Carols:
"…So then, it turned out I didn't die." Zack and Leon simply stared across the sitting area at Zell for a moment after the tattooed man finished his story. "What?" asked the blonde.
"Nothing," commented Zack with a smirk as Leon simply shook his head and took a drink from his mug.
"So where are Cloud and Riku tonight?" asked Zell, seemingly over his friends' odd reactions.
"Aerith, Tifa, Rude, and the kids wanted to go carolling and they took them along," replied the violet-eyed man.
Zell raised his eyebrows slightly. "They took Cloud and Riku…? Of all of our friends, those two wouldn't top the list of people I'd expect to go carolling. How did that happen?"
"Spiky can rarely say no when Tifa, Aerith, and Marlene decide to team up on him," answered Zack with a grin.
"Okay…," Zell turned to Leon. "What about Riku?"
The scarred man shrugged. "He had never been carolling before and they said he had to in order to get the full holiday experience here."
"He's never been carolling before?" asked Zack.
Leon shook his head, "He didn't even know most of the carols they mentioned."
"What the hell do they do to celebrate on those islands?" asked Zell. "He'd never built a snowman or gone carolling before, he didn't know what mistletoe and eggnog was…Do they just string lights around their palm trees and call it a day?"
Again, the steel-eyed man shrugged. "It's a different world, Zell. Why would they have all of the same traditions, carols, and beliefs as us?"
"Yeah, imagine if his mother wasn't from this world originally," added Zack. "He probably would know even less."
The front door suddenly opened, and Cloud came in, limply slightly, with Riku behind him. The cyan-eyed boy raised a hand and Cloud was bathed in green light before he continued to walk to one of Leon's armchairs sans limp.
"Thanks," the spiky-head man said over his shoulder.
The silver haired teen waved it off, "I should be thanking you anyway." The adolescent placed a quick kiss to Leon's cheek before heading towards the kitchen. "I'll make us some cocoa…anyone else want some?"
"No thanks," said Zack as Leon shook his head and Zell called, "I'm good."
"You guys finished up sooner than expected," commented Zack as he turned to Cloud. "Did it get too cold out there?"
"No, the others are still out there," replied the spiky-haired man. "I fell on some ice and Riku volunteered to help me back here since I was limping pretty badly."
"You hurt yourself while calmly walking down the street?" asked Zell, clearly trying to hide a grin.
"Not accidentally," replied Cloud.
"What?" questioned Leon.
The blonde man glanced toward Leon's kitchen before explaining. "It turns out, pretty boy has a voice like an angel and he was clearly uncomfortable with the attention that was earning him from the girls, and I didn't want to be out there anyway…I just can't say no when Denzel and Marlene look so happy…So, I 'slipped' and needed to head back. Riku handled it really smoothly too. Once I turned down his and Aerith's offers to heal me, he volunteered to help me home…or here, as its closer."
Zack smirked, "You faked an injury to get out of carolling?"
"Technically, he actually injured himself to get out of it," commented Zell with a chuckle.
"It was nice of you to help Riku out like that," Leon commented. "He really doesn't like attention."
"I don't blame him," replied Cloud. "Sometimes it's nicer to just not be noticed."
"I agree," said the scarred man.
"You would," commented Zell.
Riku re-entered the room with two mugs of steaming cocoa. "Here, this should help you warm up," he stated to Cloud as he handed the spiky-haired man one of the mugs before seating himself on the sofa between Leon and Zack.
It was not until then that the other three men noticed that Cloud's trousers were damp from melted snow. "Here," Zack said as he traded mugs with Cloud. "This will probably work quicker for you. It's some spiked eggnog."
The silvered adolescent glanced at his older lover, "I thought you only got the non-alcoholic stuff."
"I did, but once I didn't have to worry about you drinking it I let Cloud spike it," replied Leon. "You don't mind, do you?"
"Of course not," replied Riku with an indifferent expression. "I was just curious." With a shrug, he sipped his cocoa.
"Speaking of curious," stated Zack. "Why didn't you tell any of us that you can sing? I can see not being in a rush to tell the girls but you had to know that none of us would ooh and ah at you."
The cyan-eyed adolescent shrugged again, "I didn't know I could sing…"
"I knew you could sing," commented Leon. He smiled at Riku's puzzled expression. "I've heard you sing along with the radio when you think I'm out of earshot."
"It doesn't sound like anything special to me," stated the silver-haired teenager.
"So is Spiky's description pretty accurate then?" asked Zack before he glanced down at the cocoa he had just drunk. "Is there cinnamon in this?"
The sable-haired man nodded, "It's quite accurate."
"Yes, there is," answered Riku after Leon responded. Then he looked at the scarred man, "Do I want to know?"
Leon smiled at the boy as he brushed back some of his hair. "Probably not; It's not bad, but it will most likely embarrass you."
The cyan-eyed boy arched an eyebrow, but made no further comment.
"I wonder if Rude can sing," Zell suddenly commented.
"I don't know," replied Cloud. "For some reason no one made him participate like they did me and Riku."
"Well, Riku's just a kid and they've seen you in a dress before, plus we all know Tifa and Aerith can take you Spiky ," Zack responded with a grin. "So why would they pick on Mr. Tall, Dark, and Silent when they know they can get away with it with you?"
"Hey, I've kicked Rude's ass a couple times," stated Cloud. "And he had help."
"So did you," replied Zell.
While the other three men bickered, Leon slid an arm around Riku's waist and drew the boy closer before dropping his voice to speak to him quietly. "So did you enjoy carolling aside from the unwanted attention?"
"I don't really like parading around town like that," replied the silver-haired teen. "But I liked the carols themselves…and I liked just hanging out with the others until Aerith, Tifa, and Marlene starting going on about how I sounded."
"They were probably being a little over enthusiastic because they thought it would help," stated Leon.
"Probably," responded Riku as he settled his head against Leon's shoulder.
"So, can I at least get you to keep singing when you realise I'm approaching?" questioned the scarred man.
"I think I can do that," answered the cyan-eyed adolescent with a soft smile. "You know, I haven't heard you sing yet. Am I going to?"
Leon smiled in return, "Sure…but only you."
"Maybe you can teach me a couple more carols tomorrow while we fill out our Christmas cards," suggested Riku in a questioning tone.
"That sounds like a plan," said Leon. "You can make some of that honeynog you were talking about too."
"Okay," answered the silvered teen. Leon tightened his hold on the boy's waist when he moved to shift away. "I thought you didn't like doing this sort of thing in front of people?"
"I was thinking of changing that rule to only in public or around strangers," stated the steel-eyed man as gently stroked the boy's abdomen with his fingertips.
"We're still not going to be one of those couples who make out in front of their friends, right?" commented the teenager, "Because that's just annoying."
"Of course it is," replied Leon. "I don't think either of us ever would do that anyway."
"No, we wouldn't," agreed Riku. "…But I'm glad you're okay with this now…"
The sable-haired man brought up his other hand to brush the boy's hair back again. "Good…you know, it isn't be-"
"I know," interrupted Riku when Leon hesitated. "Between the jailbait thing and homophobes, it wouldn't be a wise idea to advertise and we just agreed we aren't the type for PDA's anyway."
Leon simply looked down at the cyan-eyed boy. "How do you always manage to understand what I can't even say?"
Riku shrugged before leaning against the scarred man more soundly. "That's just part of why we work so well I guess."
Leon smiled and stroked the adolescent's side as he kissed the top of his head.
Neither noticed the grins their friends were wearing at this small display of affection.