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benscursedkid · 2 years

Text

cookies and CANDY canes

synopsis: candy and paula return home for the holidays. saying goodbye to their friends and hello to the christmas spirit, the vigiere family try to figure out how to celebrate christmas together after all that’s changed.

↳ for the @hphmsecretsanta event

pairing: mainly just the vigiere family celebrating xmas but there’s some slight candy x talbott and paula x barnaby because i couldn’t help myself.

genre: they’re just chilling but mostly fluff ig with only a slight sprinkling of angst.

word count: 4.228

a/n: hi, candy!! merry christmas if you celebrate that!! and well, if you don’t happy holidays! i am your secret santa for this year! it was nice to get back into writing and i love candy and her family. they’re so interesting and they were very fun to write for! i tried my best to write them authentically and true to character so i hope i did them justice and i really hope you enjoy reading it as much as i enjoyed writing it. i’m sorry for this excessively long preamble but i want to wish anyone else who may be reading some happy holidays too!! enjoy <3

↳ word of caution, there’s a quick mention of talbott’s living situation written according to my hc but if it’s a bother, i made it very easy to ignore :) and i apologize for any grammar mistakes

↳ the vigiere family belongs to @immagrosscandy

December 17th, 1990.

The clunking of the train, after a while, isn’t so bothersome anymore. In fact, listening to the rhythmic way it works while watching snowflakes fall out the window―slowly, one by one―it lulls Candy into a strange place of contentment. The sky outside is gray and lacking color, but it still finds a way to instill comfort, like a light warmth settling over her. It looks rather like a blank canvas, so white and malleable. The thought manages to make her smile.

So absorbed in it all, she almost jumps when a hand lands easily on her shoulder. She turns and everything else comes back. The voices of Barnaby and her sister bickering (read flirting), the train’s whistle, the idle, distant chatter from other compartments. Yet none of those are what catches her attention.

“Oh, sorry,” Talbott apologizes quietly, retracting his hand. “I didn’t know you were asleep.”

Candy blinks and shakes her head. “No, I wasn’t,” She assures him and he nods slowly, whatever he had meant to say lost somewhere in the scene. “Was there…something you needed or…?”

Talbott seems to remember himself and shrugs with a casual effort. “Just tired of their racket is all,” he says placatingly. “I thought to ask you about your holiday plans if you don’t mind humoring me.”

A short laugh leaves her, her expression a mold of dry amusement. “Nothing grand, I assure you. Probably just the usual. Y’know, putting up a tree and making cookies to each on the couch and watching my mum try and help Paula with Christmas dinner. The works.”

“And your brother?”

That’s a bit more complicated. “He says he’ll be there but,” Now it’s Candy’s turn to shrug. “It’s a little hard to tell with him these days.” She shakes her head and turns back to him. “Enough about me even though I’m sure it must be riveting. What about you?”

“Nothing grand,” He mimics with a tiny smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. “None of us are particularly cheerful. We’ve, uh…” Talbott’s tiny smile slips downward into a puzzled frown. “We’ve kinda just started to be close so they wanted to do more this year, but given the likes of us I doubt that will mean much more cookies and candy canes.”

“Oh, have you tried the new every flavor candy canes from Berty Botts? I heard it’s part of their new Christmas collecti―”

But Candy doesn’t get to finish her thought as a thick glove connects forcefully with her face. She turns, a scowl set deep into her face as she glares at her sister.

“Finally, earth to Candy!” Paula sighs dramatically while Barnaby does his best to hide a chuckle. Traitor. “I was trying to ask you a question.”

“Right, because now I feel so inclined to answer it.”

Paula and Candy do not catch the look shared between their witnesses as their bickering goes on. But as the train gets closer and closer to the station, their smiles get softer. The snow outside falls slowly but them a little faster.

They will be home soon.

…

Candy stomps her feet at the door to get rid of the snow, Paula already shedding her hat and their mother not too far behind. Paula is talking of course, probably telling some exaggerated story but Candy can’t really hear it, too caught up in her own mind. It is not here in this house. No, it’s all the way back at King’s Cross, standing in the station.

“I know we said no gifts,” He had started as they waited for their respective guardians to arrive, shuffling slightly closer to her to avoid raising his voice. Candy’s expression must reveal something for Talbott immediately. “But it's not really present worthy anyway. I’m…not very good at gift giving so I figured I would just go for something simple that I knew you’d like.”

“Talbott…I didn’t get you anything.”

“Good,” He declares to Candy’s exasperation. “Because I’m sure you’d do better than me which would make me feel bad about my very low effort idea.”

Without any more preamble, Talbott pulls a large bar of chocolate out of his trunk, his gloved fingers gripping the best they can to the treat. Candy reaches out to take it from him and softens just slightly at the sight. It’s her favorite but of course it is. Talbott has always been a better listener than a talker.

“I know it’s not much but it’s the only thing I could think of. I don’t usually do this whole gift-giving thing so I’ll have to work on it but I figured if a bar of chocolate could at least remind you just a little bit of me over the holidays then it would be worth it,” He clears his throat and his mouth is pursed into a pout, but Candy is sure the reddening in his cheeks is not because of the cold. “Because I know I’ll be thinking of you.”

Candy doesn’t know what to say. Talbott nods stiffly in understanding and she manages to smile at him in gratitude.

“Thank you, Talbott.”

“Happy Christmas, Candy.”

“Merlin, she’s doing it again.”

Candy’s daydream clears and her surroundings come back into focus. She’s on the couch now, her sister looking at her with arms crossed and an eyebrow raised. Candy looks back at her flatly, instantly on the defensive.

“Excuse me?”

Paula rolls her eyes and sighs as their mother joins them, taking up the spot on the armchair. She tucks her feet beneath her and resigns herself to watching their quarrel with thin amusement.

“You were thinking of Talbott again, weren’t you?” Paula smirks, big talk for a little sister. She looks to their mom to offer her an aside. “He gave her a gift before you got to King’s Cross. Chocolate, obviously, and now Candy’s swooning.”

“Oh, save it, Paula. Don’t think I didn’t see the way you practically malfunctioned when Barnaby gave you a gift,” She shoots back, not willing to take this disrespect lying down. “I swear, you had actual hearts in your eyes.”

“I did not!” Paula huffs, her mouth dropping open in protest. Candy merely snorts disbelievingly and mouths a sarcastic ‘okay’. This only seems to rile her sister up further and she opens her mouth again to retort but their mother beats her to it.

She brings up a silencing hand, her posture lax and not that of a disciplinarian yet her expression is appropriately tight and terse. “That’s quite enough girls. You just got home. Don’t you think you can find a better use of your time?”

It’s not a question but after sharing a look of sour understanding with Paula, Candy replies to it anyway. “Like what?”

“Are we putting up the tree today, Mum?” Paula asks, her posture loosening at the idea, her eyes sparkling infinitesimally.

Both sisters look, now in a ceasefire, look to their mother expectantly. Christine swallows thickly and her expression reveals nothing. “We will be waiting for your brother to get home before we do, Paula.”

“And when will that be?” Candy comments more than asks, her tone more rhetoric than curious.

Christine pauses. “It shouldn’t be long now. Maybe you can put your present under the tree once we put it up, Paula.”

Paula nods but the tiny bit of excitement she had before is gone. Blown out like a candle. If either of them notice it, they don’t mention it. Candy sighs and stands, walking over to grab her trunk.

“Well, if that’s all then I’m going to unpack my things.”

Paula and her mum mumble vacant replies and Candy wheels her trunk down the hall to her room. Her eyes wander and, for a moment, catch on the refraction of light against a glass frame.

The photo is common enough, nothing too special looking. Hell, Candy’s even wearing a sweatshirt way too big for her tiny frame and Jacob sports a bandaid visible on his knee. The only one even smiling is Paula, gap toothed and shining. In the loop, Candy watches her younger self strain to stay still, looking back off into the distance. Paula blinks furiously as the camera flashes and Jacob…well, he doesn’t look like he feels much at all. When was this taken? Eleven―twelve years ago?

The sun in the background is setting and Candy thinks there’s likely something poetic to be said about the sun setting on that part of her life but she can’t be bothered to think of it now. She turns away from the picture and finishes the walk to her room.

December 19th, 1990.

Her quill pauses on the parchment, attempting to conjure up anything of interest in her holiday break. With how cold it is outside, Candy has remained strictly inside the past two days and there’s only so many board games and rounds of charades one can play. At least she can see a little color in the sky now. Pastel blue is much better than grey.

Luckily, her thinking is interrupted by the sound of the front door. There’s only one person that could be.

Candy drops her quill without thought and pushes out of her chair. Her hands tuck into her pockets as she leaves her room, her footsteps muted by the new rug in the hallway.

Her mouth opens, ready to offer some sort of quick retort but she hesitates at the sound of hushed voices. Her brows furrow and she leans closer.

“―lo, Mum.” Comes her brother’s voice for sure.

A moment of silence passes. “You’re late, Jacob. You were supposed to be here two days ago.”

A heavy sigh follows. Tired and a little ragged as though he were expelling much more than just a breath. “I know, I’m sorry. I had a few more things to take care of first.” He whispers back.

Candy can practically see the look their mother gives him. The one that hovers somewhere between the average frown and a scowl. There’s a ruffling sound and she imagines Jacob shrugging out of his coat, hanging it up on the coat hanger by the door.

“I hardly think that whatever you were doing was more important than being here with your family, Jacob.” Her mother chastises but her tone is flat, the disappointment only something someone accustomed to her mannerisms could sense. “We’ve been waiting for you.”

Jacob doesn’t respond. Christine pushes on.

“What if someone followed you? Then you’d have led them right to the rest of us!”

“Mum, no one followed m―”

“If that were the case then we’d already be screwed.” Candy interjects, revealing herself by coming around the corner. She leans sideways against the wall, her eyebrows raised slightly in a sense of casual arrogance. Her body language is loose and disinterested though the revelation that she’d been eavesdropping alluding to exactly the opposite.

Another pause. Neither of them look away from her. They both stare in muted shock, as though they were biting back their expressions. Both appear to be unable to respond.

She saves them the trouble.

“So,” Candy begins as though the exchange she just witnessed had never happened. So casual you’d think she was commenting on the weather. It is rather poor. “Will the tree finally be set up today? Now that Jacob is here?”

Jacob and Christine blink in unison. They nod.

“Yes,” Her mother confirms, her voice a little scratchy. “It will.”

Candy hums in acknowledgement and turns her head to shout down the hall. “Paula! Jacob’s home!”

A beat. Shuffling. Her door opens. Footsteps.

Paula rounds the corner, covered head-to-toe in what could be considered obnoxiously Christmasy pajamas despite it being the middle of the day. But Candy is certainly not one to judge.

She shuffles into the middle of the room, looking back and forth between Jacob and Christine.

“Hi, Paula.” Jacob offers lamely as way of greeting and Candy snorts in quiet laughter. He sends her what she thinks is meant to be a glare but it looks far from threatening.

“So, you’re finally home, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“Great!” Pauls claps, rubbing her hands together like a cartoon villain. “Does that mean it’s tree time?”

Candy thinks she catches a smile on her mother’s face.

“It does.”

Which, of course, is all to say: Currently, Candy makes herself comfortable in the armchair as Jacob, Paula, and Christine all struggle with the tree lights. They attempted to hang them on the tree when there’s still a tangled ball at the end. With all three of them squeezing into the corner of the living room, it offers them little space to actually hang the damned thing.

Candy snickers and takes a small sip of her hot chocolate, nodding her chin towards the tree. “It looks a little crooked from here, guys.”

Paula huffs and drops her section of the lights, causing Jacob to scramble to catch them before they reach the floor. “Then why don’t you get off your ass and help us? Hm?”

She looks to Jacob and her mother…who both pointedly look away from her.

With a dramatic sigh, Candy pulls herself up onto her feet and shuffles over to the tree. Her mum hands her a small sector and Candy frowns as she sees how tangled it is. With another sigh, she reigns herself to sitting back down on the couch and meticulously begins the detangling process. Paula grins satisfactorily and Candy sends her a small scowl.

It doesn’t take long for them to figure out the tumultuous light task and they quickly move on to ornaments. It doesn’t hit her until they’re halfway through the generic box of bobbles her mum bought why this task feels so redundant.

“Why are we even doing this all by hand, anyway?” She asks at the tree, struggling to reach a higher branch. She gives up and hangs her red bobble somewhere else.

Silence follows her statement. With her back turned to the tree to grab another ornament, she doesn’t see the look shared between her mum and her brother.

“Well,” Jacob starts, his voice slightly hoarse and he clears his throat. “I think it’s a nice idea, Candy. It, uh, brings us closer together. Y’know, with…quality time…”

Candy shakes her head but doesn’t disagree and returns to her professional task of ornament hanging. They settle into a semi-comfortable silence for a short while. Only the sounds of shuffling feet and ruffling branches break it up. The only sign they have that time has passed is the darkening of the sky outside.

“What’s that?”

All heads turn to Jacob at his interruption. He’s pointing off towards the couch and Candy turns her head to look―

“N-None of your business!” Paula blushes slightly, scooting over to stand in front of it, successfully blocking it from Jacob’s view. “Besides, it’s not yours anyway so what does it matter? It’s nothing.”

Jacob doesn’t take her word for it and walks around the tree to get a closer look but Paula shifts again to stand between him and the mystery object. Candy frowns in confusion and looks to her mum who also watches on with barely distinguishable amusement.

Candy shifts in her place to peer around Paula.

She smirks.

“Oh. That.” Candy snickers, casting her sister an evil look. “That’s nothing, Jacob. Just the present she got from her boyfriend―I mean, her friend, Barnaby. My mistake.”

She waves a dismissive hand and Paula glares at her. Jacob, on the other hand, arches an eyebrow at the both of them, adopting an expression of suspicious interest in their new conversation topic.

“Boyfriend, huh?”

“No,” Paula denies in irritation, crossing her arms over her chest. “No boyfriend. Barnaby is just a friend―”

“Aw, don’t say that, Paula. He’ll be devastated to hear that.”

“Candy,” Paula seethes, her face flushed thinly in annoyance. “Shut. Up.”

“Paula…” Jacob starts awkwardly, his chest puffing up and Candy doesn’t even make an effort to cover her laugh.

“Hey,” Christine mumbles but they all hear it. Most of all Paula who clearly will accept any excuse or chance to change the subject. “Look, the tree’s all done.”

It takes Candy aback and she takes some backward steps to take in the sight of a completed tree.

Hm. Well…the garland (since when was that put up?) is a little crooked and the lights are definitely crooked and some of the ornaments are too concentrated in one area with a couple of empty, patchy spots that probably should be taken care of but…it could be much worse, she decides.

Laughter proceeds her thought and Candy realizes she has said it aloud. She smiles.

They all share a brief nod of proud accomplishment before Paula claps and leaves to grab some cookies and candy canes from the kitchen.

December 24th…or early 25th, 1990.

She was having a good sleep tonight. No dreams, that’s how she likes it. No chances of nightmares. She can’t remember the last time she slept that well. It’s quite bothersome that she was pulled from her sleep, all because of a parched throat.

With a dragging sigh, Candy throws her blanket off and rubs sleepily at her eyes. She’s not sure what time it is but she knows it’s far too late to be awake.

Her feet touch the cool hardwood floor and she pulls a smaller blanket around her shoulders with her eyelids still fluttering open and closed. She pads out of her room not-so-quietly, her footsteps heavy like leaden weights. The floorboard creaking beneath her.

The winter draft chills her bare feet. She turns the corner and it’s the first thing she sees.

A figure, hunched into a seat on the rocking chair in front of the window. She can hear the window whistling from outside, but otherwise all else is silent. Despite the noise she’s sure she made to get here with the creaky floor and her stomping steps, the person does not move. They just continue staring out at the moon peeking through the trees, watching absently as snow falls.

Candy takes another step and Christine turns her head to look at her in what she thinks is supposed to be some form of greeting or acknowledgement. But from a stranger’s perspective, it would seem that the mother and daughter are simply staring at each other without purpose.

Without a single word spoken between the two, Candy looks away and walks over to the fridge. It doesn’t strike her this late at night to use magic and so she finds herself manually looking for an appropriately sized glass and getting herself some water.

She doesn’t take a sip. Instead, she strides lazily over to take a seat on the cushion in front of the window. her mother just watches her, content to remain silent.

Candy brings the glass to her lips. She offers Christine a nod. Of sympathy, understanding, or merely in greeting she doesn’t really know. But her mother seems to find something in her stare for she smiles in what Candy can only define as gratitude.

They both look back to the moon and forget about everything else for a while.

Definitely December 25th, 1990. Christmas.

The pillow hits Candy’s face offensively, an attack if she’s ever known one. Paula says something or other about Christmas and presents and ‘get the fuck up’. So, naturally, Candy takes her time rising from her bed.

She yawns and runs at her eyes, staring at the ceiling. She tries to keep her eyes from closing but Paula pounds on her door so Candy groans and pulls herself together. She runs a brush through her hair and ties it quickly into a braid before pushing open her door.

Walking into the living room, she can see through the windows lots of snow. It’s not a shock really because it’s been snowing all week but it’s still a pleasant sight to be greeted with on Christmas morning. The sun isn’t shining though but it’s a small price to pay for the scenery. And her family—Jacob, Paula, and her mother—all sit around the tree shoved into the corner of the room. Jacob on a pillow on the floor, her mother in the rocking chair, and Paula on the couch, glaring at her for her tardiness.

“Oh, wow, she’s alive.” Paula rolls her eyes impatiently.

“Yes and lucky for you I’ve decided to grave you with my presence. You’re welcome.”

“Stop,” Jacob sighs, waving his hands in a ceasing gesture. He points to the tree and picks up a random gift. “Let’s just start opening these, yeah? This one’s for…oh, me.”

“Open it then.” Paula says back, all traces of her earlier attitude gone.

Meticulously, Jacob pulls the wrapping paper apart and beneath is a medium sized long box. Popping the lid open, he finds a thick black coat. The fabric looks soft but durable from where Candy sits on the armchair. Jacob studies it for a moment before looking at the signed tag on the wrapping paper.

“Thank you, Mum,” He offers Christine what Candy would call his most comfortable smile yet. Looking at it, it reminds her of the smile he used to have. Years and years ago. “I needed a new one.”

Christine nods. “I’m aware. The one you always come back in is nearly torn and don’t think I haven’t seen those scorch marks. I never ask about it because I doubt I’d be happy with the response but I figured you’d get some good use out of this.”

“I will.” Jacob assures her and that ends that.

She points idly to another gift close by. “That one is for Paula. Pass it to her, would you?”

The rest of the morning is spent like this. The gifts all get passed around, greeted with various levels of enjoyment and satisfaction. Paula’s present ended up being clothes and a pair of shoes. Trivial to Candy, but she knows Paula likes them. Which is why she went down the same path and got her a nice jacket. Jacob gifted Paula yet another pair of shoes but there were more for functionality than fashion and Candy a few tubes of expensive paints. Most of her gifts were of a similar sort, not that she’s complaining. And Jacob received a fancy wand holder from his sisters since his last one was ruined.

Then came time for Christine’s gift. A collective effort to purchase from a muggle store, Candy will admit she was particularly excited to watch her mother open this one.

“It’s from a muggle store?” Christine asks, slightly suspicious. She eyes the gift as though she were struggling to see through it.

“We all think it will keep you entertained while we’re off on our own endeavors.” Jacob supplies helpfully, though from the look on her face it doesn’t appear to help Christine any.

She opens it slowly, her brows wrinkled in between and her lips pursed in a curious frown. Once she gets to the box with a display of the gift on it, she sighs at a loss.

“What is it?”

“It’s a television—”

“It’s so cool, Mum,” Paula cuts Jacob off and he and Candy share an exasperated look. “You can entertain yourself! You can watch movies on there.” She says the word movies with a reverence rarely associated with her.

“Movies?”

“It’s like, moving pictures,” Candy finally elaborates, her typical amused smirk on her face. “Except they all come together to tell a long story. Not to agree with Paula but it is pretty cool.”

Paula huffs and Jacob manages a laugh. Christine’s eyes spark just a little in a way all too similar to Candy’s as she studies it. “I see. And do any of you actually know how to put it together?”

They stop and look at each other. Embarrassment and a small dose of hope that someone else will speak up.

“Uh, no,” Jacob answers when it becomes clear they are all in agreement. “But it should come with a manual. Hopefully we’ll be able to put it together with magic.”

“Bing, Bam, Boom, problem solved,” Candy snaps and nods over to the last present still sitting under the tree. “So, Paula, ready to open the gift from your Lover Boy?”

Paula flushes spitefully and opens her mouth to argue most likely but she gets cut off by the ringing of the doorbell.

None of them speak so Candy rises to her feet with a shrug and walks over to the door. Paula complains, stating that she still hasn’t even started dinner yet and they’re already behind schedule but Candy’s hand is already on the door.

…carolers?

Four carolers, to be precise. All dressed up warm and snug, cheeks and noses rosy and smiles split wide with holiday cheer. Candy frowns at them but their spirits do not waver.

Shuffling is heard behind her and the carolers watch as her family joins her in the doorway, possibly roused from her lack of reaction. Their gazes flit between the four of them with a healthy dash of doubt.

If she had seen herself, Candy would say it looks rather similar to the ending of a superhero movie.

“H-Hi, Happy Christmas. You must be the Vigieries. We’ve just stopped by to spread some cheer—”

Paula groans.

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.

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