A/N: Hey! *wave* This is the second Christmas fic I have planned, and also the last! This one has more holiday spirit than the other one, I think, haha. I'm pretty pleased, tbh... Anyway, enjoy!

Title: I'll Be Home for Christmas

Author: liketolaugh

Rating: K

Pairings: Link/Allen

Genre: Friendship/Family

Warnings: None

Summary: Every year, Link and Allen host a Christmas reunion for the Order. And every year, everyone comes to catch up, exchange gifts, and have fun. (Except Cross. Cross comes to drink.)

Disclaimer: I only wish I owned D. Gray-man.

"I heard the bells on Christmas Day, their old, familiar carols play-"

Allen cast a glance over his shoulder to grin at Jerry, singing along with him in the kitchen with Link. Allen himself was on a step-stool, fixing the stockings that had fallen askew. There were twenty-three of them, each of them red and white and flopping overtop of each other on the overcrowded mantle.

The entire house was decorated for Christmas; holly and mistletoe nestled along the walls and the windows, candles waited to be lit on every table and counter, and a huge fir tree sat in the corner of the living room, the shiny star on top only just below the ceiling and decorated all in glittering spheres and bright-wrapped candies. The fireplace, on the wall opposite the tree, was already filled with a crackling wood fire, flickering and warm. The smell of apple cider blanketed the house, intertwining with the subtler scent of hot chocolate and the two of them together surpassing that of the food Jerry and Link were working on now, while Jerry and Allen sang Christmas carols to fill the silence and Link hummed along, smiling despite himself.

Jerry grinned back, saluting with the messy spoon and creating a small amount of splatter. Allen cut himself off to call over,

"How's the restaurant running, Jerry? Did you have to close down to visit?"

Without missing a beat, Jerry answered, "Nope. I left Emmett in charge – he's more than good enough, and a perfect dear heart. He'll do just fine."

Allen hummed. "He's the one you took on last year, isn't he?"

Jerry smiled. "That's right, hun! And he learns real fast. He wasn't half-bad to start, but he's getting better every day, for certain."

"It's good to hear you didn't need to close down this year," Link commented, casting Jerry a small smile of his own. "I was beginning to worry."

Jerry flapped his hand at him. "I wouldn't miss this for the world, dearie, you know that!"

As they continued talking, Jerry asking after Link's work in law enforcement now, Allen let his thoughts drift a little.

Christmas was Allen's favorite time of year. It had been touch-and-go for a while, when the memory of Mana's death had been fresh, but in the end, Allen had far, far more good memories around the holiday than bad ones.

A big part of this, Allen was sure, was the yearly Christmas reunion.

It had been a bit of a spur-of-the-moment idea, actually – well, as spur-of-the-moment as something needing a month of preparation could be. It had certainly been a surprise, coming from Link, and at first, Allen hadn't been at all sure it would work.

But it did. Every single one of the exorcists came, from Kanda to Lenalee to Chaoji and even stupid Cross, and so had the others invited – Jerry, Reever, Johnny, among others, and Link's old friends, as well.

And they'd come every year since – five years running, now, making Allen twenty-three years old.

The ring of the doorbell made Allen jump, and then a grin spread across his face.

"Someone's here!" he announced unnecessarily, delighted. He abandoned the stockings and made his way to the door, eyes bright.

"Merry Christmas!" greeted him as soon as he'd opened the door, and Lavi was grinning at him, green eye sparkling and a Father Christmas-style sack slung over his shoulder, shivering in the cold. Bookman was beside him, looking as serene as ever, hands behind his back. But he was here.

Allen laughed. "Christmas isn't until tomorrow," he reminded Lavi, stepping aside to let him in.

"Don't care," Lavi declared, shambling in. Once he and Bookman were both over the threshold, he turned to grin at Allen, snow dusting his hair and jacket. "I always forget just how white your hair is – ever consider growing a beard and dressing up as Father Christmas?"

"I am never growing a beard," Allen said firmly, and then leaned forward to hug Lavi tightly. Lavi laughed and clapped him on the back, and after a moment, Allen let go, still smiling. "It's good to see you, Lavi."

Lavi's smile warmed, turning a little more sincere. "Good to see you too, beansprout."

"And you as well, Bookman!" Allen smiled, turning on the shorter man. "How are things going? I know you can't talk about it, of course-"

Bookman nodded at him. "Perfectly well," he said cordially, but there was a warmth in his eyes that probably wasn't allowed to be there, and that no one present would ever admit to. "How have things been here? Is all well?"

"All's well," Allen confirmed, giving him a pleased smile and closing the door behind them. "Link managed to catch the man who kept stealing from the potter's down the road just last week, and winter is always so much fun because all the children are so excited-"

"Pretty useful in your line of work, eh, Allen?" Lavi smirked, nudging Allen with his elbow. Allen laughed.

"Yes, that too," he admitted, shaking his head. He indicated the tree with one hand, the smooth red skin bare in the privacy of home. "You can put your presents there – you two are the first people here. Jerry and Link are in the kitchen, but dinner won't be ready for quite a while."

Lavi made an interested sound anyway, and after dropping the sack off by the tree, wandered over to make a nuisance of himself. Jerry's loud "Lavi, dear!" rang through the house, and Allen smiled and looked at Bookman again.

"Do you want some cocoa or some cider?" he asked the man. "They should both be ready by now."

"Cider, if you please," Bookman allowed, and went to sit by the fireplace, not too close to the fire, but not too far, either.

Allen nodded and went into the kitchen. Link and Jerry had both paused to talk to Lavi, who was poking around all of the half-prepared foods as he spoke. Allen rolled his eyes and wandered over to Link, who turned to look at him questioningly.

Allen smiled at him. "How are things going?" he asked, a little quieter than the boisterous tones he'd used at the door.

Link smiled back, a brief twitch of his lips that was more in his eyes than his mouth. "We shouldn't be more than half an hour longer," he promised. "After that we'll just be waiting."

Allen kissed Link briefly on the cheek, pleased. "And you?" he questioned, meeting Link's eyes earnestly.

Link's smile lingered a little longer this time. "Perfectly fine," he assured Allen. "Jerry's quite good company."

"Of course," Allen smiled, and broke away a little, raising his voice slightly to compensate. "I'm going to start putting out cups and mugs so people can have cocoa or cider as they'd like, now that people have started arriving."

"Hot chocolate!" Lavi cheered, abandoning the pudding he'd been investigating with interest. "I've been looking forward to this for months, you don't even know."

Allen snorted, counting out the mugs as he pulled them down and set them on the out-of-the-way table designated for them. "I think I do," he said teasingly. "We all know you only come for the food."

"That's not true!" Lavi protested. "I also come to make fun of Yuu."

"Of course, silly me."

"It's good to see you no matter why you're here," Jerry assured Lavi, though the sparkle in his eyes indicated that he knew just the same as everyone else why Lavi came. "I swear, hun, if it weren't for this party every year, I'd fret myself into the next century worrying about you all."

"We can take care of ourselves," Allen reminded Jerry needlessly, laughter twitching on his lips as he ladled apple cider into one mug, and then hot cocoa into the other. "You really don't need to worry."

"Ain't ever stopped me, sweetheart," Jerry chuckled. "It's a habit by now."

Allen chuckled in return, shaking his head, and then returned to the living room, followed by Lavi, who was also clutching a mug, humming cheerfully and tunelessly in apparent delight. Allen handed the mug of cider over to Bookman and then sat on another couch, and Lavi sat by him, lounging back with one leg crossed over the other.

"The Ark sure does make this pretty convenient, huh?" Lavi mused, grinning at Allen in amusement as Allen lingered over the mug, letting the scent of the cocoa fill his nose. "It would've taken over a month to get here otherwise."

Allen hummed in agreement and finally took a sip, not even wincing at the heat. "At least it's good for something still," he chuckled, and decided that it wasn't so hot he couldn't take a proper drink.

A few minutes later, the bell rang again, and Lavi laughed and waved Allen off. Allen gave him an apologetic smile that failed miserably to hide his delight, and set the mug aside to hop up and return to the door.

Before he reached it, there was another knock, louder and more insistent, and Allen stifled a snort.

"Kanda!" he heard a moment later, the reprimand muffled through the door, and he laughed and opened the door.

"You're late," he told Kanda, despite it being blatantly not true – they were actually slightly early, perhaps by half an hour or so.

Kanda glared at him, snow glittering in his hair and melting rapidly even as more fell, and Lenalee, beside him, slapped Allen lightly on the arm, making him laugh again.

"Don't lie," she protested, and then smiled. "It's so wonderful to see you!"

Allen beamed and hugged her around. "It's wonderful to see you too," he replied warmly, and then, before Kanda could react, turned and hugged him too, briefer but too tight to be classed as playful. "And you too, you ass."

"Get off me, idiot beansprout!" Kanda scowled, shoving him off with the box in his hands. Then he pushed past, scowling, and went inside while Lenalee and Allen both shook their heads in mock despair.

"Where's my hug?" Komui complained, eyes glinting behind his glasses, a slight smirk on his face. Allen laughed and gave it to him, and as he pulled back a few seconds later, Komui tacked on, "And if you touch Lenalee like that one more time today-"

"Yes, yes," Allen agreed, waving his hand dismissively. "How have you been, Komui? Has everything been going alright?"

"Perfectly well!" Komui assured him, the brief irritation fading away with ease. They made their way back to the living room, where Kanda had dumped the box of gifts, and Komui continued, "Lenalee's been coming along beautifully, she must be a genius! She'll be caught up by this time next year, I'm sure of it, and then she can be a teacher or a scientist or-" His smile softened. "Well. Whatever she wants to be."

Allen smiled at him for a moment, eyes bright, and then his attention was pulled away when Kanda reappeared, arms crossed and scowling. Allen nearly rolled his eyes.

"Your taste in drinks is terrible as usual, idiot beansprout," Kanda griped, as he insisted on doing every year.

Allen made a dismissive noise at him, making Kanda's scowl darken. "No one else has a problem," he pointed out, and then, cheerfully, "Would you like it better if I poured the cider on your head? Oh, wait, you don't like anything, you disagreeable bastard."

"I'd like to pour it down your throat and see how you like it then!"

"Better than I like hearing your voice, stupid Kanda!"

"Boys!" Lenalee interrupted, exasperation coloring her voice even as she visibly suppressed a smile. "Can't you get along for one day?"

"No," they said together, and then scowled at each other. Komui laughed, but before he could say anything, Jerry came in from the kitchen, looking satisfied; the dinner preparation must have been finished.

"Kanda, Lena, Komui!" he greeted happily, hugging Lenalee quickly and then giving Kanda a cheerful wave. "So lovely to see you dears! Come on, come on, I want to hear all about what you've been doing-"

Allen smiled as Link emerged, too, and Link smiled back briefly before going around to greet everyone. The doorbell rang again, and Allen went again to answer it. When he saw who it was, his eyes brightened and his smile moved into a grin.

"You came!" he said, delighted. Tewaku rolled her eyes, arms crossed, and Tokusa looked one step from doing the same. It was Madarao who answered.

"We haven't missed it yet, Walker," Madarao said dryly, but despite his tone, he was smiling, shaking his head lightly. "Care to let us in?"

Allen laughed and stepped aside, letting the three former Thirds enter in past him.

"Link!" he called. "Your friends are here!"

Link appeared within seconds, and as soon as he saw them, his face broke into a smile that was wider and more genuine than anything Allen ever got out of him on a normal day, his eyes sparkling happily. In the space of a few short minutes, they gathered into their own little corner to talk, brightly wrapped presents scattered around their feet. Allen watched them for a few moments, enjoying how happy Link looked, and then turned his attention back to the door as someone knocked hard.

This time it was Zokalo and Cross, already drinking; Allen scowled at both of them for a few minutes before he gave in, shook his head, smiled, and shoved Cross in lightly, rolling his eyes at the bottles of alcohol he'd brought.

"Stupid Master," he muttered, exasperated.

"You can't expect me to go through these things without a hellton of alcohol, stupid apprentice," Cross told him seriously. "I'm the drunk uncle, obviously. I have to be drunk for that."

Zokalo, disregarding the byplay, barged right in, loud and boisterous as always, and Allen hoped, hiding his amusement, that he wouldn't break too much this time.

After that, they started coming even faster, which was good since dinner would be done in half an hour or so. Nyne, Timothy, and Emilia came a few minutes after Cross and Zokalo did; Timothy went straight to pester Lavi for stories, while Emilia went to talk to Jerry and Nyne joined the other generals.

Then it was Krory with Marie and Miranda, all standing around the door for a good ten minutes because the four of them started talking as soon as they came. Then Tiedoll and Chaoji, the latter of whom was still a little uncomfortable with Allen and the former immediately going to weedle conversation out of Kanda. And last was Reever and Johnny, Johnny bouncing straight up to hug Allen before Allen could even move to go first.

Allen couldn't stop smiling as, one by one, he ticked off each new arrival from the list he was keeping in his head. He glanced around briefly at everyone, clustered into groups and chattering happily, and let out a breath, pleased.

Then he went to check on Link.

Tokusa took notice first as he approached, and gave him a nod. Link followed his gaze and then smiled at Allen, looking far more relaxed now than he had for most of the afternoon. Allen smiled and went to lean down beside him, to talk over the din without needing to shout.

"Everything alright?" he asked.

Link nodded, brown eyes warm. "Of course. Everyone's here?"

"Everyone," Allen confirmed, unable to keep his smile from widening and not bothering to try. "Looks like some of them are settling in for the long haul. Master even brought some of his own alcohol, for once."

Link's smile turned wry. "Of course he did." And then, tinged with amusement, "Dinner should be ready in twenty minutes, by the way."

Allen laughed quietly. "Thanks," he replied. He glanced at the other three present. "Merry Christmas, by the way."

Tokusa nodded to him. "Merry Christmas," he replied, and the other two echoed it. With that, Allen left them to their conversation, returning back into the minor chaos of the rest of the attendees.

Finally, when dinner was finished, everyone transferred themselves to the table in a slow trickle, with Link and Allen side-by-side at the head. Link glanced at Allen and Allen nodded, and they stood up together. Link clapped twice, and most of the conversation stopped.

"Welcome once again to the annual Christmas party," Link started, while Allen half-hid his smile at the formality. "It is our pleasure, as usual, to host the Order's yearly reunion, but it would be worth nothing if no one came. So thank you all for taking the time out of your holidays to do so."

There was a small chorus of humming and murmurs, and Allen waited for them to quiet down before he picked it up, arms crossed lightly behind his back and eyes travelling across the crowd.

"Now, does anyone have anything they'd like to announce this year?"

Announcements were one of the most formal and easiest ways to get information across to the entire group – Link's idea, of course. Miranda and Marie had announced their oncoming wedding here, Nyne had announced her intentions to adopt Timothy here, and even Kanda had used the opportunity to tell people that he was living with Komui and Lenalee now, fuck off.

After a few moments, Johnny stood up, and Allen smiled at him and made a small gesture for him to go on. Johnny smiled quickly back and said to the room, "I've finally taken over my family's tailor shop. It seems to be going well so far, since we're quite established already, but I have missed the designing aspect of the job."

Allen smiled at him brightly. "Congratulations!" he replied. "Is your grandmother alright, though?"

"She's fine!" Johnny assured him. "Just not as young as she used to be."

With that, Johnny sat down, and a short pause later, Krory stood up, smiling nervously. Allen nodded encouragingly.

"I've decided that I'm finally going to settle down," Krory told them, smile turning a little more confident. "I've quite enjoyed travelling and seeing the world on my own time, but I'd like to stay somewhere permanently. I don't have an exact location yet, but I'll let you know as soon as I can."

"Thank you, Krory," Allen smiled. "Good luck!"

Krory smiled at him, and then sat down.

When it became clear that no one else had anything to announce, to no one's surprise, Cross stood.

"This is the last year I'll be coming to this damned sentimental bullshit," he announced.

"Sit down, Cross," Allen told him impatiently.

Cross, who said that every year, just smirked at him and sat back down.

"Anyone else?" Link asked the room. When everyone shook their heads, he smiled slightly. "In that case, enjoy your meal."

With that, the two of them sat down, and the group's attention turned instead to the meal on the table and the conversation among themselves.

The half-hour after the last guests left (Timothy, Nyne, and Emilia, the foremost by then almost half-asleep) found Link and Allen together in the kitchen, a content kind of quiet sitting over them as they put the leftovers in bags and in jars to be placed in the icebox.

Empty cups lay scattered around the floor, some of them tipped over and some of them still half-full, and a few empty bottles of the wine Cross had brought with him along with the two Link and Allen had provided. Torn wrapping paper added to the mess, and dirty dishes sat along the tables and a few of the chairs.

The two of them put the last of the leftovers away, and Link, slow and careful despite the determined set of his mouth, stood up and made a move toward the messy, skewed table.

Allen reached out and caught his wrist. When Link turned around to frown at him, a single cocked eyebrow silently asking Allen to explain himself, Allen almost laughed, giving Link a warm, fond smile.

"That's enough for tonight, Link," Allen persuaded gently, moving around so he was standing in front of Link, holding both his wrists in a grip so light it was almost absent. "It won't worsen any if you leave it overnight."

"I can't just leave it until morning," Link protested, frowning despite the exhaustion etched around his eyes. He didn't move away, either, brown eyes searching Allen's as intently as ever.

"You've been busy since eight getting everything ready," Allen reminded him, smile softening further and voice quiet. "You can take a break for one night, can't you?"

Link sighed. "You can go to bed if you like," he assured Allen, turning his wrists so they were holding hands instead. "But I can't do this tomorrow, I mean, tomorrow is-"

Allen let go of Link's hands to slide them up his arms until he could reach out and pull Link into a heartfelt hug. Link started a little, and Allen had to hold back another laugh, feeling warm despite the exhaustion of the day and the swirl of snow outside.

"Thank you for how much effort you put into this," Allen murmured, a breath in Link's ear with his cheek pressed to Link's still-bound hair, letting his eyes fall closed. "You did an amazing job."

Link hesitated, and then hugged Allen back, letting out a soft sigh against his neck, closing his eyes as well. "Did you enjoy it?"

"Of course I did," Allen promised. "It was wonderful to see everyone again."

Link smiled, faint and tired. "Happy birthday."

When Allen opened his eyes and glanced at the clock, it was twelve-thirty.

He laughed and pulled back just enough to give Link a swift, chaste kiss on the lips, hands resting lightly on his shoulders. "Thank you," he said again.

There we go! It was supposed to be slightly longer and slightly more detailed, but it started getting repetitive so I cut a few parts out. *smile* Thanks for reading, please review, and Happy New Year!