Chapter Text
Joonas loved planning surprises, especially for the people he loved.
They had gotten Aleksi a ticket to come home with them for the holidays; partly so he wouldn't be alone, partly so he could meet their families and spend some time with them, Robin excitedly helping them by agreeing to take Rilla so Aleksi wouldn't have to worry about her.
He was worried that the holiday might be a little overwhelming for him but he seemed excited, albeit a little bit nervous, to meet all of them.
As predicted their families had all loved him, falling for his sweet personality as fast as they had. Joonas's mom pulling him into a close hug as they left for the evening, the last family they were seeing that year before taking some time just to themselves
"I had no clue what to expect when you ended up with so many soulmates." She told him, "but you seem to have five wonderful partners. It's the happiest I've ever seen you, son. Come back soon okay? I'd love to get to know Aleksi more."
Joonas had told Aleksi the last part while they were heading back to Niko's apartment, his blush apparent even in the darkened vehicle.
Now that they just had time to themselves Joonas had enlisted the others to help him plan for New Year's.
"What's wrong with piles of booze and food like normal?" Niko had grumbled
"Dude," Joel said looking at him with a slight bit of glee, "I even remember that it's our anniversary too."
Joonas nodded, "it'll be a year that he's been with us, I want to make it a special one. We can still have booze and food when we get closer to midnight but why not make it a whole day of celebration?"
And so their plan came together, starting right in the morning when they woke up.
Joonas snuck out of bed, leaving Aleksi curled up in the middle between Tommi and Niko, and started on the massive breakfast he had planned.
He just started cooking the pancakes when Aleksi had padded into the kitchen, shivering slightly in his shorts and t-shirt.
Joonas paused to give him a warm kiss, "good morning Allu."
"Morning," he smiled at him sleepily before taking in all the ingredients scattered on the counter.
"This is a lot." He observed "do you want help?"
"Yeah, can you start cutting the fruit?"
They worked in companionable silence, both at home in the kitchen with each other.
With fresh coffee brewed it wasn't long until the others joined them, Tommi practically tackling the both of them.
"Happy anniversary," he told them.
Aleksi's wide smile was enough to keep Joonas happy the rest of the day.
But they had more planned, each of them taking a part.
Joel had insisted on a drive after breakfast, visiting the park near their family's houses. It was a brisk walk, but it was nice to hear Joel tell Aleksi about all the times he would sneak out of his family's house to visit it, Joonas, and even Olli and Tommi joining him once they had met each other.
Olli had insisted on a wrestling tournament in the living room, throwing cushions to the ground for extra padding, even convincing Joel and Niko into joining them. In the end Tommi was crowned the victor, wearing a yellow paper crown Olli had picked up the rest of the day.
After lunch Niko had organized a movie marathon, taking into account everybody's tastes for comedies and romance, swearing to only play Titanic one time, a promise they had to remind him of more than once.
As it got closer to evening and they started drinking, Tommi got them playing games, everything from truth or dare to Cards Against Humanity, a close race between him, Joonas and Aleksi on who would be the winner, but eventually Aleksi's innocent looks combined with his increasingly raunchy answers won him the game. Joonas had suggested spin the bottle with a wiggle of his eyebrows, only slightly surprised when it was agreed on.
After dinner, comprising of a mix-match of everyone's favorites, they settled back into a pile, Titanic playing once again after copious amounts of begging and puppy-dog eyes.
Aleksi got up and retrieved something, almost a little shyly, from the back of the fridge, and handed out desserts he had made, each one personalized to their recipient, a bow tied around each container.
"So this is what you were doing yesterday?" Joel asked as he eyed his treat, remembering Joonas's whining when he had not been allowed in the kitchen or to know what was happening for two hours.
He nodded.
They pulled him back into the pile and fed each other bites of their desserts, complimenting Aleksi on his work.
As it started getting closer to midnight they started drinking more in earnest, enjoying the relaxed atmosphere and company.
"Happy anniversary," Joonas said aloud to the group.
They said it back, Niko raising a toast.
"It's been a great year," he said, "here's to many more."
Murmured agreements from the others, Aleksi adding with a smile, "to a lifetime."
They clinked their glasses and bottles together before going out to watch for fireworks.