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On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month, a head of dark curls pushed inside of Tyler's tent and chirped, "Happy Natale!"
Tyler rolled over on his cot, squinting his eyes. As his blurry-sleep vision cleared, he could see it wasn't just a head of curls---no, it was Josh.
"What are you doing here? Never mind, I don't want to know that. Get the hell out of my tent," Tyler yawned.
Josh stepped fully inside, shaking snow everywhere. He pouted. "C'mon, dude, enough with the attitude! It's Natale!"
"Oh, hooray, its Natale! I'm soooo excited!" Tyler mocked Josh in a singsong voice. "Yeah, get this: how am I supposed to be excited about Natale when I don't even know what it is?"
"Only the BEST holiday of the year," Josh proclaimed reverently, "there's lights all around camp, we eat a ton and jump in the snow!"
"Snow," said Tyler, "is cold."
"Yeah, that's kinda the point of snow, man."
"What's the point of rolling in frozen water until your fingers freeze and fall off one by one?"
"…"
Tyler snorted. Josh had a dumbfounded expression on his face, apparently trying to find an answer. Tyler groaned, rolling out of bed. Since this hyped messy-haired puppy of a man had woken him so early, he should at least get dressed. Tyler threw on a baggy yellow hoodie, black cargo pants, and boots. Judging by the frigid air blowing through the tent flap, Tyler decided to wear his coat too.
"You need red," Josh said suddenly.
"What?"
"Red is the colour of Natale. You need to wear some." He gestured to the red taped 'x' on his own camo jacket instead of the usual yellow.
"Red is an evil colour, Josh." Red reminded Tyler of long robes and raspy voices, dark rooms and glowing tubes, black paint and promises that were lies.
Josh looked at him with large brown eyes. There was pity in them, and understanding. "Natale red is different from Bishop red, Tyler. Here, just wear this." He pulled a scarlet beanie out of his pocket with some difficulty, and tossed it to Tyler.
Tyler caught it, and with some grumbling, pulled it on.
Josh grinned, all pearly teeth and squinty eyes. Tyler hated the way it made his stomach tingle. Their gaze was held a little too long.
Tyler looked down, feeling hot even though it was freezing. "Let's go," he muttered, "you're getting snow all over the tent."
"You like it," Josh shot back.
Tyler wasn't about to admit that the last statement was true.
***
It wasn't snowing outside, although the air was frigid. The first rays of the sun were peeking over the trees, turning the navy blue sky soft rosy shades. Snowbanks the height of Tyler's arms were piled around the bandito camp. In the center of the tent, Clancy had somehow started a fire. He nodded to Josh and Tyler as they passed.
"Happy Natale, Josh, Tyler."
"You too, Clancy!"
"I've never heard of Natale before," Tyler glanced back at the dark hunched figure of Clancy.
"You wouldn't have," Josh said briskly, "you've only been with us for ten months. Natale is a bandito tradition, it happens every year on this day. About a generation ago, the bandito rebellion began on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month. We celebrate the beginning of the banditos. Pretty cool. I've been here six years, so I've celebrated six Natales."
"Why do you wear red, not yellow? If you're celebrating the beginning of the rebellion, why don't you wear the rebel colour?"
Josh shrugged. "We wear yellow every day, dude. I guess the red's just to tell Nico and the rest of those assholes, 'in your face! we're wearing your colour and you haven't killed us yet, ya losers!'"
Tyler smirked.
They stood in silence a bit, hands brushing slightly, blushing slightly. Tyler's nose was freezing, but he felt warm as he counted the smattering of freckles across Josh's nose and Josh pretended not to notice. Or maybe he actually didn't notice. That was a very Josh thing to do.
Josh nudged Tyler gently with his shoulder. "Look," he whispered.
The sun was fully up, tangerine rays spilling over the quiet snow, mountains, and trees. Another hazey morning had come to the free land of Trench. Banditos slowly climbed out of the tents, clad in green, yellow, and red: colours of the rebellion. They shouted to each other:
"East is up! Happy Natale!"
Tyler jumped as Josh started shouting the same greeting to their fellow banditos. "C'mon, Ty!" he laughed. "It's a tradition! Join us!"
"O-ok," Tyler turned to Jenna. "Hey, Jen?"
"Yeah?" Her blue eyes flicked to him.
"East is up, um, Happy Natale!"
"You too!"
Josh gestured to the smiling, shouting banditos. "Natale," he said simply, "is about togetherness."
Tyler watched the scene quietly, his breath escaping his lips in short misty puffs.
***
The sun was halfway up the sky. By the frozen creek, four grown men were having a snowball fight.
"What's the point of rolling around in the snow until your fingers freeze off one by one?" Josh mimicked Tyler's earlier comment in a high-pitched voice.
Tyler shaped the snow into a ball; it stung his bare palms in a delicious sort of way. "Fuck you, Joshua Dun."
Josh wiggled his eyebrows. "Is that an offer?"
Tyler's face erupted into flames. However, his sarcastic reply was cut off by a faceful of snow.
He spat it out, tounge numb. "What the actual fuck, Mark!" he yelled at his friend, who was standing a few metres away smirking. Josh and Clancy were in near hysterics.
Mark snickered. "You two break up the flirting," he jabbed his thumb at Josh and Tyler, "'cause we're having a snowball fight." He turned to Clancy, whose grim eyes were laughing silently. "Wanna team up with me to cream these guys?"
"Sure."
"You hear that, Ty? We aren't gonna lose to these dudes!" Josh whooped, giving his billion dollar smile. Tyler felt tingly again.
They did end up losing, Tyler's poor face taking many more beatings and Josh getting snow down his back. All four of them lay in the snow, panting and laughing. Clancy, the silent mystery guy, looked the happiest he ever was since Tyler met him.
"Natale," said Mark, "is about snow."
***
The sun was halfway up the sky. Tyler sat at the fire with Jenna, nursing a cup of hot cider.
"This is good," he said, "what's in it?"
"Apple juice, stream water, a bit of wine, and wild nutmeg and cinnamon," Jenna ticked them off from her fingers, "all preservatives from summer."
They sat in awkward silence. The flames crackled.
"What's wrong?" she asked gently. "You're quiet today."
Tyler shrugged.
"You like Josh, don't you?"
Tyler spat a mouthful of cider onto the ground, drawing the attention of several banditos. He wiped his mouth, faced flushed. "No! That's…that's not what's bothering me!"
Jenna's icy eyes narrowed. "Yeah, you totally like him. Don't worry, I think he's into you too."
"Jenna!"
"What's bothering you, then?"
Tyler cupped the mug of cider in his hands and looked at his lap. "I just---I feel kinda selfish. We're out here, free and celebrating. But the Demans---they're trapped in the city with no rights, a sucidal religion, and asshole leaders. We need to rescue them. Not be out here, celebrating."
Jenna gave a serene smile. "I get what you're saying, Tyler. That's not selfish of you---its extremely selfless."
Tyler ducked his head, embarrassed. "Thanks," he murmured.
"But listen: Natale is a day to celebrate who we are, and so that we know exactly what our purpose is. We're rebels, and Natale acknowledges the fact that we go against the Bishops, make our own rules, and help the Demans escape. Natale makes us stronger."
"Thanks for the advice," Tyler sipped his cider.
The flames made Jenna's blond hair look like there were sparks dancing in it. "Natale," she said, "is about compassion."
***
The sun was low in the now-orange sky. Debby's rust-coloured ponytail swung behind her as she rushed about, setting candles all around camp. Tyler stood by the fire and lit the candles, passing them to her.
"What if," he mused, "one of these candles were to catch the tents and cause a blazing inferno?"
A smile graced Debby's already-beautiful features. "Well, then, goodbye, banditos. Trench is vacant."
"What would you do if everyone was burned up and you were the last one in the fire?"
"Run straight to the creek and jump in. You?"
"I'd set that old motor vehicle on fire---you know that motor vehicle southeast of here?"
"Shit, Ty," she laughed, "that thing is haunted!"
"Exactly! So I'd jump on top the burning car and start rapping or singing or something. Really sick."
"Tyler Joseph, I don't know where you get these crazy ideas from. Spending your last moments on top of a burning car? Yeah, that's mindblowing."
"One word to describe me: mindblowing. Exactly, Debs." They laughed together.
Debby used her transparent firefly torso glow paint, glossing over the tents. They shone faintly in the half-dark. "A blazing inferno's never gonna happen, though. Look at all the snow around here. How's your first Natale going?"
"Actually pretty nice," Tyler admitted, "learned a lot."
Debby grinned. "That's the most genuine thing I've heard you say."
"Aw, shut up."
They both stepped back to admire their work. In the sunset, the bandito camp looked like it was giving off a soft light. Candle flame shadows roared across the snow.
"Natale," Debby said, "is about lights."
***
The sun was gone. The waning moon took its place, stars shining brightly in the ink sky. Tyler tried to count the constellations. Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Orion, Cygnus the Swan, Cassiopeia. Now for the stars. Polaris, Betelgeuse, Sirius…
Tyler tried to block out the loud drunken, noises of the party. He had snuck away from the campfire long ago. The rowdiness was too much for him. Now he was standing at the corner of a tent, watching the stars and ignoring the campfire that lay a couple of metres away from him.
He wanted to go to his bed, but somebody might come looking for him.
"Hey." The hoarse voice in Tyler's ear made him jump.
It was Josh. "Holy crap, man, you scared the shit outta me!" Tyler glared at Josh.
"Sorry," he said, not looking very sorry, "party scene too much for you?"
"Yeah."
"Me too," Josh sighed, "Mark's as drunk as hell, Jenna and Debby are off frolicking somewhere, and Clancy is lurking around being his usual moody self."
"I've been trying to name all the constellations," Tyler said, "now I'm trying to identify the plants that are hung on the side of the tents. I can't identify the one above us. Can you, Josh?"
Josh looked up at the red berried leaves. "Shit, Ty, that's mistletoe." He made to move away, but Tyler grabbed him by his wrist.
"Wait, aren't you supposed to kiss someone under the mistletoe?"
Josh hesitated, his eyes flickering. "Yeah."
Tyler swears it was bold impulse. Pure instinct. But suddenly he was pulling Josh closer and closer, and pressing his lips to Josh's chapped ones. And Josh kissed back. Their movements were like lightning and burning cars. Electric, fizzy, the radical combination of teal and rose.
They finally pulled away, panting. Tyler could still taste Josh on his lips.
"Well," Josh said, "that was nice."
"Yeah," Tyler breathed, "Happy Natale."
And Josh smiled.