A/N: For trekkiechick. Happy holidays every one!
Please excuse the spelling and grammar.
I don't own the characters
The turkey had just come out of the oven. Eric Slingby was humming Christmas carols in his normal loud and tuneless manor but with enough enthusiasm that the other shinigami in the kitchen didn't complain. Alan Humphries was spooning cranberry sauce into a small glass dish, smiling as the bird was placed beside him by the older man. The brunette was finally able to pick out exactly what he was humming as he hit the chorus of Angles we Have Heard on High and he joined in singing for that part. Contrary to common office gossip he really could sing, and rather nicely at that.
Eric began carving as the brunette carted the vegetables, stuffing and cranberry sauce to the table set for two. There were two candles, one red one green, set on the table with a little gather of holly and mistletoe that he had brought over. Also on the table were two gifts, one significantly bigger than the other, something Alan was beginning to feel bad about. He hadn't thought the older shinigami would have anything for him when he dropped by for dinner so he's only brought a small gift. How mistaken he had been.
Alan's parcel, no matter how small it appeared, contained something he had spent ages trying to find. It was a dark cherry wood flask, stainless steel accented with Eric's name scrolled across the bottom. He's entered countless stores looking for the right flask and the write style for engraving. Even he couldn't tell why he had been so particular.
Eric came into the dining room, still humming, this time Deck the Halls, and leaned past him to place the platter of meat on the table. "There y'are." He beamed and sat down, gesturing gallantly to the chair across from him, "'Ave a seat."
"Thank you." The younger sat, folding his hands in his lap as Eric poured them both a half glass of white wine. He'd never gotten the hang of what wine went with what, whites and reds, something about white and dark meats but he really couldn't remember. He accepted the drink graciously, he normally didn't drink but Christmas dinner seemed to be a good time to make an exception.
Meat was served, gravy and vegetables that Alan had helped with and the stuffing. They ate in near silence, now and then a comment on the food but aside from that there was nothing but the clink of utensils.
"I..." Alan cleared his throat as dinner almost was finished, "I did bring dessert."
Eric looked up with a little smile, look somewhere between surprised and happy. "Did 'ya?"
Alan blushed, standing quickly and returning to the bag he had brought with him, it was still damp with the snow that had been falling outdoors. Gently he removed a dish from the canvas, a tall glass dish on a pedestal. He gave a nervous smile, he's spent ages on the trifle, and it seemed to be the right thing to make tonight. Sponge lady fingers lined the sides, custard and jello was the filling with a topping of wiping cream and cherries. It had taken the walk over rather well and only had shifted slightly in the dish; all in all it did look good. He really wasn't much of a cook but he could make a fine dessert if he really wanted to.
He carried it carefully back to the table, avoiding Eric's eyes as he placed it where the turkey had been. "There." He said quietly, swallowing and slowly looking up to see Eric's expression.
He was staring at him, one eyebrow raised in a somewhat skeptical look and something dropped into Alan's stomach, like a rock had landed in the pit of his stomach. "You-" He took a breath, "You don't like it?"
"D'you make it?" He asked, looking back down at the dessert then back up.
He swallowed again, "Yes...?"
Eric stood quite suddenly and Alan let his head fall, he hadn't taken Eric as such an unpredictable. And suddenly he was standing beside him. "Alan?" He looked up slowly and Eric took his hand, lifting him to his feet and Alan finally realized what he was doing. Eric taken apart Alan's bouquet that he'd brought for the table, holly and mistletoe and one could only guess which part of that he was now holding above their head. Hint: it wasn't the holly. He looked to the branch, then back to Eric who was giving quite the smirk, then back to the mistletoe.
"I..."
"Y'don't think I'm worth it?" he bent so they were at the same height, simply beaming and Alan give a little smirk, looking to the side.
"I didn't say that."
"So?" He waved the bough back and forth a little so it just touched the tops of their heads.
"I don't know how I'm rightly supposed to go about this." He took a little jittery breath and Eric smiled, standing back up.
"How 'bout I demo." Alan looked up, quite surprised as a hand slipped beneath his chin, tipping it up, the other weaving into his hair and the mistletoe dropped down to the floor. Lips pressed gently to his and he felt his knees just about give way.
Eric pulled back slowly, looking for Alan's expression but all he found there was dazed contentedness. Not a bad reaction he supposed and slowly the younger man's face heated and he looked away.
"M-my turn?"
"Eh?"
"You said you'd demo."
Eric seemed just as stunned as Alan had been the first time as he pushed himself up onto his tiptoes, wrapping both arms up and around his neck as he kissed him again; his wasn't quite as chaste nor hesitant as Eric had been and he found himself giving a slight stumble and Alan let go. Unfortunately, or not as the situation turned out, Eric had formed a tight grasp around Alan's hips and even if Alan let go Eric most certainly did not. And, with his stumble, Eric's knees knocked against the chair Alan had been seated in and he toppled back into it, landed quite hard against the wood and brought Alan down with him. The brunette landed on his lap, straddling his thighs with an expression that could make Eric do nothing but laugh. And laugh he did. In fact he did so until Alan joined it, placing both his hands on Eric's shoulders, almost bent double, his forehead resting against Eric's chest.
"Silly aren't we this evenin'" the cornrosed Shinigami leaned across the table, dipping his finger into the cream on the top of the trifle and dapping the whip on the end on Alan's nose as he straightened up, still beaming. He looked at it crossed eyed for a second before Eric leaned forwards to kiss it off.
"Delicious."
"So you do like trifle?" Alan smiled quietly, shrugging his shoulders in in a look of embarrassment.
"'Course I do, I was just s'prised, 'at's all."
"Oh," he wiggled a little, blushing, "W-well, would you like some?"
"Love it," he held up a finger quickly, "On one condition." The man gave a stern nod, watching intently as Eric's stern façade broke. "You stay on me lap."