Secret Santa 004
Title: How Tyson Stole Christmas
Author: nuclearxsquid for xrysomou
Rating: PG-13 for mild swearing.
Word Count: ~1,500
Pairing: Nick/Tyson, side Chris/Mike
AN: I hope you enjoy this little fic :D It’s a uni AU wrapped up in Christmas paper. “It’s adorable! :D” - Leanne. Betaed by the lovely ashling_lily (who is also probably the reason this actually got done “Oh yeah! *highfive* - Leanne) and cheerleaded by fortune8te (who is the reason this was started). “Basically, she’s thanking everyone because it’s CHRISTMAS! - Leanne STOP WRITING MY AUTHOR NOTE FOR ME. Anyways, Merry Christmas! :)
The late end of term and high plane costs prevented Nick and Tyson from returning home to Oklahoma that year, though it did not stop them from celebrating. Their apartment was decked out in every item from the Christmas section of the Dollar Store, and Tyson had gone overboard with the garland and tinsel: draping it over every piece of furniture and hanging from the ceiling. And the sheer amount of lights they used to decorate made the both of them thank every entity in the sky that they did not pay for utilities. The scent of cookies wafting lazily from their small kitchen and a pumpkin pie flavored candle (that surely violated their renting agreement) created a delicious mix of scents that created the perfect holiday atmosphere.
“Nick! Nick! Nicky, try my special homemade cookies!” Tyson beamed at Nick from the kitchen doorway, proudly bearing a sheet of cookies clutched in hands covered in the most ridiculous looking oven mitts.
Nick did not particularly want to pull himself off of the couch, Tyson had been rushing him around the city and house getting everything prepped for Christmas for the past month, and he wanted to sit damn it! But Tyson’s face was eager to ignore. Running a hand through his hair, he reluctantly pushed himself to his feet and padded across the living room.
The cookies were still hot, but the smell was too enticing to wait for them to cool. Biting into the cookie, Nick let out a muffled yelp, partly from the temperature, but mostly from the taste.
"Ugh, gross.That was disgusting!" Nick grimaced, spitting into the sink. Tyson's face fell. "I think I just ate an entire spoonful of salt!"
"Don't be stupid, there's only a half teaspoon in the recipe!" Tyson retorted. Looking up Nick flinched. Somehow, Tyson was suddenly at the end of his patience - you could tell by the way his eye was twitching. "You hate my decorations, you hate my cookies! What's next, do you hate my tree, too?"
"No, no, Tyson, the tree is fine,” Nick quickly reassured, hand placating.”All I'm saying is your cookies are, well, sort of shit," he attempted to explain himself.
"Fuck off and leave my cookies alone!" Tyson growled, slamming the tray on the counter. The cookies jumped in the air from the force and clattered down on to the bench and floor.
"Ty-" Nick's phone beeped, distracting him from what he was saying. It was the alert warning him that he needed to leave for class - the last one of the semester. Torn, Nick’s eyes flicked between the door and Tyson’s hunched over shoulders retreating to the kitchen. he wanted to stay and talk some sense into Tyson, but the final exam was half of his grade, not something that he could just skip. "I have to go," Nick explained while Tyson stubbornly looked the other way. “I’ll be back, all right? We’ll talk then.” Grabbing his keys and bag he rushed to the door. “Just, pause this whole conversation, okay? It’s paused. Officially.” Dragging the door shut, he mentally willed Tyson to not do anything drastic.
---
Carefully juggling the very expensive cup of peppermint strawberry hot chocolate - something that he had to request specially - that he had bought from the campus coffee shop, Nick edged the door open, calling, “Ty? We can un-pause now. I’ll admit, I...” Turning around, he trailed off in horror.
The room was completely bare: all the decorations were gone. The tinsel and lights and bits and pieces that Tyson had collected throughout the month were just... gone. Bewildered, he stepped cautiously into the room staring around the now un-christmas-fied room, dumping his bag on to the couch. “Tyson?” No response. “Ty? Come on, I don’t know what you’ve done, but surely we can talk about this!” Silence.
Now worried, he walked through the rooms, checking for any sign of life. Tyson was nowhere to be found. Only Tyson’s cell phone, abandoned on the kitchen counter, gave any sign of his recent presence in the apartment. Fumbling for his phone, he quickly hit Mike’s speed-dial. Listening to it ring, he quickly peered under the bed one more time.
“Hello?”
“Mike, I’ve lost Tyson.”
“Lost?”
“Well, yeah, he’s not where I left him, so, that counts as lost right?” Nick replied, slumping against the doorway.
“Well, he- um?”
Nick blinked, straightening up. “Do you know where he is?”
There was a muffled shriek from the other end of the phone. “I have - um - no idea as to what you mean. He’s definitely not here.”
“I think I hear him in the background, though. What are you talking about?”
“Yeah, nope. I surely do not know what you’re talking about.” Mike said, and then the line went dead.
Nick gave his phone a weird look and decided to head over to Mike and Chris’ apartment. He was sure that it had been Tyson’s voice he heard screaming in the background, so he figured Tyson would run to something familiar.
Throwing a jacket on, Nick grabbed his keys and set out for the Lofts, pulling his collar up against the wind. The air was biting, threatening snow.
He took the steps to their second floor apartment and hesitated before knocking firmly on the door. More muffled shouts came through the door before Chris opened it. “Hello, Nick,” he drawled.
“Um. Hi?” Nick said. “Is Tyson here?”
Chris grinned in a frankly scary manner. “No, he is not. Not at all.”
Nick narrowed his eyes, “What are you talking about? I could hear him over the phone.”
Chris blinked. “I do not know of what you speak.” With wide eyes that conveyed panic, he closed the door in Nick’s face.
“Um.” Nick grimaced, unsure of what to do next. He knocked again, “Tyson? Tyson, please, can we talk?”
Nick strained to hear the yelling through the door, and then jumped as something large thudded into the wood. “What do you want?”
“Tyson, what are you doing here? I thought we were going to celebrate Christmas together?”
“We were, until you insulted my cookies!” Tyson said defensively.
Nick was not sure what was going on. Sure, he figured the cookies set Tyson off, but was it really enough to justify this behavior? “Please open the door so that we can talk this out!”
“No. My cookies were not good enough for you, so neither is my Christmas cheer!” Nick could even hear the pout in Tyson’s voice.
“Tyson, I’m sorry I insulted your cookies. Why did you get so upset over it? They’re just cookies. You’ve insulted my cooking before. Lots of times, actually.”
It was quiet on the other side of the door for a few moments, and then it swung open slowly, a pouting Tyson on the other side. “I know I do.” He took a deep breath and apologized, “I’m sorry for stealing Christmas and overreacting and stuff. I just- I didn’t think I would, but I miss home, and I miss my mom. Especially her cookies. And it was her recipe that I made, I just wanted something from home for Christmas. And then when you shot it down, it was just... a breaking point.”
Nick’s face softened, “Hey, man. It’s okay. I really am sorry, too.”
Tyson took a tentative step forward, and they embraced, Tyson tucking his face down into the curve of Nick’s neck.
"That is the most pathetic fight I have ever seen," a voice interrupted their moment. They turned to see Chris and Mike standing in the living room wearing matching looks of amusement.
"Just because your love is not as magical as ours does not mean that we are pathetic!" Tyson said defensively, one arm still looped around Nick.
"Whatever, man. You can't say shit to us because you interrupted our pre-Christmas celebration," Chris said.
"I found them naked when I arrived," Tyson explained to Nick, looking sheepish.
"That is more information than I will ever need to know,” Nick laughed. “You wanna take our Christmas wonderland back to our apartment?” he asked, glancing around at the mess of decorations dominating Chris and Mike’s lounge room.
Tyson nodded, and it took them a few trips to move their wonderland back into their home, but it was worth it in the end, when the magical atmosphere was restored and the playlist Tyson made was cheerfully blasting carols throughout their apartment.
Hours later, they cuddled under a blanket in front of their tree with fresh hot chocolate and Santa hats. “So, did you ever actually try one of those cookies you made?”
Tyson laughed, “No, I left them at Mike and Chris’.”
“You know that they’re never going to be our friends again, right?”
“Probably not,” Tyson agreed, smiling contently.