The weather is seasonal, which means mild and, in comparison to many other states in America currently, warm. Drake Maverick smiles, swinging his hand back and forth, EC3 rolling his eyes fondly next to him as he allows his own hand to move as well, their fingers interlaced as they walk on. After a few moments of quiet, Ethan clears his throat and looks over at Drake. "I'm sorry this is happening so late."
Drake's blue eyes are bright and calm as they ease over to watch Ethan, taking in the healthy skintone of his face, how he doesn't struggle to breathe as they move on. "Don't worry about it," he says, voice steady and certain as he squeezes his fingers. "I'm just glad you're well once more, sir."
"Yeah, but-" Ethan starts to protest before Drake lightly pushes him. "Drake-"
"No," he says, voice twisting with residual fear. "Sir, it's been a hard enough couple of years for you, I won't have you guilt tripping yourself over delaying Christmas decorating because of COVID. Ok?" He takes a breath, forces himself to relax, and examines Ethan's face once more. "You're healthy, we're here, it's Christmas Eve Eve, let's at least try to enjoy ourselves without dwelling on what ifs and regrets. Alright?"
Ethan sighs. "Alright," he concedes, lips twisting in a small smile. "One thing first though?"
Drake exhales. "What?" He falls quiet quickly when Ethan curls an arm around him and draws him snugly to his body, leaning in to kiss him slow and deep, Drake's free hand tensing against his jacket before relaxing and even drawing Ethan in closer.
It's always easy to forget when they're in public when Ethan gets affectionate like this, and Drake catches himself moaning into Ethan's mouth before pulling away, casting a quick glance around. Relieved no one seems to have seen them, he looks back up at his smug looking boyfriend. "Sir!" he exclaims, swatting his chest. "Hold on to that until later, after we get done decorating."
"Oh fine," Ethan says, immediately pulling away and only leaving his hand curled around Drake's. "Later. After decorating."
Something about the way he says it curls heat through Drake's chest, swooping into his stomach, and it takes everything in him to turn and continue walking through the already picked through selection of Christmas trees, trying to find one not too dry, too small, too tall, too thick- then he sees the perfect one out of the corner of his eye and turns slowly with a gasp. "Sir, that one," he exclaims, pointing it out and Ethan turns as well, squinting at it. All trees look the same to him, including this one, so he shrugs.
"That one? You sure? It isn't too puny looking?" Drake glowers up at him and Ethan laughs. "Ok, ok," he concedes. "I trust you when it comes to these things by now. Let's get someone to hoist it back to the car."
Getting someone to tie the tree to the car always leaves them with the job of untying it and getting it inside without absolutely damaging it once they get home. "Careful, sir," Drake exclaims once more as Ethan almost sends the tree careening into the doorway, but finally they get it safely inside and Ethan breathes a little easier, setting it up in the stand Drake had set out before they'd even left. Once it's up, they step back together and gaze at it.
"I like it," Ethan says, reaching out to ruffle Drake's hair. "Great choice."
"It's going to be gorgeous," Drake says, eyes shining as he pushes Ethan towards the string of lights, garland and boxes of ornaments cluttering the couch, eager to get to work. It takes a couple of hours of struggling to untangle the lights, twisting the garland around the branches, and then finding a place for all of the infamous Carter family ornaments, and various things Drake and Ethan have picked up over their many years together. They take their time, anyway, waving certain memorable ornaments at each other with soft smiles on their faces, recollecting various stories and reasons for each as they go.
It's probably the best afternoon Drake's had in awhile, and once they're done, and the tree is lit up, Drake's words are proven correct. Even Ethan stands in silent awe of their handiwork, hand once more reaching out for Drake's. Standing side by side, they examine their tree quietly before turning to smile at each other. "I love you," Ethan says. "Merry Christmas, Tiger."
"I love you too," Drake echoes softly. "Merry Christmas, sir."