"So have you got everything ready?" Tino asked for what felt like the 50th time that day.
Berwald nodded calmly, placing a plate of ham on the kitchen table, which they'd dragged into the sitting room to hold a buffet.
"Now does the tree really look good in the corner or should we move it?"
"Again?" Berwald was sure he'd hauled that tree all across the sitting room by now for Tino.
"Right, sorry," Tino dipped a hand into the box on the floor next to it, pulling out another clay or glass decoration for the tree. They'd decided not to put any candles on it as the place was going to be full of children and drunken adults soon and they didn't want the house (or even street) going up in flames. The tree was fresh, rich in colour and stood proudly in the corner to the right of the fireplace, where a roaring fire was lit to warm the place for the guests. The boys had made brightly coloured paper chains, which were now hanging from the ceiling and the kitchen table was full of good food. A massive turkey sat in the middle, surrounded by stuffing, potatoes, salmon, bacon, ham, sausages and different vegetables they'd saved up to buy over the weeks. Aleks, Erikur and Arthur were 'supervising' on the sofa.
"Papas!" cried Peter, running into the sitting room, Lars following, "someone's at the door!"
"The first guests!" Tino ran downstairs to open the door. "William!" he cried, stepping aside to allow the baker and his small army of children to enter.
"Merry Christmas Tino," he replied, "we thought you'd like a bit of help with dessert," he added, holding up a basket of petite cakes, "Oscar has more."
"The little ones helped me make a splendid Christmas cake," said Oscar, who was holding a large, fruity cake with white icing, "right?"
"Yes!" cried the four children.
"Wow thank you, we really appreciate it," Tino smiled warmly, "if you go upstairs you'll find everyone else. Just leave your coats in the kitchen or something."
"Thank you," William replied, leading everyone upstairs.
"'Scuse me," came a voice from outside, "is this where the Christmas Eve party is?"
Tino turned round to find Antonio standing in the door way smiling.
"Antonio?" asked Tino in disbelief, "I haven't seen you in years!"
"Tino!" Antonio stepped forward to pull the shorter man into a crushing hug, "how's it going old buddy?"
"Not too bad," gasped Tino, "nice to see you're well."
"Aren't ya gonna introduce us?" came a female voice.
"Oh, course," Antonio let go of Tino, much to the other man's relief, "this is Tino; we used to share a room. Tino, this is my friend Eva," he gestured to a little blonde woman, who stepped inside and shook Tino's hand, smiling sweetly.
"This is Eva's brother Jan," continued Antonio, pointing to a tall blond, who nodded politely.
"Nice ta meet ya," he greeted.
"Nice to meet you too."
"And this is my little brother Carlos," Antonio threw an arm around a slightly shorter man, hugging him tightly, 'isn't he sweet?"
"Huh?" Carlos shook his head, "hey we brought some homemade treats and pastries for the party," he pointed to the basket in Eva's hand.
"Wow thanks we really appreciate it," Tino led them upstairs to the sitting room, where Aleks and Erikur were unpacking William's cakes onto the table. The children were racing toys across the floor, shouting and laughing. Oscar was sprawled on the sofa staring at a glass of wine, trying to look like he was some sort of expert in the field whilst Arthur was throwing pillows and cushions on the floor next to the fire for extra seating.
"So just make yourselves at home," he told the newest party before hearing another knock at the door.
"Got it," called Berwald, running out of the room.
…
"I'm really starting to have second thoughts about the whole thing," Roderich played nervously with the collar of his coat.
"Come on," Elizabeta rolled her eyes, still smiling; "it'll be fun."
"But we've never been to a working class party before," he whined, "we don't know what sort of behaviour they get up to. What if people have their ankles out and everything?"
"Oh hush," Elizabeta chided, "do not talk such nonsense. They're poor people, not animals."
"I want to see Lars and play with the other children," cried Franz, "I never get to play with other children."
"See? It's good for Franz; good for all of us, really."
"Yes, but…" Roderich sighed, "fine."
"We're here now anyway," she said, pointing to where Berwald was stepping aside to let Marianne and Michelle Bonnefoy into the shop.
"Ah, hello," he gave a small wave, "ya made it, then?"
"Yes, well, Franz really wanted to come," stated Roderich.
"Thank you for the invitation," added Elizabeta.
"Well everyone's in the sitting room right now," said Berwald, "so if you go up those stairs it's the first door on the left."
"Thank you," Elizabeta led Franz, who was jumping ecstatically, across the room. Roderich hesitated, staring at Berwald for a few seconds.
"Thank you," he whispered, and Berwald knew he wasn't talking about the invite.
After Roderich had left the room, another four guests showed up.
"Hey I don't think we've met," greeted the eldest, "I'm Sadik. Err, Erikur and Aleks sent us an invite," he waved a hand at the other three, "thought we'd show up. I mean, Heracles is the only one of us who actually celebrates Christmas but it still sounded fun, you know? Oh, Heracles is this guy," he pointed at a calm-faced Greek man with brown hair, "and the little guy's Kiku," more pointing, "and the one with short hair's my cousin Muhammad."
"Thanks for inviting us," said Kiku, giving a small smile.
"Eh, no problem," Berwald shrugged, "we heard you all were badly effected by these r'cent events and tonight's all about spreading cheer and hope."
"Well it's a good idea," said Muhammad.
"It was Tino and Mathias' idea really," admitted Berwald, leading them upstairs into the sitting room, "and Tino pretty much organised everything."
"Well he did a good job," said Heracles.
"Hey Toni!" called Sadik, "you made it then?" he strode over to his lead actor, slapping him on the back.
"Course!" laughed Antonio, "hey do you know if Florrie and Lovi are gonna show up?"
"Dunno," Sadik shrugged, "still, Florenza's gotta take things easy now."
"True."
…
"Come on!" urged Salvatorio, running ahead before turning around to wait for them.
"Yes, yes," Lovino pulled his scarf tighter around him to block out the cold.
"We have to take care around Florenza," explained Ludwig for the millionth time.
"Ludwig, please," Florenza rolled her eyes, hanging on to his arm; "I'm only a teeny bit pregnant. I know not to do black flips and stuff, but I can walk a little hasty now and then."
"I don't want to risk it," replied Ludwig, face filled with concern, "I care about you too much."
"We can see that," muttered Lovino.
"Hey, we're here now!" cried Salvatorio, running over to knock on the door excitedly.
By the time Berwald answered, the other three had reached the shop.
"Y'made it?" he asked, showing them inside.
"Course," replied Lovino.
After the four of them were shown upstairs, Berwald returned to greet Toris, Eduard, Feliks and Raivis, who'd just shown up. After they were pointed in the right direction, Berwald started to shut the front door when he heard wailing.
"Please, my mummy sent us to buy some sugar and tea but a nasty boy spilled them into the gutter!"
"It was her last farthing; we daren't go home," added another, softer voice.
Berwald searched for the origins of the voices, and found they belonged to two small boys sitting on the pavement. There were brown and white grains sprinkled on the road in front of them, along with a pair of empty paper bags.
Berwald sighed, and walked over to them. The two boys were the same pair he'd given money to weeks ago, but they didn't recognise him at first.
"Up to yer old tricks again?" he joked, though it didn't sound that way to the children.
"What? No! Someone really tipped them into the gutter!" cried the one who Berwald remembered had been covered in fake blisters, Alfred.
"He did," insisted the other boy, Mathew.
"Really?" Berwald smiled in amusement, "just like how your arms just burst into blisters?"
"Uh…"
Berwald sighed, "wanna come inside? It is Christmas, after all. And we have plenty of food to go round; ya like cake?"
"Really?" asked Alfred.
"Why not?" Berwald held the door open as the two boys ran inside, "upstairs, s'on the left."
"Cheers, mister," Alfred grabbed Mathew's hand, and ran straight into Arthur.
"Ouch, hey watch it," he grumbled, "well, who do we have here?" he asked, staring at the pair.
"Found them on the street," explained Berwald.
"What?" Arthur studied the two boys closely, "but they're so little!"
"Hey we're not little!"
"They're so skinny!" continued Arthur, "we have to take them in! Do you think they could live here?"
"But we have a home!" protested Alfred, "with a mommy and baby brother."
"Oh, well then. I just want to help you two, maybe just because it's Christmas and all, but, how about I give you a job?" Arthur scratched the back of his head.
"Don't think a ship's the safest place fer kids," reasoned Berwald, "I mean, you're an ad'lt and look what happened to you."
"No, no," Arthur chuckled, "I'm thinking of packing all of that sailing business in myself. Too risky and all. And I want to be around to see Peter reach adulthood. I want to start my own business, boat building, to be precise. When that's all set up I'll contact you," he added to Alfred and Mathew, "I'm sure your mum wouldn't mind you two getting good jobs."
"Very generous sir," said Mathew, lifting his flat cap politely, smiling; "we'll definitely consider it."
"Now can we please go eat?" whined Alfred, "the tall guy said there'd be cake! Cake, dammit! When was the last time we had that?"
"Well, I cannot keep you two from dinner then," Arthur chuckled, stepping aside. The two boys bolted up the stairs.
"Poor kids," murmured Arthur, "they look half-starved."
Berwald nodded, "didn't even st'p to consider I might be dangerous."
"That desperate, huh?"
"There anyone else left to show up?"
"Don't think so," Arthur frowned as he tried to remember.
There was a loud knock on the door and Berwald opened it.
"Here for the get-together," stated Vash matter-of-factly, then faltered, "erm, a Mr Väinämöinen invited us." Lilli gave a bright smile and a small wave.
Berwald nodded, once again stepping inside and allowing the pair to pass before following them up the stairs, occasionally mumbling directions.
When they arrived in the sitting room, the party was in full swing. It turned out that Roderich had brought a violin along with him, and was playing a lively piece whilst everyone danced like fools. Alfred and Mathew were stuffing their faces with cake, all of the other children soon joining them, except Charlotte, who'd grown up surrounded by cakes her whole life and was quite sick of them.
Roderich handed the violin to Franz so he could dance with Elizabeta, and the boy played pretty well, if blushing slightly under the gaze of an impressed Lars. Ludwig continued to fuss over Florenza.
Berwald spied Tino sitting on the sofa talking with Antonio and Lovino and decided to join them.
"Ah, there you are Berwald!" said Antonio, "I was just talking about how we used to live together," he turned to Lovino, "y'know this guy taught me English."
"S'true," confirmed Berwald.
"Sounds a bit like the blind leading the blind to me," joked Lovino.
"It does a bit," agreed Tino, laughing.
"It's good to see you made something of yourselves," said Antonio seriously.
"And you," replied Berwald, "hear ya both doin' actin' now."
"Yeah you have to come along to the theatre sometime," insisted Lovino, "we're pretty damn good."
"M'ght be nice," said Berwald.
"Hey I have to ask," began Sadik, wandering over to join them, "who did the spread? I mean, that's some quality food, and I know my food. Trust me, I'm a gourmet."
"It was a joint effort from Berwald and Aleks," Tino filled in "no one else was allowed to help."
"Well it's really good," Sadik glanced over at the table, "hey, would you mind if I take a bit home with me, there seems to be a lot there. It's just there are four of us in one house so there are a lot of mouths to feed-"
"Go ahead;" said Tino, "it'll be great to see the food not being wasted."
"Ah, thanks buddy," Sadik flashed a grin before wandering off.
"I think Sadik might have some competition," noted Lovino, pointing to where Alfred and Mathew were stuffing turkey and bread under their shirts.
"Well I overheard them mentioning their family so it's probably for them," commented Tino.
"Hey, they should come over to the soup kitchens sometime," said Lovino, "I make the soup so you know it's gonna be good. Plus, it's free, and for the poor anyways."
"Yeah his cooking's great," agreed Antonio, wrapping an arm around his workmate, "seriously; this man right here could have his own damn restaurant. And I'd eat there every day too!"
"…Have you been drinking?" asked Tino, raising an eyebrow.
"Not one drop," said Antonio sincerely, "trust me, you know when I'm drunk. Besides, last time I was within five metres of the stuff I got stabbed."
"To be honest," said Tino, "you don't even need to be near alcohol for that."
"That's right, you were the other survivor," murmured Antonio, "we're a lucky pair, aren't we?"
"For once," added Tino.
"Yeah, still," Antonio coughed, "it's all in the past now, and we can forget about it. Come, Lovino, dance with me."
"Yeah, why not," Lovino shrugged and stood up. The two of them were soon replaced by William, who plopped himself onto the sofa, eating from a bowl full of stuffing and bacon.
"Great do," he mumbled through a mouthful of food.
"Cheers," Tino flashed him a grin.
"Loving the atmosphere," William paused for a second, "hmm, do you suppose we could, come and visit you in the afternoon tomorrow? It's just," he sighed, "I love how the noise and cheer is distracting everyone and the whole place just feels full of happiness tonight and I think it'll do the children some good to be around lots of people tomorrow. If that's fine with you," he added, glancing at Tino and Berwald apprehensively.
"Sure," said Tino, "we'd be happy to have you."
"Bes'des," added Berwald slyly, "I think it's best for us ta spend lots of time together in the future."
"Oh?" inquired William.
"'Fter all," continued Berwald, "we m'ght soon be in-laws," he nodded at where Peter and Charlotte were holding hands under the mistletoe, which Berwald he hung from the ceiling earlier, mostly for his and Tino's benefit later.
"Well… damn," William blinked a few times, before laughing out loud for the first time in weeks.
…
"Ah come on," whined Berwald, "surely we c'n tidy up tomorrow."
"And have the boys come down this pig-sty on Christmas morning?" answered Tino, sweeping crumbs and pine needles off the floor. The party was over, everyone else was either in their own homes or asleep upstairs and it was up to the pair of them to clean the place. Even though it was now the early hours of the morning and they were pretty tired.
The party had been a massive success. Tino wasn't sure which moment was best for him: Heracles and Kiku deciding the party was going on a bit long and curling up in the corner together for a nap, holding hands, a scene which was made even cuter when Natalya thought they would make the perfect bed for her and curled up on top of them, the other children soon joining her; Roderich actually cracking a smile and laughing as he danced with Elizabeta in front of the fire; Antonio and Lovino dragging some of the other actors over to the middle of the room to do a little song and dance performance for everyone; Franz nearly knocking over the tree in a sugar-induced hype that made him want to run around the room with Lars, causing a fair bit of shouting from Roderich, which was silenced by a kiss from Elizabeta; Berwald laughing and smiling at him while they danced with their boys, Aleks and Erikur; Sadik thanking them again for the food as he and Muhammad got ready to leave, carrying a box full of meat and cake and lightly kicking their two friends awake, who were then faced with the task of standing up whilst trying to not wake up the children sleeping on them; Florenza twirling around as she danced, lifting her skirt in the air to reveal her ankles, causing Roderich to almost faint, at which time Elizabeta decided it would be best to take him home; or just seeing everyone so full of cheer and hope, the horrors and misery of the city not reaching their tiny patch of happiness.
Tino smiled at the memories, finished sweeping and began placing presents, which had been hiding in the cupboard until then, under the tree whilst Berwald tidied any uneaten food away.
When the room was looking relatively decent, they decided to call it a night. Yawning, the couple made their way to the door, but Berwald stopped in the middle of the room, turning round to face Tino.
"What's wrong?" he asked. Berwald merely pointed upwards towards the ceiling.
"Mistletoe," breathed Tino, grinning, "well, it is tradition." And with that he stood on his tiptoes to plant a kiss on Berwald's lips and felt a pair of arms snake around his waist.
"Merry Christmas, Berwald," he murmured.
"Merry Christmas, Tino," replied Berwald, smiling brightly, "I love you."
"I love you too."
…
The End
…
Holy shit I can't believe I finished something, and in time for Christmas too. I'm happy, but a little sad it's over. Still, the first chapter of 'like puppets on strings', the sequel to this, is up so please check that out.
So, thank you so very much to anyone who's ever reviewed, faved and/or followed this story. I really appreciate it.
Guess this is goodbye then. Cheerio!