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It's late.
He should go to sleep, or lay in bed, or... do something .
Anything.
Anything other than sitting in this damn living room waiting for something he knows will never come.
Bdubs sighs, downing the dregs of his coffee and making a face at the bitter taste. It's hard not to be bitter himself, but... he's the one that gave himself the expectations. Can he blame anyone else?
Yes. He promised.
But Bdubs asked him to.
He groans and stands up, trudging to the kitchen to— he checks his communicator. No messages.— get another cup of coffee. It's cold by now, and he'd much rather have hot chocolate, but he has to stay awake for the rest of the server and their Christmas party in Hermit Village. Scar had insisted that the decorations on his starter base had to be seen at night.
It didn't really matter to Bdubs. He was going to be up late waiting, anyway.
Waiting to inevitably be disappointed, he's sure.
Especially when it's almost midnight, and it's Christmas Eve, and Etho is going to miss it. Again.
He walks back down the stairs, glancing at the clock on the wall. 11:57 pm. Great. Grumbling to himself about no one else understanding a good sleep schedule— it's not about that, really— he pulls out his communicator and shoots a whisper to Tango.
<BdoubleO100> whispers... wrapping up soon?
Tango doesn't answer right away, which Bdubs can't really blame him for. After all, he's probably having fun with everyone else. And Bdubs isn't bitter about it. He did this to himself. Like he did last year. Like he did the year before that. Like he does every year.
The cuckoo clock goes off at midnight, and Bdubs sinks lower into his chair, glaring at the lit but undecorated tree in the corner with malice. As if it had something to do with this.
Another Christmas Eve with no Etho.
Is he even surprised?
He takes another sip of coffee, his nerves now so wrought that when he hears the door downstairs open, he finds himself more annoyed than hopeful.
"I'm not comin' to that stupid party, Tango!"
It'd been Tango that had invited him in the first place.
"Come on, Bdubs, it'll be fun!"
"Nah, it's alright. I'm fine in the Monolith! You just let me know when everyone's ready to go home, and I'll sleep so everyone gets home safe. No biggie."
"You can always take care of that, y'know, at the party."
"It's fine, Tango."
"Ah. I see. You're gonna be wai—"
"I said it's fine!"
... There's no response from Tango.
"Tango?"
Nothing.
"If you're gonna make me get out of my comfy chair..." he grumbles to himself, moving to get up anyway. His feet shuffle against the ground, his slippers making a satisfyingly sleepy noise as he trudges to the stairs and down. He's not paying attention to who is actually at the door as he opens his mouth. "I told you before, I'm perfectly happy spending my night in the Monolith, alo—"
Finally, he lifts his gaze from the stairs as he rounds the corner into the main entrance.
For a few moments, he stands in shocked silence, staring at the man before him. The man before him who is covered in snow and looks increasingly apologetic the longer Bdubs says nothing. And then, simultaneously,
"Etho—" "Bdubs—"
A pause.
"Where have you been !?" "I'm so sorry!"
Bdubs wastes no time rushing down the final two steps to throw himself at Etho— his Etho— wrapping his arms tight around his snowy shoulders. Etho hesitates for a moment in shock before finally relaxing into the embrace and wrapping his arms around Bdubs in reply.
"Bdubs, you're gonna get covered in snow."
"Shut up! You're late!"
Etho winces, and the pair withdraw enough that they can meet one another's eyes while still having their arms around one another. Etho glances to the side, his guilt clear even in the half of his expression Bdubs can see over the mask.
"I'm sorry, Dubs, really. I was on my way when the blizzard rolled in, and my communicator died, and I... I forgot that you keep it nighttime for the party, so there were mobs when I got grounded. I..." He fades off, his gaze still cast to the side.
Bdubs sighs and shakes his head. "You're an idiot."
"Hey!" Etho starts, his eyes snapping back to Bdubs', where he is met with affection.
"Keep your damn communicator charged! I thought you'd—" He huffs, wilting a little.
Etho tugs him a little closer, pressing their foreheads together. "Nah... I promised."
A huff from Bdubs. "You still broke it," he grumbles. "It's past midnight, it's not Christmas Eve anymore."
Another grimace tugs at Etho's face. "I know..." He sighs softly. "Any way the time king can let the extra minutes slide?"
There's a few moments of silence as Bdubs considers, before he rolls his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, alright." A smile plays on his lips. "But just this once!"
Etho chuckles and pulls away. "Alright, lemme get this coat off. I don't need you shouting at me about tracking melting snow all over your Monolith."
Bdubs waves him off, despite knowing that's exactly what he'd do if Etho took one step into the Monolith proper like that.
The coat is hung on the rack, Bdubs brushes the snow off himself, and fingers are interlaced as Bdubs starts to drag Etho up the stairs.
"You got any hot chocolate?"
Bdubs shoots a glare back at him. "Do I have hot chocolate— is that even a question!? Of course I have hot chocolate! It's winter, and I run a coffee shop!" He huffs and mutters under his breath, " Do I have hot chocolate... "
Etho is laughing, squeaking a little between beats. It draws a warm blush to Bdubs' cheeks. He's missed that sound far too much. His grip on Etho's hand tightens just so as they approach the living room.
As they enter, Etho casts his gaze about, taking in any changes from the last time he was here. Really, it's not much. Just the undecorated tree, and a couple exchanged paintings. All in all, it's... fairly underwhelming. Not at all expected of the man who built the Crastle.
"What, Bdubs, your tree isn't even decorated?"
Bdubs is quiet as Etho drops his hand and walks around the room.
"No Christmas music playing, no lights hung up outside..."
"Yeah, well if you're lookin' for mistletoe, you ain't gonna find that neither!" He crosses his arms, not too fond of Etho's critiques considering— Well. Considering he'd been saving the tree decorating for when Etho was here.
Etho's brow raises at Bdubs' pointed words, and he crosses the room to stand in front of Bdubs. "Do I need mistletoe?" Bdubs can hear the bastard's smile beneath his mask.
His breath hitches anyway, eyes widening as Etho reaches a hand up to the edge of his mask, waiting for Bdubs' response.
"Awfully presumptuous," Bdubs mumbles, not wanting to give in just yet. ... Wanting to give in very badly, but not letting himself, more like it.
"Bdubs..." He tugs at his mask a little more.
"Oh, just come here!"
Etho laughs and pulls down his mask and... yeah. There's the face Bdubs has missed so desperately. His eyes trace the scar down Etho's face over his lips, lingering for a moment before tilting his head up to meet them with his own. Soft... pleading... His eyes squeeze shut as Etho returns the kiss, relishing each second he has within this moment. Relishing each iota of time with Etho here.
When the kiss is broken, Bdubs finds his hands on Etho's chest, gripping lightly at his shirt. He pouts a little, but his voice is quiet and sincere as he speaks.
"I was waiting for you to get here so we could decorate together..." He refuses to meet Etho's gaze.
"Aw, Bdubs..." Etho puts his hands over Bdubs'. "I'm here now."
"It's too late to decorate anything outside." Bdubs peers up at Etho. "And the ornaments are all the way down in the basement, and—"
"Well, why don't we leave all that for tomorrow, then?"
"Tomorrow's Christmas."
"You built Horse Course in like. A day."
"Well, I am a master builder, after all."
"Uh huh."
Etho gives Bdubs' hands a squeeze before removing them from his chest and withdrawing, making his way over to a jukebox. "There is one thing we can fix tonight, though." He starts rifling through the barrels nearby, searching for whichever one stores the music discs. "Ah, here we go." The record is placed, the needle moved to the proper position, the music set to start.
First the speakers crackle with the few rotations of silence, giving Etho time to return to Bdubs' side. Etho interlaces a hand with one of Bdubs' while his other finds a home on Bdubs' waist, all the while leaving Bdubs gazing up at him with intense affection. He rolls his eyes with a smile as Etho closes the distance between them, the music starting to fill the room.
"A dance?" Bdubs asks, with only a little bit of incredulity in his tone.
"Well we have to dance on Christmas Eve, Bdubs! Tradition!" He starts to sway with his partner, small steps leading the other.
Bdubs can't help but let out a warm laugh, finally letting his irritation melt away as Etho tugs him along. The song is smooth and melodic at first, letting them cherish their shared space. Bdubs presses close to Etho's chest and Etho wraps his arm more securely around Bdubs' torso. It's all too easy to fall back into their old traditions from years ago, before things got so... Bdubs pushes the thoughts out of his mind, letting himself lean against his partner and simply enjoy the simplicity of the moment.
As the song swells, Etho withdraws to spin Bdubs, who laughs while Etho grins at him. And then it's back to being held close, the scent of jungle grass and sharp snow filling Bdubs' senses. It's nice, Bdubs thinks. Having him here. It's nice, the way they look at each other with adoration as they skill-lessly slow dance through the living room. It's nice, the way Bdubs will stay up to watch the snow tonight, and know he won't be alone.
The other Hermits enjoy their party, chatting and eating and drinking beneath Scar's elven tree. One might not even notice amidst the grandeur that warm light pools in one of the Monolith windows, silhouetting a dancing pair, reunited— even if late— just as promised.