So I finally got around to finishing this off. It's set a couple months later, around Christmas time.
Ummm... enjoy?
December 20th. Oxenstierna Household.
"Present time! Present time!" I smiled as Tino's voice drifted in through the door, his bright red face appearing a moment later. He had just gotten back from a last minute butter run. We had halted the cookie-making process in the general absence of butter, but it was clear that Tino's thoughts were on a different track.
"…No, T'no. Yah g'tta m'ke thah cookies f'rst." Berwald muttered, still managing to look stern in his IKEA baking apron and oven mitts. Tino pouted and Berwald's resolve visibly crumbled. "…Or at least p't them in thah 'ven b'fore pr'sents." He amended. Tino quickly brightened and gave his taller boyfriend a kiss on the cheek before scurrying to get the cookies in the oven so that we could all open presents.
Matthew had brought along his boyfriend due to Tino's rather forcible request, though at the time none of us knew he even had a boyfriend. Berwald had apparently suspected for a while, as he said that Matthew had been out of the house more often than usual. Tino confirmed the theory after spotting the German teen at one of their hockey practices.
We had all been wary when the albino knocked harshly on the door, Matthew standing behind him timidly. With his poisonous grin and sharp humor, it was hard to tell what Matthew saw in the narcissist. But when Tino ushered the pair in, we all saw the way Gilbert stepped back and waited for Matthew to enter before him. At first it seemed like he was pushing Matthew around endlessly, but if we looked closer, we could see how Gilbert always glanced at Matthew, deferring to him in everything, making sure he wasn't pushing the boundaries. We could see the way his entire attitude softened when he turned towards his younger boyfriend. It was clear that they were good for each other.
Everyone but Tino and Berwald filed into the living room and sat down on the carpeted floor beneath an overly decorated Christmas tree. Toris stretched out in front of the fireplace and placed his head in Feliks' lap and allowed his boyfriend to calmly pet and stroke his hair, occasionally placing a ribbon in strategic places.
Gilbert tucked Matthew against his side as they leaned against the couch, glaring at us for a moment, clearly expecting someone to protest. Nobody did, and he quickly relaxed, nuzzling his face into Matthew's hair. I smiled and pressed further into Eduard's chest from my spot in his lap. We were all comfortable, cozy, and happy.
Tino bounded back into the living room, presumably having put the cookie dough in the oven. Berwald followed at a more sedate pace, sans apron. We all knew better than to try and help Tino with the distribution of presents, instead relaxing back reveling in the warmth of friends and family.
I heard a low chuckle vibrate against me before Eduard's arms wrapped around my waist. I squirmed a little, trying to twist around and see what elicited the sound, only to find Eduard suppressing a guilty smile and hiding something behind his back.
"What is it?" I demanded. "What did you get?" Eduard just shook his head and tossed something to Matthew. It looked like a… photo album? And, sure enough, Matthew began flipping through the pages, holding it up a little so that Gilbert could view the content within. I strained to see it from my spot as they cooed over the pictures, but Eduard held me tight to his lap. Matthew giggled a little before passing the album on to Toris, who smiled slightly as Feliks pointed out a few details to him.
"You're not going to be happy about this, Raivis." Toris laughed, handing the album to Tino, who had plopped down across Berwald's lap once the presents were all handed out. Tino squealed in delight once he caught sight of whatever the album contained.
"I didn't know you did this, Feliks! This is great! Why didn't you say anything?"
"I wanted it to be, like, a surprise, or something. And it totally worked! Like, nobody had any idea!" Feliks replied. Tino looked up with a smile that scared me a little before tossing me the photo album. Eduard lurched forward in protest, but I snatched it out of the air, determined to find out what it contained.
All the blood drained from my face in horror before rushing right back up with a wave of red hot embarrassment, making me feel a little dizzy. The photo album was full of shots taken from every angle of me when Feliks had forced me to wear all those dresses before my first date.
It was such a humiliating incident, and as much as I tried to block it from my memory, I could remember every dress and skirt in vivid detail. Neither Feliks nor Matthew had mentioned it in the months since then, so I thought I was safe. Turned out I was wrong.
Overcome by mortification, I turned to bury my face in Eduard's shoulder, despite the fact that he was still laughing at me. The oven timer went off and Tino jumped up to get it. We all held our breath in anticipation. Tino's cooking was generally pretty… unpredictable- a hit or miss sort of deal.
The oven door creaked open, followed by a frustrated wail, and we all flinched. Berwald shooed us towards the door to play in the snow while he righted the cookie situation. We split into two teams for a snowball fight- Toris, Matthew, and Eduard on one side and Feliks, Gilbert, and I on the other. Soon, Tino came trudging out to join us, looking for all the world like a kicked puppy. He joined our team, luckily. Tino was a boss when it came to snowball fights.
After a while, Berwald came out to announce that the cookies had been salvaged, and we managed to drag him into the game. I was momentarily distracted by the phone ringing inside the house, but the battle quickly reclaimed my attention as Feliks pushed me across the border, sending me careening into the enemy's fort. I grinned as Eduard gently picked me up and brushed me off. The phone could wait.
So that's the end of it all, I suppose. Thanks for reading to the end, thanks for your support, and thanks for your comments.