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The holidays were times of beauty and happiness, although Jimmy could be feeling less than happy right now. He watched as the snow fell outside the window, it slowly seemed to be accumulating which meant that hopefully, it would be strong enough to either have snowball fights or build snowmen. Although it would be better with another elf that was around.
“Jimmy! Stop moping around and come help us! He’ll be back soon.” Jimmy moved from where he was sitting over to where the female voice came from. An anxious tail swung back and forth while her face remained steady and calm. It was easy to pick up on the habits that she gave, knowing just how similar she is to her brother, his husbando. It was comforting in a way to see that she was just as worried for him as he was himself, especially with the way that her facade broke off whenever she looked out the window. He could even see how the tips of her hair were turning somewhat blue just looking outside before they turned back to their normal blonde.
“You and Tango are similar. He probably would have done the same thing.” He watched as some red made its way to her face before she scoffed and rolled her eyes.
“You guys are disgusting. Come help us make cookies and food. I’m sure we can make some of your favorite desserts come on. You're more of a baker than your sister anyway.” Jimmy laughed as he heard his sister complain in the other room. He got up and followed Niki from afar before sneaking in through the other door into the kitchen, not seeing that Niki was there and just his sister at the stove, which was probably a bad idea that he went through anyway, surprised her. Sure his ears hurt as she jumped and screamed so loud, slightly knocking into him while Niki came in next to them. Oh, how his stomach hurt as he was grabbing onto it, tears in his eyes from laughing too hard. For a second he thought he might be sick.
“Yeah Yeah laugh it up, Jimmy. Holy void.” She was grabbing onto her chest while staring at him with shock and horror causing another burst of laughter to come from him before he started to stand up and wipe away some of the tears. “I’m near a hot stove, Jimmy. Could have burnt me.” She rolled her eyes but went back to the soup, somewhat upset.
“Aww come on Shrubs. I’ll make it up to you. I’ll bake you your favorite. Honestly, I think we should anyway. It's a Christmas tradition I haven’t upheld since we started living here.” Jimmy began to think back to when he last made the dessert while Niki moved around with a bowl of some sort of mix.
“Lemon brownies?” He could see the stars in Shubble’s eyes as she looked at him with anticipation and something that was probably hopefulness. He smiled widely as he felt Niki watch from behind him in what he could assume was probably confusion.
“Of course! What has Christmas been without Lemon brownies? It’s been forever since I’ve made them.” Jimmy thinks back before shaking his head to get back to the present in which Shubble's face was lit up. “I don’t know if we have lemons but I’m pretty sure we have everything.”
“I remember to stock up on a few different things and there should be some lemons in there anyway. What the hell are lemon brownies though? Just sour brownies?” Jimmy looked over to Niki who was grabbing some juice from the fridge before pouring it into the bowel of dry ingredients. It was going to be a typical bread then. Despite how simple it usually is, it's been a nice comfort from anything fancy or extravagant. What he couldn’t wait to look forward to though, were the cookies that she was going to make. As she closed the door and looked at the calendar, there were still a few days left before Christmas which meant they’d hopefully be coming soon or be some sort of Christmas Eve activity which made it even fun. He felt his heart begin to ache as he moved around thinking about Christmas Eve. Shubble telling the lemon brownie story was something nice to have as background noise while he made his way around the island to the bookshelf with the recipes of things he’d make. Of course, his mind would drift back to Tango as he saw the rings sitting comfortably on his left hand. They got this house about two years after their marriage, inviting their sisters to live with them so that the house wasn’t as empty. It’s only been four years since their marriage and they’ve both made it so that they would never miss a holiday that wouldn’t include each other or the sisters. It was nice to have family live under the same roof, but the ache came back with a slight sinking feeling as he pulled out the book with the most thickness from the recipes he’d put in and the tabs of some of his personal favorites.
As he mindlessly flipped through the pages of recipes, he thought back to the reason why his husband wasn’t even here. Work was something that of course they still had to do, the only problem was Tango’s job. Both Shubble and Niki were currently in school and had jobs in the local area so it wasn’t that far of a drive. Jimmy himself had an online job. At times he’d have to go into the city but it isn’t something that he commonly does and he enjoys being his sort of boss when it comes to his hours. Tango on the other hand was a mix. On the days he did work he’d have to drive to the city, which wasn’t even the worst of it. Tango’s job required him to also go on business trips, most of these being out of state or the rare out of country. Luckily everything was paid by his job, except for all the trinkets he could get for the family. It was sweet but it still hurt every time Tango had to pack his bags. Especially now as well with Christmas so close.
“Jimmy, are you alright?” A hum left his lips as he looked up to the concerned look that his sister gave him. “You’re just staring at the book, not even looking at anything.” Right. He was supposed to be looking for baking things.
“Sorry. I was distracted.” He offered a smile to Shubble who somewhat took it but, of course, was still worried.
“I’m fine, Shubble. Just, you know.” he shrugged with a slightly more genuine smile. “Thinking about things.”
“It’s probably about Tango.” Niki popped up, startling the sibling duo with each of them, a smirk on her face from them jumping. “Let’s be honest I’m right and sure you're not alone. But your lover birds and it’s sick.” She stuck her tongue out causing JImmy to laugh and comb his hair with his hands.
“I guess you caught me there. But enough about me. We got some baking to do, so let's do it!” The girls nodded and it felt like we all went into overdrive. All three of them danced around each other, putting things out on the dinner table for the sake of keeping space in the kitchen, making the famous Niki cookies, and throwing bits of batter between the three of them, but it was mainly Jimmy and Shubble throwing things at each other and both girls teaming up against him.
When the last set of baked goods was placed in the oven, everyone headed towards the living room to watch a few movies. It started with a few soft ones before Jimmy suggested they switch over to some more comedy movies since none of them cared much for Hallmark movies and the cheesy romance they had, if anything it was just making fun of the movies anyway. It was partially through Elf when Jimmy got up and started to make a few bags of popcorn that could be shared between the three of them before a knock was heard on the front door. Jimmy’s heart began to swell as he quickly moved to the stairway that led to the front door, no longer hearing the movie itself as he opened the door, excitement on his face dying as soon as he saw who it was. He couldn’t help it when his face fell seeing the blonde of his older brother.
“I drive out here to what feels like the middle of nowhere and the amount of snow out here and I’m greeted with this face.” It was slightly muffled due to him being on the other side of a glass door with hands full of a mix of what looks like wrapping paper and boxes. A thought popped up in his head as the other male continued to talk. He knew that the other needed his help by opening the door, so what if he just closed the main door and left him outside. Even if he did do it, Shubble would probably then yell at him, but he knew it would be funny to do so.
“Move Grian so I can let you in.” He opened it slightly and then Grian shimmied a bit to JImmy’s right as Jimmy opened it, going outside himself and shivering from the cold. Looking out as Grian walked into the house asking for some help. Grian wasn’t kidding with the amount of snow. It looked like a blizzard with just how much was falling. How much or how hard actually? It was hard to tell if there was more snow coming down or if it was snowing harder. Looking over to where Grian’s car was, he couldn’t help but wince a bit as the snow seemed to be piling fast. Grian was probably gonna be stuck here for a while. Sure the man drove but Jimmy only hoped that he had packed a bit of clothing for his stay, he highly doubted his clothes would fit him.
“Jimmy. Close the door.” Looking into the house he thought he saw Niki before realizing that it was Shubble. There was a blanket draped around her body as she looked at him, with a look of sorrow. He watched and followed her gaze as it went from him to the outside and he had a feeling he already knew why. Throughout his relationship, Tango and Shubble got along well. The two were more of a duo than he was with Tango. Down in his heart, she also saw him as a brother next to Jimmy. Yes, she got along well with Niki but to compare it to Tango, yeah she had reason to be hurt. Closing the glass door that leads inside before locking the big one and having that close. At this point it was just trying to get his mind off of, well, Tango instead of other things. With how late it was becoming might as well just hang around and mingle. At the top of the stairs, he watched as Niki and Grian talked to each other as Shubble joined them asking which one was her present before trying to guess what it might be with a shake. Honestly, though, he missed this. There was a reason why Christmas was his favorite holiday and the reason for it was right there, Grian yelling at Shubble to not shake it as much, Niki laughing, Shubble being herself. Of course, there's gonna be things missing but there's gonna be one holiday.
“It’s time for the wish!” Niki called out from the kitchen, bringing out the cake with candles. Grian was new to this and probably had no clue what Niki meant when they made their way to the dining table. Grian sat next to Shubble while Jimmy was across from her. Niki took the main seat, putting down the little cake she made, four candles on top of them before she sat down.
“I know it's your first time Grian but it’s a little nether tradition that we have here. We do a little bit of both. And red velvet is better than anything we had in the nether for food as well.” She laughed at her little joke before continuing. “You call it Christmas but we grew up with Wishmoor. It mainly is just people making wishes and hoping they come through. What we do is that we take a piece of paper and then put our wish before burning it. Though me and Tango made it slightly different since bonfires are hard in this weather.” More laughter came out of that one as Niki began to cut the cake. One slice for each of them with a candle on top. Niki brought her hands out and each of us grabbed on. Well, Jimmy and Shubble grabbed onto Niki’s hand. Grian looked confused before Shubble gave her hand for Grian to grab. He hesitated and Jimmy just smiled as Shubble forcefully grabbed his hand and placed it on the table. Closing his eyes he put his focus on Tango. Heart swelled as he made his wish, blowing out the candle just as he heard Niki do it as well.
“Now, who's ready for hot chocolate?”
A shiver ran down Jimmy’s spine as he slowly woke up. Blinking to take in the surroundings, he was sleeping on a single chair, and Grian sleeping on another with Niki and Shubble up against each other. Next to Grian, the light of the tree was still turned on. From there he was drawn to the TV. He winced at the fact that it was still on. The electric bill was probably going to be so high because of it. He got up and started to clean up the living room, starting with the TV. Grabbing control, he turned off the TV and then began grabbing cups and plates and putting them in the kitchen before moving them to the sink to wash them. He began to think of the others' currency sleeping and looked at them all peacefully. It would probably disrupt them to have the light turned on, so he just left them in the sink to deal with in the morning. For now, though, he decided to grab a mug and poured himself some of the hot chocolate, surprisingly still hot. It did its job to warm him up as he looked out the window just behind Grian. It wouldn’t hurt, would it?
He should have at least put on a jacket to cover himself up, but he honestly didn’t care that much as he stepped outside. The chill of winter was a comfort just as much as the hot chocolate in his hands. A smile on his lips when he let out a breath similar to that of a dragon. He thought back to when he was younger just standing outside waiting for the bus. It was fun then, it still is fun now. It was relaxing, to say the least, thinking about the times he was with Shubble, getting his mind off of Tango. Sipping the hot drink caused a pleasant roll of shivers down his spine. Moving off to the left of the porch up some steps to the balcony, mainly to lean on the railing and overlook the snowy lawn. A sigh of relief as he looked over before looking at the other houses that were around, each with their own set of decorations. He could see at least one family still up and about with kids yelling about presents, making him chuckle before taking another sip. As the warmth began its spread, he took notice of lights from a distance. Straightening himself up as he watched the lights turn into a car. Someone was surely coming home late as he looked over at his watch, bells ringing around as midnight struck and the lights only got closer. Okay, where was this person even going? He moved now to get down to the actual porch of the house as the lights got closer, showing that they were coming from a car. A car that began to pull up in his driveway. Jimmy was quick to move, getting closer to the door, but not yet opening it or heading inside. The lights turned off before it stayed put and silent. A beat. A second. The sounds of the door opening and closing and the slight muffle of what might have been someone talking before he saw blue flames coming around it. Sucking in a breath as his heart clenched and who it might be, the sound of bells and his heart being the only things that he could hear. The cup he was holding came closer to his chest, gripping onto it as if his life depended on it.
The bag was left to clatter on the ground as warmth surrounded Jimmy, causing him to just lean onto the person who hugged him, the mug still close to his chest but thankfully not enough that it would spill all over him. The bells from the distance stopped tolling right as Jimmy let out a shuddering breath as his eyes closed and forehead touched the shoulder of the man holding him.
“Jimmy, what are you doing out here? You’re going to freeze.” His face was pulled out from the shoulder and brought to look at the male in the face. Leaning into the warm hand on his cheek, he opened his eyes and sucked in a breath. Reddish brown eyes looked over his face in worry and concern. Instead of answering, Jimmy just leaned into the hand, closing his eyes again as he heard the sigh from his husband, making him open his eyes and flutter them at him.
“Let me grab my bag and head inside okay love.” Jimmy nodded as Tango kissed his temple, pulling himself away to grab the bag he dropped on the floor to just embrace Jimmy. The best he could do was hold open the door as Tango made his way through the house and up the stairs to stare out into the living room. At the same time, Jimmy closed and locked the door before heading up himself, passing Tango, and going into the kitchen to pour out the rest of his drink, leaving it with some water inside. Leaving it there, warm arms around his waist and pulled him back onto a chest. Looking up, Tango was looking down at him with eyes full of love, making him blush and look away. Jimmy felt Tango pull away, standing up to lean against the sink and watch as Tango got the Bluetooth speaker and turned on, both of them wincing once Tango probably got it connected to his phone, chucking softly as Tango lowered the volume and played a song softly.
“Our dance song.” Jimmy sighed as Tango walked over and pulled him away from the sink, his hands moving to hold Tango by his neck while Tango put his arms around his waist. His head was on Tango’s chest while Tango put his chin on top of his head, just softly swaying in each other's arms. The song began to finish as Tango kissed Jimmy’s head softly.
“My wish came true.” Tango pushed him somewhat away before making a hum of a question to look at Jimmy, making him slightly blush. “Uh, during our little wishmoore, my wish is that you’d come back.” Jimmy’s last words were slightly muffled as he did his best to hide in Tango’s chest, making his husband chuckle as well.
“Well then, so did mine. I bought myself a cupcake and made a wish more into it that I would get home for Christmas and see you all.” Jimmy lets himself be coaxed out before Tango kisses him. Jimmy can’t help the red growing on his face, eyes widening as if it is their first kiss ever before they close. He looked at Tango as they separated and a smile formed on his lips. “Let's go to bed. There is no place I’d rather be right now than a warm bed with my lovely husband.” Jimmy had to laugh at that as Tango removed himself and then pulled Jimmy by his hand to their room before falling asleep then later waking up to a mix of Niki and Shubble yelling about gifts and Grian trying to tell them to wait.