Chapter 54 #2
“I thought you could use a prop like the one you got for Orion,” Cato says with a smirk.
“You want me to roleplay as a cowboy? Shouldn’t you have asked Hestia about that?” Magnus says.
“How do you know I didn’t ask her?”
“Because I know you. You didn’t ask.”
“Fine, you caught me,” Cato says, smile still in place. “Pet, do you want to see him in the hat?”
“Yes! That is, if you’re okay with it,” I say.
Magnus puts it on and tips the brim at me.
I giggle. “It looks great on you.”
He smiles and my heart races, the shadows it casts making him seem like a mysterious stranger.
Cato is right, this is a good roleplaying idea.
Before Magnus sets the hatbox aside, he pulls another box out of it. He reads whatever is written on the lid and opens it.
“What is it?” I ask impatiently.
Magnus sighs and holds up a tiny cowboy hat. “Why does Pete need one too?”
“I figured you’d want to match,” Cato says while I laugh.
“I thought my hat was supposed to be a bedroom thing.”
“There’s no reason you can’t wear it while you garden too, and then you’ll be happy to have matching hats,” Cato says.
Magnus sighs again, but gently puts the miniature version of his cowboy hat on Pete. Pete rubs his head, adjusting it, and resumes eating.
I gasp and stifle my giggles, not wanting to risk Pete’s ire. Now he looks just like I imagined him in the Big Tex books! That would make Magnus Big Tex, the perfect duo.
They look so cute in their matching hats, I’m pleased they keep them on while we open the rest of the presents.
Henri unwraps a remote-controlled car, another gift from Cato. It has a camera mounted on it that lets you watch the feed on your phone. Henri tests it out, driving through the piles of discarded wrapping paper and zooming across the room, eventually coming over to bump against my feet.
I smile and wave at it, and Henri shows us how good the video quality is on his screen.
“I thought you’d enjoy look at Hestia from that angle,” Cato says.
“That’s not—I’m not going to use it like that,” Henri says, blushing.
I give Henri a secret smile. If he’s still embarrassed about watching me, I’m happy to keep it between us until he’s comfortable enough to share it with the others.
Finally, we’re down to the last few presents. Orion picks up his box, and I stop him before he opens it.
“I’d like for all of you to open my gift at the same time. You should each have a box with gold wrapping paper and a red bow,” I say and wait as they find theirs.
“I know I got you other things too, but this is the main gift I wanted to give you. I hope you like it,” I say shyly, and gesture for them to go ahead.
“I’m sure we’ll love it,” Charm says while Cato tears into his present.
The others rush to catch up.
“Did you make this?” Orion asks, holding up his knit sweater.
“Yes. It should fit okay, but if not, I can fix it. I based the size on your other clothes since I wanted to keep this a secret,” I ramble nervously.
“This is amazing. The mountains look exactly like the Fossfells. You even included the waterfalls and stars falling in the sky.” Orion pauses and looks closer. “Does this little heart mark where our station is?”
“It does. I did my best to replicate the mountains, I’m glad you could tell,” I say.
“They’re perfect. This is such a thoughtful gift,” Charm says.
“Thank you, pet,” Cato says, and kisses my cheek.
He pulls his sweater on, which is easy enough because he’s only wearing sweatpants. They’re nicer than his usual ones in honor of our Yule festivities, red velvet with a white faux fur trim.
“I love it, thank you. Wait, did you make one for yourself? We should all match,” Henri says, pausing with his sweater half over his head.
“That’s right, it’s a pack sweater, you need to have one too. I can learn to knit and make you one,” Magnus offers sweetly.
“Thank you, but you don’t have to do that. I had enough yarn left to make myself one. I wasn’t sure if you’d be okay with matching though…” I say shyly.
“Of course we need to match,” Charm says.
“Where’s your sweater? I’ll go get it,” Cato says.
I tell him where I stashed it in my nest, and he’s there and back in a flash. I stand up to put it on, and Cato pulls my shirt off before I realize what he’s doing.
“Hey!” I say, startled at suddenly being topless.
He tugs the sweater over my head, cutting off the rest of my protest.
“It will drape better without anything underneath,” Cato says after my head pops out.
I straighten it out and I’m annoyed that he’s right, I do look hot this way.
Cato kisses me, his eyes amused as if he can read my thoughts.
Once the others have their sweaters on, they decide we need a group picture.
We gather in front of the tree, and Henri sets up his phone. Cato grabs Magnus’s hat and drops it on his head, since he’d removed it to get the sweater on.
“I need the hat for this?” Magnus asks, giving him a sidelong glance.
“It looks good,” I say, and stretch up on my toes to kiss his cheek. He bends down so I can reach.
If Cato is so into this cowboy roleplay, I’ll support him. Plus, Magnus does look good in the hat. Maybe I can even get him to wear it at work in the spring.
Magnus puts Pete (who is still wearing his hat) on his shoulder for the picture.
Cato stands behind me with his hands on my hips, and the others gather around us. We smile as the camera goes off.
Henri shows us the photo, and it’s perfect on the first try. Everyone looks happy, no one blinked. The picture-perfect Yule.
They’re the best gift I could have asked for.
I mentally check spend Yule Day with my pack off my FWTTDBID list, though spend Yule Night with my mates is still on there.