Work Text:
There was a chill in the air, and the first snow lay on the ground. Little more than a dusting at the moment, but the heavy clouds above the guild promised more to come, and Sting absently made a note to make sure that the kitchen was well stocked for anyone coming back from jobs in this weather, before turning his attention back to the reason why he was outside and freezing his socks off. Not for the first time, wondering if he should give in to Rogue’s insistence that he start wearing some warmer clothes as he wrapped his arms around his midriff, glad that Lector had refused to be torn away from the game that he and Frosch had been playing in front of the fire under his mate’s watchful gaze. Maybe, he could surprise Rogue with that on Christmas day, it was undoubtedly more of an idea than he’d had so far, and he snorted, before shaking his head. That was a worry for later, although not too much later as Christmas was looming much too close for his liking right now.
Focus, Sting.
Worrying at his bottom lip, he took a step back, and then shuffled back a few more so that he was getting a good view of the front of the guildhall, a smile tugging at his lips. It wasn’t that late, but the sky was already darkening, and it made the fairy lights that had been strung across the windows, and the front awning glisten like hundreds of rainbow coloured fireflies. It looked festive, and certainly more festive than the guild had looked before, as Jiemma had never allowed the guild to waste their time of such frivolities when they could be working and training. It was why he was so determined to go all out this year. Well that, and the fact that the guild had changed, becoming a family bathed in warmth and light, and he wanted to celebrate that. It’s not enough, he frowned. Something was still missing, although he couldn’t put his finger on what it was, especially as the people who had been drifting in and out of the guild as he worked had said how much they liked it.
“Sting?” He blinked, looking up to find Rogue – dressed for the weather even though he only had his head stuck through the door at the moment. “What are you doing, it’s freezing out here.”
“I…” Sting trailed off, realising that he didn’t actually have an answer. What was he doing out here? Checking the decorations, yes, but the whole point of doing this was to be spending time with the guild. With Rogue. Just enjoying themselves without fear of reprisal. Still, the feeling that something was missing persisted, and he found himself unable to continue, or move forward, and finally with a sigh, Rogue was the one to move. Closing the door quietly behind him, before slowly, steadily moving towards Sting. Giving him a chance to meet him halfway or escape, although both of them knew that he was going to do neither, remaining locked in place as Rogue reached him.
Rogue studied him for a moment, and Sting was caught by how his partner looked framed by the festive lights on the guilt, a hint of red in his cheeks and nose from the cold, small smile doing little to mask the worry in the dark eyes. Entranced, he was caught by surprise when he was pulled into a tight embrace, although he went willingly, unable to imagine a time he would ever refuse a hug from his mate, burying his nose in the crook of Rogue’s neck. “The Guild is looking fantastic, but it’s not enough, is it?” Of course, Rogue knew what was bugging him. He always seemed to know what was going on in Sting’s head, before Sting himself was aware of him. It was a godsend when Sting got caught up on issues in the paperwork and whatnot, but right now, it was a little too much, and he pressed closer, trying to hide from Rogue and the lingering feeling of something being missing. Rogue rubbed his back, letting him hide for a moment, before quietly asking. “You do know that you don’t have to do everything yourself, right?”
“I know,” Sting sighed, leaning into the embrace. “It’s just our first Christmas without…”
“It is, but that isn’t just on you,” Rogue pointed out, not commenting on how Sting had faltered over Jiemma’s name. He wasn’t the only one to do so, and at some point, it had become a mutual agreement just to gloss over it. “We all want this Christmas to be different.”
“But…”
“You’re our Master,” Rogue pulled back enough so that they were looking at one another. “But you’re also our friend and my mate.” That last bit was followed by a small kiss to the tip of Sting’s nose, softening his next words. “And you’re forgetting that at the moment.”
“I… I’m sorry,” Sting hadn’t thought about that. It had been clear in his mind, but he realised that in his one-minded focus on preparing the guild for Christmas, that had become lost. Sure, he had welcomed help with the large tree by the fireplace – which had, had nothing to do with the fact that he couldn’t reach the top of the tree… he frowned, realising now that he thought about it how keen Orga and Rufus had been to lend a hand, the former lifting Yukino up to put the star on top of the tree. But the rest, he had done mostly by himself, and as he lifted his head, staring up at the brightly lit building, it dawned him that was what had been missing. He had been lonely, without even realising it, and with Rogue and the others right there.
The realisation must’ve shown in his face, because Rogue was laughing and pulling him close with another kiss to the nose, and a second lingering one on the lips. “There’s still plenty for us to do, so come back inside,” he said, stepping back and holding out a hand in invitation and this time Sting didn’t hesitate, reaching out and tangling their fingers together and letting Rogue pull him towards the door, eyes locked on their linked hands.
I missed this.
*
Inside, the others did a terrible job of pretending that they hadn’t been waiting to see what was happening, and Yukino was the first to abandon to act, rushing forwards and pushing a steaming mug at him. “You look frozen.” Not knowing what else to Sting released Rogue, and took it, glad to have something to hold and hide his trembling hands. Looking at the mug, he found himself swallowing as he took in the smiley face that had been drawn in the foam, realising that it was supposed to be him after a moment of contemplation.
“Thank you…”
“Did you talk some sense into him?” Minerva demanded as she joined them, although her tone belied her own concern, and they all found themselves being herded towards the fire. Sting winced at the question, and the expectant eyes that darted between him and Rogue, and he took a sip of his drink to try and hide it, only to splutter as he discovered it was hotter than expected.
“I nudged him.” Rogue corrected, patting Sting on the back. “But he connected the dots himself… eventually.”
“I’m…”
“Don’t…” A large hand clapped over his mouth, silencing him, just as Minerva scowled at him and Sting blinked and tilted his head back, to find Orga and Rufus had joined them, The former smirking down at him. “Minerva told us she was going to pin you to the top of the tree if you wasted your breath apologising.”
“But…”
“Are you an idiot?” Minerva interrupted him this time. “Yes.” He pouted at that, especially when he caught sight of Rogue nodding in agreement. “But, you’re our idiotic Master, so we forgive you.” Sting was sure that he should be more offended by those words than he was, but instead, he found himself grinning helplessly as Orga released him, warmth blossoming in his chest.
“So, what now?” He asked, voice a little thick and his eyes stinging, which he blinked back, not wanting to give them more material to tease him with. He knew that they weren’t fooled as they all shared amused looks, Rogue pressing against his side, encouraging him to drink when he realised that Sting was shivering as he started to warm up.
“Now, you warm-up, and I get out of this,” Rogue ordered, moving to remove the coat that he had pulled on to go and fetch his idiotic mate. “And then…”
“We’re planning a party,” Minerva and Yukino finished in unison, and there was a bubble of noise that swelled to a cheer across the guild, and Sting felt the last of the wrongness seep away as he looked around at the smiling faces, the lifted glasses, and hopeful not expectant eyes. Feeling Rogue’s eyes still on him, he took an obedient sip of the hot chocolate, managing not to scald his tongue this time, before he smiled at them.
“So, what are we doing?”
**
Sting was reasonably sure that no one had mentioned an explosion of glitter in the excited answers and ideas that had greeted his question a few days before, but that was certainly what greeted his eyes now as he stepped into the main hall. He had been banished a couple of hours before, with strict instructions not to return until Rogue came to fetch him. He’d put up a token protest, but it had all been for show, as there was little he could deny his guild, his friends…his family, especially after he had managed to push them out in his single-minded focus. They had more than shown him how much of an idiot he had been because the last few days had been more fun than he could remember having since he was a child and unaware that monsters like Jiemma were out there in the world.
Apparently, his entire guild was determined to make this Christmas. Their first Christmas, the best one that they’d ever had, and they had blown his efforts out of the water. Oh, the lights were still up, and the giant tree by the fireplace whose base had become lost the ever-growing pile of presents, but they were like footnotes to the combined effort of the Sabertooth mages. Every railing and beam was now festooned with holly boughs – that Sting had refused to ask where they had come from, trying not to imagine the paperwork that he had a good idea might be on his desk, lights and paperchains. Orga had already come unstuck a couple of times with the latter, as he tended to forget they were there and end up tangled up in them, although Minerva’s rage when he had broken the one she had made, had left him ducking for an hour or so before he forgot again.
More trees had sprouted up around the guild, and framing the hall door. And there had been more than one drunken competition to see who could decorate the best tree, which meant that not a single tree matched another. Sting and Rogue had been victorious the previous night, although several people had protested that it was cheating to put a very excited, and much too adorable in their excitement Frosch on top of the tree. Sting’s retort that he was guild master and could get away with it had seen him pelted with chestnuts until he’d had to plead for mercy… right after Rogue had pegged him between the eyes with a well-aimed shot for using his Exceed partner like that, not that Frosch had minded, singing Christmas songs and making the tree sway until they were eventually rescued.
And the decorations had spread outside until Sting was reasonably sure that you could see the Guild from miles around. Yukino had taken charge with those, and he was fairly sure that some celestial magic was involved, because the lights strung across the fences, and along the windows and awnings seemed to glow with starfire, particularly in the evening. Or maybe, it was the warmth that hadn’t left him since Rogue had made him see what was missing, and since he’d seen for himself how much all this meant to the rest of the guild too, that made them shine even brighter. He certainly hadn’t stopped smiling once int the last few days, and he was grinning now, bright-eyed, and trying not to get too weepy – they still hadn’t let him live that down as he looked around.
The entire guild was glistening. Glitter and lights, and baubles strung across the ceiling, catching the light from the colour-changing lacrima that had replaced the regular main lights. And at first, he thought that more glitter was raining down on him from above, but when he lifted a hand to catch it, he felt the chill of winter snow on his hands, and his eyes widened in delight. The hall was warm, and not just from the fire roaring merrily in the fireplace or the bodies packed into the room, everyone waiting for his reaction to their efforts, but form the excitement.
The laughter and contentment.
It had been building for days, as they worked together to transform the guild. In the gentle bickering… that had occasionally become a brawl, about where to place something. In the delicious smells wafting in from the kitchen, and the endless treats that had appeared on the bar for tasting – some of the baking experiments more successful than others, and Sting wouldn’t be the only one steering clear of Rufus’ cooking for some time. In the growing pile of presents, that was continually shifting as people snuck a look at which ones were labelled for them, shaking them lightly to try and work out what was inside, at least until Minerva had threatened to send the presents elsewhere after one of the boxes had made a worryingly fragile noise when Rogue had been caught rattling it. And bubbling up now, as Sting took pity on his audience and lifted his voice so that it would carry to all corners of the guildhall.
“It looks amazing, and…” The rest of what he had been about to say was lost, swept up in the cheering and clapping that greeted his words, and he realised that he didn’t need to say anything else. That they knew, as the music started playing and he was tugged forward towards the tables currently groaning under the piles of food that had appeared while he was gone. There was already a brawl going in one corner, but the wild laughter from the cheering, teasing audience confirmed that it was friendly, while his sharp ears caught talk of a dance competition as he reached the tables, letting Minerva pile the cookies she had made onto a plate with a murmured thank you.
After that, he allowed himself to be pulled and pushed around the guild, drinking and laughing with the men and women that he had never let himself get close to before. There was none of that distance now, they laughed and joked, poking fun at their master with a warmth that would never have been possible before, and Sting soaked it up. He shared toasts with Orga and the others as he passed, Rufus smiling before turning his attention back to the rest of the guild, no doubt imprinting it on his memory. Yukino stole one of the cookies from his plate, flushed and smiling before she was pulled back into the conversation she was in. Sting even took a turn on the dancefloor, readily admitting defeat, although he promised to come back once he’d had a bit more to drink, before going in search of his mate who had been pulled away from his side early on in the chaos.
“Merry Christmas,” Rogue murmured when he finally found him in the middle of the chaos a few minutes later after Sting had finally admitted defeated and claimed a seat at the table in the middle of the guild, content to bathe in the warmth and joy of the guild. His mate settled on the bench beside him and setting the plate of food he was carrying on the table so that Frosch who had followed him could reach it, the little Exceed pouncing on the sugary treats at once and Sting had a feeling they might regret that later, even as he leant into his mate.
“Merry…” Sting trailed off as a suspicious quiet spread around them, titters spreading in its wake, and he sighed as he lifted his head. “I hate all of you.” Sure enough, between the lights and paper chains crisscrossing overhead, he spied the familiar sprig of mistletoe that he had already removed from half a dozen places over the last few days. Rolling his eyes, he turned his attention back to Rogue, catching the glint in dark eyes that told him his partner had been at least privy to this plot if not central to it, and he rolled his eyes before leaning in to kiss him. “Apart from you.”