Pass the Microphone
Our First Christmas
I don't own Five Nights at Freddy's. Scott Cawthon does.
Summary: "Thank you so much for inspiring me to push myself to be a better person." - A one-shot series dedicated to Microphone (Phone Guy/Mike Schmidt).
One-shot Summary: All Phone Guy wants this Christmas is to spend it with Mike. Too bad Mike isn't so fond of the festive season.
Pairings: Just Microphone (Phone Guy/Mike)
Warnings: swearing, very brief allusion to somewhat sexual topics
…
"Mike…Mike…Mike…"
The snoring, barely muffled by the pillow, didn't halt for a second. The blond frowned lightly, then smiled again as he tried once more. Fingers delicately placed themselves on the bicep of his sleeping boyfriend, shaking gently, "Miiike…Michael…Miiiike…Miiichael…"
Finally, a growl escaped the brunet, eyelids fluttering lightly as his slumber was stolen from him, "…D'n' fuckin' ca' me Michael…"
"Sorry," Phone Guy replied, his smile widening now, "you, uh, y-you weren't responding to me before…"
Mike grumbled something unintelligible and flopped over, halfway onto his back, and looked over his shoulder at Phone Guy. He blinked his blue eyes several times to clear them, giving his partner a look of dreary confusion, "The hell, Phones…?"
The blond was kneeling on the bed behind him, fully dressed and smiling down at him. Mike looked him up and down; Phone Guy was wearing a baggy, white sweater with multicoloured dots all over it. It reminded Mike of Chica's bib and he gave a frown at it. Phone Guy didn't notice, "Time to get up, Mike! I-It's, uh, j-just five days until Christmas, y'know!" Mike only frowned even more. "Uh - J-Jeremy and Fritz are downstairs waiting for you!"
"The hell are they doing here?"
"I-I told you: it's just five days until Christmas! T-They came to hang out, y'know. C-Cindy's here too; sh-she'll be going back to Diane's pretty soon and she misses you a lot."
Mike stared at him for a moment before he sighed and started to sit up, blankets pooling at his waist, "Alright, fine. Jesus…"
"G-Great! See you downstairs!" Phone Guy leaned forward and pecked Mike's cheek, then clambered off of the bed and out of the room.
Mike grumbled in return and pushed the blankets off of himself, now sitting on the edge of the mattress. He rubbed his face with his one hand, the cold air swarming to his bare skin. He gave a small shiver at it, then collected his trousers and shirt from the floor. Mike always just dumped his clothes on the floor when he went to bed and very often found them folded up neatly by his bedside table. Phone Guy. Poor man hated to see clothes just thrown onto the floor like Mike did. The brunet picked his prosthetic limb up from his bedside table, hissing when the cold metal was pushed onto his bandaged stump, then he did up the ties with his teeth.
As Mike dressed, he couldn't quite keep the frown off of his face. Ever since December had started, Phone Guy hadn't shut up about Christmas. Christmas, Christmas, Christmas. Mike didn't see what the big deal was. He'd never celebrated Christmas and he'd done just fine. What was the big fuss? A day of presents? Big whoop. He just didn't get it. Quite frankly, as happy as this Christmas thing was making his boyfriend, Mike wished Phone Guy would just shut up about it. Jeremy and Fritz too, for that matter.
God, was he the only one who didn't celebrate this dumb holiday?!
Once the brunet classified himself as presentable, he walked slowly down the stairs of Phone Guy's home to join everybody else in the living room. True to Phone Guy's words, Jeremy, Fritz and Cindy were there. The ginger-haired boy had parked his rear on the right side of the couch next to Fritz, who had Phone Guy's daughter in his lap. The little girl was fiddling with one of her dolls, brushing its yarn hair as Fritz gave her advice on which hairstyle to give it. "Could make it like Uncle Fritz's hair." Fritz was saying, running a hand over his dreadlocks.
Cindy looked up at him and tilted her head, "How would I do that?"
Fritz shrugged, "Well, y'know…you just…" He reached forward and took a few pieces of yarn into his hands, turning them over one another and twisting them, then letting them go when he couldn't quite figure out how to form his trademark hairstyle with them. "Hm. Uh, yeah, maybe it isn't…" He trailed off, his brown eyes finding Jeremy. He clapped him on the shoulder and gestured to his ponytail, "Or, hey, make it like Jeremy's hair!"
Cindy turned to Jeremy to critique his hairstyle; shaggy and tied back loosely, fringe almost falling over his glasses. The tiny blonde stared at him, then she said, "Your hair's pretty, Jeremy."
Jeremy shifted uncomfortably, a hand subconsciously going to his ponytail and playing with it, "Uh, th-th-tha-thanks…"
Cindy looked down at her doll and hummed thoughtfully, still conflicted on how she should style her doll's hair, then she looked up as she heard footsteps and gasped happily, "Mikey!"
Mike idly waved to her, rubbing his face with his other hand. As much as he enjoyed seeing Phone Guy's kid, he couldn't look at her without frowning all over again. Completely covered in Christmas. Skirt all red with that stupid white fur trim, red t-shirt with a Christmas tree on it - god damn it, was there no end to this Christmas thing?! Cindy wriggled excitedly in Fritz's lap as the man waved to Mike, "Hey, Schmidt. Good to see you're still alive."
Mike gave him a sarcastic chuckle and went to the kitchen instead, where Phone Guy was. The blond looked up upon hearing Mike enter, immediately going away from the mug he'd set on the counter and taking Mike's hands in his, "There you are! W-We've been waiting for you." He pecked Mike's forehead, then went back to the mug and picked it up, "Uh - hot cocoa for you. W-With little marshmallows - just how you like it!"
"Thanks…" Mike muttered as he took it from him, taking a sip of the warm liquid. It was milky and delicious, soothing his throat on the way down and settling in a nice pool of heat in his stomach. For a moment, Mike was less grumpy than he had been upon being woken up.
That is, until Phone Guy took his hand again and intertwined their fingers, "A-All ready for Christmas, huh, Mike? Can't, uh, can't have Christmas without hot cocoa, right?"
Mike's frown was back all over again as he raised the mug to his lips, "Right…" He grumbled, taking another sip to avoid talking anymore.
Phone Guy's smile fell, finally noticing his partner's negative mood, "Mike? Is everything okay?"
"Everything's fine, Phones." Mike sighed, "Just wish everyone would stop going on about Christmas."
Phone Guy blinked. He blinked twice. Once more. "…'Stop going on about Christmas'? W-Why? D-Don't tell me you - you don't like Christmas…"
"No. I don't." Mike said bluntly. He drank down a good amount of his cocoa before noticing the silence. Blue eyes flicked back to his partner, then narrowed lightly when they saw the look on his face. "What?"
"D-Don't like Christmas…?" Phone Guy muttered, hand dropping Mike's. He sounded as though the very idea was alien to him. "I…w-why not?"
"Cause it's freaking annoying." Phone Guy gasped and Mike rolled his eyes, "Oh, c'mon, Phones. You didn't really peg me as a festive person, did you?"
"W-Well, I…Y-Yeah!"
"Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but you were wrong." Mike turned and walked back into the living room, hearing Phone Guy's stumbling steps behind him.
"B-But - a-annoying?" Phone Guy spluttered out. Mike frowned and turned back to him, aware that Fritz, Jeremy and Cindy were looking at them now. "H-How could you say Christmas is annoying?"
"Easy. Christmas is annoying. There, I did it again."
Fritz scoffed, "Looks like we got a Scrooge on our hands…"
Mike whipped around to him, scowling now, "The fu - heck did you just call me?!"
"I-I-It's a cha-cha-character from a book…" Jeremy explained, "H-He hate-hate-hated Christmas."
"Oh." Mike dropped his scowl, then sipped at his cocoa again, "Well, then, yeah. I'm a 'Scrowge'."
"S-Scrooge."
"Whatever."
Phone Guy rubbed the back of his neck, "G-Gosh…I, uh, I had no idea…"
"Mikey doesn't like Christmas?" Cindy piped up then, her tiny hands on the arm of the sofa. Her knees dug into Fritz's thigh, but he didn't seem to mind, "How come?"
"Cause, Cindy," Mike began, "Mikey's family is a little something called Jewish. My family has never celebrated Christmas, so I've never celebrated Christmas."
"Y-Y-You hate Christmas cause your fa-family's Jewish?" Jeremy asked, arching a brow and questioning whether Mike had just been offensive to his own family or not.
"No, dumbass." Mike snapped without thinking, prompting Phone Guy to loudly clear his throat and nod to Cindy, frowning at the brunet now. Mike cleared his own throat, urging himself to settle down, "That's just why I haven't celebrated it. I hate it cause it's loud, annoying and everywhere. I ditched religion years ago; what Mom and the other Schmidts do doesn't bother me, so long as they don't make me get involved in Hanukkah. Which Mom does, so…" He trailed off, drinking the rest of his cocoa down. Mike gulped, then let out a satisfied sigh, "So, sorry, but I ain't getting involved in any traditions this year. Or any year."
Unbeknownst to Mike, Phone Guy's facial expression dropped immediately into an almost pout, fingers lightly touching his bottom lip in thought. Jeremy, however, did notice. The ginger-haired boy's brow furrowed. Phone Guy had been going on for ages about how this would be he and Mike's first Christmas together as a couple - which they'd only been for a few weeks now - and he'd gotten so excited.
"D-Do you think Mike would, uh, w-wanna listen to some Christmas songs? O-Oh, he has such a n-nice voice…Maybe he could sing some!"
"W-What do you think Mike prefer on top of the tree? A-Angel or star?"
"G-Gosh - uh, I-I'm gonna put mistletoe everywhere!…D-Don't look at me l-like that - M-Mike will do it anyway, if, uh, if I don't!"
Jeremy hated to think how he felt now that he knew his Christmas dreams for he and Mike were crushed. Jeremy swallowed thickly, then spoke up, "Uh - are you sure there's n-n-n-n-no way you could, um, m-may-maybe celebrate Christmas this year?"
"Look, I just told you," Mike said defiantly, "I don't like Christmas. I ain't celebrating it - end of story." Behind him, Phone Guy bit his lip and looked down at his feet.
"But if you don't like Christmas," Cindy spoke up, sounding desperate now. She probably was; children were at the core of every Christmas meaning and tradition. They lived Christmas, breathed it and were devastated when one of their favourite adults refused to take part. Mike looked down at those big, green eyes and felt a pang in his chest; it always bothered him how much they were like Phone Guy's, "then how will Santa come and give you presents?"
"Okay, spoiler alert, Cindy: Santa doesn't exist." Mike said bluntly and the jaws of the other three men in the room dropped.
"Mike!" Phone Guy exclaimed, eyes bugging out of their sockets.
The other pair of green eyes became watery as a bottom lip quivered, "…S-Santa's not real…?" She whimpered, looking up at Fritz for guidance.
"Of course he is!" Fritz replied, plastering on a nervous smile, "Your daddy took you to see him at the mall last week, remember?! You told him everything you wanted for Christmas!"
"Fat guy in a suit." Mike muttered, scooping up cream from his mug with his finger.
"Michael!" Phone Guy snapped.
Mike jolted and looked at him, "What?! I'm just saying! See, that's another thing: you people are cool with some fat guy breaking into your house to leave you presents? I'd beat the shi - pulp out of that guy if he did that to me! And getting around the world in one night? Calling major bull on that one." He shook his head, "I'm telling you, Cindy, Santa ain't real. Might as well accept it now."
Cindy paused and stared into space as she thought about it. Adults were usually the smart ones, right? They knew more than kids, right? They were often right. So…Mikey was telling the truth? Oh, no, she didn't like the sound of that. Not one bit. Her face creased up as tears flooded the ducts, then she shut her eyes and held out her arms in her father's direction, "Daddy!" She wailed, fat tears squeezing out of her shut eyes and down her cheeks.
Phone Guy's face fell and he immediately pushed passed his partner to get to her. Fritz passed her over to him and Phone Guy immediately scooped the poor girl into his arms, hugging her close and muttering words of comfort to her. As he gently rocked her and bounced lightly on the balls of his feet to soothe her, as he did when she was a tiny baby, he turned and glared at Mike over her shoulder. Mike felt himself take a step back; Phone Guy had never looked at him like that before. Phone Guy had never looked at anyone like that before. He supposed, as nice as Phone Guy was, all dads couldn't accept someone making their little girls cry. Cindy sobbed into his neck, clinging to his sweater, and Phone Guy muttered that it was time to get ready for when Mommy arrived to take her home. With one last angry glare Mike's way, he briskly made his way out of the room and up the stairs.
There was silence for a moment before Jeremy muttered, "W-Well, nice g-go-going."
"Oh, shut the fuck up." Mike snapped, making Jeremy wince and shrink back, "She was gonna learn it eventually! Might as well be from me!" He wandered over to Jeremy's side of the couch, where he stopped and stared, "That's where I sit."
"D-Does-Doesn't have your name on it…" Jeremy mumbled.
"The fuck did you just say to me?" Mike dared him to repeat it. The scowl on his face was enough to make Jeremy whimper lightly and scramble to get up, almost tripping over the little table on his way. Mike plopped down in the seat and sighed contently, shuffling to get comfortable. "Besides, you guys are in the wrong for letting her believe that crap. Mom never told me such bullshit when I was a kid and I had Hanukkah shoved down my throat." He sat back for a moment before feeling a pair of eyes on him. Blue eyes darted to Fritz, who was staring at Mike's lap. The brunet frowned deeply, "And what the fuck are you doing?"
"…If your family's Jewish…" Fritz muttered thoughtfully, eyes narrowing as he stared at Mike's lap, "…does that mean you've been circumcised?"
Mike drew back and scrunched up his face as Jeremy exclaimed, "F-Fritz! W-What the hell?!"
"What?!" Fritz yelled back, hands up in defence, "That's a legitimate question! Jesus, you wonder about a guy's dick and suddenly you're the jackass…"
…
"Well, I hope you're happy."
Mike looked up from his TV show as his boyfriend wandered back in. Jeremy and Fritz had excused themselves while Phone Guy had been away, feeling much too awkward about the tension between the two males to sit there and watch it all unfurl. Mike had been left to his own devices, which was, of course, lounging in front of the telly.
The brunet watched his boyfriend walk over to him, hands on his hips and frown on his face. Mike frowned back, feeling some scolding coming his way. Phone Guy went on, "C-Cindy's completely torn up over w-what you told her! I-I had to explain to Diane - Mike, how could you?!"
"What?!" Mike shrugged, "She was gonna find out eventually!"
"Sh-She's six-years-old! Y-You told a six-year-old girl that Santa isn't real! T-That's horrible!"
"Oh, come on." Mike shrugged again, "She'll…Okay, fine. I admit, making her cry was going overboard."
"Big time."
"I didn't mean to do that!" Mike exclaimed, "I was just telling her the facts! How was I supposed to know she'd cry?!" He huffed and rubbed his face with both hands, "…Fine. I'll apologise next time I see her. Okay? Will that make you happy?"
Phone Guy didn't reply, only huffed through his nose and sat down on the armchair, grabbing a ball of yarn from the shelf nearby. Knitting had been a hobby Phone Guy had recently taken up under recommendation from his doctor that he do something to exercise his hands and get their strength up again, since an incident that had occurred before he and Mike had even met had weakened them. Mike watched him for a few moments, then huffed himself and looked back to the TV. A few moments of painful silence passed between the two, during which Mike continuously glanced at the blond, then back at the TV. Ironically, for a guy that talked a lot, Phone Guy was very good at the silent treatment. Mike had found that out before - the hard way.
The brunet tried to think of a topic of conversation, anything to get his boyfriend to talk to him, and his blue eyes darted around the room for inspiration. Books? No, Mike didn't know enough about those to hold up a proper talk. TV? No, Phone Guy wasn't paying enough attention. Ask for more cocoa? No, that would probably peeve Phone Guy off even more; asking for more cocoa after upsetting his daughter. Books? Oh - he'd already thought of that! Mike checked his pockets to see if any inspiration would strike there, but no such luck. The brunet sighed, then looked back to the TV. Another Christmas commercial, this one telling viewers it was their last chance to purchase a Christmas tree at the store down the block. "Hurry! They're selling fast!" Mike scoffed. Yeah. He bet. What was even the point of the things? Why would anyone bring some random plant into their home and dress it up in obnoxiously bright lights, dumb tinsel and decorations called baubles?! He just didn't -
Oh.
…Oohhh.
There it was.
A topic.
"Hey," he spoke up.
Phone Guy didn't look up from untangling the yarn and the needles.
Mike cleared his throat and tried again, "Hey."
Phone Guy set a knitting needle on the chair's arm.
"Phone Guy."
"What?" Phone Guy said coldly, making Mike wince. Who knew Phone Guy was even capable of such a tone?
"Ain't ya gonna…spruce this place up…?" Mike asked awkwardly; asking such a question suddenly felt as dangerous as tight roping over a shark tank. "Y'know…get a few lights…? A tree…?…Whatever else it is you people do around this time…?"
"Haven't had the time. Busy with work."
"Well…school's out. You're free. You can, y'know…set some stuff up." Mike rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "…I'm sure Fritz will pick ya up a tree in his van if ya ask him to…Jeremy will probably bring over some stuff from his mom's…C'mon, I thought you'd be into all this."
"I was." Phone Guy grumbled.
"Then what's changed?" Phone Guy didn't reply, though the look in his eyes turned from furious to depressed. Mike caught it and waited for an explanation, but none was given out as Phone Guy continued to pretend to focus on his knitting. Mike frowned, "Oh, I get it. Fine. Keep fucking ignoring me. I don't care." He slumped against the arm of the couch and glued his eyes onto the TV screen again, pretending to actually pay attention when his show came back on from commercial break. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught movement from the armchair as Phone Guy raised his head and looked at the brunet sadly, the look in his eyes reminiscent to a saddened pup's, then the blond sighed and set down the yarn. He got up from his chair and left for the kitchen, intending to fix himself up some more cocoa in order to distract himself.
As he left, Mike's eyes left the TV to watch him go, then the man sighed through his nose and turned back to the TV, shaking his head slowly.
…
As it turned out, Phone Guy did keep up that silent treatment for quite a while. Mike had gone home to his mother's during the next few days and Phone Guy hadn't called him once. Mike had considered calling him first, but refused to let the man 'win'. Instead, he'd moped around, watching nonsense on TV and listening to his mother talk about her game of checkers with the lady a couple of doors down. Even with his defiant dislike of Christmas, he couldn't help but feel even a little bad. Making poor Cindy cry like that. He felt like a fucking monster. Who did that? Made some poor little girl cry? That was just wrong. Not to mention upsetting Phone Guy, the nicest, sweetest man he'd ever known. Their relationship had only started a few weeks ago and already he was fucking up. He wouldn't be surprised if Phone Guy wanted to break up. The very thought sent an iron ball plummeting into his belly.
He just…didn't like Christmas, though! Was that such a crime? Did everyone seriously have to love Christmas?! As bad as he felt for upsetting his boyfriend like that, he couldn't bring himself to understand what the huge deal was. Phone Guy was…overreacting. Yeah.
It was by chance that Christmas Eve was the day Mike returned to Phone Guy's house; the brunet had never really paid much attention to the dates of December, since they meant very little to him. When he'd turned up on Phone Guy's doorstep, the blond had regarded him awkwardly, but had let him in nonetheless. Phone Guy didn't seem as angry as he had been before, but now he just seemed…a little uncomfortable, if Mike was honest. It made Mike's gut squirm uneasily. The awkward night of sleeping in the same bed, backs to each other, had made it all worse.
The house was still undecorated too. Mike didn't like that one bit.
"Mike?"
Mike looked up from yet more TV, the only thing he could really bring himself to do lately. Phone Guy had put on his beige trench coat and was wrapping a scarf around his neck, "Uh…J-Jeremy's mom invited us - uh, that is, me and Fritz - around for Christmas dinner. Um, sh-she said we could both bring a plus one, i-if we wanted…"
The question was in there and Mike caught it quite easily, but the thought of sitting around in a place so Christmassy… "Nah, Phones. I think I'll stick around here."
Phone Guy sucked in a breath, like he'd honestly been terrified of that as an answer, then he nodded and went to go. Mike was content on letting him, but the blond had more to say, "M-Mike, couldn't you at least - m-maybe try to c-celebrate it? J-Just this once?"
"No, Phones. I don't like Christmas. I don't like the holidays. No offence, but I'm happy just sitting here on my ass."
"B-But…I-I mean, who knows? Y-You might enjoy it. Uh, I mean, l-like you said: you don't, uh, follow Jewish traditions anymore, so y-you're free to celebrate it if you want. A-And, uh, Jeremy and Fritz will be there. C-Cindy won't - she's with her mom this year, we - we take turns - I had her last year - uh! B-But, your friends will be there! S-So, I really think maybe -"
"Phones, I just said I don't wanna go!" Mike suddenly snapped without meaning to. "Look, I appreciate that you want me to stop being a - a - whatever it is Fritz called me before, but I just don't do that kind of thing, okay? I don't celebrate Christmas and not just cause I ditched Jewish beliefs and all that - I just don't, okay? Can we please just end it there?"
He'd meant it to be an actual reasoning to the spiel Phone Guy had given. He'd meant it to sound sincere. He hadn't meant to sound so pissed off.
The blond stared at him silently, hurt spread across his face, then he sighed through his nose and nodded, "…Alright. I, uh, I-I'm sorry, I…I was bothering you - I'm sorry. Uh, well, you know where everything is if you, um, get hungry or something…" Mike looked away to avoid seeing that expression anymore. He heard Phone Guy move away, but not to the front door. Rather, it was the cupboard under the stairs he went to, which he opened and pulled something out of. When he returned to Mike, a box, wrapped up in festive paper with a big green bow, was set down beside him, "Um…I-I got you a present, but, um…I-I mean…" Phone Guy rubbed the back of his neck, "I-If you don't want it, t-that's fine. Uh, I'll, uh, think of something to do with it." He cleared his throat, not meeting Mike's gaze when the brunet looked up at him with wide blue eyes. The blond nodded once, swallowing thickly, and went on his way out of the house.
Once the door was shut behind him, Mike stared at the present. He'd gotten him a present. Phone Guy had actually gotten him a present.
Oh, shit.
Gulping, Mike slowly reached over and picked up the gift, giving it a little shake next to his ear. No sound. He set it down in his lap and dug a metal finger into the wrapping, creating a hole and ripping open the paper. He pulled enough off to reveal the white box, which he carefully pulled the lid off of.
Inside was a sweater, neatly folded. Mike pulled it out carefully to get a good look. White with red stripes across the chest and belly and circling the biceps; pretty basic. On the chest, right in the centre, were the words OUR FIRST CHRISTMAS, surrounded by six love hearts; three on top and three on the bottom. It was in that moment Mike realised why he felt so terrible looking at this: Phone Guy hadn't bought him a gift - he'd made him a gift. The older man could spend hours a day making something with that stupid yarn of his; he'd already made another sweater and a pair of gloves for Mike before and a cute hat for Cindy. Now, he'd knitted a Christmas sweater.
Oh, fuck. Now Mike felt really fucking horrible.
Slowly, he hugged the sweater to himself, brow furrowed. Phone Guy must've worked so hard on this and here he was, sitting on his arse instead of being with his lover on a day that meant so much to him. Of course, that had been the part he'd been missing the entire time: the day meant nothing to Mike, but it meant so much to Phone Guy. Which is why the man was so upset - he didn't get to spend this special day with his special someone.
Mike bit his lip, then looked around hurriedly for some idea on what to do.
Looking around the almost barren room gave him the exact idea he needed.
…
"Thanks for the, uh, thanks for the ride, Fritz."
"No worries, Cawthon." The brown-eyed male said as he pulled up outside of Phone Guy's house. Both were stuffed with Christmas dinner, Fritz still wearing his paper party hat, though neither felt particularly fulfilled this Christmas. The dinner table at Jeremy's house had been pleasant enough, but with Phone Guy being so depressed, Jeremy being annoyed at Mike for making him depressed and Jeremy's mother not knowing the context of the situation (and no one would explain it to her, lest Phone Guy get kicked out), it was a little difficult to stay cheery. At least the food had been good. Fritz patted Phone Guy's knee, "Hey, look, don't sweat it with Schmidt. His loss if he doesn't wanna spend Christmas with you. You just…You didn't say you'd put up your lights."
"Huh?" Phone Guy looked at him, only to see Fritz was looking straight at his house. Phone Guy turned to look, a gasp escaping him when he saw flashing lights coming from his living room window. The blond raised a brow, then looked to Fritz, "I…I didn't…"
Fritz looked to him and the two locked gazes for a moment, both coming to the same conclusion. Fritz let out a slow whistle, "Well, damn. Looks like our ex-Jew ain't so much of a Scrooge after all." Phone Guy didn't respond, the very idea putting him in awe, and Fritz patted his leg, "Go on. Off you go. Got some kissing an' making up to do."
Phone Guy jolted, then nodded, "Oh! Uh - r-right. I, um, th-thanks, Fritz…"
"You're welcome. Merry Christmas, huh?"
"Y-Yeah. Merry Christmas."
Before he even knew it, Phone Guy was walking down his garden path and up the steps to his porch. He took another peek through the window, the flashing lights from within the only thing he could see through the closed curtains. Phone Guy swallowed thickly, then ventured over to the door and unlocked it, stepping inside.
"Stupid fucking tree…come on! Light up already! For fuck's sake…if they sold me fucking bad lights, I swear…"
Phone Guy cautiously made his way to the living room, where he paused and stared. Lights had been strung up over his bookshelves and over the TV and along the wall and on top of the windows and…everywhere. Tinsel too. Stickers portraying Santa and elves and snowmen and reindeer were stuck on the walls. The radio sitting on the coffee table nearby was playing Christmas music (of course it was). A Christmas tree, deep green and freshly cut down, by the looks of it, had been placed behind the armchair. Tinsel and baubles and lights and random little decorations hung from the branches; quite a sight to behold, if Phone Guy was honest. The lights weren't on, though, unlike the rest of the ones in the room, which seemed to be the problem the man knelt beneath it was grumbling about.
"Jesus Christ…you better fucking light up, tree, otherwise you and me are gonna have some problems…Gonna take my fucking lighter to you…see you light up then, you little bitch…"
"Uh - M-Mike?"
The man jolted, almost hitting his head on a branch, and immediately whipped around, "Ph-Phones!" Mike looked to the tree, then jumped up and tried to cover it with his arms, "Don't look! Y-You ain't supposed to see it yet!"
"W-What…is all of this, Mike?" Phone Guy asked slowly, eyes going away from the tree to the rest of the room again.
"Christmas." Mike said simply, sounding a little lost. He picked up a nearby cardboard box, the one the lights had been packed into, "I, uh, just looked at the picture, really…" He muttered, gesturing to the picture of a decorated living room on the front of it.
Phone Guy glanced at it, then looked to Mike again, finally noticing the ensemble. He was wearing the Christmas sweater Phone Guy had made for him and a Santa hat had been dropped onto his head, his quiff still poking out. "You…Y-You're wearing it."
"Sure I am. You made it for me, right?" Mike shrugged. He bit his lip and approached his boyfriend carefully, "Look, Phones…I've been a real dickhead to you this month. I mean, all you wanted was to share something special with me and…I just fucked that up completely. Even made your kid cry…I'm really sorry." He sighed. "I…I know this is kind of a lame apology - lighting up the place and putting on this sweater you made me - but…Ah, geez…" He rubbed the back of his head, "Look…I'm just really sorry, okay? I…I didn't think this holiday meant that much to you. I-I mean, I've never celebrated it before, so…A-And y'know what? Maybe it's just cause I've never had anyone to celebrate it with. A-And now I have and…I've been a massive dick to him." He sighed through his nose, "I-I realised that too late, so…if you wanna break it off and celebrate with someone else, I totally understand…" I won't like it, but I'll understand.
"B-Break it off? Y-You mean…our, uh, r-relationship…?"
"Yeah…"
"O-Oh…" Phone Guy fiddled with his fingers, "Did…did you wanna break up?"
"N-No! No, of course not." Mike waved his hands, "I-I'm just saying…if you want to -"
"I-I don't." Phone Guy said immediately, "Uh - I-I mean - w-why would I?"
"…Cause. I've been a complete prick to you."
"W-Well…I-I was being insensitive…"
"What?!" Mike exclaimed, "How the hell were you doing anything wrong?!"
"Y-You didn't want to celebrate it and t-that was your choice. I-I kept trying to force you to, uh, do what I wanted. I-I didn't take into account…a-and now I've guilt-tripped you into decorating my house…!" Phone Guy's brow furrowed worriedly, shame clearly settling in.
"Hey, you stop that! You didn't guilt-trip me at all - it was my choice to do this! Just an apology for being a dick - not anything to do with what you did at all! Okay?" Mike took Phone Guy's hands in his, rubbing his thumb gently over Phone Guy's left hand, "Seriously, Phones, you did nothing wrong."
"N-No, come on. You, uh, you have to let me take some of the blame here." Phone Guy said seriously, "I was being insensitive…a-and, uh, p-possibly a little anti-semantic too…? M-Maybe? Uh, the point is: I…well, I guess I just got so, uh, caught up in having someone to, um, c-celebrate Christmas with this year - o-other than my daughter, y'know? - that, uh…I guess I just got too excited…" Phone Guy hung his head.
"No, you come on. I just told you, it's fine. I was being the bastard here -"
"W-Well, so was I."
"No, you weren't. You were being perfectly reasonable -"
"So were you. I-It was your choice -"
"And it's my choice now. C'mon, Phones, it's my fault. I was being a dick."
"Well, I was being insensitive."
"But I was worse."
"N-No, I was."
"I was."
"I was."
"I was!"
"N-No, Mike, I was!"
"I was, Phones!"
"A-Are we really, uh, f-fighting over this?"
"Yeah, I guess we are!"
There was a pause, then both burst into laughter. Phone Guy pressed the back of his hand to his mouth to silence himself, while Mike went full-out and simply let himself show his amusement. Once the laughter died down, Mike smiled, "…Not gonna win this either way, are we?"
"G-Guess not." Phone Guy smiled back, "Let's just…share the blame this time, huh? S-Since we clearly can't agree…"
"…Fine. But I still say -" Phone Guy gave him an amused look, a raise of a brow, and Mike stopped himself with a chuckle. He leaned down to the box the lights had come in and reached inside, pulling out another wreath of them, "Hey, wanna help me decorate the rest of the house? I only got to this room…"
Phone Guy smiled excitedly, "T-Together?"
"Is there any other way of doing it?"
Phone Guy gave a little grin, which Mike returned. The brunet went to lead the way upstairs, but Phone Guy put out a hand to stop him. "H-Hold on there, Junior…" Mike paused and looked up at him confusedly, particularly when Phone Guy took the circle of lights from him. The older man set them down, then held out his arms. Mike blinked twice, then approached and practically fell against him in a tight hug. The blond held him securely, resting his chin on top of Mike's head, and gently swayed from side to side.
"…I really am sorry, Phones…" He felt Mike clutching his coat in a tight fist, as though he was scared Phone Guy would leave at any second.
"I know. I-It's fine, really." The blond was kind of glad he'd kept his coat open; Mike had his face pressed to Phone Guy's chest, buried in his own Christmas sweater; a reverse colouring of Mike's with Christmas trees on the front rather than a cutesy message.
It seemed to remind Mike of something, as the younger man raised his head suddenly, almost hitting Phone Guy right in the chin, "I-I didn't get you anything!"
"It's alright." Phone Guy gently smoothed the piece of hair that was sticking up from his hat, "Y-You're here. T-That's all I really wanted…" Mike seemed to calm himself, going back to Phone Guy's chest; this time with his head tilted so he could breathe more than just fibres. Phone Guy wrapped his coat around him, securing him even tighter to his chest as he hugged him again.
"…That was so fucking corny…"
"Hehe, I know. B-But it was true…B-Besides, you're the one who decorated my living room. I-I'd say, uh, y-you're the corny one here."
"…Guess we both are…"
"Mm-hm…"
"…Hey, Phones?"
"Hm?"
"C-Can I ask you somethin'?"
"Of course."
"Uh, can you talk me through this tradition?" Mike suddenly raised his head again, his hand coming up and holding something up between them. Phone Guy looked up.
Mistletoe.
He looked to Mike, who had that mischievous glint in his eye, and he smiled, "O-Oh, that one's, uh, very simple. S-See, the taller one," he took the plant from his boyfriend and held it up, "h-holds it like this. A-And then they, um…w-well you know the rest…"
"Hey, fuck you, I'm average height."
"I'm still taller."
"Yeah, well, I -"
"Mike," Phone Guy smiled awkwardly, "you're, um, delaying the tradition…" Mike blinked, then smirked. The two men leaned in and shared a sweet, but passionate kiss beneath the mistletoe. Phone Guy's free hand cupped Mike's cheek, while one of Mike's rested on Phone Guy's chest and the other rested over his hand. They stayed like that for a few more moments before slowly breaking the kiss, reluctant, and Phone Guy dropped the mistletoe in favour of hugging Mike to him again.
Tick off another tradition he'd wanted to share with Mike right there.
"Phones, we're gonna spend the rest of Christmas together, right?"
"Mm-hm."
"Just us."
"Yep."
"Dr-Drinking cocoa and, uh…m-maybe some cuddling too?"
"Hehe, if Mr. Tough Guy thinks he can take some cuddling…"
"Hey, screw you."
Phone Guy chuckled, then nestled his face into Mike's neck as he murmured, suddenly feeling bold, "…Mike…I love you…"
Mike blinked, eyes widening as they stared into space over Phone Guy's shoulder. He hadn't just said…? No, it couldn't have been…W-Well, it wasn't the first, he supposed, but it'd been so long that… "You…You mean that, Phones…?"
"I-I wouldn't say it if it weren't true…"
"O-Oh…"
He felt Phone Guy tense up and begin to move away, "I-I'm sorry, that was too much…"
"N-No! No, it…just caught me by surprise there…" He pulled Phone Guy back to him properly, holding tighter now.
"Oh…"
"…I mean…you do know that…I-I love you too, right…?"
"…I, uh…had a feeling, hehe…"
Mike smiled against him, "Y'know, maybe there's some Christmas traditions I'd be cool with celebrating. J-Just a few, though…"
"W-Whatever makes you comfortable, Mike." Phone Guy broke the hug, much to Mike's dismay, and smiled, "N-Now, let's hang up those lights, huh?"
"Uh." Phone Guy paused, smile dropping at Mike's tone. The brunet shuffled slightly, face bright red in embarrassment, "Uh…m-maybe…we could just…do this a bit longer…?" He asked bashfully.
Phone Guy stared, then smiled sweetly, "…Of course. Come here." The two joined up in their cocoon of a hug again, swaying gently in a sort of lazy dance, just as White Christmas played smoothly on the radio nearby.