Summary:
The holidays can't come around without a truly awful holiday sweater making it into the mix.
Alistair and Kieran host a small family gathering in their new apartment and invite Cullen to join them. Old traditions are honored and a few new ones made.
Written for day 7 of DA Satinalia Week on Tumblr
DAY SEVEN || DECEMBER 24 || SATINALIA
Notes: Happy Holidays!
All recognizable content belongs to Bioware/EA Games
All twisted perversions therein, are all on me ~ You're welcome!
DAY SEVEN || DECEMBER 24 || SATINALIA
DA Satinalia Week
Day Seven - December 24, 2017
Satinalia
Prompt:
finally! time to celebrate and exchange gifts and wear ugly satinalia sweaters, to decorate and make delicious food for magnificent feasts!
Hot For Teacher
A Holiday Timestamp
Alistair was nervously flitting around the apartment making sure everything was ready. It was their first Christmas in their new place and, somehow, he got roped into hosting their small family gathering.
Kieran came into the room putting the finishing touches on his ugly Christmas sweater. "Dad, can you help me with this?" His sweater was Nightmare Before Christmas themed; black, white, and red presents with a Halloween flair. He tried to wrap a snake around his body so it looked like it was circling underneath the tree.
Taking a few safety pins from his son, Alistair pinned it in place. "You look great, Kieran. Are you excited?"
"I'm not five, Dad ," Kieran said with a huff, but the smile in his eyes told a different story. "I'm happy that you invited Mr. R. to join us though."
"I don't remember actually inviting him. One day you and I were discussing what we were going to have on the menu, then the next day he was calling me asking what he could bring." Alistair raised an eyebrow.
"So you didn't want him to come?" Kieran looked a little hurt. "I figured since you two have been dating, that it just made sense for us all to celebrate together."
Alistair pulled him into a hug, trying not to smash the holiday cheese wheels on the front of his own sweater. "It's not that I don't want to spend the time with him, but it's the holidays; I figured he'd want to spend them with his family. Three months together doesn't exactly make us family."
"Yet!" Kieran grinned.
Borrowing Kieran's patented eye roll, Alistair ruffled his hair. "We'll see. In any case, I'm glad he's coming. Do you think we've forgotten anything?"
Alistair looked around at the food and decorations. The tree was lovely, they'd gone out and purchased all new ornaments and decorations, keeping only a few from their life before. He signed wistfully at the ones that Kieran and his mother made together before she passed; they sat in a place of honor right on the front of the tree. As much as he missed her, Alistair took solace in the knowledge that she was no longer in pain and was now at peace watching over Kieran from the Maker's side.
"Daaaad." Kieran whined. "Stop moping!"
"I never could get anything past you." Alistair grinned, pulling Kieran to him and giving him a one armed hug while kissing the top of his head. "I was just thinking about your mother."
Kieran's eyes softened. "I miss her too. But I'm not going to let you get all morose on me tonight; she wouldn't want you to. We're supposed to be celebrating and enjoying the holiday with family." He reached up and straightened Alistair's collar.
"And Cullen."
"Pffft… Cullen is family, whether you choose to admit it yet or not."
"When did you get to be so damn smart?"
"I was born this way. I think it has something to do with genetics." Kieran grinned mischievously. " Mom was very generous with her share." With a poke in the ribs, Kieran dodged out of the way before Alistair could tickle him for such a smart ass comment.
The little shit.
Just as they were making their first circuit around the sofa laughing, Lana and Leliana let themselves in. Lana was carrying the yule log they would burn after the sun went down and Leliana carried her guitar in one hand and a vegetable tray in the other.
"Now boys," Lana said patiently. "It's not too late for you to be put on the naughty list."
Straightening their sweaters guiltily, Alistair and Kieran went to greet them with hugs and kisses.
"Hey that's cool!" Kieran exclaimed, looking at Leliana's sweater. "Auntie's elves all have bows and arrows!"
"The best elves all have hidden talents." She winked suggestively. "They can't all be toymakers you know."
"But, apparently, they all still wear green tights, pointy hats, and shoes. Why is there a string of Christmas lights attached to their arrowheads?"
"How else do you think they get the lights so high up on the battlements?"
Lana handed off the log to Alistair, revealing her own sweater. " My elves would use magic, of course." She grinned looking down at the large holiday tree with blinking lights on it, surrounded by a ring of elves circling it with their hands raised in various poses of magic casting.
Alistair giggled, returning from placing the yule log in the fireplace for later. "Lord of the Rings elves… nice! I have to say, I missed this little tradition of ours. Remember when you and Lel first got married; she wore that sweater with the pile of nugs all wearing Santa hats. It was both cute and repulsive!"
"Nugs are adorable; I don't know what you're talking about," Leliana chided.
A soft knock sounded at the door while they laughed.
Alistair looked at Kieran, suddenly nervous.
Lana snickered. "I believe that would be your guest, Al. You better get that." She winked at Kieran while Alistair took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.
Opening the door, Alistair paused at the equally nervous looking Cullen with a bottle of wine in one hand and his other arm wrapped uncomfortably around his middle. "Hi," Alistair said with a soft smile on his face. "I'm glad you came."
"I admit, I was a bit nervous that Kieran was pulling my leg about the Christmas sweater thing." He pointed at the stack of cheese wheels decorating the front of Alistair's sweater in a vaguely tree shaped pattern with little mice peeking out the holes making them look like little ornaments. The movement revealed a lion wearing a Santa hat, curled up on the front of his own sweater, wrapped protectively around a stack of presents. "I'm glad to see I wasn't misled." He smiled fondly extending the bottle of wine, while reaching over to grab his guitar case from where it was propped up against the wall.
"Nope, you get us in all our holiday finery. Perhaps I should apologize in advance." Alistair grinned winningly before leaning in to whisper conspiratorially, "But, please don't hold this against me, I really like you and wouldn't want our weird family traditions to scare you away."
"Not a chance of that." Cullen reassured him as they began to walk toward the kitchen.
When they reached the doorway, Kieran exclaimed, "Dad, stop!"
"What?!" Alistair paused in the walkthrough, looking alarmed.
Kieran, Lana, and Leliana were all huddled around the kitchen island smirking at them and pointing above their heads. Looking up, Alistair's eyes widened at the mistletoe hanging from the doorframe. "You boobytrapped my kitchen on purpose!"
"Yes, yes we did - now get on with it. You aren't allowed in until you kiss-it's bad luck," said Lana.
Alistair turned, smiling apologetically. Though they'd kissed many times, they weren't usually openly affectionate in front of Kieran, beyond just holding hands.
Cullen set his guitar back down, leaning it up against the wall. Gently cupping Alistair's face, Cullen leaned in for a chaste kiss, pulling back with an affectionate rub of his thumb on his cheek. "Merry Christmas, Al."
"Merry Christmas, Cullen."
The evening couldn't have been more perfect. They had a lovely dinner together, laughing, and generally enjoying each other's company. The yule-log was lit and they burned off messages of hardships from their past that they wanted to release followed by new messages of the good they wanted to bring in for the upcoming year.
As they sat, silently watching the flames, Cullen nudged Kieran who nodded shyly before standing and leaving the room. Alistair looked after him questioningly then smiled when he saw Kieran return carrying the guitar that Lana and Leliana bought for him for his birthday.
"Um… Mr. R. and I-"
"You know you don't have to call me that outside of school, right Kieran?" Cullen reminded him gently.
Kieran grinned. "I know. Hard habit to break, y'know? I don't want to slip up at school and call you something else."
"As long as it's nothing bad, I'm sure we'll be able to figure it out." Cullen got up with a wink and retrieved his own guitar from its case leaving Kieran to explain.
"Cullen and I have been practicing something that we wanted to play for you tonight."
Alistair shared an excited smile with Lana and Leliana, trying to discern if they knew anything about this. They seemed equally as surprised.
Kieran and Cullen quickly tuned their guitars, then Kieran began the opening chords while Cullen picked up the fancier fingering and began to sing in his soothing baritone.
Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Let your heart be light
From now on, our troubles will be out of sight
Alistair looked from Kieran to Cullen and back again, tears in his eyes threatening to spill over as he watched them together. Kieran watched Cullen for cues and encouragement while Cullen followed the tempo Kieran set with his strumming.
Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Make the Yuletide gay
From now on, our troubles will be miles away
Lana stood up and returned with Leliana's guitar, handing it over at Cullen's approving smile and nod, then took a seat on the other side of Alistair on the sofa.
Here we are as in olden days
Happy golden days of yore
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more
Leliana's lilting soprano joined in and they naturally harmonized together. Alistair swore he'd never heard anything more beautiful.
Through the years we all will be together
If the fates allow
So hang a shining star upon the highest bough
And have yourself a merry little Christmas now
Lana handed Alistair a tissue, dabbing one at her own eyes. He smiled gratefully, trying to hide his sniffles. He and Kieran had been through so much, but now… here… everything was finally coming together. His family was together again, Cullen was fitting in better than he could have ever dreamed and his amazing son was encouraging their budding relationship.
Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Let your heart be light
From now on, our troubles will be out of sight
Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Make the Yuletide gay
Alistair looked around the room, grateful for such amazing people in his life. This was by far, the best Christmas ever.
From now on, our troubles will be miles away
Here we are as in olden days
Happy golden days of yore
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more
Through the years we all will be together
If the fates allow
So hang a shining star upon the highest bough
And have yourself a merry little Christmas now
As they finished their song, Alistair wiped the remaining tears from his eyes and, leaning over, kissed Cullen sweetly. "Thank you for this. For everything." Walking over, he dropped to his knees in front of Kieran and removed the guitar from his hands, passing it to Leliana.
"Wait, Dad. No!" Kieran pretended to push Alistair away before he was engulfed in a giant bearhug.
"Stop squirming. Give me a squeeze." Alistair succeeded in wrapping his arms around Kieran, who eventually melted into the hug.
"Fine." Kieran relented. "But only because you're old and I don't want you to get hurt." Wrapping his arms around him, he hugged his father back.
"You're so charitable and giving, you know that?" Alistair grinned, messing up Kieran's hair as he released him from the hug.
"Aunt Lana says that I'm a lot like you that way. Smart ass, through and through."
"She's not wrong there." Cullen chimed in from his spot on the couch.
"With all this love in the room, I just can't stand it."
"Well then come sit back down. I'm sure we can come up with a few more Christmas songs to play to pass the time." He looked at Leliana who nodded enthusiastically, then at Kieran who looked scared. "Don't worry, Kieran. I'll give the key we'll be playing in then you just pick a couple chords in that key and strum along as best you can. This isn't class, just feel the music and enjoy what you're doing; you've got this; you'll be fine." Cullen winked encouragingly.
Kieran gulped, but accepted his guitar back from Leliana as they got ready to play. They ended up playing and singing together for the next couple of hours until the log burned down to nothing but ash. Even Lana and Alistair joined their voices for some of the them. Sometimes the songs were fast and fun, other times, they were slow and sweet.
As they all began to wind down for the night, Lana and Leliana bid them all farewell, reminding Kieran to not stay up too late so Santa could come.
"I know, I know. I'm heading to bed too. You guys do know that my Dad's the one that fills my stocking, right?"
The little know-it-all.
"Well, take pity on your father. I need my beauty sleep too."
With Lana and Leliana snickering as they left, Alistair pulled Kieran into a hug, kissing him on the head. "Merry Christmas, son. I love you."
"I love you too, Dad." Kieran then turned toward Cullen and suddenly wrapped him an equally tight hug. "I'm glad you joined us tonight. Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas, Kieran. Thank you for inviting me, I had a great time." Cullen smiled affectionately, then turned crimson as Kieran reached up on his tiptoes and whispered something into his ear.
He pulled away with a smug look on his face. "Yeah, well. I'm going to bed now and I'll be sleeping with my headphones on ." He winked exaggeratedly at his father before turning his smirk back on Cullen. "Don't have too much fun though, he's old and needs his beauty sleep."
Alistair sputtered something unintelligible while simultaneously trying to hide his face in his hands. "Good night, Kieran." He eventually managed to choke out.
"Night, Daddy ." Kieran snarked cheekily as he wandered off to bed, closing the door behind him.
"Sweet Maker, that boy's going to be the death of me." Alistair sighed, melting into Cullen's embrace.
"I dunno. I think he's good for you. Keeps you on your toes."
"You won't say that the first time you stay the night and get to wake up to his charming whit first thing in the morning."
"Is that an invitation?" A cautious smile appeared on Cullen's face.
"I… uh…" Alistair sputtered. "Did you want to? I thought you were spending tomorrow with your sister."
"We have Christmas dinner at her house, but my morning is free. If you don't mind the company, I would love to share Christmas morning with you." Cullen rubbed the back of his neck. "I believe Kieran mentioned something about Christmas pancakes too."
Alistair laughed. "Oh is that what he was whispering in your ear? I was wondering."
Cullen chuckled. "He told me that your Christmas pancakes are the best and I shouldn't wait another whole year to get to taste them."
"Christmas pancakes it is. You know me, I can never say no to Kieran." Alistair laid his head on Cullen's shoulder and kissed his neck softly. "He's been asking about when I was going to have you stay over for awhile now. I think he's tired of staying with his aunts when I sleep at your house, but I get the sneaking suspicion that he just likes to see us together. Waking up with you here will be like the best Christmas present ever."
"I'm quite fond of seeing us together too, actually. And, in the morning, will I be the best present for him or you?"
"Definitely his present in the morning, but I don't plan on waiting until then to open mine."
"No? You know Santa frowns on opening your presents early. You're going to be put on the naughty list y'know."
"I certainly hope so." Alistair kissed Cullen deeply. "Let me finish playing Santa Claus, then I will take you back to my room and unwrap you."
"Unwrap me?"
"Very slowly-without using my hands."
Cullen gulped, excitement shining in his eyes. "Merry Christmas to me!"
"Merry Christmas to us both."
End Notes:
For Earlgrayer - because it's her fault this world exists and I've fallen madly in love with food critic Alistair raising Kieran on his own while dating hot schoolteacher / musician Cullen.
With special thanks to Ponticle for being the best damn editor I could ever have asked for.
And to all of you for taking the time to read and appreciate my little bits of written love this year! Thank you for all your support! I hope you all have a safe and happy holiday season, however you choose to celebrate it! 3