Mina's Christmas Present
Posted here because I belatedly realized that spamming Tumblr with 26 posts was unnecessary cruelty. So you get 25 cuts on here instead. Merry fucking Christmas.
25 Drabbles of Christmas: Part 1/3
Verse: Actor!verse
Pairing: William/Adam, William + Lucas friendship
William was knocked right out of character when Lucas suddenly wasn't Ian anymore. Instead he was still sprawled out where Ian had collapsed back out of relief a moment ago and staring up at the ceiling. And giggling. In a way that was completely undignified and William was going to have to give him short for later.
Glancing up at the crisscross of metal beams and equipment that made up the top of the sound stage, William spotted a spot of greed and red, danging right over the mark, and thus them.
Ah. Mistletoe.
Turning back around to look back at Lucas, who was biting his lip in an attempt to look serious rather than giggly, William arched a brow. That earned him a little choking noise and Lucas chuckled harder but bit it back, and William couldn't let that pass.
Leaning down like he was supposed to be doing anyway, William planted his lips onto Lucas'. But the kiss wasn't the passionate survival one in the script - instead it was a great big sloppy 'mwah'!, like the ones he used to give his brother when Walter was still fifteen and easily embarrassed.
That broke Lucas, who finally stopped holding back and burst into loud laughter, trying to squirm away from the assault of smacking kisses. William eventually let him, pulling away and letting go of himself fall sideways with his own laughter. “Aw, don't you love me anymore? I thought what we had was special!”
A foot was shoved into his side, and William just laughed as he was shoved away. “Nope, I'm only interested in people with class,” Lucas replied, noise in the air and fake English accent thickening for a moment before it all fell apart again.
“On that note,” a voice called, and they both started and gave the director sunny smiles. “I think it might be time for lunch break. You have an hour.” Louis waved a dismissive hand at them, and the crew immediately broke down and started to disappear off for food. Evan slid over next to Louis, clearly to bring over their lunch, but William caught them sharing a quiet high five, and his eyes went wide.
Huh. Apparently Evan was a good influence on Louis. Well, good.
As he stood, he caught Adam making his way over, and shot him a sunny smile. He hadn't gotten anything before work today, since it had been an early start and sleeping 20 minutes longer had sounded better, so maybe they could go somewhere and- oh woah, kissing. Kissing it was. Wrapping his arms around Adam's waist, he opened his mouth and managed to keep from smiling too hard and ruining the seal of their lips.
It was a solid minute later when Adam pulled away, the curl of his lips smug, and William let himself be a little smug as well. It was nice when Adam got jealous, even if it was a little silly because it was just acting or a prank. But it was a nice feeling, to know someone, especially a someone named Adam Mallory, was willing to fight to keep him. Panting just a little, and not really because he was out of breath, William arched a brow. “Wanna go get lunch?”
Adam met his eyes, the answering smile slow and mischievous. “I have something in my office,” he replied, voice low and smooth.
Oh boy. Heh. Food would have to wait, then. “Well then we better get going if we want to finish in an hour.” Still grinning, William let himself be pulled off by Adam, waving a cheerful goodbye to Lucas on the way out.
Verse: Belfry
Pairing: William/Lucas
There were a few things that William did like about the season. First and foremost was winter time food. Thanksgiving was kind of awesome in that sense, and didn't have the same kind of effect on him as Christmas. But with winter came other goodies that William couldn't bring himself to resent. One of those was hot chocolate. It was sweet and warm, even if he couldn't feel it, and it made him pick up the temperature of the liquid for just a little while. And since he'd just gotten in from an hour of running around with Princess in the already six inches deep snow, William figured he deserved some. Now that he didn't offer enough warmth when he wasn't petting her, she'd curled up in her bed and was now snoring soundly. William had been trying to tucker out all that energy, so mission accomplished and all that.
On the other hand, Lucas was right over there with one of his dumb romance books and not at all asleep, which was just a new mission for him. Setting aside the empty mug, he crept closer as quietly as he could. Under normal circumstances, Lucas would have seen this coming a mile away, because he was creepy and could read William's mind. But this time he was absorbed in his book, and didn't so much as look up until William's hands were already sneaking under his shirt, making him squeak.
The smack to the head by the stupid book was totally worth it just for that noise.
“William!” Lucas' voice was scolding in that way that had gotten him labeled as 'mommy', and William deflated just a little automatically. That tone could make him feel bad for anything. It really wasn't fair. He needed some weapon or defense he could use in retaliation, but so far he hadn't found anything. “I was reading.”
Since replying 'so?' would just get him in deeper trouble, William shot him as innocent a smile as he could manage. “But my hands are warm.”
The implications of that sunk in after a moment, and Lucas' eyes lit up just in time for William to sneak his hands up higher, not quite touching his nipples. “Ah. I see. That was still mean of you.”
“You don't have to stop reading,” William pointed out, since that gambit seemed to be working. “Just sit up.”
After some squirming, William slipped behind him until Lucas was leaning back against his chest, which was nice even if the dumb book got opened back up. But at least now William was nice and distracted by getting to run his hands over Lucas' chest, letting the heat flow out of his hands and enjoying it while it lasted.
Pressing his cheek against Lucas', William kissed the corner of his mouth and closed his eyes, just enjoying the weight of him against him, and the soft sounds of turning pages and Princess' snores. And maybe it was because of just how nice that was, or because Princess had tuckered him out just as much as he'd done to her, but a few minutes later William slipped away into his dreams.
Verse: Post 3 AM Issues
Pairing: Chris/Dave
Northern New York was really fucking weird. There weren't enough buildings and way too many trees, and when Dave looked out the window into the woodsy area behind the safe house the first night, he'd seen the light reflecting off of animals' eyes. He'd freaked out for a little while, afraid of bears or wolves or something that was going to eat them, until one had moved close enough for him to see it was just a deer.
Dave missed the city. He missed the lights and the noise and the cover of the buildings. Especially the noise. Out here, with only one private road and this house as traces of civilization, it was creepily quiet, and that more than anything told Dave how isolated they were.
He wondered if Chris was feeling the same way. Maybe. Then again, it was probably quieter in a penthouse complex at the top of a skyscraper then it was on the second floor with the window facing the street. But Chris also had more reason to feel isolated and cornered, since they were hiding her from his dad.
After Chris had snapped and threatened his dad with his own gun, and then they'd made their escape, Big Daddy had apparently decided they were useful enough to keep safe. And so they'd been shuffled out here, hidden away with only a quick night for Dave to catch his dad and spin a completely stupid lie about a school sponsored trip for part of the holiday. And now he was under orders to try and get Chris to talk and spill about his own dad.
To be honest, Dave wasn't trying all that hard. Chris had been quiet in a way that only made Dave more aware of the quiet outside, and he figured the first order of business was getting him to perk up a little instead of... whatever was going on in his head.
Which was why Dave had dragged him outside the first time snow started to fall. They'd had plenty of snow in New York City already, and even before they came there was already a few inches on the ground, but this was different. In the city the snow looked good for maybe an hour, and then traffic and people and the grime of urban living blackened and pushed it into corners, making it this gross slush that just made everything more miserable. And it never fell nice and evenly like this - too many buildings and too much wind picking up between them. It was just... yuck.
But here it was a freakin' postcard, stretching out like a blanket. The only things that marred the picture were their footprints and the prints left over from the deers and whatever else last night.
For a while, Chris just stood like a statue, staring at his feet and then Dave as he explored the terrain, mostly just enjoying the squeaky noises the snow made when it compacted. It took almost five minutes before he finally spoke. “You look like a fucking idiot, you know that?”
“So what?” Dave shot back, beyond caring. Especially if him being an idiot got Chris talking. “It's fun.”
That earned him a snort, the derisive kind that was more real Chris or Redmyst than Red Mist. Part of Dave liked that he could tell the difference now, while part of him was still a little baffled and weirdly hurt, even if it wasn't anyone's fault. It wasn't much of an issue these days, but Dave still had his moments. “How could that be fun? Unless I was a retard like you.”
Gritting his teeth in frustration, Dave picked up a handful of snow and compacted it, keeping his back to Chris. His nerves didn't feel temperatures that well anymore, so he could see his fingers get red from cold but it just felt like a mild chill. “Like this.” With that he whirled around and flung the clump into Chris' face.
It didn't hit true, but it did explode on his shoulder, and that was enough to make Chris' mouth fall open, loosing the stuck-up expression for one of completely shock. Then his eyes narrowed and he shot Dave a glare, reaching down for his own snowball.
The resulting fight was completely predictable, and left them both shivering and flopped out in the snow. When they went back inside they were going to be soaking wet, and for a minute Dave wished he was in his costume. If it was good for cold water it should be good for snow too, right? He'd never thought to try it before.
“I've never done that before,” Chris suddenly murmured, breath hot against the side of Dave's face, and he turned to meet his eyes. They were barely a few inches apart, and the knowledge of that and exactly what they could do together made the chill seem suddenly less cold.
Licking his lips, and feeling his cheeks heat a little when Chris' eyes followed the movement, Dave offered a grin. “What, had your ass kicked in a snowball fight?”
This time the snort was much more friendly, the snootiness joke more than serious, and Dave was reminded of hanging out after patrol, the impression sudden and fierce. That was why he was still here, to be honest. Because Chris was Red Mist just as much as he was Christopher D'Amico, just like how Dave was Kick-Ass. “You wish,” he drawled. Then the playfulness fell away, and he looked suddenly more vulnerable and a lot younger. “I've never had a snowball fight at all.”
Oh. That was sad, somehow. Not that the snowball fights with black slush were as much fun as this nice powder, but at least he'd tried with friends. What was he supposed to say to that? “I...”
Suddenly, Chris' face closed off, and he turned to look up at the sky instead. “It's not a big deal. It wasn't that much fun anyway. I don't see the appeal.” It was funny, how he thought he could just bluff like that and people would forget what he did and just believe him. Maybe they'd pretended to, when he was a kid. Or maybe it was just hope.
“We can do it again,” Dave offered, and his lips quirked up with pride when Chris' shoulders shifted. Got him. “All of it. Snowmen and snow angels and forts and everything. Then you'll know for sure if it wasn't worth missing.”
Finally looking back at him, Chris gave a nod that was supposed to be dignified but was mostly just hopeful. “Right. Good idea. I should know exactly how stupid all this shit is so I know exactly how better off I am without it.” Then, like he was aware of how much bullshit he was spewing, Chris gave a tiny flash of a rueful smile.
It was as close to a 'thanks' as Dave was going to get, but he'd take it.
Tugging Chris closer, because he was kind of cool that he was the stronger one and therefore could, Dave pressed a kiss to his cheek, long enough that he could feel how cold it was, even with his fucked up nerves. Not on the lips. Not since that night. But maybe soon. When everything was a little less raw. “I think there's hot chocolate mix inside.”
Nodding, Chris flailed for a moment in the snow before he got his feet under him and stood. Brushing off his clothes in the same way he used to brush dirt of his costume (and that really should have been a giveaway, in hindsight - what kind of superhero cared about dust?), he held out his hand to help Dave up.
At first Dave was going to smack it away and laugh, because he wasn't a girl and he didn't need help up from some snow. But there was something in Chris' expression that made him pause, so he took it instead and let Chris help him.
When they walked back to the house, it didn't seem as quiet as it had before.
Verse: Belfry
Pairing: William/Evan
There was something more fun about reading in weird positions. Like it made the otherwise sedentary activity better for him. Or maybe it just added another layer of entertainment. William wasn't willing to stop doing it for long enough to give the matter proper thought.
Currently, his ankles were hooked over the back of the couch, and the rest of him was stretched so that his torso could hang off the seats until his hair, which was still too long, just barely grazed the floor. Balancing like that without his arms was a little more difficult, but not that bad with the multiple points of contact. Plus, he was comfortable like this. The benefits of not having blood to rush to odd places.
What was making it harder to read was the candy cane in his mouth, which kept shifting into his view. But William wasn't willing to bite into it quite yet, since he was still working on making it as sharp as he could be. He wanted this thing so dangerous that the doctors would try to confiscate it. And then he'd shank them. Like a boss.
Okay, the twins needed to spend less time on the internet, because it was starting to rub off on him.
The door opened suddenly, and William fumbled the book in surprise. If he'd been sitting properly he would have caught it, but like this it only had like five inches to fall, and it was only luck that it didn't break his candy cane on the way down. Turning to look, he saw Evan give him a strange look and offered him an awkward smile around the treat. For a second he felt oddly guilty, like he'd broken their anti-Christmas pact, but that was ridiculous. It was just candy, and Evan had given him some to eat last year. Something about an oral fixation, which was still dumb.
Waving, William reached around blindly for where his book had gone. Rather than letting him find it, Evan sat down next to him on the couch and pushed him with his foot until he swung by the pivot point of his ankles. Eventually they slipped and the majority of his body landed on the cushions, while his head dropped those last crucial inches to smack into the ground. “Ow. The fuck was that for?”
“You look ridiculous,” Evan informed him blandly, even as he pushed William's shirt up until gravity caught it and bunched it under his arms. “It's distracting me from my bad mood.”
Rolling his eyes, William finally sat up, the motion easy from all the push-ups he did, and snorted. “So sorry about that. Won't happen again.”
Ignoring the jibe, Evan arched a brow at him. “Got into the candy canes already?”
William stuck his nose in the air, giving the treat an extra strong suck. “If they want to keep them safe then they shouldn't leave them on the tree for anyone to steal. Or for the tree to be knocked over. These things happen.”
For a second Evan didn't respond, and when he did it was a huff instead of the laugh William had expected. “You need to stop it.”
“What, the candy canes? Why? I mean, it's a Christmas thing, but it's also a peppermint stick with a handle. There's no way I can say no to that. It's like peppermint tastes better when it's in the shape of a little cane. Or a cane with a hidden knife.” William pulled the candy out of his mouth and licked at the impressively sharp point as proof. They'd gotten the good ones this year, because they came to a really nice edge instead of the sort of clumpy thing that happened sometimes.
Scowling harder, Evan grabbed the front of William's shirt and tugged him forward, slapping the hand holding the candy cane out of the way so he could kiss him. “No, not because of Christmas. Because I don't like being jealous of an inanimate object.”
Oh. “Would you prefer I made your dick into a shank instead?” William asked, voice as casual as he could make it, even as he opened his lips to let Evan explore the minty-cool mouth.
That earned him a shove to the chest, which did nothing to ruin William's chuckling. “Okay, you have to make that one up to me. Because that was painful to even think about.”
Yeah, fair enough. Sliding his free hand down to pull down Evan's zipper, he held out the candy cane. “Fine. Hold this.”
Rather than just hold it, Evan wrapped his lips around the candy and gave it his own suck. Part of William was sulking because that was his food, but that was fine. It would keep it from hardening or something while he was busy.
When William ducked his head to get to business, he heard a loud, telltale crunch.
“Evan!”
Verse: Bakery!AU
Pairing: William/Twins
“How can this be so hard?” Shaking the stupid stand that just would not actually stand, William took a step back before he did something unwise, like throw the entire damned thing out the window of the shop. His poor bakery didn't deserve that just as much as it deserved a tree. Now if only the tree would work.
From his perch on one of the tables (and William was going to make him clean that after), Adam kicked his feet and offered a smirk. “Clearly the tree hates you.”
Glaring at his own personal peanut gallery, William scowled. “It's possessed.”
Evan rolled his eyes at the both of them as he moved behind William and helped to lift up the stupid tree. It wasn't even that tall - maybe five foot - but it refused to work with him. But Evan seemed to be able to wrestle it into something resembling order, so William worked on fixing the base and working with the cut end of the tree (who cut them jagged?) into the slot.
When it was all finally settled, William squirmed out from under the tree and shook the pine needles out of his hair. Then he pulled Evan down into his lap, pressing a quick kiss to his lips and then glaring at Adam, who was still watching like they were some kind of show. “I like Evan best.” That made Evan preen but Adam just roll his eyes. Rude. He should be ashamed of himself.
“Fine, fine. Is it decorating time yet?” Adam's eyes were nearly glowing with excitement, and William had to once again fight the urge to track down their parents and punch them. Their childhood was just sad, and that was coming from a freakin' orphan. Then again, he'd been orphaned at 18, so he'd had that long to get some good out of it.
But that was a good question. William had originally wanted to have their whole weird family decorate the tree. But Walter begged off any and all tree labor duties, citing that they were atheists and it was all stupid (to which William responded that Walter was the stupid one and there had been a pillow fight), Louis was spending the next couple of days at his parents' house doing family tradition stuff, and Lucas was sulking because he'd refused to go because he'd wanted Louis to insist more, which he didn't. Which basically just left them. “Yeah, okay. Lemme get the box.”
Most of the ornaments William had were generic stuff, because it was supposed to be for the atmosphere and the customers more than them, though now maybe making fucktons of Christmas cookies would be a little more fun. Probably not. William was already sick of them, and it was only the 5th. But a couple were from before their lives went wonky - a couple of family pictures ones, and some of the crafty ones Walter had made in Kindergarten and First Grade, because it embarrassed him to no end. The real fun was the garland, which was super reflective and looked almost like it glowed when it was on.
William put on the personal ornaments himself, because he couldn't not, but otherwise he busied himself with the star and the garland, letting the twins place the rest of the ornaments. It was kind of fun to see how they turned into such children about that stuff, in a sad sort of way. Actually, he felt kind of bad about this. Evan had told him that their tree had been a weird status thing that came already decorated, and was just a showpiece. And this was basically the same thing with some work required and a couple of not so formal touches.
Settling back on the table that Adam had sat on before, William watched them finish up. They spent a minute admiring and arguing about if certain ornaments should be moved minutely to help make the display more even, but in the end they decided it was good and moved back onto either side of William. As the sun went down and the lights became more obvious, it looked better and better. “Maybe next year we can do a proper one. In our rooms. That sound good?”
“I'll agree to that.” Evan shot William a bland look, because he probably knew what William was doing, and planted a quick kiss to his cheek. On his other side, Adam flopped against him, letting William hold up his weight and just being a warm mass.
William was pretty sure that no Christmas would be better than the ones with his parents, but damn if this one didn't come close.
Verse: SPN
Pairing: William/Twins
Flat on his stomach and ears twisted back, William glared at the top of the tree, doing his best not to growl. Mostly because he'd already done that until Adam got sick of it and pulled his ears until he stopped. But still.
When the twins had gotten a Christmas tree, William had been totally supportive of it. Less because he actually cared about the stupid Pagan/Christian/Yule/Whatever holiday and more because making the room smell like pine sounded awesome. And then all the lights and baubles had been shiny and nice and it had seemed like a great idea.
Until they put that stupid angel on the top of it. Now William wanted all of it gone.
“I don't understand why you hate it so much,” Evan muttered, barely looking up from his book as he turned the page. “It's just a decoration.”
Tail lashing, William bared his teeth at the stupid thing, infuriated by it's blank stare. “Then get rid of it if it's just a decoration.”
Snorting, Evan just turned the page again. Which was rude, because reading with vampire speed was cheating. That was the rule. “Not until you act like an adult and explain yourself to me.”
William didn't understand why he had to. The angel was a little cross-eyed and it's arms dropped in a way that made it look like it was going to pounce at them at any moment. Everything about it was dead and plastic and it just sent shivers through William's spine. “It's creepy. I think it's possessed.”
Rolling his eyes, Evan chuckled. “I think the ghosts of the building have better things to do with their time.”
“You know what I mean!” William flipped over, intending to drive home exactly how wrongity-wrong that stupid angel was, but instead Adam slipped on top of him, shoving his fingers into William's hair and petting in the way that made his muscles feel like they were melting.
Once William's eyes started to fall closed, Adam pressed a lingering kiss on his lips. “Do you need to be distracted, dear?” The tone was beyond condescending, but it was hard to take offense when his ears were being scratched.
Managing a grumble, even if it came off sounding like a plea for more, William sighed. “No, I need it gone.”
Adam just laughed at him, because he was a total asshole with magic fucking fingers. “Would you like to be distracted anyway?”
Fine, whatever, so long as Adam kept it up. William nodded, figuring it would either be more of this or maybe something sexy. He didn't expect to be pulled up by his shoulders, and then manhandled until Evan could sink his fangs into him. The venom coursed through him, making his muscles go limp and his head swim for a moment. “S'not what I meant.”
“Oops.”
Before William could respond to that, there were fingers in his hair again, and it was impossible not to just shift into sweet dreams.
And when he woke up, the angel was off the tree and on the coffee table, eyes on his face.
“I HATE YOU BOTH.”
Verse: Belfry
Pairing: Evan/Louis
Humming to himself as he helped to roll out the pie crusts, Louis glanced up at Evan and then back down. He wasn't sure what had gotten Evan into this kind of mood, but it was a definite change from the sulk he'd been in. Louis knew he had plenty of reason to be sad around the holidays - with the exception of himself, they all did - but he freely admitted that he'd rather everyone embrace the nice feelings that were supposed to come with this time instead of wallowing.
But now Evan suddenly wanted to make desserts, which was odd enough for him even without the season looming over them. His usual stress relief tended to not dabble into baking, to William's perpetual whining (and to think Louis had once considered William intimidating). So Louis was fairly certain his questions were valid ones. Except that he was scared to voice them, in case it snapped Evan out of it and he went back to getting banned from the crafts area for burning plastic Christmas trees (and the room still smelled awful from last time).
Eventually Evan noticed his staring and arched a brow. “Something up?”
“Not in the way you mean,” Louis replied, pulling over the pie pan and setting the crust inside, trimming it until it fit properly and then working to make sure it was properly ridged like in pictures. Evan had told him a few times that it wasn't necessary, but Louis liked the way it looked, and eventually the subject had been dropped. “I'm just a little surprised at your behavior. Pies aren't exactly typical.”
Louis nearly groaned aloud when Evan's jaw tightened. That had been exactly why he hadn't been asking. “What do you mean? I can make pies if I feel like it. If you don't want to help you don't have to.”
Holding up his hands to forestall any further aggression, Louis shrugged helplessly. “I mean you normally don't like to bake. Goodness, Evan, I'm not accusing you of anything. I was just wondering why you suddenly had the urge to make a chocolate pie.” Lately, the rise of his temper had started to take alternate turns. It still usually brought out the traces of Radnor that still clung stubbornly to the back of his head, but more and more often it would be something... else. The Brooklyn accent he'd thought he'd lost as a child would come back just a little, and instead of going more formal his wording would become less so. It was disconcerting in a different way from when Radnor's speech patterns took over, because he couldn't help but feel slightly odd at the realization that it was how he was supposed to sound.
Slowly, inch by stubborn inch, Evan relaxed and nodded. “Okay. I just felt like it, I guess.”
Part of Louis suspected this was some sort of reaction to his past. That at some point it had become some personal tradition or another to make sweets or pie or whatever. But he was starting to learn when it wasn't beneficial to voice such thoughts, so he just nodded. “That's fine. If nothing else it'll certainly make a couple of people happy.”
Now that the crust was done, Louis pushed it over to Evan, who started to fill it with the chocolate-peanut butter mix he'd been making. “Yeah, this won't last long. Watch Adam steal half of it. Happens every time.”
“I think he'll have some competition,” Louis replied, voice dry, and he opened up the oven to let Evan put the pie in to bake. “It's a nice gesture, though. And it's only a good thing that you can make people happy with your baking.”
Evan's eyes flashed up to his, and Louis tried not to preen and mostly succeeded. Looks like he'd gotten it. His 'gift for reading people' (Lucas' words, as opposed to William's, which were 'creepy fucking mind reading') came in handy with the mind field that was their combined issues. “Well it certainly has it's benefits. Mostly in the form of tasty food.”
There was no arguing with that. In fact... Reaching over, Louis hopped up onto the counter, which he would continue to do no matter how many times they were found by the kitchen staff and scolded, and then grabbed the bowl of mix. Running his finger through it, he brought it to his mouth and sucked. Mmm. Like the candy. Actually, wait. “Isn't Adam allergic to peanuts?”
“Some nuts, yeah. This is a mix, though. It just tastes like it. Belfry always uses it, since it's such a common allergy.” Setting the timer, Evan moved over to stand in front of Louis and tugged him down for a kiss. It was slow and exploratory, as Evan searched out every last remaining bit of mix. “You really don't need anymore of that.”
Crinkling his nose, Louis glanced at the bowl and then back at Evan. “Why not? It's tasty and you'll just rinse it away anyway.”
Giving him a slow smile, Evan leaned forward even more. “You're already too sweet.”
Unable to help it, Louis giggled and knocked their foreheads together. “I don't think that was as smooth as you think it was, I'm sorry. I'm flattered, though.”
“Everyone's a critic,” Twisting for another kiss, Evan's brows jumped up. “You know, we have half an hour before the pie is ready.”
Grinning back, Louis wrapped his arms around Evan's shoulders. “We'd better make the most of it, then.”
Verse: Actor!Verse
Pairing: Louis + Evan friendship
The sound of cursing was what woke Louis up, and for a moment he glanced around in confusion at the room. This wasn't his apartment. At least, he was pretty sure it wasn't. It took a long minute for him to remember that, oh yes, he was staying at Evan's until his place was fixed up. Apparently there had been an outbreak of mildew, and everyone on his floor had to make alternate accommodations for a couple of weeks. Thus, why Evan had invited him to spend it here.
All the time they'd been spending together had actually been good. Evan was sharp and knew more about the making of movies then Louis had expected, even with the knowledge that he'd used to be a student of film. And he'd been thoroughly assured that Evan's 'embarrassing hero worship masquerading as a crush' had since faded into a more healthy respect, they'd settled into something much more easy. Louis was almost certain he'd never found someone he clicked with as well as Evan, now that he wasn't twitching in awkward terror of any romantic advances every time they were in the same room. As it turned out, the lines he wrote for his characters were much harder to say in real life.
Finally untangling himself from the covers and taking a quick glance at the clock - awake at 8 on their day off? - Louis padded into the living room and just stared. Evan was wearing a Santa hat as he teetered on a step stool. In his hand was a strand of tinsel that drooped and tangled around his feet. The start of it was in one corner of the room, and it looked like Evan had managed to make it almost to the end of that wall before he'd gotten into this mess.
Leaning against the door and watching him struggle for a minute, amused at the level of failure his normally hyper-competent assistant was showing, Louis couldn't keep the laughter from his voice. “Would you like some help?”
Evan whirled around and very nearly fell over, and Louis took a couple of steps forward in alarm before he caught himself. “Uh, hi. Sorry, did I wake you? I meant to have this done before you woke up. Getting a tree and then putting it up was kind of out of the question, since the fake ones are expensive and it's even worse to try and get a real one in the city, not to mention I'd have to carry it up here, so I figured I'd get a little creative, and... well...” He trailed off, going a little pink in the cheeks. “I wanted it to be a surprise.”
“Well, I'm surprised,” Louis offered, and snickered when Evan shot him a bland look. “You're babbling. You're babbling like me. Clearly you need help, and possibly eggnog. Let me help?”
Sighing, Evan nodded, and between the two of them they managed to get his foot free of the tangle, even if those pajama pants would probably never be completely free of shiny plastic. “How about you go and hold up the other end at the corner, and I'll attach it like that?”
Frowning a little, he glanced at the corner, and then his feet. “Do you have another stool? Because I regret to remind you that I'm short as hell, here. I don't like being reminded of it myself, but..”
Shooting him an odd look, Evan tilted his head toward the kitchen area. “Or you could use a chair.”
Oh, right. That would be the alternate solution. Ignoring the way Evan snickered at his back, Louis retrieved the chair with as much dignity as he could manage.
Between the two of them, they managed to get the tinsel done much faster. After that, Evan procured a Santa hat for Louis as well, and they went about replacing some of the various items around the apartment with more seasonal ones. And after, there was eggnog.
Once they were finished, the place looked properly Christmas-y, and they settled on the couch to flip through the channels. “Looks good, right?” Evan asked, looking around.
In truth, it was more minimal then what Louis was used to, but he didn't really mind not spending Christmas with his parents this year, if only to avoid the usual questions ('When are you going to get a real job?' 'Why haven't you found a nice girl yet, dear?'). Yes, he missed Alexandria, but he kept up with her on the internet fairly often. And it still irritated him that she had better grammar than him in emails, since he tended to resort to chat speak when he was busy. The replies were generally filled with admonitions about how he should use real words. His poor sister, such a stick in the mud. He feared for the day she finally realized she could let loose. “I think it's great.”
Beaming at him, Evan turned to the TV guide, looking for something good to watch. “You know, I have a ripped DVD of Santa Clause vs the Martians.”
Blinking at him and then grinning back, Louis laughed. “Then what the hell are you waiting for? Go get it.”
Delightfully bad movies, eggnog and a good friend. This really was turning out to be a good holiday. Tinsel strands down his shirt and all.
Verse: Actor!Verse
Pairing: William/Adam
“You've really never done this before?” Adam sounded altogether too pleased about this, and William shot him a glare on principle. He was barely standing on the stupid ice skates already, and only because he was clinging to the wall and being very careful as he transferred from carpet to ice.
Once he was wobbling on the surface, William clutched at the rim below the windows, so that as many people as possible could enjoy his humiliation, and glared down at his feet. Who came up with ice skating anyway? It was dumb. Ice was dumb. Skates where dumb. Ice skating was extra dumb. And who even liked hockey anyway? “No. Never had the chance and I haven't really wanted to.”
Skating closer with an ease that felt mocking, Adam just cooed in a way that was nothing short of condescending. “Poor baby. You'll get it eventually.” He readjusted William's hat, even though he was pretty sure it was still on fine.
Huffing at him, William tried to let go of the wall, and then went back when his legs wobbled dangerously. “You're enjoying this too much.”
Adam just laughed, completely unrepentant. “Yes, I am. I don't think I've ever seen you stumped by a physical activity before. This is hilarious.”
All William could really say to that was 'shut up', which just made Adam laugh harder. Out of pure instinct, he swiped forward to try and grab him, but Adam slid backward like it was the most natural thing, and the skates went out from under him. William hit the ground hard and groaned, shaking the flakes of ice off of his face and hair. “I think I'll just stay here.”
“No, you won't.” Yanking him up by his arm, Adam shot him a smirk. “Planking is like a year out of date now.” He stopped pulling for a moment to laugh at William's indignant look. “C'mon, if you get up I'll help you, okay?”
Finally managing to get back on his feet, William snorted. “Yeah? How do you plan to do that?”
Skating around in front of him, Adam held out his hands. “Have you never seen an episode of TV that didn't take place in the future?”
Blinking slowly, William frowned at his hands. “Won't I just pull you down too?”
Adam shrugged. “You better keep your balance, then, huh?”
For a second William just huffed at him, before he screwed his courage and put some trust in his boyfriend, reaching out to take his hands.