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As Connor had expected, having prepared most of the food and wrapped all of the presents on the 23rd, there was nothing left to do on Christmas Eve.
Which was fine by him: after Hank had taught him the importance of taking a break and doing nothing, he did just that. Woke up, put on his dog-themed Christmas sweater, a Santa’s hat, and a tinsel scarf, ate a thirium pancake.
Hank walked in, stared at his outfit, and sighed. “Looks like Christmas threw up on ya.”
“Thank you!”
“Wasn’t a… nevermind. You’re havin’ fun?”
“Of course.”
“Right then. Rose told me to be less of a grouch all of the time so… carry on.”
Connor grinned. “You know, I have some leftover tinsel if—”
“Nope. I might be trying to be nicer, but that doesn’t mean I’m gonna join the fuckin’ tinsel club.”
“Aw, but, Hank…”
“Tinsel sucks. End of.”
“It’s beautiful! Underrated! People think tinsel is ugly and scratchy but they’re missing out on how fun it is!”
Hank grumbled under his breath about ‘not having had his damn coffee yet’, pouring out cereals into a bowl.
“Whatever. As long as you take it off when we go out this evening—”
“We’re going out this evening?”
“Yep. Anderson tradition. Christmas Eve walk.”
“What does that entail?”
“It’s a secret. You’ll learn when we all go on it.”
“Sumo too?”
“Yep. Couldn’t exactly leave him at home on his own on Christmas Eve…”
Connor thought about this walk throughout the day, wondering what they’d be getting up to. The whole month, he’d enjoyed getting into Hank’s Christmas traditions, as well as finding some of his own. Therefore, as soon as Hank got up from the couch after dinner and searched for his coat, Connor was already by the front door.
“Jesus— how the hell did you two get ready so fast?”
It was a marvel, that was for sure. One minute, Sumo and Connor had been reclined on the couch. The next, Connor was in his winter gear, and Sumo had his leash on.
“We were excited to go. Weren’t we, Sumo?”
Sumo barked.
“Alright, alright. I guess I did leave you in suspense all day, huh? Hope I didn’t make you think we were goin’ out to do anything huge.”
“Don’t worry, I don’t expect anything big. It’s nice to go on a walk with you and Sumo anyway.”
“You know butterin’ me up won’t make me get you anymore gifts, Con. Already bought ‘em all.”
“I know. I’m just being nice. You should try it.”
Hank rolled his eyes, unlocking the front door. “I had it coming.”
“You did. Now, come on.”
A few minutes later they were walking down the streets of Detroit. There wasn’t any snow anymore, it had gotten a little warmer the past week, so it had all dried up. But this didn’t mean there was no Christmas spirit in the air.
As Connor walked, he noticed the Christmas lights on many of the houses they walked past. Some were a simple few strings of twinkling fairy lights; others were fairly large displays. He laughed at one of a reindeer faceplanted in the snow.
“Looks like Sumo.” Hank remarked.
“What?”
“You know, when he runs down the hallway too fast and falls over.”
Connor laughed, but regretted it when Sumo glared at him. “Don’t blame me, boy. Hank said it.”
The streets luckily weren’t too busy, given the time of year it was. This was probably because everyone from Detroit still hadn’t returned after the Revolution. Whilst it was a bit sad, it did make crowding less of a problem.
That said, they did come across some people later on. Their companionable quiet was broken by the sound of singing.
“Huh, carol singers.” Hank noted as the group walked towards them.
Connor smiled to see they were a mix of androids and humans. They wouldn’t encounter any trouble, then. They were singing ‘We wish you a merry Christmas’ and as they passed the trio, they stopped and waved.
“Maybe I should try singing.” Connor pondered after passing them. “I do like piano, and I heard the two go well together.”
“Don’t see why not. So long as it’s not always Christmas songs.”
“Of course not. I’ll only try those when it’s the season. November, probably.”
Hank spluttered. “November? Ain’t that a little early?”
“No. I regret I didn’t start my holiday activities sooner than December.”
“I don’t. God, imagine tinsel all over the damn house for two months…”
Connor raised a brow. “We have to take the tinsel down?”
“Uh, after Christmas is over? Sometime in January.”
“Aw… Is there such a thing as tinsel that isn’t a Christmas decoration?”
“No.”
“Are you sure? Maybe something less festive coloured…”
“No.”
“Okay, I won’t get any tinsel.”
“No—wait. Damnit. I mean yes, don’t get any!”
“Too late. You already agreed to the tinsel.”
Hank sighed, shaking his head. “You try it. But you’ll get sick of it if you have it all year round, okay? Christmas is about… well, it’s partly about how short the season it. It’s a nice jazzed-up end to the year.”
“I see your point. I… guess having tinsel everywhere all year might get old.”
Hank nodded. Beside him, Connor smirked, celebrating the small victory. Of course, he would get rid of most of the tinsel come January. Most of it.
Not long after, Hank looked down at his watch and swore. “Fuck, let it get too late. We need to get back home. Haven’t wrapped your presents yet.”
Connor nodded, turning back around. “Well, it was a nice walk. I like the tradition.” A pause. “Thank you for introducing me to your family traditions.”
“No problem. Thanks for spendin’ them with me.”
He smiled. “Of course.” And they walked the rest of the way back home again in peaceful quiet.