THE CHRISTMAS KID

Christmas went a little differently for Elsa when she was three years old. Instead of colored lights and tinsel, there were fluorescent light bulbs and hospital gowns. Instead of Santa Claus and his reindeer, there were doctors, nurses, and a stretcher. Instead of freshly baked cookies, she had a pack of Oreos from a vending machine. And instead of a bundle of presents wrapped under a tree…

...there was her newborn sister wrapped in a blanket in her mother's arms.

Christmas from then on became a much more important holiday for their family, because it doubled as little Anna's birthday. It was a time of joy and celebration, laughter and love, warm hugs and hot chocolate. Christmas traditions also became birthday traditions, and Anna didn't even mind that she "had to share her special day with Santa." It was the sisters' favorite time of year, they cherished every moment when December 25th came around.

And then the accident happened.

A tragic car crash took the lives of both of their parents, which left them only with each other. It was a sobering, depressing, and empty, especially during Christmas. Neither girl- mostly Anna- felt up to any sort of celebrating anymore. For three years, they didn't even so much as put up their Christmas tree.

This year, however, Elsa vowed for things to be different, by making sure that things didn't change. She would bring back the traditions they had with their parents, to show Anna that they could still be happy even through the grief. She would do everything right, and do everything perfectly.

First, she'd make Anna her favorite breakfast: chocolate chip pancakes with a boatload of syrup and whipped cream. Then, they would go to the park to watch the annual Christmas parade. Then, they'd go to the movie theater to watch whatever cheesy Christmas movie was out. And then, they'd go back home to exchange presents, and Elsa would surprise her with the same homemade birthday cake their mother used to make. Along with another present that she couldn't wait to show her sister.

It was Christmas day and Anna's nineteenth birthday. Elsa would make sure it was perfect, uplifting, and joyful once again. Or at least...that was the plan.

But a funny thing happens when you make a plan.

"Oh crap crap crap crap," Elsa said as she hurriedly turned off the stove and piled the burnt remains of a chocolate chip pancake onto a plate. "I knew the heat was too high. Damn it, Elsa…"

She flipped over and inspected the stack of pancakes, seeing which parts were still edible. An upbeat song about chestnuts roasting on an open fire mocked her in the background. Two, maybe three, of them looked salvageable, the rest looked more like cracked vinyl records with chocolate chips glued onto them. At least the whipped cream and syrup were store-bought, so she couldn't screw up those.

Still, this wasn't the start of the day she wanted. But as long as Anna was happy, then she would be happy.

"Elsa?!" She heard her sister shout from upstairs. "Is something burning?"

"Nooo, I was gonna wake you up," Elsa groaned to herself. "Uh, don't worry about it, Anna! Just cooking breakfast!"

Elsa hoped her little sister would just go back to her room and let her finish the preparations, but the sound of descending footsteps told her that wasn't happening. She hurriedly brushed all the failed pancakes into the trash can and washed her hands. Anna entered the kitchen with a long yawn.

"Cooking breakfast?" She asked while rubbing her eyes with the palm of her hand. "You haven't done that in years. Not since-"

"Not since the oatmeal incident, I know." Elsa sighed, "Well today I wanted to surprise you. It is Birthmas after all."

Before, when they used the made-up word that combined birthday and Christmas, Anna would smile and giggle. Now all she did was move the corner of her lip slightly. "Elsa…"

"I know, it's not the same without them. But we can't spend Birthmas sad and alone in our rooms anymore." Elsa walked over to her sister and placed her hands on her shoulders. "Let me bring back the traditions. I want to show you that we can still make this a happy day, for both of us. But especially for you."

Anna's settled into a frown as she ponders her big sister's words. Elsa waits with bated breath for a response, hoping that the day isn't over before it even starts. She wanted to give Anna an amazing Birthmas, better than the ones before. But that could only happen if her sister was willing to let it.

She sees the redhead shift her eyes from the floor to the kitchen table behind them, and then to her. "Chocolate chip pancakes?" she asks with what almost sounds like eagerness.

Elsa smiles, letting out a mental sigh of relief. "I tried making them the way dad used to." So far, so good.

"Hmmph, well I guess there's only one way to find out if you did it right." Anna boops her nose with a finger and shuffles to the kitchen, already grabbing the maple syrup and lone plate of pancakes. "How come there's only three?"

She groaned and followed her sister into the kitchen, "I haven't cooked in forever, remember? I only wanted you to have the best-looking ones."

Anna squeezes half a bottle of whipped cream onto her plate and frowns, "Well I'd feel kinda bad if I was the only one eating these. How about we share them?"

Elsa takes a glance at the trash can with the nine failed pancakes hiding inside, "Err...you go ahead. I think I'll just have some cereal."

Every Christmas, there was always a cute, little parade at a park ten minutes from their house.

It was more of a block party than anything, but the parade was still the main selling point. There were horses, nice biker gangs handing out candy canes, hot chocolate, and homemade floats. The last and biggest one was made specifically for the annually chosen "Christmas Queen".

Because Elsa had to clean up her mess from breakfast, they made it to the parade too late to get their usual parking spot, but still early enough to join in on the festivities. They found a nice spot underneath a big tree with novelty-sized ornaments, far from the parade route, but still close enough to see everything.

"They didn't have enough hot chocolate for both of us, so I got myself some tea instead," Elsa said, handing a styrofoam cup to Anna.

Anna frowned, "Why don't you just take mine?"

"Nope, getting you hot chocolate is part of the tradition, remember? Besides, the tea's pretty good too." She sipped her cup to show that, even though she would much rather have hot chocolate instead of bitter leaf water.

"Okay, I know that's a lie. You hate tea, and…" Anna takes a sip, lets out a little sigh that turns into a defeated grumble, and continues, "...you know things won't be exactly the same."

"I know. But I also know the parts you love the most about Birthmas, and parade hot chocolate is one of them."

Anna pouts but doesn't argue, instead turning back to the parade. Nestled comfortably underneath a large tree, taking great care not to slip on the snow below them, this was the most at peace they'd felt during the holidays in a couple of years. And there was something here that could almost feel like joy, as long as Elsa played her cards right.

As long as she kept doing the next right thing. Breakfast may have been a slight misstep, and they got their boots caked in muddy snow after getting a terrible parking spot, but she wouldn't get this wrong. The parade was out of her control, so she couldn't do that anyway. But there was something that she could do, something that could trigger a nice memory for them both.

Elsa nudged her sister, "Hey."

"Hi," Anna replied, sounding more cheerful from the sugar.

"Remember when you were the 'Christmas Queen'?"

"How could I forget? The crown was so itchy, and I was freezing in my dress."

"You looked adorable, though," Elsa giggled. "Remember when you threw the Christmas wreath way too far, and all those little girls had to chase after it."

Anna smirked, "And then Rapunzel slipped on some ice and bruised her butt."

"Remember how you got the wreath and got to be Christmas Queen in the first place?"

"Umm...yeah? Why are you bringing…" Anna turned to her sister, and when she saw the conniving grin on her face, her eyes widened, "No!"

"Oh come on! It'll be fun!"

"Both of us are way too old to be the Christmas Queen!"

"We'll give it to a little girl if we catch it. Besides, I've been working out more lately, so I could totally hold you up."

"Or we could just let a little girl catch it-" Anna stopped, "Wait, did you just call me fat?!"

"No. Just...heavier than before."

Anna scoffed, "You little stinker! Alright fine, let's do it then since you're so sure you can hold me up."

Elsa smirked, successfully playing on Anna's stubborn inclination to always try and prove her wrong. She chucked her almost-full cup of tea in a trash can, and squatted slightly in front of her sister, reaching her hands out behind her, "Then hop on, sis."

"I'll show you heavy," Anna mumbled before jumping onto her sister's back, settling into her hands. "Now onward, trusty steed!"

Those were the same words her sister said all those years ago when they hatched this crazy plan to help Anna become the Christmas Queen. Of course, they were tinier and lighter back then, and Elsa didn't have to clear a football field's length of snow and grass to get to the float on time. Still, she was determined to make this a great day for Anna. Whatever means necessary.

She may have underestimated her own strength, but paced forward anyway. Carefully, yet quickly. It had been a long time since she'd run in the snow. Even if there was only a couple of inches on the ground, it was still a hard trek. One foot in front of the other, spurred on by the gleeful cheers of her sister smothering her with the poofy sleeves of her winter coat. Which, admittedly, made it harder to see.

As they closed in on the sidewalk, and the intersection where they would choose the Christmas Queen, Elsa could see the eager little girls bundling up already.

"I see her!" Anna exclaimed, pointing at the snowy, regal throne sitting on what looked like a marshmallow castle. Elsa hitched her up higher, which made her let out a surprised squeak. "Hey, careful with your hands!"

"Sorry, I just gotta make sure I get you there- ah!"

Unable to juggle all her tasks successfully, Elsa forgot to watch her step and tripped on her own shoes. Anna fell off her back, and Elsa landed face first in the snow. Hard.

There were only three more things left on the list of traditions, three more things that Elsa had to get right. Luckily, going to the movies was almost impossible to screw up, all they had to do was sit in a chair and eat snacks.

And nurse their wounds.

Elsa handed Anna her popcorn bucket and sat in the recliner next to her. "Thanks," her sister said before submerging her hand into the bucket with a sigh, "Aaaah, that feels so much better."

She shrugged, "It's the least I could do. Though you should have seen the look on the employee's face when I asked him for a popcorn bucket full of ice." She placed her cup on her temple, letting out her own sigh as the cold and condensation eased the pain of her bruises. "Other than the wrist, how are you doing?"

"I'm okay…" Anna replied unconvincingly.

Elsa frowned, "Today's not going the way it should be. I'm sorry."

"No, it's not that. I'm just...how are you doing? It's your Christmas too, Elsa."

"Not this year. This year I'm focusing solely on making sure that you have a good Birthmas. I'll do anything to make you happy today, sis."

"And I appreciate that, but I don't want you being so hard on yourself trying to do everything the way it used to be. Today doesn't have to be perfect, I just-"

Elsa shook her head, "Yes it does. Today needs to be great, and perfect, and amazing because I can't stand seeing you so upset on the holidays anymore. I love you, Anna, and I want to show that."

"I love you too, Elsa, but you don't…" The house lights dimmed, and the movie screen showed that familiar green screen signaling the start of the previews. Anna couldn't say anything more after that, not without annoying the other moviegoers around them.

As the cheesy Christmas movie began to play, Elsa felt like she could finally relax. In between tending to her bruised temple, she would sneak glances over at her sister who did seem to be enjoying herself. She laughed at parts that were funny, and smiled at the cute moments, and only winced a little bit when shifting her hand that was in the ice bucket.

It was nice. A smile was rare nowadays, even three years later, and knowing that she was the cause of a little bit of that smile made her happy. When Anna was happy, so was she. And so Elsa relaxed, confident that the rest of Birthmas would go smoothly.

That is, until, the movie froze, the projector crapped out, and the house lights went back up.

Christmas evening, the prettiest time of the year.

The celebrations were winding down, the lights along the houses were bright and shining, and the chilly air made the fireplace feel that much warmer. It was peaceful, or at least it should have been.

Elsa turned on the lights of their Christmas tree and walked back to the kitchen, Anna sat at the kitchen table nursing her wrapped-up wrist. "Well, it wasn't the day I wanted it to be, but at least we're home now. And there are two more things left that we have to cross off."

Anna raised an eyebrow, "Two? I mean I know we still need to exchange presents, but what's the second one?"

"You don't remember the best dessert we've ever had?"

"Mom's chocolate chip cookies?"

"Second best."

"The funnel cakes at the county fair?"

"...third best."

Anna put a finger to her lips and looked off in the distance, and then her eyes widened when she snapped her gaze back at her older sister. "No way!"

Elsa nodded gleefully, "I found mom's old recipe, and it took me all night but I made it." She walked to the refrigerator to retrieve their mother's famous Birthmas cake: a soft spongy cake with mint-green buttercream frosting and dollops of whipped cream along the rim.

"But you don't bake," Anna reasoned.

"It's just following directions, sis, how hard could it have possibly been?" Very hard. Very, very hard. Especially since she wanted it to look exactly like their mother used to make it. Last night was a blur of taste-testing, and cleaning up powdered sugar, and maybe even crying once or twice. She took it out of the refrigerator and walked slowly back to the table.

"I'm not doubting your ability to read directions, I'm just saying that I hope this wasn't too much work for you."

"It wasn't, trust me," It kind of was, but seeing her sister smile would be worth it. She went to grab a couple of plates, a candle, and the lighter, and was back at Anna's side in a moment. "Now let me just light the candle and then we can- oh crap, I almost forgot!"

"Forgot what?"

"I need to sing you the Birthmas song!"

"Oh, Elsa you really don't have to do that."

"Of course I do, it was the only thing I contributed to this day."

Anna frowned, "Come on, you know that's not true."

"Hush, let me sing this for you." Elsa cleared her throat and took a deep breath. It had been a while, so she had to make sure she remembered the short, adorable song she wrote for Anna when she was twelve. As she lit the candle placed in the middle of the cake, Elsa sang softly and sweetly:

I don't need no presents

Or gifts under the tree

I don't need no Santa Claus

He could skip right over me

I don't need anything

Cause this I know is true

The only gift I'd ever need

For Christmas...is you

She slid the cake over to Anna, in the glow of the lonesome candle, she could see tears shimmering in her eyes. Happy tears, she hoped. This was another thing that Elsa worked tirelessly over, it was only two verses but she wanted to make sure that she got them right anyway.

"Happy Birthmas, sis," she said.

"I love you," Anna replied in almost a whisper.

"Now come on, blow out the candle and let's dig in!"

Anna closes her eyes for a second to make her Birthmas wish- which Elsa never knows- and then blows out the candle with a quick breath. Elsa cuts her a slice bigger than her face and cuts a slightly smaller piece for herself. If there's any way to subtly figure out how her sister feels about the cake without looking at her too intensely, she has no idea what it is.

The redhead takes the first bite out of the two of them, and time stops for a moment as Elsa waits for her reaction. Would she like it? Would she hate it? Would she spit it out? Would it make her vomit rainbows?

Elsa got her answer when she saw Anna sigh, and a single tear fell from her face- although those may have just been the residual tears from the Birthmas song. "It tastes just like I remember."

She smiled, knowing that finally, finally she got something right today.

Running off the confidence from a successful cake making, Elsa felt good about the last tradition. For the past three years, gift-giving had all but been forgotten. She would enter Anna's room and they would spend maybe a minute exchanging gifts. And then Anna would spend the rest of the day crying.

This year was already massively different, and hopefully better, but it had to end better too. The sisters sat in front of their sparsely decorated Christmas tree, Anna had a small box in her hands, and Elsa had nothing.

Well...not nothing, but it wouldn't make sense to put her gift in a box.

"So do you remember how we used to decide who gave their gift fir-"

"Nose goes!" Anna interrupted as she put a finger on her nose.

Elsa scoffed, "You little stinker!"

Anna stuck her tongue out and laughed, "I still remember some things."

In truth, it didn't really matter when she gave her gift, because Elsa knew that her sister would love it. This was the part of the day that she put the most time, effort, and care into- and considering she almost had a panic attack making the cake, that meant a lot. And now it was time to unveil it.

She rolled her eyes and smiled, "Aaaaanyway, I guess I'll give you your present first."

Anna beamed at her and straightened her posture, ready to receive. But first, a monologue.

"So, I know how much it sucks not having mother and father here with us."

"Understatement of the century," Anna added with a frown.

"But they're not really gone, Anna. And I don't just mean that in the whole cheesy 'they're in our hearts' sort of way, I mean that as in we don't have to necessarily spend Birthmas without them. Do you remember how much father used to love making those home videos of us?"

"When we were kids? Of course I do."

"Well, I went through all of those videos and converted them into files that I could edit on my laptop. And I spliced together some clips of our parents speaking to make a message. For both of us, but mostly for you. They might be old words, but if I did it right, then hopefully it'll be a new message."

Anna blinks and lets out a breath, she sees the tears forming in her eyes again, "W-wait, so does that mean…"

Elsa nods and pulls her laptop out from under the Christmas tree, "You're gonna hear from mother and father again."

Her little sister tackles her with a hug so hard that it sends them both to the floor. Elsa lets her sister have her moment, stroking her hair lovingly as she hears the redhead mutter "Thank you" through sniffles and shaky breaths. It's like she said she knew a way to bring their parents back to life, which in a way...she sort of did. But she was getting ahead of herself, she needed to show Anna the video first, let her hear the message. She ruffled Anna's hair and got them both back up to a sitting position.

"Maybe you should watch the video first before you tackle me," Elsa joked.

Anna sniffled, wiping her snot with her bandaged hand, "My bad."

Elsa logged onto her laptop and eyed the file on her home screen titled " 4". It was a culmination of one year of planning, three months of scavenging, and a month of editing. "You ready?" she asked Anna.

Her sister nodded, and without further ado, she clicked on the file.

ERROR: FILE CORRUPTED

"No…" Elsa clicked on the file again, but the same error message showed. "No no no!"

"Elsa? What's wrong?"

She clicked on it again and got the error message again. And then again. And then again. And then again. "This can't be happening, I checked it last night just to make sure…"

"Do you have a copy of the file?"

"No! I-I guess it slipped my mind, but I didn't think I needed to...it can't be gone. It can't be gone!"

"Elsa, it's okay. You don't have to-"

"Damn it!" Elsa shoved her laptop out of the way and buried her face into her hands. "I ruined it! I ruined the whole day!"

"You didn't ruin anything."

"Yes I did, Anna!" She yelled, bringing her knees to her chest and curling into herself even more. "I'm sorry, I tried to give you a perfect day so I could help you celebrate and be happy, but I kept screwing things up. I'm so sorry, Anna. I'm…"

Elsa continued to sniffle and sob, feeling more ashamed and embarrassed with each passing second. After all her attempts to bring back the traditions and make Anna happy, she barely succeeded. And in the end, she couldn't deliver on her biggest gift. She couldn't fulfill her biggest promise to bring joy back into their life.

She feels a pair of hands gently grab her shoulders, and she's too weak to stay into herself for any longer. She settles into Anna's embrace and leans on her, bringing her hands down into her lap.

And as she feels caring fingers stroke her hair, Anna speaks, "Elsa...they were your parents too."

Elsa sniffles, "Wh...huh?"

"You went through the same loss that I did, and you've been trying to be strong for both of us. Even now, you did everything you could to make sure that I was happy and joyful on Christmas."

"Birthmas."

"Hush," Anna continued, "But you didn't have to try this hard, sis. You didn't have to bring back the traditions, or slave over a cake, and you didn't even have to get me a present. Because I'm already joyful."

"H-how?"

Elsa feels herself being nudged upwards until she's standing straight and facing her sister, who also has tears in her eyes. Anna does a cute little sniffle of her own and says, "Because I have you! Being joyful means that you still keep going, and still have hope, even in the darkest times. And because I have the best older sister in the world, I can still be joyful. Even during the holidays. Even during Birthmas."

When she heard her little sister finally say that silly, made-up word, Elsa smiled again.

"And to show you how serious I am about enjoying this day again," Anna slid her gift box from under the tree towards Elsa, "Why don't you look at what I got you."

Slowly, Elsa unwrapped the bow and ripped apart the wrapping paper. Underneath was a cardboard box that she opened carefully, and underneath that was a pile of crumpled newspaper.

And on top of the pile was a snowglobe.

Slowly, Elsa lifted it up to peer inside the flawless glass dome. On the inside was a familiar snow-capped mountain, with a ski cabin at the base of it. Tiny trees littered the limited landscape, and on the snowy ground was an odd-looking snowman. The same one they used to make when they were kids, she'd named him Olaf.

"Recognize the place?" Anna asked.

It was a question that didn't need to be asked, all these memories came flooding back to her: the two-hour trek up winding roads, the most perfect snow she'd ever seen, the big fireplace with the red rug, and the large Christmas tree in the lobby. "The North Mountain Ski Lodge," she replied breathlessly.

"Your favorite place in the world," Anna added as she lay her head on her big sister's shoulders.

"But they closed the lodge down years ago, how did you get this?"

"I had it custom made by the owners who used to run it, they said we were their favorite family," Anna pointed to the bottom of the golden-flowery base of the globe, "And there's one more surprise too. Flip it over."

Elsa raised an eyebrow at her and did what she asked. She placed a hand on top of the globe and flipped it over. Under the base was a small wind-up key.

"Wind it up," Anna said eagerly, and she did so.

One turn, two turns, three turns, four turns, and then she let it go.

And in their little world, sitting in front of the Christmas tree, Anna and Elsa were greeted with the sound of tinkling bells and a playful, familiar melody. After the first few notes, Elsa gasped, "This is…"

Anna nodded, "Mom and Dad's lullaby."

When they were young, she used to have a lot of nightmares and the only thing that used to soothe her back to sleep was a lullaby that her father wrote. The last time she heard it was actually the night before they died, it was almost as if they knew.

Out of all the things that she missed about her parents, this was definitely high on the list. And she was so depressed at the idea of never hearing it again. Until now.

It was perfect, every note was in place, and there was even the simple harmony underneath that was her father's part of the song. The words may have been missing, but she was hearing them in her head. Like they were still here with them.

When the song ended, she looked to her sister who was just as teary-eyed as her. "Merry Christmas, Elsa," she said softly.

Elsa set the snowglobe down on the floor and hugged Anna as tightly as she could, feeling like she'd fade away if she didn't. "I love you," she replied.

Many years ago, Elsa got her favorite Christmas present of all. She never asked for anything after that- well, maybe the occasional toy here or there. And now, many years later, it was as if that present was being gifted to her all over again. It had been so long since she had felt this warmth in her heart, this overwhelming feeling that everything was okay again.

It was true, she didn't have to bring back any of the traditions to make this day a joyful occasion again. And letting them go didn't mean that their parents were gone forever, and that they couldn't celebrate with them anymore. As long as they were together, nothing changed. As long as she had Anna, everything would be okay.

Anna was her joy, the gift that kept on giving, the Christmas Kid.

A/N: Merry Christmas, guys. Have a fluff-filled one-shot, on the house.