Antonio set a box of ornaments on the ground with a grunt. "Okay," he panted, "that's the last of it." The others were stacked along the floor, arranged so that a small walkway was left in the middle. It was a Christmas maze.
"Great. Can you open the red box?" Lovino hadn't spared him a glance, fixating his scrutinizing gaze on the bare tree before him.
With a small hum of acknowledgement, Antonio searched for the strip of tape that read "RED ORNAMENTS", which happened to be buried under three other boxes. He was just grateful that they'd thought to organize and label them by color the previous year.
"Lovi, I have the normal red ones, but there's another box of darker…Lovi?" His attention was still locked. Antonio waved his hand in front of Lovino's face, snapping him out of his trance with a start.
"Huh? Yeah, um, just open that box," he half-muttered. He turned back to the tree, reaching absently to adjust one of the branches.
Antonio frowned, ignoring the box and placing his hand gently on the back of Lovino's arm. "Is everything okay? You seem a little upset," he pointed out. He had seemed so exited to decorate just yesterday, so Antonio was shocked by the sudden change.
Lovino looked as if he were about to defend himself, but instead sighed and hung his shoulders. "I don't know. I think this is the first time I actually plan the decorations by myself, and I don't want it to look bad," he admitted. Antonio could see he was chewing his cheek, most likely embarrassed.
"What? It could never look bad." Antonio grinned and placed a quick kiss on Lovino's cheek. "Not with you decorating."
He tried to hide it, but Antonio caught the sides of Lovino's mouth fighting to stay in their frown. "Don't try to flatter me just to make me feel better," Lovino said with the slight blush on his face that Antonio adored. Of course, he was going to cheer him up, anyway.
A box to Antonio's left was lying open, tinsel draping over the sides. "Would I lie about what I think you're capable of?" he asked, casting a glance at the box.
"I wouldn't put it past you," Lovino replied, following his gaze to the decorations. "Hey, no. Don't you dare."
A small smirk found its way to Antonio's lips as he inched his way to the left. "Do what?" A moment later he lunged for the tinsel. Lovino tried to pull him away from it, but Antonio snatched a strand and whipped around to land it on his flustered boyfriend's head. Lovino yelped, trying to dodge, but it only tangled him up more in the mess.
"Tonio, you asshat!" he yelled. "Let me go!" His shouts were laced in laughter, which Antonio couldn't help but join in as he piled more of the shiny material on Lovino's shoulders.
"You have to fight back, first," Antonio laughed out. To his amusement, Lovino began tearing the tinsel off of his head and tossing it onto Antonio.
The two locked themselves in an all-out war, nabbing ribbons and garland and whatever other non-breakable things were within reach. They darted around the room, hopping over boxes and catching decorations around their arms like horseshoes on a peg. Amidst their boisterous laughter and shrieking, Antonio realized that they were beginning to shed their festive decorations onto the floor.
"Be careful not to slip!" he shouted as he ducked behind one of the larger boxes around the tree.
Lovino's eyes poked over the back of the couch. "I think that would be more your problem."
Feigning offense, Antonio stood up and gasped. "Are you saying I'm clumsy?"
"More like oblivious," Lovino corrected. It seemed they had put their battle on pause, though Lovino was still crouched behind cover. He was most definitely planning something.
Antonio glanced at the remains of their supply of tinsel. It was dwindling, but he could still use it. "Hey, Lovi, it's not fair that you get to stay back there." He grinned, already going for the box. "Don't make me go after you!"
He wasn't even aware that Lovino could run that fast. An instant after Antonio bundled up the tinsel, Lovino swiped it right out of his hands and hopped back to throw it.
It hit him in a flash, and Antonio laughed. "That works," he said, feeling around for something to throw back. Before he could judge it, he tossed the nearest thing at Lovino, who dodged it. The crash against the wall made him realize.
"Oh, no, no! Lovi, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to- I didn't think that was an ornament, and I-" he rambled, scrambling to get the broom to clean it up.
Lovino, however, shook his head. Antonio's heart was racing now, but Lovino was…smiling?
"Don't worry about it, Tonio. I didn't really like that one, anyway," he said with a shrug. "Just clean it up and come back to help me with the tree." Lovino began removing the decorations that were clinging to his shirt, putting them back in their boxes. Somewhat relieved, Antonio did as he was told.
When he returned, Lovino was back to adjusting the tree branches, only this time he seemed more relaxed. Antonio wordlessly handed him the red ornaments from before, watching as he placed them around the tree.
They weren't halfway through when Lovino paused his decorating. "Hey, come here," he said. Antonio stood up from his place on the boxes to stand by him, wrapping an arm around his waist and waiting for him to speak. Only Lovino leaned in to kiss him, first. It only lasted a few moments, but Antonio felt a calm spread over him in those moments. He loved the effect that had on him.
Lovino rested his head on Antonio's shoulder. "Thank you," he said quietly, "for getting my mind off of that. How the shit do you always manage to make me feel better so easily?"
With a soft smile, Antonio held him close and swayed ever so slightly to an imagined rhythm. "I just try to get you to see yourself how I see you." If Lovino would always be proud of himself like Antonio was, Antonio would never cease to smile. He felt the love they'd shared for so long surround them in the quiet moment—their first Christmas season alone together—and it was a glimpse of that possibility. "You're wonderful," he finished.
"There you go, again," Lovino scolded, though they both knew it was a light joke. "But you're pretty amazing, too. Don't use all of those words on me."
Antonio laughed, letting go of Lovino. "I'll try," he promised.
He took a step back to admire their progress on the tree, but a split-second later he found that all he could see was the ceiling. Groaning and kicking off the tinsel from his foot, Antonio watched Lovino's head hover above his own, pouting when he laughed. "So mean."
Lovino helped him up. "So much for being careful not to slip. You okay?" he asked, dusting the glitter off Antonio's shoulders.
"I'll be fine," Antonio assured. "You were right, and I'm clumsy. So let's finish this tree before I fall to my death in our own house." He resumed his position at the boxes of ornaments. "Ready when you are."
"Okay, get the white ornaments with the silver lines," Lovino ordered, rolling his eyes with a smile. "And for the love of god, do not throw it."