This one is based on the song 'It Must Have Been the Mistletoe' by Barbra Streisand and as you can probably guess, it involves Artie and Sam taking advantage of some Christmas traditions.
It had been a long, hard day at work for Artie and he had never been more relieved to be home. All he wanted to do was get something to eat, collapse on the couch and not move for about a week. And maybe make Sam give him a backrub while he was at it. However, the house was dark and he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that he was home alone. As he heated up some leftovers, he plugged in their indoor Christmas lights and the tree. Although he teased Sam about his Christmas obsession, he did enjoy the cozy feel that all the decorations and lights gave to the house. He also got a fire going in the fireplace, because he wanted the room to feel as cozy and comfortable as possible.
Once his food was done, he did relax into the couch like planned and instead of watching TV, he was content to stare into the fire and get lost in his thoughts. As long as he didn't have to think about work related stuff anymore, he didn't really care. He had been sitting there long enough to finish his supper when Sam got home too. He could hear him in the kitchen, apparently making himself something to eat, and just sat back and waited. Sure enough, Sam joined him a few minutes later, flopping down on the couch next to him.
They both watched the fire for a few minutes while Sam commenced to eating before he broke the silence.
"Anything good on?"
Artie just had to laugh and Sam grinned at his joke. Somehow, Sam could always tell when he wasn't feeling that great and he always knew how to cheer Artie up. He also could sense that Artie didn't really want to talk about work or anything so instead they got on a different topic. Artie couldn't remember the last time he felt this relaxed. Both he and Sam had been busy at their respective jobs lately and hadn't had much time to spend together. This was the closest they had gotten to eating supper together in the past two weeks.
Sam got up and collected their dishes and took them into the kitchen. Artie didn't have to be in there to know that he was just dumping them in the sink and running water over them to let them soak for the time being. Sure enough, he was back a minute later and jumped over the couch from the back, landing next to – or more like on top of – Artie.
"Cuddle time!" he announced, snuggling up to Artie. The other man gladly wrapped himself up in the embrace and leaned his head against Sam's shoulder. He wasn't able to get comfortable for long though, because Sam broke away, glancing up at the ceiling.
"Oh look, mistletoe," he announced. Artie followed his gaze and sure enough, there was the plant hanging above their heads.
He gave Sam a look. "You hung it above the couch?"
"Why not?" Sam asked innocently.
"The point is to get caught underneath it accidentally," Artie replied. "If you put it there, we have to kiss every time we're sitting on the couch."
"Your point being" Sam queried with a sly grin.
Artie just shook his head but couldn't help matching Sam's grin. He also couldn't really argue with his logic.
"Is this some sort of plot for you to get a kiss from me?" he asked in mock seriousness.
"Oh I don't know," Sam teased. "But you know the rules; we've been caught under the mistletoe. So pucker up, Abrams."
Artie's grin grew wider as he leaned in. They were already pretty close from their brief cuddle session so it didn't take much. As he felt Sam's lips meet his, Artie realized that he had never actually had a mistletoe kiss before. It was fitting that Sam would be his first. And if he insisted on hanging it above the couch – well then he would be many more after that.