Chapter Text
Lewis was really excited. He'd spotted the market stalls being put up in the main square earlier that week and had finally persuaded Nico that they should go and visit. He pulled his coat on and wrapped his scarf around his neck, zipping the coat tightly over the top until he was nice and snug. He was nearly bursting with excitement; he'd not eaten all day so he could try ALL of the food.
Nico was less than enthusiastic. He was only really going to get Lewis off his back. He'd been pestering all week to go to the Christmas Market, insisting that Nico would love it because it was 'something a bit different'. Nico followed Lewis out of the door, taking his time to lock it and walking slowly towards town, pretending to listen to Lewis' excited jabbering about all that he was going to eat.
When they arrived at the town centre, they found lots of little huts set out around the edge of the square. A lot of them had puffs of steam emitting from them, showing where the hot food could be found. In the center there was a bar, over-flowing with young adults. Nico is about to head in the direction of the bar when Lewis grabs his arm and pulls him towards a brightly coloured stall.
The stall contained a selection of knitted garments. Most of them are for children - cardigans, socks, booties - but on the edge there are various different hats. Lewis pulled out a bright green and blue stripped hat, with a large purple pom-pom on top and placed it on his head, spinning to grin at Nico. He then grabbed a yellow and orange polka-dot beanie and pulled it over Nico's head, covering his eyes.
"Lets have a selfie," he squealed, taking the shot before Nico is able to remove the hat from his head. Nico removed the hat while Lewis looked at the picture, "Awww, Nico you're not smiling, lets have another."
Nico quickly put the hat back in the basket and moved on.
"Lewis, they're just hats. Get a grip!" he shouted over his shoulder, lowering his voice to mutter, "God I need a drink."
Lewis followed behind Nico for a while, happy just to look at the stalls they were passing, when suddenly he spotted something he thought Nico was sure to like.
"Look at these, Nico!" he shouted, wandering into a large gazebo that was filled with wooden ornaments.
Nico grimaced and turned back to see what had excited Lewis this time. He noted a lot of wooden items and saw the stalls owner was chipping away at another wooden object on his desk. Lewis was heading to the back of the stall and a shelf filled with smaller objects. He picked one up and turned to Nico,
"Look! It's just the one you used to have when we were kids, remember?!" Lewis said, holding a small wooden race car in front of him, "I'm gonna buy it. I'll get my name engraved on it like yours!"
Lewis headed over to the man at the stall and handed over the cash, leaning over the counter to watch him engrave the name 'Lewis' into the side of the cars nose. Nico had one very similar at his parents house. His father had given him it as a boy, saying that one day he'd have a real race car with his name on the side. He was surprised Lewis even knew about it, it had just been gathering dust on a shelf in his bedroom by the time he met the Brit.
When the wooden car is finally engraved and wrapped in tissue paper, Lewis carefully tucks it into his coat pocket and heads out of the gazebo.
"I'm hungry," he declares, heading towards the nearest stand that is emitting smoke.
Nico follows, not really fancying eating any street food. He'd eaten an under-cooked hot dog as a youngster at a market similar to this with his father and spent the rest of the evening puking into the gutter, so he tried to avoid it. By the time Nico caught up with Lewis, he'd already ordered a pizza ("Margarita, because I didn't know what you'd want on it") and was shuffling from one foot to another while he waited for it to bake.
The pizza was handed to him on a sheet of thick cardboard, and Lewis quickly grabbed a slice to taste it. It was piping hot and delicious. His stomach gurgled with appreciation, having waited all day for some food. He held the pizza out to Nico, unable to talk with his mouthful, but Nico shook his head and rolled his eyes.
They sat on the wall surrounding the market square while Lewis finished the pizza. Nico would rather have gone to sit in the bar but there was a sign on the door saying 'No Food Allowed' so they'd had too sit outside. It was a cold night, and they sat close together for the extra warmth, until the pizza was gone.
Wiping his greasy hands on his jeans, Lewis stood up,
"Right, dessert!" he grinned, his eyes widening with excitement, "I saw some mini German pancakes, lets share a plate!"
Before Nico could reply, Lewis was racing off in the direction of the pancake stall, giving his friend no option but to follow. Nico hated German pancakes, they made him feel bloated and ill. He told himself that at least if they were sharing a plate, he'd probably not actually have to eat that many before Lewis would finish them off.
When Nico finally found the stall, Lewis was pouring sugar and nutella onto the side of a plate that is piled high with miniature pancakes.
"Nico, I got a large plate so we both had plenty!" Lewis beamed, shoving the pancakes towards Nico, "Have one, they're AMAZING!"
Nico pushed the plate back to Lewis, scrunching his nose up at the fatty smell they gave off.
"Nico, why are you not excited by this? This place is awesome?!" Lewis asked, his eyes, once wide with excitement, now looking hurt and confused. He waved his free arm around at the square that was decorated with festive lights and Christmas trees, "It's all winter-y and Christmas-y and special. There's never anything like this around here, just enjoy it!"
"Lewis, you bought me to a GERMAN market," he replied, emphasizing the Country, "I am fucking German!"
And with that he stormed off towards the bar before Lewis could stop him and drag him to another stall.