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Within the kitchen on the other side of their house, Jean's mother was hard at work baking pretty much every kind of sweet treat known to mankind. Even while laying in bed and barely awake, the three husbands could smell the delectable scents of snickerdoodles and peanut butter blossoms.
She was awfully early; the time on the alarm clock stated that it was only a quarter after five. No doubt Miss Kirstein was going to have to donate most of her baked goods, however. Not even all three of them together could eat that many cookies, fudge squares, or pieces of divinity.
None of them were exactly willing to get up and out of bed; the combined warmth of them under all the blankets was too blissful. Naturally, this caused issues:
"Guys," Jean moaned out. "I have to pee, but I'm too comfy to get up. Can either of you help me with that?"
Without saying a word, both Armin and Marco reached over to press a hand against Jean's chest, as well as against his forehead. They then pushed gently on him to send him rolling off their shared bed. Then Jean simply lay there, face down and half-naked for a few moments.
"Thanks guys," he said to them as he then literally dragged himself out of their room to the bathroom.
...
"Why didn't you tell me you stopped wearing pants when you moved in with my mom?" Jean asked while he and Armin tried putting on long wool socks over Marco's bare (yet also extremely hairy) legs. "I don't really want to know what her needing to help you get dressed was like."
Marco shrugged. "I didn't think there was much need. I don't really use my legs anymore, remember?" Once the other two had properly covered his legs up, Marco then rolled his usual blanket back down over them. "She didn't mind when I kept wearing your underwear when you were comatose."
At least Marco had enough decency and common sense to cover his privates up. Once he was ready and snugly fitted with warm garments, Jean and Armin then lifted him up by the legs. The three of them proceeded forward, proceeding in a way not unlike that of a human rickshaw.
The route through was a simple one; upon stopping at a few houses with known acquaintances, Jean and Armin took a tray of treats from a box Marco held in his lap. Then, both of them went up to the door and handed said tray to whoever answered the doorbell or knocking.
"Who are most of these people, anyway?" Armin asked of Jean as the latter rang the doorbell to a surprisingly fancy-looking estate.
"Eh, mostly friends of my mom's," Jean responded as he waited, occasionally looking over to see if Marco was still behind them. "Don't worry, I got trays for Jaeger and Mikasa, too."
Armin cringed. "I think Mikasa's diabetic. She can't really have a lot of sweets because it might affect her blood sugar levels too much."
"Oh...Well, never mind then." They continued to wait a little while longer, before Jean switched to a somewhat related topic. "In that case, if we got an extra tray, think maybe the three of us can go...see how those other three are doing?" He paused, realizing what he just said. "Well, they're dead, but you know."
Thinking it over, Armin nodded. "I think we can do that."
At that moment, the door opened, revealing Eren's ex-boyfriend Levi. Behind him was his husband Erwin. Everyone just stared at one another silently before Armin handed Levi his tray. With that accomplished, Jean and Armin quickly left the property, along with Marco trying to ask what that was all about.
...
Upon reaching the graveyard, the three men wasted no time getting to the three gravestones. Marco was initially confused, but understood it more clearly when it was explained to him.
"You think any of their relatives ever come to see them?" Armin asked while they all took their spots in front of the middle gravestone (the one that belonged to Bertholdt). He then tried scraping away any lichens that had begun to form somewhere on the bottom of it.
"Probably not." Jean unwrapped their goody tray and started handing out sweets to the other two. He kept speaking as he popped a fudge square into his mouth. "Pretty sure most people don't have the time to visit their dead kids anyway." Armin and Marco just stared at him, really wishing he wouldn't talk with his mouth full.
"It is pretty sad to think about, though," Marco spoke as he stared down at the stones. "if that is the case. If it were me buried here..." He paused, understanding the ramifications of what he just said.
He then tried brushing it off, and kept talking. "Well, I would appreciate it if my loved ones came to visit once in a while. Or, as much as a dead person can appreciate something like that, anyway. I'm sure you get what I mean, though."
For the rest of their time at the graveyard, the three ate in silence. Their mood did improve a little when they pulled their human rickshaw out and went back home.
...
Once the three of them were back home, it came time to decorate the tree. Or rather, Jean and Armin were decorating the tree. Marco was laying on his couch watching Rudolph, sipping at some hot chocolate Jean's mother had made for him.
"Do you think maybe we could invite your friends over later for Christmas dinner?" Marco asked Armin while briefly looking away from the television.
Armin shrugged. "Maybe. Eren and Mikasa went to their parents' house a few days ago. I don't know when they'll be back."
They all went back to their respective tasks at hand, until the tree was looking great, except for one small detail:
"So which one of us is gonna put on the star?"
Jean and Armin glanced at each other, before glancing over at Marco. The two of them then had mischievous grins on their faces.
...
"Hey!" Marco was so taken off guard that he nearly spilled his hot chocolate. "What are you two doing?!"
"Well Marco," Armin said as Marco was carried over to the tree. "We were saving the best part for you!" He then waited until Jean hoisted Marco up onto his shoulders, then handed him a beautiful golden light up star.
"Yeah, it's not exactly fair to us if you don't pitch in somehow," Jean told him as he got up onto his tiptoes and help Marco reach the top.
Marco couldn't help blushing as he looked up and reached the very top, putting the star in its designated position. He didn't have time to admire it, though; by then Jean could no longer stand the way he'd been standing. With nary a warning, both young men fell backwards onto the floor, taking Armin with them.
Once the shock of toppling over like a set of dominoes wore off, all three looked at one another and then burst out laughing.
"I love you guys," Jean said to them once his laughing fit was done with.
"We love you too, Jean," Marco and Armin told him in unison. All three then proceeded to admire the beautifully decorated tree that now towered above them.
At least until Jean's mother told them to get their asses off the floor.