to the face.
The two younger siblings dissolved into laughter, and all tension from filming melted away. Snowflakes tapped softly against the window, blending into the sounds of the heater.
Kristin poked her head in from the kitchen, holding a tray of cocoa mugs. “If you're done arguing, come help me decorate the tree.”
“Mom, do you think apartment–”
“I heard the argument, and I don't care. Cocoa.”
Lani happily accepted her hot chocolate, as well as Tommy's. He was a bit preoccupied with being wrestled into the couch by their older brother. “Mom, do you think Santa likes hot chocolate? Maybe we should leave him cocoa instead of milk this year.”
Tommy rolled his eyes as he squirmed out of Wilbur's grasp. “Santa doesn't care, Lani, he just wants cookies.” He tried to snatch his mug from her, but she pulled away. Their tussle was quickly put to rest as Kristin gave Tommy her own, and took the other mug from Lani.
“You’ll be sorry when you get coal!” Lani cried. Tommy turned to her with a mischievous grin, only to have another hand slammed onto his head, this time over his mouth.
Techno, this time, did not pick Tommy up like Wilbur did. He had a mug in his hand after all. “You're right Lani, he's definitely getting coal.”
“I’ve been good.” Lani informed him.
“Better than Tommy,” Techno agreed.
Tommy finally wriggled free. “I've been good too!”
“Good at being annoying.” Wilbur snorted.
Kristin clapped, effectively cutting off the commotion. “Kids! Focus, we need to get this tree decorated.”
“What about Phil?” Tommy asked.
“He just left to get groceries.”
Lani, now distracted by a string of tinsel, chimed in. “Does Santa like red or gold better?”
Techno and Wilbur answered at the same time.
“Red.”
“Gold.” Techno gave Wilbur a hard side eye. “Gold. Santa likes gold.”
Wilbur backed away. He fell back onto the couch, and wrangled Tommy into his lap. “Tommy, protect me from the big mean Techno.”
“By protecting you do you mean letting you use me as a shield?”
“Yes.”
Kristin sighed. “Guys! The decorations!” She plucked the tinsel out of Lani's hands before she could get tangled. Then, her gaze fell to Tommy, still trapped in Wilbur's grasp. Her face softened, and she reached down to brush some hair away from his eyes. She pressed a quick kiss to his temple before rescuing him from Wilbur's grasp. “Come on love, up you get.”
Wilbur stood, and walked over to the tree. “Someone has a favorite.”
“Lani is my favorite, because she's my baby. But Tommy is my baby boy.”
Techno cackled. “She's not even denying it.”
Tommy huffed and mumbled “I’m fifteen…”
Lani hopped up, and collapsed on top of Tommy and Kristin. “Me too.”
“Nope! No! I don't care if you're my babies, we’re getting this tree decorated before Santa comes tonight. We put it off for way too long.” She pushed Tommy to his feet, and scooped Lani up and onto her hip.
Techno opened the ornament box, and pulled out a gold bauble. “We've been busy with the show. It's so popular now, we’re releasing episodes weekly.”
“Who would have thought Dad’s pet project would turn into this?” Wilbur said.
“He's a good director.” Techno shrugged, adjusting an ornament on the tree.
“He's good at other things too.” Kristin quipped.
“Kristin!” Tommy squawked, face turning red.
Lani blinked. “Like what?” She couldn't think of anything else he was particularly passionate about.
“Nothing, dear. Your father is just a multi-talented man.”
Tommy groaned, and buried his face in the carpet.
“For the last time, work on the tree! Santa is coming tonight!”
Lani, who had forgotten all about that little fact, suddenly perked up. And then, her face crumpled, and she buried her face in her mom's shoulder.
Kristin nudged her. “What’s with the mood swing?”
Lani shook her head.
Wilbur glanced over. “Lani?” He looked to their mom. “Is she crying?”
Lani sniffled, and raised her head. “Santa is coming tonight.”
“Yes Lani, and you've been a good girl–”
“But Tommy is gonna get coal!’ she wailed, once again hiding in Kristin’s shirt.
Kristin stifled a laugh, and patted her back reassuringly. “It's okay, honey.
“Yeah, Tommy likes coal. He eats it to gain energy.”
“Tommy isn't getting coal,” Kristin sighed.
“How do you know?”
“Well,” she tilted her head. “Tommy helps your daddy a lot with the show. He works very hard and edits all of the voiceovers.”
“Not very efficiently.” Techno mumbled.
Kristin ignored his input. “And Tommy is very nice to you and your brothers. Remember when he gave you his cookie yesterday?”
“That was just because I hate raisins.”
“Tommy, do you want coal?”
“I like coal. I eat it to gain energy.”
“Tommy, work on the tree, Techno, take the cookies out of the oven, Wilbur! Put the fish ornament down!”
Lani giggled.
Kristin grabbed the star topper
Tommy arranged a few candy canes on the tree. “We can't put the star on yet, we haven't finished decorating!”
“I promised Lani she could put it on this year, and we need time to frost cookies before her bedtime.”
“Mom!” Lani whined, “Can't I stay up? It's Christmas eve!”
“That's exactly why you can't stay up. Santa won't come if you're awake.”
Lani nodded seriously.
The front door swung open, and in came Phil with an armful of paper bags. “Boys! Help me bring the shopping in!”
Lani squealed, and wiggled out of her mom's hold. “Daddy!”
Tommy smiled. “Looks like she has a favorite too.”
“He’ll be the favorite until she sees next week's script.” Kristin said.
“Tommy! Come help!”
“No.” Tommy said, much too quietly for them to hear.
______
Once the groceries had been put away, the tree decorated, and the cookies frosted, Lani knew her bedtime was growing near.
But she had to resist.
No matter how much her eyelids dropped, she had to resist the alluring pull of sleep.
Unfortunately, she was not very good at resisting. She had been snuggling up in Tommy's lap when she had let her guard slip. Her head lolled onto Tommy's shoulder, and she felt herself being turned around to face him.
“You're not falling asleep, are you?”
“No!” Lani shook her head vehemently. “I'm awake–” Lani cut herself off with a yawn.
Kristin laughed. “Tommy, how about you go get the cookies for Santa? We can put them out before she passes out.”
Tommy stood, wrangling Lani into a comfortable position. He set her down, and crouched to her level. “You go fill up a glass of milk, okay?
“Can we get carrots for the reindeer?” She asked. Tommy nodded.
Lani had to stand on her tallest tiptoes to reach the gallon of milk, but luckily there was a clean glass already out on the counter.
Carefully, Lani poured the milk. She had to get the right amount, so Santa wouldn't be dehydrated or get sick from drinking too much.
But, he drinks a lot of milk. So maybe he just gulps it down all in one go.
Tommy rested a hand on her back, and led her into the living room. Lani was very careful as she placed the glass on the mantle, and Tommy even let her put the cookies up too.
Lani stepped back to admire her work, a satisfied smile on her face. "There! It's perfect," she declared, her little hands still dusted with a bit of cookie crumbs.
“I hope the reindeer like carrots. If they don't, they can have some cookies.”
“I don't think cookies are very good for reindeer.” Tommy said. “They can stick to carrots.”
Lani giggled. “Can we leave a light on for Santa? So he doesn't get lost?” She asked.
Tommy looked to Phil.
He nodded, “Yes, we can. Tommy, go put your sist
er to bed. Santa's got a busy night ahead of him.”
That night, Lani slept peacefully while Tommy chugged the entire glass of milk too quickly and almost threw up. He was not allowed any cookies, so that they could avoid a sugar rush.