Page 46 of Star Bright
After the shortest hesitation, she bent down to put her arm around his shoulders for a return hug. “Merry Christmas Eve, Atsu. This is quite…festive, isn’t it?” As she straightened, she glanced around, both eyebrows rising. “That is the most colorful Christmas tree I’ve ever seen.”
“Addah said we couldn’t chop down one of the trees outside because that would be messy and rude, especially since we broke some when we crashed. So we just made an outline of a Christmas tree with those lights going up to the ceiling. And we didn’t have time to print enough ornaments and decorations, so we just used everything that was in the storage room.”
“I can see that,” she said slowly. “Valentines, Cinco de Mayo, Friendsgiving, Diwali. Um, I don’t know what that one is.”
“That’s a vrykoly auscultator,” Yadira supplied. “It’s for their bloodletting rituals.”
Darcy pursed her lips. “Um…”
Atsu grabbed her hand, tugging her forward. “I saved you a Christmas cookie. It’s decorated like a drakling in beast shape so Santa Claus would know who is here because there were no Skyearth holiday decorations in the boxes.”
“Well, there’s you three,” she said.
He chortled. “Does that count?”
“Definitely. Now tell me more about these vrykoly. Ah, they don’t date on Earth, do they?”
More than one of Santa’s cookies got eaten and Yadira brought out a tile matching game she’d found in storage. The directions said the game came from the aquatic planet of Tritona and was called “Go Fish”, which for some reason made Darcy laugh.
The sound of her echoed through Vash like the gentlest explosion, leaving him in shambles. But he’d take such ruination to stay in her company. Eventually, though, he had to declare bedtime. Atsu objected through a yawn but Darcy offered to carry him to his bedroom so he settled with his arms around her neck, his head on her shoulder.
His sleepy green eyes gleamed at Vash as they all walked down the quiet hallway. “Maybe we could have Christmas Eve forever.”
“But then it would never be Christmas Day,” Yadira pointed out.
“Then let’s just do Valentine’s Day right away. That one seems pretty. We’ll have to print roses though because the snow is too deep.”
Vash took his son from Darcy at his door while she walked Yadira across the hall.
As he snuggled into his nest, Atsu let out a sigh. “Addah? I know Santa has never heard of draklings, but is it too late to ask for a gift?”
“I don’t know if he has a universal translator, but I’m sure he knows every fledgling wants a gift of some kind. What would you ask for? Another tart?”
“To stay here on Earth.”
Vash held himself very still. Since he’d been dreading the thought of explaining that even a jolly alien holiday godlingcouldn’t bring a dead mother back to life, he wasn’t expecting this answer. “Do you like this planet so much?”
“I know we came here just so you could give us a new Ammi—”
“Oh, Susu, that’s not what—”
“But it’s you and Yadira who are different. You’ve been so sad, and Yaya’s been mad, and now we play in the snow and make cookies.”
Vash closed his eyes against the stab of shame. He’d thought he’d done a reasonable job of providing a stable, loving home without Shanya. To hear his son’s clear and brutal experience was almost too much. But that was his to bear.
He caught Atsu’s foot beneath the blanket and gave him a squeeze. “Playing and cookies are good. But not every day can be a holiday. Even here, someday the snow will melt.”
“I told you already, then there will be roses, remember?” Atsu blinked slowly, his little voice dropping to a sleepy murmur. “But it’s not Christmas that makes your eyes sparkle, Addah. It’s Darcy.”
The stab wound in Vash’s heart burst into scalding flames. “Darcy?”
“Darcy.” The glint in his son’s eyes was a sly beast. “She lives here and made pillow forts for us and beat you at wall climbing and has shiny hair and—”
“Oh,thatDarcy.”
“If we stayed here with Darcy, you’d be happy, Yadira would have shiny hair all the time, and I suppose I’d get more tarts.”
“Atsu—”
