"You know what to do tomorrow, right?" Zack asks, ignoring the impatient noises Dolph is making behind him.
"Yes, of course I do, what am I, an idiot?" Heath demands, idly rubbing Boodah's side as Wade brushes his teeth across the hall, peering through the doorways at him incredulously. Heath waves him on impatiently.
Zack wisely ignores this. "Kay, bro, see ya tomorrow then." Zack hangs up and hops onto the bed next to Dolph, smirking. "See, that didn't take too long."
"Long enough," Dolph rolls his eyes, gripping Zack by the back of the head and kissing him. "Spending the last little bit of alone time we're going to get for a few days talking to Slater, what the hell, kid..."
"It's for a good cause, you know it is," Zack mumbles, nuzzling against him. "Now are you gonna complain the rest of the night, or-?" Dolph's lips muffling the rest of what he's going to say answers his question and he smirks.
-x
Christmas Day. Ethan Carter III stares around his house with a grimace on his face, not liking any of it. He's on the outs with his aunt, for a number of reasons, and Spud's still in England because of his visa. It's quiet, it's stupid, and he hates every second of it, even the expensive booze he's trying to drown his sorrows in not helping. He takes another long pull before putting the glass down and going to his bedroom, slumping down on the mattress and staring blankly ahead.
Things don't feel right without Spud. They've never felt right without Spud, no matter how strong Ethan had tried to seem during phone calls and Skype chats. He stares at the ceiling and wishes he knew what to do to get Spud home, back in his arms.
He's just about dozed off when he hears a car pull up. Unlike his aunt's house, there isn't individual gates on every house in this community and he regrets that now as he hears car doors slam. "If that's carolers, I'm throwing bricks at their heads," he mumbles, half-sitting up just before there's a knock at his door.
He hisses and plans on ignoring it but then the doorbell starts in and he moans, getting up waveringly. "Shut up, shut up, shut up," he mumbles with every trudging step he makes. As soon as he reaches the door, he unlocks it and jerks it open, glaring out at Heath. Wade's standing off to the side with his arms crossed, a bored look on his face. "What the hell do you want?" Ethan demands, poking Heath hard in the chest with each uttered word.
Heath smirks, swatting Ethan's hand away. "Well, we got a gift you for, but if you don't want it," he drawls, turning away.
"What is it?" Ethan demands, a weird sensation tickling down his spine as he glares over at Heath.
"Brit," he says softly, not bothered by Ethan's anger or the alcohol on his breath. It doesn't matter as Wade steps aside and Ethan's attention is diverted immediately anyway. His eyes widen and he steps forward, reaching out towards where Wade had just been standing. "Am I seeing things?" he whispers, licking his lips as his fingers graze against soft blond hair, perfect tanned skin. "Spud?"
"Yessir, it's really me," his boyfriend says softly, allowing Ethan a few more moments of examination while he tries to explain. "I still have some paperwork to sort out, but Madam Dixie pulled some strings to get me back in the States for the holidays."
Just like that, Ethan's anger and feeling betrayed by his aunt fades away into nearly nothing. He rushes forward and hugs Spud tightly, lifting him up and holding him close. "Oh my God, you're really here," he whispers, burying his face into Spud's hair and breathing him in. "I've missed you so damn much."
"I've missed you too," Spud breathes, kissing Ethan's shoulder and neck, every part of him he can reach until Ethan pulls back, cups his face and kisses him properly with everything he's got.
"I love you so much, tiger," he mumbles, tears filling his eyes.
Spud beams down at him and wipes his eyes tenderly. "I love you even more, sir."
As they kiss again, Heath finds Wade's hand and drags him away before he could start gagging at the PDA. "Merry Christmas," he calls over his shoulder before getting into the car.
"It is now," Ethan sighs against Spud's smiling lips before walking inside with him.
-x
Zack stares down at the box in his hands, rocking back and forth on his feet. "Come on, bro... it's the little box by the bed, what's taking so long?"
"What's taking so long," Dolph grouses, "is the mountain of Funko boxes I had to move just to get to the correct little box!" He grunts, taking a breath. "But I found it, so let's go."
Zack leans in and kisses him in the way that almost always calms him down, slow, soft and warm, smirking as he feels Dolph's body uncoil and relax under him. Nipping at Dolph's parted lips, he smiles. "Yep. Let's go."
Dolph looks dazed and a little annoyed at getting left hanging like that, huffing but follow Zack out to the car anyway. The drive from their hotel to Alberto's house is thankfully short and Sofia lets them in. They discreetly hand her the small box. She coos over the silver necklace with pearls and emeralds that are inlaid, the Indian design of the jewelry all too obvious.
"Gracias for bringing this to me," she whispers, leaning up to kiss both men on the cheek. "Senor is in his office upstairs." She smiles at them before ducking back into the kitchen to resume cooking.
A little nervous, Zack finds Dolph's hand and gives it a little squeeze before adjusting his hold on the box, walking up to Alberto's office on the second floor. He knocks gingerly and ignores Dolph's muffled laughter when Alberto responds.
"Que, Sofia?"
"Shut up, bro!" Zack hisses at Dolph. "Uh, Alberto, it's not Sofia."
Alberto forces his door open and stares at them incredulously. "What do you two want?" he spits, his time in the WWE bringing him back to despising most Americans. Ricardo being away in India has only made this all the worse.
"Got a gift for you, bro," Zack says, handing over the box.
Alberto sneers, staring at it disinterestedly. "I didn't get either of you a thing."
"That's fine," Zack says, not bothered by this. "The gift's from Ricardo. He only had money enough to send one package, and thought it'd reach New York faster than Florida, so I get to be Santa for a bit this holiday."
It's clear nothing Zack's said registers with Alberto beyond Ricardo's name, so they watch as he unwraps it and gapes down at the silk blanket in the colors of the Mexican flag. "Oh," he breathes, gripping a note that had fluttered out of the folds of the blanket, reading it greedily. Once he's done digesting Ricardo's words, he looks up at Zack and Dolph. "Gracias. Muchas gracias for bringing this to me."
"No problem, bro," Zack tells him, leaning back into Dolph's arms as he hugs him from behind. "Merry Christmas."
Alberto murmurs something, lost once more in the gift that Ricardo had made specifically for him by one of his students' mothers. Zack smirks and leads Dolph back downstairs so they can leave Alberto and Sofia to enjoy their gifts.
Sofia greets them at the kitchen doorway and walks them to the door, already wearing the necklace Ricardo had sent for her. Hugging both of them, she smiles. "Gracias. Feliz Navidad."
"Feliz Navidad," Zack and Dolph echo before taking their leave. They drive over to Heath and Wade's, and Heath greets them cheerfully, Boodah running in circles around them and licking at every inch of their hands. "How did yours go?"
"Pretty good," Heath says. "Pretty sure no one's goin' to hear from Spud or Ethan for awhile though. Yours?"
"Let's just say it's weird seeing a cranky, old billionaire close to tears," Zack chuckles.
"I know, right?" Heath takes Zack and Dolph's jackets and piles them on the bed before returning to the living room. "So who wants drinks? I'll start cookin' the ham."
"No singing," Dolph calls out.
"Aw c'mon!" Heath and Zack both respond, offended.
"No!" Wade backs Dolph up, ignoring both of them pouting.
"Please?"
"No!"
"You're mean," Heath grimaces.
"Guess we're not picking up where we left off earlier then," Zack sighs, crossing his arms over his chest and looks pointedly at Dolph who falters.
"Well... maybe a song or two..."
"Ha!" Heath exclaims when Wade looks disgusted. He walks over and sits next to Wade, smirking as he kisses him. "It won't be that bad."
"Bloody hell, Ziggler, you whipped fool," Wade huffs, his hand sneaking around Heath's waist.
"You have no room to talk," Dolph smirks as Zack passes around beers.
"To the holidays, bros, and being with those who matter most." Settling in next to Dolph, he smiles as they click their bottles together happily.