A/N: Short chapter ahead, with some relatively good news!

Black Friday was a hell storm for the poor retail workers Gilbert and Lovino. They worked the same shift starting seven in the evening the day before, to five in the morning that Friday. They snagged the car and had no time to revel in the small victory.

Every single employee of World Powers were required to work and Lovino, of course, glared at all the high school students who didn't have to stay all night because the store legally couldn't keep minors overnight.

The two men struggled to keep the sales floor even remotely clean while their overly-rude customers left tissues from shoes and torn bits of boxes thrown everywhere. When it finally slowed down a few hours into the night, Lovino noticed the way Gilbert was constantly moving and cleaning. The white-haired man was straightening boxes on shelves and picking up every little scrap on the floor—even bits of leaves that fell from customers' shoes.

He had always been religiously clean and preferred organization, but the way he acted was bordering on crazy.

Why he is being so obsessive over—wait. OCD, right.

Lovino finished putting up a pair of running shoes and walked to Gilbert's side, only observing for a few seconds as the man flattened a box perfectly against the wall of ridiculously straight shoes.

"Gil, hold up," Lovino said slowly, not sure if the man was too deep into his cleaning that he wouldn't notice the Italian. "Take a break. It's all clean."

"No, no, it's not, it's not." Gilbert stepped to the side to scan his eyes over every box's label to ensure the sizes and style were in the right order.

"Yeah, it is. Calm the fuck down."

There was no sign of stopping. Lovino ran his hand through his hair, took a deep breath and reminded himself it wasn't Gilbert's fault he was so obsessive, and grabbed boyfriend number two by the arm.

Gilbert stopped to eye the offending hand.

"Gilbert," Lovino said evenly despite his irritation. "You're going to take a break right fucking now."

There was no fight left in the exhausted men. Lovino was pleasantly surprised when he was able to pull the much stronger man behind him and through the swinging door to their stock room. They paused there, Lovino wanting to speak with his partner while they were alone.

"I know tonight is stressful for you," he began, surprisingly calm. "Listen to me when I tell you to take a break, okay? I don't need you getting too far gone. Tell your OCD to go fuck itself."

Gilbert gave a weary smile. "I haven't worked a Black Friday since I was eighteen."

Lovino patted his bicep and leaned in for a kiss. He broke apart and rested his head on the albino's shoulder and gently rubbed his hands up the paler man's arms in a soothing manner.

Gilbert leaned into the touch and wondered if Antonio had taught the Italian a few tricks when he wasn't around. He wasn't expecting to hear silent, mumbled counting.

"You're stressed, too?"

Lovino nodded into his chest. "Let's go have a quickie in the bathroom."

"Yeah, okay."

It was, possibly, the worst Black Friday of their lives. Gilbert wasn't prepared sufficiently for the social filth and Lovino never had to watch someone he cared about struggle so much. He grumbled to himself for this emotional bullshit and went on his way trying to keep the customers out of his way.

While Gilbert cleaned messes, which assuaged him to a point—which usually tipped to the breaking point—and Lovino tried to help as many people as he could without them going to bother his finicky boyfriend. Every time he saw someone beeline for Gilbert, he stepped in the way and intervened before someone got kicked in the face like Gilbert was a spooked horse.

On their next break Lovino snuck to the cleaning supplies kept further into the stock room and snagged as much as he could without making it obvious he was taking more than he needed. The stock room for their department was shared with the huge backrooms and stockrooms of every other department, though their walls and walls of extra shoes created a barrier and slightly more intimate place for the Shoes Bitches.

Lovino narrowly avoided the grumpy Alfred as he ducked back into the Shoes area. He sat an unopened bottle of hand sanitizer on their little table they kept for the Shoes Phone and notes. Their schedule was pinned on the wall above it and Lovino caught himself smiling when he saw his and Gilbert's names together on the sheet.

Gilbert watched him curiously from his seat on an unopened shipment of boots. He felt a fraction of his anxiety ease away with each cleaning utensil placed out in the open.

"I know OCD isn't like the stereotypes and shit," Lovino began, still unloading boxes of tissues and baby wipes he may or may not have (but definitely did) stolen from other departments. "I know it's more than keeping your shit in alphabetical order. But I don't know what it's like for you, so you have to bear with me here."

He stepped aside to let Gilbert have a full view of their newly cluttered table. There was a box of tissues beside baby wipes and hand sanitizer. Pushed against the wall were spray bottles of cleaner and a roll of paper towels. On the edge, closer to the door, was a box of latex gloves and a packet of sponges and rubber kitchen gloves.

"So, uh," Lovino looked away from Gilbert and ignored the raging blush he felt burning his cheeks. "Here's some shit… you know, if it helps."

Oh, how Gilbert was glad he gave this man a chance. He could see what Antonio saw—not that he hadn't already seen Lovino's gentler side before now. He had seen the way he would scream insults while also working on background tasks solely to help—like when he grumbled and groaned about how much of a moron Francis was… while helping the man with a rather nasty knot in his hair. He was gentle as can be despite knowing the blonde wasn't at all tender-headed.

Lovino could act just as sweet as Antonio sometimes.

Gilbert appreciated the thought his newest boyfriend put forward. He knew there was something wrong in Lovino's head just like there was something wrong in his own. He could sense the unease Lovino felt at times but never brought it up. Antonio said Lovino had some issues but never went into depth; he felt it wasn't his to share.

"The gloves," Gilbert began when he realized he had been staring. "Uh, the gloves might help."

"This is incredibly awkward."

"Ja, I know."

The two avoided eye-contact but still felt small smiles pulling at their lips. Gilbert grateful for the gesture and Lovino pleased he did something to help, even remotely so.

They returned to Francis's and Gilbert's apartment at six in the morning. They had been held up at work and stuck in the horrific Black Friday traffic. They both stumbled in, feet sore, backs aching, and eyes heavy. While they were working, Antonio and Francis were snoozing in the Vargas apartment.

In the last month they had began switching homes. Their beds only really fit two people at a time, despite how hard the original trio tried to fit in their own bed. While Francis's new bed was much nicer it in no way fit four people.

When it came out that both Gilbert and Lovino would be working through the night and leaving their first ever Thanksgiving together early, Francis had given fake tears and demanded they take the car.

"I'm not working until later that night," he said. "You can take the car! You two can stay here and I'll go spend some quality time with Toni, honhonhon."

Lovino would never get used to that pervy fucking laugh.

And here they were now: Gilbert and Lovino finally made their way to the awaiting bed in the properly-insulated apartment after their grueling night working. Meanwhile, Antonio would be sleeping with Francis in the suspiciously-cold apartment that somehow survived despite a massive fire that nearly took out the first floor just weeks before.

The fire was the final straw for Francis, who demanded Lovino and Antonio move back with them. It was also the perfect time for him to bring up moving into a bigger place again. Lovino nixed that idea, claiming he was too poor for that shit. In reality, he was nervous they were moving too fast.

The men snuggled together under the fluffy bed covers and relaxed into the warmth. They were too tired to even pretend they didn't like cuddling.

A/N: The good news is this is more to set up the next chapter, CHRISTMAS!

More good news (only for perverts, though): I decided to post this to AO3 as well, but with some added scenes. Sexy scenes.

Porn.

Also: Gilbert has OCD. I'll do some research on it later so it's not too painfully stereotypical to read. Francis is pretty much the only person I don't plan on giving some kind of mental issues to. Not that Antonio necessarily has mental issues but he definitely has/will have problems with his family.

Gilbert has OCD. Lovino has anxiety (possibly social anxiety, which I can write from experience! Yay!). Antonio, as seen before, has problems with speaking up and bottling up shit.

The next chapter is underway and I'll post it before Christmas. If anyone has any other holiday traditions or whatever and don't wanna feel left out, I'll make sure I find a way to add it in before I post it. Ya'll Jewish? Celebrate Kwanzaa? Any other holiday? I can and will work it in for you, my precious children. PM or comment if you want anything added, even if it's a tradition or some head-cannon you have. It's the holidays!