Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Nobody knew Krampus, really. And that was a-okay, preferable, even. It didn’t matter who he had been before, or why he was the one chosen because now he was just doing his job. Or maybe he was doing a little more than “just his job.” The job of Krampus evolved with the world. In darker times, perhaps the entity would eat children, but as people became more advanced, that wasn’t really an acceptable thing for the counterpart of Klaus. Or the antithesis of him.

And Krampus understood the change of practice, it was hard enough to make humans understand him being necessary when all he did was give out coal and, perhaps not as necessary of a task, cause general mischief. Something about balance… He couldn’t blame humans for not understanding it when even he only sorta got it.

What he did know was that it was almost that time of year again. So when he drifted through the woods, searching for anything to do, and caught a glimpse of Frost flying through the air, he knew he could finally start having his fun.

-----------------------

Klaus did not like to play favorites, or at least admit to it. However, Krampus didn’t care to hide his favorites even a little. Most towns he would fly through quickly, leaving plenty of trouble in his wake. Clothes that were hung to dry being inexplicably down in the mud, spiders appearing in the dark corners of homes, freshly bought produce suddenly sprouting mold in the fridge, all those fun things. But there was one particular village that would always give his journey pause. It was a very cold, miserable place, but despite that, its residents were some of the kindest people around. It was, as he called it, a pass over town. Not nearly enough rotten individuals for there to be anyone worth bothering. Krampus did know of a few places in the world that he would skip by, but this one was special, to him at least.

There was a woman in the village, really, that was special. Maybe she was the only reason that he saw the whole place as interesting, but regardless of whether or not it was objectively any different from the rest of the world, it meant something to him. She was an older woman, with grey hair and a kind face, that lived by herself for most of the year. Her daughter was out in the world, some kind of pilot. To be honest, he didn’t fully understand what she did, but he never saw her, so it didn’t matter too much.

As he grew close to the almost mountain-sized hill that the village was nestled on the side of, Krampus’s child-like excitement reared its head. The powdered snow on the fir trees was harshly blown away as he passed. The small dots were becoming bigger, but he didn’t need to see them, he could find Ana’s house by heart. His rapidly increasing speed came to a sudden halt as he full stopped at the edge of the forest. Her cottage home’s fence cut the yard a few feet short of the trees.

Krampus’s quick stop had undoubtedly sent a strong, freezing wind through the town, reaffirmed by the wind chimes on her small porch nearly blowing away, but he hardly cared. While Krampus did spend some of his downtime still roaming and causing mischief, as well as visiting Ana, he was bound to the North Pole, alongside Klaus, for the summer months. It was miserable, and even more so by the limit of his powers outside of winter. He could still, more or less, travel wherever he pleased, but it was exhausting. He could only recharge over the winter and Krampus hadn’t made a good habit of storing up his energy. Especially last winter, he may as well have hibernated during the last bit of fall because he could hardly do anything.

So he hadn’t seen Ana since spring. And saying he was excited would be an astronomical understatement. Ah. But of course, the most draining part was making himself more than a fitful spirit of folklore. But more specifically, the unthreatening appearance was difficult. Manifesting a physical form, Krampus could do with his eyes closed. But it was the classic, bone-chilling look, more or less. Cloven hoof, jagged teeth, long nails, horns, pointed tail, a wild mane, the whole get-out. It deviated a bit at the prosthetics. Krampus could go in search of his past memories if he so wished, but to be chosen for Krampus… he didn’t want to know who he used to be. But whoever he was had been very careless of their limbs. However, he didn’t feel that it did much to tone down the ghoulish look. So for Ana, he had to craft a different form.

He took on some ratty blond hair, probably too pale skin, a slightly gnarly brown sweater, and black pj pants. His teeth were perhaps a bit sharp, and his body may have been awkwardly gangly, but he looked normal enough to cut some corners with the look. People knew Krampus was real, but they didn’t need to know that Ana was all buddy-buddy with him.

“Jamison? Oh get out of the cold and come here!” Ana was leaning out of the doorway with a long blue and cream cardigan, most of her grey hair tucked away. She must have heard the chimes and knew.

So there was ONE person who knew his name.

“You know I don’t get cold,” he said, gleefully making his way toward the door regardless.

As the screen door snapped shut behind him, Ana sternly told him to wipe his feet on the rug before stepping foot on the wooden floor, and he eagerly did as instructed. Meanwhile, she went to the kitchen counter, readying two cups of hot chocolate.

“I knew by our first snowfall last night,” she smiled fondly at his quizzical look. “Now, come to the couch with me and we will catch up.”

Some old Christmas movie played on TV, volume on low, while Jamie listened to Ana tell him about anything and everything while he was away.

“Why do I feel like you’re keeping something from me?” He questioned her after a few moments of pause.

Ana uncomfortably looked into her mug and he scowled childishly at the confirmation.

“There are two things, and please don’t get cold on me,” she asked him. After a rapid nod in response, she sighed. “Alright, first, there is someone new in the village. But I promise you he seems like a very sweet boy. Moved here from Australia, if you can believe it, but he’s adjusted very well.” Perhaps Jamie did prickle a bit at that. He was very defensive of the area and a newcomer was close to his perfect nightmare. But one glare from Ana as the room temperature started to drop and he knocked off the brooding.

“And two,” she continued, “Reinhardt is considering moving back in. You may not raise your voice at me.”

He bit his cheek hard, pointed teeth tearing through and an iron taste bursting across his tongue in mere seconds.

“Why?” Jamison asked through gritted teeth once he gained enough composure.

“Well you already know that he visits over the holidays, but we've been talking consistently, and he visited a few times while you were gone, and things have been nice. Fareeha seems okay with the idea. Besides, he’s ready to settle down now and we could both do with feeling a little less lonely. Surely you want me to have company more often, right?” He just glowered at the floor, and Ana knew he accepted defeat, so she didn’t try any harder to convince him.

“So about this new neighbor,” Jamie didn’t want to make Ana upset, even if he was still mentally throwing a fit that her ex-boyfriend of many years was coming back. If he thought about it too much though, he would really start worrying.

“Ah, yes. Mako, I’m pretty sure. He’s nice from what I can tell. I spoke to him the other day down at the grocery store, he was quiet but he helped me get something down from the top shelf,” she smiled. Jamison just grunted and curled further into himself, but Ana gracefully ignored the childish response. “Though I’ve heard from others that he can have a bit of a bite to him. Supposedly he has a pet pig and one of the movers kicked her cage. Didn’t go over well with Mako. I know I certainly wouldn’t want to get on his bad side,” she added with an air of humor to her tone.

“And he wouldn't want to get on mine-”

“Jamison!” she scolded. “There’s no need to consider it. I was just meaning that he’s got a bit of an intimidating appearance. Very large and tall, taller than you, I think, even when you straighten out that crooked back of yours.”

He huffed dismissively, but noticeably sat up straighter anyway. “So you swear no one s’ given you any problems while I was gone?”

“For someone so defensive of the area, you sure seem distrusting of everyone else,” Ana teased him. “So no, there is no one for you to pick a fight with. If you really want to be helpful, you could start with the laundry.”

“Well would you look at the time, I really should be on me way,” but Jamie made to move to leave.

-----------------------

“You’re sure there’s nothin’ else I can do?” Jamison stood in the doorway to Ana’s room, refusing to cross over to the carpet, like a dog banned to the hallway.

Ana, who was tucked into the bed, set down her book on the nightstand and pulled the string. The only light which allowed him to see her was from the hall. She gave him a gentle smile and the corners of her eye’s creased just a bit.

“It is late for me. I should have been asleep at least half an hour ago. I promise I will still be here tomorrow. Go spread about your mischief,” she waved her hands about, “and recharge some of your energy. You could go look around a bit, if you want. But don’t use your spirit, ghost, whatever form to intrude on anyone. Especially Mako. He’s dealing with enough, a whole new area and whatever caused him to move here of all places. He doesn't need a visit from Krampus.” Ana saw straight through him, as always. “Now, as I said, you go get to work, and feel free to come back tomorrow and do some chores.” She scootched down a bit and pulled the blankets further up to stay warm with the presence of a strong, howling wind outside.

“G’night Ana,” Jamison spoke softly, shutting her bedroom door as gently as he could. Once all the lights in the home were off, and he triple-checked that both doors were locked, he dropped his human form and returned to an unseen spirit. He cared dearly for Ana Amari and would never want to disrespect her, or disappoint her. But at the very least to put his own mind at ease, Krampus would have to take a peek at this Mako.

-----------------------

It never bothered Krampus any bit, but he still did take note of the severely strong wind. It couldn’t have been above the single digits outside, at most the single digits. There was some light snow in the air, he knew it was coming. He moved at a fairly sluggish pace through the village, noticing an unwelcome ache at how much he had missed the whole place. The paths that lead around the whole place, even the ones on the outskirts which didn’t get quite the same maintenance as the ones in the heart of the town, were all dotted with street lamps. The tall black poles all had fancy detailing on the top, though it could be simply described as a box holding the bulb safely within. Considering the temperature, the heat emitted from the lights was enough to cause a slight mist to form around the lights, carried away quickly by the wind. The dirt path morphed into gravel, and eventually, an uneven stony surface.

Krampus passed by their grocery store, closed by now, that was owned by Asa Yamagami and her daughter, Kiriko, who had started helping out more within the past few years. The quaint restaurant run by Lúcio and his family friend, Orisa. All things he only knew because of Ana. He did wish to meet the people of the town one day, but it was difficult to imagine how he could ever be welcomed into the town without a lot of lying from Ana. Was he a family friend? Some ridiculously distant relative? There was no way people wouldn’t start asking Fareeha questions when she came to visit. And if Reinhardt did end up moving back in, he would have to find out too. It would make things too complicated. And being the entity that he was, it really wasn’t something that he needed to worry about anyway. His number one concern as Krampus should always be to do his job. Spread mischief.

But there he was, floating down a path that had long since gone back to dirt, the opposite end of the outskirts of town, phasing right into Mako’s home. Obviously not everyone shared Ana’s sentiment of ten being late, or maybe he was just adjusting to time zones, but regardless of the reason, Mako was still up, sitting on the couch. He was reading (what was it with humans and reading at night?), somehow able to interpret the ink on the paper with only the warm light from a lamp in the corner of the living room.

Despite Ana mentioning it, Krampus was still surprised to see a pink pig with a few black splotches curled up next to him on the couch. Only one hand was holding the book, as the other was resting on the pig’s head, scratching her behind the ear and occasionally gently running a finger up her snout to her forehead. He watched the motion a few times before he realized how large that hand looked on the pig. Krampus looked back to Mako and Ana’s words bounced around his head again. The guy was big in every meaning of the word. Even in his genuine physical form, which was a bit larger than his human one, he could tell he would still pale in comparison. If not for the fact that he was who he was, he’d probably actually be intimidated by the man.

Something else that piqued his interest was the grey hair, pulled back in a short, messy ponytail. Krampus wondered if the man was old, or if he just greyed at a young age. Must have been in his forties at least, if his face was anything to go by. Not ugly, but aged. Mako had an overall rugged, worn look to him, the serious scaring across his lips only adding to the appearance.

He yawned suddenly, and Krampus realized that he had been looking longer than he needed to, though he mourned not staring for just a little longer when he caught glimpse of the impressively sharp canines. But back to his original reason for coming.

Floating through the house for a short minute, he paused when he took notice of the box of unpacked clothes in Mako’s room. It was a bit basic for him, but Krampus had spent enough time there already, he didn’t need to keep snooping. So he snagged a warm-looking sweater, something sure to be missed in this environment, and slashed an opening into the side of it. Nothing to pat himself on the back for, but a nuisance nonetheless. Now that he had that out of the way, there was a lot of the world to cause problems in.

Chapter Text

Krampus had traveled a little bit over half of Europe during the night. While his job never fully stopped, after he did a once-over, the magic would linger in most places long enough to last the year. If Klaus got a bit out of hand with his goodwill and Christmas cheer then he might have more to do, but between the two of them, Krampus was the one with a tendency to overdo it.

It was around noon by the time that he found himself traveling through the mountains again. Regardless of how bountiful his energy may be during the winter, it was in his best interest to travel in short bursts rather than try to do it in one go.

Ana was making lunch in the kitchen when Jamie came through the back door. He opened his mouth to say hello but she quickly gestured her hand to the side. Don’t. She cringed at the loud sound of the screen door slamming itself shut.

There was a curious look on his face as she called to the living room. “Sorry, peeked out the door, thought I saw something in the woods.”

“It’s alright. And, um, you-you know you don’t have to do this,” a deep, gruff voice that he didn’t recognize responded, and in a moment, Krampus faded to a spirit.

“Oh nonsense,” he followed Ana into the living room, “I insist. Not only are you a guest, but you’re new here.” The one and only Mako was sitting on the couch, awkwardly accepting the sandwich from her.

“I’m sorry for asking for help with this. I just don’t have many sweaters.”

And it clicked. After Mako found his torn sweater, he must have asked around if there was any kind of tailor and was inevitably told that no, there aren’t any sort of clothing or fabric shops around, but Ana on the other side of the village could fix up any worn clothes just fine. And now he was in just the sort of trouble he didn’t like. Trouble with Ana.

“I could have sworn it didn’t have this hole in it before, but,” he shrugged, “there it is.”

Ana nodded, “Irritating indeed.” She couldn’t see him, but Krampus was sure that she knew he was there by the tone of her voice. Anyone else wouldn't catch on, but in the way that she said it he could practically hear her saying “you’re in big trouble for this, Jamie. Just you wait until our guest is gone.” He really should have just listened to her after all. But then again, if Mako hadn't gone and accidentally tattled…

For the rest of Mako and Ana’s lunch, Krampus floated around the room, pouting. He didn’t even care that he brought the room temperature down a noticeable degree. Finally, something minutely good happened, as Mako was quick to leave once he finished the food shared with him. Ana assured him that she didn’t have much else to do and would easily be able to fix up his sweater by tomorrow. The second that the door was shut, Ana’s demeanor changed.

“Jamison,” her tone was dangerous, ready to scold but warning him that things would be worse if he didn’t show up now. So he reluctantly returned to human form while Ana impatiently tapped her foot on the floor, hands on her hips.

“I know what you said, but I fig-”

“But you didn’t listen, Jamison!” Her words were hot and Jamie remembered that she was a mother and, judging by how headstrong Ana made her out to be, she likely had plenty of experience scolding Fareeha. “I understand what you are, what is in your nature,” she said angrily, and then her voice softened just a little, “but I also know what you can be. Jamie, you had no reason to do that to him other than that you wanted to. We both know that he is nothing for me to be worried about when you’re constantly looking out for me. It was unnecessary. It was mean.” She shook her head and sighed. Jamison was taking in the details of the floor quite well. “I'm just-”

His shoulders sagged, already knowing what she would say.

“Disappointed.”

And he really could hear it in her voice. Krampus was supposed to be a cold, heartless being that laughed at others’ misery. Hell, he used to eat kids. But Jamison wasn’t that. He got slightly choked up on his words as he mumbled out some apology and Ana rolled her eyes.

“I know, I know you’re sorry. Just,” she pinched the bridge of her nose, thinking, “I need you to figure out how to make this up to him.”

“Fine,” he almost had another outburst at that, but it wouldn’t seem like he was actually sorry if he did. “What am I even meant to do? It’s not like I could just go up to his door and say ‘G’day Mako, I’m Krampus and I ripped yer sweater the other night, my bad.’”

“Can’t you go to his house and do something good? Be nice?” Ana tried, beginning to sound a bit exasperated. “You come to my home and do the laundry, clean the dishes, organize things, that sort of stuff. Can’t you just do something like that for him?”

Could he? Yes. Did he want to?

“Jamie…”

“Fine, fine, fine,” Jamison flapped his hands about dismissively and then crossed his arms. Ignoring the fact that Ana was just about the only person he had ever actively done kind stuff for, using his powers for things like that could get a bit tricky. Hand folding the laundry was one thing, but doing a “good” task in his spirit form, while possible, was also very draining. Causing mischief was how he got his energy to do magic so of course doing good tended to have the opposite effect. But anything to make Ana happy. Or more importantly, make her not mad at him anymore.

“Well, off you go then,” she made a shooing motion with her hands.

Jamison resisted the urge to have another fit and ask if he really had to right now, and instead did as she wished.

He moved across the village as quickly as he could, not stopping to admire the scenery or take a look around at who might be out like he would normally do. Instead, it was a straight shot to the little cottage of Makos. Krampus huffed as he faded through the wall. Looking around the home he realized that Mako must have been out somewhere, perhaps at the store, as he was nowhere to be seen inside. Well, things just got quite a bit easier for him.

Closing himself in Mako’s room, to keep the pig out in the hall, Krampus dropped into his true physical form. The hoof and metal prosthetic leg proved to be a disastrously noisy combination on the wooden floor, and he hoped that it wasn’t tearing up the wood too much as he carried an unpacked box of clothes over to the closet. He looked between the closet and the small dresser to get a feel for where everything went before getting to work.

The box was mostly shirts, as Krampus would come to find, there were also a few pairs of boxers at the bottom that he nearly didn't put away out of embarrassment. But seeing all the shirts hung up, he felt that he couldn't leave the job almost done, and quickly snagged and tossed them into the bottom dresser drawer. And he was finished not a moment too soon, as the front door opened only a few seconds after he closed that drawer. There was always a brief moment of panic where Krampus would forget what he was capable of doing and get filled with dread that he was going to get caught, before he remembered again and dropped the physical form. Hopefully Mako wouldn’t find his bedroom door being closed as too odd, as if he wouldn’t find a whole box being unpacked odd. Whatever. It didn’t matter.

“I unpacked his clothes,” Jamie told Ana while he helped her put her small amount of groceries away. “Actually put ‘em away. Didn’t throw them around the room or anything like that.”

Ana hummed, putting up a new bag of sugar in the cabinet, but when she turned around she found Jamison no longer putting things away, but standing and staring at her expectantly. She rolled her eyes and sighed, but the affection was clear, “You did good Jamie, now please, put away the freezer goods.”

He flapped his hands in the air excitedly and went back to the bags of groceries. He was used to hearing people say all sorts of rotten things about him, which was fair, so when he actually did something good, it would spark a warm, fuzzy feeling. Not that he would ever tell anyone that.

The rest of the day, Jamison got to enjoy being back on Ana’s good side. They lounged on the couch for a bit. Jamie enjoyed Home Alone, Ana had quickly discovered a bit ago that he would critique the movie for being inaccurate if there was any magic or Santa in the film. She admittedly had enjoyed hearing all the stories at first, but she could only stand so much. Plus Jamie was a big fan of the movie. He was a bit like a kid, giggling to himself at the comical violence, but Ana seemed to handle it just fine, cozied up and sewing the hole in Mako’s sweater.

When the movie was over, Ana had finished the sweater. Jamison had nearly taken it back himself, partially because he was the one who had ripped it, and partially because he hated the idea of her having to trudge to the complete opposite end of the village. But, as always, the both knew he couldn’t go out unless the two had suddenly come up with a way to explain who he was without the relative lie, because when they inevitably mentioned him to Fareeha she would have quite a few questions.

When Ana got back, Jamie convinced her to play a board game with him that he lost, which was pretty typical. He could cheat very easily if he wanted, and he certainly wanted to most of the time, but he had a feeling she would know. Plus it never felt good to think about lying to her, even if it was something small.

Finally, after they had dinner, he reluctantly told Ana that he was going to have to leave again.

“And you will be gone for?”

“Just a few days, hopefully,” Jamison told Ana while doing the dishes with her.

“Well you’re going to miss the arrival of the chickens, I hate to say,” she teased him. Ana had been wanting to get chickens for a while, and Brigitte had apparently finally found the time to finish building the coop in Ana’s yard. Jamison had initially asked why she didn’t wait until it was warmer out but apparently she wanted them for companionship just as much as eggs.

“I still don’t understand why you wouldn’t just get a dog,” he responded. He was still very excited for the chickens to get there, but he had always wanted a dog. Then again, he had to remind himself, it wouldn’t really be his.

Ana ignored the remark, already having had this conversation with him many times over the years. Though the village community was very close-knit, she couldn’t have everything for free. Chickens would be a good way to make a little bit of money and give her more to do day to day. Jamison knew this, but a dog would still be cool.

“Hope they like me,” he sighed wistfully and dried off the last plate.

“And why wouldn’t they? Chickens can be a bit mean but-” she cut herself off and put a sympathetic hand on his back. Jamison didn’t have the easiest time befriending animals. While his presence, even when disguised, could still be a bit off-putting to humans, animals sniffed him out like a hound. He had only met a few creatures that weren’t spooked by him, even Klaus’s deer that he saw for a good few months every year were still terrified of him. There was a reason he wasn’t allowed in the barn anymore, but it wasn’t his fault.

“Well, they’re going to be my chickens, and I like you, so I’m sure they will too.”

Jamison nodded, but his sulking didn’t stop. “I guess you outta be going to bed, huh?” He didn’t need to ask though, he knew the answer.

“Yes, I should,” she answered, hand still lingering. “I don’t mean to keep you from doing your work, but get home safe,” Ana asked of him. She always did, and Jamison always was fine. He was not the first Krampus spirit, he knew that, bu as far as he was aware, it was incredibly difficult for him to die. Even though he could experience pain, death itself was a very distant idea.

“You know me, I’ll be fine,” he reassured.

“Alright, g’night.”

“Goodnight Jamison.”

Chapter Text

The journey through the world had always been quite fun to Krampus. Of course, he was chosen to enjoy what he did, so it made sense. Though he let Ana believe what she wanted, he wasn’t truly good. Not that any human or spirit other than her could be truly good in his eyes. But he was especially bad. It was simply what he was meant to do. No person could be chosen if they weren’t to find enjoyment in causing trouble. Krampus cackled when he would drag things through the mud, giggled when poking holes in tires, laughed maniacally while rotting foods, and at any wrong deed.

Sometimes he would hide amongst the shadows and listen to people speak their grievances. Ana was lucky to have gained his favor, considering the satisfaction derived from watching people fall upon manufactured misfortune.

One of Krampus’s favorite things to do was spook cattle from their fields. He did it rarely, while he could care less for the farmers or field hands, he had to admit that he didn’t want the animals to run into any real danger, which is why he could only do it on certain occasions. Letting mice and squirrels into the walls and attics was another activity he loved dearly, and did it quite often. There was a special joy in watching them scavenge and stuff themselves in the pantry. He also supposed it was nice to find that some animals were not bothered by him. One of Krampus’s favorite creatures being the sewer rats in cities. They had quite fun playing in the garbage and septic waters with him.

He was happy to have finished Europe and made it through most of the north in only a couple of days. Although coming upon the spirits that Klaus sent out to spread cheer had set him in a slightly rotten mood. Sometimes he wondered if Klaus even enjoyed his work. Krampus was to do all his work on his own, with no assistance, no elves or wife or deer or sled. It seemed to him that Klaus was all but bribed to continue his work.

Krampus would disorganize a drawer, only to turn away and back to find that everything had been put back in place. He knocked a dish from the counter, yet it didn’t shatter on the floor. The holiday spirit followed him as he moved further south, like an unwanted shadow. Though he knew it was keeping balance, not solely trying to undo his work, but he loathed its presence nonetheless. Often it felt as if it sucked out his joy and handed it back to the humans around them.

By Krampus’s fifth day, he was glad to be almost halfway done with the world. It was no different than normal, and he didn’t know why he expected anything else. He would always start out excited to begin his mischief, traveling on his own for a few happy days. Then Klaus would see the balance starting to tip, feel Krampus getting more power than he was to have, and send out spirits to clean up after him. And then the joy was lost. The last couple days always sucked, and he was gonna have to get used to it eventually. When it was finally time to go back to the house, he was just about ready to explode.

He had just about burst through the door, until he caught voices on the wind and thought better of it. Pissed off was the only way to put how he felt when he faded into the home only to see Mako again, sitting on the floor of the living room with Ana, and all the little chicks. There were seven of them in a tub with bedding, food, water, and a heat lamp hooked up to the top. Mako was wearing that god-forsaken green knit sweater and his hair was up in that stupid man bun. His pig was there too, snuffling at the carpet but mostly interested in the chicks.

Krampus’s heart sank when he saw Ana smiling warmly at Mako.

He watched as Mako scooped up one of the chicks and tentatively held it out to the pig, who sniffed at it carefully, paused for a moment, and then squealed with delight, nudging and nuzzling at Mako’s hand.

“You weren’t lying when you said she is good with other animals,” Ana laughed gently at the scene.

Mako nodded, “Pearl loved the critters we used to have. Just her and me now.”

Ana nodded sympathetically, but if she was curious she didn’t show it, didn’t push.

Krampus leaned in closer to the conversation, knowing if he was in physical form that his irritation would be about as obvious as a floodlight in an otherwise pitch-black room. But apparently, he leaned in just a little too close. A collective shiver suddenly seemed to go down everyone’s spine and Pearl squeaked, trying to dive into Mako’s lap.

“Oh-Pearl,” he mumbled with a concerned tone. He set the chick back down with the others and scooped her into a better position on his lap, attempting to calm her with some affection.

Meanwhile, Ana had begun to look around the room with a knowing expression on her face.

Good, Krampus thought, now maybe she’ll make him leave.

“I’d like to come by again sometime,” Mako said, starting to help Pearl get her harness on, “but I need to go to the store.”

“Oh, alright. Don't be a stranger,” Ana responded, walking him and Pearl to the door.

“I won’t be. And if you ever need any help, are curious about something with the chicks, you know who to ask.”

“Of course.”

…

“Jamie, I know you’re here. If you stay like that you can’t hold the chicks.”

As soon as Ana acknowledged him, he was standing in front of her. She seemed happy enough to see him, but Jamie could tell she was just a little irritated.

“I didn’t try to scare anyone, just so you know. I mean it when I say I can’t help it,” he told her sadly, his head dropping just a little.

“I… I know, I’m sorry. How have things been?” She changed the subject quickly, putting a hand on his back and leading him towards the living room to sit by the chicks.

“It was the same as always,” he sighed, looking down at the chicks that were all huddled up, eyes darting nervously around the room. Except for one. He reached in with a shaky hand, faltering when it gave him a side-eye.

“Let me help,” Ana reached in and scooped up the chick, which went easy. “Cup your hands together,” she instructed. She settled her hands in Jamie’s, then pulled them apart slowly until the chick stepped off into his hands.

He watched with wide eyes and bated breath, scared that if he moved or made a sound that it would ruin the moment.

Ana pulled her hands away completely and smiled softly, huffing out a single, quiet laugh. “He likes you after all.”

Jamison looked in awe as it pecked around at his hands a few times before settling down, ruffling its wings, then resting its head down and blinking slowly to sleep.

“It… does,” he whispered.

“You and Mako are going to have to fight over that one I’m afraid. He and Pearl seemed to like it quite a bit as well.”

He hated to hear about Mako, but he was too absorbed by the little chicken resting in his hand to care about Mako.

“They can suck it,” he muttered noncommittally. “This one is mine.”

The two were enjoying a nice dinner when Ana asked a question that had been bothering her for a while.

“Jamison?”

“Mph?” He made a questioning sound as best he could with a mouth full of hawawshi, a kind of meat pie, never one to have the best manners.

“How well are you able to recharge like this? If causing mischief, as you say, restores your energy, then wouldn’t disguising yourself and not getting into trouble, or at least a lot of trouble, be draining?” She asked him, following up the question with a polite, small bite of food.

He paused, swallowing down the mouthful of dinner.

“Honestly I only have a half answer,” he sighed, taking a quick sip of water. “The limit of my powers doesn’t matter during winter, but it’s still not limitless. I sort of get energy from the result I guess is the best way I can explain it. It’s the emotions and stuff that actually give me my energy. So I have to take breaks in between trips.” There were only a few things that irritated Jamison quite as much as having to admit his lack of understanding. When there was so much that he didn’t know or understand, he often found himself proud of his knowledge in the Krampus and Klaus area of things.

“But not losing as much energy from a disguised physical form as I’d expect?” He shrugged, “I dunno. Luck, I guess?”

“Well, whatever the reason, I’m happy to have you here.”

Krampus could sleep, if he wanted to. But it was necessary, and as far he could tell, the benefits were minimal. Besides, he was restless in nature, and it had been so long that even if he wanted to, he wasn’t sure that he’d be able to at that point. So then, what did he do while Ana slept?

Well, sometimes he would just drift around the village. He didn’t get that whole community aspect of it, but at least he could see the shops. Looking at the stocked shelves of the local market was always a decent way to find something to do, or seeing what the special at the cafe was and trying to guess what it tasted like. But his favorite thing to do drifting around would guarantee to get him in big trouble if Ana ever found out.

Krampus loved to tinker with scrap metals in Torbjörn’s workshop. And sometimes, if Torb was up late that night working, he’d get to watch him build. It was entrancing to see something come to life all from simple blueprints. Personally, he considered himself to be more of a hands-on learner, so he frequently had to ignore the itch to jump in and follow his lead just as Brigitte often did.

But after being back at Ana’s for a few days, he found himself not wanting to indulge in his usual nightly activities, until on the fourth night he suddenly found himself on the opposite end of town, outside of a small cottage that he was starting to grow far too familiar with.

Grumbling to himself, Krampus drifted inside, as if he was being made to, even though he knew it was purely up to him, he still found himself poking around Mako’s home. The layout was no different from Ana’s. The front door opened up to a hall. The first doorway to the left was where you would enter the living room. At the end of the small hall, you could go right, where there were four doors, two small bedrooms, an office, and a bathroom. If you went through the doorway to the left, you’d enter the kitchen that was open to the dining room. From there the back door was furthest back to the right and the living room opened onto the dining room on the left. The whole house was also carpeted, save for the bathroom (he hoped) and the kitchen. The walls had a half wood paneling on the bottom and walls painted cream on top.

Mako was exactly where Krampus had expected him to be. Sitting on the couch with Pearl, watching the TV at the opposite end of the room. There was an empty bowl of something on the coffee table in front of him, and the majority of the light in the room came from the TV and a lit candle placed not too far from the bowl.

He looked over at what was playing, curiosity piqued by a film that didn’t seem all too festive, when the screen froze.

“Hey!” He shouted to Mako, who, of course, couldn’t hear him.

“Come on girl,” he nudged the sleeping pig until she perked up, getting to her feet.

Krampus followed, intrigued as Mako hobbled to the back door, Pearl already standing at it, wiggling around. The second that the door was opened, she dashed out into the yard. Mako shook his head.

“Crazy thing,” he mumbled affectionately, watching her slow and sniff around at the ground.

Krampus giggled to himself, drifting closer to her. At least Mako kept good company.

But suddenly, he was too close. Pearl squealed and bolted towards the flimsy wood fence, easily crashing through the old, weak plank.

Mako started, calling her name once, and then began to hurry after her.

Krampus was equally as surprised, having gotten too comfortable and, for a moment, forgetting what he was. Fortunately, he was quick to recover, and raced after Pearl. He was quicker than Mako could ever be, catching up to her in mere moments. He tried to go in front of her, but it seemed that she didn’t know where he was, only that he was there, and she continued running. He knew there were wolves in the woods, she could very well be in trouble. He panicked, realizing the only way to make her stop would be to show himself and make her run in the other direction.

Krampus flew a few feet ahead of her and, without thinking, dropped into his human form, as Pearl barreled toward him. The second she saw him, she stopped, skidding through the snow from momentum. She tilted her head at him in confusion, Jamison unknowingly mirroring the movement. Why wasn’t she running from him?

“Pearl, go on,” he made a shooing motion back in the direction of the house, but it was apparently the wrong move. Upon hearing her name, she perked up and waddled over to him, sniffing at his legs.

“Ah, um,” he stared down at her nervously, trying to carefully step back from her.

“Pearl!” Loud steps quickly grew close. Jamison had gotten distracted and accidentally let himself forget that Mako was chasing after her. But before he could react, Mako emerged through the trees, stopping dead in his tracks when he saw Jamie, who was equally rooted to the spot.

He had allowed himself to be seen as Krampus a few times before. Most people generally accepted his existence but just to be safe, it was good to be spotted now and again. But Ana was the only person who has ever seen him as anything else. And he had never been seen by accident. Up until that very moment.

“I-you wouldn’t happen to live in the town?” Mako asked, though by his tone it seemed he meant it in a very interrogational manner. He knew Jamison wasn’t from the village.

“I-” every part of him screamed that he should have been running, he should just dart behind a tree or into some foliage and disappear. But he couldn’t. His mind refused to catch up with the situation, or maybe it was his muscles that wouldn’t listen.

Pearl glanced between the two of them, then marched back close to Jamie and turned to face Mako.

“Pearl,” he called her, “we don’t know him. Get over here.”

She continued to look at him as she sat down defiantly in the snow.

“Alright man, I don’t wanna do this but,” Mako stormed closer, clearly making up his mind that there was something off about Jamie. And then, not to Mako’s surprise but certainly to his own, Jamie scrambled back and tripped, tumbling into the snow. That made Pearl finally move away from him and walk back to Mako’s side.

“Okay okay! Christ man I’m just lost!” Jamie shouted, flinching away. What the fuck was wrong with him? He could easily murder this guy if he wanted and yet there he was, groveling for some sympathy.

“Where are you trying to go?”

Fuck, uh. “There’s some town in these mountains, I’m renting a spare room and Ana, uh, what’s her name… Ana Amari’s house!” Normally he prided himself on being able to weasel his way out of any sort of sticky situation, but this was probably his worst work.

Mako seemed to mull over his words for a few minutes, before he sighed and grabbed Jamison’s arm, yanking him up. But he was a little rougher than necessary, resulting in him flying into Mako, grabbing his shoulders to steady himself. He always forgot how warm humans were, though Mako seemed to be especially so.

“If I get you into town can you find her house yourself? Or…”

“I’m fine,” Jamie responded, a bit more aggressively than necessary. He had to watch his tone, Mako didn’t know him, so he had to pretend he didn’t either.

“Hey, do-you should come to my house, let me give you a change of clothes, I think I could find something small enough.”

Jamie just gave him a look.

“Um, your clothes are going to be soaked, since you fell in the snow.”

“Oh-yeah, I mean, that’d be nice,” he didn’t want to take Mako’s clothes but he also didn't want to seem strange. After all, any human would be literally freezing their ass off in his position. Following him back to his cabin, Jamison questioned why he even gave a shit about keeping up the charade. But he figured if Mako did confide in anyone about finding a stranger in the woods who suddenly disappeared, it would be Ana that he would tell. Then again, she probably wouldn’t be a whole lot happier about this. Truly just delaying the inevitable.

Mako led him to the bedroom while Jamie nervously hopped from foot to foot, looking around. He supposed he’d never properly taken in the room during the couple of times he’d been there. The bed looked like a full-sized mattress, and he wondered why Mako didn’t bother getting a queen instead, since it seemed like he probably could use the extra room. There was a giant brown duvet covering most of the bed, seeming to cover up most of the pillows. The bed was wedged in the corner of the room, with a small walnut nightstand with a clock and a lamp on it next to the bed. Against the opposite wall, there was a matching walnut dresser, and the wall by the door was where the closet in the wall was.

“Here,” his attention was snapped back to Mako, who tossed a large sweater and some pants to him.

“Thanks,” Jamie responded, standing there awkwardly, knowing that it generally wouldn’t be acceptable to just strip. He didn’t care about the cold much, but the feeling of the melted snow making the back of his clothes soaked was very much so uncomfortable.

“Oh, uh,” Mako quickly stepped out of the room, shutting the door behind him. Just like with his missing limbs, scars weren’t something he could just fix, so on top of the two prosthetics, he was littered with marks.

He realized that the pants were, thank god, not actually all that long, though he did roll them up a few times just to stay safe, the real issue was how wide they were. But Mako obviously expected that, because he gave him sweats so he could tie them tight. There was no helping the sweater, he was just going to have to deal with the fact that it was swallowing him up. Well it wasn’t like he was going to be wearing it forever, he’d live.

The moment that Jamison opened the door to step out into the hall, Pearl dashed into the room, circling around him and squealing with delight. He wanted to be pissed at her, he wouldn’t be stuck in this situation in the first place if it wasn’t for her getting scared of him, and here she was, acting like she was so excited to see him. But he couldn’t be mad at her. She was adorable, and seeing her be happy caused a subconscious smile to worm its way onto his face.

“Pearl, come on! Sorry about her,” Mako scolded her, shaking his head, “I guess you should take it as a compliment. She’s not normally like this.” Jamie nodded, and the conversation trailed off into a weird quietness again. “I can talk you to Ana’s, but I’m surprised if she’s up.”

Jamison wanted to groan, flip off the universe and ask why the fuck it was putting him in this position. Ana would kill him if he woke her up to get himself out of a stupid situation. She must have been sleeping for over an hour at that point.

“Wouldn’t it be sorta rude to wake her up?” He laughed nervously, hoping that Mako would get the hint that he did not want to be taken to her house. There was no way he’d ever end up in her favor again if he did that.

“Are you… do you want to stay here?” Mako asked incredulously.

Jamison giggled nervously, sounding as manic as he felt, getting a bit hot in the face. God this was so fucking awkward. “I mean if it's okay? If you think she’s already asleep I don’t wanna wake her up and piss her off, be rude, wouldn't it?”

Mako seemed just about as weirded out by the situation, if not more, but reluctantly giving him credit where credit was due, he was handling it really well. “I suppose I have a guest room you could sleep in…” he, fairly, contemplated it for a while until sighing and dragging a hand down his face. “Alright, but I’m taking you to Ana’s first thing in the morning. I trust her judgment but, no offense, I’m not the sort of person to want a stranger sleeping in my house.”

“None taken,” just a little taken.

“Guest bedroom is across from the bathroom then. I’ll toss these in the dryer for you,” Mako told him, taking Jamison’s clothes from him.

“Thanks,” he trudged over to the room diagonal from Mako’s, locking the door behind him. Not bothering to look around at all, he tossed himself dramatically onto the bed, groaning into a pillow. It was stupid. So incredibly fucking stupid that he wouldn’t just leave. He probably could, if he wanted. But it felt like sneaking out. If Mako tried to get him for any reason in the night and he was gone, that wouldn’t bode well for him. He already let himself get caught once, it would be embarrassing to do it again.

After sitting huddled up in the sheets for a bit, Jamison resigned from his pouting, his head starting to hurt from clenching his jaw. He inched down further in the sheets until he felt buried and he had to admit that the bed was very comfortable. Everything seemed super fluffed up, plus the giant clothes he was wearing, made it feel as though he was drowning in coziness.

He reached out of the sheets and grabbed a pillow, curling around it, holding on tight. He considered, for a moment, that he should take off his prosthetics. They weren’t the worst thing in the world, and he generally could ignore the feeling, but if he was gonna try to sleep for the first time in a very long while, being as comfortable as possible would help a lot. But ultimately, it felt far too vulnerable. So with the metal still slightly biting into his thigh and arm, he curled up tight, subconsciously frowning, and closed his eyes.

Chapter Text

It took a couple of hours, maybe more, he couldn’t be sure, but at some point in the darkness and the sheets, Jamison actually managed to fall asleep. Though he fell asleep comfortably, the dream didn’t fit very well. Things were dark for a while, and everything was okay, but then nothing was even slightly alright.

It was quiet and dark, but a loud ringing sound started fading in. He opened his eyes, once, twice, blinking awake. He squinted at the incredibly harsh, white light as his eyes adjusted to the dry, dirt landscape around him. Through the ringing in his ears, he heard loud sobs in between a heaving wheezing. As Jamison’s eyes started to sting he realized that it was him. His throat felt raw, his lungs likely burned from the dust and smoke, and intense pain on the side of his head and even worse pain at his elbow both wormed their way through the adrenaline rush he was experiencing. He tried to prop himself up on his elbows to look around, but when his right one connected with the ground, he screamed at a white-hot pain that shot his nerves all the way up to his shoulder. He looked down only to see a bloody, mangled stump where his arm should have been. His head already spinning, there was nothing he could do to combat the wave of nausea at the sight, other than hunch over and puke on the ground. Jamison felt faint and clammy, but he resisted passing out again as best as he could. Liquid dripped down his head into his eye, and when he tried to open it, the whole world was tinted red through it.

He huffed and tried to pull himself up from the ground, but he didn’t have even close to enough strength. He pitched forward, rolling to the side and letting his left shoulder deal with the brunt of the impact. Jamison tried to look up at the wreckage in front of him, some sort of building that had been blown to smithereens with smoke billowing up from it, but he only managed for a few seconds before the whiplash in his neck was too much and he had to look forward again. He couldn’t place his finger on it, he was still far too out of it, but there was something in that building, someone, and the idea that they were injured, maybe dead, kicked his heartrate up an unhealthy amount. Jamison attempted to turn himself just enough that he was facing the destruction again. He yelled out a name that he couldn’t even hear. He called once. Then again. On the third he shouted for them until his lungs were out of air. When there was no response he curled in on himself and screamed until his voice broke and his vision was disturbed by black spots.

Jamison startled awake to a room that was silent besides his own whimpering and sniffling. Alarmed, he touched a hand to his cheek, feeling dampness on his face. There was a seed of pure panic planted deep in his chest which refused to go away. He was hyperventilating, choking on his own breath. He was making a complete mess of himself, tears, snot, and spit soaking his sweater and all the sheets that were anywhere near his face. He was trembling, and every time he took in a breath, his whole body shook hard.

“Nononono,” he babbled like a complete idiot while curling around the pillow and squeezing it like he was trying to kill it. Jamison was like that for an indeterminately long amount of time. He had stopped shaking at some point, laying completely motionless for some time after his tears had dried.

Only when he heard the floor creaking in the other bedroom did he finally come out of his strange, dazed state. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, still feeling foggy about the world around him. He stumbled on his feet, nearly falling into the door trying to support himself, grabbing the door handle to steady himself. When he stepped out in the hall, he saw Mako leaving his room as well, not hiding that he noticed the state of Jamison.

“I’m fine,” he mumbled, voice worn, not waiting for Mako to ask. He fumbled with the lock to the bathroom door for a few moments before succeeding. He grabbed for the clothes on the counter and changed into them, never so happy to put on the cruddy sweater and pants just because they actually fit him. He only took one sideways glance in the mirror but he regretted it heavily. It was a quick look but god he just looked ruined. His eyes and lips were still puffy and red as well as his nose. His cheeks looked all blotchy and there was crust around his eyes. Dried tears. He thought briefly of the nightmare and his legs trembled, almost sending him to the floor. Jamie was sure that the slight extra stability of his metal leg was the only thing that kept him standing upright.

“You okay in there?” Mako called from the hall, and Jamie grunted in frustration.

“I’m fine.”

“Are you ready to go then?”

“Please, lead the way.”

Thank fuck Ana played along. Jamison should have figured she would, and he did, but… okay he was worried a bit unnecessarily, obviously she was smart enough to catch on and she wouldn’t have left him to drown either. And she was surprisingly understanding of the situation when he explained what had happened.

“You’re sure you’re not mad?” Jamison asked again while he helped Ana prepare lunch.

“Do you want me to be?” She threatened, unimpressed by his ability to just drop it. “Honestly I figured that you didn’t just sit around here every night, and I understand you weren’t trying to scare Pearl.” She patted him on the shoulder as she passed him to get to the sink. “If I’m being truthful, you did a good thing, I’m proud of that.”

“Oh.”

“Though I know better than to ask, you should know I’m curious about Mako of all people. The pig can’t be that interesting.” Ana gave him some sort of look, as if she knew something, but whatever it was that she knew, he wasn’t catching on.

“Does this mean I get to go to the store with you now?” It was something that Jamie had clearly been itching to know with the excitement in his voice.

Ana stopped, as if she hadn’t actually considered the fact that Jamie could go out now that they had a proper excuse for his residence in Ana’s home.

“I… suppose so. As long as you behave yourself,” she pointed a finger at him and he nodded enthusiastically.

Jamie’s mind was racing now, he could go anywhere if he wanted. The bakery, the cafe, all the shops, town square. Whatever he wished. He buzzed with excitement and the room started to feel very warm.

“Don’t make me open the window, it’s snowing outside.”

“Sorry!”

Jamison was gonna have to leave again, and this was the most torn up about it he’d ever been. A couple days felt so long when he suddenly had so much more to look forward to when he got back. Plus the chicks had finally started to warm up to him after he spent the rest of the day with them. He named the one that liked him from the start “rat” which he had quite the laugh at, much to Ana’s bafflement. If she didn’t understand just how funny it was to name a chicken rat, then that was fine with him.

Watching Rat be all affectionate with Jamison seemed to convince the others that he wasn’t a threat, and eventually they let Jamie pick them up and didn’t run away chirping when he stuck his hand in the plastic tub. But he was nervous that leaving for a few days would set back that progress. Ana reassured him that even if it did, it wouldn’t take much to get them comfortable with him again.

Jamison returned a couple of days later. He couldn’t believe it, but he would actually consider the past few days boring. Normally he adored his job, but when all he could think about was the small village, everything else seemed so mundane as the days dragged on.

He caught Ana getting bundled up when he got home, putting on her gloves and earmuffs in the hallway by the door.

“Jamison!” She scolded him when he popped in right next to her, “You should know better!”

Jamie looked at her sheepishly as she put a hand on her chest and breathed in deeply.

“Sorry, sorry, you’re going out though? Right? I can go?” There was no space between the questions for her to respond.

“Jamie! Calm down. You… that should be okay,” Ana answered. “But,” she gestured to the closet, “get some warm clothes on, sweater and gloves at least. I know you don’t get cold, but try to fit in a bit.”

Normally Jamison would have argued but it made enough sense, and he was far too excited about the situation to back-talk at all. So he rushed to the closet and started looking through the jackets. There weren’t too many options, a few more than expected that were probably Fareeha’s, and there was also a small basket with gloves and earmuffs. Not putting in too much thought, he grabbed a dark brown coat that looked hand-made, and put on some black gloves.

After he had all the clothes on, Ana sighed and held out some fuzzy earmuffs.

“But-”

“Ah!”

Jamison sighed and grumbled something under his breath, but took them and put them on.

“Thank you,” she smiled and opened the front door. “After you.”

It should have been expected, but the town looked significantly more lively during the day. The soft lights at night made it look much warmer, but the birds chirping and fluttering around, the sun low in the sky sending rays of light cascading through the trees, and the different voices from the town in the distance made the whole place feel so much more alive than it ever did after dark.

“Ana!”

Jamie’s focus snapped forward, he hadn’t even realized how close they were to the grocery store. A young-looking girl was holding open the door. He recognized the teal hair immediately as Kiriko, despite only having seen her a few times. She was wearing a chunky red and white letterman jacket over a casual pair of black sweats and a white graphic T with a red kitsune posed in the center. She wasn’t dressed quite as formally as he had seen her before, but the clothing colors still seemed to fit her usual style.

“Good afternoon Kiri, those pants look very cozy,” Ana noted the casual clothing.

“Mom let me stock shelves and organize in the back, she’s working the register today.” Kiriko responded, tossing a glance to Jamie.

“Who’s that?” She asked as they made their way inside.

“Jamison!” He blurted before Ana could answer. “Uh, I’m staying here for the holidays, get away from home a bit. Miss Amari is kindly renting her spare room to me.”

“Huh,” Kiriko shrugged as the door shut behind her, ringing the bell. “Well,” she gave him a quick up and down, with an expression that he couldn’t quite place, almost as if she wasn’t sure how she was feeling either, “I hope you enjoy your stay.” Then she disappeared through a door to the back.

“Don’t take it to heart,” Ana patted Jamie on the shoulder, “she’s young, judgmental sometimes. But very protective of the place, almost like you.”

He responded with a face. She shouldn’t have been protective in the same way he was. She might have grown up there, but how could it possibly mean as much to her as it did to him?

“Don’t get all bent out of shape. Carry the grocery basket for me, okay? Shouldn’t take us too long, I’m not getting that much.”

As they walked through the store, Jamison couldn’t help but to look at all the foods they passed. Going through the desserts and candies Ana had a particularly difficult time managing him, but he did his best not to cause too many problems for her. At one point, a package of sweets that looked sort of like cookies caught his eye and he grabbed them, squinting, brushing up on his reading skills.

“Unappealing or something?”

He jumped at Kiriko, who had managed to sneak up next to him.

“Uh-no, sorry, um,” Jamison wasn’t sure exactly how to respond.

“Have you been to an Asian Market before? You seem pretty lost,” she questioned, now sounding more amused than hostile.

“No, guess I’ve never gotten out much,” he laughed nervously.

She tilted her head, pausing a moment before walking away.

“Seems to like you,” Ana spoke up.

“Hey!” Jamison snapped, “you coulda helped me out!”

“I can’t talk for you,” she teased him while reading over the prices of the foods she’d gathered in the basket so far.

“Well, it doesn’t seem like she does like me all that much.”

“She left you alone after you answered, didn’t she? If she didn’t like you it wouldn’t have been left there,” she sighed and shook her head. “I could have sworn I wasn’t getting this much stuff.”

“Mako’s coming over tomorrow, you know. Maybe you should hang out with us, talk to him a bit,” Ana had been encouraging Jamie for a few days at that point, to talk with Mako. He thought he’d been socializing enough out of his own volition, mostly with Lucio, though Ana had been right that Kiriko had taken an odd liking to him as well, mostly they went back and forth teasing each other. So he wasn’t sure why she was trying so hard to get him to talk with Mako more.

At his silence, Ana sighed. “Listen, he’s… Jamie, I'm just about the only person he talks to. He’s very nice but I feel that he’s too shy for his own good.”

Ah, so it wasn’t for Jamison’s sake, but Mako’s. At least that meant that maybe he didn’t dislike Jamie all that much as he had first thought. Perhaps it was just that he didn’t know how to interact with anyone. Which was a bit humorous if he was being honest. Between a human and a mischievous spirit, you’d assume the human would be better at making friends. They seemed to be opposites in some ways, Jamie never knew when to shut his mouth, while Mako rarely opened it.

“Fine,” he sighed, but accepted it would make Ana happy. “But doesn’t it make sense for him to talk to someone that’s actually here, year-round? A human?”

“Yes but you’re already here, aren’t you? And besides, if he can manage speaking to you, I’m sure he’ll adjust just fine to everyone else.”

Jamie ruffled a bit at that. It was true, he couldn’t argue with her that he could be very overbearing, and typically was, but it was a little rude to say, wasn’t it? He nearly opened his mouth to protest the statement, but decided ultimately against it. It would waste the energy of them both, there was no point.

“Hopefully he doesn’t like me too much though,” he giggled to himself, “otherwise you’re gonna have to cover for me when I go out for a few days again!”

Jamison was laying in the bed in Ana’s guest room, for the first time ever. He had been too scared to sleep, terrified really, since the night at Mako’s. But at the same time, he was incredibly freaked out by the idea of going around that night. He had tried, but every sound or shift in his vision filled him with an icy chill. The nightmare had been a memory, or at least inspired by something from his past. When he was a human. And Jamie didn’t want to know anything about his past. He knew there were bad things that happened, he wasn’t born without two limbs, there were scars at both of the stumps, and it only made sense in his mind that a bad person would become a bad spirit. So he had to ask himself why a part of him wanted to sleep again. It was irritating how he had zero interest, but now that the can of worms had been open, he was morbidly curious. Then again, Ana made Jamie feel like he was more than an evil being, and if he, as a human, had been terrible like he thought, how could there be any hope for Krampus.

Jamison snapped out of his spiraling when he realized that his breath was coming out as white puffs of air, and there was a chill deep in his bones. He tried to get things under control, hoping that the rest of the house, especially Ana’s room, was still warm.

Alright, he decided. He was going to lie down, and if he fell asleep, then he fell asleep. If he had a bad dream, then he had a bad dream. There was nothing he could do to control the outcome of the situation, so he was going to have to just let go. Or else things would only get worse.

A few hours passed, but eventually a heavy slumber took him.

Chapter Text

Jamison was startled, albeit relieved, to find himself awake the next morning without a seed of panic planted in his chest. He knew exactly who and where he was, and there was little doubt in his mind that he was safe.

Though he hadn’t wanted to have any bad dreams, a strange part of him was disappointed that the night had passed so calmly. Regardless, he was awake now, so he pulled himself up from the warm sheets that had enveloped him while he slept and crept carefully out of bed. He wasn’t sure when Ana would be up, but he did know that he didn't want to disturb her if she was still resting.

Jamison ended up in the living room, fussing over the chicks. Taking out their water and cleaning it, replacing the old, gross feed, scooping up the poop, and so on. Once things were looking good, he scooped up Rat, who had been hopping around and pecking at the side of the tub, and cradled him against his chest before flapping him up and down a few times on his hand, encouraging Rat to flap. It had been a few weeks now and he couldn't quite fly properly yet, but they could all glide at the very least.

“Look at you, eh? Gonna be flyin’ in no time!” He cheered quietly for Rat and then put him back in carefully.

“You slept last night?”

Embarrassingly, Jamison yelped slightly as Ana’s sudden appearance in the kitchen caught him off guard.

“Uh-I, yeah, I did,” he recovered as he responded to the question.

“In that?” She inquired further, gesturing to his clothes. “Were you uncomfortable? I could have lent you some sleepwear.”

He shrugged, “I dunno, they’re the most comfortable clothes I've ever worn.”

The PJ pants he typically wore were very soft, and while the brown sweater was admittedly a bit itchy, it was all he had so he’d never cared to think about wearing anything more comfortable than it.

“Well I’ll lend you some tonight,” she sighed, but there was a gentle smile spread across her face. “Anyway, I’d like to remind you Mako will be over for lunch, I hope you talk to him, and please, behave.”

Though Ana phrased it as though she were requesting politely, Jamison saw right through her ask to act properly as the warning that it was. As always, he didn’t want to upset her, or risk getting on her bad side. So even if he wasn't particularly fond of the idea, he was never one to upset Ana if it could be helped.

Jamison hopped at the opportunity to help out with making lunch. Ana had a very brief and plain breakfast of cereal in order to spend more time making a good meal for the guest. She settled on Koshari, left preparing the rice and lentils to Jamison, meanwhile she worked on the slightly more advanced tasks such as frying the onions. He wanted to be helpful, and he could be, as long as it wasn't something that required too much skill from him. There had been enough kitchen disasters over the years that the both of them were well aware it wasn't the best idea to give him a job more difficult than stir.

Ana graciously let him fiddle around with the radio until he paused when a silky voice started playing from the speaker. He had heard his fair share of pop, upbeat-sounding holiday music but this was different. There was a garbled quality to it as well, indicating it was a very old song.

He was not the only one whose attention was snagged by the radio. Ana perked up and gave Jamison a quick glance and smile.

“This is something that would have been popular when my parents were younger. When I play you a movie and say people were a big fan of it back in the day, that’s what my parents would have done for this sort of music.”

Jamison wasn't sure what it was about the song, be it the dated quality or smooth voices, but the song evoked some sort of feeling in it he couldn’t quite place. It was as if he was nostalgic for something that he’d never even experienced before.

Once that station was chosen, everything he did felt more special in some sort of way, each task in helping Ana was done with a newfound care. He was experiencing a unique peace, something he’d only felt a handful of times, every single one occurring in the home and presence of Ana. It reminded him of just how important she was to him.

“And there we go,” Ana uttered as she finally finished placing the onions and tomatoes on the last serving.

Jamison flapped one of his hands back and forth a few times, excited to get a taste of the dish. It was something Ana had made plenty of times, a sort of comfort food for her, that had turned into a meal he quickly began to enjoy as well, consider it a favorite of his. Lucky for him, he didn’t have to wait too much longer before he could dig in, as it was only a minute or two before a timid knock was heard at the front door. Ana was still busying herself with the dirty pots and such, so she asked Jamison to go ahead and let Mako in.

Jamison opened the door and found that he was wearing that sweater which had been torn and then kindly repaired by Ana.

“Ana’s in the kitchen,” he explained before quickly tacking on a “come on in” when he realized he might be coming off as a bit rude.

Mako broke eye contact for a moment, looking past him into the home, before nodding quietly and entering the house when Jamie stepped out of his way.

“Ah, hello dear,” Ana warmly greeted him, “lunch is on the table, take whichever seat you want.”

Mako took the chair with its back to the living room, and Jamison took the seat across, leaving Ana to sit between the two of him.

“Still adjusting well?” Ana broke the ice with a question directed at Mako.

“Yeah, Pearl is doing better too, she had been pretty upset by the change at first,” he shrugged, “but I think she’s over it now.”

“Does she miss me?” Jamison teased before he could think about it very much. To his pleasant surprise, Mako snorted at the question.

“She might, she has been a bit mopey.”

“Maybe you should go and visit then,” Ana encouraged. He shot her a quick look and received one in return, but luckily Mako seemed none the wiser to the exchange.

Jamison sighed to himself and took a bite of his food, glancing up at Mako as he chewed. Despite the fact that he seemed to be pretty reserved, something about his presence still managed to demand the attention of the room. Perhaps it was his size, and certainly, it was a factor, but there was something else about him as well that made it feel as though Jamie was meant to just watch his every move.

He continued to stare shamelessly while Mako and Ana chatted more. He nearly tore his gaze away to butt in, say something mildly irritating, until he was brought to a stop by the sharp canines in Mako’s mouth. He remembered glimpsing them once before but he’d still nearly forgotten they were there. And he had apparently completely missed his bottom teeth that first time. Not only were his upper canines a sharp point, but two teeth on his bottom row were thick and pointed as well, seeming to narrowly miss causing an underbite. They reminded Jamison of tusks.

His eyes traveled further up until he realized Mako had glanced back at him. Jamison tore his eyes away immediately, feeling a lot more embarrassed than he usually would. He looked over to Ana, who had a strange twinkle in her eye at his floundering, but regardless she graciously offered him an out from the awkward exchange.

“Jamie, would you be a dear and take the dishes to the sink? Mako, would you like to sit in the living room with me? Or do you perhaps want something to drink? Coffee? Tea?”

Jamison scrambled up immediately and collected the bowls, rinsing them and loading them in the dishwasher. Mako had respectfully declined a drink of anything other than water and was sitting, conversing with Ana by the time the dishes had been dealt with. He settled on the floor by the coffee table since there wasn’t any more space left on the couch.

“Ah, Jamison, Mako was curious about what brought you here over the holidays,” Ana greeted him.

“Oh, well,” he sighed and wrung his hands together, “I don’t like to talk about it a whole lot, just trying to get away from home I suppose.” While he may not have had a home to be getting away from, there was something to it. Nowhere else did he feel as comfortable, happy, and safe as he did around Ana and in their little town. He supposed it was simply that he was running to her rather than away from something else.

“Sorry, didn't mean to ask a personal question,” Mako apologized.

“It’s fine,” Jamie shrugged it off. There was no point in pretending to be offended, especially when Ana was hoping they’d get along, for Mako’s sake. Not Jamie’s.

As if just realizing something, Ana stood suddenly from her seat, “I'll be right back, excuse me for just a moment.”

Jamison watched her leave the room and wondered what exactly it was that she had. He didn’t necessarily pride himself on reading people very well (as in he was really bad at it) but he was pretty confident that she seemed to be excited in some capacity.

“You good at talkin’ to people? Seems you and Ana hit it off well,” Mako asked, breaking the silence that teetered on the edge of being uncomfortable.

“I mean I have been told that I don’t know when to stop talking,” he answered, “though that does work for everyone. Just her I guess.”

Mako made a slight face, Jamie thought it looked a little bit like he’d tasted something sour and was trying to act like it was no big deal. Then he sighed.

“Well don’t be hard on yourself, I’m sure Ana ain’t the only person who could use a chatterbox. Just cause you’re not to everyone’s liking doesn’t mean you’re to no one’s liking.”

And, well, Jamison certainly hadn’t expected him to say something like that and then give him a smile that made all the ruggedness to his face suddenly seem so much softer. He wasn’t sure how he should respond to that, but luckily right after he opened his mouth, no clue what would actually come out, Ana came back into the living room and saved him the embarrassment.

“I hope it fits, I had to guess the size,” she said as she held up a knit jumpsuit that looked to be entirely too small for Mako. Jamie tilted his head, confused, but Mako seemed excited and maybe a little shy.

“You didn’t have to-”

“Oh no I insist, consider it an early Christmas present for her.”

Her? Right, Pearl. Jamie wondered why Mako didn’t bring her over this time around.

“I just couldn’t stand the thought of Pearl running around in the cold,” Ana patted his leg as she sat back down next to Mako on the couch. The sweater wasn’t specifically Christmas coloured, it was red but with thin white stripes, with some buttons up the front, and the bottoms cuffed.

“Thank you,” Mako folded it up and kept it on his lap for the rest of the time he was there.

Chapter Text

“Alright, I think I got it figured out.”

Jamison was enjoying one of his new favorite pastimes: hanging out with Brigitte and watching her tinker around in the workshop.

Kiriko kindly introduced the pair to each other after Jamie did a wonderful job of pretending not to know her when she stopped by the market one day. Once they started hanging out it was almost a guarantee that if he wasn’t at Ana’s, then he was at the workshop.

Today, he was watching her tinker around with what was essentially a device that would scan a piece of metal and explain exactly what it was made up of, if it was rusted at all, and what blueprints they had that the metal could be used for. Overall, something that seemed perfect for her and Torbjörn, would make their work just a bit easier.

The two huddled over the device as Brigitte pointed it at a piece of scrap metal and it scanned. Alas, after a few moments, a screw shot out and hit the table, the scanner made a “pop” noise, and a small bit of smoke puffed out.

Brigitte groaned and flicked the screw, then caught it before it could roll off the table.

“Woah,” Jamie gasped, watching the smoke fizzle out.

“I think I’ll have to talk to Papa.”

“That was cool!” He exclaimed, wrapping an arm around Brigitte and shaking her just a bit.

She laughed and patted him on the shoulder. “I’m happy you think so, but it’s not supposed to do that.”

“Well, it should just do that instead."

“Oh, well, I could make something small that blows up like that, it’d be a lot cooler too.” Suddenly her phone buzzed and she grabbed it to read the message, cringing when she saw it. “Ugh, I completely forgot I told Papa I’d watch a movie with him! Okay, next time we hang out I’ll totally make something to blow up, and I’ll get Kiriko!” And with that, she was out the door.

“When is Fareeha coming back?”

“And Reinhardt,” Ana added to his question with a knowing grin on her face.

“And Reinhardt,” Jamie grumbled after her.

“Both of them will actually be coming down in a little over a week. Are you going to sleep on the couch once they get here? Or, have you even been sleeping?” She asked him, not even entertaining the idea of him getting a bed over either of them.

“If I’m still here,” he shrugged, avoiding the second question. “I could be here, between you and me, there’s enough despair in the world without my help. I might as well be getting paid to sit on my ass.”

“You get paid?”

“No.”

“Well,” Ana said after a few moments, “you’ve always been more than welcome to stay, even if you never have, and Reinhardt being here this year doesn’t change anything.”

“I’ll think about it,” Jamie replied. He did want to be able to stay with Ana for the holidays, but he imagined that he’d mostly be in the way of things. His response was mostly just a polite way of saying no.

Later that night after Ana went to bed, Jamison surprised himself. He’d been sitting around on the couch, watching the chicks sleep calmly one minute, and the next he was halfway to Mako’s, bundled up with a coat, boots, a scarf, and earmuffs, and it wasn’t until he was at Mako’s door, knocking gently, that he realized he had no clue what he was doing there.

“Hello?” Mako grumbled when he opened the door. It was only partially opened, kept mostly shut by the door chain. He seemed tense at first but eased up a bit when he recognized Jamie.

“Hi,” he responded. And then, much later than he should have, he added, “Mind if I hang out for a bit?”

“Er… sure, here let me,” Mako closed the door momentarily, unlocking the door chain, then opened it wide, inviting him in.

He entered the home carefully, walking to the living room, recalling exactly where it was from the last time he’d been there, snooping around. It was just as dimly lit as last time, the only light coming from the TV and a small lamp that didn’t do very much. He took a seat on the couch, tossing all his fuzzy outerwear that he didn't really need over the arm of the couch, not missing Pearl stretched out in the corner of the room on a big dog bed. When Mako came in, Jamison took note of the fact that he appeared to be tired, not as though he’d just been asleep, but rather that he’d been unable to do so.

“So, can I… get you anything to drink?” Mako offered hesitantly. It was clear that he’d never hosted any guests before. Although Jamie couldn’t blame him for being awkward, he hadn’t ever really been a guest, so it seemed neither of them were sure how to behave.

“No, no, I just,” he realized he probably should give some sort of reason for being there. “I wasn’t getting any sort of sleep, but Ana goes to bed early, I guess you struck me as the sort to be up late?”

“Right, well I s’pose you weren’t wrong about that. Mind watching TV?” Mako questioned, taking a seat on the couch.

Jamison shook his head rather eagerly, “All fine by me!”

“Have any preferences? Just had the cable on.”

“Naw I don’t watch shows that much, so ‘m okay with whatever.” And it was true, there certainly wasn’t any TV at the North Pole when he was stuck down there for the majority of every year. He leaned back and watched as Mako selected some streaming service, picked a random movie he didn’t recognize, and started it.

Try as he might to focus on the movie, Jamison found that his eyes were the wandering type, and overall rather uncooperative. Instead of paying attention to the TV, he first was distracted by Pearl, who was snoring lowly, and every once in a while her leg would twitch. Then his eye got caught on something that he’d started finding increasingly more interesting. Mako seemed fairly uninterested in the movie all things considered, but he was still watching with his head resting on his fist, propped up at the elbow on the arm of the couch. His silvery hair was in a low ponytail which wasn't pulled very tight, so strands of hair were loose, especially around his face in a very framing sort of way. Something that he hadn't noticed before, or maybe Mako had simply not worn it until then, was a silver piercing in his nose that reminded him of a bull. His eyes wandered more, traveling down where he saw that Mako was wearing a worn-out tank top that fit him nicely and some loose shorts. Despite the loungewear, he still thought he looked good, finding that he almost preferred the messy look, even if Mako did still look nice when he wore a sweater and pants.

Jamison jumped slightly when Mako turned to him, he hoped that he hadn't noticed the staring.

“I’m gonna grab a snack, do ya want anything?”

Jamison blinked at him, then jolted up from his seat. “Sure! Care if I look around?”

“Be my guest,” Mako told him as they walked to the kitchen, turning on one small light over the sink rather than the harsher overhead light. He opened up the pantry and pulled out a small cup of something.

“What are you getting?”

“Ramen,” he answered simply, grabbing another container, “You want some?”

Frankly, Jamison had no idea what it was, but Mako had said it so matter-of-factly that he felt like it might be strange if he didn’t pretend he knew.

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

Mako nodded and took the second container out of the pantry, “You can go back and play the movie if you want. I’ve seen it before. I don’t know how you cook ramen but I don’t microwave it so we’ll be waiting for a little.”

Jamie shrugged, “I’m okay waiting, don’t want you to get all lonely in here.” The comment earned him a funny look that he hadn’t gotten before. It was different from when Ana gave him a look like he shouldn’t have said something, but it wasn't quite like the look that Kiriko had given him when they first met that implied he was weird and didn’t belong there. He wasn't sure what the look Mako gave him meant.

“Right, well,” he leaned against the counter and looked at Jamison, “what do you do for work?”

“Um,” he thought for a moment, “I travel a lot.”

“Sounds… honestly I don’t think I’d like doing that,” Mako sighed, “I like feeling settled. I never thought I was going to leave my hometown but I had some… family issues and just couldn’t bear being anywhere that was like home.” He gestured around, “And this place is pretty different from Australia so, suppose it works well.”

Jamison was dying to ask what had happened back at home, and while he wasn’t always aware in social situations, knowing that he shouldn’t pry did seem pretty obvious.

“I…” He paused for a long moment to think. He had fun causing mischief, certainly a lot more in the beginning, but now he realized being Krampus had become more of a chore than anything else. It still had its moments here and there, but it’d be a stretch to say that he liked it anymore. “I don’t really like it, just been doing it for so long.”

Mako tilted his head back just a bit, “I get that. What do you like?”

“Well I like messing around with scraps with Brigitte, playing games and going to the cafe with Kiriko, and doing anything with Ana.”

“So you like it here?”

“Yeah, guess so.”

It wasn’t long after that when the water had started to boil and Mako poured it into both of the cups, adding in some sort of seasoning packed afterward and mixing them both. They sat on the couch while they ate, and Jamison had to admit that even though he preferred Ana’s home-cooked meals over anything, the ramen was pretty damn good. He finished his first, not doing a great job at savoring it even though he did like it. Mako looked over at him, himself still eating, and snorted.

“That good, huh?”

Jamison nodded, “And I’m hungry, but yeah.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

Jamie twiddled with his thumbs as he looked around the living room, noticing a few different things that he hadn’t seen before, the main thing catching his eye being a box in the corner that was still all taped up. He gestured to it.

“Still unpacking?”

“Hm?” Mako looked up, eyes zeroing in on the box before his expression dropped, “Yeah-I mean no, it’s not anything that I care to unpack is what I mean. I’ll probably just toss it in the closet, or the garage since,” he shrugged, “not a lot of roads around here.”

There weren’t any streets in the town, save for one road for truckers to deliver supplies or for the rare occasion that someone came to visit and hitched a ride up. If anyone living there did have a car, it was kept in a rented garage space at the bottom of the mountain.

“Alright,” Jamison nodded, feeling intrigued now about what was in it. Realistically it probably wasn't that big of a deal, just something personal that he didn’t care for Jamison to know about, but that made him all the more curious. But regardless of how interested he was, there was nothing he could do at the moment, he couldn’t poof into his spirit form and start rummaging right then and there. So instead he leaned back into the cushions of the couch, curling up on himself.

Jamison stared at the TV for a long time without taking in anything that he saw, never even noticing that Mako had put on another movie. For the first time in over a week, he found himself feeling tired, blinking slower and slower until he accidentally fell asleep huddled up in the corner of Mako’s couch.

Chapter Text

When Jamison woke up the next morning, he experienced a level of embarrassment that he hadn’t realized was possible. He didn’t actually mind that he’d fallen asleep at Mako’s house too much, though he did still care. What really made him embarrassed was the fact that he’d fallen asleep at all. Even when he was in his human form he wasn’t actually a human, he didn't need sleep. He didn't need food either but food was enjoyable, sleep didn’t do anything for him, a complete waste of time in his opinion. But also, yeah he fell asleep on Mako’s couch right in front of him on accident after showing up at his house in the middle of the night entirely uninvited. So he guessed that must have contributed to the embarrassment a little bit.

Jamison was so embarrassed in fact, that he didn’t even notice that he hadn’t grabbed the blanket that was wrapped around him when he first got up, meaning that Mako had essentially tucked him in at some point in the night.

He jumped when he heard a sudden clashing in the kitchen and tentatively got up to investigate. What he found was Mako standing over the stove with Pearl dancing around him, her feet tapping on the tile floor.

“Hey,” his voice was carried across the kitchen by his awkwardly loud voice, alerting Mako of his presence, “Um, sorry.”

Pearl immediately squealed when she saw him, throwing herself at his legs to get his attention, while Mako threw a quick smile over his shoulder.

“Don’t worry about it, I-” he muttered something to himself, “Did you sleep well?”

Considering the fact that he rarely ever slept, he wasn’t fully sure what defined good sleep, but with his track record, he counted no nightmares alongside not waking up scared and disoriented as pretty decent.

“I’d say so, did you?” Jamison was genuinely curious since he sort of assumed that Mako wasn’t one to get all that great of rest most nights. Maybe it was just his personality, but he seemed to be tired most of the time.

There was a brief pause as if he was hesitant to answer, but then he simply nodded. Meanwhile, Jamison, who was ever curious, walked up behind Mako quietly (quite the feat considering his clunky prosthetic) and straightened his back so he could peer over his shoulder.

“What’s that you’re makin'?” If Mako was startled by Jamison managing to suddenly appear behind him, he hid it well, not flinching in the slightest.

“An omelet? Surely you like omelets.”

Jamison just watched suspiciously as Mako carefully folded the spongy yellow substance over itself, concealing a variety of chopped peppers. After a beat of silence, Mako froze for a moment.

“You know what an omelet is, yeah?”

“Um of course I do,” Jamison shot back defensively, “but like… if I didn’t, how would you describe it.”

Mako huffed, but it wasn't an irritated sound like he’d grown to expect. In fact, it nearly seemed to be a fond noise.

“Right, well, if you didn’t know what an omelet was, I’d say that it’s a scrambled egg, but instead of moving it around and disturbing it, you let it cook so that it shapes sort of like a tortilla.” He carefully lifted the folded egg from the pan and set it on one of the two plates he’d set out on the counter. Then began to cook a second one by pouring out scrambled eggs in a bowl onto the pan. “You’ll never see it served just like that though,” Mako continued his explanation while Jamison watched him with intent, as if he was going to be quizzed on the process. “I like it with a bit of cheese, peppers, onion, and some seasoning. People get all sort of creative with what they put on ‘em and how they’re folded up but,” he shrugged and gestured to the finished omelet that had been set aside, “I don’t see a reason to get all fancy with it.”

Jamison continued to watch him cook and asked Mako all manner of questions, not even noticing how he didn’t once snap at him for talking too much. When the second omelet was finished cooking, Mako sat on the couch and Jamison sat in front of the coffee table on the floor.

He looked curiously at Mako, who used his fork to cut off a piece and then scooped it up. If he happened to eat that piece any slower for the benefit of Jamison learning how to eat the omelet, Jamison certainly wouldn't have noticed. He cut a bite for himself just as he’d observed, and couldn't help the hum when he ate it.

“Do you have this for breakfast every day?” Jamison asked Mako eagerly through the food in his mouth, and despite cringing slightly at the sight, Mako didn’t say anything to him about swallowing his food first.

“No, but I do have it often enough.”

“I would,” Jamison responded as he shoveled more food into his mouth.

“Won’t have time to enjoy it if you eat it that quickly,” Mako couldn’t help but point out how quickly Jamison was wolfing the food down.

He sighed, “Sound just like Ana.”

It wasn't a bad thing certainly. Ana had been the only reason Jamison even liked going to the little town in the first place. But she did have a tendency to make comments that he normally saw mothers make to their rascal children. He figured maybe that was just how she saw him. Which was a bit silly if you asked Jamison, he wasn’t sure of exactly how long he’d been at the whole Krampus thing, but he imagined he must have been doing it for longer than she’d been alive. Come to think of it, just how old was he anyway?

“It’s funny, if I didn’t know any better I’d say that you’ve known Ana for a lot longer than just since the other week.” Mako’s comment was harmless enough, but it did make Jamison panic internally for a brief moment.

“She’s just really nice is all, easy to open up to and all that,” he quickly dismissed the comment and Mako hummed in agreement.

The rest of the meal was eaten in silence, Mako just enjoying the quiet atmosphere whilst Jamison was biting his tongue out of fear that he might say something else that made his and Ana’s close relationship seem unusual. By the time they finished eating, however, and was back to being talkative with Mako while he helped him clean their dishes.

“So how old is Pearl? Actually, what made you want a pig in the first place? I think she’s great but I don’t know how many people there are out there that think pigs would make for great house pets.”

“I’m not entirely sure how old she is, but when I took her to the vet after I got her they gave me an estimate that would make her six or seven now,” Mako answered his first question, seemingly unbothered by how quickly Jamison’s mind would shift gears, “As for how I got her isn’t as interesting as you might think. A year or so before I moved here I thought I should get a pet, even someone like me can get lonely sometimes, so I went to a shelter. Sometimes animal shelters will have rabbits or guinea pigs but they had Pearl there. Someone had gotten her and figured she’d stay little. Well she started growing and they didn’t want that so they stopped feeding her properly.” Mako sighed and dried off the last dish with a rag. “It stunted her growth but apparently she was still too big for them so they gave her up. Guess it just made me a bit sad so I asked to see her and she liked me right away. I didn’t feel like I could leave her there.”

Jamison looked at Pearl, who was napping on the couch where Mako had been sitting before. By no means was she tiny, but he’d seen plenty of pigs when he would mess with cattle and she was quite a bit smaller than most of the pigs he’d seen. It made him sad that someone would get a pet like that but then leave it behind when they realized that they’d have to actually care for it.

“So she’s around seven, how old is she supposed to get?”

Mako shrugged, “fifteen to twenty years? Maybe a little less, hopefully a little more.”

“Do you think you’d get another one?” Jamison blurted out the question before he could consider that it might be a slightly rude thing to ask. Fortunately, Mako again was unbothered by Jamison’s less-than-stellar social skills.

“Not sure, maybe. If I did get another pet I can’t guarantee it’d be a pig. But if I go to the shelter and there happens to be another one there…” He trailed off and Jamison watched him look over at Pearl affectionately. He figured it must be nice to be looked at like that. Not that Pearl knew. Then again, maybe she did. She certainly seemed to love Mako an awful lot so she must have known he loved her too.

Suddenly he remembered them talking about jobs last night and he realized that he had no idea what Mako did. Some people were lucky enough that they didn't have to work, or at least didn’t have to do it very often, but that was pretty rare.

“So what do you do? For a job I mean. Do you have anything you have to do today?”

“Well,” Mako didn't appear to be the biggest fan of the question, “I’m in between things right now.”

Jamison tilted his head at the response, he wasn’t entirely sure what that was supposed to mean.

“I’m looking for jobs at the moment,” he clarified, “moving here wasn’t too expensive, I got more money moving out of my old home than it cost me to get everything here. But I used to work manual jobs. Lots of undesirable sort of stuff, but I made decent money. Not the sort of jobs you can do remotely though, so I haven’t figured out exactly what I’ll be doing.”

The image of Mako hauling heavy material or working with tools came easily to Jamison. It just seemed fitting for him.

“Have any ideas? I bet you could work with cars, but I guess that’s not really a good choice here. Oh!” Jamison gasped when a thought popped into his head, “You should talk to Torbjörn, I bet he could help you find something to do. Though I don’t exactly know what he does, but he needs all sorts of different materials that he has to haul around and stuff. Maybe he’d be willing to pay you to deliver stuff! He’s always goin’ on about having to make trips down the mountain, but he won’t let Brig do it on account of he doesn't want her driving on the roads.”

Mako raised a brow at him and Jamison flushed, “Ana and Brigitte talk about it sometimes,” he explained quickly, trying not to seem like he’d been visiting the village for years. “Brigitte gets all bent out of shape about him not trusting her to drive safe, and Reinhardt used to get stuff for him. Back when he lived here.”

“You must be easy to open up to as well,” Mako commented, “Ana’s been pretty reluctant to talk about Reinhardt with me. Not that I blame her, I understand that sort of thing isn’t usually a fun thing to talk about.”

Jamison laughed nervously, and it came out just a bit manic sounding, “Yeah guess so.”

“Anyway, that doesn’t seem like too bad of an idea,” Mako referred to Jamison’s ramblings of working with Torbjörn. “Would you mind maybe taking me down there to talk with him sometime?”

Immediately Jamison straighted and flailed his arms just a bit, “Definitely! We could go right now! Torbjörn is pretty much always home, in his workshop, or the house. Unless he went out to get groceries or more materials or something but-”

“Okay, hold on,” Mako put his hands up and patted Jamison’s shoulder, “I was thinking maybe tomorrow. Or we could go today, but not right this second.”

The room was growing warmer and Jamison took a few deep breaths to try and control his excitement.

“Right, okay, we can go whenever you want. Actually now that I think of it, I should probably leave, I don’t want Ana to get worried,” the second that Jamison realized that Ana might be concerned with where he was, he found himself getting more anxious by the second and the temperature of the room was now dropping.

Mako shivered at the sudden chill in the room, “We’ll she’s not your mom,” he laughed shortly, “but if you want to get going I won't keep you.”

Mako walked Jamison to the door and watched him as he put his shoes on and prepared to leave.

“It seems pretty cold out there, do you want to borrow some gloves or a coat?” Mako sounded almost worried. Jamison felt oddly warm at the expression of concern. Even though he figured it wouldn’t be strange to turn down the offer, nor was getting cold something that Jamison could even properly experience, he accepted the offer without even considering that he didn't have to.

As Jamison trudged home, wrapped in Mako’s coat which was comically large, he found that there was a weird comfort in the smell of it. He was puzzled too, as it dawned upon him that he felt a sort of fuzzy warmth that he typically only felt when he would arrive at Ana’s for the first time after being away over summer and most of autumn, or when he would go into the kitchen and help her prepare a dish. He smiled a little and tried to ignore the fact that if he were in his natural form, his tail would be swishing with happiness the whole walk home.

Chapter Text

Krampus was amidst the trees in the woods, brandishing his natural physical form, cloven hoof and all. He was filled with such an excitement that Ana told him to go outside, sick of the intense temperature fluctuation in her home, which was fair enough. He’d been in the kitchen, watching Ana make dinner, when they heard a strange noise come from the living room. As it turned out, Rat was a rooster, and he was beginning to learn how to crow. He found this to be much more exciting than he probably should’ve, and he was trying his hardest to calm down a bit, but it seemed he wasn’t doing a very good job. He was howling with joy, kicking up snow and overall being a general nuisance to any of the animals that called the forest their home.

Krampus had been running around aimlessly for quite some time, not realizing how far he’d gone from the woods behind Ana’s house until he heard a voice the recognized state flatly, “What the hell?”

In an immediate panic, he dropped his physical form entirely.

“Jamison,” Kiriko said, “I know that you’re still there.”

Maybe if he waited long enough she’d think that she was just seeing things and go away. But he knew her well enough to know that she was far too stubborn for that. What truly confused him was how mildly inconvenienced she seemed with her arms crossed and her expression portraying that she was not very amused.

Kiriko sucked in a breath and sighed. “Listen. I know who you are. And normally I’d love to just wait around,” she rolled her eyes, “but it’s freezing and I don’t want to know how long you’d be willing to wait if I just gave you the silent treatment so just listen.” She looked around, but when she realized she wouldn’t be able to guess where he was, she just looked down at the ground. “I knew that you weren’t human the day that I met you, you’re certainly not the first spirit that I have interacted with.” She seemed timid for a brief moment, “So… sorry that I was a bit mean when we first met.”

Krampus circled around himself. It was an incredibly rare experience for someone to be aware of his presence and the energy he carried. He didn’t exactly make it a habit of hanging around those sorts of people, it had always sort of weirded him out, it felt like he was being seen right through and who would like that? But he’d be lying if he said that he wasn’t curious as to where this was going.

“Anyways, we hung out and it’s not like I can see into your soul or anything, but it felt like you didn’t have any bad intentions, so yeah,” she shrugged. “We are friends. I think, at least. I haven’t been hanging you with you just to keep tabs on you is what I mean. So…” she trailed off before pinching her brow, “So you can stop hiding.”

He felt very put on the spot. He’d never felt embarrassed about the idea of letting someone see him before. Carefully, Krampus slipped behind a tree and shamefully turned to his human form and stepped back out. Kiriko just quirked a brow at him.

“Really?” she sighed, and she sounded so exasperated that he was embarrassed for choosing his human form over his ‘natural’ one.

“Um,” he clasped his clawed hands together awkwardly, “tada?”

Kiriko huffed and looked him over, it made him feel like some sort of oddity but he did suppose that was accurate.

“Forgive me for not being as caught up on European mythos but you’re Krampus, yes?”

Rarely did he feel this way, but he had no idea what to say, so he just nodded and watched as Kiriko curiously eyed his prosthetics.

“So they’re..?”

“Yeah, they-they’re real it's uh, it doesn't really matter what form I shift to. Not just a part of my human form.”

“Huh.”

Krampus hummed in agreement and was nervously shifting his weight back and forth on his feet, wrapping his tail tightly around his leg.

“So… have you always been this reckless because I can’t believe that you’ve never been caught,” she teased, though she did sound a bit surprised.

“Well I’m not actually trying to hide-or not usually. I prefer spirit form because I can travel faster in it but it’s not like I’m keeping my existence a secret-”

“Except for when you’re here?” It was rhetorical, “Also, Ana knows? I can only assume. How long have you been coming here anyway?”

“Yes, she does know and I'm not so sure? Quite a while,” because he’d never really bothered to keep track of the passage of time, he only knew that it’d been a long time.

“I’m surprised no one saw you until this year,” she trailed off for a moment and then a sly grin slipped onto her face, “Who was it?”

Now he knew this was a situation that you were meant to feel shame in, and he did because now he had to admit to spying on at least one person. He flushed a bit, “Um, Mako. It-I didn’t like him at first,” he ducked his head down, “I tore his sweater.” He heard Kiriko stifle laughter. “Yeah but uh, he let Pearl out and…”

“Ah, you scared her off? Wow you can’t stop giving that guy trouble.”

“Yeah, and I felt bad so I chased her down but then I had to give her back to him so I lied but it was late at night and he offered to let me stay for the night and I didn’t know what to do so-”

“Okay,” Kiriko put up a hand, stopping him in his tracks. “I get it.”

Suddenly a particularly harsh breeze blew through the forest, which Jamie was pretty sure wasn’t his fault, and Kiriko flinched.

“How about I go on my lunch break and we can talk somewhere more sheltered?”

“You said ‘at first’ you know.”

The two were sitting in Ana’s dining room, indulging in some leftovers. With Ana’s permission of course.

“Hm?” Jamison questioned, tilting his head while chewing on a mouthful of food.

“When you were talking about Mako earlier. You mentioned that you didn't like him at first. You two buddies now?”

But before he could even get the chance to respond, Ana, who was shameless about listening in on their conversation, called over, “I don’t think buddies is a strong enough word. You know he stayed the night the other day.”

“Ana!” Jamison yelled back, feeling the tips of his ears burn.

This seemed to pique Kiriko’s interest, and when he saw her face light up he’d never wished so badly that Ana was anywhere but near him.

“So that’s what you meant by ‘at first.’ You’ve taken a certain liking to him?”

And Jamison wasn't sure what she meant by that but whatever it was, his body seemed to know it was something to be embarrassed over and he felt his whole face flush.

“Kiriko, dear, you may want to prop open the back door. Either that or stop teasing him because it’s going to get quite warm in here,” Ana warned her and sure enough, he saw a bit of sweat form on her brow.

“Well that sure is something,” she noted, following Ana’s suggestion, as she propped open the door.

“But seriously,” Kiri carefully lowered her voice and leaned over the table, “do you?”

“Do I what?” Jamison whispered loudly back, defeating the purpose of whispering in the first place.

“Do you like him? You know?”

“Oh, well obviously,” Jamie raised a brow at her. “I thought I’d made that clear. I mean why would I hang out with him if I didn’t like him.”

“Ugh,” Kiriko sounded completely exasperated and he couldn't figure out what for. “No no, I mean,” she pinched her brow, “I can’t believe it, you're probably hundreds or thousands of years old and I have to explain this to you.” She spoke quietly again, “I meant do you have romantic feelings for him?”

She seemed embarrassed having to phrase the question that way but it meant nothing compared to Jamison.

“What the hell would you ask that for?” he shot up from his chair, feeling very warm himself and wondering if that was the whole room or just him.

A quizzical expression overtook Kiriko’s face, “I was just asking. It’s not that weird of a question.”

Jamie stood there with his mouth open for a few seconds, but when he couldn't think of anything to say, he closed it and begrudgingly returned to sitting in his seat. Then his face dropped just a little.

“How would I even know what that feels like?”

“Oh, uh,” Kiriko looked around the room nervously. “I-I don’t really know if I’m fit to answer that question. It’s… I don't think it even is something that you can describe if you’ve never felt it. You’ll just know? I dunno.”

Kiriko quickly changed topics, perking up Jamison, and the two continued to chat for a bit until Kiriko inevitably had to go back to work. It may have been family owned but she could only push her break to be so much longer before she’d be in trouble. After she left, Jamison found himself dwelling on her question again. He didn’t know why it was getting to him, it just was. Maybe it seemed too personal of a thing for her to ask? But that was odd because he didn’t have much of a concept of personal, at least not in the way that most people did. Then again he wasn't ‘most people.’

“Ana?” Jamison started hesitantly. They were sitting on the couch in the living room, the sun had long since set and Ana was watching something on the TV, seemingly wasting away time until she was tired enough to go to bed. Jamie, meanwhile, had been deep in thought for a while, mentally jumping from topic to topic rather quickly.

“Yes dear?” Ana responded, seemingly picking up on the nervous undertone in his voice.

“Um, what are ‘romantic feelings’ like? Because Kiriko said that you can only describe it if you've felt it but I guess she hasn’t so-”

“Jamie, dear,” she laughed gently, “you don’t need to be so worried about it. Um,” she sighed, thinking in silence for a moment, “I suppose it is a bit difficult to explain. Being in love,” (Jamie flushed, in love felt like such an intimate phrasing), “is when you feel safe around someone. So safe that you can be open with them and you don’t have anything to worry about.”

He wrinkled his nose, “I feel like that around you and Kiriko, but it’s not like that.”

She nodded, “That’s what can make it difficult to describe. But you can tell when it’s not like that, yes? So then perhaps that means you’ll be able to tell when it is.”

“I guess,” Jamison huffed and curled into a ball on the couch. He didn’t know what he was looking for, it wasn’t like Ana could induce the feeling and tell him ‘that’s what it is’ but he was a little disappointed nonetheless.

“I don't want to pry but,” Ana shifted and looked at him with a concern in her eyes that made Jamison feel awful. He hated being the reason for her to be so worried. “I’m just curious if you’re asking that question with anyone in mind?”

“Do I have to answer that?” he asked shamefully.

“No dear, but if you’re ever ready to tell me…” she trailed off.

He didn't say anything, but he hummed in agreement and curled up tighter, closing his eyes. Since his night terrors had calmed down a bit, he found that he was enjoying sleep quite a bit.

“You sure seem excited,” Mako snorted, trailing slower behind Jamison. He was following through on taking Mako to see Torbjörn and he was bursting at the seams.

“We’re gonna get you a job, work something out, I can feel it,” Jamison stated matter-of-factly. “I just know it.”

“Don’t get your hopes up,” Mako said gently, “not the best idea when it comes to job huntin’.”

“Psh, well it’s not my job I’m hunting for. You shouldn’t get your hopes up. I'll be just fine.”

“Thanks.”

“Torbjörn, this is Mako. Mako, this is Torbjörn,” Jamison launched into the mental script that he’d perfected the moment that Torbjörn answered the front door. “Mako needs a job to do around here and I fancy myself a smart guy so I figured you could pay ‘im to go down the mountain and get the supplies you pick up routinely. Whatever they may be.” He wrapped it up, crossing his arms and smiling down at Torb.

“Um… right, Mako?” Torbjörn spoke after a stretch of silence. Mako nodded in confirmation. “Would you like to come in?”

Hm. Jamison had never had a job interview himself (obviously) so he supposed it was a bit silly, but he’d sort of figured that once Torbjörn heard his wonderful proposition then he’d accept straight away.

“That’d be nice,” Mako responded, and then glanced at Jamie.

“Ah,” Torbjörn looked to him, “Brigitte’s in the workshop if you want to go see what she’s working on?”

“Uh, alright,” he followed the two inside, then broke off to head out back as Torb had suggested. He’d sorta hoped to watch the process of their conversation, but then he worried that it might cause Mako not to get the job for whatever reason, so he ultimately chose not to.

“Hello hello!” Jamie swung open the door to the workshop, scanning the room for Brig.

“Hey Jamie,” she responded from where she was leaning on the desk by all the tools hung on the wall. “What are you doing here? Just come to hang out?”

He shook his head, “Came here to get my mate Mako a job. Hopefully.”

“What, is he a mechanic?”

“Nah, or, I don’t know actually,” he shrugged, “I was more thinking he could go down the mountain and pick up the supplies that you guys need routinely.”

“That’d… that’d be nice,” she sighed. “I don’t know if Papa will go for it but I’d like it if he did.”

“Nah, I'm sure it'll be fine,” Jamison said confidently. “So… what have you been working on?”

Brigitte seemed to perk up at that, standing up straight. She beckoned him over to the desk, “Well it's not my department as much as mechanics are but I’ll bet you these work just fine.”

He looked over her shoulder to see some small cylinders, about the size of half of his pinky, strung together by what appeared to be some thick twine. He tilted his head.

“Some homemade firecrackers,” she explained, and he gave her a toothy smile. “Lets,” she snipped off one of the cylinders, “go ahead and test this out real quick.”

Jamison watched intently as she put it on the floor a few steps away from them and lit the twine with a lighter from her pocket, then stepped back to stand beside him and wait. Lucky for the both of them, it only took a few seconds for the flame to reach the firecracker and it went off perfectly. It was loud, but not so much that he felt his ears ring and ache afterwards, and when some bits from the shell hit his leg, he felt next to nothing through his pants.

“Hm,” Brigitte stared off, and Jamie recognized the look on her face. She was already thinking through what she could do to make it work better. “I was expecting something bigger, but I guess it’s for the best since we probably should have stood farther back than that. And that way it wasn’t too loud.”

For the next twenty or so minutes, he watched her go back to working on her metal scanner. She explained that if Mako did start going down to collect supplies for them, then the scanner would be even more useful. Plus she was hoping once the basics of the scanner were complete, she’d be able to add a feature that could measure supplies when they were scanned so that way they might be able to use things such as screws and nails from junkyards.

They were interrupted when Mako knocked on the door.

“Just wanted to let Jamison know I’m going home,” he told Brigitte when she opened the door. Then he looked past her to Jamie, “If you wanted to come back with me you’re more than welcome.”

Jamie nodded and stepped out, waving to Brig, “See ya!”

The second they were out of the yard, Jamison looked to Mako expectantly.

“So…”

“So,” Mako drew out the word, smiling when Jamie glared at him for it, “he said that we could try it for a month or two and see how helpful it is.”

“Yes! Oh I knew it,” he exclaimed, grabbing onto Mako’s arm, “So how often do you drive down the mountain? I'm assuming he’s gonna let you use his truck, right? Is it a few times a week? Once a week? Once a month?”

“Okay, calm down,” he patted Jamison’s hand on his arm, “Yes, I’ll be driving his truck. And probably once a week. It’s not set. But also,” he started, catching Jamie’s attention, “I’ll be doing some other stuff too. I told him when it comes to that sort of stuff my skills don’t extend that far beyond practical, but that’s all he needs. Said it’d be nice to have someone else to help people when they are, say, having electrical issues. So he and Brig can focus more on their projects.”

“Well that’s exciting,” he stated, trying not to sound too excited himself. He was probably more pumped than Mako. “You can’t just go back to your house,” he said suddenly. He came to a halt, which forced Mako to quit walking as well, unless he wanted to drag Jamison behind him.

“What?”

“We should go get dinner. Oh, you could come to Ana’s! She’ll be so happy for you. And I-we could make dinner,” he corrected himself quickly. Even if he didn’t care about upsetting Ana, he wouldn't want to try and cook food without her anyway. It would be a disaster and normally that was his style but not if it meant she had to clean up his mess.

“Um,” Mako paused for a moment, like he was surprised by something Jamison said, but then he nodded. “Okay, sure.”

Chapter Text

Initially Jamie hadn’t minded that Mako needed to go back to his house briefly to take care of Pearl. In fact, he’d thought it to be a good thing, giving him and Ana time to prepare dinner so that Mako wouldn’t have to awkwardly wait around. But he changed his opinion on the matter after being in the kitchen with Ana, working on the meal, who seemed far too intrigued about the whole situation. Even after Jamison had explained for the umpteenth time that they were having dinner to celebrate Mako getting himself a job in town, she continued to poke at it like there was something else to it. There wasn’t. On top of that, Mako must have decided to take his sweet time, because by the time he knocked on the door, finally giving Jamie an excuse to get away from the questions and inquisitive looks from Ana, the meal was nearly finished.

It was sayadieh, a fish and rice meal. The fish needed to be bought, and Jamison had been sent to get it once the meal had been chosen. Lucky for him that Kiriko’s mother was able to understand what he was asking when he wandered in with a lost look on his face asking about “white fish fillets.” And so he’d returned to the house with tilapia, which Ana said would work just fine.

Briefly, he worried about whether or not Mako even cared for fish, but Ana had been the one to pick out the recipe from the tin, and surely she wouldn’t have chosen it if she didn’t know.

Jamison reached for the door handle but then he paused and looked down at himself. He’d started materializing in different outfits since he’d begun to wander around the village, just so he didn’t seem gross for wearing the same clothes everyday. That day he’d imagined himself a baggy black t-shirt with some cool band logo on it that he’d seen once. He didn’t actually know anything about it, but he’d liked the slender, jagged font of it. The pants were just washed out bootcut jeans. Nothing special. He never had on anything special, but suddenly Jamie wondered if he should. He jerked his hand back from the door for a moment and flicked it at the wrist a few times before opening the door. Nothing to worry about.

“Hey!” he beamed at Mako, and when he’d started smiling it was just meant to be a friendly gesture, but when he actually saw him he realized he’d be hard pressed to stop grinning at him. Jamison quickly looked him up and down and realized Mako had changed his clothes. Shit. He should have materialized something special.

“Hi,” Mako responded, “hope I didn’t take too long.”

Now if you asked Jamie he definitely had taken too long, but he’d be fucked to say that to Mako. He wasn’t wearing something nice, at least not by what he’d figured out were human standards, but he did look good. He was also wearing a band t-shirt, layered with a flannel that was mostly blue and green, but had a few thin red stripes throughout, and a dark brown working jacket on top of that. And his nails, he noted as he looked at the array of silver rings on his fingers, they were painted black. But Jamison also noticed something that wasn’t appearance related. There was something… off about the way Mako smelled. It wasn’t bad by any means, just different.

“It alright if I come in?” Mako asked and it was then that Jamison realized a probably uncomfortable amount of time had passed that was just him. Staring.

“Yeahyeahyeah,” he responded all in one breath, quickly stepping aside so that Mako could come in, suddenly feeling oddly out of place in his own-in Ana’s home.

Then Jamie followed behind him to the dining table, feeling a little silly letting himself be guided, though he didn't really mind it too much. Ana explained the dish to Mako, who seemed intrigued enough that it convinced Jamison to wait quietly, even if he was internaily feeling very impatient. When she finished, he suddenly noticed that she hadn't set out a plate for herself and he looked at her quizzically. Having dinner alone with Mako didn't sound like a bad thing, but it felt weird for her to put so much work into making a meal for the group and then not enjoy it with them. Briefly, the image of her eating alone in her room popped into his head.

She gave him a reassuring smile, he didn't know what for though it still made him feel better, and grabbed a plate. “I'll be in the living room, okay boys?”

Jamison nodded and Mako again thanked her for letting him come over and making them dinner.

“So do you have any jobs yet? I mean the ones around town.”

Mako smiled, “Right to work, eh?”

“Well,” Jamison felt the tips of his ears burn, “‘m just curious is all.”

“Hm,” Mako hummed as if he was considering being irritated, but he just shrugged, “honestly there’s a slew of them. Something about people being worried that they’d interrupt Torbjörn while he was working on passion projects. Apparently he can get quite the temper.”

Jamison nodded along. He liked when Mako would start talking a lot, and he didn’t want to interrupt if it seemed like he might continue.

“Just a lot of small things around. Lots of finicky outlets and broken light switches.”

“And you know how to do all that stuff?” Jamie gestured vaguely when Mako raised a brow at him, “Electrical… stuff?”

Mako huffed like a lazy laugh and nodded. “Mhm, nothing special really.”

Jamison disagreed with that sentiment, partially because he found anything of that nature to be intriguing, but also because if it was nothing special, wouldn’t everyone just be fixing it themselves? He took a few more bites of his food before he noticed Mako just staring at some of the fish on his fork.

“Um, did you not like fish? I know it’s not for everyone, or at least that’s what Ana says, but I figured since we made it that meant she knew you liked it but if-”

“No no,” Mako interrupted his rant, and when Jamison saw him smiling at him, he couldn’t help feeling a bit embarrassed for going on like that. “It’s nice, all of it.”

Jamie just nodded, not wanting interrupt Mako.

“It’s been a while since I got to enjoy a meal with… like this. So I do like it, a lot. Promise.”

Jamison felt himself melt a bit at the soft smile that accompanied the kind sentiment.

The two finished their meals and Mako insisted that he stay to help Jamison clean the dishes. Ana eventually came into the kitchen just to make sure everything got put back right, and then Jamie, just a little bit sadly, walked Mako to the front door.

“Well, I'm happy you got the job,” Jamison said, glancing down at his shoes.

“I’m happy you helped me talk to Torbjörn, doubt I would’ve ended up doing anything I like if you hadn’t.”

He nodded and glanced outside the door behind Mako, “Goodnight?”

Mako let out an amused huff of some sort that Jamie didn’t feel like he could fully understand, then grabbed his hand, “You can walk me back?” And Jamison lit up, nodding perhaps slightly too enthusiastic.

“I’ll be back in a bit Ana!” He yelled into the house, stepping out before he heard a response.

“So,” Jamie kicked through a clump of snow, watching it spray out, “think you’re adjusting to the cold alright? Pretty warm in Australia.”

“Hm,” Mako snorted, “just as good as you are, yeah?”

Jamison looked at him quizzically but Mako was too busy looking at the road ahead. “Been meaning to ask, where in Aussie are you from?”

Did… was he Australian? Krampus was born of German mythos so he’d always just assumed… but thinking about it he supposed he didn’t have a German accent, so maybe that was a silly assumption to make.

“Not-uh not sure. My parents moved when I was really young, never bothered to ask about it.”

“Huh,” Mako sounded like it was odd to him, but he didn’t say anything so Jamie didn't mind if it was a strange answer. “Well, you still talk to ‘em much? Your folks, I mean.”

“Ah, well,” Jamison wasn’t sure how he felt about the interrogation style of getting to know him, though he supposed it was normal for humans. “They passed a while ago, so not really.”

“Oh,” Mako looked at him and tilted his head, “I’m sorry. You seem a bit young to have lost them.”

Again, he knew this was all run-of-the-mill human stuff, but he couldn't help finding it a bit funny that Mako clearly assumed he was in his late twenties or early thirties, but technically he was a few hundred or so years old.

“It’s alright, I mean,” he didn’t remember his past, but it seemed like he body did as he suddenly found himself choked up, throat aching ever so slightly, “I miss them, of course, but you learn to live with it.”

Mako nodded solemnly and after a few moments Jamie coughed to clear his throat.

“So, if you don’t mind me asking of course, why’d you move here?”

A beat of silence passed.

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want, I was just curious and I thought-”

“No,” Mako put a hand on his shoulder, “it’s okay. I won't get to into it but I was… married. We had a daughter. She was… she had an accident and we lost her and then the relationship. So, I’m sure you understand, I needed a change. I just couldn’t stay there anymore.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah,” Mako shrugged, “life’s a bitch but what can you do?”

Mako’s arm had moved around his shoulder to the point that he was side hugging him, but Jamison figured he needed it, and frankly he didn't mind. Typically he liked to fill up silent moments by talking his head off about everything that popped into his head, but something about that didn’t seem right at that moment. Instead he enjoyed the deceptively warm glow of the street lights in the biting cold, pressed comfortably into Mako’s side.

When they got to Mako’s house, Jamie pulled away, and despite the fact that he wasn’t really affected by the cold, he ended up feeling a pang of disappointment at the loss of warmth.

“Well, suppose I’ll see you,” Jamie smiled, before suddenly being pulled into a hug. Being hugged by Mako was something that was difficult to describe, but if he had to, he’d say that it felt like being completely enveloped. Maybe it was just because it had been a while since he’d been hugged like that (or maybe he never had) but it truly evoked something that he couldn’t recall ever feeling. After what was probably a few too many moments, he hugged back, holding on tight, until Mako pulled away.

“Night,” Mako said, stepping into his house.

“Yeah,” Jamison responded, standing in place until the door shut.

“Maybe he thought it was a date?” Ana gently told a very panicked Jamie, who was pacing in a circle around the house.

“Why? Also,” he abruptly cut himself off because, also what? Also he liked it? Also he wanted to do a ‘date’ again? No. Yes?

“Jamison, Krampus!” Jamie stopped dead in his tracks passing through the living room, turning to face Ana who was cozily tucked into the corner of the couch. “Calm down, come sit,” she patted the cushion next to her and he trudged over, looking sort of like a wet cat. Ana comfortingly rubbed his back as she started to speak, “Listen, I don't mean to rush this if you’re not ready, but to me it does seem that you like him. Of course Kiri was teasing you, but I do see what she meant.”

“But I don’t,” he paused for a moment, “I'm immortal, more or less. I’m Krampus. This all seems,” Jamison gestured vaguely, “odd. And I don’t know how this works anyway!” He buried his face in his hands, mumbling, “I don’t even know if this is against the rules.”

“And do you always follow the rules?” Ana asked.

“Well, I guess it’s not rules so much as just, what I have to do. I don’t have to go to the North Pole during summer, but I don’t have enough energy to even materialize outside of it if I do. So I might as well be bound to it.”

“So there’s no reason for you to think there’d be any rules, right?” When he didn’t say anything, she continued, “I’m not telling you to do anything that you’re not comfortable doing, or to go out and break any hearts. Just, do whatever feels right.”

Jamison flopped over, resting his head on her lap, and Ana laughed like it was a silly thing of him to do, but she didn’t push him off, instead playing gently with his hair.

“Okay, just, what if it doesn’t work out? Or if he doesn’t like me?”

“There’s no way that you can know if things will work out,” she sighed, “like things were with me and Reinhardt, but I wouldn’t take it back. I’d take away the fact that I was happy during those times. But as far as if he likes you,” she continued, “I won’t make any promises, but I wouldn’t worry about that if I was you.”

Jamison yawned and curled into himself a bit, “You think?”

“Mhm.”

He blinked heavily a few times before closing his eyes, “Okay.”

Chapter Text

Jamison wasn’t particularly happy. He wouldn’t consider it a common occurrence that he would be upset at Ana, but it was happening. Fareeha had arrived, and after a very awkward introduction, Ana had pulled Jamison to the side and told him that if he wanted to sleep at all, he’d have to do it on the couch. Fareeha was in one of the two spare bedrooms, and Ana had just cleaned the sheets in the other for Reinhardt. It frankly wasn’t that big of a deal, but he, selfishly, had started thinking of the spare bedroom across from Ana’s as his own, which was stupid.

Though he started to feel alright after spending some time with Brigitte. She’d been working on a coop for Ana to put her chickens in, with some insulation and a spot on the top to hang their heat lamp so they wouldn’t get too cold. She was getting close to finishing it and so Jamison spent a few hours doing his best to help. He picked up handy work surprisingly fast according to her, and he had no way of knowing whether or not that was true, so he chose to believe her. When she decided to stop working for the night, Brigitte happily told him that she’d probably be able to finish it up for them by tomorrow.

Jamison waved her goodbye, and walked down the steps. Now if he were walking home, to Ana’s, he’d turn right. And he had every intention of doing that, but something was pulling him left. It wasn’t uncommon for him to experience instinctual pulls like that. It wasn’t a very easy feeling to explain, but it typically occurred when he was spreading mischief, pulling him toward the next spot he should do his work. So after a brief moment of hesitation, he turned left. Though it was only a bit past dinner time, the sun had long since set. The glow of the street lights (or sidewalk lights he supposed) created an artificial feeling of warmth within him as he walked. Sometimes he wondered what the darkness was like for a human. He could see perfectly fine in the dark. Everything was in black and white when he was looking into total darkness, but still. He imagined that perhaps walking through the town at night may be a bit frightening, but he could see in perfect clearness the edge of the woods. That and, of course, he was Krampus, so there wasn’t much in the night for him to fear.

Jamison slowed his walking speed as he realized that he was standing in front of Mako’s home. He wasn’t sure what he was meant to be doing. For a minute or so, he just stood in place, and he nearly turned around to walk to Ana’s when the front door opened and a slightly disheveled-looking Mako and a very excited Pearl.

“Oh, hi Jamison, I didn’t…” he trailed off, seeming just as confused as Jamison felt. Why was he here?

“Sorry, I,” he paused for a moment, desperately trying to figure out some sort of excuse. “Apparently it’s been a while since Ana’s been able to see Fareeha. They had their first dinner together in a while and Ana didn’t ask me to, but it just seemed like they should have the house to themselves for a bit.” Quite the lie. If anything he probably should be at the house getting to know Fareeha at least a little bit.

Mako nodded and gestured to the house behind him. “Was just letting Pearl out, you can come in if you want.”

Jamison nodded and walked up to the doorstep beside Mako. He went to go past him into the house, but Mako reached out, putting a hand around him waist to gently stop him. Before Jamison could say anything, Mako pressed his face against him, then pulled away. Not kissing him, but it was intimate in a way that Jamison didn’t expect, making him feel weird and tingly. Distantly he noted that as confirmation that Mako had most likely considered their dinner a few nights ago to be a date. He then walked into the house and sat on the couch, looking at the TV playing something at a very low volume.

“So have you not eaten yet?” Mako asked as he walked into the room.

Jamison shook his head, “But I’m not hungry.” Which was technically always the case. As enjoyable as eating food was, he was, at the end of the day, incapable of experiencing true hunger, which was surely a good thing. But Mako shook his head.

“You oughta eat something.”

And Jamison wanted to insist but he’d be lying if he said that he was a bit busy feeling flustered. Sure Mako was a little disheveled, but that did nothing to take away from the fact that he also looked good. He wasn’t wearing anything special, just a loose grey t-shirt and plaid pajama pants, which still looked nice, but mostly he was staring at his hair. It was down, which Jamison was not at all used to, and there was one particular stray piece in his face that, for whatever reason, looked quite nice. So instead of arguing that he didn’t need food, Jamison nodded dumbly and said the first thing that came to his mind. “Ramen?”

Mako nodded and walked into the kitchen. The moment he turned his back, Jamison pressed his hands into his face and hissed. Why was he being stupid all of a sudden? And typically he ran cold but he felt like he was burning up. He glanced at the windows, which were slightly fogged, and realized that he must’ve been upping the temperature as well. He calmly excused himself to the bathroom and splashed himself with cold water. It didn’t quite have the kick to it that he’d hoped it would, but he felt a little bit cooler, which was nice. He patted himself dry, then stared into the mirror for a minute. Jamison had never minded, but he supposed, staring at his reflection, that he did look a bit odd. He liked it of course, that was, after all, how he chose to manifest as a human, but looking at his pale face, sharp teeth, slightly pointed ears, and generally gnarly look he had, he suddenly wondered for the first time in his life why someone wasn’t wholly put off by how he looked. Regardless, there was nothing he could do about it, and he wasn’t going to ask Mako “why are you attracted to me” because he didn’t know everything but he was sure that was odd to ask, so he walked out of the bathroom, feeling just slightly calmer.

Mako was already sitting on the couch, with two things of ramen on the coffee table, seemingly waiting for Jamison before he started eating.

“Thanks,” he said, taking one of the cups from the table as he sat down, beginning to eat the hot noodles carefully. Mako made a noise of acknowledgment, starting to eat as well.

“So, do you still have a spare room to stay in at Ana’s? Since you’re paying to be there an all…”

Jamison had forgotten that was the story as to why he was there. “Sleeping on the couch. It was, uh, something we had discussed before I came, I’m fine with it.”

“Needed to get away from home that badly huh?”

Jamison laughed nervously, a bit manic sounding, “Yeah, something like that.”

Mako nodded, and Jamison thought he looked like he had more he wanted to say, but he must’ve been wrong because he just continued to eat.

When they both finished eating, Mako took the cups and utensils to the kitchen, presumably putting things in the dishwasher and trash, then came back and settled on the couch again. He could’ve been wrong, but Jamison swore that Mako sat just a bit closer to him than he had before.

As they sat in silence again, silence that he was sure was comfortable for Mako, Jamison felt himself growing restless again. There was something about their relationship being undefined that was akin to an itch he just couldn't scratch. Most likely the feeling wasn't being helped by Mako’s arm being rested across the couch behind him. The proximity, not quite touching but feeling the warmth from it, made Jamison buzz beneath his skin.

Finally, in a moment of weak impulse control, he blurted out, “Are we dating?” And then the mortification of what he’d just said kicked in when Mako turned to him with a look on his face that Jamison wasn’t even close to being able to place. So of course he continued talking. “I mean, I’m just asking because I wasn’t sure. You don’t have to answer, that was weird to ask.” He stopped talking when Mako tilted his head.

“I… I assumed so. Should I not have?”

Jamison shook his head, “no-I mean yes? I like you,” he settled on. “So, yeah.”

Mako huffed and smiled, letting his arm drop to drape across Jamison’s shoulders. “Well, good then.”

“Good,” Jamison echoed, uncharacteristically shy.

They sat on the couch for a while, watching the TV, though Jamison didn’t know what was going on with the show at all, paying much more attention to the warmth of all the spots where they were pressed together. Eventually Mako started to yawn, and Jamison realized he was overstaying his welcome.

“Well, I should probably get going,” he sighed, not making a move to leave.

“Hm, yeah…” Mako trailed off, “It’s pretty late. You could stay the night if you want to.”

Jamison tried not to seem too excited, but he could feel himself light up when he asked Mako if he meant it.

Mako nodded, “My bed plus the spare bedroom… I think we can figure something out. And clothes,” he said, looking at Jamison’s pants. He’d completely forgotten that he’d chosen jeans that day, and he definitely didn’t wanna sleep in them.

“Didn’t mind borrowing yours all too much,” he muttered, and then shrugged, “Just a thought.”

Mako stood and put a hand out, “Let’s go look.”

Jamison padded behind him down the hall. When Mako led him into his room, he experienced a rare flare of embarrassment, remembering the first time he’d been in there as Krampus, rummaging through his stuff and ripping his sweater. There were far fewer boxes in the room, only a few, and when Mako rolled open the mirror door to reveal his closet, he made a note of the fact that there were more shirts hung now. He must’ve gotten a good amount of unpacking done.

“Uh, how about…maybe this,” he grabbed out a t-shirt that looked a bit small for Mako, meaning it might just sorta fit him. “Pants?”

Jamie shook his head, “Naw, boxers work fine.” He yanked off his sweater which, while it looked nice, he should’ve thought to manifest it being less itchy, and pulled on the shirt Mako had given him. Still too big, but much better than the shirt Mako had lent him last time. It was just a plain black shirt and comfy as it was, he wondered why Mako held onto it if it didn’t fit him. But instead of asking, he plopped down on Mako’s bed and looked around the room. Less boxes was the main change he’d noticed, but it wasn't the only one. His bed, originally sitting centered against the back wall, was now pushed all the way into the corner. There were some things hung on the wall, what looked to be mostly band posters and movie posters, but there was a picture set on his nightstand of what looked to be a younger Mako. His hair was bleached and dyed silver in the photo, funny enough, but the dark roots were visible. He wore a black hoodie and was looking at the camera with a neutral expression. The background was a medium blue color, must’ve been a school photo. And next to it was a smaller picture of him, older now with short black hair, next to a woman holding a toddler on her hip. He stared at it for what he was sure was a long enough time for Mako to notice, but he didn't ask about it.

“Don’t mind if I hang out with you for a bit? Or were you plannin’ on going straight to bed?” Jamison asked. 

Mako shook his head, “Don’t mind. Gonna grab a beer, you want one?”

Jamie nodded, and Mako soon came back to the room, settling on his bed next to Jamison and handed him a can. They chatted for a while, mostly just small talk, until Mako grabbed the photo off his nightstand.

“Saw you staring at it,” and Jamison opened his mouth to apologize but Mako beat him to it, “‘s alright. Her name was Ewa. She saw six when it happened. It’d been eight years since it happened before I moved. I just felt so stuck in that moment.” He was looking down at the photo while he spoke, and his hair completely obscured his face from Jamison’s view, but he didn’t need to see him to hear the pain in his voice. “Finally thought that maybe a change of scenery would help.”

After a bit of silence, Jamison quietly asked, “Has it?”

Mako didn’t say anything at first, but then he turned to Jamison, tilting his head just a bit. “I’d say so.”

They continued talking for a little bit longer, both finishing of their drinks, sitting closer and closer until Mako was laid back on the bed and Jamison was nestled against him. Mako was mostly quiet at that point, and Jamison was mumbling stuff that started to make less and less sense until he talked himself to sleep.

Chapter Text

Jamison had every intention of leaving Mako’s room and going to sleep in the guest bed after they were done chatting. So the next morning, after he woke up to the harsh sunlight filtering through the window, imagine his surprise when he curled into the warmth next to him and realized that was a person. He jerked up, looking to see that he must’ve fallen asleep whilst laying next to Mako, and had apparently curled into him further in his sleep. Mako, who was… asleep? Jamison squinted and leaned closer to his face, trying to figure out if he was sleeping or simply resting still. And, of course, it wasn’t until the same moment Mako opened his eyes that Jamison realized he was leaning in quite close. They made eye contact and he froze for a few seconds, then jerked back and felt his whole face get hot.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, “I uh-I didn’t mean to-” he was cut off when Mako patted him on the head, not roughly, but his hands were so large that it made Jamison’s head duck down a bit.

“‘S fine, I didn’t mind,” Mako said, and lord, his voice was pretty deep and gravely as is, but was increased tenfold from sleep. Jamison nodded wordlessly and cautiously laid back down on the bed, warmth spreading over his cold skin after pressing against Mako. He wanted to wrap his tail around Mako and pull him infinitely closer. For a brief moment he considered what would happen if he revealed himself to Mako, then quickly scolded himself for such a stupid thought. Then he felt guilty about the whole thing. Mako had been so open about pretty personal stuff with Jamie, meanwhile he was hiding a massive secret.

“I should probably head back to Ana’s,” he muttered, reluctantly sitting up and pulling away from Mako. He would miss the comfort but he suddenly felt so guilty about everything.

“No breakfast?” Mako asked, picking his head up to look at Jamison.

He shook his head, “Nah, ‘m not really hungry.”

After that, he quickly changed his clothes and went to the door, giving Pearl a few pets before he left. By the time he left the house, Mako was barely out of bed, but managed to grab him for a quick hug.

When he got back to Ana’s, she was a bit cross to see him. She gave him a funny look when he desperately explained that he hadn't planned on it but ended up staying the night at Mako’s house.

“Where’s Fareeha?” Jamison asked, hoping he might be able to drag her into the conversation as an out.

“She went to get groceries,” Ana answered quickly, then put up a finger in his face, “but don't think you can change the topic! You stayed the night there?”

“Yeah, I-we talked a lot I’m-should I tell him?”

She squinted, “Tell him what, Jamison?” There was a warning tone to her voice, like she was telling him don't even go there.

“It’s-you're right, it’s nothing. Shouldn’t tell him anything. But I just,” he groaned, agonizing over how to explain, “I keep getting this horrible feeling in my chest about it. The keeping secrets. And what if-I don't even know what if. It just feels bad .”

“Ah,” she nodded empathetically. “Well, I’m not-” Ana paused, “I won’t tell you what you should do. Other than to be careful I suppose. You are right, secrets aren't healthy for relationships, I should know, but you're a special case.”

“Yeah, it’s-I’m,” he finally stopped his erratic pacing and dropped to the couch, dragging his hands down his face and groaning. He felt the cushion dip beside him and a long beat of silence passed between them. He hated that he was a special case . Jamison had rarely wished to be human in the long time he’d been doing what he did, and yet he found recently that he was more and more often wishing that he could be. Just for a little if nothing else.

“I just… don't know what I’m doing,” Jamison groaned and dropped his hands onto his lap. Ana shrugged beside him.

“Who does?”

“But it comes naturally to you guys,” he gestured vaguely. Naturally to humans. They grew up learning all these sorts of things and he felt like he was playing catch up. 

“That’s not always enough though,” she sighed and Jamison was thrown off by how wistful it sounded. He looked up. “My daughter is reluctantly home for the holidays, for the first time in years. Reinhardt is coming over to see how it feels having him here because, whether we want to admit it or not, we’ve both grown to be lonely. Growing up human isn't enough to make the right choice every time.”

“So I don’t stand a chance,” he said cynically, then murmured an apology when Ana gave him a sharp look.

“What I mean to say is that you will mess up, as anyone else does, and it won't make you worse than them.”

“Okay,” he said softly, pulling his knees to his chest and hugging them tightly, “okay.”

Dinner that night wasn't awkward, mostly because Fareeha didn't eat with them. Not for a lack of effort on Jamie’s part, he lurked around in spirit form for a while whilst Ana was making dinner, but when she didn't show to help he figured it would be rude to just sit and stare while she worked, so he joined her in cooking. When he asked about it, Ana told him that Fareeha was out that night, she had only been to the village once before but had connected with Kiriko and Brigitte, just as Jamison had, and was catching up with them.

Jamison chattered on to Ana about anything he could think of, but he still couldn't shake the weird, sad energy that was tangible in the air once they sat down to eat. Finally, he reluctantly inquired about Reinhardt and, luckily, Ana perked up just a little like he’d hoped. Tomorrow he was supposed to arrive and Jamison gracefully didn't gripe about the fact that he was only finding out that night. At the end of the day, he was a not-so-benevolent spirit that had no real need to occupy physical space. He supposed that he could travel around the world during the nights instead. But he found that he was starting to enjoy sleeping, so wandering the world, spreading misery, didn't sound so fun anymore. 

He thought that perhaps he could spend more time at Mako’s. Briefly Jamison considered that he might be annoying to Mako, but he shook that off quickly. Mako seemed like the sort of guy to make it clear if he didn't want anything to do with you, and Jamison never felt as though he was on the receiving end of it.

That night, after Jamison helped Ana clean up, he decided he needed to go through the woods for a romp. Oftentimes, He didn’t mind his human form, or any other for that matter (he could run through the woods as a deer if he so pleased), but staying as anything other than his natural physical form could start to feel restricting. The only way it could be described was as if being trapped within yourself, just itching and clawing to find your way out.

And god what a relief it was to dash out the back door under the twinkling stars and finally feel his tail again swishing around. His ears flicked and twitched at every little noise in the woods. An owl hooted and Krampus yelled back, starting as a shout and ending with a cackle. Good, good, good, he felt so good. 

He could feel the cold gnawing at him but it was never something painful, if anything, it added to his state of euphoria. With a running start, Krampus kicked up a large spray off snow and watched it shimmer in the moonlight through the air. He felt absolutely on top of the world, and couldn't bring himself to care at all when a numbingly cold gust of wind whistled sharply past him, rustling the leaves. 

He sprinted (perhaps galloped) around the outskirts of the village, passing numerous buildings with only a few small warm lights in the windows of homes. Behind him he left an odd trail of prints, knowing that the nightly snow would leave them long gone by morning.

“Aye!”

A loud shout tore Krampus from his bliss, and he was so stunned that, rather than dropping his physical form, he stood there, gaping into the night. It look him far too many seconds to untense because, well, he knew that voice. Mako, it seemed, had a bad habit of calling out at strangers in the woods. It wasn't until he saw his outline approaching in the night and heard him curse something to the effect of “what the fuck” that he finally snapped out of his daze and disappeared. Krampus watched anxiously as Mako trudged around for a bit, seeming to grow more and more irritated about being able to find him. Eventually he grumbled something to himself and stalked back to his yard, where Pearl was anxiously pacing by the fence for him. And Krampus couldn't help feeling a bit bad, he was just trying to take Pearl out for a bit. So, he told himself showing up at Mako’s would be a bit like a silent apology.

“Ah,” Mako sighed when he answered the door to Jamison, as though he'd been expecting something but wasn't sure if it was going to happen. “Becoming a bit of a habit,” he chuckled and grabbed Jamison’s forearm, gently pulling him into the house.

“Think you’ll stay the night?” Mako asked, flicking on the living room lights.

Jamison laughed and shrugged, but when Mako didn't laugh as well, he tilted his head. Mako was inviting him over.

“I-I mean, you know, maybe,” Jamie stumbled over his words.

“Only if you want,” Mako huffed, but he sounded amused. “Drink? Water, beer, think I've got some sodas.”

“Nah, I’m good. Good good good,” he mumbled, hitting his leg in rhythm.

“You like going out late all the time?” Mako asked casually while he dropped onto his couch.

“Suppose so,” Jamison responded absentmindedly, just a little distracted by the fact that he, for lack of phrasing that didn't make him sound a bit insane, wanted to jump into Mako’s bones. But he couldn't do that, so he settled for sitting on the couch next to him, pressed as deep into his side as he was physically capable of.

The silence that followed, Jamie thought was mutually comfortable, until Mako started speaking.

“You ever, hm, ever see anything a bit strange in the woods.” And while he sounded unsure bringing it up, no alarms had been set off in Jamison’s head. He of all beings knew that humans had a tendency to see things in the dark, tended to be fearful when they were alone, ironically, because they were afraid that they weren't actually alone.

“Not really, I mean, animals sometimes, when I don't realize it's an animal yet.”

Mako quieted again and Jamie figured he’d just been looking for a topic of conversation and had just seen something strange so obviously that came to mind. But then…

“Not even the night you got here?” And Mako said it so casually. So Jamison tried to match his energy.

“I was lost, wandering through the woods at night, I’m sure I thought-” he stopped for a moment. It sounded more like he was describing someone else’s experience.

“‘S just funny I guess. When I first got here I felt fine. But, what was it, a week? Just about I think, a week after I got here I started feeling these chills. Times when I'm alone at the house and I can’t shake this feeling. Not just here though, Ana’s too, like someone was just sitting in the corner watching us talk.”

Jamison chuckled, the back of his neck feeling hot, “I don’t-you alright? I-”

“And then,” Mako continues, draping an arm over Jamie’s shoulders, arm long enough across him that his hand could hold Jamie’s side. Didn’t feel romantic, didn't even feel friendly, Jamison felt trapped there. “Then you show up. And the feeling goes away. But there’s still this itch sometimes. And the shapes in the woods, they don't go away. Saw one tonight. It’s funny, almost has me convinced it’s human every time.” He looked down at Jamie, and try as he might, Jamison couldn't figure out the emotion spread on his face. Couldn't figure out if there was one there at all. “But then I see the horns.”

Chapter Text

“I…” I am fucked. I am completely and utterly fucked. “I don’t know what you mean.”

Mako obviously knew. Maybe not all the little details, that he was Krampus specifically, but if nothing else he clearly knew Jamison wasn't human. And that was what mattered. What was the point of playing dumb? But Jamison didn't know what else to do. With Ana, it seemed like she knew. He hadn't manifested himself, no, but after a while of lurking around her home, she knew there was some sort of spirit or presence. She started calling him Rat, a nickname that he hated and yet named his favorite of the chicks after. So when he finally did manifest and explain who he was, there was no conversation to be had. No “I've found you out.”

“Ana clearly knows, you're too close with her to have just been here for the past month. How long have you been coming here?” Mako completely ignored his denial which felt a little rude but, well, fair. But Jamison didn’t have anything to say, there was nothing he could do other than admit who he was. And he couldn't imagine that would help. “Kiriko and Brigitte, do they know? Does everyone but me? Or is Ana the only one?” He huffed and Jamison felt the grip at his side tighten, “But know what? What are you? Really?”

“I-I’m Jamison. I’m Ana’s friend, Kiriko’s friend, Brigitte’s friend, your, well…” he trailed off, having doubts he’d be Mako’s anything by the end of their conversation.

“Now you know that’s not what I'm asking,” Mako looked him up and down like he was going to dissect him and figure it out for himself. “Jamison. What are you? ”

“I-” here it goes, he tried to take it all in and enjoy his last few moments in this house because he was certain he wouldn’t be back, assuming he’d even be capable of manifesting in the village ever again. Perhaps a twinge dramatic but one thing was for sure. Mako wouldn't want anything to do with him anymore. “A spirit, of sorts. It’s-”

“Prove it,” Mako said with such an authority that Jamison thought for a moment that he might’ve unwillingly poof into his natural physical form. But try as he might there was no tail to tuck between his legs and he realized that no, Mako had in fact not willed him into his beastly form. Well, he supposed it would be easier to show Mako that he was Krampus rather than explain it, but that didn't mean he wanted to.

Still, even though the logical part of his brain was screaming that he could run and there was nothing Mako could do to stop him, that hardened look kept him rooted to the spot. So, he sighed and accepted what was about to happen.

Silence. More silence. And then…

“Why are you grey? ”

“I-wha-it’s,” he looked at his arm.

“No, don't argue, you are grey,” Mako insisted. Krampus watched his eyes look him over so rapidly that he couldn't figure out where they were looking until they settled on the top of his head. “Those horns are a bit much. Ears are-well, I don't know that cute is the right word but.”

“Cute? I’m-I'm not cute, I'm Krampus, ” he insisted, hissing and flicking out his tongue for added flare. Mako’s eyes were, however, elsewhere, and Krampus looked at him, confused until Mako, with surprising speed, suddenly grabbed his tail roughly.

“So it’s real,” he muttered to himself when Krampus yelped and pulled his tail from Mako’s grasp, petting it soothingly.

“Yes it’s real! This isn’t-it’s not a costume, I'm Krampus . What-what even is this? What are you doing?” He huffed, ears twitching with irritation. “God I mean figured there was a chance you might make fun of me a little bit but the ridicule is excessive.”

“Jamison I’m not-”

“I was ready for the whole ‘get out of my house, you're a freak’ whatever, but you pulled my tail which feels rude.” He rambled, starting to tug anxiously at the long fur on his legs.

“Jamison-”

“You know kick me out, tell the town, start a witch hunt but still-”

“Jamison!” Krampus froze up. He’d heard Mako shout before, sure, like in the woods, from a distance. But up close? Right next to him? Not so much. He curled in on himself just a bit and was surprised that when he looked up, as far as he was able to tell, Mako wasn't angry, or scared, or disgusted, just, well. He wasn't quite sure. “I can admit, this is a bit much to take in. But I’m not-why would I do any of that. ”

“I-” he giggled in disbelief, “Mate, I don't know how many times I can say it but I’m Krampus. Why wouldn't you start a mob? You don't think I'm gonna start eating children or something?”

“Are you?”

“Well no but,” Krampus paused, “Why’d you seem so mad?”

“You lying to me about next to everything about you could have something to do with it,” he deadpanned, taking his hair out of its ponytail at the same time.

“Listen if I was just lying about my life as a human or whatever I'd get it but what did you want me to do?”

Mako didn't say anything for a moment and then shrugged, “Point taken. Just, I told you a lot about myself. Turns out you didn’t tell me anything.”

“Wish-I wish I did have anything to tell.” Mako made a questioning hum and Krampus sighed, elaborating, “I was a human once, but I don't remember it. I’ve tried, I have nightmares about it sometimes but,” he curled into himself further, “I figure I had to’ve been a bad person. Y’know? To end up like this.”

“Hm,” Mako sighed, “Don't know that though?”

“I mean… I guess not,” he didn't argue because it seemed that arguing with Mako was a pointless venture.

Mako knew. Mako knew and he wasn't mad. Scratch that. Wasn't mad for the reasons Krampus thought he'd be, which he saw as basically the same thing. Which meant..?

“You just wanted to know?” Krampus questioned. He just felt confused now. Surely it wasn't comforting to know someone was secretly Krampus, even if it was something you were already suspicious of. It couldn't be that.

“Of course I want to know,” Mako muttered, raising a hand to Krampus's face. He flinched away until Mako paused his hand and then, much slower, brought it to rest gently on his cheek. Oh . He leaned into it. “But it can’t feel great to be hiding all the time. Are you ever like this? With Ana?”

“No,” he mumbled, “Don't wanna scare her. I know ‘m not the nicest thing to look at.”

“Don't think you're so bad,” Mako spoke and Krampus couldn't help snorting. He appreciated the kindness but wasn't sure how he felt about the lie. “What? You don't think so.”

“Don't tease,” Krampus sighed, “I’m-I’ve got jagged teeth and these-these big ass tufts of fur, I mean my nails, ” he lifted his organic hand.

Mako shrugged, “I’m fat, my hair's all greys-”

“Well-” Krampus tried to interrupt because he liked those features, thank you very much.

“-I’ve got this fucked up-looking scar on my lips.”

“But-”

“ My point is, ” Mako emphasized, “that I’ve got plenty of things about me that people don't usually consider attractive, you don't seem to have a problem with them, do you?” Krampus shook his head violently. He most certainly didn’t. “Well, there you go then.”

Krampus sat with that, and Mako allowed him the silence. Mako wasn’t mad at him, he claimed to not mind, no, like how Krampus looked, and, what, wanted to still be his friend? Still date him? That… that couldn't be right. Like he told Mako, he knew how he looked, he knew the way that he was. The kindest lens he was viewed through was as a necessary evil (aside from Ana and Kiriko), and he couldn't truly argue with that because what could be said? As kind as he was capable of being, he couldn't deny that goodness wasn't the nature of his being. Even Mako and Ana, people he undeniably cared about, he hadn't been very nice to when he first began interacting with them. 

But Krampus took a moment to steady his breathing and remind himself of what he knew to be indisputable. Mako was the kind of guy to let you know if he didn't want you around. And even if he couldn't find confidence in the idea that he well and truly liked not just Jamison but Krampus , he could at least be assured that Mako still liked him. Still wanted him around.

What a concept.

“So how does this all work?” Mako asked after the two had been settled down for a bit (though Krampus was still clearly a bit of a live wire). Krampus tilted his head. “The different forms.”

“Ah,” he sat up, “I chose them. Well, not this one. I have two, I guess you'd call them natural states of being? Spirit form and then this. So this I don't choose, but I can preset any other way however I want, it’s just… more comfortable being in a natural form.”

“And the prosthetics?”

“Ah just for fun,” he shrugged, but when Mako didn't laugh he cringed a bit. “Joking. I must’ve died without an arm and a leg because I can’t get them, in any form. Chose to have prosthetics because I like having two arms and two legs.”

Mako nodded and gently pulled at Krampus, giving him the ability to lean away if he didn't want to, but he followed his movement. Mako pulled him onto his lap facing him and hovered a hand over his head.

“Can I touch?”

Krampus nodded and felt the dull sensation of Mako running his hand over his horns.

“So this is more comfortable than looking… human?” Krampus hummed. “How so?”

“It’s,” he paused for a moment, distracted by Mako’s fingers scratching at the base where his horns connect to his head, “it's difficult to explain. I just feel, uh, stuck? Claustrophobic maybe, when I'm in another form. And it's really faint, like-like a low buzzing or something, and you don't realize how much it's actually been bothering you until it stops.”

“Doesn't sound pleasant,” Mako gruffed and rustled his hair, which Krampus leaned into, looking not unlike a dog. His ear twitched when one of Mako’s fingers grazed it and he huffed a laugh. Krampus tried to grumble about it but ended up sighing instead when he ran his hand up the top of it. He’d never really thought about it up until that moment, but he was starting to realize that he couldn't remember the last time he’d experienced any sort of affection more than a comforting pat on the shoulder from Ana, or the brief hug they’d share at the end of the season. And he was realizing that he really, really liked it. He felt himself rock forwards once, then twice, and the third time Mako everso carefully nudged his back and he flopped into his chest. He felt Mako’s chest rumble, presumably out of amusement of some sort, but he couldn't bring himself to care, especially as Mako started gently stroking down his back. His spine was pretty jaggedy and jutted out, even through his coat, and he could feel Mako’s fingers bumping against each bone. Krampus was completely putty, like he melted onto Mako’s chest.

“That’s nice then?” Mako asked, but there was a tone to his voice like he knew the answer. Still, Krampus hummed in agreement and felt his tail slowly swish in contentment.

After quite a bit of time passed and Krampus felt like jelly, Mako nudged his face and he reluctantly lifted his head.

“Wanna go to bed?”

After he successfully stumbled into the bed and poofed away his coat, Krampus rolled as close to Mako as he could, until he could feel his breathing on his face, and he wondered about something. He wondered about it for what felt like ages but was realistically probably not even a minute before he finally took a breath and mumbled, “Kiss me?”

“Kiss you?” Mako repeated, and Krampus nodded his head, blinking slowly.

“Please?”

“Alright, alright,” Mako said tenderly, and placed a hand on Krampus’s cheek. Krampus shuffled closer, holding his breath as Mako slowly leaned forward and gently pressed their lips together. He didn't quite know what he was doing, but he figured that it’d be fine, Mako had lived a lot of life (been married ) so he would just follow his lead. So when Mako pulled away just enough to breathe for a moment, Krampus did the same thing, and when he pressed back harder, so did he. Krampus was so distracted by the kissing part that he didn't notice Mako’s hand wander until he felt his nails scratch dully on his scalp before tugging gently on his hair. And squeal wasn't the word he wanted to use, but he couldn't figure another way to describe the sound he made.

Mako pulled back and gave Krampus a questioning look, asking if he was okay with the whole thing.

“More. Please?”

If Krampus and Mako made out quite a bit before they went to bed then that wouldn't be anyone's business but their own. The only thing he would say is that Mako’s canines seemed to be nearly as sharp as his, and now he could confirm that as fact.

The next morning, he proposed that they make a nice breakfast and Mako agreed. After a bit of insisting, Mako let Jamie go to the store to get bacon and waffle mix. When he got back to the house it only took a few minutes before Mako insisted that he go back to his Krampus form and so he did because truly who was he to deny Mako anything? He was charged with making the waffles (a wise decision) whilst Mako worked on the bacon. He told Krampus that, while he did like his bacon on the crisper side, he didn't prefer it charred and Krampus just nodded along. He was still riding the high of a combination of getting the weight of being Krampus off his chest and the whole kissing thing, so Mako could probably say just about anything and he would happily hum along.

Chapter Text

“Jamison, does he not feed you?” Ana stressed with fake concern in her voice as he grabbed a third helping of food. She, of course knew the truth that he could eat infinitely if he wished, and he did settle on the third helping being the last, even though he wanted to eat whatever was left. Maybe if she didn't want him eating all her food then she should cook worse.

“Promise I do,” Mako murmured into his glass of wine that he’d been trying his best to sip on slowly, though Jamison could see clearly that he wanted to down the whole bottle for himself. Jamison himself couldn't say he saw the appeal of wine other than that it made him feel a little fancy to drink he supposed.

Jamison settled back down at the crowded table, next to Mako and Ana, across from Reinhardt, and started trying to eat his food a little slower, perhaps properly savor it rather than inhale it as he’d done to the last few plates.

This was their second year now doing a sort of Christmas dinner. More of a vaguely winter meal, none of the Amari household celebrated it and Mako shrugged off the whole holiday pretty easily, so even though it may have been a dinner on Christmas eve Jamison wasn't sure that was what they actually called it. Maybe just… dinner. There was no tradition to it other than the meal itself, which was fine by Jamison, any sort of gift exchanging sounded a little stressful to him.

Even though he still presented as Jamison, it was one of the few places he could be “human” and still feel like himself. They had, the first year they’d done it, tweaked his story just a little. It didn't make much sense for Ana to invite some random man who stayed at her house once to her family dinners, so they’d told the others that he’d actually been coming every winter for a few years. It was believable enough, it wasn't as though Fareeha or Reinhardt had been to her house in that time anyways. 

“Mm, how’s Melrose?” Jamison asked Ana, glancing at the window behind her, though it was already dark out and he couldn't see through the glare. That was a different tradition, every year Ana would incubate a round of eggs and Jamison would get to name one of them, Melrose being his newest addition to the flock.

“She’s good, though a bit of a bully I'm afraid,” Ana sighed, “keeps pecking at the smaller hens. I think she’s learning it from the bad roosters. First time I've seen a hen learn like that, I might really have to cull them.”

“I keep saying this,” Reinhardt cut in, “roosters are supposed to protect the hens, if they’re attacking them instead then they need to be dealt with.”

“Or, uh, maybe we could take them?” Jamison hastily added, causing Mako’s head to swiftly turn to him.

“We?”

“Yeah-yeah, I mean all the bullies can just live together away from the hens an-and ya know just chill?”

“ We could certainly talk about it,” Mako responded, grabbing the bottle of wine and pouring a bit more into his glass.

“I suppose that would work,” Reinhardt answered, much more enthusiastic to entertain the idea than Mako was.

“Anyway,” Jamison turned, giving Fareeha a sly look, “how’s things going with that girl at your work, what was her name again?”

“Ha, I can’t believe you thought that would work,” Jamie frowned and rolled his eyes as she continued, “I’ll gladly tell everyone her name and plenty else if things get serious, but we’re just talking right now.” She sighed, “I shouldn't have told Kiriko I had an eye on someone, you two talk far too much.”

“Yes we do,” he smiled, having no problem with it at all. Kiriko was a bit like a partner in crime when it came to mischief and gossip around the town. Realistically Jamison had the full ability to find out anything and everything about anyone but there was any fun to it like that, gossiping and snooping was only fun if you risked being caught and admittedly they typically weren't but still. Nothing quite like sitting around the corner of an isle from someone having a very personal conversation on the phone in a very public grocery store.

Once everyone (Jamison) finished their food and they’d talked for quite a few more hours, the night started to wind down. Eventually, with much reluctance, Jamison and Mako found themselves saying their goodbyes and walking home. 

“So… the roosters?” Jamie looked up hopefully at Mako, who put up a hand.

“Don't ask me about it right now because I'll say no. Ask me tomorrow when I’m less tired.”

Jamison frowned but didn't push the subject, instead grabbing Mako’s hand and swinging it dramatically whilst they walked. Mako, in turn, rolled his eyes and huffed, but didn't stop the action.

“Tired, so we can’t do a movie then?”

“Well I didn't say that, did I?” Mako answered as he unlocked the door to their house, keys jingling in the air, not quite overpowering the sound of Pearl squealing on the other side of the wood.

“Hi, hi, hi!” Jamison chanted the moment the door opened, spinning around while Pearl circled him and Mako muttered something about not riling her up, clearly falling upon deaf ears. “You miss me, you miss me? I think she missed us!” He yelled as he dropped to the floor, letting her sniff all over his face and clothes.

Suddenly there was a massive hand taking hold of the back of his shirt collar and Jamison couldn't help cackling to himself as Mako started dragging him across the hardwood.

“Come on you dirty thing, I think you need a shower.”

“I can’t get dirty!” he insisted, skin fading into a grey, hair darkening as it grew into an unruly mess. He thrashed his tail around, but calmed down when he realized he was being pulled toward the living room rather than the bathroom. He could get dirty, and he probably did need a shower, but he could always do that after they watched a movie.

Pearl followed him as he was dragged, nipping at his toes and making him yelp. She’d long since grown used to his transformations, or, rather, had never been put off them in the first place, Jamison was certain that she could always recognize his scent. 

When they reached the couch, Mako had no problem lifting him like a kitten onto the couch, where Jamie quickly snuggled into him. In all honesty, he didn't really care about watching a movie all that much, it was spending more time with Mako before he went to bed that made it novel for him.

He sighed contently as the TV screen lit up and Mako placed his free hand on his head, quickly tangling it in his hair.

“Don’t pass out on me yet, you're not due for at least four more months.”

Jamie sighed, melting into the touch quickly. Mako was right, and unfortunately, it seemed that no amount of falling in love prevented him from needing to hibernate for all of summer and most of spring. Though he had found that he seemed to be perfectly capable of doing his long nap and Mako’s rather than in the North Pole. And perhaps the reason he’d always done it there could be chalked up to his inability to stop himself from using his powers during his rest season if he did it anywhere else, but he would never admit that. No he chose to believe it was the magic of true love or something like that. 

And he could say that while he’d never necessarily enjoying his activeness being more than halved, it was made a lot more bearable having someone there who would bring him food whenever he wanted (even if he didn't need it), and was more than willing to keep him entertained during his few hours of proper consciousness he got each week. He’d had it worse.

Yes, he thought as he snuggled further into Mako as a movie started to play on the TV, and a second hand started to pet him down his back, he’d certainly had it worse.