Forty minutes later, all four of us are waiting at the bottom of the stairs for everyone to arrive.
Then there came a knocking upon the hall's great doors, and Ross rushed over to see what was the matter. He opened the doors, and snow swirled in, along with a herd of people. Sips and Sjin, carrying a big bag of presents between them, followed closely by Xephos and Lomadia, who were arm in arm. Honeydew, already a bit wasted, carried the bag for the three of them, and he came in with Lalna. Holding Lalna's hand is Kim, and their presents were carried in a huge backpack by Kim. Ross closes the door, but seconds later it is opened again, and BeBop and Ridge wander in, BeBop's arm over Ridge's, power suits folding down into their wristwatches. Verbal follows them in, staggering under the weight if a massive bag presents. BeBop is also carrying a massive stack of his homemade pizzas, which we all know are amazing. Trott and Smith move forward to help unload him, before he drops everything. I hang out in my suit, leaning against the banister. I've never met these people before, so I'm mildly reluctant to join the party. Ross beckons for me to join him, and I wave him away with a small shake of my head. I'm gonna wait until later to mingle.
Another cold breeze swirls in, followed by yet another group, led by a man in an ice blue suit who can only be Prince Martyn, frozen up for the winter season. The rest of his group- a girl with white and pink hair, a boy in jeans and a t-shirt, and two tall, bearded men- staggers in from the cold, shaking the snow off their boots. Smith's magic golems take people's coats and then scurry off to a side room, returning just in time for the next person. The noise level rises, as it tends to when large groups of people gather.
Then both of the double doors open, propelled by magic, admitting a tall, dark-haired man in a mask and a slightly shorter girl with fiery red hair and a bionic arm. No snow has accumulated on her, and purple particles flit around the man. With a rush of air that pushes the icy cold air farther into the room, they touch down gracefully just inside the door, followed by a man in a green dinosaur hoodie and another huge, burly man with several kegs. The dark-haired man has impeccable grace, but the girl staggers a bit upon landing and swears, drawing the attention of the crowd Instantly, the room goes absolutely silent.
"Rythian!" a few people whisper to their neighbors. I go on high alert, sensing possible trouble. From what I can gather based on the bandages on the girl's arm above the mechanical part and the still-fading bruises and cuts on both of their faces and arms, something very bad has just happened to the pair of them Clearly, most of the people weren't expecting to see them here this Christmas. Lalna, slightly pale, stands up and pushes Kim behind him, looking like he expects a fight. Hands are stretching to the weapons that are close at hand, and the room is filled with nervous energy. I push off the banister and stand, ready for anything that might happen.
The man- Rythian- brushes snow off of his shoulders and looks around, taking stock of the room. He locates Lalna and starts towards him, his long legs closing the distance quickly, his footsteps echoing through the hall. The mage stops just short of the scientist and looks him up and down, studying the scientist with bright purple eyes. I look over at Ross, but he's completely frozen, shock and worry written all over his face.
Then the mage holds out one hand, palm up.
"Peace," he says in a Swedish accent. The scientist studies the mage, weighing his options. Reject the offer and start a war on Christmas Day, or accept it and right an obviously serious wrong? The whole room is tense, hands on hilts of swords, the occasional glimmer of magic brushing a few fingertips.
Lalna takes a deep breath.
"Peace, because war is unbearable. And it's Christmas. Christmas is a time for forgiveness, isn't it? That's what it's all about. Things haven't been right between us for a while, old friend. I'd like to change that," he says, and places his palm on top of Rythian's. They shake hands. The mage smiles behind his mask, and pulls Lalna into a hug. Lalna tenses up, then smiles and returns the hug.
The room erupts into applause, and everyone piles around the two men, slapping backs and smiling. The dinosaur cracks open one of the kegs with a roar, and the party has begun. Shortly afterwards, the band arrives, and most of the hall becomes a dance floor. Smith triggers the magic light show, and everyone whoops.
Guests continue to stagger in throughout the party, bringing fresh waves of cold air into the hot room. Eventually, I have to take off my suit coat, and roll up the sleeves of the dress shirt underneath, loosening the tie a bit. By this point, I've moved over to the doorway that leads off to the room where we've stored some food for the party. Above me hangs a sprig of mistletoe. There's a tap on my shoulder, and I turn to see Ross behind me.
"Mistletoe," he says quietly.
"Indeed it is," I say, tilting my head upwards to study it, which is easy since I'm about as tall as Smith. When I bring my head back down, Ross grabs the back and pulls my face down to his, then kisses me, For a split second, my heart absolutely stops. The it skyrockets, and I kiss him back.
"Merry Christmas." he says in a husky voice, then slips past me and rejoins the party.
"Merry Christmas," I whisper, long after he's gone. I lift hand up to feel my lips, and find them smiling. Once my brain reconnects with the rest of me, I smile even more, the give a war cry and drive my fist into the air. "Hell yeah!"
After I calm down enough to stop grinning, I return to my post against the banister. Ross looks over at me, then blushes the tiniest bit and returns to his conversation with one of the really tall bearded men.
"Hey, Reese! There's somebody over here I'd like you to meet!" Smith waves me over to where Rythian is standing with the dinosaur man, who is actually shorter than he appears without the added height of the line of spikes that usually graces the top of his head. "Reese, this is Rythian, and this is Teep." Smith gestures to each man in turn. Rythian does the same thing he did for Lalna, offering him arm, palm up. I grasp it firmly and shake.
"Nice to meet you," I say.
"And you as well," he says in a deep voice laced with a Swedish accent. The dinosaur motions his hands, and from what I can pick up, it's a variation on the sign language I learned for fun.
"My name is Teep," he signs. "I'm really half dinosaur, but all I got was the eyes, teeth, and tail, so I wear the hoodie to make up for it. Well, I got the spikes down my spine, but they're really small. They're getting bigger, though!" He smiles, and I can see that he wasn't kidding about the teeth. Now that I'm close up, the green, reptilian eyes really are striking.
"Nice to meet you too," I say. "Pardon me if I appear rude, but how are you half dinosaur?" He laughs, a mixture of dinosaur roar and human laugh. "And how come you can't speak the human language, but you can roar?" He answers back, his hands flying through the signs with incredible speed.
"I'm half dinosaur because that's how Lalna accidentally made me." My eyebrows raise a hair. That's new. "I got the dinosaur bits from the half destroyed DNA he used, and the human part from the hair he accidentally dropped in the incubator. Therefore, the two strands somehow fused and you get me. A slight error with the vocal cords led to the dinosaur half developing, and not the human. But hey, I still look awesome!" I laugh.
"Indeed you do, indeed you do. You're pretty awesome, you know that?" I've never seen a dinosaur blush (hell, I've never seen dinosaur except in a museum!), but I swear Teep did.
"Thanks!"
We talk for a few more minutes, and Zoey eventually breaks off from Kim and joins our discussion. The five of us laugh and compare stupid stories for a while, and then a loud BANG draws our attention.
Trott stands halfway up the grand staircase, holding a lighter in one hand and an unused firework in the other. Falling sparks indicate that he has already set one off, and the fact that nothing is burning tells me it was Smith's rocket. Ross, off to one side of him, claps his hands to get people's attention. He's put on a small gold circlet for the occasion, his crown. Not elaborate, but still graceful and beautiful.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to my home!" Applause. "I was going to make a speech, but I think I've had a bit too much to drink already, so it won't be a good one." The crowd roars with laughter, and golems run around, bringing small flutes of champagne. Ross beckons for Smith and I to join him, so we make our way up to them. Once we're there and everyone has champagne, he raises his glass to make a toast.
"To old friends, and new. To forgiveness and happiness, and to this kingdom! May it rise, and never fall!" the room erupts with chorus of "I'll drink to that!" "Cheers to that!" and other affirmatives, then goes quiet as everyone drains the flutes. "Now lets open presents!"
-Trott's POV-
I think I've had a bit too much to drink as well, I say to myself. With all the gifts opened and thank-yous exchanged, people have started passing out in corners. I go up to several people and tell them that there are plenty of open rooms, if they want to sleep it off. Everybody agrees, and in twenty minutes, everyone is up in their rooms. I follow the last ones up, and then flop down on my bed and fall asleep instantly.
-Smith's POV-
I stagger up the steps, trying to stop the world from spinning. I've most definitely had WAAY too much to drink, and I'll probably regret the last seven drinks tomorrow. Attempting to walk into my room I whack the side of the doorframe on the way in.
"Fucking door," I say, then readjust my course and enter, rubbing the sore spot on my head. Trott is already sleep, face down on the bed. I laugh a bit and shake my head, then pick him up and put him back on the bed in a slightly more comfortable position. He mumbles in his sleep and rolls over. I climb in the other side of the bed, and as soon as my head hits the pillow, I'm out like a light.
-Reese's POV-
It's so nice to see people actually living here, I reflect silently. Even though the Spire can hold at least a hundred more people, and none of the surrounding outbuildings are inhabited, the castle still feels more alive this way, and I like it. I write the last few names and the room numbers down on my clipboard and set it in the chest area, then walk towards my room, taking off my tie and dress shirt as I do.
"I hate suits," I mutter angrily as I struggle with a rather difficult button. Finally I get it undone, and I shut the door and crawl into bed without bothering to change my pants. At this point, I'm so tired I could care less. My last thought before I fall asleep is of Ross kissing me, and I fall asleep smiling.
-Ross's POV-
Reese is checking the rooms upstairs, logging who's in where, and Smith and Trott are already out drunk, so I'm left to cleanup the worst of the mess downstairs and lock the hall's doors. Once that's done, I'm off to the comfort of my own bed to sleep off this drunkenness. I'll deal with the rest of the mess tomorrow, I think to myself. As I'm walking through the chest area, I spy a stray clipboard. Picking it up, I see Reese's neat but messy handwriting cataloging the used rooms and the guests. I smile, shake my head, and think about kissing him the whole rest of the way down to my room, and as I take off the crown and get into bed, I think of him right before I fall asleep. He's a good kisser.
So, there you go! A sweet little Christmas fic! I'm sorry its going out a day after Christmas, but I finally got to my hotel close to midnight, and I was too tired after going through the other three chapters to finish this one. At the point when I stopped last night, I was only just at the mistletoe part. I'm visiting family the next few days, so uploads may be a bit slow.
Also, very sorry I haven't posted in a while, but finals are atrocious! From now on, I'm going to try to keep he uploads a bit more constant.
Until next time, rock on, my fellow Yognaughts and Hatters! Merry Christmas, and happy holidays!
Best wishes,