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A warm, tiny hand on her cheek was the first thing to greet Puffy when she awoke Christmas morning. Hazel eyes fluttered open, vision bleary as they did their best to blink away the sleep. A scarred face came into focus as Puffy adjusted to being awake. A milky green gaze was staring into her general direction, an excited smile accompanying the eagerness in those same irises.
“Well, good morning to you too,” she smiled, sitting up to release a satisfied groan as she stretched, arms above her head. When she lowered them, the small child was already worming his way into them, slinging his short arms around her neck. She chuckled, hugging him back, feeling him smile against her shoulder. “You excited, duckling?”
It would be their first Christmas together, Puffy having found Dream about a month ago. Puffy was thrilled for today. She had spent quite some time finding the crafting the perfect gift for her little duckling, making sure it was something made with love and effort. Just thinking about it sent a rush of delight through her veins. She always did like giving more than getting, after all. This gift was just slightly more special than all the others.
“Alright, Dream,” Puffy sighed, gently rubbing his back as she spoke. “It’s time to get ready for the day.” Dream let out a small whine, but pulled away from her embrace nonetheless. A small smile tugged at Puffy’s lips when she saw the pajamas he donned, having put him in them the night before. “Awe, okay. You don’t have to change, but I do,” she grinned at him, leaving the comfort of her warm bed, only to grimace at the brush of cold air that caressed the exposed skin of her arms. “Wait here, bub. I’ll get us some breakfast and then we can open presents,” she told him, nodding back at him when he nodded at her. With that, she left the room, silence quickly taking advantage of her absence.
Dream sighed, letting himself snuggle into the still-warm blankets of the freshly vacated area. Usually it was him giving out presents on Christmas day, but things were different now. He was adjusting to being a kid again, memories of his adult life blurred, slippery, and barely there. At this point, the god had accepted being stuck in this form, finding it harder to care as he felt his eyelids fall shut. Maybe, just maybe, he could accept being this way. It wasn’t all bad, after all.
By the time Puffy came back, Dream had fallen asleep once again. He was curled up into a small ball, breathing even. The woman felt herself internally “awe” at the sight. Dream was clad in a soft green onesie, differently sized snowmen scattered all over the fabric. She smiled as she walked over to him, gently shaking him awake.
“Come on, Dream. We gotta go have breakfast, and I have something to show you,” she said, voice lowering to a whisper. Hazel eyes watched with amusement as the dirty blond child perked up, small fists rubbing at his green eyes. “Come on, give me your hand,” the sheep hybrid requested, lightly touching his hand with hers. He murmured something unintelligible as she did so, grabbing onto her hand and letting her pull him out of the warm bed. From there, he was promptly lifted into her arms as she noted the sleepiness within his gaze.
The mouth-watering scent of freshly baked bread and omelets swirled in the air as she walked to the kitchen, tenderly setting the small child into a nearby chair. She moved into the kitchen, picking up both of their plates and bringing them to the table.
“Here, duckling. You gotta eat before we can do anything,” she said, smiling when he took the offered fork from her hand. They ate in comfortable silence, the occasional tink of Dream missing where his food was being the only sound to accompany them. Puffy was quick to take care of the dishes once they had finished, giddiness filling her at the idea of showing Dream what was outside.
She was quick to put his normal green hoodie on him, taking his small hand into hers once more. “C’mon, let’s go. Like I said, I have something to show you!” She was practically vibrating with excitement. Dream giggled, doing his best to keep up with her. “You ready?” she asked once they were at the door. Dream nodded quickly, bouncing on his heels. “Go ahead.”
Dream walked out into the cold air, letting out an amused huff as the frigid air bit at his small nose and chubby cheeks. He waited for a few seconds before turning around to look at where he assumed Puffy to be, confusion painted on his face.
“Here,” Puffy said gently, kneeling against the cold ground. She pulled Dream towards her, taking his hand and placing it onto the ground next to her.
The gasp the blond released when he felt the ground made Puffy giggle. She only laughed harder as he started patting the ground with both hands, shock apparent on his face.
“Snow, Dream. It finally snowed!” she said happily, watching him with amusement. He nodded absentmindedly, much more focused on the cold substance against his hands. A fond smile made its way onto Puffy’s face as she let him play in the snow, calling out to him after a few minutes. “Alright, Dream! We have time to play later. We have some gifts to open!”
The pair made their way inside to the small Christmas tree Puffy had brought in a couple weeks ago. Presents of all sizes surrounded it, some with a card attached, others with only a small tag. The short woman smiled internally, hoping all her friends were enjoying their Christmases so far. She made a small mental note about having to visit later.
Dream hummed as he skimmed his small hands along the gifts, lips being tugged into a smile. Yeah, he thought to himself, this is way different than normal. I wonder if any of these are for me, or if they’re all for Mom—Puffy, I mean. Puffy. He came back to reality when a hand squeezed his shoulder, a voice knocking him back into his senses.
“-pick one,” the voice finished. He raised his eyebrows, letting his hands roam as he surveyed the presents. It was the first present. It needed to be something special, he decided as his hands passed wrapped box after wrapped box, only stopping at the feel of something circular.
“That one?” his mother—Puffy asked. He felt himself nod, hands gently picking up the gift. “That one’s for you, duckling. Go ahead and open it.” He held out his hand, waiting for her to guide him back to her before he opened it. Rustling filled the air before she grabbed his hand, pulling him into her lap. “Let’s see what it is!” she said, smile evident in her voice.
He nodded, ripping the wrapping off, only to feel smooth porcelain against his fingertips. He let his fingers glide over it, dragging them against the outer shape of it, along the leather-feeling band in the back, doing his best to picture it in his mind. This was familiar. The feel was similar to that of... of his past mask.
“Do you like it?” Puffy asked tentatively, nervousness laced within her tone. Dream was silent for a few seconds before he placed it down. The woman let out a small sigh as he did so. “Oh, that’s alri-” she was cut off as Dream turned around in her lap, launching himself at her the best he could. She let out a surprised noise, arms settling around him. “I take this as a ‘yes’?” she laughed, drawing him close.
He nodded against her, fighting back tears. Maybe Puffy didn’t know how much his mask truly meant to him, maybe she never would, but the gift was enough to prove she genuinely cared about him. To Dream, that meant more than the world’s weight in gold; netherite, even. He pulled back, wiping his sleeve against his nose as Puffy swiped her thumbs under his eyes.
“Don’t cry, duckling, it’s okay. We have more gifts to open,” she murmured to him, running her hand through his soft hair. He nodded, settling in her lap once more as she reached past him to grab the next one. “This one’s from Niki,” she noted, skimming over the kind note the girl had left. Within the box were a few specially decorated cookies and a small cake with the words “HAPPY HOLIDAYS!” printed neatly across the top.
The rest of the present-opening went by quickly: a book here, some food there. Dream was getting antsy as time went on. Unbeknownst to his mother ( PUFFY! he internally corrected himself), he had also put a gift in the bunch. She had yet to find it, but he doubted it was hard to do. He did the best he could with wrapping, but he knew the present didn’t look the greatest from the outside.
Finally, the time came. Puffy was about to get up and start cleaning when she noticed the last gift, sneakily hidden away behind the tree. She cocked an eyebrow, leaning forward to pick it up.
“Hm? What’s this?” she questioned, gaining Dream’s attention. He reached out his hands for it, giving her a small smile when she set it in his grasp. He let out a small gasp when he felt it, excitedly pushing it back into her hold and leaving her lap. “Did you make this?” she asked him, noticing how the young boy was practically vibrating in place. He nodded enthusiastically, motioning for her to go on and open it.
Her deft fingers worked carefully to open the wrapping, quickly getting through it. She was greeted with a plain box, the top looking to be removable. Hazel irises spared a glance at Dream, who seemed to be completely enthralled in the noises of the gift being opened. She gently took the top off, letting out a silent “awe” when she saw what was inside.
Resting neatly on a pile of ribbon was a ring hung on a small necklace. Upon further inspection, Puffy saw the words “I love you” engraved within the inside of the ring. Small, shimmering diamonds embedded within the gold band glinted from the sunlight streaming through the windows.
“Dream,” she gasped, eyes watering as she stared at it in wonder. “Did you make this with Phil?” she asked. “It’s gorgeous,” she murmured when he nodded. “I love it. Thank you, duckling. I’ll never take this off,” she promised him, putting it around her neck. “Come here.” She beckoned him closer, drawing him into a warm hug.
“I love you, duckling. Merry Christmas,” she whispered quietly into his ear, happiness shining through her voice.
And if it weren’t for the silence filling the room, she might’ve missed the small voice answering her with, “I love you too, Momma. Merry Christmas.”