"Al...This is stupid." Matthew huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. Well, he tried to cross them, but given that the hoser himself had put him in a gigantic santa-suit that added about seventy pounds onto him, crossing his arms was damn impossible.
"Shush! I promised it'd be worth it, didn't I?" Alfred smiled, dressed in full elf-garb, complete with the ears, the stupid pointy hat and shoes that would make a nail-walker flinch.
...But he was still cute...Even though he was being a total annoying little jerk...The way his blue eyes shone with the childlike innocence and enthusiasm...And the way his lips curved up, one tugging ever-so-slightly higher than the other...His cheeks all flushed with excitement...Ah, he was cute.
With a long sigh, Matthew nodded, tugging at the beard and waddling after him. "You still haven't even told me where we're going yet! Alfred, I swear, if this is your attempt at kinky Christmas sex I'm going to c-"
Alfred silenced him with a soft kiss, taking his hand and weaving their gloved fingers together, "Just trust me. It's not kinky sex. It's so much better than sex."
A look of confusion crossed over the red-clad Canadians face, a fine eyebrow quirking up. What was better than sex? Cuddling was nice and all, but there really wasn't anything better than rolling around naked in the bedroom, giggling and laughing, making stupid jokes that ended in low and throaty moans...Was there? "Whatever you say..."
Alfred grinned at him, pecking his cheek and walking beside him. Alfred had a plan. A great one. One he'd be working on for months- Since June. "I promise it'll be worth it. Just smile and try and look jolly!"
"I think jolly is a word better-suited to describe you, Mister Squish." Matthew chuckled and poked the others stomach, pinching the tiny little layer of fat that had settled around his hips.
Yelping, the blonde jumped and nearly fell, catching himself on Matthew's arm. "Just smile." He said, rolling his eyes and pinching his cheek softly. "With your dimples!"
The pair walked out into the snowy world, hand-in-hand, chattering softly about the Christmas lights and over-inflated fabric statues. Matthew liked to see the lights the most, watching them sparkle and twinkle like the Aurora Borealis; Alfred liked the gigantic candy canes.
Eventually, they reached a little wall that blocked everything from view. Grinning from ear to ear, Alfred grabbed Matthew and pressed him into the wall, bumping their noses together.
Matthew braced for impact, closing his eyes and tensing his muscles slightly. He could feel it now...Alfred pressing him harder against the wall, grinding their hips together while kissed him desperately. Their lips would move together, tugging and fluttering as they touched. Hands would travel along bodies, one dipping down and teasing slightly...Ah, Matthew was ready. He shivered in anticipation, eager.
"Smile." Alfred pulled the fluffy white rim of the Santa-hat perched on his head over Matthew's violet eyes, obscuring everything from the fair-haired blonds view.
"Alfred!" Matthew chirped, reaching up to pull the hat off his eyes.
Alfred caught his hand before it could reach it, kissing his gloved palm and putting it back down to his side. "Just smile, babe. It's all gonna be just fine. Promise."
Matthew grumbled and clung to his hand, stomping next to him in the snow as they traveled to Maple-knows-where.
After a little walking, Matthew heard automatic doors rush open, followed by the soft hum of a fluorescent light. A few faint voices echoed around a large and empty room...So they were indoors...And dressed up like fantastical Christmas characters.
What the fuck did Alfred have planned?!
A figure came up beside him and Matthew's free hand was grabbed, held in a rather rough manner.
"Don't look now, but when you can finally see, there's going to be a massive penguin beside you. Don't panic. Go with it." Alfred whispered into his ear, releasing his hand. Matthew heard his elven feet slap away on the linoleum, and then another door open and close, followed by a roar of shrill voices.
Oh...God...What was Alfred doing?! A Christmas strip club!? Was that it? Genius. Fucking genius.
Matthew walked soundlessly next to the penguin (it better be a penguin and not something like...A reindeer...Or gigantic glass of eggnog or some stupid shit). They reached a door and a sea of voices crashed again.
...Those weren't the voices of desperate middle aged women...
"Oh? What's that? I think I hear something!" Alfred's voice boomed. Oh, Alfred was putting on one hell of a show inside the room. It wasn't in his 'sexy' voice, so that ruled out strip club...But...
Fed up, Matthew wrenched the hat up, only to see Alfred standing in front of a group of children. Young ones (there couldn't be a single child over the age of 8), all clutching a tiny little toy. The sack Alfred had been carrying was now lying discarded, empty by the wall of the room.
That little hoser...He'd said it was all just for show...
"Mister Penguin?! What're you doing here?!" Alfred put on the cutest look of mock-surprise Matthew had ever seen, clapping his hands to his cheeks with his mouth hanging open.
"And that's my cue." A thick German accent spoke from beside him.
Matthew ripped his gaze from the window to the man standing beside him. Sure enough, there was a penguin there. A very German penguin. Gilbert...Was dressed as a penguin...Even Gilbird was with him, sitting on the top of his head dressed up like a little tiny penguin...
Gilbert grinned and smirked at Matthew, saluting before he waddled right in the room and started talking, interacting with Alfred and flinging his wings into the air and making nothing but squawking noises.
"What's that? A visitor? For the kids? Well, get him in here!"
Gilbert made a presumably penguin noise and waddled back to the door, throwing it open and noising for Matthew to walk in.
At this point, Matthew was beyond shock. He was absolutely in awe. When Alfred had come to him the day before, presenting him with a Santa suit and beard, telling him to 'clear his schedule, 'cause we're goin' out!'...He hadn't guessed that this was how he'd be spending his Christmas Eve...
Gilbert squawked again and took Matthew's hand, pulling him into the room and leading him to a large, red chair, one that had been decorated with cards and little trinkets obviously made by the children.
The children...Matthew looked out at the sea of faces, feeling his breath catch in his throat and his chest seize up.
They were all almost identical.
They all had the same grinning face, the same off-white gown speckled with little miniscule trees, the same trail of tubing framing their face, and they all had the same hairless head.
Alfred had brought him to the cancer ward.
The children's cancer ward, no less.
Matthew didn't know what to say...
"Look! It's Santa Clause himself! Told you guy's he'd come if you wrote enough letters!" Alfred grinned and clapped, all the children joining in until the soft clap was a thunderous roar. "You guys wanna come up and say hello?" The children all nodded, some of them clutching their wheelchairs or mobile beds in excitement. "Well, come on then!"
Alfred quickly jogged over to Matthew, leaning down to his stunned figure and gripping his shoulder. "So, Santa, ready to make some magic?" He whispered, smiling just like the kids were in the background.
"Alfie...I-" Matthew breathed, his eyes wide as the children all lined up behind him.
"That's Elfie, to you, Santa." Alfred chuckled and patted his cheek, standing up and gesturing to him. "Alright, guys! Santa's totally ready! You guys say hello while Mister Penguin and I finish settin' this party up!" With that being said, Alfred was gone, leaving Matthew with a line of children. Though, there were a few nurses in the room too. So...He wasn't totally alone!
Part of Matthew wanted to stand up and bolt while the other half wanted to burst into tears.
All of that changed when he glanced down, looking right into the eyes of a small little boy, one hand clutching an IV pole while the other held a tiny toy truck. He couldn't have been more than five...He grinned at Matthew and let go of the pole, reaching up his hand and straining for him. A nurse came to his aid, swiftly picking him up and settling him onto his lap.
Oh...To hell with his fears, to hell with all of his anxieties and general awkwardness...These kids went through so much more than he had in his whole life daily, yet here they were, smiling and grinning like nothing was wrong. Matthew gave a rather 'jolly' laugh, if he did say so himself, and wrapped a heavily padded arm around the boy, pulling him to his stuffed-stomach. "Hello! What's your name?" He asked, cheery and bright, smiling widely.
"I'm Alder. I'm five!" He held up five fingers, "How old are you, Santa?" His voice was so sweet, so innocent and filled with life.
"Oh, I'm about...Eighteen thousand and twelve..."
"Wow. That's old!" He gasped out, staring with wonder at the Matthew...Who actually wasn't any older than twenty three.
"That's nothing! Elfie over there's at least twice that!" Matthew chuckled and smiled over at his boyfriend, the dork in the elf-suit helping the penguin carry in the neon-green plastic tree.
Alfred caught the gaze, shooting him a thumbs up before getting to work making the tree stand.
"Wow...But he looks so young!"
"The secret's eating like a reindeer!" He winked, putting a finger to his lips. "Now, Alder, would you like to tell me what you want for Christmas?" Matthew asked, softly patting his back.
"I want a new toy truck, like this one, but big enough so I can ride in it...A firemans hat...Some reindeer food..." The childs brow furrowed in thought, finally ending his list with a request for some cookies.
Once that was said and done, the nurses helped the child down. He toddled into the other half of the room, tugging at Alfred's tunic. After saying something, Alfred burst into laughter, pantomiming antlers on his head.
More children came and went, some shyer than others. Matthew did his best to stay tender and kind, being as cheerful as he could with each one.
As each one sat on his lap or he got down on his knees next to their chair, the request got more and more heartwrenching...
One child asked for a new kidney because his hurt him all the time; a little girl asked for hair, but a wig would be fine too- but it had to be blond, just like her mommy's hair.
Matthew didn't know what to say to them, so he just patted their heads, looked them in the eyes and told them that it would be okay. That everything would work out in the end...
It hurt so bad...But...What else could he do but offer support? At times, he glanced to the nurses for support, but all they could do was offer him a kind, sympathetic smile.
Finally, the last child came, and thank everything, she didn't ask for something difficult- Just a pony. She hopped down off his lap and that was the end of it...Or so Matthew thought.
Once all the kids had dispersed, Matthew let out a sigh of relief. He slumped down in the chair and let his eyes close, only to have them fly open again when two hands gripped his cheeks. He gasped and jumped, nearly smacking the man in the face.
It was just Alfred, though. Not too scary. Matthew didn't speak, he just stared at him, cheeks flushed and eyes slightly damp. Alfred smiled and glanced around, deeming it safe an pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. "'S'okay. You did amazing. Alder told me all about my apparent Reindeerish deer eating habits, and Suzy won't stop raving about some new recipe you told her about..."
Matthew sighed and shrugged, leaning into him and letting his head fall to his shoulder. "I did my best, Elfie. Santa's got a hard job..."
"No kiddin'." He remarked, straightening up and extending down his hand, "Now, Santa...If it's not too much to ask...Wanna dance?" Just as he asked, the lights dimmed and soft Christmas music filled the room.
Matthew blushed and took his hand, standing up next to him. The first song that played was upbeat and dancey. The two of them swirled around the room, making the kids giggle at their awkward and goofy dance moves.
The night went on and they broke apart, Matthew returning to his Santaly duties and taking extra request from the kids, and Alfred leading little girls around the dance floor and showing them how to do the swing (gently, of course).
Finally, the party neared its end. It was hardly an hour long, but to Matthew, it felt like it had lasted an eternity. The music changed from cheery to rather slow, a soft ballad.
The cutest little thing happened as the music changed...All of the kids picked another, dancing with them so sweetly that Matthew was sure he'd die.
In the corner, just by the bowl of punch, there was one little girl, standing there with a little stuffed bear clutched to her chest. Alone...Oh. Matthew was about to do something, walk over and see if she'd want to dance with Santa, but before he could even lift one foot a certain elf was by her side, leading her in the sweetest little dance.
Matthew watched the two dance, his heart swelling at the look on the little girls face. She was in ecstasy that the rather handsome and friendly elf had chosen her to dance with.
Oh, someone better be taking pictures.
The song ended and all the children were filed off to bed, led down the hall by the nurses, some carrying or wheeling their tired little bodies.
That left the three of them, the Santa, the penguin and the elf.
Once all was clear, Alfred ran to Matthew and hopped onto his back, pecking his cheek and holding him tightly from behind, "Told ya it would be worth it!"
Matthew laughed and twisted around, taking hold of him and settling him on the ground in front of him, "Okay...So you were right. Just this once though!" He chuckled and leaned their foreheads together, pecking the tip of his nose.
"Better than sex, right?"
"Much better." Matthew agreed.
They spent a few moment like that, holding each other as close as they could despite the pillow's Matthew had stuffed in his chest.
Behind them, Gilbert busied himself cleaning up, waddling around and picking up discarded cups and forgotten cookies. Once all that was cleaned up, he let out a squawk, quickly laughing. "I mean, we're all clean here. Thanks for helping me out, guys...The kids loved it." Gilbert grinned at the two of them, quickly slipping out of his penguin suit and back into his usual doctor garb.
"Don't mention it. We had a ton of fun. Didn't we, Santa?" Alfred chuckled and nuzzled his cheek, pecking it sweetly.
Matthew nodded, reaching under his suit and tugging out the mass of pillows. "Yeah. It would have been nice if you told me where you were taking me, though..."
"Would you have come?" Alfred raised an eyebrow, pulling the beard off of Matthew's chin.
"Honestly, probably not." He shrugged and shook his head. He wasn't a scrooge or grump; he just really didn't like being in the spotlight. Ever.
Alfred grinned and leaned closer, pressing a soft kiss to his lips and holding him close. "My point exactly."
Matthew rolled his eyes and punched his arm softly, flicking one of his plastic ears.
"Merry Christmas Mattie." He murmured, nuzzling him and sighing.
"Merry Christmas, Al."