Ludwig and Feliciano's apartment was filled with laughter and song as the whole gang had gotten together for a Christmas party. Antonio had been singing Christmas songs nonstop whilst playing his guitar. Feliciano had appetizers/tapas constantly coming out of the oven, supplying his friends with never ending food.
"Any requests?" Antonio asked, saying some random chords on his guitar. He joking leaned to his boyfriend. "Lovi? Anything?"
Lovino was slouching in the couch with his arms crossed. "No, niente."
"Oh come on, Lovi! You love Christmas!" Antonio began strumming a familiar song. "How about Felíz-"
"No, you've been singing Felíz Navidad all day. I'm sick of it!" Lovino cried.
"Oh, but you love Felíz Navidad!"
"Not fifteen times in a row!"
As Antonio and Lovino continued their argument, Arthur and Francis were on the opposite couch. Arthur was laying down, his head resting in Francis' lap. Francis was playing with Arthur's hair lightly, making Arthur feel drowsy.
"Are you falling asleep, mon chou?" Francis asked.
"I'm trying not to," Arthur answered. "But you're playing with my hair again."
"It's so much softer now that you're using the right shampoo and conditioner," Francis admired.
"It's your shampoo and conditioner," Arthur corrected with a smile.
"I know. Don't you think it makes your hair softer?"
Arthur chuckled and sat up. "Of course, love." He stretched and yawned. They had been at the party for several hours now, and it still felt like the party was just getting started. With the constant singing and laughing, Arthur had no idea when the party would feel like it would die down. He looked to Francis. "You want me to grab you another drink?" Arthur asked, pushing himself off of the couch.
Francis handed him his wine glass. "Sure; and don't be stingy with the wine. It's Christmas Eve's Eve, and my celebration has just begun."
Arthur laughed as he wandered over to the drink table and filled up the wine glass. He then grabbed a can of ginger ale (he was the designated driver for the night) for himself. As he sat back down on the couch, the door opened and stumbled in Feliks and Tolys.
"See! I told you door would be open!" Feliks said, poking Tolys' shoulder in a teasing manner.
"But it's always polite to knock!" Tolys commented with a heavy sigh.
"Ah, I was wondering when you two would get here!" Feliciano called from the kitchen. He had just taken out another batch of cookies for the party, and was placing each cookie on the cooling rack.
"Yes, we would have been here earlier but Feliks was insistent on finding a specific kind of vodka," Tolys said.
Feliks held up two bottles. "Do you know how hard it is to find Polish vodka in this place? Like, too hard!"
"Aren't there plenty of other brands, though?" Arthur chimed in.
"No! They don't taste as good." Feliks hurried over to the drink table and placed the two bottles of vodka side by side. "Also, I hope you don't mind, I had a couple of sips on the way here," he added, pointing to the already open bottle.
While Feliks made his rounds to greet everyone and let them know he finally arrived, Francis gasped and shook Arthur's shoulder. "Arthur, look at that outfit!" he whispered.
Setting his can of ginger ale down on the coffee table in front of him, he glanced at Feliks outfit. It was a Santa dress, with fluffy white fur around the collar, sleeves and the skirt of the dress. The dress was accompanied by knee high black boots and a Santa hat atop Feliks' head. It was a very cute outfit, Arthur couldn't deny, and he knew exactly why Francis had pointed it out.
"What about it?" Arthur replied, playing dumb.
"I want it," Francis answered. "No, I need it. Look at how cute it is! I need that dress!"
"You would look very nice in that dress, but the Christmas season is almost over, Francis. Perhaps Mirage could ask for something similar next year?" Arthur stated.
Francis pouted. "A year is too long," he whined, resting his head on Arthur's shoulder. "Besides, if we get it now, I can wear it whenever I want and it can be Christmas for you anytime," he added with a smirk.
Arthur's cheeks turned pink at the implications of that comment and he looked away. "I'll think about it. But you already have plenty of...nice things to wear."
"It's always nice to change it up," Francis continued. He took another sip of his wine. "I guess I could always just sew a dress similar to that one; I could make it lacey. I know how you feel about lacey thi-"
"Francis," Arthur muttered. His cheeks were hot red. "Not now."
Francis giggled. "Alright, alright, we'll put a rain check on the idea," he finished, patting Arthur's knee.
Arthur sighed with relief. He just has to be such a constant tease with me.
At some point, Gilbert, Erzsébet, and Feliks had joined Antonio along in the singing of Felíz Navidad right beside Lovino. The already ridiculous scene had turned into something out of a comedy skit with only two people out of the four really knowing all of the words to the song. Erzsébet and Feliks would mumble the Spanish lyrics as they would bob back and forth, shaking their hips as Antonio and Gilbert carried the song in drunken Spanish. Once the chorus came, both would shout the English lyrics at the top of their lungs and wave their arms about.
It didn't matter how many times they sang the song, Lovino was not in the mood.
"Would guys just shut up already?!" Lovino finally shouted.
Antonio hit a bad chord out of shock from Lovino's outburst, and he looked at the others for a second. With a shrug, he strummed on the guitar very quickly before going back into Felíz Navidad and singing the chorus once again. Lovino groaned and slouched further into his seat, grabbing a pillow that was next to him and putting it over his head.
"Does this happen often?" Arthur asked.
"Every year," Francis confirmed.
Arthur turned to him. "Every year?"
"Every year."
Taking in a deep breath, Arthur gathered the courage to interrupt the merry festivities. "Do you think we could sing a different song?" he asked rather loudly.
The music came to a stop once again as the gang looked at Arthur, offended that he would suggest such a thing. "Why you have to ruin Christmas?" Feliks asked with a pout.
"I'm not ruining Christmas, I just asked if we could sing a different song! Lord knows there are plenty of them." Arthur defended himself. "Perhaps, Jingle Bells or God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen or…"
"I agree, I have a fucking migraine because of all of you," Lovino chimed in.
"Both of you are Nancys of Negativities. I don't even know those songs." Feliks complained, crossing his arms.
"It's Negative Nancy, idiota."
"Is same thing!"
The argument began to get louder as they fought over what songs to sing. Francis sighed and nudged Arthur's arm. "Look what you've done, you've ruined Christmas."
Arthur sighed again. "Yeah, well, I'm pretty good at ruining fun."
"Oh stop, I was just teasing." Francis put his arm around his beloved and swayed.
In the corner of their eye, they saw Feliciano step on top of a chair and waved his arms around. "Hey! If I could get everyone's attention please? It's time to exchange gifts!" he hollered over the several arguments going on in the living room. Of course, no one stopped and paid attention to the poor Italian, who's yelling didn't even seem to phase the guests. "Come on guys, let's not fight! They're just songs anyway!"
Ludwig, who had been sitting quietly at a seat by the kitchen island and most of the guests forgot he had been sitting there, simply cleared his throat. Immediately all of the arguments stopped and the apartment was silent for once.
Feliciano hopped off of the chair and gave a kiss on Ludwig's cheek. "Thank you, Luddy," he said, folding his hands. "So, we all came here for Secret Santa, remember? If we could all grab our gifts and exchange them, that would be wonderful."
"Please, no arguing. And no more Felíz Navidad. I ought to ban that song from our Christmas parties," Ludwig added, standing up.
Eventually everyone took their seats, making sure they had their gifts ready for the exchange. Arthur held onto his gift, double checking that the wrapping paper was still secure by the tape. When Ludwig had announced in early November that there would be a Secret Santa between the whole gang that frequented Atomica, Arthur wasn't too sure he wanted to participate. Francis had managed to convince Arthur that it would be fun and a chance for him to hang out with the well established group of friends. So Arthur drew a name out of the hat, and somehow ended up with Tolys, the most quiet and plain person in the whole group.
Some "Facebook Stalking" had to be done on Arthur's part in order to find somewhat of a decent gift for the always anxious Tolys. In hopes of maybe finding a way for Tolys to calm down at the end of the day, or something, so Arthur settled for an essential oils diffuser. It wasn't the best gift, but at least Francis said that Tolys would enjoy it because he appreciated well thought out gifts.
Before Arthur and Francis got up from their seats, Feliks came around and shoved a huge gift bag in Francis' face. "Wesołych Świąt, Mirage!" Feliks exclaimed.
"Oh, how did you manage to get me for Secret Santa?" Francis asked, chuckling.
"Does not matter, open it! Open it!"
The gift bag was heavy, to Francis' surprise, and filled with too much sparkly tissue paper. Once all of the paper was out of the bag, Francis pulled out a dress that was similar to the one Feliks was currently wearing, along with boots and a Santa hat.
"Ta-da! Do you like it?! I made just for you!" Feliks shouted, jumping up and down.
Francis grinned. "Like it? I love it!" he said, standing up. "How did you even know my size?"
"I took one of your dresses from the dressing room and used it to figure out the measurements! And all of you think I'm stupid."
"This is...I'm so surprised that you were so thoughtful, Feliks!" Francis paused. "Wait, did you put the dress back?"
Feliks ignored Francis' question and shook Francis' arm. "Put it on! Put it on!" he chanted like a little kid. "We can be like twins!"
Francis happily grabbed the boots and hat as he made his way to the bathroom to change, with Feliks not too far behind him to wait by the door. Arthur chuckled as he stood up to give Tolys his gift.
"Feliks is a handful, isn't he?" Arthur asked, sitting next to Tolys.
Tolys sighed and nodded. "Yes, he is." He smiled. "But, we've been through a lot together. And so, in a weird way, we support each other."
"That's good," Arthur replied, awkwardly. "Did something happen between the two of you or something?"
Tolys' smile quickly disappeared. "Um, no." He paused and looked away. "It's kind of a long story and uh...I still don't think I can talk about it."
Jesus Christ, what is with this guy? Arthur thought to himself. "I'm so sorry, I didn't think it was-"
"No, no. It's okay! Bad memories, you know? And not a lot of people know."
Arthur nodded and gently handed Tolys his gift. "I uh...Merry Christmas. I hope you like it."
Tolys gently and carefully unwrapped the gift, revealing the box for the diffuser and smiled. "Thank you! I've heard some good things about essential oils and had been thinking about trying it."
Arthur sighed with relief; thank goodness Tolys liked the gift.
"YeeeeeeeeEEEEEESSSSSS!" Everyone turned their heads after hearing Feliks cheering at the top of his lungs while Francis had stepped out of the bathroom. "It fits you like, perfect!"
"Yes, I'm surprised that this actually gives me some shape even without hip pads." Francis said, pleased with himself. He looked over to Arthur. "Mon chou, thoughts?"
Arthur blushed before he turned away. "It looks nice," he blurted awkwardly.
Francis smirked. "Good."
"Okay, so I have idea!" Feliks rambled. "Next year, we do performance with song from Mean Girls."
"Jingle Bell Rock?" Francis asked, confused.
"Yes! That one! I'll be Regina and you'll be Gretchen! So we'll need to find two more..."
"Gretchen?! You're demoting me to Gretchen?!" Francis hissed. "We both know I'm a better Regina!"
"No, I'm Regina! Who else would I be?" Feliks asked.
"Maybe you should be Gretchen!"
"No way! You're Gretchen because you live for the gossip!"
Arthur turned around in his seat to put a stop to the very pointless argument. "Francis, have you given your gift to Erzsébet yet?" he asked.
Erzsébet, who was sitting on the floor, sat up in excitement. "Francis, you're my Secret Santa this year?" she asked, happy.
Francis let his arms fall to his sides and groaned. "Arthur, you ruined the surprise!"
"Well, you're being ridiculously mean to Feliks over here," Arthur countered. He loved Francis to death, but he knew that Francis had problems with being petty. The man could hold a grudge and keep an argument going until the person he was arguing with was humiliated.
"Yeah, you're being ridica...ridicasissy...you're being mean to me!" Feliks repeated with his hands on his hips.
"Alright, alright," Francis relented, walking away. He grabbed the gift bag he had sitting next to him for Erzsébet and handed it to her. "Joyeux Noël, Erzsébet."
Erzsébet happily took the gift bag and began pulling out the tissue paper. Carefully, she took out a box that had several different bath bombs inside and another box filled with body lotion. "They're all my favorites! Thank you, Francis!" She quickly stood up to give Francis a hug.
"You're very welcome, my dear. You're going to need all the leisure time you can get with all of this wedding planning you have to do," Francis replied.
"Funnily enough, I've barely done any of the planning." She turned to Gilbert who was unwrapping his gifts from Antonio. "Someone has control issues."
Gilbert glanced up from unwrapping and gave a confused look. "What?"
"I was just telling Francis that you've been doing all of the planning for our wedding," Erzsébet clarified, crossing her arms and smiling.
"Oh," Gilbert grumbled. He started to unwrap the present again. "I know how it stresses you out so...you know."
"He also said he wants it to very special," Erzsébet whispered, leaning closer to Francis.
"Aw, see, he's not always obnoxious." Francis responded quietly, smiling fondly at Gilbert.
Gilbert muttered under his breath as he set the wrapping paper to the side. For someone who loved being the life of the party, Gilbert didn't particular like when the attention was on him for being anything less. He wanted to be known as a hell raiser, not as a softie, despite everyone knowing he truly was a softie and would literally do anything to make Erzsébet happy.
Once all of the gifts were exchanged, drinks were refilled and everyone seemed to be happy, Antonio began strumming random chords on his guitar. "Lovi," Antonio said, lovingly as he sat next to his partner.
"No."
"Come on, sing with me. Just once. Please?" Antonio pleaded.
Lovino took a deep breath and sighed, looking away. Antonio kept strumming the same chord over and over, hoping Lovino would eventually relent and sing along. Eventually, Antonio succeeded. "Felíz Navidad…" Lovino started to sing.
Antonio gave a cheer and spun around with his guitar as a victory dance. He then joined his boyfriend in singing boisterously, making everyone wanting to join the song. It took a few more minutes, but soon everyone was singing along to the simple, yet annoying (but also beloved) Christmas song.
Time passed on as they soon continued to sing different Christmas Carols, some in various languages as some did not know any of the English verses. It was almost comical as the languages mixed together, confusing some as they were on their fourth or fifth drink. Eventually, it reached 1:00 in the morning and Ludwig politely asked everyone to leave after Feliks suggested they play a game of "Find the Mistletoe."
"Luddy, we don't have to end the party early!" Feliciano protested. He followed behind his partner as Ludwig started escorting people out of the apartment.
"It's one o'clock in the morning, Feli!" Ludwig argued back. "I would like to have some sleep until our flight tomorrow."
"It's not like we'll get to sleep anyhow! Besides, we can sleep on the plane, like always!" Feliciano added.
"Everyone is drunk and are bound to fall asleep. We don't have room, first of all. Second, we have a flight in four hours. Third, I need to take Aster and Blackie to their day care while we're away."
"Is this because I suggest we play game of 'Find the Mistletoe'?" Feliks, who was standing behind Ludwig, chimed in. "No need to be timid, we are all friends. For example, I can go first! Tolys, where is the mistletoe?"
Tolys was lying down on one of the couches, fairly drunk. His cheeks were flushed and the bottle of vodka sat beside him on his lap as he was trying his best to not fall asleep. Without sitting up to look at Feliks, he said: "I don't need to look; it's up your ass, isn't it?"
"Aw, why you ruin surprise?" Feliks asked, leaning over the couch to look at Tolys. "But yes, it's by my butt."
"When did you even find time to put it there?" Francis asked. He stood up from where he was sitting and grabbed his coat.
"I have my ways," Feliks answered, smirking. He poked Tolys' nose. "Are you falling asleep?"
"Of course not," Tolys answered, rubbing his eyes and sitting up. "But, we should probably get going, as Ludwig says." He went to stand up quickly, but soon fell over back into the couch. "I didn't drink that much alcohol tonight…"
Feliks laughed as he came around the couch and grabbed Tolys' hands to help him up on his feet. "Yeah, but you suck at holding your liquor." He began pushing Tolys to the door. "Let's get Mister Wibbly Wobbly home. Wesołych Świąt, everyone! See you next year!"
Everyone gave a tired and exhausted "Merry Christmas" back to Feliks and Tolys as the began to pack up their belongings. Francis, who was still wearing the outfit he had gotten as a gift, lazily shoved the clothes he wore when he arrived in his gift bag while Arthur shrugged his coat on. The two of them said their goodbyes to those who were still hanging around and left the apartment. Their car ride was fairly quiet on the short drive home, except for Francis' humming the now cursed song Felíz Navidad.
Once they got to Arthur's apartment, they slowly climbed the stairs holding hands with Francis leading the way up the narrow staircase. "You know, I think Feliks' idea of 'Find the Mistletoe' isn't a terrible one," Francis commented as Arthur unlocked the door.
Arthur blushed a litte. "Maybe that's a game we can play next year," he replied. He stepped into the apartment. "The two of us should get some sleep; we have a long day tomorrow."
"We're just going over to your Nan's place, right? That's not terribly long."
"You're forgetting about the part where we have to go to Christmas Mass with my Nan."
"Oh, right," Francis closed the door behind him. "Do we have to go to Mass?"
"Yes." Arthur slipped his shoes off and hung his coat up. "What's the problem? I thought you said you were Catholic too."
"Well yeah, but I haven't stepped foot in a church since I was baptized."
"Don't worry; it's mainly just carol singing anyways." Arthur sighed and began turning off the lights in the living room and made his way to the bedroom. Francis eventually followed suit, taking off his shoes and hanging up his coat beside Arthur's. He crept into the bedroom and wrapped his arms around his lover, planting a soft kiss on Arthur's cheek.
"You're sure you don't want to play 'Find the Mistletoe'?" Francis teased.
Arthur couldn't help but chuckle; Francis was persistent as ever. "I'm sure," he replied, gently declining before adding, "Perhaps tomorrow."
Francis gave another kiss before stepping away to get ready for bed. "I suppose that gives me some more time to get more mistletoe."
Arthur turned around quickly. "How much do you need?" he asked.
"Enough to cover my whole body, of course!"
Arthur chuckled and shook his head. "Right, you're going to be sure we'll be up all night, huh?" He followed Francis into the bathroom to brush his teeth and use the new face wash Francis had bought him. He put a bit of toothpaste on his toothbrush and leaned over the sink as he brushed his teeth. "Can't get enough of me, is that it?"
Francis smirked as tied back his hair into a bun for the night. "What? Am I not supposed to enjoy the fact that you're good with your mouth?"
Arthur nearly snorted out his toothpaste out of his nose as he tried to stop himself from laughing. He quickly finished brushing his teeth, rinsed out his mouth and looked to his smug boyfriend. "Francis!" he scolded.
"What?" Francis chuckled. "Oh Arthur, you can be such a prude at times." He jokingly pushed Arthur out of the way with his hip and grabbed his toothbrush to start his night routine.
"I'm no prude," Arthur mumbled, before walking out of the bathroom. Changing into his pajamas, Arthur eventually climbed into bed and sunk underneath the covers. It took several minutes, but soon Francis joined him under the blanket. Francis reached over to turn off the lamp next to the bed and rolled over to put his arm around Arthur. The two curled up to each other, arms and legs intertwined.
Arthur's hands were cold, like always, and Francis shivered. "Why are your hands always so freezing, mon chou?" he asked, slowly drifting off to sleep.
"Sorry," Arthur apologized. He slipped his hands through Francis' nightshirt, resulting a yelp from Francis.
"You're so mean!"
"What? I need to warm them up somehow!"
They both laughed in between kisses as Francis tried to squirm away from Arthur's icy grip. Once their laughter drifted away and drowsiness settled in again, Arthur hummed to himself and put his lips against Francis' shoulder. It didn't take long before the two fell fast asleep, gently snoring while wrapped in each other's arms.