Work Text:
Christmas Morning
Wednesday could feel a set of eyes on her. That could only mean one thing. Xavier was awake.
She opened her eyes and smiled softly at the pair of mossy green eyes looking right at her. They smiled back. She had been smiling a lot ever since she agreed to marry him, but only in his presence. She wouldn’t be caught dead showing her smile to anyone other than him. About fifteen years ago, she promised him she would never hide from him and try to be more affectionate, and she was proud to say she kept that promise.
“Good morning, Cara Mia,” he said.
“Good morning, Mon Cher,” she said. She stretched her arms above her head and pulled her lower muscles taut. Nothing was better than an early morning stretch, but stretching her own muscles didn’t quite compare to stretching them on the rack, however; today was Christmas, and she wouldn’t have time to stretch out so this would have to do.
He reached out and smoothed her hair away from her face. “Do you know what I love about you?” he asked.
“Everything?” she said.
Xavier snorted. “Wow, so humble.”
“Life is too short to be humble,” she said. “But go ahead and tell me what you were going to say.”
“I love how stoic you are. You’re like a perfectly sculpted statue most of the time, except for the few people you hold close, but even then, it’s obvious that your guard is still up,” he said. “But with me, you show me everything. You let me see you when you’re at your most vulnerable and you let me know what you’re thinking. I used to want to crack your skull open so I could read your thoughts, but now I don’t have to. You let me in without me having to ask first.”
“You are the only one worthy of knowing all of me, my love,” she said. “I trust you completely.”
She leaned towards him and kissed him. Deep down, Wednesday was a secret romantic. She spent most of her youth not knowing it, but she supposed it was bound to happen after all those years of watching her parents quote poetry to each other and dance intimately every chance they got. With that kind of influence, how else would she be? Romance and love used to nauseate her. It was a feeling she never wanted to have and did whatever she could to avoid it. She thought that by giving herself fully to someone else, it meant she had to give up her independence and lose pieces of herself. But that couldn’t have been farther from the truth.
With Xavier, she was free to be whoever she wanted to be. She was still Wednesday Addams at her core – cynical, rude, spooky – except she had evolved into a more refined version of herself. Her complex character was layered and full of secrets, secrets only Xavier was allowed to know. He would kill for her, and he would die for her. With a man like that, how could she possibly be anything but open?
“Let’s stay in bed all day and ignore our houseguests,” she said.
“As much as I want to, you know we can’t,” he said. “It’s Christmas and Enid would literally kill us if we tried skipping out on all the family activities.”
Wednesday groaned and threw the blankets aside, getting out of bed. She stomped into the bathroom and left the door open behind her. Xavier continued talking.
“If you get overstimulated and need a break, let me know and I’ll make sure everyone knows not to bother you until you’re ready to come back.”
She gave him another one of her small smiles. She appreciated his understanding more than she could ever verbalize.
He smiled back at her. “I know it’s going to be a long couple of days with everyone getting together, but it will be worth it,” he said. “I know how much you love seeing our friends even though you’ll never admit it. And when the holidays are over and everyone goes back home, I’m taking you on a mini vacation. Just you, me, and the Bermuda Triangle. Lilith and Thing can stay with my dad until they go back to Nevermore.”
Wednesday practically swooned. The Bermuda Triangle was where they spent part of their honeymoon, and it was her favorite place to revisit. Now that she had something to look forward to, she was much more eager to get started with the day.
Every year, the Nightshades all got together for Christmas. This year, only Enid and Ajax, Tyler and his husband Greg, and their children could make it by Christmas Day to Wednesday and Xavier’s mansion in the dead center of the Appalachian Mountains. Everyone else would be two days late.
This Christmas was special. It was Wednesday and Xavier’s first Christmas with their adopted daughter Lilith. Wednesday never wanted children and had taken extra precautions not to have any of her own, but Lilith had fallen into their laps and taken them by surprise just as all of her friends had at Nevermore. Lilith was courageous and snarky like Wednesday while thoughtful and kind like Xavier. It was like the universe hand picked the perfect child for Wednesday and left her on their doorstep.
All of these new developments over the years continued to surprise Wednesday. She always thought she knew what she wanted in life, but as she found out year after year, she didn’t know a damn thing after all. She was learning to stop planning out her life and learn to live in the moment. It wasn’t going quite as smoothly as she had planned, but she was managing.
***
Christmas Afternoon
Enid, bossy as ever, corralled everyone into the living room to open presents. With the amount of people and presents under the tree, it was sure to be an unorganized circus. Not on Enid’s watch. Enid kept everyone on track and organized. Not a single shred of wrapping paper was on the floor for more than ten seconds before being scooped up and thrown into a garbage bag. All the gifts were unwrapped and cleaned up in thirty minutes. Wednesday was proud of Enid’s leadership and grateful that her house wasn’t destroyed.
Afterwards, everyone sat in the kitchen eating the breakfast Thing and Xavier whipped up. They spent all morning talking, laughing, and eating. It was the perfect morning.
“Hey, Kent is Facetiming me,” Tyler said. “Everyone be quiet.”
“Kent!” Enid cried excitedly. She ran over and hovered behind Tyler’s shoulder. Ajax and Xavier followed suit.
Kent’s smiling face popped up on the screen. “Hey guys! Merry Christmas!”
“Merry Christmas!” multiple voices chorused.
“What’s up man?” Ajax asked.
Kent’s smile grew. “I ordered something for Wednesday,” he said. He pulled the phone away from his face and checked his notifications. “It should be at your front door right now.”
Wednesday glared at Kent through Tyler’s phone and stalked off to the front door. A surprise from Kent was never a good thing. He loved playing practical jokes on her. She could only imagine what he had in store for her today.
Xavier followed behind her and opened the front door. On the other side was a group of carolers.
“We wish you a Merry Christmas! We wish you a Merry Christmas!” they sang. Wednesday’s eyes widened in horror. She was going to kill Kent when he got there. Xavier laughed as Wednesday slammed the door in the carolers faces.
“Thing!” Wednesday yelled.
Thing sprang into action and scurried out the door. Moments later the singing stopped and was replaced by horrified screams. Wednesday smiled.
“Dude why didn’t I think of that?” Ajax asked. “Wednesday and carolers are a classic mix!”
“Kent, you idiot,” they heard a gentle female voice say through the phone.
“Dee!” Enid screamed. “Oh my God I missed you so much! How far away are you?”
Divina pushed Kent out of the frame and smiled at Enid. “We’re about fourteen hours away. Someone booked the wrong flight.”
“Hey it’s not my fault the website was confusing!” Kent protested.
Divina rolled her eyes. “We should add Bianca, Yoko, and Eugene to the call.”
A couple minutes later the Nightshades were reunited, minus Pugsley. He was currently imprisoned in a maximum-security prison. Wednesday expected him to break out in time for the Christmas party.
“Are we all wearing matching Christmas sweaters this year?” Divina asked.
“Hell no!” Yoko said. “Those sweaters were so tacky. You guys can wear it but count me out.”
“I liked the reindeer sweaters we wore a few years ago,” Eugene said.
“The ones with the fat ass nose? Hell yeah those were comfy!” Kent said.
“The only Christmas sweaters we’re wearing this year are Enid Sinclair originals,” Enid said proudly.
Ajax put his arm around her and kissed the side of her face. He was currently wearing his own Enid Sinclair original. All of his clothes were made by her. His wife was the biggest designer in the world, so he had to rep the brand of his favorite person.
“Addams,” Bianca said, “I better have a room with a decent view this year. If you put me in the room overlooking the monster cages again, I’m going to have some choice words for you.”
Wednesday snatched the phone out of Tyler’s hand. “Eugene is taking the room overlooking the monster cages,” she said.
“Sweet!” Eugene said.
“Your room will be on the ground floor close to the exit. I placed you there so if you require more accommodations, you’ll have an easier time vacating my property.”
Bianca smirked. Over the years, Wednesday and Bianca had slipped into their own unique friendship of throwing snarky remarks and challenging each other to petty competitions. To an outsider, their comments would sound like they hated each other, but to everyone who knew them, it was just playful banter.
“Can’t wait to see it,” Bianca said.
The friends talked for a while longer. Before the call ended, Tyler suggested they all move in together. “It would cut back on travel costs and make getting together so much easier,” he said.
“Yes! Forget going to a nursing home. Let’s all buy one giant house and move in together when we retire,” Divina said.
Wednesday’s face turned paler than normal. “That sounds like a fate worse than death,” she said.
Enid stuck her tongue out at her playfully before turning back to Tyler’s phone. “Don’t listen to Wens. That sounds like a great idea!” she said. “We’ll talk more about it when you guys get here. Now hurry up! I miss you guys!”
Everyone took their turns saying their goodbyes. When it was Wednesday’s turn, she averted her eyes and stared up at the ceiling. “To hell and back,” she grumbled, her version of I love you.
As much as she despised how loud her friends were and their ridiculous ideas like matching Christmas sweaters and living together, she loved them. They had all come a long way in their journey together and there was not a second of it that she would take back. When she looked at her friends who became her family, she knew she was home.
All the angst, the fighting, and the hurt had been worth it in the end. As Xavier once put it, “Our experiences brought us closer together and made the end result feel so much more earned because of it. You are the biggest headache and at times you can be an absolute nightmare, but you are my nightmare girl, and I would never trade you or our experiences for anything in the world.” The same applied to her friends. They gave her headaches and made her want to commit murder, but they were hers and she wouldn’t trade them for the world.
***
Christmas Night
Wednesday was ready for the night to be over. It had been a long day of Christmas joy and togetherness, but she was spent. She was glad everyone tapered off and started to do their own thing. Tyler and his husband Greg were sitting by the fire discussing sports and computer analytics, an odd combination.
She was still amazed by how far Tyler had come since she first met him. He was no longer the Tyler Galpin she once knew. After being stripped of the Hyde and given a second chance at life, he was reborn as a new person. He took his second chance and never once made her or any of the others regret giving it to him. He had used it well and created a wonderful life for himself, his husband, and their son Caleb. The difference between who Tyler once was and who he was now was night and day. He truly was a man she was glad to know.
Enid and Ajax sat in the living room discussing what food to make throughout the week when the old gang finally got back together. “I think we should make homemade pizzas on Tuesday,” Enid said.
“Babe that’s such a good idea,” Ajax said. “I want mine with ham and pineapple.”
Enid’s face twisted into disgust. “Pineapple does not belong on pizza.”
“How many times do I have to tell you that the sweetness of the pineapple perfectly contrasts the saltiness of the pizza!”
“It’s a crime against pizza!”
“You literally put pickles on your peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Who are you to tell me what goes on pizza?”
“Guys! Guys!” Xavier said. “It’s been twenty-five years and you’re still arguing about this?”
Enid and Ajax smiled at each other. “There’s no one I’d rather argue with about pizza toppings,” Enid said.
“Ditto.”
Xavier shook his head, an amused smile on his face. He walked past them and joined Wednesday in her favorite dark corner of the room. He pressed her favorite coffee mug into her waiting hand. “Poor Waverly and Nick have to referee their own parents every pizza night in their house,” he said.
Wednesday took a sip of her coffee.
“What are you thinking?” he asked.
She took another sip, quietly contemplating her answer. “I’m thinking about our family,” she said.
He linked his pinky finger with hers on her free hand. Years ago, when they were only kids, linking pinky fingers was a compromise between two people who weren’t quite ready to love each other yet. Now it was the ultimate display of love, comfort, and reassurance.
“We built a beautiful family together,” he said. “It’s everything I’ve ever wanted.”
She squeezed his finger and kissed his lips.
Laughter coming from the kitchen caught her attention. She looked around the corner and saw Lilith, Nick, Waverly, and Caleb decorating Christmas cookies with Thing. Watching Lilith and her friend’s children interact was like traveling back in time and watching herself and her friends. The way Lilith and Nick spoke and stole glances at each other reminded her of herself and Xavier, and Waverly and Caleb were just like Enid and Ajax. Wednesday didn’t need to be a psychic to see their future.
When she looked at them, she saw many more Christmases to come. Each year, her family would expand as their children had children, and again when their children’s children had children. The Addams-Thorpe legacy would continue through Lilith and would go on for many more generations after Wednesday was long gone. This knowledge brought her a kind of joy she never would have imagined possible. She never pictured herself being happy about her family expanding, but now that she was here, she was. She was incredibly, eternally happy.
In life, we are given two choices: either we stand in our own way and become our own worst enemy, or we take a deep breath and jump headfirst into the unknown. It took a while and the journey was far from easy, but Wednesday eventually found her way out of the labyrinth of suffering, finding herself and her chosen family along the way. And all it took was just ten seconds of insane courage.
Did they go on to live happily ever after like in the movies? Well, no. No one does. But they were happy, and they did go on to live full lives.