Trash

A thick fog encased the campfire, snuffing out its light and taking away the warmth it had provided. The voices of the other survivors grew distant, and then they were gone. Leaving Leon alone in the endless grey.

Slowly, the emptiness around him changed. The ground under Leon’s feet turned muddy and from above icy rain drenched him in seconds. Finally, the fog cleared, unveiling his new hell. The temple of purgation.

It became clear with one quick look around, that he was alone. At least for now. Sometimes the Entity placed the survivors together, other times she paired them up. But today there didn’t seem to be anyone else in his vicinity.

Not too far away on some kind of platform or other, stood a generator. Out in the open like it was, with no pallets or windows for a quick getaway, would make him an easy target for the killer. But baggers couldn’t be choosers.

Leon chose not to open the chest he found on his way to the generator and sparing the dull totem behind him only a quick glance, he sat down and started on rewiring the cables. From his position on the gen Leon had a clear view of the temple in the middle of the realm and the brick wall fencing them in. The only blind spot was right behind him where the totem sat nestled between the ruins of whatever this structure once was.

The more time passed and the more the generator progressed, the more anxious Leon became. Where was the killer? Who was the killer? Halfway done and still no heartbeat. Maybe he was lucky, and the killer was occupied with someone else on the other side of the map. Or maybe it was Myers and Leon was already getting stalked. If he was extremely lucky, it was Danny. It would be on brand for him to just watch out of the shadows and wait for Leon to notice him.

Suddenly something dark scurried by him, tearing Leon out of his concentration and prompting him to connect the wrong wires. He was quick to raise his arms in front of his face to shield himself from the small explosion. Looking behind him Leon half expected to find his boyfriend, instead there was Jeff hovering over the totem. An apologetic look passed between them before Leon went back to the generator while Jeff continued with the totem.

The explosion hadn’t only set the generator’s progress back but also alerted whoever the killer was to their position. Great. The sudden soothing aura of the now blessed totem did nothing to calm his nerves. Things went in fact from bad to worse, when suddenly Jeff’s pained scream pierced through the air behind him.

And there he was in all his glory, white mask sprinkled in blood and dark clothes hiding a surprisingly strong body; Ghostface. If it weren’t for Jeff bleeding out on the ground only a few feet away from him, Leon would be happy to see him. Instead, he sprang away from the generator and pretended to get away. He knew that Danny wouldn’t go after him for now, but they had to keep up pretences in front of the other survivors. Only the Entity knew how they would react to their secret relationship.

Not going far, Leon crouched down between the remnants of a long-gone structure, having perfect view of the hook Danny had carried Jeff to and the treeline the killer vanished behind. Out of his peripheral vision he could see Meg approaching, crouching down behind a structure just like him.

Looking back to Jeff Leon noted with dismay that the man was trying to unhook himself. He must know that at the very least Leon wasn’t too far away – why was he doing that?

Stifling a groan of frustration Leon jumped up and over the debris he’d been hiding behind, hoping that seeing him would get Jeff to stop what he was doing. Meg was right beside him, sprinting with him in the direction of the hook where Jeff was now struggling against the Entity’s claws. And of course, Danny would choose that exact moment to come back out of hiding; missing Meg with his knife by only a hairsbreadth.

All three of them came to an abrupted stop when Jeff suddenly got pierced trough by the Entity’s spidery claws. Had he just given up? Leon had been so close, only meters away. There should have still been time to get him off the hook. Why?

Looking to Meg, Leon thought that he must look just as devastated as her. Even Danny, with his knife still raised for a strike, looked perplexed. His head crooked slightly to the side as he looked at the destroyed hook. Leon couldn’t help but compare his stance to that of a confused puppy.

The momentary truce was broken when a generator turned on in the distance, jolting them back into the moment. With a shooing motion, Danny indicated for Meg to start running again, allowing her a generous head start before he reassumed the chase.

Sparing one last glance at the sky and mourning the loss of his teammate, Leon went back to the generator from the beginning. Re-entering the healing circle of the blessed totem made a cold shiver run down his spine. Had Jeff planned this? Had he put the totem up in preparation of getting sacrificed, so that they could heal themselves without the help of a medkit or someone else?

That didn’t sit right with Leon, he’d rather have the man right there beside him than that stupid totem. In the end, it didn’t matter what Jeff had been thinking. Whether he had purposefully let himself be sacrificed or it had been an accident – perhaps the rain had made the Entity’s claws slippery – because now he was gone and there were still four generators to do and only three of them left. Leon had encountered worse odds and made it out alive. And with Bill and Meg left as his remaining teammates, Leon was hopeful.

But everything was easier said than done. In no time at all first Meg and then Bill managed to get injured, and the rain made it nearly impossible to repair the generator without slipping or electrocuting himself.

Deciding to abandon the generator when Bill got hooked, Leon made quick haste to where the man’s pained scream had come from. Rounding rather than making his way through the temple, Leon fell into a sprint when he passed by the jungle gym Meg was currently keeping Danny occupied in. As long as she kept him there, Leon would be able to safely unhook Bill and move the man into the range of the blessed totem for a quick heal.

Getting the man off the hook was easy. Keeping him off the hook however wasn’t, not with Danny making it his lifegoal to target him specifically. Every attempt to lead Danny away from Bill was met with a stab in warning and not even Meg dancing just out of his reach could get him to change paths. In no time at all Bill was back on the hook and Leon was pissed. And by Danny’s clear avoidance or attempt to seriously hurt him, Leon had a clear picture in his head of what the guy had in mind.

Yeah, not today. Leon owned it to Jeff to not let the others get sacrificed. They would win this round and Danny could be mopey about it; he could complain about not getting to spend quality time with him as much as he wanted – Leon knew that whether he made it out of this alive or not, Danny would sneak into his cabin later regardless, just like he always did.

Danny went straight after Meg as soon as he had managed to put Bill on the hook for the second time. Leon waited till they were far enough away before getting the old man back down and basically dragged him into the direction of the totem to heal him. After, they sat down to finally finish the generator.

As soon as the lights turned on, they cautiously made their way into the temple and down the steps to the basement where the next generator waited for them. Being finally out of the rain didn’t stop the full body shivers thanks to his completely drenched uniform. Leon couldn’t wait to get out of this place and back to his cosy little cabin, and depending on how this trial would end, maybe he would allow Danny to snuggle under the covers with him.

Leon sat down on the gen while Bill scouted out the basement, coming back shortly after with a toolbox in hand. It always came as a surprise how much faster a generator progress with the help of others.

The doors of the basement opened, powered by the generator. And with only two more to go, the exit gates would follow soon.

Or at least that was the plan. Danny wouldn’t make it that easy to get out, though. Something he proofed with downing Meg in the next second.

That was okay, she hadn’t been hooked yet. Bill on the other hand would be dead the moment Danny got his hands on him again. It would be safest for Leon to get her alone and for Bill to move to the next generator.

Pointing his thump at his chest and then up, Leon expressed just that. Not even waiting for the man to agree or disagree with him before taking the steps two at a time and making his way up again.

Standing in the middle of the temple Leon tried to locate where the scream had come from. There was no second scream indicating that she had been hooked and for one hopeful moment, Leon thought she had been able to struggle free. That was till he saw her lying not too far away from the entrance of the temple.

Scanning the surrounding area, there was no sign of Danny’s dark form anywhere. This was a trap.

If he made his way to Meg then Danny would go for Bill, but if he didn’t, she would bleed out right there. Leon was torn, he couldn’t protect them both. As much as he hated that way of thinking – saving Meg would be the better choice. She hadn’t been hooked yet, which would increase both of their chances to escape.

Sending one apologetic glance in the direction of the basement he stepped back out into the rain. Not only weighed down by his wet clothes but also his conciseness. Every step he took away from the temple and closer to Meg put a nail in Bill’s coffin. Danny could have just as well put the knife right in his hand and told him to choose. If he couldn’t save Bill, at the very least Leon would do everything to get Meg out of this.

Falling into a sprint, Leon nearly slipped on the muddy ground as he came to a stop next to Meg. Dropping to his knees he wasted no time in helping her back up, with one arm around her middle and her arm around his neck, they made it hallway to the healing totem before Bill’s scream tore thought the air. Leon’s breath got stuck in his throat, nearly choking him. This was his fault.

They rounded the outside of the temple just in time to see Danny crouching over the man’s still body with his camera in hand. Quickly crowding Meg against the wall of the temple and clamping a hand over her mouth to keep her quiet, they watched on helplessly.

Danny wiped his knife clean with his glove and Leon’s eyes followed the movement. It was a motion that Leon always found strangely hypnotic. Every time the man used any kind of knife, should it be in the kitchen or out hunting, Leon couldn’t help but watch.

The moment was broken when Danny got up and moved out of his sight and into the forest. Waiting a moment to see if he would come back, Leon released his hold on Meg, only for her slump right back into him. She needed help, and soon.

They were just out of reach of the heal totem, but Danny had walked right into that direction. It would be too high of a risk. Letting her rest against him for a moment longer, Leon took that time to collect himself and take inventory. For the exit gates to open they needed two more generators. There was one gen in the killer shack; protected by windows and a pallet. Then the next best one would be the generator near the east gate.

Leon’s eyes landed on Bill’s lifeless body on the ground and then the toolbox next to him. If he could get that, they would have a head start on the next generator. But he had no idea where Danny had gone; he could be just out of sight hiding and waiting for them to make a move. But could they risk moving to generator without it?

In the next moment the faint aura of the totem got sniffed out, gone was their opportunity for a quick heal but it also gave away the killers position. The moment was now or never. Supporting most of Meg’s weight they started moving in the direction of the killer’s shag.

Once there Leon wasted no time pulling bandages out of one of his uniform pockets and wrapping them around Megs torso – to stop the bleeding completely she would need stiches, but at least this way they could slow it down.

Sitting down on the gen, Leon could hardly concentrate on repairing it. Eyes sweeping from one exit to the window to next exit. Ears straining to pick up any sound from beyond the shag, but the sound of the generator and the heavy rain made it impossible to distinguish between the normal woodland sounds and what could be footfalls on the muddy ground.

It was too late by the time Leon noticed the white mask between the trees. He could feel it, the sensation of being marked. The look Meg spared him over the generator let him now that she could feel it too.

The generator turned on and Danny moved. Meg and he both jumped up and to the opposite exit the killer would come through. Leon had barley any time to position himself behind her before he could feel the knife slice his back.

Everything happened in slow motion after; landing just outside of the shag in a muddy puddle, Danny stepping over him like he was nothing, Meg going down just meters away from him.

The anger that coursed through him wasn’t even meant for Danny. Not even when the man looked right back at him before holstering Meg over his shoulder, taunting him. Did you really think you could save her? The voice in his head was a mixture of his own and the killer carrying his last remaining teammate to her death.

Fists clenched Leon watched as Meg tried to struggle free, but the hook was so close and from experience Leon knew how strong Danny actually was. She wouldn’t make it out in time.

He did however feel his anger redirect when Danny didn’t come back for him once he had Meg on the hook. Instead, he stayed unmoving in front of her, watching as Meg tried to unhook herself in vain and he continued to watch as she had to struggle against the Entity.

Enough was enough, Leon wouldn’t wait for Meg to lose her fight against the claws. Crawling into the opposite direction of the hook, he hoped to find a place to hide away. Dragging himself through the mud and shrub till he found a good place between the ruins.

Leon was pissed enough that he would honestly rather bleed out than be giving an out by his boyfriend. He had failed to protect any of his teammates, Danny giving him hatch would be insult to injury. He didn’t deserve it. Didn’t deserve all the other times Danny let him go without struggle either, really.

All too soon that familiar rumble of the Entity claiming her victim echoed through the air, bouncing off the old ruins and taunting Leon with his failure to protect anyone. By now Danny must have come back to the shag to look for him. He only hoped that the rain was heavy enough to wash away his drag marks or at least make it harder to follow them.

There, not too far away from his little hiding spot, was the sound of rushed footsteps. Quickly placing a hand over his mouth to mute his heavy breathes and flattening his back against the structure he willed himself to disappear.

He didn’t even notice that he had stopped breathing, till he could no longer hear Danny and took in a greedy breath. Next, he noticed that the mudpuddle below him had turned an alarming red. Maybe the Entity would grand him his wish to bleed out. But luck hadn’t been on his side all trial.

A dong rang out and filled Leon with energy he didn’t now he still had. Enough to pick himself up and struggle to his feet. The blood loss made him woozy, dark spots dancing in his vision making it hard to concentrate on what was right in front of him. Taking his first step forward he almost crumbled to the ground again, catching himself on the structure behind him.

Just standing there and gathering his bearings, it took an embarrassing long moment for Leon to understand what had happened. Danny had closed the hatch. Which meant that he had either giving up looking for him or wanted to give Leon a chance to escape himself.

And Leon wasn’t sure what he preferred; a pissed of killer or getting an undeserved out. What he did know was that the endgame had started and that if he didn’t start moving into the direction of an exit soon, the Entity would take him herself.

Once he felt strong enough, he decided to move along the outskirts of the map instead of taking the quicker route through the middle, Leon hoped to evade Danny that way. There was no guaranty that the man wasn’t out for blood now.

Spotting a chest, Leon debated whether it be a smart to open it. There could be a medkit in there or maybe a flashlight. Both could be handy. But it would also cost him precious time.

Deciding to risk it, he crouched down and started fiddling with the lock. Seems like luck was on his side after all, Leon had never been so excited to see a flashlight in his life.

Just out of corner of his eye a dark figure flitted between the trees into the direction of the exit gate Leon had been moving to. Great. The other exit was on the opposite side of the map, till he made his way over there the time would have run out.

He would just have to try his luck with this one than. Moving along the wall that was barricading them in, Leon kept his eyes trained on his surroundings.

The ground was shaking by the time he made it to the exit, there was not much time left before the Entity would end this trial herself. Leon hadn’t seen Danny’s dark figure since that small glimpse of him earlier, he could still be around here somewhere. Leon had no other choice if he wanted to make it out, but to risk opening the gate anyways.

With one hand holding down the switch and the other grabbing the flashlight tight, he mentally counted down the seconds till the gate would open. The second red light blinked on when he felt the sensation of being watched. Eyes trailing the treeline till, they fell on a familiar white mask. Danny’s body briefly flickered silver with night shroud dropping now that he was detected.

“Are you mad at me, Bunny?” It was almost comically, the way Danny came out between the trees and stood there with his shoulders slumped. A picture of guilt. As if he felt any true remorse. He wouldn’t foul Leon in dropping his guard. “You know I’m only doing my job.”

“Do your job over there than.” Leon nearly growled, pointing his flashlight into the forest and away from him.

“Don’t be like tha-“Shining the flashlight right in Danny’s face to shut him up, Leon moved through the gate as the door finally opened. And he kept interrupting Danny’s every excuse with a new beam of light as soon as the guy set on to start again.

The air practically vibrated at this point; the time was up. Moving backwards into the fog Leon turned the flashlight off only to raise one final middle finger at his boyfriend as the fog thickened around him till he couldn’t see anything anymore.

Something was going to go wrong; Chris could feel it. The day had simply been too nice so far. Getting to sleep in with Leon in his arms, followed by lazy breakfast in bed and a shared bath after, was simply too much to be true. The universe was going to balance that out with something. Like Claire having the wonderful idea to put real candles into the tree or someone was going to overdo it on the eggnog and fall down a set of stairs. Something.

Depside that, everything was going great. They made it out of their apartment in time, no gifts left behind or candles left burning – Chris had checked that twice – and letting Leon drive hadn’t landed them in a ditch. Not even the elevators in Sherry’s building were broken. Making them a whole twenty minutes early.

Sherry, however, didn’t seem to mind that at all. She basically threw herself into Leons waiting arms the moment they knocked on her apartment door. For a moment all Chris could do was stare. The soft smile on Leon face, while he hugged the young woman to his chest, was something specifically reserved for Sherry. It made him look so much younger, like someone had taken the weight he always carried around with him off his shoulders. It made Chris feel lighter too, somehow.

There was not much time to dwell on that though, because Sherry pulled him into a hug right after too. “I’m so glad the two of you could make it.”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Leon was still wearing that soft look on his face, and Chris felt the urge to squish Leon’s cheeks between his hands and kiss the man silly. Unfortunately, Sherry ushered them into the apartment before he could do so.

Immediately they were greeted by the smell of freshly baked cookies and the end of Mariah Carey’s ‘All I want for Christmas is you’, Chris was sure that was neither the first nor last time that song had come on. Not that Chris minded, it was his favourite version of the song.

Putting down the bags, he helped Leon out of his coat first, earning himself an amused grin and a peck on the lips. “What a gentleman.”

---

Claire showed up ten minutes after them, getting the same treatment from Sherry Leon had gotten, with a bag of presents of her own. Chris let out a deep suffering sigh at the sight of the biker helmet under her arm. “Don’t tell me you drove your bike in this weather, with no protective gear. Again.”

“Alright, I won’t tell you then.” They had had this talk countless times over the years, ever since the fateful day Claire called him to share the news of passing her driving test. At the very least she was wearing a helmet. Not like a certain someone with a track rerecord for crashing every vehicle known to mankind. “Claire.”

“Chris.” She matched his weary tone, sharing a long second of eye contact before they both broke out into smiles. “Come here.” Chris stood up from his place on the couch to lift his sister into a tight hug.

“Leave something left of her for the rest of us, would you.” Leon had stood up as well, drawing Claire into a far less bone crushing embrace when Chris set her back down on the ground. “Nice sweater you got there, Leon.” It was absolutely horrendous, just like the one Clair was wearing. “Likewise.” Chris would describe the grin shared between them as devilish. Oh, he was sure now, that whatever would go wrong today was going to be their fault.

In the meantime, Jake emerged into the livingroom, balancing three cartons labelled as “Christmas” and “fragile” in his arms and Chris quickly reached for the one on the top before it could fall. Nothing would go wrong this year, not with Chris Redfield on the job.

--

To Chris’ surprise, the day didn’t end in a disaster. Sure, Leon got wrapped up in Christmas lights as Claire tried to unravel the strings from the ball it ended up in, no matter how carefully they had packed it away the previous year. And maybe they had managed to break two of the plastic ornaments. But the cookies Sherry and Jake made only came out a little darker than they should have been, not something icing and lots of sprinkles couldn’t fix. The biggest mishap of the day was Chris burning his hand on the stove while preparing dinner, but he would take it if nothing else happened today.

Having excused himself onto the balcony for a smoke gave Chris all the time in the world to observe their small party. The livingroom was illuminated by the soft lights of the Christmas tree, partly hiding the mess of the various different coloured wrapping papers littering the floor. Claire and Sherry were standing in front of the TV singing karaoke, one arm around the other and sharing a mic, both clearly drunk. Leon was filming the whole thing on his phone with a fond smile on his lips and Jake sat next to him on the couch with the squishmallow Sherry had gifted him hugged to his chest.

With the end of his cigarette also came the beginning notes of best Christmas song in existence, and Chris wasted no time in stubbing his cig out in the ashtray to join the others back in the livingroom.

The most wonderful time of the year? Only for those who didn’t have responsibilities. For everyone else it was pure stress. Having to think about what presents to buy and actually finding the time to buy them, decorating the house, baking cookies and most important of all: to actually get into the spirit.

Which wasn’t so easy if you spend most of your time fighting bioterrorism. His latest mission, a three weeklong recon which ended in a total disaster, like always, still left Leon sore.

If there was one thing Leon had learned in his many years working for the government, it was to always be prepared for everything. Like, to get a call at ass-o’clock to spring on a flight to God knows where and be ready to fight the next big bad B.O.W. that could possible be your last. Or to fake your own death because you managed once again to piss off the wrong people. So, buying Christmas presents in July was only the next logical step.

Everything was neatly wrapped and hidden away form prying eyes, not that Chris was the kind of person to spoil his surprise, but Leon was rather safe than sorry.

And with that out of the way, Leon had all the time in the world to ogle at Chris’ ass, as the man flitted in between the closet and en suite bathroom to get dressed in a hurry. Just like him, Chris had just come back from a mission, but unlike Leon, he was devastatingly unprepared for Christmas.

Luckily for the both of them, Sherry had offered to hold celebrations at her place this year. Which meant spring cleaning could wait for the new year and what little decorations Chris had hung up before he had left on his mission was enough to make their apartment look a bit more festive. There was no tree this year, but Sherry had already sent him a picture of the one she and Jake had picked out, still green and bare of any ornaments, because it had become a tradition to decorate it together with Claire on Christmas eve.

“Liking the view?” Chris, now dressed in jeans and a tight black turtleneck, leaned against the doorframe to the bathroom, arms crossed over his chest and one of his adorable smiles on his lips.

“I can’t complain.” Leon leant back on the bed, one arm behind his head and the other stretched out over Chris’ side of the bed. He would never grow tiered of looking at the Greek god that was his boyfriend. Eyes traveling from Chris’ biceps to his waist, all the way to his very nice big tights before he settled back on his face. Blue meeting beautiful brown eyes. Leon could happily get lost in their depths for ever.

Pushing himself off the doorframe, Chris ventured over to the bed, hips swaying in an exaggerated way to make Leon snort, before leaning down. Hands on either side of Leon’s head caging him in and catching his lips in a sweet kiss. Oh yes, Leon would never grow tired of this.

“Behave while I’m gone, yeah?” Planting one more kiss on Leon’s cheek, Chris pulled back.

“What if I want to be naughty? Is Santa gonna spank me?” Wiggling his eyebrows up at Chris, Leon couldn’t suppress the grin at the groan that left his partner. “He just might, if you don’t stop being a little shit.”

“You know you love it.” Chris only shook his head, a fond smile on his lips depside the gesture, while making his way out of their bedroom and into the hall. The rustling of Chris putting on his shoes and coat was followed by the jiggle of his keys when he picked them out of the bowl by the door. Leon shouted a “be safe” after him, which Chris answered with “love you too” before he closed the door behind him.

---

Nearly three hours later and halfway trough a Christmas mystery book Sherry had gifted him years ago he had finally come around to read, Leon could hear the jiggling of keys turning in the lock. In the next moment a cursing Chris shouldered his way past the door with two bags under his arms. Even annoyed Chris was a sight to behold, with furrowed brows he looked like an angry teddy bear.

“Got everything?” Leon turned back to his book, but all his attention stayed on the grumbling man behind him. “Don’t.” Chris’ voice was a deep rumble, sending a small shiver down Leon’s back. His heavy steps came to a stop behind the couch, only to press a kiss to the top of his head in greeting. Catching Chris’ cheek in one hand before the man could move away, Leon pulled him in for a real kiss. Innocent but still enough to set a spark.

“I still have to wrap the presents.” Chris’ breath, only inches away from his own face, made his body shiver in anticipation. The things this man did to him. “Hurry up then.”

I never make plans that far ahead, my ass.

They’d both been on near continuous missions for weeks and Christmas snuck up on them like a fucking licker and yet Chris was the only one running around like a headless chicken trying to get his hands on some last-minute Christmas presents.

Shouldering his way past the entrance, his hands full with bags and a raging headache from the chaos that was the shopping mall, Chris felt even more irritated to see Leon lounging on the living room sofa with a book in his lap. Normally he would appreciate the moment; admire Leon being all relaxed, wearing his reading glasses and sipping on something that wasn’t alcohol or coffee for once. But the smile he threw at Chris couldn’t be described as anything else but smug, and God did he want to strangle him right in this moment.

Lowering the bags to the ground, Chris shrugged out of his coat and pulled off his boots, catching himself short of throwing them against the wall in his frustration and putting them instead on the newspaper next to the shoe rack to dry.

“Got everything?” Leon had turned his head back to his book, but Chris could still hear the amusement in his voice. Smug bastard.

“Don’t.” Was all Chris said, rubbing one hand against his forehead – as if that had ever helped against any headache – and grabbed the bags by his feet with the other.

The foul mood shopping had put him in wasn’t going to stop Chris from leaning over the couch to press a kiss to the top of Leon’s head, and if he took a moment to just lean his head against Leon’s, to breath the man in, to calm himself and to forget the stress of the past two hours, than that was between them and that stupid snowman on the coffee table. Claire had made it in a pottery class last year – it would also stay the only class she ever went to. The snowman came out of the oven leaning a bit too much to the left to hold its own weight and needed assistance to keep up right, currently provided by two candles he was leaning against.

A hand on his cheek kept Chris from pulling away, instead he leaned further down and let himself be pulled into a kiss by Leon. And while it stayed innocent, it left his lips tingling with a want for more. “I still have to wrap the present.” Chris’ breath ghosted over Leon’s face sending a shiver down the man’s back. “Hurry up then.” Leon’s replay was breathy and the look in his eyes heated, reluctantly Chris peeled himself away from the couch after sharing one more kiss with his lover, this one far less innocent.

With regret Chris noted that he would be spending the next half an hour in the bedroom fighting with the gift-wrapping paper instead of unwrapping the present that was Leon S. Kennedy.

Unloading the bags on their bed, Chris hived a deep sigh looking at the array of presents. Nearly thirty years of buying his own presents for the people he loves, and he had yet to master the skill of gift-wrapping. Every year he thought he had gotten better at it and then a birthday or Christmas came around to remind him how wrong he was. He hoped that the red and green paper with the cute little reindeers was enough to distract from the horrible wrapping job. It probably wouldn’t hurt to put those big golden stickable bows on too, just to be sure and also make it look a bit more like he had put actual effort into it.

__

Forty-five minutes and two papercuts later Chris emerged out of the bedroom, presents all wrapped and safely put into a big IKEA bag for transportation. The earlier heat forgotten, he dragged himself over to the couch Leon was still lying on and collapsed with all the grace of a baby elephant on top off him. Leon groaned under his weight but didn’t complain about his new human planked, closing his book with a Christmas-themed bookmark, and putting it on the coffee table right next to the crooked snowman and an empty teacup instead. He squirmed under Chris till he found a more comfortable position, one arm rubbing soothing circles into Chris’ back and the other caressing his hair. The sensation sent tingles down his spine, leading him to bury his head in the juncture between Leon’s neck and shoulder, going boneless in his lovers hold.