Winter Dream (Bernard the Elf x Reader)

Chapter 6- Red Pajamas

As sunlight generously poured in through the window, I gradually woke up. I stayed in bed for a moment, soaking up the warm sun. I slowly sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes before taking in my surroundings. I was in my old room, not in Charlie's. As I wondered how I got into my bedroom if I fell asleep with Charlie, memories flooded back to me. I fell asleep at The North Pole. Dad was Santa now. I rode in a magical flying sleigh around the world.

What a crazy dream...

I stood up and walked into the bathroom. My hand reached for my hairbrush, and as I looked in the mirror at my reflection, I practically screamed. I was still in the (fc) nightgown I got at the North Pole. My fingers searched around my neck until they felt the necklace Bernard had gifted me, buried underneath my nightgown. I pulled it out and stared at it.

It really happened...

I couldn't tell if I was more joyful or terrified by it. If it actually happened...then that meant that my dad, Scott Calvin, was Santa Claus. That fact suddenly felt way scarier when I wasn't at the North Pole surrounded by elves and flying reindeer. Now we were home, AKA the real world. People would think we were crazy if we started saying dad was Santa. Dad probably thought he was going crazy.

"Dad...Oh my gosh..." I bolted across the hall back to my room and peeked out the window. There was my dad, standing in the snowy front yard in bright red pajamas and slippers, hunched over digging through a pile of snow like a dog digging up a bone. "He's losing his mind," I muttered to myself.

Without another thought, I dashed down the stairs and outside onto the front porch. "Dad? What the heck are you doing? It's like thirty degrees out here!" I called, already shivering.

Dad's head whipped over in my direction, and he stared at me for a long moment. "(Yn)?" My dad ran over to me and grabbed onto my shoulders, eyeing me up and down. "Please tell me that I didn't accidentally kill Santa Claus last night or fly around the world in a flying sleigh delivering presents last night."

"Well..." I trailed off.

Dad groaned. "None of that was real! It isn't possible!" He walked around me and back into the house. I followed him into the living room, where Charlie was furiously unwrapping presents. As dad collapsed on the couch, I plopped down on the living room carpet and stared at the ceiling.

Charlie looked at us with concern. "Are you guys okay?"

"Never better," I responded, not taking my eyes off the ceiling.

Dad waved him off. "Yeah...I'm fine." He said, breathing heavily.

"Are you having a heart attack? I know CPR." Charlie prodded.

"No, I was just..." Dad trailed off as he checked his pajamas again. His eyebrows furrowed together as he stared at them. "S.C." he spoke, reading the initials that had been embroidered onto the shirt's front pocket.

"Yeah. Santa Claus." Charlie stated as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Hey. Same initials as your name, dad. Scott Calvin." My little brother traced the letters with his finger.

"What?"

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. "That must be Mom," I said, getting up off of the floor.

Charlie ran to the front door and let our mom in. I glanced at Dad before I went to greet Mom. "Should we tell Mom?"

"Definitely not." He replied. "Don't give her any reason to believe that we did anything out of the ordinary.

I nodded my head and walked into the front hall. Mom beamed when she saw me. "Merry Christmas, (Yn)!"