#rating:t

the man stumbles backwards, falls on his ass to the ground with a yelp clutching his cheek. chuuya had aimed for the center of his face, but moved it sideways when he heard your clarity-inducing voice. he doesn’t have time to deal with lowlifes like this. he just had to land a blow and then the both of you can go.

so dislocating the man’s jaw was enough. he didn’t even need to use his ability.

your instinct is to rush toward the injured man, the very same man who, just seconds ago, had insinuated you might be some sort of gold-digging whore with a dirty, scheming boyfriend. all because the two of you were just the slightly dressed up above average for a little dinner and then a chill planetarium date because there were shooting stars tonight.

a whore?

“i dare you to fucking say that again with your face like that,” chuuya growls, the only thing holding him back from throwing another blow being your hand around his wrist. the orange of the sunset illuminates his face in an angry glow that makes his features light in an intimidating glow. “wanna find out what i’m going to do to you next?”

you tug at his wrist again. “chuuya, he’s had enough. let’s go.”

really, you’re the only voice of reason when he gets like this. with a huff, chuuya snaps out of it and you gratefully pull him next to you. you try to look regretful at the “poor victim” while inside boiling him alive for what he’s said to you and chuuya. with a deadpan look at the nearest bystander—because of course there are people watching—you say, “please call him an ambulance.”

and then, with one last look at the man, the two of you leave the scene without another word.

once you’ve gotten far enough, the sunset giving in to twilight’s violet glow, you hit chuuya at the shoulder with your hand. you understand why he reacted like that, and inwardly you are thankful because you wouldn’t have had the courage to do it yourself, but at the same time… “did you have to act so violently?”

“didya think i was gonna tolerate that?” he huffs, remorseless. “can’t let him think he’s right.”

you frown. “i get it, but you don’t have to make a scene every time.”

sensing your upset, chuuya turns to you. “can’t promise, love, but i’ll try.”

“good. you should try your best.”

“maybe i won’t try as hard.”

you glower. “chuuya!”

“For me?” Alex said, taking the offered mug. Steam rose from it, lapping warm against his chin and bringing with it a rich, velvety hint of chocolate.

“A peace offering,” Natalie laughed, letting her nails graze gently against the exposed skin where the hem of his t-shirt had ridden up. “Who knew tree lights could be so contentious?”

“Oh, you two have made up then? I was about to send you to separate rooms to think about your words.”

“We weren’t that bad,” Alex scoffed, plucking a marshmallow from the mug. It was just the right side of too melted, perfectly sticky and sweet in his mouth. He would have forgiven Natalie anyway, his tone had probably been worthy of the scathing remark, but he wasn’t opposed to an incentive.

“You definitely couldn’t repeat that conversation…” Kasey raised his hands to wrap the last word with quotation marks. “...in polite company.”

“I just want it to be perfect,” Natalie sighed. The gentle pressure lifted from his back and Natalie pulled her hair into a messy bun with the hair tie that was eternally found on her wrist. “It’s our first - Well, technically we were together last year for the day, but catching a red-eye for a hurried 24 hours together isn’t exactly my definition of idyllic. We’re supposed to be doing it properly this year.”

“Alexa, pause.” The cooing sounds of Mariah Carey stopped abruptly, plunging the room into a loud silence. Alex set the mug down, stepping away from the box of decorations he’d been rummaging through before the hot chocolate had distracted him. “It’s already perfect -”

Kasey groaned. “Don’t say it!”

Alex grinned, looked Kasey dead in the eye and wrapped his arms around Natalie’s waist. “All I want for Christmas is you,” he sang.

Natalie tipped her head back, a loud laughter bubbling from her lips. The urge to cringe was well worth seeing the corners of her eyes wrinkle in the way Alex loved.

“Seriously, Bee,” Alex knocked his forehead lightly against Natalie’s. “You need to stop watching rom-coms with Lily. There might not be a montage in the background, and we might have to call a truce every now and then, but the magic doesn’t reside in unrealistic Hallmark-esque perfection, but in the fact that at the end of it all, when I turn those lights on for the first time, it’s still going to be you who I want to be there next to me.”

“I’m going to barf,” Kasey whined. His apparent revulsion didn’t stop him padding across the hardwood in socked feet to join them.

Natalie smacks Kasey lightly on the arm. “Okay, Mr. ‘It’s you, it's always been you.'"

“I still have the note so don’t try to deny it,” Alex added, tugging Kasey closer. He does still have it. The neat looping cursive written on the back of an old take-out leaflet. He'd first found it tucked into the front pocket of his backpack, where he always kept his boarding pass. Tired, lonely and already wondering if he had just destroyed one of his most important friendships for one night of (admittedly wonderful) intimacy, Alex had read it over and over.

It's you, It's always been you. And now it's her too. Us, if you want it to be. I know it's a lot to think about. Take your time. We'll wait.

“The garland is up in the entrance,” Kasey deflects, letting himself be enveloped in their heat. Alex didn’t know how Kasey had managed to put the thing up alone, but he’d been insistent and there had only been one incident of cursing, quickly followed by him telling the length of fir to take that.

“Thanks, love.” Alex said, untangling himself from his partners and turning back to the two storage boxes on the table. They were fabric and had dividers, the sort of thing you found on QVC. Finn had chirped at him for weeks when he’d first got them, but in Alex’s opinion you could never take holiday decorations too seriously. “So, gold or silver baubles?”

“Gold.”

“Silver.”

Alex looked up to two pairs of eyes staring at him expectantly. He threw his hands up, shaking his head. “Oh, no no. This is between you two now.”

“Rock, paper, scissors?” Natalie suggested, already stretching her arm out.

“Best of three?”

“Five,” Natalie hummed decisively. “This is a very important matter.”

Alex knew how this was going to go and it wasn’t going to be quick. Glancing down at his mug of hot chocolate, he saw his marshmallows had become a pink and white molten mess. “I’m going to switch out the cushions and throws.”

It takes a while, but they eventually decide on gold. Gold and Red. Somehow, it takes them another hour, when there’s a plethora of baubles and bows on the tree, stockings over the fireplace and a family of gold reindeer in the corner, to connect the colours with The Lions.

“Hey!” Alex stopped, clutching a pile of faux presents. “You only wanted these colours because -”

“Let’s turn on the lights,” Kasey interrupted, a sly smirk settling onto his lips.