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Everyone knows what Christmas Eve is for.
It's for family. A day to return home, gather around a bountiful table, and share a few perfect moments of warmth and togetherness.
As night fell, the snow continued to drift down in thick, quiet flakes.
Inside House 123 in Westview, the air was filled with endless laughter and joy.
Olek Maximoff sat in his armchair, a grandson balanced on each knee—Billy on the left, Tommy on the right.
Iryna Maximoff sat nearby, holding her granddaughter, Jean, close.
Wanda's eyes were slightly red, brimming with happy tears.
Pietro, moving with a characteristic whoosh, pulled a massive, golden-brown turkey from the oven. It might not have been a culinary masterpiece, but it was the centerpiece of the holiday. He set it down in the middle of the dining table.
"Turkey's up!"
Across the street, at the Chloe residence, Amy emerged from the kitchen carrying an equally impressive turkey. Anya followed close behind, bringing out a beautifully arranged platter of roasted vegetables and setting it on the table.
Since coming home that afternoon, Amy hadn't let go of Anya for more than a minute, crying tears of pure joy. Anya sat down right next to her, then looked at the two empty chairs across the table. Her gaze drifted toward the backyard.
There they were.
Hawk and Gwen were standing outside in the snow.
Gwen glanced back at the house, seeing everyone seated at the table, waiting for them. She turned to Hawk, who was standing there with a perfectly calm, almost detached expression.
"It's Christmas Eve. The night of reunions. You should be proud, Hawk. If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be having this dinner. And neither would the people across the street. This... this is what you've been fighting for all these years, isn't it?"
"I know."
Hawk pulled his gaze from the snowy yard and looked at her. Deep within his eyes, an infinite expanse of stars seemed to shimmer. "I don't need you to remind me, honey."
Gwen's smile was radiant.
"So why are you standing out here? Are you having trouble adjusting to it all?"
"Hah."
Hawk let out a short laugh.
"No. Of course not. That's impossible."
"You're lying."
Gwen looked up at him, her expressive emerald eyes gentle but knowing. "No one knows you better than I do. Remember, I'm the one who tracked you down in the middle of a primeval forest all by myself."
Hawk's mind flashed back to that day. Emerging from his brutal training at the waterfall, hearing that single word—Hawk—cutting through the roar of the water.
"Since that day, I haven't been able to escape you."
"Escape?"
Gwen raised an eyebrow, the corner of her mouth ticking upward.
"Why would you want to escape? Are you thinking about running away from me?"
"What? No, of course not. It's just an expression, Gwen. You know I'd never leave you."
"I don't like that expression."
"Okay. I'm sorry."
Hawk was a man who never apologized to anyone if he believed he was right.
But with Gwen, it didn't matter who was right. If she wanted an apology, he apologized.
Hearing him concede, Gwen smiled brightly. She looked back at the warm light spilling from the dining room windows.
"Come on. Let's go enjoy this dinner. You earned it."
"...Alright."
Hawk nodded. He let his fiancée take his hand, and together, they walked back into the house and took their seats at the table.
And then—
They celebrated the feast.
They celebrated the reunion of their family.
From 1995 to 2015. Twenty long years. The Chloe family had finally, truly reunited.
But this wasn't the end.
It was just the beginning.
Andrew, Amy, Anya, and even Gwen—they were all overjoyed.
As for Hawk…
He couldn't really quantify his happiness.
But if he had to put it into words, he'd say he felt a little tired.
Because—
He had to make the rounds tonight.
Fortunately, his next stop was just across the street.
He hadn't planned on going. But Gwen's logic was unassailable.
The Maximoff family was reunited tonight, too, and it was entirely his doing.
It was his achievement.
Therefore, he had an obligation to go and witness the fruits of his labor.
If effort yields no reward, what's the point of striving in the first place?
And most importantly.
It wasn't just the Maximoffs over there. There were three little Phoenixes, too.
So…
Hawk went.
"Daddy!"
The moment the door opened, Jean's face lit up. With a whoosh, she launched herself through the air. As Wanda stepped aside, Jean flew straight into Hawk's arms.
Hawk caught his daughter smoothly. He looked at Wanda, who was standing in the doorway, watching him.
"Merry Christmas."
"Thank you."
Wanda offered a warm smile. "Merry Christmas, Hawk."
Carrying Jean, Hawk followed Wanda into the dining room. He saw the empty chair at the head of the table—the seat Olek Maximoff had specifically left open for him. Hawk smiled, said nothing, and sat down in the place of honor, with Jean still in his lap.
Wanda pulled out the first chair on the left and sat down.
Olek took the first chair on the right.
In the East, the left seat is often considered the position of highest honor, second only to the head of the table. In Western tradition, it's the right.
Olek was the first to speak.
"Care for a drink, Hawk?"
"Dad…"
Wanda frowned, looking at her father.
She and Gwen weren't exactly best friends, but they were close enough that she knew Hawk's strict rule: no alcohol until he was twenty-one.
But before she could finish her thought, Hawk nodded. He looked at Wanda and smiled. "I'll make an exception tonight."
Wanda met his gaze, and a soft smile touched her lips.
Soon.
Hawk raised his glass of whiskey, clinking it first against Olek's, then against Wanda's glass of red wine.
Their eyes met.
Once more.
"Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas."
With the crisp clink of crystal, everyone raised their glasses. Even Jean held up her cup of coconut water, celebrating the magic of Christmas Eve with genuine, unbridled joy.
But all celebrations must end. The memories forged tonight, however, would be etched into their minds forever.
Later, in the backyard.
It was Hawk again, but this time, the woman standing beside him in the snow was Wanda.
Wanda looked up at the falling snowflakes, then glanced at Hawk, who was holding Jean and admiring the moonlit winter scene.
"Thank you."
"You already said that."
Hawk pulled his gaze from the sky. He leaned down, whispered something in Jean's ear, and set her down, watching as she ran back inside the house. Then, he turned to Wanda. "Just take good care of Jean, Billy, and Tommy."
Wanda looked at him, her expression serious.
"They're my children."
"I know."
Hawk smiled faintly.
After a moment of comfortable silence.
Hawk was the first to look away.
"I have to go. One last stop to make tonight."
"Alright."
Hawk's form slowly faded into the snowy night.
He hadn't been lying.
He did have one more stop on his Christmas Eve circuit. But this one wasn't in the physical universe.
It was in his Underworld.
Returning to the guest room of the Chloe house, Hawk sat cross-legged on the floor. He closed his eyes, and his consciousness sank, plunging directly into the Elysium of his Underworld.
Since Anya's resurrection, Elysium had felt a bit empty.
Kayla and her Blood Elf honor guard had returned to the Underworld's central sanctuary to guard the Black Phoenix Surplice.
But near the banks of the River Styx, the wind chimes hanging outside a small flower shop tinkled gently in the spectral breeze.
Anna, sitting in a rocking chair on the porch, opened her eyes. She saw Hawk materialize before her and smiled.
"Good morning."
"Good evening."
Their greetings were always unique. "It's Christmas Eve here. Merry Christmas, Anna."
Anna stood up. "To be able to come here after I died, to live without pain or worry... I'm already as happy as I could be, Hawk."
Hawk shook his head.
"Not happy enough. This Christmas Eve has a theme."
"Oh?"
"Reunion and reaping the rewards of our labor."
"I resurrected my sister, Anya, so the Phoenix family could be reunited."
"I resurrected the Maximoffs, so their family could be whole again."
"I even promised S.H.I.E.L.D. that their agents and families would bypass Hell and come straight to Elysium."
"But you... you were the very first friend who helped me."
"So..."
"I am hereby pardoning Alexander Pierce."
As Hawk spoke the words, the serene smile on Anna's face froze.
Then—
Hawk opened his right hand. With a thought, he plucked Alexander Pierce—who had been enduring unimaginable, freezing torment in the Prison of Ice—and dropped him directly onto the pristine grass of Elysium.
Anna's eyes widened. She stared at the man standing on the grass, looking bewildered, disoriented, and utterly stunned as he took in his new surroundings.
When S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had started arriving in Elysium, Hawk knew Anna wouldn't want to deal with them. So, he had established a rule.
Anna's flower shop was effectively cloaked. Only Anna, and the specific souls she wished to see, could perceive it or approach it.
Once again.
The first friend is always the most special.
Not just because she was the first, but because she had proven herself worthy. Even though Hawk had granted her the power to summon any soul she wished, Anna had never once used it to pardon Alexander Pierce.
But the theme of tonight was reunion.
So!
"I absolve Alexander Pierce of all his sins."
"From this day forward, he is a resident of Elysium."
"Anna."
Hawk looked at her, meeting her stunned gaze with a warm smile. "Merry Christmas."
Anna's expression remained frozen for another second. Then, under Hawk's watchful eye, a brilliant, overwhelming smile broke across her face.
It was so radiant, it brought tears to her eyes.
Thump.
She threw her arms around Hawk, her voice trembling with emotion.
"Thank you, Hawk. Thank you so much."
"You're welcome."
Hawk returned the hug. "Go on. It's a night for reunions."
With that, Hawk vanished from Elysium.
He hovered high above, invisible, looking down. He watched as Alexander Pierce, still looking around in confusion, suddenly locked onto something. He watched as Anna smiled, her flower shop suddenly appearing in Pierce's vision. And once he saw that Pierce had seen her, Hawk looked away and departed.
Once again.
He was excellent at facilitating joyful reunions. But he was terrible at actually being a part of them.
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