A/N: Turns out study procrastination is a good enough excuse to be writing Christmas fic, after all. This was originally meant as a very short drabble but somehow ended up a little longer. Merry Christmas! ❤
It had been his idea to pay the Lower Quarter a visit. Dayoff as it may be, Flynn had never been the sort to sit still while aware there was still much to do, and, given there had been little chance Sodia allowed him back in his office before evening, he resorted to offer his help to his people down below. And help, they did need.
Days ago sleet had covered the streets in slippery ice, which under the freshly fallen snow proved even more dangerous for the unsuspecting children or careless elders to walk on. Flynn had been meaning to help much sooner, but he'd never had a chance to rest until his subordinates decided he at the very least deserved a vacation for Christmas.
Shoveling snow had never been a favorite chore of his, yet as everyone joined in suddenly it wasn't as much a chore anymore as it was a festive family gathering. The snow lay thick on the ground, so thickly it nearly threatened to swallow the town whole. Long ago Flynn had actually believed it possible, and though he was now wiser than to think it would, the ache in his back begged to differ.
He stretched his sore muscles, pondering over whether he ought to blame the countless nights bent over the desk filing reports for the pain. He fixed his gloves and shook the snow off his coat, looking around with a smile. A sight so warm amidst the cold, of families and friends, old and young, working as one for the sake of the many without as much as a complaint. An example he'd aspired to follow over the years, and a valuable lesson.
Something was slightly amiss, however – or rather, someone. The letter he'd sent a week ago remained unanswered, and Flynn wondered if something might have happened to hinder his departure from Dahngrest.
"Now, now, boy, would you quit lookin' so glum?"
Flynn glanced up to meet Hank's scowl (though it was a playful one, at best) and chuckled. "Ah, sorry. I'm afraid I got a little sidetracked."
"Damn right ya did. These old bones managed to finish my corner quicker than yours!"
"Me too!" Ted beamed through his panting as he ran through the snow to meet them. "Look, Flynn, I got rid of aaaall this snow by myself!"
"You did? I'm very impressed." Flynn laughed, pulled by the sleeve to admire the boy's work. "What a fine shoveler. Perhaps even the best of us."
Ted's smile broadened with pride. "'Course I am."
"And here I thought I'd been crowned master shoveler. Sounds like we need a rematch."
Three heads turned to watch the newcomer walk down the main staircase.
Ted gasped. "Yuri!"
"Hi there, big guy." Yuri crouched as Ted threw himself at him, then looked up at Hanks. "Long time no see, old man."
"Long indeed, brat. You drop by as often as Flynn does these days."
Yuri snorted. "No way I'm that bad yet."
"Believe it or not, you're still being missed down here."
"Yeah!" Ted agreed. "Especially Flynn."
"Hey- I'm right here, you know." Flynn protested, a fluster on his cheeks he'd insist was due to the biting cold.
Yuri grinned and a smile quickly conquered's Flynn's pout as they greeted each other with a hug that may have been a little too tight, or may have lasted just a second too long.
"Welcome home." The familiar scent of his best friend and the tickling of his hair against his nose felt like a relief from a worry Flynn didn't realize had been lurking in the back of his mind.
"Nice to be home."
Hanks cleared his throat "Sorry to interrupt you lads. Yuri, didya get it?"
"I'm hurt you'd even doubt me." Yuri smirked as he held up a large backpack, seemingly filled to the brim. "Was a bit of a hassle to bring the whole way back here, though. That stuff's heavy."
"Youth nowadays, so fragile." The old man rolled his eyes before opening the backpack. "That's probably enough. Thanks, kid."
Though Yuri brushed it off with a shake of his hand, he looked rather pleased with himself. Flynn was about to ask just what it was he'd brought back when Ted grabbed the bag to look inside.
"You got the Christmas lights!" he bounced.
Yuri tousled his hair. "Well, I promised, didn't I?"
It seemed everyone had pitched in and tasked Yuri to provide cheaper Christmas lights from Dahngrest. Admittedly, prices in the capital had yet to be adjusted to the budget of an average Lower Quarter citizen, especially during the winter season. It was a business more difficult than Flynn had anticipated, as many merchants in the Public Quarter disliked the idea of lowering their prices just so the 'needy' could afford basic supplies - to say nothing of auxiliary goods - and had to be negotiated with for hours on end.
"And you're sure this is going to work?" Hanks squinted, doubtful.
"Rita Mordio-approved and guaranteed." Yuri replied, "Didn't listen to half the gibberish she said but I probably got the gist of it." He grabbed a handful of wires and a small, black container from inside the backpack. "She also gave me this funny-looking device to plug all that in. Apparently that's what's going to make it work. Something about 'electricity'."
Flynn arched an eyebrow. "Doesn't sound very safe."
"She's a little crazy, but I trust her." Yuri merely shrugged as he disappeared behind the nearest corner.
"And if he does, then so do we." Hanks nodded and started unpacking.
Flynn helped him untangle the many, many knots and occasionally helped Ted untangle himself from the pile of cables. By the time they were finished, several neighbors had come to take a look at the newest decoration or to offer their help. The mood had shifted to an even merrier one as dusk was approaching fast and the sky was soon turning a deep blue.
A single bark echoed though the street and pulled Flynn out of a discussion with Mrs Nollet, just in time to look up and greet Repede in his arms. The powdery snow cushioned his fall as the dog licked his cheeks. "I'm happy to see you too, Repede." he laughed.
"Could need some help over here." Yuri called, dragging behind him what as a kid Flynn would have considered the biggest pine tree he'd seen.
Three men he recognized as the innkeeper's son and nephews ran to help Yuri carry the tree over to the fountain. He patted Repede's fur then got up to his feet to join in, and ten minutes later the tree stood hefty and proud above the roofs. Children and housewives had left their homes to offer their ladders and assistance with carefully lifting the Christmas lights up onto the pine's branches and all around it. The sound of music and laughter seemed to fill the air with the magic of Christmas more so than the snowflakes did as they fell gently into their hands and melted away.
"Kid, I think we're all set!" Hanks shouted from across the street.
Yuri gave him a thumbs up and glanced back to the device Rita had given him to make the decorations work. He and Flynn plugged the very last cable into the box and, almost immediately, gasps and exclamations resounded behind them. When they turned around, Flynn understood why.
The Christmas tree was a spectacle like he'd rarely seen before. Noble and evergreen against the dark sky and the moonscape of white, it flashed and flickered with its hundreds of dazzling lights. A rainbow of colors shimmered and danced as the wind shook its mighty branches, as if new life had breathed into it. Hardly anyone in their neighborhood had been able to afford the luxury of a private pine tree to celebrate, but Flynn thought it an even more marvelous idea to share it with the rest of their family. Parents held up their children in their arms and on their shoulders as they reached for the lights that sparkled in their eyes, wide open with wonder.
The sight alone warmed Flynn's heart like no present ever could. His eyes looked for Yuri and found him sitting in the snow, leaning against a wall with a smile that mirrored his own and running a hand through the fur of Repede's head that rested in his lap.
"Worth the trip, huh?" he said, joining the two of them.
Yuri smiled without looking away from the tree. "Totally."
They sat in silence, basking in the bliss of a peaceful night. Flynn's hand found its way to Repede's back where his fingers crawled a spot he knew was one of the dog's favorite. Looking up, he watched his breath rise in a cloud and disappear into the star-sprinkled sky. The moon shone even more brightly this year now that there was no barrier left to shroud its brilliance, imperial. Flynn's fingers sometimes brushed against Yuri's, whose eyes never left the central square, bustling with smiling faces and laughter.
It had been a long time since they had felt so at ease. Sometimes their fingers would graze each other and remain still – light, tender. The phantom of a caress of a thumb, a touch so fleeting they might have imagined it, and yet they never retreated.
"Merry Christmas, Yuri." Flynn whispered to the stars. Repede answered in Yuri's stead with an indignant bark. "I'm sorry, boy." he laughed, giving the dog a gentle pat between the ears. "Merry Christmas to you, too, of course."
Yuri shook his head with a smirk. "Such a diva."
Repede retorted with a huff that, had he been human, would have sounded an awful lot like blowing a raspberry. Flynn's laughter grew and as Yuri joined in, their fingers entwined in a tight grip. Tonight was a moment they shared with open hearts, and made a silent promise never to let go of.